THE PLAYER
Bolu and Susan are neighbours but are not in close terms. Susan has few people around her as friends. She is new in the city; life is opening freshly unto her after school. She has a job. Bolu on the other hand is also new in the city working as a young officer in a federal government establishment, he has many friends and he loves pleasure to the tilt. He spares no moment to indulge himself; but he too goes to the church well.
Bolu is from the religious view of grace irrespective of our lifestyles. He is spiritually inept who believes that moral bankruptcy has nothing to do with grace. He too is a church worker and is loved so well in his church circle. No one tells him what is right or wrong; so he does things as it seems right to him. His church is above all moral obligations teaches more on how we may prosper and get more of the things of the world.
After few weeks in the neighbourhood he brushes Susan while having a stroll.
“I am sorry, just a mistake,” he says casually.
“No problem, I understand,” Susan replies.
“Understand?” He scans through his mind.
“Yes, what other meaning are you giving it? Excuse me please.”
“I am sorry for whatever. But sincerely, I have marked you the first day you came into our neighbourhood. I realized you are different from every other girl I have ever met. What is your secret?”
“Jesus,” she snaps the answer in a way to get him off her.
“I will want to know more of your own Jesus. Thank you for your time.”
Susan looks back without waiting an extra moment and he too looks back and their eyes locked. She thought of winning a soul for Christ he thought of laying her down.
Few days later they meet again and Bolu reminds her about her Jesus.
“Come to church for yourself; there you will meet with jesus.”
Thank you sister. Which of the churches in our neighbourhood?”
“Calvary Chapel.”
“Oh, well known church.”
“Start with Wednesday and Sunday services, you will meet with Jesus as you come around.”
This is how Bolu too becomes a member of Calvary Chapel. Immediately he steps into the church Susan directs somebody to him and he is led to accept Christ as his Lord and Susan’s joy know no bound and so is the team handling the growth of Bolu into a great Christian soldier. In no time he joins the workers teams.
Bolu naturally has zeal for the things of the church just as he did in his former church – he even doubled his activities. Calvary Church has no equal to Brother Bolu in zeal. To add more to his work in church he goes out for evangelism and wins more souls to church. There was a time he was nominated as the Five Star General which is based on his exploit in soul winning.
He is now six months in church and he becomes the darling of everyone. He becomes a cynosure and envy among sisters. The sanctimonious sisters and psychedelic sisters are in the frontline to win his heart.
“Why I love Brother Bolu is that whoever marries him is guaranteed heaven.” One sister says.
“He has a good job. As a federal worker he has prospect of becoming a Director or Permanent Secretary someday.” Another blurts.
“He doesn’t seem to have time for girls. He is a spirit.” Another says.
Sometime later, Bolu goes to the pastor to inform them about his interest in Susan.
“Sir, I wouldn’t want to do anything behind without your consent as a believer who has a heaven to gain.” Bolu explains his mission towards marrying Susan. Afterward, the pastor explains to Susan about the interest of Bolu in her and that she should pray and give him a listening ear.
Subsequent days after, he calls on her and they agreed to meet after church service. They have chairs set apart from the rest and he begins:
“I have loved you from the first day I set eyes on you.”
Susan laughs heartily and this confuses Bolu.
“What is funny?”
“I hope I am not the Jesus you came for in this church. No way brother?”
“Think this way please: we cannot see Jesus but we can see the examples of Jesus and then fall in love with the Jesus in a man. Susan, I love the Jesus in you; he has so much changed you I want him and you together.”
“Bolu, let me be sincere with you; I have never thought of you for myself. Not once. I have always rejoiced that I have helped a soul live for Christ and that is my joy. It will be a sin to help win you for Christ with the mind of marrying you. That will be too selfish for me and Christ would not love that.”
“Susan, you would not know how much an angel you have become. How many people would talk as gracefully as you have done now? It takes the crucified life to think only of Jesus. Marrying Susan is a guaranteed ticket to heaven.”
“My mind cannot take or process what you are saying now or how you could become my husband. If such will be, please let us give it time Brother Bolu. Let me think and pray over the matter.”
“Thank you Sister Susan.” He tells her as they part way.
