Читать книгу Why Won't She Have Sex? - Kehinde Anita Mokwenyei - Страница 4

Sarah Okoro, a dedicated Christian served God zealously during her undergraduate days in the Redeemed Christian fellowship. During this period of her life, she also saw many youths who worked their butts off, all for God. It pleased her. But amongst the multitude of workers, Richard, the head of the evangelism unit stood out. She admired him a lot. In short, if you’d asked her at that time, she would have told you Richard was on fire for God. Rumour had it that he usually got to the fellowship centre first. Yes, even before the student pastor. He assisted the technical unit in carrying and fixing the instruments. Unlike other male workers who believed the cleaning of the fellowship grounds should be done solely by the female folks, Richard lent a helping hand. He fetched water, dusted, swept, and mopped the floor. He could be likened to a soldier who stood fiercely in protection of something he loved so that it would always stand come rain or sunshine. He loved his God, Jehovah Jireh. Tirelessly, he worked to make sure that the fellowship ran smoothly. To the best of her knowledge, he was the only student who read his bible in the library.

Exactly two years after school, Richard walked into S & T Insurance, the company where Sarah now worked as an insurer. The re-union of these Christian workers was wonderful. Colleagues who witnessed Sarah giggling and Richard looking at her tenderly assumed they had a romantic relationship going on. How wrong they were! In her mind’s eye, Richard would only court a lady if he saw Jesus shining right out of her life. At least, the life he lived in school testified of his great love for God.

“So, why have you come here?” Sarah asked after the surprise had worn off.

Richard replied in a matter of fact tone. “My boss sent me to give this proposal set to the head of human resources here, Mr. Chigozie Okelue. My firm deals in the best of electronics and presently, we’re offering a 10% discount on all our products to current and potential customers willing to patronise us this valentine’s season. S & T Insurance is a major customer and good promotional specialist, hence this proposal.”

Sarah nodded taking in his appearance with pleasure. One striking thing she remembered about Richard apart from his love for God, was the fact that his perfectly shaped eyebrows, reddish pink lips, intimidating height, round, fresh and ebony coloured face made him the most handsome man she had ever seen, after her father. It reminded her of the popular saying that black is beautiful. She turned her head to the right, appreciating his princely looks from that angle, the same good looks that had kept her awake most nights in school wishing they could be friends. That never happened but now, it seemed nature wanted to grant her that wish. She wouldn’t throw it away. If the truth must be told, she had a crazy crush on him in those days.

Richard continued in his sleek manner oblivious to her thoughts. “Anyway, I must not forget to say that you look better than I remember.”

That singular compliment made her consider herself more like a queen than dad’s entire compliments put together. The conscionable voice within her screamed, Betrayer. She ignored it, savouring the joy that sprang up in her heart. Had he given her this compliment in school, she would have openly shivered with pleasure but not now. She had grown. She was a mature and confident young woman capable of maintaining a perfect composure even as her heart leaped in excitement, knocking off blood here and there, sending her internal motions in an overdrive. She raised her head as her eyelashes batted on their own accord. “Thank you, but I must also say that I looked good in school too. You never noticed because you were such a spiricoco.” (Spiricoco: slang for a seriously God-minded person).

Richard looked away briefly, laughing as he did so. His eyes twinkled, oozing out sincerity mixed with a touch of amazement. In her inner world, his laughter transformed to a bubbly ocean dancing to the roar of huge waves and as he bowed his head still laughing, she pictured the ocean rising and overflowing to the shores, overwhelmed at the wave’s joy clearly expressed in its rumbles.

“Spiricoco? Possibly,” he conceded as his scintillating gaze shifted from her face to her handbag and his brows furrowed together in confusion. “You’re with your handbag. Does this mean that you’re about to leave the office already?”

“Richard, yes I am. I need to take my blackberry to a phone repairer before my boss gets to the office. Since it fell into my plate of stew, it has been malfunctioning.” She kept the golden straps of her handbag securely on her shoulders and carried on. “For two months now, I’ve been using this small Nokia phone.” She waved the Nokia phone at him offhandedly, displeasure etched on her face.

