THE EVANGELIST... PART TWO

©Temi Akintade

Chinedu’s dream didn’t come to pass because I wore the same shirt to Ifunaya’s Uncle’s office in Chevron. As soon as I stepped into his large office, I thought that I would freeze to death as a result of the cool atmosphere. I recognized immediately that an air conditioner was present in his office, unlike the Binatone fan we used at home. He was one of the directors in Chevron and my head swelled with joy the moment he called me, “My in-law.” I realized that Ifunaya must have told her Uncle well enough about me.

“That your uncle is a big man o!” my eyes were fixed on the road ahead while Ifunaya pulled into the tarred road. Ifunaya had insisted on driving me to her uncle’s place that morning and now we were headed to her house.

“Uncle Livinus? He is just 37. He is not that old.” She said.

“Well, he has a pot belly already, and I saw some white hair on his head.” I shrugged.

She busted into laughter. “Sweetheart, the potbelly is a sign of good living and the white hair is a sign of wisdom!”

I didn’t agree with her but I wasn’t ready for another argument that morning.

“So what are we going to do at your place?”

She shrugged.

“Look, why don’t we just go to an eatery.” I swallowed hard. I was having a hard time, thinking straight with her sitting beside me and dressed in a yellow jumpsuit which made her look like an egg yolk.

“You have no money and you speak of eatery? I’m trying to save you from embarrassment by taking you to my house, and cooking for you! It’s what people in relationships do right?”

I ignored her. I wasn’t angry but I was battling with my mind. “Holy Spirit you have to help me,” I muttered. Something in me told me to tell her to stop the car, call it quit, and go home. But there was no way I could do that. Especially now that a job was in view.

We got to her family's house in 15 minutes. It was a duplex located around the Asokoro axis. We went upstairs to her room, while she ordered the maids to serve me food. I wasn’t interested in the food. I wanted to leave and at the same time, I didn’t want to.

“You should watch TV sweetheart.” She turned on the flat-screen TV and put a film from Netflix. It was a romantic movie and I didn’t object. She excused herself, saying that she needed to take a shower. I spent the next five minutes alone, on her soft bed watching a film on Netflix. I had kicked off my shoes, and the first three buttons of my shirt were undone. Just then she entered the room from the bathroom. Her hair was down, and she was tying a towel. I recognized that it was the towel I gifted her during her last birthday.

I kept rebuking the lustful thoughts that filled my mind and threatened my peace. Just then she walked to the front of the bed, blocking my view.

“You are blocking my view, my love.”

She smiled sheepishly and the next thing she did, got me regretting that I had not listened to the prompting to leave her house or just flee from fornication because the next thing that happened after Ifunaya smiled and let down her towel, I couldn’t remember. I threw my self-control to the wind and took her into my arms and the rest was history.

I came back to my senses immediately after the 7 minutes lovemaking session was over. And just like Amnon in the bible who hated Tamar, I hated Ifunaya. Her once beautiful face turned disgusting and I felt very dirty. Just then, it dawned on me that I had failed God. Hurriedly, I wore my clothes, grabbed my things, and left without even saying goodbye but I was thankful that she was sleeping when I left.

That night, before going to bed, I spent hours in the only bathroom in the house. I scrubbed every part of my body hoping that the soap would cleanse off every trace of Ifunaya. I had forgotten that the sin of fornication had already been done and even a seventy naira soap could not wipe off the sin. I slept with a heavy heart even though I cried for mercy before going to bed. It was then, that I understood Chinedu’s dream about my white shirt getting burnt.

My lack of self-control had burned my image, spiritual life, and dented my relationship with God.

*************

I didn’t pick Ifunaya’s calls all through the following day. She sent a message to me telling me that, she was sorry for what had happened and that we will soon be married so there was no way God would be angry with us. But I wanted to correct her notion. I wanted to tell her that, we of at a great disadvantage since we fornicated. She called later in the day again and I told her.

“How are we at a great disadvantage?”

“Our relationship with God gets destroyed, our bodies which is God’s holy temple has been defiled, fornication leaves us wanting for more, and sex is a covenant so we have just had a covenant which is wrong for unmarried people.”

There was silence so I continued. “So what if we don’t get married? That means the next relationship I enter, I will not go with the mindset that, the girl must be flexible in bed, she must act the way you do and so on, it will now make me have an unrealistic expectation about the new girl. This includes you too! And this is why the divorce rate in the world is so high right now.”

“So are you trying to say that we won’t get married? Is that what you are saying?”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying but- I think we should take a break from this.”

I knew she wouldn’t believe it because she knew how much I loved her but right now, I wasn’t even sure anymore.

“What did you just say?”

“look, this is not to cause any problems but let’s just take a break from this relationship I need to think straight,” I concluded.

“You must be joking. You need to think straight? I’m I choking you? When did all these start?” she kept talking.

I simply ended the call and turned off my phone. I wanted to be alone. I didn’t even want to speak to God because I felt like he wouldn’t speak back to me even though I knew quite well that, once God forgives my sins, he doesn’t remember my sin anymore. But somehow, I lived with that guilt. Maybe it was because I preached against fornication last Sunday in the youth church or maybe it was because I joined the other youth pastor to suspend one of our members who committed the sin of fornication. I wasn’t even sure. But all I knew is that, I felt guilty.

That evening, while I was forcing myself to eat my mother’s Bitter leaf soup and Akpu in the sitting room, I turned my attention to the TV to feed my mind with something else instead of the guilt eating me. I scrolled through the TV channels and stopped at the news channel. I turned on the volume and kept listening to every headline. Just then, certain news struck my mind especially when the news anchor said;

“Mr. Livinus Ebuka, one of the directors of Chevron was found dead in his bathroom in the early hours of today. It was assumed that he slumped and hit his head on the tiled floor which led to his death…”

The morsel of Akpu slipped from my fingers to the soup bowl. “Ewooo!!!” I screamed until my brother and mother rushed into the sitting room. then I explained to them that, my hope, the only man I put my trust in for a job was dead.

It was then, that I realized that, Chinedu’s dream meant much more. There was no way I was going to get a job in that organization without that man and the help of Ifunaya. I dialed her line numerous times but she didn’t pick. I was still trying to send her a message when her message came in.

‘Don’t ever call my line. You just showed me that you’re a gold-digger and I’m ending this relationship with you.’

My heart wasn’t shattered, but I was miserable for the next few weeks. Finally, I did seven-day fasting and prayer and took a firm decision. That night, I extracted Dimeji’s phone number from my phone and my other friends then I broke the sim card. I never wanted to have anything to do with Ifunaya again. Not even in my dream. Then I turned to Chinedu who was studying for his JAMB examinations.

“Nedu, take good care of mama. I will be going to Benue I need to see my friend, Dimeji.”

To be continued...