Heavy voices of excited men and ladies hung hugely over Jamole’s house. Today was the 24th birth day party of his adorable wife, Stella Pitcher and although she had hinted him about it a few nights ago, yet he was still lost in his gloom due to what she demanded for a birthday gift.
Nights on end Jamole had been nagged by countless nightmares over thought of meeting her demand. He barely could provide a proper square meal for Stella so he wondered what would inspire his elegant wife to demand for an Arabic Coral Gold Ring.
He didn’t know the worth of the gold ring but with the few celebrities he had seen donning it, he knew it wasn’t a piece of cake.
With his oversized shoes which had its sole gaping at the ceiling and his I-was-white T-shirt over bottom-patched pants, he was all ready for work but without the audacity to go to his wife in the sitting room to demand for ten dollar which was his transport fare to work.
The merriment continued in a very thumping manner and they were about cutting the sizeable cake when Jamole pranced to the sitting room, perched at the door, and cast a worrisome gaze at his wife, who was smiling cheek to cheek and accepting gifts of all sorts from her rich pals and associates.
All the while he had been initiating their gaze to meet so she could advance to him and help him with the money, saving him the embarrassment of the guests raising a brow at his odd looks; because he knew they would definitely raise a brow if he had stepped an inch further into their midst.
Fortunately their gaze locked and she caught the message in his cloudy eyes. She excused herself and her high heels knocked louder toward him.
“Happy birthday, wife,” Jamole affirmed gratefully since wishes were the only gift he could afford now. A contagious smile decked his face and she didn’t return the compliment, making his smile to disappear within the chin from where it came.
Just like he did, she folded her arms, shot her quarrelsome gaze at him and queried him with her thunderous eyes.
He wanted to speak yet further and she raised her hands at him to shut the hell up.
“Today is my birthday. Am I going to remind you Arabic Coral Gold Ring still remains what I want for a birth day gift, huh?” she yelled.
Jamole stole a glance and could see a few of the guests had settled their gaze on them.
“Could you please keep your voice down, dear? You are creating a scene.” he mumbled, struggled to keep his stare between the guests that were moping at them now and his wife who was mad at him in a menacing manner.
Her wide, pale palms were raised at him once again when he dared to explain himself. “Spare me that crab, Jamole. For three years, three whole years I have been begging my able-bodied husband to buy me Arabic Coral Gold Ring and it is already taking you eternity to do so.” She peered at him and stooped. “When are you going to buy me the ring? Is it when lions begin to use clipper?”
He dared to swallow hard this time but his mouth had dried up and he inwardly fought back the grievances impounding in his heart. He became the spectacle of the entire guest now because her voice was already beaming.
“Please , Stella can we discuss this privately, at least out of earshot?” His eyes darted around and she did same to see all eyes were on them now. “Our marriage deserves some respect, and I am still your husband despite my…”
She interposed him, “…Poverty,” she added.
He raised a furrowed brow and she tossed her head in affirmation, “Yes of course!” her voice blared and echoed across the room, “What else could have caused my husband three years to buy me a mere gold ring if not poverty...”
He interrupted her with his arms molded in apologies. “Give me some more time, I promise to buy you the gold ring, just give me one more year…I am working out something,” he stuttered, as he could hear few of the guests murmuring words that sounded like ‘good-for-nothing husband.’
“Broke ass husband! Could you please leave our party? We don’t want bad energy here.” He heard a voice mumble among the guests.
That was the voice of Vivian Thompson; she owned one of the best selling supermarkets in town.
Once again Jamole grinned hugely and rolled his eyes at Vivian.
When he thought that was enough another voice among the guests beamed, “Can you imagine his shoes? It gapes like the mouth of a whale!” that was the voice of Kennedy John, a sales person at the Antipolo Central Airport. He was among the closest buddies of Stella.
The entire guests burst into a mocking laugh and Jamole shut his eyes and grinned hard.