Richard held his ribs as he laughed while a confused Sarah stared at him agape. Slightly irritated that he might have been laughing at her cheap phone, she kept it back in her hand bag, and her entire body unconsciously stiffened. “Did I say something funny?”

“Yes, my dear. I have never heard of a person’s phone falling into a plate of stew. What were you thinking of?”

She spiralled down memory lane to the day of the incident. She had come back from work that day really tired and unlike other days, had been upset. The bus she had entered appeared to be cursed. The disheveled driver was utterly drunk, and she had not noticed it before entering. He kept driving like the bus ought to be flying and the numerous pleas from the passengers, hers included, proved insufficient to make him reduce his speed. In fact, it seemed that as their plea increased, he received momentum to drive faster, overlooking police standpoints and roadblocks. Unable to bear the fear brewing in her heart, she got down before her final bus-stop and trekked home, saying a short prayer in her heart for the poor passengers who were obviously considering the amount they had paid and probably how many miles they still had to cover before they reached their destination. Soaked in sweat and seething at the temerity of the man to drive drunk, she dropped her bag, proceeded to the kitchen and served some stew in a U-shaped glass plate and rice in a flat one. Her mother had not yet gotten home so there was no one to air her grievances to. As she sat at the dining table, contemplating how to ensure that drivers like that never plied the road in Lagos again, her phone rang. She shouldn’t have bothered with it because it disconnected the minute she picked it. She hissed and continued eating. Wendy really needed to learn how to call people. She was about to ring her up when the door bell reverberated. Sure it was mom, she dropped the phone carelessly then grabbed the key at the center of the table. As usual, after opening the door, she hugged her and poured out the details of her gory experience with the driver. Mom listened with rapt attention, opening her mouth and clapping her hands at the right places. Yes, she even laid curses on the drunk driver. Mrs. Okoro was at this when she remembered that she had wanted to give Wendy a call. She excused herself and walked back to the dining room only to find her phone sitting quietly in her bowl of stew. That day, she looked at the half eaten plate of rice and back at the phone again and her appetite disappeared instantly but today, hearing Richard laugh, she laughed a little. It no longer hurt as it did. “So, that’s why you’re laughing at me, right?”

“Okay, I’m quite good at fixing phones. So, lets do this. Give me your phone, I’ll help you repair and return it.” By now, his laughter had turned into genuine concern as he stretched out his hand to receive her phone.

Grateful, Sarah opened her bag and brought out her phone. “Are you serious? Richie, this is wonderful, thank you so much...” she jabbered on and on, unable to contain her excitement. Richard smiled, mumbling the word, Richie over and over in his heart. He took Sarah’s phone and left to see Mr. Chigozie Okelue, but not before, exchanging phone numbers with her.

That would be the beginning of a new chapter in their lives and inside of them, they realized it.

She walked back to her seat whistling. The butterflies dancing in the pit of her stomach assured her that things were going to be fun henceforth. At least now, her friends will not be able to say she led a boring life simply because she had no boyfriend to spice up things for her, whatever they meant by that.

Beloved. Patience. He’s not your boyfriend yet.

She covered her face briefly with her hands, willing God to understand. Although, he wasn’t yet her boyfriend, she didn’t see any harm in dreaming and dream, she did. Suddenly, everything around her began to look more beautiful. Yes! The formal brownish chairs and desks, the tiny, masculine like creatures called desktops that sat on the desk, her colleagues, the white spotless tiles, the softness of the chair, the fluorescent that lighted up the office and even carefree, disconcerted Donald in his yellow shirt, pink trouser and green shoes appealed to her. Everything seemed more colourful, maybe she needed to get an eye test done because it seemed the air too had gotten painted with red. She had to blink severally to assure herself that it still appeared charmingly colourless, like the waters that covered the earth.

Sarah smiled as she remembered the good old days in school. Richard looked pretty much the same, attractive, confident and friendly. She laughed inwardly, who was she kidding? He was definitely much more handsome than she ever remembered him being and that white jacket on blue trousers he wore today gave him the appearance of a model, the kind that made you want to drool. But something about him seemed off, something she couldn’t quite explain. Laughing at herself a little, she shook her head and summed it up to age. He was older now.

