You’re such an angel, Dede! My own guardian angel! Sent from God to come and take care of me! What would I have been without you? I’m so grateful, my love. This is my final exams. When I pass out, I’ll get a job, and we’ll be married immediately, my darling! She smiles and runs a finger down the side of his face. DEDE Everything I do for you is out of love, Kobby. Just don’t betray my love, or you’ll kill me! Kwabena sits on the bed and k-sses her hærd, jamming his tongue into her mouth. KWABENA (sentimentally) You’re the only woman for me, Dede! I can’t live without you, never! I love you more than you can ever love me! DEDE (giggling) That cannot be true, Kobby! No heart can love more than I love you! KWABENA (huskily) Your love is like one percent of what I feel for you! He k-sses her throat, her l-ips, and puts a hand on her right br-ast, feeling her taut n-pple. She is p-nting now, and his hand steals under the hem of her skirt and creeps up her inner thighs. Suddenly she clamps her thighs together, trapping his hand, and gets up quickly. He lies on the bed, suffused with desire, looking at her through the slits of his eyes. DEDE (softly) I can’t, Kobby, please. Not now, not here! KWABENA (frustrated) Come on, my love! Let me make you mine, in the real sense of the word! You and I are going to spend eternity together DEDE (anxiously) I know, my love. But not in this room, okay? You share the bed with your friends, and they might even now be outside trying to see us making love! My mother is a Christian, my love, as you know. I’ve promised her to lose my V-rginity only on my wedding bed. My father died when I was young. I’m her only child, and she didn’t have money to help me further my education. She loves me, and she wants only that from me. You’re still in school, and we don’t want any pregnancy now! KWABENA I’ll use a c-ndom, my love! Even if you get pregnant I’ll marry you! Can’t you see I can’t wait anymore? She smiles and sits on a chair near the door. DEDE Yes, I can see, my love! The feeling is mutual, but sorry, we can’t do it now. Very soon you will pass out successfully, and I’ll be your wife. You can have it as many times as you want then, my love! Now drink some water to cool down, and come and take a walk with me! Kwabena takes a deep breath, smiles, and then they laugh together. Their love for each other is strong! The stranger pauses and sits very still. Everybody in the garden is silent, listening with bated breaths. Akua is sitting straight, her face registering her shock. This is the very first time she is hearing about Dede Naar. In all the ten years that she has been married to Kwabena, he has never once mentioned her. She looks at her husband, and sees that Kwabena’s eyes are downcast, and his shoulders seem very heavy. THE STRANGER For two years Dede Naar used the little profit she earned from selling waakye to take care of the man she loved so much! She had to work extra hærd, you know, just to make ends meet. It wasn’t Kwabena alone. His mother also had diabetes, and needed insulin all the time. Kwabena couldn’t afford it. But Dede always bought the medicine for her and took care of her medical needs. He pauses, and his eyes roam over them coldly. THE STRANGER Dede’s own mother was in the village, also weak, but she didn’t take care of her mother as much as she did Kwabena’s mother. Dede managed to rent a single-room self-contained house. When Kwabena couldn’t pay the rent for his mother and they were ejected, Dede conveniently allowed them to stay with her. She used a partition to separate the room so that Kwabena’s mother, OBAAPA TAKYIWAA, could occupy half. And then, one afternoon, when Dede was out of the house selling waakye to make enough to feed them, they had a visitor. It was Tutu Dompreh! FLASHBACK Kwabena is outside, morose and unhappy. In his hand is another letter informing him that he has been, yet again, unsuccessful in the job interview he had attended a few weeks ago. Suddenly one of his friends appears in the yard. His name is MINTAH KWAO. MINTAH Hey, Kobby, you have a visitor! Kobby looks up, and then he gasps with absolute shock, the paper dropping from his hand, his eyes bulging. KWABENA (trembling) Daddy? Is that you, Daddy? Tutu Dompreh is running forward as tears fall down his face. TUTU DOMPREH (weeping) Kobby, Kobby, my son! Father and son embrace tightly, and begin to weep with emotions. The door opens, and Obaapa Takyiwaa, looking weak and frail, stands in the doorway. OBAAPA TAKYIWAA Tutu? Oh, dear God! I must be going mad! Is that you, dearest husband! Tutu Dompreh approaches his wife and holds out his arms. TUTU DOMPREH (tremulously) Yes, yes, my darling! How you must have suffered! I’ve been released, dear! They found out the truth, and the Government is now convinced I did no wrong! My properties have been unfrozen! My contract is renewed! Oh, how you must have suffered these past ten years! Come, let’s go home! Dede Naar, tired and totally weary, comes home later in the afternoon. She has passed through the market to buy some ingredients for the next day’s waakye, and she is in a hurry to prepare some food for her darling Kobby and his mother. But there is no one home! She is scared, dreading that something bad might have happened to Kobby’s mother! She is going round, asking neighbours if they have seen them, when she meets Mintah Kwao. MINTAH (shocked) Dede, are you sure of what you’re asking me? You don’t know where Kobby is? DEDE (irritated) Mintah, please don’t draw my ire this afternoon, I beg of you! I can’t find