Pastor Ivie drove automatically towards the church her mind
elsewhere. Two days ago, the witch that tried to tear her home apart had been
prayed for by their deliverance pastors, then the elders had decided that she should
be suspended and demoted to a mere church member indefinitely. Although she had
been instructed to apologize to the pastor and his wife, Ivie felt they were
too lenient on the stupid girl. What if the public got wind of her allegations?
She pondered as she slowed down at a junction, her husband’s good name would
have been in jeopardy, she horned as an okada man stopped in front of her to
drop a fare and her poor husband had been patient and quite tolerant throughout
the whole ordeal. She resumed driving and made a left turn, she accelerated and
finally stopped in front of the giant church edifice, the things her poor
husband went through in the name of the Lord, she thought again as she alighted
and opened the back door of her Toyota Yaris to bring out the food flask from
the basket. She locked the door and walked slowly towards the church office.
Her poor husband worked too hard and his reward was a demented girl accusing
him of adultery. Take for instance today, she murmured to herself, he had left
home as early as 6am because the church needed funds and one of the enablers
had told him to meet him at the airport to collect the check! She hissed
angrily, people were so cruel! why not ask the pastor to send someone to pick
up the damned check! How much could it possibly be? She got to her husband’s
office door and rearranged her sour features, she was surprising him with lunch
and she didn’t want to ruin the moment. Mentally pushing all thoughts aside,
she entered the office and found it empty, even though the door was unlocked
and the door to the inner office was partly open. She was just about to call
out when she heard her voice! The witch was in her husband’s office!
Tina shifted on the pastor’s chair and eyed the kneeling
pastor in front of her, “you think I’m moved by your pleadings?” she said as
the pastor sniffed and wiped tears from his face, “I said I’m sorry, if you had
waited for me to return before telling Ivie, we won’t be in this predicament,
but I’m still ready to do everything we planned, please sweet baby” Tina looked
towards the partly opened door, “abeg get up o! I don’t want someone to come
and see their great pastor on his knees begging the church’s ‘Mary Magdalene’
as they call me now”
“I don’t care! I love you and our unborn baby, please, give me a chance to be in your lives”
he begged edging closer to the chair. Tina stopped him with a look, “so my
money is ready?” He nodded vigorously, “I was at Elder Ekanem’s house early
this morning to collect it, fifteen thousand dollars” he said trying to impress
her, Tina sat up, “Eh? That’s not enough now!” He rose now, knowing she was
pacified, “I will send the rest by the end of the month, after the feast of
multiplications” He leaned closer to her and touched her face, “you don’t know
how much I love you!” he murmured, she removed his hand from her chin, “how
were you able to escape from the dragon?” Referring to his wife, Ivie, Pastor
Patrick Onovo shrugged and stretched, yawning, “I told her one of the enablers
wanted to give me a check and he wanted me to pick it up at the airport before
his flight to London” he sat at the edge of the large table, “and she believed
that?” Tina laughed incredulously, “the brains on that poor woman!” Patrick
reached for her as they heard the outer door close, they froze! “I thought you
said no one knows you’re here!” Tina whispered, Pastor Patrick shook his head
as he hedged cautiously towards the door, he opened the inner door and peered
into the empty reception area, seeing no one he sighed in relief and announced
to Tina that it was the wind, if he had checked closely, he would have seen the
oily ring the bottom of the food flask made on one of the couches, where Ivie
dropped it when she heard Tina’s voice. Oblivious to the truth, they continued
to plan Tina’s trip abroad as Tina accused and Pastor Patrick begged and
cajoled.
*
The VIP lounge at the Muritala Mohammed airport was scanty,
even so Ada was reluctant to leave her daughter alone to ease herself, she felt
she will embarrass Aisha if she told their waitress to sit with her while she
made the short trip to the bathroom, she was so pressed, she thought as she
looked around again desperately, she saw the skinny woman wearing black track
suit smiling and walking towards her, something about her was familiar but Ada
didn’t recognize her, “Hello sister Ada” the lady said in a melodious voice,
instantly Ada knew who she was! The choir mistress in her church, she smiled
guiltily, she didn’t want to be associated with that church anymore. “Hi” she
replied feebly forcing a close mouthed smile. Tina waved to Aisha and she waved
back cheerfully, Ada knew that Aisha liked the other woman, Aisha wanted to be
a singer when she was of age, making a decision, Ada turned to the choir
mistress, “please can you watch her for me? She not strong and I need to use
the bathroom” Not waiting for a reply Ada dashed off as Tina took her place
beside Aisha, she looked at the anemic girl in concern, “what is wrong with
you?” she asked maternal instinct kicking in, Aisha looked down at her folded
hands on her lap, then she raised her head suddenly and looked Tina in the eye,
“please don’t tell my mum, but he hurt me” she simply said, “who?” Tina asked
puzzled and alarmed at the same time, Aisha touched her stomach and suddenly, Tina
knew who she was talking about. It felt as if icy fingers were squeezing her
lower abdomen as she reached and cradled Aisha, “how many times?” she asked as
tears coursed down her face, “eight times” Aisha mumbled, “he said I needed to
be cleansed and he had to do it seven times, but he did it eight times instead”
Aisha paused and stared at Tina, “maybe that’s why I got pregnant” Tina shook
her head as she trembled beside Aisha, “no its not your fault, he—” her voice
broke and she cleared it, “he is just the devil’s incarnate” she whispered
viciously, angered and pained at the same time. Aisha kept staring at her,
“Bola told me that he did hers eleven times, when she got pregnant her mother
bought the local herbs to help her remove it, he gave them money to take care
of her, she bought the herbs for me when” she stopped talking and sat looking
at her hands again. Tina stared at the frail little girl and tried to visualize
her with a giant like Pastor Patrick, she shook her head again, Bola was the
sturdy sixteen years old daughter of Elder Ekanem the church treasurer, at
least she was strong enough but this tiny girl…
“Did you tell your mother or anyone else?” Aisha shook her
head, “mum loves him”
“Everyone loves him” Tina replied bitterly, she hugged Aisha
again and wiped her face, “where are you going to?”