Stella chuckled and let a throaty, mocking laugh, while she pointed into his face, “Okay I guess one year won’t be enough, my darling husband. I am going to give you two decades to buy me a birthday gift.” She pointed at the tons of various gifts. “Did you see those gifts over there, they were given to me by friends who know my worth; pals who value Stella Pitcher. I can do without you, Jamole.”
After three years of saving his daily income of one dollar as a janitor at the post office and the municipal town hall, he was able to realize one thousand dollars for the Arabic Coral Gold Ring.
He chuckled, revealing lines of joy as he gazed upon the dollar notes in his sizeable box where he had been saving the money.
“Oh sweetie, I am going to buy you the gold ring now. I have managed to save up to one thousand dollars for the ring,” he intoned, peered at his wife’s sizeable photo in his hold. “I can’t wait to etch smile on that face of yours. Today is the premiere day of my life.” he began to walk away impatiently as he looked toward going to the store to buy her the ring.
The excitement of a thousand souls hung over him as he made home with the Arabic Gold Ring cautiously held in his hands; this was the climax of his achievement as a husband.
He was prone to greet everyone that came in sight and any careful observer would notice he was excited. At bated breath, he ran home to present the gold ring to his adorable wife.
“Sweetie, I am back! Guess what! I just bought you the Arabic Coral Gold Ring!” his voice filled the entire yard as he pranced toward their bedroom.
“Ah! Uh!”
He heard a moan, but argued if it really was coming from his bedroom.
With the freedom of a bird, he barged into the bedroom only to behold his wife, hanging her widespread legs in the air, moaning heavily under the weight and pounding of a flamboyant middle-aged man; that was Roger, her boss at Swan Group.
“Holy kitten!” he exclaimed at the top of his voice and the bag in his hands dashed on the floor. “Stella!” he shrieked, body trembled and mouth gaping.
Neither of them flinched or was remorseful instead they kissed engagingly, flirted on and gave him the cold shoulders. Roger took his time to pound into her until his face fell on her neck and breath burned her on the neck.
Jamole stared at this iniquity and shut his burning eyes. He breathed uneasily.
And Stella finally snapped at him, catching her breath, “What is all this, Jamole? Are you stupid? Have you gone ninny? How dare you interrupt our privacy?” she pulled out of the duvet.
He shut his eyes and fought back tears. It was erroneous to cry before them so he wouldn’t dare to do it. “Why did you do this to me? What did I do to deserve this mess?” Jamole queried.
Smiling cheek to cheek, Stella pushed out her finger and the gold ring glistened gracefully. “Well, what you couldn’t buy in three years, my boss brought in less than two minutes. This is Arabic Coral Gold Ring, worth $20,000. It is from a man that values my happiness, a man like you.”
“Stella, who is the unshaven boy?” Roger queried and lit a cigar.
“Oh, he is my live-in-husband,” she replied.
“I thought you have divorced the, broke ass,” Roger retorted.
“Did you just call me a broke ass? I caught you banging my wife in my bed and you still have the guts to talk?” Jamole’s eyes flinted with fury, as he advanced with his folded fist.
Stella came on his way and stopped him, “You dare not raise your filthy, janitor’s hands on him. I guess you don’t know who Roger is, huh? Only his salary for one month can wipe away poverty from your generation.”
He interrupted her, “But why?” he fondled into his bag and brought out the gold ring. “I just bought you the same gold ring. My sweat, handwork and life’s savings are buried in this gold ring. Why did you do this to me, Stella? Why?”
“You good-for-nothing husband, so you still have the nerves to pride in your poverty after taking eternity to buy me a cheap, gold ring. Where did you steal that from, huh, because for all I know you have been a broke ass and can’t fend for yourself let alone buy me a gold ring.”
He shut his eyes and raised his gaze; his heart thudded with heartbreak.
She barked on, “Besides you have no right to disrupt our privacy. This house belongs to me, I feed you, clothe you, even I paid my dowry, you never did. So, I have the right to do with it what I like. Now we deserve some apology. Go on your knees and apologize, Jamole Cadry!”
Her boss tossed his head in agreement.
Jamole raised a furrowed brow and gaped at them. “What did you just say? I caught you being banged by your boss and you demand an apology? Are you in your right senses? Did you just say that?”