Suzan Idowu shook her head as she watched Sarah smiling to herself. Her friend and colleague seemed to have forgotten that she was still in the office and not dreamland where any and every conduct was accepted. She coughed. Sarah smiled the more. She tapped her gently. Sarah stretched her hands into the thin air in delight then leaned back on the chair gracefully, like a gazelle. Suzan chuckled, if only Mr. Lawrence was not too serious, she would have teased him about replacing Sarah’s chair with a less comfortable one as it may increase her friend’s alertness and efficiency to office duties. She rolled her chair closer to her friend’s, then shook her. “Sarah, what have you been thinking of?”

Sarah tugged at her hair nervously. “Nothing much. The workload is quite exasperating. It’s only God that will help us.”

Suzan flashed a smile, “Hmmm, it’s only God that will help us get the thoughts of your handsome boyfriend off your mind so you can concentrate on your work.”

Astounded, Sarah turned to face her. “Suzan watch your tongue, that person you just saw is like a pastor. He is Brother Richard and not my boyfriend.”

With a smirk, she twirled her chair back to her cubicle. “Of course, but with the way I saw him looking at you, I doubt if he plans to remain Brother Richard for a long time to you and if you’ll be sincere, you like him too. You should have seen the way you were looking at him like you had just won a lottery.”

Sarah gave a small smile. Suzan was simply incorrigible. “You and your mouth! You better not start spreading rumours because I’m still superbly single.”

Suzan winked, “Not for long dear”.

Sarah sniggered. They continued their work without interruption after that. Thankfully, Wendy Sulaimon was not in on the drama yet. She had a penchant for escalating things. By 5’0 clock, Suzan’s boyfriend came to pick her up.

“Suzan, please can I hitch a ride to the bus-stop with you? Church service is starting earlier than usual today and I don’t want to be late,” Sarah said as she packed her files, stuffing them into her bag.

Wendy called out from her corner, “Suzie, a ride to the junction will be great. I’m so exhausted.”

Suzan powdered her face one more time, picked up her bag and walked towards the door. “No problem Wendy but hurry, I don’t want to keep Jeff waiting.”

Bewildered, Sarah looked up with her hands raised. “Hey, what about me?”

Suzan shook her head as she raised her finger, “No way! For me, there’s a limit to friendship. I don’t want my boyfriend looking at you the way Brother Richard was.”

The shocked look on Sarah’s face had to be the best thing that had happened all day to Suzan and Wendy because they burst into peals of laughter, sniffing at the same time as tears dropped from their eyes. Sarah didn’t find the joke funny. If anything, she found it sour and her mien told them that. Amidst the laughter that got Wendy bent backwards and moving, she asked, “Who’s this Brother Richard, anyway? Wait, does the Virgin Sarah now have a boyfriend? That’ll be incredible. Is he handsome? Would you say he’s rich?”

Still amused, Suzan hugged Sarah and led her to her boyfriend’s car with Wendy in tow. “Don’t worry Wendy, I’ll tell you all about Sister Sarah and Brother Richard in the car.”

Delighted, Wendy nudged Sarah gently, “Are you going to Richard’s house to check on him tonight?”

Sarah rolled her eyes. “Of course not, we’re not even that close and perhaps, there’s service in church today, I said that before. Where did you keep your ears?”

Wendy’s smile vanished as she stopped to stare at Sarah, “You’re always going to church, don’t you ever get tired? Were you made for the church?”

“To the first question, nope and to the second, more than being made for the church or the church being made for me is the truth that I am the Church.”

Suzan and Wendy gaped at each other. At times, it seemed difficult to understand Sarah, either her incredibly high IQ had something to do with it or the fact that she enjoyed sputtering fallacies. How could she be the church?

“How do you ever hope to have an active social life if you go to Church on a Friday evening?” Wendy continued, lacing her lips with more lipstick as they traipsed down to the car park.

Sarah smiled as she faced her, gently resting her hand on Suzan’s beautifully framed shoulders which could be felt from her silky sun-like blouse. “Trust me, the church is as social a gathering as you can get.”