them! Do you know where they’ve gone to? MINTAH Kobby is indeed wicked, heerh! I just can’t believe this! Don’t worry, my dear. It seems his father was released from prison and he came looking for them. He brought a huge car and parked it in on the football field because it couldn’t come through here. I led him here and showed him where Kobby and his mom were. They left. He took them away! DEDE (relieved) Oh, that’s very good news! I understand now! Oh, I’m so excited! Finally, I’m going to see my father-in-law! Yes, Kobby will come for me, and we’ll be a family! She heads back to her room, all excited, and Mintah looks after her with mixed feelings. MINTAH Poor girl! Kwabena does not come back that day, nor the next, nor the next. The light slowly dies from Dede’s eyes. She becomes like an automaton, going through the process of living! Her heart is broken, and she cries herself to sleep each day. She doesn’t have a phone, and does not know where to find him. Finally, three weeks later, she is busily packing up the utensils after selling her waakye, when a sleek car pulls up in front of the tree under which she sells her waakye. The driver’s door opens, and Kwabena steps out. For a moment Dede cannot recognize him. He is looking really dapper in a white T-shirt, black jeans, white Jordan sneakers, glasses and ornaments. It is only when he begins to walk towards her, that Dede finally recognizes him. She runs to him and embraces him fiercely. DEDE (weeping uncontrollably) Kobby, Kobby, Kobby! My love! Don’t ever do this to me! You almost killed me, my love! Kobby squeezes her and k-sses her hærd. KWABENA I’m so sorry, my love! Please forgive me! Things have been very hectic! My father came back and I had to do a lot of things, but I’m okay now. Please forgive me! I’ve come to take you home to meet my father Dede is in a dreamland! She simply cannot believe it! Quickly, she packs her stuff into the boot of the car, and Kwabena takes her home. She takes a long bath, changes into a simple but lovely dress, and then Kwabena takes her to his house. She is sitting in the gigantic living-room when Obaapa enters. The woman draws Dede into a warm embrace. OBAAPA TAKYIWAA My dearest! Dede, God has finally shown us mercy! Welcome to your new home, my daughter! They are laughing happily when Tutu enters. KWABENA (uncertainly) Daddy, meet Dede, the lady I’ve been telling you about. Tutu hesitates with a slight frown on his face, and then he speaks in English to Dede. Dede simply stands there with fear in her eyes. She replies in the Akan dialect. DEDE Please, sir, I don’t understand. I lost my father very early in life, and my mother couldn’t afford my school fees, so I couldn’t continue with my education. However, I have a big heart, and it is filled with only love for your son. Tutu looks at his son, incredulous, and speaks in English rapidly. TUTU DOMPREH (angrily) Goodness me, Kobby! Have you lost your senses? Of all the women in the university, you chose to bypass all of them and chose this utter moron? You truly want this illiterate garbage to be your wife? KWABENA (defensively) Daddy! I love her! She’s been good to me! She took care of me and Mommy! She paid my exams fees with her profits! For the last couple of years we would’ve died if she hadn’t been there for us! OBAAPA TAKYIWAA (afraid) Tutu, don’t be like that! This girl is an angel! Your son cannot get anybody as good as this girl! And she loves him with all her heart! TUTU DOMPREH (angrily) Cut that crap right now! Does she want money? I will pay her off with interest if that’s what she wants! But you’re not going to spend the rest of your life with a woman who cannot move in the same circles as you! Put sentiments aside, my son! This is the real world! You’re going to take over my companies one day! You need someone who befits you, not this degenerate! I’ll not allow it! Look, get that thing out of my sight, okay? Tomorrow I’ll write a cheque for you and you can cash it for her. That girl is not bearing my grandchildren, God forbid! Tutu Dompreh turns and leaves with a dirty look at Dede. The poor girl hadn’t understood all that was said, because they spoke in English, but she saw the absolute disgust in her future father-in-law’s eyes, and slowly tears of anguish spill down her dear cheeks! PRESENT The stranger stops speaking. He reaches across for another chicken wing from Baaba’s abandoned plate, dips it in source, and pops it into his mouth. The wh0le place is so quiet that a feather dropping on the glass would have sounded like a bomb. Tears have welled up in Kwabena’s eyes, and now slowly spilling down his cheeks. Tutu Dompreh’s face is a map of abject misery as he feels all the accusing eyes on him. Suddenly he has lost his aura of invisibility, his almost god-like stature as he is exposed for what he really is: a monster! His l-ips move, as if he is trying to speak, but he cannot say nothing. Some of the young women are slightly trembling, and some have put their hands on their hearts. Akua shakes her head slowly as things soon begin to make sense to her, things she had hitherto not understood in a long time! The stranger picks a bottle of water and carefully breaks the rubber seal. He uncaps it and drinks, and then he sets it down carefully. THE STRANGER Well, Kobby took poor Dede out of the house. He spent an emotional time with her, promising her that he would never leave her, even if it meant losing his father’s riches. But he had a plan! He had a very wonderful plan. He convinced the poor girl that if she got pregnant, his