Susan hasn’t given up on her love for Stanley and she secretly wishes he calls back to ask her back into his life. This has been her secret prayers day in day out. After parting way, Stanley calls her one day and they talk extensively and agreed to be friends for life even though they have mutual understanding that their marriage would not work. This is the kind of maturity that holds between them. They agreed that their spouses would be friend with one another too.
Sometimes again, they get to talk…
“Ours has been mutual friendship from the first day until issues beyond us created wedges in our love. I will forever be glad knowing you Susan and thank you for always being an understanding person.”
“You have been my big brother and you will remain.”
“My wedding will be next month Susan.”
“I am glad for you, friend.” Susan answers.
“I hope you will find time and make it please.”
“No, Stanley, Susan is close to tears, “I cannot handle it. I cannot come watch you marry someone else.”
“Why?”
She pauses and refuses him an answer
“You are my friend,” she begins to breathe heavily, “and I hold you dear perpetually but we will not see again. The wound is fresh again and I cannot find a healer.” She bursts into tears and the phone goes off. Susan weeps so much and in anguish of pains. Her heart seems near bursting with no hope of recovering. Every day and every moment look like the night. It is night time for Susan.
“Lord, why this? Why am I so disdain because of my family status to lose my love? Why do I have to fall from the heights when I am favoured to marry the best of men?” Susan enters a mourning mood and this continues for days and months.
Stanley without telling anyone travels to Susan’s parents to be sure she has not injured herself.
“Dad, tell him I am well and he need no longer seek for me. If he cannot marry me, we have to be far apart because we are attracted by unseen bond that could override human arrangement. Since he is married, I would not want to be a second wife or break his home.”
“You are my true daughter. God will give you your own man.”
She blocks him out of her life but she could not easily come over the whole situation within her heart. She is in her vulnerable moment. Bolu is always around her to cheer her up. Then she becomes careless and more vulnerable by the day as she seeks for consolation and joy. Then she opens up to Bolu and their friendship becomes the talk in church.
“I have my younger sister around, would you come and say hello to her?” Bolu says to her sometime later and she obliges to know her future sister in-law. She gets to his home and he opens the door.
“Where is your sister?”
“She steps out, I will call her to come back quickly – she hasn’t gone far.”
“Susan is around. Ok. She is waiting for you.” Bolu calls his sister. He is everywhere to make Susan comfortable. Then he graduates to touching and gentle smacking at any little talks – Susan doesn’t care. She is spiritually hollow at the moment.
Then he leads the talk to sex. Then she blocked that line of discussion. Bolu takes offence.
“If you love me you will not refuse me. If you love me you will understand my emotional need of you and if you love me you will feel for me.”
Susan has changed, she has on her much unbearable pressure within and she begins to cry. She doesn’t want sex, yet she doesn’t know what she wants. She could not help herself. The only friend for the moment is angry, she is confuse, confuse in mind and spirit.
Bolu gets close and wipes her tears and gently begins to caress her like a mother dousing away a child’s tear. Susan begins to feel the soothing hands of Bolu, and then it graduates to an ecstasy and enjoyment of the moment. She loses control and he removes her clothes and within minutes has her engage in sex.
This is the end of an era. She loses her virginity so cheaply and this further aggravates her disillusionment, pains and sorrow. She falls into depression and she feels like running mad. She walks shamefully out of his room and house and she would not want to wait for his sister.
The following month she fails to have her menstruation.
“Bolu, I cannot see my ‘period’.”
“Go find it my dear.”
“I am serious.”
“Then it cannot be me who impregnated you foolish sister.”
Susan blinks twice and could not believe her ears. “Am I now the foolish sister?”
“Yes! Small girls know what to do but you are hear troubling me. Go and abort it. Do I have to tell you? If you would not then I am not responsible.”
“I was a virgin when we met?”
“Tell the story to the gods. After that day that you have learned to enjoy the fruit at the center of the garden you could as well have other men do it for you. Man is unpredictable.”
“Haaa!”
“If you are predictable, why did you fall for me? And would you not still fall for someone else especially with your recent disillusionment and depression. Don’t you know the new Susan is caged by unknown trouble and I took advantage of it? Thank you for giving me your virginity but don’t bother me with your pregnancy story. Bye.”
She cries to the church. The godly Brother Bolu changes so fast that the pastor could not manage him.
“He must be demon possessed,” the pastor talks in amazement. After little details, he goes all the way to find out about the family. Pastors are given the messy jobs.