Wendy and Suzan raised their eyebrows. Sarah had to be the strangest person they ever saw. The church was only social because of the praise and dance session, remove that and it became the most boring place ever but they decided to let the sleeping dog lie because an argument with Sarah about her faith was a lost one. She clung on to it obstinately as a hen surrounded her chicks, rudely showing off its beak to intruders. You’d think her life depended on its values. Sometimes, Wendy wanted to ram it into her thick skull that Christianity was a religion just like the legion of others that existed before and after their transition to this world but instead, she sufficed for a joke. “Okay, holy Sarah, daughter of God, pray for us sinners.”

With every word dripping with sarcasm, Sarah responded, “Sure, I was born for just that.”

Suzan laughed. Wendy snorted. Sarah smiled faintly.

Soon, Sarah got to the church and breathed a sigh of relief when she found out that service had not yet started. Precious Olisa came in two minutes after. Precious was her childhood friend. They traversed this transient world on the same day and in fact worked in the same firm, only that, Precious was better placed in terms of rank. As Precious got closer to where she sat, she stood up and hugged her. As was common to Precious, she dumped her bag on Sarah, fell on a seat and tried to catch her breath.

Sarah said teasingly. “I don’t get why you won’t buy a car with the enormous money you receive monthly.”

Precious grinned, scratching her head a little, “It’s not like I haven’t thought about it, but you’re acquainted with my dad. He perceives that a very successful woman is a threat to single men and mostly viewed as irresponsible. Since I’m single, an intimidating display of wealth like a car is something I don’t need according to my dad.”

They kept silent but in their hearts, thoughts buzzed as they mused, wondering when modernization would break through the tightly held superstitious beliefs of most people. Success attracts, it doesn’t repel and if it by any means repel a person, the problem is with the person and not the one who is successful. Some minutes later, their flow of thoughts got barricaded as worship started.

Precious closed her eyes and pharisaically raised her voice so that it overshadowed Jennifer’s own. Jennifer was leading the worship session today and for the life of her, she couldn’t understand why the girl refused to take professional music classes. Jennifer’s voice obviously needed a lifting. Not everybody could be like her, not everybody was privileged to be born with a natural and dulcet soprano that made worship session seem like having a taste of heaven on earth.

Just as the worship started, it soon ended and Pastor James edified them on purposeful living. Sarah could never get enough of that teaching and amazingly that’s what he had been talking about for three months now.

Oh Lord, that I may fulfil purpose and not waste this precious life that Jesus paid a price so dear for.

Amidst the bustling to get out of the church, Sarah slowly found her way home, meditating on the lesson, you must be aware that a father does not send off his child for nothing. And so, I’m convinced that you came to earth for a purpose and someday, may be over a table of praise, a cup of prayer and a game of worship while the angels bow before God’s throne of grace in deep awe of his majestic work, you’ll tell Him how you spent your time here, hopefully touching lives. If Joseph fulfilled purpose despite the challenges he faced- rejected and sold as a slave to foreigners by his siblings, locked up in Prison for a crime he didn’t commit- so can you. Don’t give up on yourself, God doesn’t plan to leave you without help. Keep following his precepts, they’ll lead you to a doorway filled with marvellous light.

The weekend and a week soon passed and then it was Monday again. One of the things Sarah enjoyed about working at S &T Insurance Plc, was the proximity to her place of residence. That way, she didn’t have to wake up by 5am like Suzan to be in the office on time. Sarah got to S & T Insurance at exactly 8am. She smiled as she proceeded to sign in, only to find out that her friend, Suzan, who usually got to the office before 8am had not yet resumed. Attributing it to unforeseen circumstances, she entered the first office hall by her right and greeted Wendy, her other pretty colleague.

An hour later, Suzan strolled into the office with a puffy face and dull make-up. Her hair wasn’t as straight and shiny as it usually was. In short, she looked like she had a trip to hell over the weekend because even her clothes were not properly pressed and her eyes were lacklustre, her make-up had not been able to hide the lines under her eyes. Something was definitely wrong. Concerned, Sarah asked, “Suzie, are you okay?”

Wendy added, “You don’t look good today. Is there a problem?”

Suddenly aware of how she must appear, she tried to straighten her hair with her hands, but that just made it worse and she must have fathomed it from their countenance because she just stopped and without looking in their direction, replied, “There’s no problem. Is Mr. Lawrence in the office?”

