If You Asked Me - PART 3

 IF YOU ASKED ME WHY I wanted to leave church a little bit early yet I had come in late I would just tell you it’s complicated because I wouldn’t want a series of questions on a “case that still under investigation”. Whatever way I wanted to do it was supposed to end up with me not being seen with her after church knowing it might end up in some WhatsApp chat somewhere and if things don’t work out as the chat would be claiming you know for sure it would just premium tears in the end.

As much as Pastor used to be humorous in his sermons I was one of the few people that found a way to sleep through no matter what. Sleep always found a way to come through in the middle of the heated sermon. I even remember one time a note which I never saw who passed it to me read “PLEASE GO OUT”. I felt ashamed but it was genuine advice, I got up and walked out through the nearest door to the washrooms where I washed my face and looked at myself in the mirror. But sleep is just a stubborn spirit I was woken up minutes later by someone knocking my shoes and for a while I was able to survive through without dozing off again. But after a while I could remember anything until when I felt movement around me, I opened up my eyes to find people standing up for the worship service after the sermon. It was a relief that the pastor had finally finished his sermon.

Today am pretty sure that people saw a different Brother Gary in me than the one that often dozed off in church. He was exceptionally smart, came in with a lady who wore a dress matching his tie, they sat together and above all, he was attentive throughout the sermon. They could see what was in my mind as the sermon went on. I appeared to be attentive but I was already wondering how to pull her off from church and maybe take her to the bus stop where she would get a vehicle to her place without attracting any speculations. This was a time when one wished to be invisible and just get away with it.

After the service I was just three steps outside the church when one of the deacons approached me, “God bless you brother Gary, the pastor wishes to see you.” My heart almost missed a beat at the mention of the word pastor. I felt like pedestrian who was simply arrested for passing by though I didn’t see the crime scene. I wanted to ask him if there is something wrong I had done but he was already matching to the pastor’s office behind the church building. I followed him like a sheep going to be slaughtered without its consent.

“Here he is, pastor” the deacon announced to the pastor as soon as we were there then he stepped aside like it was some sort of a court and I was the accused, the pastor the judge and the deacon the prosecutor.

“Fear not bro, I just asked the Deacon Stanley to bring someone who could help us with sorting procurement of video equipment since the one we have need replacement” the pastor said because he could see the “What have I done” look on my face. Then he chuckled a little. Just then my phone was ringing. I ignored it and pressed the power button once to quieten it. Then as we continued with the talk it started to ring again.

“Bro, you may want to pick that, because someone is getting worried wherever you have gone to. He he he” Pastor said in a calming voice.

I took out the phone and saw it was Sister Vic calling whom I am sure was wondering where I had disappeared into in the split of a second.

“Where are you?” she said as soon as I picked up the phone.

“I am in the pastor’s office I will be done in a short while,” I said and she hung up the call.

“Well at least things are in order now bro, sister will be waiting for you wherever” everyone in there except me laughed. I felt sort of ashamed because am sure they heard her because I had increased the volume of my calls the last time I was calling her. Ladies just had this habit of speaking so relaxed over the phone at times when in the house and you would increase the volume of your call but still strain to hear them. But now out here wherever she was, I could hear her almost shouting into my ears. I wanted to reduce the volume but the call was short.

The discussion didn’t last long and in a short while we were done with it. I walked out head high like Moses coming from the burning bush and a few youths who happened to be out there looked at me like they were seeing me the first time. It was both annoying and horrifying since I could not tell whatever they were thing about me. Am sure if I walked out of that with some sister behind me they would probably line themselves up like delegates at the airport waiting for a head of state to arrive from the abroad.

I checked my phone and saw three texts from her all saying the same thing lamenting why I had forsaken her after the service. I was about to put it back to my pocket when she texted again. Please find me at the stage am with some friends. I had to hurry off since there fewer people around church by now and good thing the way circumstances had played it out for me at least we didn’t get to leave together. I was sure it just the main stage where many of the believers alighted from and probably boarded the vehicle back to town.

I didn’t know someone like Vic could find a multitude of friends enough to make a circle around her and make her the main story teller. Earlier on she had said she had fewer friends in our church and if she would meet them then probably one or two but here I was counting one two three up to eight.

“These are my BFFs (Best Friends Forever) from home and some we high schooled together” she announced as soon as I got there. I had to greet them all something which blew away my courage like a piece of paper in the wind. This was too much for me who like privacy like bread and butter. Today my privacy had breached by far and I felt “hurt” inside of me. No wonder pastor often said ladies were something else even though he is now a grandfather thanks to the ladies in his family.

The sisters did introduce themselves to me because as it turned out they knew me more than I knew them so that one itself was so distracting that I was not sure that I would remember their names as they had said to me. I moved aside as a gentleman hoping to find some other company probably of brothers as I waited for her to finish up her stories with BFFs. They were now even taking selfies aimlessly. I felt like my plot today was somehow following that of a brother that sent fare to a sister so he could meet her in a wedding but when she came she indulged herself in the midst of her friends. When he got to her she was the main story teller to a circle of friends around her. He just greeted them and moved aside to find some other company. Later the sister would be apologizing that it was long since she met with her BFFs.

“Eish bro massive respect to you!” said someone behind me and I turned to see Brother Alvince and another brother I kept forgetting his name laughing mischievously at me.

“What now?” I said trying to pretend I didn’t understand them.

“Looks like you want to join the elders’ club soon?” the other brother said provokingly.

“What do you mean bro?”

“Is that her? Your future?”

“Just a friend I brought to church bro” I was already defending myself. The two brothers laughed off like I was a standup comedian to them. I felt attacked and labelled things which were yet to be. They were already looking at the unseen when myself I didn’t know how to go beyond the camp.

“Gary! I think we can now go” Vic said from behind me. I looked and saw the crowd she had with her dispersing and now it was me with these two cunning brothers.

“Sister won’t mind saying to Gary’s fiends?” Said one of them and she accepted the invitation to greet them.

“I am Brother Elimelech the one of the few with a genuine base in the choir and we normally have a choir practice every Saturday here in church, your sweet voice like that of an angel will do us good if you cared to join us”, said the brother with a name I kept forgetting.

“Yeah am Brother Alvince and I can teach you to play any musical instrument in a day, Gary here is good at dozing off in church!” Said Alvince and they laughed including Vic. I pretended not to hear them and as soon as she detected I was not laughing she too stopped laughing.

“I am Sister Vic it was pleasure meeting you brothers, I am still new around here” she said started to walk away. I followed her and directed her to cross the road to the other side where we would wait for vehicles going her route.

“Please let me know when you get to the house” I could not help saying that to which she nodded to as she bordered the bus. I just knew this was mot over but rather the beginning of something.