Duty-Calls ( 1 ) .

I quickly locked , checked and re-checked the locks on the doors of
the stores' office . My head was still reeling from a combination of the
day's work , which comprises the normal hustle and bustle of receipts ,
issuing and stocking of items , and the preparation of weekly stocks
returns which I normally submit to the divisional offices every Monday
of every week . Overhead , the heavens were expectant with the customary
rain-clouds . Any time there was bound to be a storm , judging from
the gloomy Elgon .
It should be noted here that there are not less than two of us in
stores at any given time . My senior , a veteran longhorn who has been
in service for the last thirty-two and a half years , had already left ;
logic and reason being that since the veteran old-guard had been
recruited into the corporation at about the same time that I was born ,
the unfortunate responsibility of moving around with the keys to the
stores fell on my shoulders . In short , age was catching up with him
and so the idea of getting up in the wee hours of the morning to go open
up stores as well as closing up office at ungodly hours was better
suited to younger shoulders like mine . So here I was , trying to
out-pace the fast-gathering storm that had hitherto rendered the roads
and tracks leading to the farm almost impassable .
The night guards at the main gates visibly expressed their sympathy
by shaking their grizzled heads while one particularly emotional old-man
quipped ,
" No use going fast son . We know for sure that tonight you'll be
recalled back to work due to a breakdown . "
I knew better than to voice my objection because , more often than
not , it's true I am always being called in the dead of the night to
come and issue an item or other in case of an emergency . And ours being
a Dairy as well as crops Unit , most operations run deep into the night
an example being the feeding and milking of dairy herd as well as
ploughing and harrowing of farm-land for maize production . These
operations are mainly mechanized and as such , are susceptible to
breakdowns . Stores is always called to duty and has to chip in to
rescue stalled operations by issuing spares , fuel or vet drugs to the
officers in charge as the situation warrants .
I quickened my pace with shoulders hunched against the wind that was
blowing as if it was being paid to do so . I live some three kilometers
away from the corporation and my path always went through a eucalyptus
forest , across a swampy dam infested with venomous slimy reptiles that
usually scare the shit off an unsuspecting passerby , across a
hay-pasture and finally........
I entered the house as the first fat drops of the storm hit the roof
. The commotion which ensued from my entry was equally as deafening as
the pelting of the rain on the tin-roof . My three children rose up in a
body and each raced towards me , eager for the long awaited hug from
daddy .
My daughter , being the youngest of the trio and seeing no way in
which she could beat her brothers in the scramble , decided to employ
her all time trick . She threw back her head and let out such a
blood-cuddling squeal from her tiny lungs , a sound that froze the other
two in their tracks . She seized that momentary lapse and shot up into
my waiting arms . Carrying her high , I inched on towards my chair with
the others tugging at my trouser-legs . Their mother looked on at the
spectacle with dancing eyes .
" Today you are earlier than usual ," she observed .
" Quite amusing that you call seven o'clock early ," I chuckled .
Normally , I came home at around nine in the night so today was
exceptionally early . Just as I switched on the black-and-white analogue
TV set , my cell-phone rang . I ignored it as I always do owing to the
fact that work-related phone calls were a nuisance , especially when one
just got in from work .
When the incessant ring could not be ignored even with the rain , I
decided to pick it up .
" Ojwang' we iko wapi saa ii ?" queried the voice at the other end in
Luo accented Swahili . " Where are you at this time ?"
" Am at home , Baba . Seriously , where else do you expect to find a
man in this weather ?" I shouted , striving to be heard in the drumming
of the rain .
" You are wanted over here quick . No time to waste because this is a
matter of life and death ." There was deathly urgency in his voice .
I relayed the information to my wife who was laying out my dinner .
She calmly gathered the paraphernalia and put it away without complaint ,
having long ago accepted this as a price that comes with marrying a
stores' clerk . I shrugged into the raincoat and boots which she held
out for me , grabbed my sword and yanked open the door . The rain had
increased its tempo a notch higher . I stepped out into the dark storm
as Judith , my wife called out ,
" Will you be coming back , should I wait up for you ?"