Sarah tapped the desk with her pen, still worried for her friend. “You know that he is always late”

Suzan adjusted her skirt, opened her bag and took out her pen. “Yes, I do. I just forgot. I’ll sign and write that I came in at 8.”

“Of course dear,” said Wendy gently.

As Suzan left to sign the attendance sheet, Sarah and Wendy looked at each other, there was definitely something wrong with Suzan. This really bothered Sarah because Suzan was usually talkative, she talked about anything and everything without shame plus she was the soul of their friendship. More than anything else, Wendy and Sarah were always at each other’s throat. Suzan said they acted as if they were married to one man. She was the mediator and story resource person, so as Suzan was being unusually quiet, they all worked in silence till it was break time when Suzan stood up abruptly taking her purse with her. “Please, let me get something to eat, I won’t kill myself because of a man.”

Sarah and Wendy exchanged worried glances and walked up to her. Whatever was hurting Suzan was obviously still eating her up because her shoulders still drooped but to a large extent, the strong Suzan they knew and appreciated was back. Smiling, Sarah said, “Let’s all go eat, the bill is on me.”

When they got to the restaurant, they sat at the center just like Wendy liked. Nothing scorched her as much as being in a corner, she liked being noticed and never missed out on an opportunity to show off her talent or beauty in a flamboyant manner. Also, she saw nothing wrong in wrongdoing as long as it made a person happy and Sarah had learnt to love and pray for her every single day. But this minute was all about Suzan, so she held her friend’s hand affectionately as she inquired, “Suzan, what really happened?”

Suzan sighed as she slowly removed her hands from Sarah’s. Sarah’s sincere show of love burnt her because it was in direct contrast to Jeffery’s callousness towards her, someone who was supposed to love her the most as he professed. “It’s Jeffery.”

Wendy squinted as she rested her hands on the table, “Did you guys have another fight?”

“Yeah” Suzan answered casually trying to hide the intense pain that engulfed her but Sarah saw through her facade and it broke her heart to see her friend crumbled over what the world termed, “love”. She would have told her that she deserved better than Jeffery but Sarah was cock-sure that her friend wouldn’t listen. Perhaps with time, when Jeffery’s attitude became intolerable, she would realise that she had to do away with that happiness-sucking relationship. It wasn’t a do or die affair but it would take a heart wrenching experience to make Suzan leave Jeffery whom she claimed not to be able to live without and that made Sarah sad for her sweet friend.

Wendy continued, “Nawa ooo, (It’s such a pity) men and their issues. They are all the same. I wish we could do without them, life would be so much easier.”

Sarah shook her head in disagreement, that kind of warped thinking was what got the world into an era of increasing lesbians, gays, bestialities and homosexuals. “No, it’s not just men. Some women can be unmanageable too and moreover you shouldn’t generalize. I’ve met some pretty amazing men.”

Angrily, Wendy turned to Sarah, “So, whose side are you on here Miss goody two shoes?”

Sarah stared at her with defiance, “What do you mean? I just stated the truth.”

Still angry, Wendy persisted. “You and this your fake truth that nobody wants to hear. Its either you’re on Suzan’s side or you’re on Jeffery’s side and if–”

With fury, Suzan thumped on the table. Everyone in the restaurant stopped talking and stared at her. They probably thought she was crazy, but she didn’t even care. Right now, her interest lay in giving her friends a piece of her mind. “Stop it, okay? I don’t understand why you both argue like school girls. Jeffery and I had a big argument last night. My heart is still breaking from all the steam that went out of me. I don’t need another starting up right now in front of me.”

Sober, Wendy apologized. “I’m sorry Suzan”. She had never seen Suzan in this mood before, it made her dislike Jeffery. She was the fiery one of the trio not Suzan.

Sarah followed suit. “Yeah, me too.” The stony, pained look in Suzan’s eyes clearly depicted that Jeffery had really hurt her this time, and it roused her curiosity, just what had that person done again? “But really what happened that has got you this irritated?”

Suzan looked at her food and breathed deeply. Since keeping it in was killing her, she might as well let it out and deal with it squarely. Life was not forever, and she really wanted to be happy. She just didn’t know how. Her love for Jeffery, now her waterloo.

