The Midlife Detour

The train turbines now turned swiftly as he sipped his sacred cup of tea. He felt content to have left everything behind, now heading toward the nearby town. What more would a man want in life? He had thought. The sun was waking lazily. It was faint; perhaps it, too, needed breakfast to energize itself

Brown was everything he had hoped to be at forty-five. He was the CEO of Azure, a tech company offering healthcare solutions. That meant serious business, especially in a country where seeking healthcare was akin to searching for gold. Yes, gold. A strange thing he had started thinking about more often since he turned forty-five.

The first time the urge hit, he was bored in an endless virtual meeting with the board. He had glanced at his watch and admired the yellow glint of gold running through it, the way it caught the light, shimmering in a way that mesmerized him. He quickly sat upright, as though his boss could see him, just as his name was called to comment.

After that moment, the thought of acquiring gold wouldn’t leave him. Morning, afternoon, and evening – gold. Another gold watch. Gold earrings. Gold rings. He wanted it all. Sometimes, he asked himself, Why now? At forty-five?

The train was now pulling into Mariakani station when his gaze shifted to one of the station controllers. She wore no gold, but her hips would have won a gold medal. The uniform she wore as she waved the train onward gave away too much; nothing could hide how big and strong they looked.

His eyes stayed with her until she disappeared into the air behind them. Then, his mind returned to its track. He thought about his sons, how they were doing after the divorce that had bruised him and left him bleeding on the ground. One moment, he had it all. The next, he didn’t.

He wasn’t sure whether to blame himself or the wide hips and yellow legs of the sales lady in town that had let him down. The day his wife caught him was the last day she saw her. She didn’t leave. No. She refused to let him back into the house and called the police on him for harassment and disturbance of peace. One night of weakness had ended a thirteen-year marriage. Two years on, he had to move on, or so he thought. Shirleen had been the best gift God ever gave him, and he had ruined it all.

When Shirleen and the boys cut him off, two strange things happened:  First, he drowned himself in work and excelled. To the extent that the Board made him CEO. Second, he began his strange love affair with gold.

He became obsessed. He hoarded gold items, stashing them in his new bedroom in the new house. Once he was tired of wearing them, he would sell them, sometimes at a profit, sometimes not. Slowly, without planning it, he entered the gold business. And he enjoyed it.

Eventually, he began interacting with major players in the gold world. Together, they expected a consignment from Dubai for real gold. No specks of adulteration. Pure. The consignment included watches, chains, and bracelets. They planned to sell through a colleague’s shop. He was on his way to Mombasa port to receive the consignment.

As the train slowed into Mombasa, so did his thoughts. The consignment could earn him five million if everything sold at a profit. But he didn’t think much of that now. He had enough money, and no one to spend it on. He had lost his family to a one-night affair. Not one and a half nights, just one.

Even with child support, his CEO income could last a lifetime. The confusing part of divorce, he often thought, was whether to beg for your wife back or try something new. The funny thing about illicit affairs is, once you get caught, the thrill disappears completely.

The cab took him to Serena Hotel, a five-star gem in the heart of Mombasa. He would spend the night there before receiving the consignment the next day. The hotel had tall, wide pillars at the entrance and smelled of expensive perfume that blended well with his fragrance of the day. He chose the presidential suite, simply because he could.

At breakfast, as he tore into cinnamon pancakes and omelettes, something caught his attention. A familiar laugh. One he had heard not once, not twice, but most of his adult life. The laughter wiped his appetite away. He wanted to turn around and look at the couple in the far corner, but paused. He needed to process his emotions first before facing her. No, them.

So she had moved on. After just two short years. But since it was exactly two years now, there’s no way she had just met him. That could only mean… she had moved on long before. Or had she been cheating with him while they were still married? His mind flooded with imagined video scenes of Shirleen with another man. He wanted her back. If anyone was going to have her, it would be him.

He pushed the plate aside and rose. His years of gym training showed, six feet tall, with muscles pressing against his slim casual t-shirt. His eyes lingered on a decorative wall. His hands tightened into fists, blood rushing. His heart raced like a train at full throttle. Fueled with rage, he walked straight toward them. As he neared, he noticed Shirleen looking at the man. A familiar face. His mind worked fast. He had seen him somewhere before. His fury was disarmed by a warm handshake from Shirleen’s boss. They were attending a charity event, with Shirleen as the communications manager.

“Hello, Brown,” Mr. Onsongo started. “Long time no see.”

“Good morning, sir. I see you are with Shirleen.”

“Yes, we are here to support a children’s home. I just landed at the airport and came straight here for breakfast before we head there. Join us?”

He was disarmingly warm.

Brown glanced at his clenched fist, then slowly returned it to his pocket, finally offering it back as an open palm. He looked at Shirleen. He still loved her, more than he loved gold. At least now he knew she had spent the night alone. Mr. Onsongo had just landed. Phew.

“Thanks for the offer, but I’m here for other business. But perhaps we could meet later for a few drinks?”

“Sure. I would  love that.”

He shifted his gaze to his goal.

“Shirleen, you look beautiful. Could I have a word with you outside? If you’re done.”

She wasn’t done, but she obeyed him. As she followed him outside, he whispered a prayer.

He waited until Mr. Onsongo was out of sight. And in the warm Mombasa sunshine, he tried to win his woman back. The gold, the charity, and everything else could wait. God had brought her to him again, and he wasn’t about to let her go. 

He had married her for her firm confidence. As he begun his lines, he wondered whether that firm confidence would work for him or against him. Only the heavens knew.