She Made Him Promise

(Part 4/5) "He came with his father to my house to meet my parents. His father wanted to ask my father my hand for his son. I was 12 years older than him. He was too small for me. I expressed my concern. I told them not to come calling. I told them I have no love for him. My mother supported me. She would tell my father that it was not the right thing to do. Father would listen to us for a while. I remember him saying to his father, ‘My daughter has matured and your son is still a boy. It is a big difference in age and I do not think will be good for both of them'. But his father insisted and eventually my father gave in. I remember my mother was worried about me. My mother called him in private and I heard her tell him not to raise his hands on me. She made him promise him to be kind to me and not to treat me like an animal. She even went on to tell him if he did anything like that she will ask me to return home. When I came to his house I even dug lice from his hair. He did not know how to take care of him. I cleaned him as I was worried that people would choose not to sit close to him. He was a husband I was given not someone I chose. I remember during the early days of the marriage, I would just look at him an be lost in thoughts. ‘How is this boy going to look after me and raise a family when he can hardly look after himself?’ But I stayed with him. I have been kind to him and so has he. As time moved ahead, we have dealt with happiness and sadness together. We have children and the past seems like a dream."