Beloved, are you sure? The root of hatred was sown in your heart a long time ago. You can’t keep running from your past.

Suzan shook her head. That voice apparently didn’t have a clue about what she was dealing with. The problem was Jeffery. He was the cause of her unhappiness and not her past. Her past was dead. She had dealt with it a long time ago by burying it.

Sarah could see the battle on Suzan’s face. She looked at Wendy who was staring at everywhere but Suzan. Sarah knew she also had her own demons to fight. She wondered how she could get through to them to talk about their problems. She sensed that what had them so dysfunctional started a long time before she came into the scene. Whenever she tried to make small talk about growing up as a child, she observed them withdraw into their own man-made shells. Oh God, I know that you specialise in dealing with impossibilities but how do I make them understand that? How do I make them understand that your love is stronger and better than cords of hatred?

Patience. Beloved. Patience.

Sarah knew she couldn’t force God’s everlasting love on her friends, they had to be willing to receive it. And right now, they thought themselves as Christian as anyone could get. They couldn’t see that there was a problem that needed to be dealt with. She touched Suzan’s hands again. Suzan coughed, grabbed her glass of fruit juice that stood proudly on the table like a life saver then downed it all in one gulp. “Jeffery travelled on Friday to Benin for his uncle’s birthday, so we didn’t get to hang out that Friday night. When he got back on Sunday, I gave him a call and told him I was going to visit. He sounded really happy and proceeded to tell me how much he had missed me and how he couldn’t wait to see me.” Tears spilled from her eyes which she hurriedly wiped away. “As we talked, I let out a painful scream, and he asked me what was wrong, I told him I was having severe menstrual pains. You won’t believe what Jeffery said next. He hissed and told me that there was no need for me to come over. He said that I was a mood spoiler, that he was already hoping he’d have fun with me in bed and now, I was talking about seeing my menstrual flow. After saying all these, he cut the call on me.”

Baffled, Sarah rolled her eyes. “Suzan, I really don’t know what to say. This is just gross.”

Suzan closed her eyes to stop herself from shedding more tears. There were many things she had to tell Jeffery, some of which was that she wasn’t God. Although there were many times she tried to be, regulating her life and activities independent of the big man in heaven but she always failed. Like how she couldn’t control the flow of her menstrual blood, or stop the air from filling her lungs so she could die or get her parents to be perfect so her life wouldn’t be the glorified mess it was. Dolefully, she met her friends unflinching stare and her sensibilities noted their anxiety. Unable to keep still, she agonized, “You both are aware that although I go to church, I’m not a spiricoco. So yes, I satisfy him sexually but still, I’m not dumb. I know that a relationship should not be based on sex alone. Most times when I’m with him, it’s just sex, sex, and more sex. I do enjoy the sex but sometimes it just wears me out. We hardly ever get to discuss and that has been bothering me for a while but the comment he spewed out yesterday broke the camel’s back. The message was crystal clear, I was nothing but a sex object to him and it’s not acceptable to me. I want more, something really solid and deep.” She wanted to be loved and accepted for whom she was but then the question gnawed at her- who was she?

Sarah relaxed on the chair. “What exactly do you want? Expound on it.”

Suzan took out her handkerchief and gently blew her nose. “I want us to be friends. I want us to be able to converse for hours and laugh at nothing in particular. I want us to sit for hours, silent, unaware of the movement of time, just content to be with each other. I want him to be my best friend, not you and Wendy. No offence meant there.”

“None taken dear, but this is strange, like I have sex regularly with Charles but we still get to chinwag and have fun,” said Wendy, rueful.

Tapping her foot on the ground, Sarah faced her friends with that kind of serious expression that made them sit up. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, sex before marriage violates God’s standards but you both know it, don’t you? You do, but still choose to disobey. Suzan, let’s shine the light on you. You’re a chorister in church. You minister to people through your melodious songs. Remember the hymn? Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey but yet you constantly step on all of His rules without shame and what about you Wendy? You are in charge of the welfare unit in your church. It seems like all the food you eat has turned you to a spiritual fool, you no longer know the difference between right and wrong.”

