From Grass To Grace

"Jake!, where are you? You'll make us late! " his wife yelled at him through the phone.

"I'm on my way, Dorin. The traffic is quite tight here" he tried to explain to her as he glanced at all the bags and boxes delivery he had to receive which contained his wife and mother-in-law's jewelry as well as shoes for the wedding they were attending.

"Useless man, I told you Dorin, marry someone that has common sense and pride yet you went for a mannerless human being" he heard his mother-in-law rant some distance away from the phone.

"If you make us late, Jake!, I promise you won't have a meal in this house for the next week. I told you to go get that jewelry yesterday and yet you opted to go for that useless job of yours that can't even feed my daughter to talk more of my granddaughters" She had gotten the phone and was now screaming into it.

"Mummy... " he heard his wife try to defend him a bit. Something she rarely did.

"My friend shut up! If I had married a man as useless as your husband would you have all this luxury you are enjoying? " she asked bitterly.

"I'm sorry, ma. I'll be home soon" he apologized into the phone in the meekest voice he could muster.

"Sorry for your pitiful self," she hissed back at him and hung up as he sighed in frustration.

"Please, can you drive faster? I'm late. " he pleaded with the cab driver and he just nodded and increased the speed as Jake continuously tapped his feet in anxiety.

Soon, Jake was a few meters from home and he dropped off, paid the cab driver, and began carrying the box and bags of jewelry. There were lots of them and he didn't bother calling home because no one would come out to help with them.

His phone was ringing again but he was carrying a lot of things so there was no free hand to pick up the call. He knew it was either his mother-in-law or wife calling again to remind him how late he was.

He hurried to cross the road without looking twice, there were loud horns from cars, and he tried to dodge them but was late as one of them came in contact with his hip bones and legs which sent him crashing on the floor with all the boxes and bags.

He watched as the boxes burst open and all the jewelry sprawled on the road. His head was throbbing and spinning. People were shouting. He saw blood flowing from his legs but the only thing on his mind was how he would pay his wife's family for all the diamonds and rare stones that were scattered around the road.

As he turned to look at the car he was hit with, he saw the blurry statue of the driver in a suit and dark glasses before he blacked out in pain.

****

It's been one month since the accident. He has been finally discharged and brought home in a wheelchair. The Doctor had promised that if he ate healthy foods and fruits, and also, had someone to aid him in exercising, his legs would be strong enough to walk again after a few months.

His escort back home was the family's new maid, Samara, she was the only one who had visited him at the hospital throughout his one-month stay there. No other family members came even his wife. His five-year-old twins, Tony and Tonia, were denied a visit by their grandmother according to Samara who always brought food to him.

His hospital bills had been sorted by the man who had hit him. He never got to meet the driver but was grateful he wasn't a runaway driver like most men were.

"Welcome back home man of the house" his mother-in-law's voice full of mockery awaited him at the door as Samara wheeled him in.

"Sister, go to the kitchen and do something with your time. I'm sure he is man enough to help himself to his room " She was talking to Samara now.

"But ma, he only got back... " She tried to speak but got shut up before she could even complete the sentence.

"Do you love your job? Am I paying you to take care of someone who broke all my jewelry and precious stones on the road just because I sent him on a little errand? Get out of my sight! " she screamed and Samara murmured sorry as she ran out with her head bowed.

"Nonsense! As for you, I'll send your bills to your room after you, okay? You have to pay for all my diamonds that you broke including the ones that got missing or were stolen".

"I'm sorry ma, but you know I don't have money for that and it was an accident that happened because I was rushing home" he tried to explain in shame but she would have none of it.

"Tell that to your pathetic dead mother and not to me" were her last words to him as she walked out leaving him almost on the verge of tears.

There was no recent news that my mother had died of excessive drug abuse but why did she rub it on his face every single time, he didn't understand.

"Dad? " Tony, his little boy called him and he immediately positioned a plastic smile on his face before turning to face him.

"Hey little man, come here" he waved him over and it didn't skip his notice that the little boy first scanned the house to be sure no one was around before he ran to him and hugged him.

"Dad! I missed you. Mommy and Grandma refused us a visit to the hospital" he was crying and it stabbed Jake's heart.

"I'm so sorry little man. Daddy is fine now, okay? Don't cry, remember real men don't cry" he tried soothing him but knew that most of that consolation was for himself.

