Presently, the Press nicknamed Caje The Launderer - since he had radiantly dressed up his boss, and transformed the felon into a gentleman.

He regarded Adaobi, grateful for her compassion, yet feeling angry with himself. For a long time he hadn't enjoyed any intimacy with her. Unlike when he was still a self-employed PR/Media consultant and they both shared jokes. After his appointment with the government, he spared no time for leisure anymore. When he did come back home late and worn out, sliding into bed next to his wife, he was capable of staying atop her only long enough to release a winded moan. Then, he would burst into a bout of nerve-racking snores. He stared at her, wondering if she was worried that he was now a shadow of the virile man whom she used to know.

She had once asked: "So, you've a mistress?"

"What?" he had answered.

"The governor - isn't 'she' rather insatiable!"

He no longer spent time with their children. Now he remembered the old days when they all played Ludo or Monopoly like equals. He had gone on so many tours and yet he had not considered inviting his family once. Instead, he had used up all his time serving his boss like a valet, and accompanying him everywhere like a bodyguard. Now, bedridden for almost four days, his boss just went about his affairs as if Caje was dead.

How could you have sacrificed six of your forty years for a man who's refused to visit you?

His shoulders drooped. Why was the damn physiotherapist taking ages to turn up? He flung off the blanket and frowned at his legs. They were numb.

It appears you might not walk again? You'd now be treated exactly as a disabled, you know?

His teeth almost bit into his lower lip, as he recalled one of his elaborate visits, with his boss, to the Disabled Citizens. This was one of the very few NGOs that benefited from his boss's largess and hyped goodwill every year. And it was his Press Secretary, Caje, who promoted this special occasion and gave it all the needed fanfare and media coverage, as though the Head of State was visiting. Indeed, those who graced this occasion had more food and drinks than their stomachs could contain. But cash and other necessities went only to the handicapped.

Well, you've gained quite a lot from him. Look around you. Your family and your in-laws have benefited immensely from the exalted position you occupy in his cabinet. You're now a man of wealth and repute. You can't doubt that, can you?

His mind became a troubled, dark sea. Damn those files piling high on his mahogany desk, needing his attention. His wife had told him many times that it little profited a man to carry the world in his hands. He began feeling he'd pawned his soul to the devil, doubting if he would ever feel the same passion for his job again. He would sort things out with his boss as soon as he returned; re-prioritize his objectives; spend more time with his family; take them overseas for vacation.

A sigh broke out from his lips.

You really think you have relieved yourself of an unseen weight?

As Caje tried to sit up his back ached. He winced as if an arrow pierced through his arm. He would have tried again, but the radio announced: "...His Excellency, the Governor... travelled to Trinidad... attend Miss Caribbean..." and he clutched a pillow “...new Press Secretary has been..."

"No-o-o-o!" Caje screamed, smashing the radio with his fist.

The End