father would have no option than to allow them to marry. This was much against Dede’s belief, because her mother was a staunch Christian, and she did not want to disgrace her mother. But she was so much in love with Kwabena, and did not want to lose him, and so she finally gave in. Kwabena took her on a one-week holiday in a hotel, in the mountains, and finally succeeded in taking her V-rginity. Dede Naar became pregnant… FLASHBACK Kwabena’s visit to Dede is frequent after that wonderful time at the hotel, and he tells her that his father is slowly coming round. And then, one evening, in her room, Dede shyly shows him a pregnancy test result. KWABENA (shocked) What is this, my love? DEDE (happily) God blessed us, my love! I’m pregnant! Our plan has worked! Kwabena whoops with joy! He is so happy! He k-sses her hærd and long. KWABENA (elated) Oh, my darling! I’m going home right now to show it to Daddy! We’ll be married within the week! We’ll go and bring your mother to the city! Oh, our precious baby! I love you, my love! Weeping with extreme happiness, Dede sees Kwabena off to his car. And that is the end. She doesn’t hear from him again for one month! She calls the number he has given her, but the phone is always switched off! The poor girl is slowly dying in,side! She visits her mother in the village and tells her everything, and in tears she asks for forgiveness from her mother. Her mother, MADAM BAJOE NAAR, gladly forgives her daughter, and asks her to go to the city and bring all her stuff, and forget about the ungrateful boy. Dede agrees and returns to Accra, but her heart is in pain. She loves Kwabena too much to leave without hearing from him. Desperately, she needs to say goodbye to him, at least. She then summons enough boldness and visits Kwabena in the house. She is horrified to see that there is a great party going on in the house that day. Scared, she inquires from one of the guests outside, and she is informed that it is a send-off party for Kwabena. He is going to the United Kingdom to further his studies in just two days Poor, poor Dede! She cannot believe it! Emboldened by the sheer cruelty of it all, she goes straight into the house and enters the garden where she sees her Kobby dancing wildly and happily with some ladies. She forces her way to him and pushes the ladies aside, and stands in front of him with tears falling down her face. DEDE (heartbroken) Kobby! You can do this to me? After taking my V-rginity and making me pregnant? There is a great silence. Kwabena stares at her, unable to speak, and then Tutu comes around them, and some of his big-shot friends are also around. Tutu glares at Dede with hatred, and then he turns to his son. TUTU DOMPREH (menacingly) Is it true, Kobby? You impregnated this girl? If it is true, then you have to stay in Ghana and take care of your baby, and your wh-re! Dede turns a broken face to Tutu Dompreh. DEDE May God have mercy on you, sir! With a bellow of rage Tutu charges at Dede to slap her, but he is held back by some of the men around. TUTU DOMPREH (enraged) KOBBY! HAVE YOU MADE THIS GIRL PREGNANT? Kwabena looks down at his feet, and then he raises his head and looks at Dede with tears in his eyes. He knows, at that moment, that his father means what he is saying. If he admits to impregnating Dede, his father will definitely not send him abroad to continue his studies. This is the moment for him to stand up for his love, to repay Dede with kindness and love. This is the moment to show his appreciation for all the sacrifices the poor girl has heaped unconditionally on him. But no! His studies abroad is more important to him! KWABENA (sadly) No, Daddy! I don’t know what she is talking about. His mother scre-ms with sudden fear. OBAAPA TAKYIWAA (terrified) KWABENA! MY SON! DON’T DO THIS EVIL THING!! TUTU DOMPREH Take this harlot out of my house! Dirty infidel! She wants to disgrace us! Immediately Dede takes a step back, and she feels a great pain in her stomach! She feels a sudden movement in her belly, a pain so excruciating that it churns her soul out, and she feels her vision clouding. She turns and flees from their presence. Kwabena watches her go! Obaapa Takyiwaa turns to her husband with fear on her face. OBAAPA TAKYIWAA My dear, go after that girl! She is not a liar! If she says Kobby made her pregnant then it’s true! This girl is not a liar! She’s also someone’s daughter. If we had a daughter I don’t think you’ll be happy if someone treated her like you’re- TUTU DOMPREH (snarling) SHUT UP, WOMAN! MY SON WILL NEVER MARRY A SLUT LIKE HER, AND CERTAINLY I’M NOT TAKING A GRANDCHILD FROM SUCH AN INFIDEL, SUCH A WH-RE!! Dede, weeping uncontrollably and with great pain in her belly, walks the unknown streets of the neighbourhood till she sees a taxi and hails it. DEDE (weak, dazed, in pain) Please, I beg of you, take me to the nearest hospital, driver! I’m in so much pain! She collapses in the backseat. The driver does not know that she is bleeding. The driver hears her praying, asking God for forgiveness and wash her clean, and to accept her in heaven, and he later told police that the car suddenly became blindingly bright for a moment, and he almost lost control. When pressed by the police, the driver, who was also a Christian, replied that he was sure there were angels in the taxi at that very moment. But of course they didn’t believe him. The taxi driver arrives at the hospital and turns to inform her that they have arrived. But Dede is not breathing. She is dead.
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