Jake felt relieved when his son nodded and smiled at him.

"Where is your sister?"

"She's in her room, she has been crying that she needs you, should I call her? "

"I'll go see her little man. Can you help Daddy to Tonia's room? He asked him more out of helplessness because shame washed over him that his son was wheeling his young father.

"Daddy, why is grandma always mean to you? " Tony asked as he pushed his father toward their room, making his heart skip.

Even his children noticed how he was treated like trash in the house. Last he checked, Fathers were the head of the family but his story was the reverse. He was the rag of the family.

"Grandma is not a bad person, Daddy just did something bad to Grandma that's why she is not happy with Daddy, okay?" was all he could say and he was glad he wasn't asking any other questions.

"Tonia, daddy is back!" His son whispered to his sister's figure which was cuddled up on the bed and immediately she jumped up and with wide eyes full of tears ran to Jake.

It was the most genuine love he had ever felt. The one with his kids. They were the only reason he was still determined to make it in life. All he needed right now was a miracle to restore his feet and he promised myself in tears that he would save his kids from this loveless household.

"Hey sweetie, don't cry, daddy is back okay? " he soothed his little girl but she just clung to him and didn't stop crying.

He wished their mother was any better with the kids they procreated together but no. His so-called wife was always busy, either going for a makeover or outing with her friends as well as shopping with her mom, leaving their kids with numerous nannies and house help who would never show them a mother's love.

Tony joined his sister in the hug and he stayed that way for a while soothing his kids and assuring them he was okay before they finally allowed him to leave.

Jake wheeled himself out of their room with a promise that he was always around and they could come to his room anytime.

While in the corridor, he decided to use the opportunity to stop by his wife's room. Well, she had her room after packing out of the one they shared months ago due to her mother's consistent pestering.

Her room was the last on the entirely quiet corridor. Jake wondered if she wasn't home, he should've asked the kids but then there was no way he would go back now. He wheeled himself to the door and was about to open it when he realized it was slightly ajar, so he just gave a light push and it opened. Jake gasped at the sight before him.

There was the wife he was supposed to be husband, breaking their marital vows in bed with another man.

"Dorin!!! " Jake exclaimed in shock and saw her atjump out of the bed to gather her clothes while the man was hurrying too, looking for clothing to cover his nakedness.

"Dorin, what's this? Has it gotten to cheating on me? " He was astonished, betrayed, and pained at the same time.

"Oh, you are back. When did you come back from the hospital? Why didn't anyone tell me you were back?" she looked destabilized. Her eyes could not meet his: they were just hovering around the room.

"Dorin! How could you? Don't talk about my being in the hospital like you care, did you visit me once? Oh, this is what you were doing while I was away right? Sleeping around? Really? "

"It's not what you think. I was really busy and couldn't make it to the hospital... "

"Busy fucking some random guy? "

"I am no random guy Mr whatever you call yourself. Of what use are you in this house if you cannot satisfy your wife? ". The man she was with responded from behind her. He was fully dressed now and Jake could see from his outfit that he was a rich man.

Luxurious suits, shoes, wristwatches, and his aura all screamed money, and immediately Jake knew his place but still fought back. For the sake of the only woman he still loved. If only she would show remorse and promise not to do it again. He would forgive her wholeheartedly and take her back.

"Mr. Rich guy, I can see all you've displayed and I'm sure you know I have none of that but this woman is one thing I have and love so much. I am not about to lose her to you, so please stay out of our matter okay? " Jake warned him strictly as very little was left of my damaged pride as a man.

He felt small sitting in a wheelchair with tattered clothes, and there was his rich wife with her rich lover staring down at him like he was some piece of garbage.

"Honey please, can you stop this, and let's reconcile? I'm ready to take you back okay? "

"Take me back? To where? To your poverty-stricken room? Or the house you don't have? Just please make sure you knock before opening the door to my room next time, okay? Goodbye, wheelchair husband" she giggled and Jake caught a glimpse of the man kissing her again before they banged the door on his face and locked it up.

That was not his wife. That wasn't the scared fragile woman he married five years ago. Or had she been pretending all along? Though they didn't start with a beautiful relationship, it was a one-night stand.

Her boyfriend had broken up with her that night and she was hopelessly crying when she came into the bar Jake was working in as a bar attendant.