“Yes, you heard me right,” she beamed, “Go on your knees and apologize before I do something stupid!” she threatened.
The veins under his skin pumped in fury.
She leaned toward some documents on the shelf and tossed at the face of Jamole, “Since you wouldn’t apologize, I want a divorce. These divorce papers have been ready a long ago. I kept it, thinking you will get rich some day but you have been destined to be poor. I am sick and tired of a broke as janitor that calls himself my husband. Sign those divorce papers at your leisure and never show up your poverty-stricken face in my life again,”
She said at a breath and started kissing her boss.
“Please boss, give it to me like you have always,” she demanded.
Roger responded by lifting her in his arms and they slumped in the bed; already the bed was creaking under their weight and she was beginning to moan again.
Jamole shut his eyes, raised his gaze, swallowed hard and there was no saliva to gulp down his throat. He fell upon his knees and gazed upon these divorce papers.
“Oh God! Why is this happening to me?” he mumbled.
With his dimmed eyes staring at them, he forced a smile and replied through gritted teeth, “Oh you will regret this, you and Roger,” he affirmed, signed the divorce paper, tossed it on the floor, took a walk and never looked back.
Tossing his head painfully, Jamole mumbled within himself, “Would there be a time when Stella and her boss would regret what they just did to me?”He stood in the middle of the road, collapsed under the pounds of his ill fate and came upon his wobbly knees. At the time his sweaty palms had dented the divorce papers with dirt. He needed to affix his signature on it to legally seal up the divorce between him and Stella.From deep down his lovelorn, catastrophic soul, he intoned, “Soon you will regret it, Stella,” “Where do I go from here now?” he mumbled within himself, still on his knees and not regarding the onlookers who could probably be investigating the misery which had robbed him of the iota of peace in his mind.He shot a gloomy gaze at the woolly sky above before gazing at himself from head to toes; Stella had proven to be the man in this marriage; he had to prove her wrong.“So because I couldn’t afford a gold ring early enough she found it pertinent to cheat on me with her bo
When he arrived at the municipal post office complex he was already gasping for breath and sweating like a pig.His wife that used to assist him with transport fare had divorced him and life seemed to be throwing at him now.About drifting to the dress room to change into his uniform and resume cleaning, his boss’s beaming voice caught him. “Jamole! You are late again. You rotten maggot!” he cursed. Dean Bur was his boss, a tall, strong featured man who humiliated him at any slightest chance.“What do you have to say about this Jamole?” he pointed around the dirty complex, “The whole place is messed up over the weekend. I expected you to resume on time and clean up before customers would start coming.” He was almost raising his voice. “I need explanations, fool.”Jamole raised his gaze and raised a pitiable, sullen brow. “Apologies, boss. I shouldn’t have come late. It …it,” he stuttered, “It is just that I have unsolved problems with my wife, who deprived me my transport fare that is
“Jamole.” Susan called in like manner, letting a contagious smile deck her face.Jamole was still star-struck; his weight heaved on his knees and he suddenly realized his legs couldn’t carry his body anymore.“Who is she? Who is Susan for Christ sake?” who did I propose marriage to?”Millions of such questions hovered in his thought as he stared engagingly at Susan who was being ridden in her wheel chair by her security.“Susan!” Jamole called once more through teary tone, “Is this really you? What is happening?”He needed to ask such questions because Susan wasn’t just looking dashing but glamorous and charming than any country side celebrity. Unlike the other day when he met her begging in her wheel chair, looking all dirty, smelling and unkempt.She had her French hair made into a ponytail. Her dress was mini gown from the royalty fashion style. The diamond bracelet and necklace that wound round her neck and wrist were worth one million dollars.“Who the hell is Susan?” a thoughtful