Suzan’s demeanour turned from sad to shock very fast. The hurt gave way to rage, and she drew dark strength from it. “Sarah, you’re unbelievable. I’m feeling this bad and all you can do is criticize me. Don’t you have an atom of sympathy to spare? Like, I really am broken.”

Wendy shook her head in dismay. “Sarah, you’re being too harsh. I don’t know whether they pay you for all these puritanical stuff that you constantly rant about. And in case you’ve forgotten, I’m a Christian too, I go to church every Sunday and I realize there’s a God up there but you don’t see me infuriating people with Christian messages, do you?”

Sarah swallowed hard before calmly replying her, emphasizing every word. “You think the Good news is infuriating?”

Frustrated, Wendy exclaimed, “Oh, Somebody save me from this girl! Sarah, please, can you focus on how Suzan is faring and try to be less annoying?”

Sarah offered a wan smile. “Girls, I’m sorry if I sounded too harsh. My life is not perfect, you know that, but I live life one day at a time, working smart and trusting God not to leave me stranded. I may not comprehend how you both feel since I have never indulged in pre-marital sex but I’m sure if you seek help from the counselling departments in your church, you’ll be delivered from the shackles that hold you down.”

Pissed at the advice that Sarah had freely given them, Wendy lashed out at her. “Please, would you stop? What do you mean by ‘delivered’, did I tell you that I’ve been possessed by a demon?”

Sarah took a sip of her juice, recognising that she had said enough for one day. You can force a horse to the river but you can’t force it to drink from it. They’ll drink from the living water when they were ready. She just hoped it won’t too late by then. “Okay, I will zip my mouth. Suzan, sorry for what you’re going through.”

“Is that all you are going to say?” asked Suzan, her face contorted with shades of different emotions, all of which were raging inside her- pain, shame, anger. The open tears and discussion had eased the pain but a little.

Sarah exclaimed, “Ha ha ha, you have got to be kidding me. What else do you want me to say? Please, I have said my bit. A word is enough for the wise.”

Wendy turned to Sarah, “Miss high and mighty, we’ve heard you. Now, let’s eat and get back to the office.”

Suzan agreed with Wendy. “You’re right, we all know that Mr. Lawrence gets to the office after lunch time.” For now, Jeffery and all the problems his existence in her life was creating took a backseat as she concentrated on her food.

Wendy rubbed Suzan’s back. “Everything will be fine, okay? Just tell your boyfriend how much his words hurt you.” Wendy talked to Suzan lovingly while looking at Sarah with disgust. Sarah laughed sarcastically and continued eating her food, exuding a nonchalant air. As they dawdled back to the office, Suzan looked at her friends and thought to herself that even though they both acted crazy at times, she loved them, especially Sarah, there was something different about her. She pulled the two of them into a group hug and they laughed.

They felt a lot better by the time they got to the office and so carried out their duties rapidly. Yes, Suzan had managed to push off the rather rancorous words from Jeffery away from her mind, absolving herself into work and that pleased Sarah who kept watching her to make sure she was okay. She understood that Suzan had not yet gained victory over her demons but she was still fighting, and that was important. As the closing time got closer, her phone rang. It was Richard. Just seeing, Richard Calling put a big smile on her face and made her heart somersault a couple of times. She picked the call and they exchanged pleasantries, with him asking about her work and general wellbeing, to which she replied in the affirmative. The only thing that bothered her right now was that she found the sound of her own voice strange, the change wasn’t on purpose but it happened all the same making her feel weird. One thing was sure, she was not trying to flirt with Richard. No, she was not.

“Hello, can you hear me?” Richard asked calmly.

Sarah hit herself for being absentminded, “Erm, did you say something?”

“I asked if you would come over to my house so I can tell you what really went wrong with your phone.”

The idea of meeting him in his house made her uneasy, so she requested that they meet in a restaurant instead but that seemed to hurt his feelings so she agreed to go to his house after the close of work.

After work, Sarah found her way to Richard’s house. Richard couldn’t stop staring at her, he hadn’t noticed how beautiful she was in school. He smiled because somehow, seeing her made him think of getting married and starting a family. Of course, he had to get to know her better, they weren’t close in school. He had been among the fellowship executives and she, a member among hundreds. Since, it wasn’t easy knowing all the members personally, Sarah unintentionally fell among the class of people he didn’t have a close relationship with in school.

