A Couple of Three... Episode 4

Kunle was not in the mood to go to church that morning. As a matter of fact, he was not dressed for church. He rushed out of the house in a grey polo and a dark blue jeans. But he wasn't used to skipping church on Sundays, especially since his work schedule and the hectic traffic wouldn't give him a chance to attend mid-week services. This Sunday was not going to be any different, he told himself. He decided to go to a different church, far away from home, just to avoid seeing Sewa in church. He was hopeful that Sewa would get rid of the visitor and find her way to church, but he decided to give her enough space to sort herself out.
He drove to the mainland, while thinking of a church to attend, without anyone recognizing him. He eventually decided on KingsWord Church and made his way to Oregun. He entered just in time for the message, with the congregation on their feet, singing a song that the Pastor had requested. The church auditorium was full, and Kunle had to search amidst the rows for an empty chair without a bible, bag, scarf, wallet, notebook or even a pen on it to show that the chair was taken.

"You're welcomed to church... Trouble finding a seat?" She tapped him on the shoulder.

Kunle turned to see the usher who was trying to help. Her smile was heavenly.

"Yes, please. " He tried to whisper.

"Please follow me" She beckoned and walked forward a bit.

Kunle wanted to object to a front row seat, as he would have preferred a seat close to the door to make it easy for him to rush out after the message was over. After all, that was the main reason he came to church. He wasn't ready to wait till the session where first-timers would be welcomed, but it was too late. The Pastor had told the congregation to take their seats, after the worship song was over, and had begun his message.
Kunle was left without any choice. He suddenly became conscious of his height. He bent his head as he kept following the usher, who succeeded in getting him a seat, three rows away from the podium.

"Thank you" He whispered again. The usher nodded and walked back to her position.

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and power..."

The message was centered on the battles facing most families in the present day. The pastor admonished the church to resist the devil and he will flee, to be alert at every point in time, and to cover their families in the blood of Jesus.
Kunle nodded in agreement to the message; he made notes on his notepad, and action points to work on, that he got from the message. He went through the church bulletin, and it was only then he realized that it was a 'Family Sunday' service, where families were celebrated, and messages focused on families.

"Amen... Yes, Pastor... Preach..." The congregation was just as energetic and youthful as his own church. He was glad he made the decision to come to this church.

"Let us rise on our feet as we take this song...." The Pastor led the church to sing 'Lord make us instruments of your peace...'.
It was the perfect time for Kunle to step out of the church without being noticed. He began to make his way out of the row, saying his 'excuse me, please', as he tapped the numerous people who were already in the spirit and had their eyes closed to make way for him.

She opened her eyes and recognized him immediately.

"Kunle Smith... ahan, what are you doing here?"

"Whooh. Eniola... Nice to see you here too."

Kunle signaled that he was in a hurry and couldn't talk while prayers were going on. Eniola on the other hand, was happy to walk out of the church with him.
She picked her bible and purse from her seat and followed him. Kunle was glad that the usher was no longer at her duty post by the time he left the church. He couldn't undergo any other subtle gesture to wait till the service was over. He had Eniola to deal with. He suddenly grew tired.

"Kunle, Kunle, it's been ages..." Eniola said as she tried to keep up with his pace.

It was not until he got to his car that he stopped.

"Eniola, how have you been?" He tried to be polite.
"It's good to see you..." He continued.

"I've been where you left me o, but as you can see, I'm now born again..." She laughed hysterically, trying to rest her arms on his shoulders.

"It's a good thing." Kunle said calmly, as he fiddled with his keys to signify his impatience.

"So what brings you here, all the way from Ikoyi? How's your wife? Kids? Work and everything?" Eniola kept on with the questions, rolling her eyes intermittently.

"Church brought me here..." He wasn't surprised that she knew where he lived. Eniola was the best stalker he knew.

"Wow, that's good o..." She interrupted excitedly.

"Wife is fine; everything is fine. If you don't mind, I'd like to take my leave now..." Kunle was really tired this time.

"Oh. So sorry. It seems I'm delaying you. Where are you headed? Maybe you can give me a lift..." Eniola said as she ran to the other side of the car and tried to let herself in. She was not about to give up on the time they could spend together.

Kunle ran his hands through his hair. He was not going to lie just to excuse himself from his ex and all the drama that came with her. He got into his car and turned on the ignition.

"Not headed your way. It was nice seeing you, again."

Kunle locked the car, using the central lock button, waited for Eniola to move herself away from the car, before driving off.
It was only after he was on the express road that he began to laugh at his harsh response.
He was suddenly in high spirits. He decided to get his wife a special gift, once he was on the Island.

***

Chioma was still confused but she was not in anyway angry that she missed church that Sunday. She kept Fikayo company in the kitchen, as she made pancakes and tea for them, especially for the cry-baby. Fikayo had helped Sewa to her bedroom and tried to console her. She was probably as confused as Chioma but she figured she wouldn't get any answers to all the questions running through her mind if Sewa was not calm.

