In His House ...
Posted by Edward Karani , Monday, March 29, 2010 2:06 AM
“I will be there.” Theresa assured Jason, her boyfriend of two months. “Promise.”
She glanced at the worn out sofa her father had put at the back of their house, to avoid the disturbance his three daughters would cause with their endless phone calls, now they could relax and answer their phones without shouting. For an African father, it was also away of preventing his aging ears from listening to the dirt that his daughters talked over the phone, often in thinking that their father did not understand what they were talking about. Theresa led the pack, the twenty one year old was a medium height girl, who had only recently discovered her assets, her womanly beauty which she never knew she had, Theresa may not have been the most beautiful woman in the world, but she was not bad to look at, she had a baby face that confused many people into thinking that she was still in high school, despite their three and five year age difference she still looked the youngest of the three.
Maria, Alexia and Theresa all lived different lives, the younger two had steady boyfriends, at the rate they were going, they were most likely to beat Theresa to the altar. Theresa, the girl who had just discovered that she had a small waist and a really trim stomach, apparently every woman loudly wished of having a small waist. She had discovered her assets during her cousins wedding, as she was trying out her dress, every stopped to look at her in awe.
“You look great!” they touched her waist.
The tailor was delighted that of all the dresses that she had made that one was a perfect fit, she also looked admiringly at the girl who seemed uncomfortable in the purple dress.
“Actually I think it’s a bit tight.” Theresa mentioned showing the tailor that she had left no room for her to breathe, she went me that day knowing that she actually had a lovely figure eight, her sisters laughed it off that night, but somewhere in their hearts they knew it was true.
“Okay,” she wanted to hang up on Jason, but he needed the assurance that she would actually show up.
“We can have lunch together.” He suggested. “after which we can watch a movie.”
She sounded impressed. Jason would be her first boyfriend and she was head over heels in love with him.
See Jason was a cute guy who had visited their church a few weeks back. He was tall light skinned and handsome, even in her wildest dreams she could not believe that he would fall for her, but he did. Yet she had just stepped outside to catch some fresh air, free from the stuffy air that filled the church hall, when she saw Jason seated down on chair talking to one of the church girls. He was light skinned, actually he looked like a point five, had inviting brown eyes, and his black hair was neatly kept, the gave her a really nice blushing look, like he wanted to talk to her, and like he was interested, the one that makes a girl’s heart to melt.
Usually men usually ogled her in sexual manner, she hated that a lot, maybe that had to do with her Christian upbringing. The other look that men would give her was a blank or menacing glare, which she did not get at all. And also one that made her angry a lot. A few weeks earlier as she was having her lunch, she was gazing out of the glass window, one of the taxi driver was leaning on his car, staring at her, she could feel anger burning up in her. He tried greeting her as she walked out, she just gave him a Nigerian sneer and walked away. Ogling was rude as far as she was concerned, it was an art misused by most African men.
“I will come over.” She insisted. “I can hardly wait to taste you cooking.”
She looked over the fence at the empty football pitch that met her eyes. It wasn’t as green as it used to be when she was younger, thanks to the feet of the hundreds of young men that trampled over it during the day.
“Please Tess!” he finished off. “Make sure you show up, I have prepared a lot for you.”
He had every right to insist, over the past one month she had promised that she would go in no avail.
“He is a guy.” She said to Alexia as they argued whether she should go or not.
Maria watched her two sisters quietly as she read a Sidney Sheldon novel. The three sisters shared a room.
“So what!” Alexia exclaimed. “You are his girlfriend.”
“Yes!” Theresa agreed. “But I am only human.” She reasoned. “What if we fall into temptation?”
Alexia sat in an upward position. “Don’t you trust yourself.”
“Or your boyfriend.” Maria fixed a book mark in the middle of the page where she was reading, and positioned herself to join the debate. “Why would you date someone you don’t trust.”
“You haven’t told him you are a virgin.” Alexia asked.
Theresa seemed taken aback by their remark. “If he mentions marriage, you can sure I will tell him then.”she thought about it. “Or if he tries to touch me in a suggestive manner.”
“So now you are just passing time,” Maria teased her. “looking into each others eyes, holding hands and meaningless conversations over the phone.”
Theresa rolled her eyes. “Nimechill, i sure hope i am not the only one in the chill zone.”
“A relationship is supposed to head somewhere.” Alexia sort to enlighten her.
“Sex or his bed as a matter of fact is not somewhere.” Theresa insisted. “Marriage is.”
That was the reason she did not want to go his house, she did not want to find herself in a compromising situation.
“A relationship is made up of various stages and levels.” Maria said in matter of fact kind of way. “Somethings are just natural.”
Theresa gave her a menacing look. “I hope you are not sleeping around with your campus boyfriend.”
Maria felt a bit embarrassed, at times her elder sister could be so uptight.
“Good.” Theresa gave her an I am your elder sister smile. “Coz if you are, I will have James arrested, you are in high school after all.”
Maria rolled her eyes and took her Sidney Sheldon novel and slumped into her bed annoyed. Theresa noticed it, but she did not want any of her siblings engaging in sex before marriage as her parents had taught them.
At times she feared that she was not a good role model for her sisters and it scared a lot that they might be engaging in something that they would regret later.
“Any who!” Alexia slapped her playfully on her thighs. “Go and have fun. After all even the bible says that you should rejoice in the days of your youth, before you grow old and say, "Life is not pleasant anymore."
Theresa laughed. “That’s the Alexia revised standard bible edition.”
Alexia rolled her eyes. “The point is, miss holier than thou, you should go, get to know each other, forget what mom or Miss Eda Adoyo…”
“Mrs.” Theresa corrected her. “She is married you know.”
“Miracles do happen!” Alexia exclaimed sarcastically. “With the advise she gives, one would have to be a spinster to be able to follow it.”
Go, after all Jason is saved.”Maria laughed, Theresa was not impressed.
Alexia resumed a conversational tone.
“Yeah.” Theresa shrugged and smiled nervously.
She wasn’t sure of that fact. The Sunday after the concert, Jason had come to their church, during the service Theresa kept on catching him staring at her, she liked it a lot. After the service one of the youth officials had invited him to the youth Bible study. During which he sat a seat away from her, but when she opened her bible, he moved closer since he did not have one.
Her legs felt weak and warm, as his touched hers, she did not move away as she often did. She actually felt good.
“Open the book of 1st Corinthians.” The leader of the Bible study had actually said.
“Please open it.” Theresa requested him as she struggled with her hand bag on one hand and bible on the other, she did not want to put it on the dusty floor.
He took the bible and flipped it several times.
Clearing his throat. “I have no idea where that is!” he confessed and gave her bible, she feigned a smile and opened the bible with so much ease.
“Will you go?” Alexia asked.
“It’s none of your business.” Theresa pushed her off her bed using her legs. “Now get off my bed.”
She took her bible and opened it. Alexia got up and walked over to Maria’s bed and sat down.
Theresa tried to have some quite to no avail, all she could think about was Jason.
She did go, the next day after her housework, she bathed and put on a knee length fitting skirt and a nicely shaped top, with heels, she had let her long hair down. And off she went after lying to her mother that she was going to see Sarah, her cousin.
She found Jason waiting for her, he was so happy to see her.