Jamole kept pinching himself just to be sure he wasn’t dreaming. Swan Pablo kept ringing in his head and he began to recall all about Swan Pablo.Swan Pablo was the richest tycoon in Antipolo who had avarice of group of companies in real estate. He was the CEO of the prestigious Swan Real Estates and a few months ago he was worth two billion dollars. Swan Pablo was a fat cat everyone wanted to reckon with.Anitpolo never knew much about Swan’s private life and family even everyone thought he never had family. And never in Jamole’s life had he thought the disable girl he proposed marriage to was Swan’s daughter and only child.“I am Susan Pablo, my dear,” Susan intoned, all smiles, as she sat next to Jamole in the Lamborghini.“Oh my God! So this is true. What is about happening to me? What fate is about to befall me? Susan Pablo? Swan Pablo’s daughter?” Jamole sounded in his mind.Seeing the cloud of surprise on his face, Susan explained yet further, “As a matter of fact I am the only
For over thirty minutes Jamole sat behind closed doors with Susan as he perused through the documents. And he stared at the documents and the information therein.He couldn’t believe his eyes. Swan Real Estates Group covered a wide array of real estates in England, America, Philippine and Spain. With over ten thousand houses and five hundred acres of land.“There we are Jamole,” Susan slammed a document into her palms. Flipped through them and pointed into it, “You know, father being industrious has always admired the hospitality industry. But unfortunately his sickness couldn’t let him do that. This is just the master plan for his hospitality business.”“If I work harder with the best team I can help him bring that to pass, dear,” Jamole replied. “Right now I am no only serving as your husband but heir to the Swan group. I promise to make your family proud and double the total net worth of the group in the shortest time.”Susan shook her head in confirmation as she flipped through mor
Jamole stood to his feet, advanced to the mirror opposite and took a glance at himself. His face lacked emotion and there was nothing on his mind other than vengeance.Susan was still mad at him. She steered her wheel chair toward Jamole as she couldn’t stop questioning him. “It is absolutely demeaning and embarrassing that my husband who is supposed to be the heir to the prestigious Swan Real Estate is opting for the position of a janitor.”Jamole gazed upon Susan and saw her face go crimson. He owed her a lot of explanation and he was going to let her into his pain in a short while. But for now he would have to disguise as a janitor. His vengeance was going to be slow and steady. None of his enemies will escape his stroke.“I know my dear. I appreciate this opportunity your family has offered me and I promise to be loyal till the end of time. But you see I am just a simple, humble man,” he lied and wouldn’t want Susan to know that Stella was his ex wife and she cheated on him with he
“That is not going to work. It is absolutely non negotiable, daughter!” Swan refuted and was interrupted by a whooping cough.Susan had visited him in his sick bed to brief him about Jamole’s intention to disguise as a janitor at the office and his quest for a quite wedding.“Go and tell your fiancée that I, Swan Pablo will not be a party to such awkward intention. He is serving as the heir to our empire because we are not healthy. You have to make him understand what position he holds. Doesn’t he know that he stands to inherit my wealth when I am gone?”“I have made him understand, father,” Susan replied and was pushed in the wheel chair by one of the securities. She rode closer to have a tête-à-tête with her father. “I don’t know what he is up to, father.”Swan Pablo averted his gaze to the wall, feeling hurt about Jamole’s sudden decision to disguise as a janitor and to go for a quiet wedding.Swan returned his gaze on her. “He is not going to disguise and your wedding will be loud
The next day Jamole rode on a scooter to the Swan Real Estate complex. As usual the rush hour on Monday morning couldn’t let him go into the sky scraper which had SWAN REAL ESTATE GROUP written on it.Jamole sucked a deep breath upon seeing the splendor of Swan Real Estate. Indeed Swan Pablo was the richest tycoon in Antipolo and he was fortunate to serve as his heir.“I can’t believe I own all of this now and these busy staff are under my control. What a life,” he said in his mind as he gazed upon the towering sky scraper.Jamole could see the tons of staff that rushed into the elevator to sign into their offices and get down to work. He was having handy a brown envelop which had his application letter for the post of a janitor he was applying for.When he saw two young men in blue jumpsuit and Swan Janitor written on their back, he knew those were the people he would work with, while he carried out his vengeance.“Hey, hey,” Jamole called on the janitors who were about to get down to