"Just tea would be fine." Sewa said as she sniffed.

"No o. You need to eat something." Fikayo insisted as she hurried to the kitchen to make the pancakes.

"What is going on?" Chioma inquired.

"My dear, if I tell you that I understand, I'll be lying." Fikayo said as she stirred the mixture for the pancakes.

"Hmmnn. I think there's more to the tears o. You said you were all friends back in J'bourg. Why is she taking his exit personal? Besides, you should be the one to ..."

"Chiommma... You know too much. Just keep these things to yourself, I beg you." Fikayo cut in.

"Sorry, I scattered your plans for the day. I'll find us a church with a second or third service to attend..." Fikayo continued.

"No o. This is enough sunday service..." Chioma laughed.
"Just hurry with breakfast. Hopefully, we'll have lunch here too... Sunday Jollof" Chioma continued amidst laughs.

Fikayo laughed as she took the tray containing the fluffy pancakes and a cup of tea up the stairs to Sewa.

"You're such a darling..." Sewa smiled.

"It's fine. Now eat up and let's check what's in that box. I trust Tade with all the ghen-ghen gifts..." Fikayo smiled. She was happy that her friend was in a better mood.

"Box sha. I'm just tired. I just want to sleep after this. I'll check the box later..." Sewa dismissed the thought.

"Okay o; whatever you say Olori..." The duo laughed and chatted a bit.

They eventually left the bedroom to join Chioma in the sitting room.


***

"So what's the plan?" Jide tried to cut through his thoughts, since he wouldn't stop pacing.

"To be honest, I don't know. This is the first step, I guess." Tade paused his pacing, stared into space and continued pacing again.

He walked to the window, drew the curtain aside and watched him drive into the compound. He suddenly began to smile.

"And what's funny?" Jide walked up to where Tade was standing.

"You're a genius, my guy." He rubbed Jide's head and laughed out loud.

"You know me now..." Jide joined in the laughter.

"I'll take it from here. Thanks a lot, bro."

Tade walked to his bed, opened one of the boxes carefully, lifted up the jacket with which he covered the remaining content of the box, brought out a few dollars, and then zipped the box. He handed the notes to Jide as he thanked him yet again, for all his help so far.

"If you need anything, just holla. I'll be happy to help" Jide said, as he smiled at the $200 in his hands, and took his leave from the room.

***

Kunle drove into the compound excitedly. He was particularly excited that Sewa's car was not in the compound. She must have gone to church after finding a way to make Tade leave the house, he thought to himself.

"Wey madam? (Where is my wife)?" He asked the  gate man.

"She go out soon; e never tey o (She went out a few minutes ago)" The gate man replied.

"Okay. What of the tall visitor?" Kunle asked further.

"He don go since morning (He already left in the morning)" He replied.

"Okay. That's good." Kunle smiled and walked back to his car to bring out the things in the car boot.

He decided to go grocery shopping for his wife, and make her a sumptuous meal for the afternoon. He hurried into the house to drop the groceries in the kitchen, after which he hurried out again to pick the paper bag containing a dress, a pair of beige shoes and purse to match, similar to one his wife had tagged him on Instagram the previous week. He had saved the picture and entered into as many boutiques as he could till he got something close to what was in the picture.

He rushed off to the bed room and ignored the scattered room. He hurriedly laid the bed, placed the dress on the bed, with the shoes and purse just above the dress. He then hurried back to the kitchen to begin his surprise lunch for his wife.
He noticed the door to the guest room was still opened, as he walked past, but he decided to start with the cooking before going back to shut the door and arrange the house properly. He saw three used mugs, frying pan, a bowl with leftovers of flour mixture, tea spoons and forks in the zinc. He figured Sewa must have called an early pity-party after Tade left. He wasn't bothered.

Once the yam was on the cooker, he decided to slice all his vegetables for his special fried eggs. He washed the frying pan and placed it on another burner to dry.  In no time, he was done frying his colourful vegetable and sardine eggs. He washed his hands and dabbed with the kitchen towel. He then walked out of the kitchen, leaving the yam to cook.

He walked into the guest room and found the bed well laid. He straightened the already straight sheets again, using his hands to wipe the bed, as if to rid it of any remains of Tade's skin cells. When he was satisfied with the cleanliness of the bed, he began opening the wardrobes that had nothing in them. He had opened the first two compartments without noticing anything different, and was about giving up on checking the others, but decided on completing the inspection he had started. He checked the fourth and last compartment and found the biggest box Tade came with.
He felt the anger return, but he controlled his emotions. It must have been an honest mistake, he thought to himself.
He pulled out the box and wondered at the size and heaviness of the box. He placed the box on the bed and tried to trace the main zip. He found the zip but couldn't open the box. A small padlock with a combination code had been used to lock the box.
Kunle sighed. He pulled the box out of the room, left it in front of the guestroom, and made a mental note to come back to it later. He walked back to the kitchen to check the food he was cooking.

***A Couple of Three by FAITH TUNDE-YARA
*** Photo credit: www.shutterstock.com