She asked for drinks and kept crying as she got them. His heart went out to her, so they talked as she drank and he drank with her, soothing and comforting her till they both got drunk and ended up in a hotel room that night.

The next morning when he woke up, she was gone and he felt so bad and empty, almost regretting what he had done. He didn't even know her name. One month later, she was back crying again. This time she was pregnant with his child due to the one night they had.

Jake was devastated as he finally regretted approaching her in the first place. She took him home and her father who didn't want his image to be tarnished in society sponsored their marriage and they wedded before anyone found out she was pregnant. Then he was told to pack into their mansion as their son-in-law.

Her father was always neutral and did not support any side but his mother-in-law never agreed from the beginning. She also cursed him that he had destroyed her daughter's life by coming into it in his poor state and he lived regretting every single day the company and condolences he offered to a rich man's daughter.

But when my twins came, he was most grateful to the heavens for giving him such beautiful kids. He was never really in love with his wife and he was sure she wasn't either but they had respect for each other and understanding too.

But today, he met an entirely different wife from the one he had known for five years. Shutting the door in his face and speaking to him in that manner was something he could not still comprehend.

With a distraught heart and a heart-wrenching spirit, Jake wheeled himself to his room which was at the other end of the corridor.

This building was a subdivision of the main house which was just opposite it. It had five rooms in it excluding the sitting room, kitchen, and other rooms.

There was his room, his wife's, and the children had different rooms even though they slept in one room most of the time, the other room was for the maids and nanny while the guards had their quarters outside.

The Main House which was called 'The White House' was a magnificent building that housed Earl Mayor and his wife, Grace Mayor, parents of his wife. He rarely went there except on errands and he had lost count of the number of rooms they had over there. Still, his mother-in-law would come to their building to suffocate his space just like today.

While in his room, Jake thought of what to do to escape the ache that was in his heart. He was worried, it wasn't long before this thin thread he was hanging onto snapped cut and left him to face the repercussions.

The door to his room opened and he hoped with everything that it was his wife coming to apologize but it wasn't. It was just the maid who had brought him home, what was her name again, Samara?

"Sir, your food is ready. Please eat something" she said to his back which was towards her and he wondered who else used honorifics on him in this household. Even the other maids and guards avoided calling his name, he knew they were unsure of what to call him since he was practically almost a maid like them.

"Thank you, but I'm not hungry. Please take the food with you" he said quietly.

"But sir... " she began to protest and he spun his wheelchair so he could face her.

"Get out" he ordered and hated the look on her face. It could've been a concern but he saw it as sympathy, and mockery and it pained him.

But she just stood there by the door stubbornly and refused to get out as he had ordered.

"I understand your anger at being paralyzed. Anyone could be angry too"

Jake laughed bitterly. How could she say she understood when she knew nothing of what he was going through? His wife just cheated and he couldn't do anything about it.

"You don't know half of what I'm angry at so just leave".

"Very true. But I know for a fact that there are kids out there who are hoping that one day their father will man up and get them out of this creepy place that is always full of tension. If you don't want to survive for yourself, do so for your kids sir. They have so much hope in you. Please eat, I'll be back for the plates" she finished and walked out as Jake sat staring at her retreating figure.

That was politely insulting if he did think about it too much but it sure made sense. It did. He still had his kids to fight for. He was going to work till he could take them out of this place.

Minutes later, Samara was back to get the plates. She smiled at him when she saw that he had eaten everything and he turned his embarrassed face to the other side of the room. What was this maid's problem with him? Why was she on his case?

Just as she was about to leave the room, he heard a voice shouting. It was his wife.

"And you are cheating too, Jake! What is a maid doing in your room?" She screamed and began shouting and crying at the same time.

Jake turned to her in confusion as the tray of plates dropped from Samara's hand with a loud crash. That scream was what brought his mother-in-law running to his room.

"What are you saying, Dorin? I just caught you in bed with another man and you have the guts to stand before me and claim I am the cheating one? Snap out of it". He screamed in anger.

"What's going on here? " my mother-in-law had arrived at the scene. "As for you, those broken plates will be paid for with your salary".

"I caught them both, she was sitting on his leg, kissing him, and serving him food," she said, obviously searching for lies to cook up.

"Which legs, Dorin? The same ones I can't even walk with? Are you out of your mind? You are the one I just caught in bed with the dark guy who has brown hair and now you are shifting the accusation to me? " He said in disbelief and built-up anger but she didn't even answer him, instead turned to her mom.