“To my dad’s in Alberta, Canada” Writing her number on a
sheet of paper, she handed it to Aisha, “will you call me from time to time?”
Aisha stared at the paper in awe, “yes I will I promise!” she said as she
hugged Tina. Tina smiled amused at Aisha’s hero worshipping, “you have to tell
you mother though, you can’t keep this bottled up, promise me you will tell
her” Aisha nodded, “I promise” she replied quietly as Ada made her way to them,
“what are you promising her?” Tina got up and Ada promptly sat back down as she
looked from Tina to Aisha, “I told her to call me, I would love to hear from
her, anytime!” Tina said as she finally left them and went to sit down. Ada
frowned as Aisha reached to hug her and looked actually happy, she hugged her
back contemplatively. Tina sat deep in thought, her only hope of making it
abroad was Pastor Patrick, but armed with the information she just heard she
didn’t want anything to do with him, after struggling with her conscience for a
while, she decided to hold off cutting him off, she was after all pregnant for
him and broke, when she gets a job in her new location, she will cut him off,
she resolved and felt instantly better.
*
It was Wednesday evening service, the church was packed as
the visiting pastor of one of the new Pentecostal churches made his way to the
podium, he stood for a while until the applause died down before he brought a
white handkerchief and patted his slightly sweaty face. His permed hair was shiny
and curly. He raised a hand and the yellow diamond ring he wore on his pinky
flashed. Ivie sat in her usual chair on the dais next to the pastors and
choristers as the service went on, they had the visiting pastor talking about
tithing and giving to God to prosper and her husband, Pastor Patrick sat beside
her nodding and clapping to the message. She knew she should have confronted
him with what she heard the day before, but she figured she will be the one to
lose if her husband were to confess to the truth, she after all could not have
a baby and Patrick knew but still married her, even when he knew it was a
result of a perforated womb from numerous abortions, no, she thought again, it
was her turn to do something back for her husband, she will never disclose his
secret she vowed in her mind as she saw Elder Ekanem fiddling with his phone,
then he dropped it and looked at her with such hostility, she shifted on her
seat, could Elder Ekanem read minds? She pondered as her phone vibrated and she
picked it and saw the small envelope indicating there was a new message in her
phone box. Then she knew who the mad texter was even before she read the
vicious message he just sent to her. And it suddenly dawned on her that Tina
was not the first of her husband’s infidelity, Bola, Elder Ekanem’s second
daughter had taken in last year and she had praised her husband for the moral
and financial support he had showed the family. Presently, her husband reached
for her hand and squeezed her numb fingers as a show of affection, she stared
at their enjoined hands on her lap and almost started laughing, what a sick
joke her life was she thought bleakly, but this was her life, his shame was her
shame too. So she squeezed his hand back and smiled at him instead.
*
The flight was almost full, Ada sat down and rearranged
Aisha’s blanket around her protectively, “mum, I’m ready to talk about it but
you must never tell, please!” Ada nodded mutely and braced herself as if she
was about to receive a blow, “okay” she replied in a shaky voice. “Its pastor
Patrick, he said I should never tell or else I will go to hell for tattling”
Aisha said quietly plucking at the thread of the soft woolen blanket covering
her legs, “Pastor Patrick did what?” Ada asked confused, “told you not to tell me?” Aisha shook her head, “Pastor Patrick did it”
She glanced at her mother and saw her stunned, pained expression, “pastor...”
Ada muttered and couldn’t speak, “okay, I will never tell anyone, I promise”
As the plane taxied towards the runway for takeoff and Aisha
closed her eyes as the sleeping drugs took effect, Ada looked out of the window
and wondered what she will tell TJ when they got to Canada, her stomach was hot
and cold at the same time as she tried to imagine the six feet plus Pastor of
the church she attended with her diminutive daughter, it brought hot tears of
rage and humiliation to her eyes. She thumbed the brand new novel by Chimamanda
Adichie, “Half of a yellow sun” she
had thought it will keep her company during the long flight, but the only thing
that consumed Ada’s thoughts now, was what to tell her husband when they got to
him.
TJ was waiting for them at the arrival terminal when they
cleared with immigration, he picked Aisha up as if she weighed nothing and
glared at Ada, “who did this?” he mouthed behind his daughter’s back, Ada
stared at him for a long time, her internal struggle mercifully did not show on
her thin, sharp features, “its Danladi, Daudu’s younger brother” she whispered
back.
Danladi, was the gateman’s younger brother that had lived
with them until a few weeks back, he had returned home to help their father
with his cattle and was killed in a bomb blast in their Kaduna settlement a day
after getting home, everyone knew Aisha had a crush on him and had been
inconsolable when he died, which was why his name came to her so easily.
TJ turned and walked away saying nothing.
Ada followed, already feeling heavy with guilt for lying on
a dead boy, but the lie, she thought decidedly, was better than telling the
truth.
The end
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