The parents of Bolu are gladdened to hear that their son has impregnated a lady and are of the opinion to have them cement a marriage between both. Reluctantly Bolu proceeds.
Susan’s family are happy about the turn, not because their child had pregnancy out of wedlock but because she could hold such pregnancy without the temptation of aborting it. It happens to be a low key program.
Immediately after the engagement and marriage rites, Susan has stomach contractions and pains. There and then she had a miscarriage. She looks at Bolu and she sees a bleak future.
“Is this what we call marriage?” She asks herself like somebody in a dreamland. She weeps sore while alone back in Bolu’s room. “Is this marriage?” She cries.
“Girl, you think you are smart,” he enters. “You forced yourself on me?”
“No, you deceived me. You came for me and trailed me to the church and served like an angel though you are a demon within.”
He laughs deeply clutching his tummy: “I bet on you and I won – my friend told me about the new girl in the neighbourhood. I came for you, I saw and I conquer. I was planning to fly away when you came to tie me down with that bastard pregnancy.”
“Hmm.” She sighs without saying a thing.
“Now that the pregnancy is gone, what is holding you back? I am not ready for a marriage. More so, I cannot marry a Holy Sister.”
“Do you know what marriage is to a Christian?”
“Leave me out of this Christian of a thing. What are you going to do?” He snarls.
“I am your wife, obedient wife. I remain your wife. This is what we are taught.”
“Why can’t you hold on to your Bible this way when I wanted to sleep with you? Cheap girl”
“It was then, the enemy swayed me and I was careless. I held too long to a sinking ship of a man that jilted me. I failed to take ownership of my life fast and trust God for the best. I was blind and now I can see? I have learned not to help situation anymore. Though you become my cross, I will no longer yield to the crutches of regrets, remorse, bitterness or frustration. It is better to follow the hard way.”
“What do you mean?”
“If I have taken charge and refuse depression and allow God to rule in the affairs instead of asking him silly questions and backsliding thinking I am hurting God, I would not have met you. Before I went astray you were never in the picture. My backslidden state brought you in. I will bear my cross and turn it into a message.”
“As you want,” he said as he hisses out.
The marriage is hell from the first day.
Stanley too knows no respite and his too is a kind of seesaw unrest domain like the ship perpetually on the turbulent sea.
Kate is a malignant terror coupled with her parents. She takes orders from her father’s home and then orders Stanley about. Every least offence of her husband gets to her dad and mom. In turn they would pick the phone and deal with Stanley with harsh words. After ending there they would call Stanley’s parents to warn them. She is a spoilt brat.
Kate coming into the world of the Boudaha has turned their lives into a small hell.
“I told you but you would not listen. You wanted in-laws of immense status and now you have it full.” Stanley’s mom calls charging at the husband after one of those frustrating experiences.
“I am sorry.”
“If we did not give in to you then you would have divorced me. Isn’t that your threat then? Now you have made life hell for us. You have made Stanley’s world a miserable one, so mine and yours; you pulled the rest of us in. God in his benevolent gave us an angel called Susan on free platter but we thrust her into God-knows-where because you thought she doesn’t belong. You have forgotten that the God of the rich is also the God of the poor.
“Even what we have is only in trust that we will dispense them well. All men are equal to as much as we understand virtue. Have you forgotten that we too started small? I prayed hard we didn’t make this grave mistake; but here we are now. I miss Susan.” Mrs Brenda Boudaha begins to cry as she falls into the embracing hands of her husband.
“I am sorry my dear, please I am deeply sorry.”
Boudaha holds her for a long time and keeps caressing her long hair to soothe his aging wife. The imbroglio festering as a result of the gnawing feud in Stanley’s home is eaten his wife up and he has to manage it well; Brenda is not a very strong hearted woman. She is soft but lovable. He knows her very well and at this point they have grown closely knitted more and more as they aged; she is losing strength on account of Stanley’s miserable life caused by him. Boudaha cannot imagine losing Brenda in view of her failing health status which is based on recent medical checkup.
“I love you Brenda.”
“I love you too.” She wipes the last drop of tears away. He pulls her up and to him. “I am sorry my wife.”
We have different marriages, different homes, different experiences and different strokes.
Watch out next week…
The Fall of the Giants… when the giants fall, lives are liberated.
Lovely