Sarah, on the other hand, admired the magnificent bungalow Richard occupied. The simple but pretty decorations and the rose flowers by the window made her fall in love with the house. She wasn’t surprised that the colours in the house blended together. She remembered that at a time, he was the president of the Decoration unit on campus. He offered her a bottle of fanta, a plate of moimoi, roasted fish and fried egg spiced with sausage, chicken, carrot, tomato, onion, lettuce and of course salt which she graciously took. After eating, they laughed and spoke generally about work, their likes, dislikes and a little about the phone. Sarah had a nice time with Richard. Within her, she fervently hoped that he’d invite her to his home again. After all, premarital sex was the sin not visiting a man alone.

Beloved, wisdom is profitable to direct.

Yes God but I am sure that Richard would never go against any of your commandments. He loves you. Nothing can go wrong from staying alone with him.

Although, Sarah felt like she already knew everything about him, still, the sensation that coursed through her being at the sound of his voice was surreal. It made her wish she could wake up to it every morning.

After spending an hour with him, he saw her off to the junction and waited until she boarded a bus. Sarah advanced home singing as her heart’s content overflowed with happiness. It wasn’t every day you came across a very handsome Christian who was financially stable, stupendously handsome, mature and funny all in one. Sarah opened the front door to see her mom knitting. She smiled. Knitting was mom’s hobby. For as long as Sarah could remember, mom had always done that whenever she had nothing to do and now, she was probably waiting for her only daughter and husband to come home. “Mummy, good evening ma,” Sarah greeted her mom with a hug.

Mother dropped her knitting pin and thread and hugged her back. “My princess, you’re quite late today. There was traffic, right?”

“Yes ma, I mean, no ma.” Sarah blushed, remembering the hours she spent chatting with Richard.

With raised eyebrows, Mrs. Okoro asked, “So why are you home by this time young lady?”

Sarah looked down at her hands, “I visited the phone repairer.”

“I thought you said you gave it to a Christian friend,” Mrs. Okoro said, motioning for her to sit down.

She sat down with her hands buried in between her legs, praying her mom won’t pry further. “Yes, I went to find out how he was coming along with the phone.”

Mrs. Okoro smiled, “Hmmm, and it is this person that is making you sing with so much joy.”

Sarah opened her mouth in shock then looked away embarrassed, “Mom, when did you hear me sing?”

Mrs. Okoro took up her knitting pin and thread and began knitting. “Except you brought home a nightingale, it was you who sang as you climbed the stairs.”

“I’m just happy, that’s all,” said Sarah as she dropped her bag on the couch and her shoes by the chair.

Mrs. Okoro drew her cheeks gently, “You are already of a marriageable age and you still practice this bad habit of keeping your things anywhere.”

Sarah took her bag and shoe to the room. Her mother was a neat freak. She had dinner alone that night, then night devotion with mom and sauntered into her room while mom waited up for dad. He was held up in a slow moving traffic on third mainland bridge. Sarah beamed as she thought of her parents, she had never seen mom eat breakfast or dinner once without dad except on occasions when he travelled out of the state. Every night when she curled up on her mattress, underneath the comforter, she told God she wanted a marriage just like her parents’. You only had to watch them for five minutes to get jealous. Theirs was a story of true love. In her twenty three years of life, she had never heard one unkind word escape the lips of either parent. Yes, they sometimes disagreed but their innate yearning to be on the same side never failed to rise to the challenge, reminding them their love was irreplaceable and that if they had each other, they had the best gift on earth. Nothing else mattered as much as their love which bore fruits of compromise, care, respect and its root – God. May be her dream marriage wasn’t that far off, Richard seemed like the perfect man. All through the night, she kept weaving fantasies of herself and Richard. She would be the happiest girl in the world if Richard asked her to be his wife. What a wonderful life they would have together, loving each other and educating their kids on Godly principles. They would name their kids, Diamond, Sapphire and Pearl. She wanted nothing more than to grow old with that young man. Hmmm! But this meant she had to fasten her growth spiritually, she wouldn’t want him to think she wasn’t good enough for him.