"Mom! Are you sure his legs are crippled or he is just pretending to get our sympathy to cover up for his incapabilities?". She was crying now. Crocodile tears and he watched the drama unfold before his eyes.

"Henry! Come with one of your men" his mother-in-law screamed calling her bodyguards and they came running.

"Lift that man from the wheelchair let's see if he is crippled or pretending? " She ordered and everyone in the room gasped in disbelief and fear as the bouncers began walking towards Jake.

Jake sat on the floor perplexed like he was in a trance. He could feel pains shooting into every fiber of his body from his legs.

He still couldn't believe that his mother-in-law had commanded her boys to lift him from his wheelchair and leave him midair to drop on the floor like a piece of rag, just to confirm her daughter's accusations.

The scene replayed over and over again in his memory how the two men walked up to him, each person holding his arms and lifting him from his wheelchair.

"Make him stand and leave him to walk" she had ordered and they did just that.

The issue was that instead of his legs standing or walking they gave way and landed in a heap of helplessness on his already broken legs.

Tears threatened their downpour as his face went down in shame and red with embarrassment. He had never been so humiliated in his entire life, not even when his debtors had to chase him on the road one time.

"Oh, he's crippled" Dorin exclaimed in mockery and Jake felt a slight pain in his heart.

"Are you sure of what you saw, Dorin because I'll report this issue to your father when he is back from Germany this evening? It is a disgrace to the family's name that the son-in-law should cheat. After all, we've done for you. What if the press finds out about it? Such a useless man" she said before hissing and walking out with her guards.

Immediately, Samara ran to Jake and made to help him up.

"Let me help you up, sir. I'm so sorry" He could hear the genuine concern in her voice but instead of consoling him it suddenly irritated him. Before he could respond to her he heard Dorin begin to fake those cries again.

"Mom! Mom! She's even helping him up. Someone should call my lawyer to get the divorce papers ready. I'm done with this sham of a marriage" she began to scream in a singsong voice as she ran out of his room.

"Get out! " Jake said to Samara not looking in her direction.

"I'm sorry sir but what if the twins come in and see you sitting like this? Let me help you please!" she insisted and she was right so Jake let her lift him back to his wheelchair before she ran off only to return with a brush and parker to clean up the broken plates.

He watched her through his eyelashes as he couldn't fathom what was going on in her mind.

"After being accused, you still come back here to sweep? " He asked her curiously.

"We didn't do anything sir, so I have nothing to be afraid of. I'll just do what I have to do and wait for the Master to be back and give his judgment on all these. The worst that could happen is getting sacked. By the way, I'll call the doctor and ask him to come examine you. "

"What for? I'm fine" He said ignoring the slight aches he now felt around his waist and legs.

"Yes you are but Doctor Holland has to check and confirm that. She said and walked out of the room.

Jake loved her confidence. It was communicable and he felt confident too as he awaited the result of this evening's proceedings from the man of the house who would come back and not have a good evening's rest because of the crazy women he had in his household.

He had always dreaded a divorce but after today's episode of the drama, Jake realized he would love his freedom from the chains that held him captive in this household but not tonight.

****

It was evening already and the man of the house was seated at the dining table of the main house after dinner when all the requests and complaints were laid out before him.

It was a rule that whenever he was around or back from a business trip which he was always away for, everyone including the maids would be at the dining table either serving, waiting, or eating.

"Send the kids to bed" he ordered and the nanny took my twins out of the room to tuck them in. When she was back he began speaking.

"What did I miss? " He was looking at his wife when everywhere was silent. She was always the first to speak as the second head of the household.

"You are welcome home again, my dear. Serious occurrences happened during your absence. First, your son-in-law here got himself involved in an accident when he was sent to get delivery and now most of the items are missing and some cannot be put to use again. I have already told him to get ready because he will pay for all of that" she ranted and waited for him to speak.

"I see, what items were those?" he asked, looking directly at Jake and he knew it was his turn to speak.

"They were jewelry items and shoes, uncle" He responded meekly.

"What caused the accident? "

"I was being rushed while carrying all of those boxes and bags on my own. My phone was ringing and I was trying to cross the road so I got distracted and was hit." He tried to explain.

