THE FOREVER KIND OF LOVE – a novel (16)
by : Pastor Taiwo Iredele Odubiyi
Cont’d.
Outside, Dayo unlocked the car and opened the front passenger door for Mercy, and she thanked him.
He went to his side and entered. Starting the car, he switched on the headlights.
As he pulled away, she said, “You’re a complete gentleman.”
He glanced briefly at her and smiled. “I will take that as a complement. Why did you say so?”
“You opened the door for me.”
“Oh, that!” He laughed.
“You did at the hospital, you did it again now and I’m like … do men still open car doors for women?”
He laughed again. “Well, I still do … when I can.”
“That’s why I said you’re a gentleman. That’s so sweet.” She said.
He chuckled.
She spoke again. “That is not common in this part of the world.”
He smiled. “Some men still do it.”
“Maybe for their girlfriends or wives. But I doubt if they will open a car door for a lady they hardly know.”
He smiled.
“And for those who are married or are in relationships, very few of them open car doors. And if they do, it may not be for a long time. You have to admit that quite a number of African men don’t know how to treat their women with courtesy or … do so to women generally.”
“Yes, you have a point.” He said. “I think it’s because there is a lack of good role models. Many males don’t have men who can teach or influence them in how to act rightly.”
Mercy nodded.
Dayo spoke again. “There are some men though who know that it’s good to hold doors and other similar courtesies but just don’t want to do it and that is because some ladies don’t know how to say thank you or appreciate such courtesies.”
Mercy smiled.
“I’ve held doors of buildings for some ladies who gave me looks that said ‘who asked you to? You must be jobless’.”
She laughed.
“Some would say thank you, others would not.” He revealed. “It’s not every time I open car doors for ladies though. I do it as I deem fit. Some ladies read meanings to such simple gesture. They think the man is interested in a relationship.”
As he talked, she looked at him.
He went on. “But if I get to a door first … like the door of an office, a church or restaurant, I definitely hold it open for whoever is behind me, whether a male or a female.”
She nodded. “I do that too. There are people who leave door without caring if it slams in other’s face even if the other person is a woman.”
“Keeping doors open shouldn’t be about gender. It’s about being nice and showing good manners.” He said. “My Dad still opens doors for my Mum. He pulls out chairs for her and -”
“Your Dad?”
“Yeah … he does … sometimes.”
“Sometimes?”
They laughed.
“Often.” He corrected himself.
“Oh, that’s nice. He still does that for her after … how many years of marriage?”
“Thirty three.” He supplied.
“Wow!” She exclaimed. “They’ve been married for thirty three years?”
“Yes. And they courted for two years before they got married, so they’ve known each other for thirty five years.”
“And they are still together?” She asked. “Wow! He … your Dad deserves a medal.”
He chuckled.
“Seriously … he does. I know what I’m talking about.” She affirmed. “How many men are faithful and committed to their wives?”
He smiled and nodded.
“Even the ones who go to church, how many of them are faithful to their wives?” Mercy added as her mind went to her father who was not only a Christian but also the head of a department in the church they were attending, like her mother. Mercy and her siblings grew up in the church and had given their lives to Christ. Everything had seemed to be going on well but suddenly, their father was gone with another woman.
“There are still some faithful ones.” Dayo told her.
She agreed. “Yes but how many can you find? Some husbands would wink at a pole if they saw a skirt on it.”
Dayo laughed.
“It’s true! It’s pathetic!”
“Yes, I know.”
“Dayo, you won’t believe the things that go on in some of these corporate organisations.”
He nodded. “I know.”
“This lady is going out with that married man, that married man is having an affair with that lady, that guy is dating that married woman! For example, from what I heard, very few married men at the Secretariat don’t have girlfriends. Some of them have up to three girlfriends, and some ladies have three or four men – in the same place!”
He smiled.
Mercy spoke again. “When I hear such things, I’m like … what is going on? It’s scary!”
“I know.” He repeated. “Not all men are like that though just as there are women who would never do such abominable things. I’m glad you said that some men at the Secretariat don’t have girlfriends in spite of what is going on around them.”
Dayo had had three ladies throw themselves at him in the course of his job but he’d successfully resisted them. One of them was a rich married woman who owned a school. She’d offered to give him whatever he wanted if he would befriend her but how could he do such evil? He’d turned her offer down.
He spoke again. “What people do is a matter of who they are and what they have chosen to do. That’s the truth.”
(To be continued )
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