By Emmanuel Fashakin
Dateline April 27, 2023. Maggie is joining another agency for work, and they are requesting new physical exams. She had come to the office for the required blood tests and drug screen three days earlier. It was left for me only to put everything together. As I worked silently, I thought about her unique and unusual last name. “Maggie, your last name is unique. Which country did that name come from?” Unknown to me at the time, that simple question would open the floodgates, and Maggie decided to tell me her tale.
“I am from Trinidad”, she began. “That name belonged to my husband. He was from Tobago”. “Wait a minute,” I interrupted. “Isn’t Trinidad and Tobago a single country?” “It is”, she admitted, “but Tobago is a different island.” “Is your husband still alive?” “No, he was struck by thunder”, Maggie explained. “Thunder?”
“Yes, thunder”. I adjusted myself in the seat and faced Maggie directly, my interest piqued.
My husband and I were married in Trinidad. After two children, his mother, who was living in the United States, filed papers for him. He came to the United States with the understanding that he would file papers for Maggie and the children to join him as soon as possible. On getting to the United States, Maggie said that her husband’s letters got less and less frequent until they stopped altogether. Through her sister-in-law, Maggie learned that her husband had acquired a girlfriend. It was this girlfriend who took a vacation with Maggie’s husband to Florida. Maggie said that as soon as her husband and girlfriend arrived at the resort, he alighted from the car and got struck by thunder immediately. He died on the spot.
The sister-in-law sent her a telegram, informing her of the husband’s death in the United States. She went to the US Embassy in Trinidad and she was given a visa to attend the funeral. Maggie said that when she got to the US, the funeral had been concluded. Maggie said that the mother-in-law got a death certificate and filed papers to the effect that Maggie’s husband died single. His mother was allowed to take all the decisions and took all his assets. Maggie was shocked. Could you believe that my mother-in-law is a Jehovah’s Witness? A Jehovah’s Witness! she lamented.
Maggie returned to Trinidad. She said her brief visit to the US showed her a new world entirely, and she was determined to return so as to provide better opportunities for her children. Her sister-in-law kindly wrote her a letter of invitation which she took to the US Embassy. On the interview day, she overheard people lamenting that the black immigration official had been denying people all day. That the white guy was kinder. She was shocked when she was assigned the black guy. But Maggie said he did not ask her any question but just took her passport, stamped it, and told her to return at 1 p.m. for the visa.
Maggie got a job as a babysitter in Long Island, NY. Her employers were so happy with her services that they filed papers for Maggie and her children. It was after her children joined her in the United States that she discovered her relatives did not take proper care of her children, and that much of the money she sent for their care was embezzled.
Maggie’s tale had some final twist. When she had settled down, she tried romance again. She had a live-in boyfriend who was nice to her and cooperated with her. Sadly, the cruel hands of fate struck again. Her man developed cancer and became terminal very quickly. Maggie said that as soon as her man went into hospice care, his relatives swooped in and took all his belongings. She explained that because they were not legally married, she had no enforceable legal rights. For the second time in her life, her man died and she took nothing.
Maggie is, however, very happy. She has a good income and was able to buy her own condo where she resides. She told her tale with a smile, giving thanks to God. “Isn’t God wonderful?” she enthused. I asked her jokingly whether she had sent thunder to her first husband because he had deserted her. “No”, she said politely, as I gave her the completed physical examination forms and she went out into the corridor.
Emmanuel O. Fashakin, M.D., FMCS(Nig), FWACS, FRCS(Ed), FAAFP, Esq.
Attorney at Law & Medical Director,
Abbydek Family Medical Practice, P.C.Web address: http://www.abbydek.com
Cell phone: +1-347-217-6175
“Primum non nocere”