"And?... "

"And I passed out, I woke up in the hospital where I spent one month treating my legs before I got in this wheelchair. No one came to visit me during my stay there except for Samara the maid".

"And that's why you decided to sleep with her? " His mother-in-law snapped and received a glare from the head of the house as he continued with Jake.

"Who paid the bills? "

"The man who hit me".

"And how about the money that was withdrawn for his treatment?" he asked his wife this time.

Oh... so she took money meant for his treatment, Jake smiled inwardly. So much for being a wonderful mother-in-law.

"Something came up, so we... " she stammered.

"Take that money as the debt he was to pay you for your broken jewelry, so he owes you nothing anymore. Okay? " he concluded that case and she nodded with an angry nonchalant face.

"What's with this cheating episode, who cheated?" He was talking to me again in an angry voice and a glare in his eyes.

"Uncle, as I came home from the hospital, I wheeled myself to Dorin's room after visiting my kids to inform her I was back since she had not come out to see me but when I opened the door I saw her naked in bed with Brent Hobson of Hobsons Enterprises, when I got angry at her, Brent ordered me out of the room and banged the door in my face. I took my embarrassed self to my room to sulk but she came in later to accuse me and the maid Samara who was serving me food of sleeping together when all she had done was be good to me. Aunt here even asked the guards to lift me from my wheelchair so she could confirm if my legs were working and they did, leaving me to fall and hurt my legs more". He concluded almost in tears.

"Lies!" His mother-in-law snapped at him as Dorin began crying.

"Dorin?? " Father was asking for her view of the story.

"Dad, he is lying. How will he see me cheating and not shouting bringing the whole house down? I was the one who caught him and Samara in an awkward position and immediately I screamed for Mom to come, she was my witness, she saw them, and that was when I decided to divorce him. I'm not interested in this marriage any longer. It's not like he has wealth to divide for me when we get divorced" She wept bitterly with all manner of seriousness and Jake watched in utter shock as the woman he married acted drama with crocodile tears running down her face.

"Samara, is this true?" Father asked the maid and she humbly replied no to him as tears were running down her eyes already. Jake felt hurt and angry that someone who had good intentions for him was tangled up in his mess.

"She's telling the truth, honey, I saw them with my own eyes. I was there" his mother-in-law spat angrily.

"You all know how much I hate that word 'cheating'. You know that if a piece of this goes out to the media then this family name will be doomed" Father barked.

"Jake, you should not let yourself be caught in a position that will raise suspicions and make my daughter cry. I don't think you are wanted anymore in this house, pack up and leave. Stay in a place where the media won't recognize you and keep your mouth shut". He concluded.

Jake was dumbfounded, he couldn't believe his ears. Just like that? That was all it took for crippled him to be thrown out?

"But uncle, I don't have anywhere to go, I don't know anyone, I don't have anything. Where will I start from? How about my kids? I promise it won't happen again. Please forgive me this once I beg you. " He opted to kneel and beg for forgiveness in the presence of the maids, nanny, and guards of the household forgetting that his legs had a mind of their own.

The combination of pain, embarrassment, and betrayal surged through him as he landed with his broken legs on the floor in a sitting position, hot tears ran down his face as he ignored the pain and crawled to his father-in-law begging.

"Samara, you are no longer needed here as well. You can leave. I'll send your salary to you at this moment" Father said finally and stood up crossing over a crippled him on the floor and walking out without listening to his pleas.

It was almost midnight, what can a crippled helpless young man do when he is thrown out of the only home he knew.

His now ex-wife was gracious enough to drag him back to his wheelchair and wheel him out of the compound while humming a song of excitement.

Bags and belongings later followed. Talking about belongings that excluded all the things he had gotten from the house as a son-in-law. The only thing he had thrown out with him was the one box of old clothes he had come to the house with.

He didn't even have a chance to say goodbye to his kids which made him regret the promise he made to them earlier on, that Daddy was not leaving them anymore. He begged his wife one more time when she came out to give him his luggage but she just mimicked what he was saying and screamed something about sending the divorce papers to him later on as she left him there in the dark.

In one night, Jake had become a homeless man, with no legs, no money, and no destination in mind. He sat there in his wheelchair across the street from the place he once called home and fresh tears ran down his face. He came here poor and was left penniless. He wished he never made that one mistake of meeting Dorin.

A few minutes later someone tapped him and whispered "Hey" as he jerked in fright.