He started to tell me about his life.
If I leave my wife, my daughter won’t be taken care of.
PORTRAIT OF A MARRIAGE BY RUHI JIWANI 34THPARALLEL MAGAZINE ISSUE 134
I met an old friend to celebrate his birthday; we ordered a lemon tart, overly sweet, took a few bites each, and then he started to tell me about his life.
“My wife is now over 100kg,” he said.
“She pushed my father against the wall during a fight.”
He looked at me angrily through long-lashed eyes.
“My son got caught with an e-cigarette at school; these are illegal because they can be used for smoking pot.
“He also ragged a boy, pulling his pants down in front of the class. That boy is scarred for life!
“Now my son is only being allowed to stay in school so that he can take his board exams, but he’s banned from actually going to school.
“So he steals money from home and he’s roaming around with the neighbourhood riff-raff.” (He means Muslims; I have fought with him about this before.)
“I tried to stop him, but we got into a tussle; he’s only 14, but he’s been working out.”
My friend is potbellied in his mid-40s, with a goatee; his son is tall and broad-shouldered, with a gym body.
“My wife is very money-minded. I’ve always paid for everything while she saved her money and bought a house of her own.
“Still, she’s not willing to separate unless I buy her another one!
“I spoke to a divorce lawyer, but a few days after that my daughter had an hour-long epileptic seizure.”
His daughter has had malfunctioning kidneys since birth and constant dialysis after a failed transplant.
“If I leave my wife, my daughter won’t be taken care of; her mother gives her homeopathic medicine when she needs to be rushed to the hospital.”
This sick 13-year-old is keeping this couple together.
“Let’s go for a play. Now,” he said. “I need a break from this.”
RUHI JIWANI
Like any dutiful poet, I am working on my first novel. My poetry has been published in a number of magazines. I have a master’s degree in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia University.