WITH THIS RING – a novel – will be posted all through this month
By: Pastor Taiwo Iredele Odubiyi
Read and be blessed.
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(Day 11)
Grace asked him, “When would you like to get married?”
“Marriage?” Albert was obviously surprised at the change of subject.
“I’m wondering aloud.” She pointed out.
“That is not relevant.”
“I think it is. I’m carrying your baby and we are thinking of what we should do – have an abortion or what?”
“We have decided on what you should do.” He said clearly raising his voice on the ‘you’.
She was about to respond when she heard a movement from behind her. Someone was near her. As she looked back, she heard Richard’s voice, “Grace.”
Richard Lawal was the senior partner in Lawal & Adesola.
Surprised to see him, she said, “Oh, good afternoon sir.” She hoped he hadn’t heard her conversation with Albert.
“How are you?” Richard asked. The tall and dark-complexioned man was in his thirties.
“I’m fine.”
“I hope I didn’t startle you. I wanted you to look at someone but the person has left.” Richard explained then walked away.
“Look Albert, I’ll talk to you later.” Grace quickly told him.
“When are you getting it done?” He wanted to know.
“Maybe tomorrow.”
“Not maybe. It has to be tomorrow, alright?” He told her firmly. “Tomorrow is
Wednesday.”
“I know.”
“I’ll talk to you later then.”
“Okay. Bye.” Grace said and ended the call.
Back inside, she saw the man who had been waiting at the reception entering Richard’s office. She went to hers. About twenty minutes after, she could hear Richard’s voice at the reception as he said goodbye to the man.
She took the file on her table and headed for Richard’s office. She told his secretary that she’d like to see him and she was waved in. Knocking briefly, she opened the door.
Richard was talking on his cell phone. Grace wanted to go back but he beckoned to her.
She entered and sat down. While she waited for him, her eyes took in the things on his shiny table. A file tray, a big Bible, a box of tissue, a monitor, a telephone box, and a framed photo of him and his wife were among the things on the table.
Her gaze shifted to the right where a printer and fax machine stood on a stand that had two shelves for papers. Beside the stand was a wooden cabinet with six pullout drawers, vintage handles and built in label holders. Built-in bookcases, protected by glass doors filled with many books, most of them on law and neatly arranged in alphabetical order, were on the left side of the room. She glanced at the cream-painted walls where his framed law degrees and a painting that was three feet long and twelve inches high hung.
She returned her gaze to Richard. She knew that the black suit he wore was expensive because it was of high quality.
When Richard was through on the phone, she gave him the file in her hand and briefed him about the case she went to court for.
“Well, let the man know that from now on, he should not to talk to anyone. All questions should be directed to us.” He advised.
They discussed more details of the lawsuit.
When they finished, she took the file back and got up.
“Er, Grace,”
“Yes sir.” She answered and looked at him.
“Just a minute please.”
She waited to hear him.
“Sit down.”
She did.
“I don’t want to pretend that I didn’t hear a little about your conversation on the phone when I was coming in.”
Oh my God!
“Well, aside being your boss, you know that I’m a pastor and I’m married. You have met my wife, Tammy. You also know that in this office, we all relate like a family. And you … you are like a sister to Bayo and me.”
As he talked, he looked straight at her. “I’d like you to talk to me about what’s going on in your life right now.”
Grace looked away.
“You can trust me, Grace … you can talk to me.”
When she didn’t talk, he asked, “Are you pregnant?”
She didn’t talk still.
“Grace?”
She pressed her lips together and looked down at the file in her hands on her laps.
“I heard a little about your conversation. I just want to know what’s going on so I can help you … counsel you, pray with you.” He explained then asked again, “You are pregnant, right?”
She finally nodded, still looking at the file.
“You are a Christian. What do you think God will want you to do?”
She didn’t talk.
“I need you to answer. I’m trying to help you find the best way out.” He said, with eyes filled with compassion. “What do you think God would want you to do? Do you think He would want you to terminate it?”
She shook her head.
“Why?”
She inhaled deeply and released the air through her mouth. She closed her mouth, and then opened them again. “Because terminating it will be wrong. We should preserve lives.”
“That’s very true, Grace. Some things are just wrong. Abortion is one of them.” He paused for effect, and then went on. “What you have in your womb is a baby. A life is growing inside you.”
Still looking at her, he leaned forward and continued. “Let me tell you some other reasons why you should not terminate it.” Raising his right index finger, he said, “One, abortion is risky. Your womb could get damaged; the abortion might not be properly done which could lead to an infection; and the infection could block your fallopian tubes which could affect future fertility; your womb could also get punctured during the process of abortion; there could be internal bleeding; and you – or let me say the person could die.”
He brought the finger down, placed his left elbow on the table and said, “That’s not going to happen to you in Jesus’ name,” just as she prayed under her breath, I will not die in Jesus’ name.
He spoke again. “I’m sure you must have heard that some people died from abortion.”
She nodded slightly.
He went on. “Anything could happen from the abortion. Now, I’m not trying to scare you, I’m only telling you the reality.”
He raised the right index and the middle fingers. “Number two … people sometimes terminate pregnancies thinking that when the time is right and they are ready, they will get pregnant again but life sometimes doesn’t turn out that way. They might not be able to conceive again for -” he shrugged, “various reasons. I’ve been married for almost nine years but my wife has just conceived for the first time. We are Christians and married as virgins but for whatever reason, she couldn’t conceive before now!”
Shrugging, he went on, “Who knows if this is the only child you are meant to have in your life? You told me at a time that you are an only child. If your mother had terminated your life when you were conceived, she probably would be without a child now.”
He paused to allow his words sink in. Then he asked, “Who is responsible for the pregnancy?”
“Albert Asika.”
“Albert Asika?” He repeated, surprised. Albert had come to the office once to look for Grace and he knew they had become friends but he didn’t know they were this friendly. Was Albert even a Christian? He wondered.
Keeping his opinion to himself, he asked, “Is he the one you were talking with on the phone?”
“Yes.”
“He wants you to abort it?”
She nodded. “Yes. He said he’s not ready for commitment.”
“Then he shouldn’t have engaged in sex.” He pointed out.
Sitting back and resting his left hand on the armrest of his black leather chair, he spoke again. “Can I tell you something? If a man loves a woman or if he’s a responsible man, he would marry her or stay by her. He would not ask her to get rid of her pregnancy simply because he’s not ready. That’s the truth.”
Grace knew it.
“If you abort to please and keep him, you could still lose him. Such things don’t work. It doesn’t mean he would eventually marry you or be more committed. It’s just like when some men say – You will lose me if you don’t have sex with me. It’s a lie. Even if the lady gives sex, she will still lose such a man because he really doesn’t love her. He is in the relationship to satisfy his fleshly desires. You could risk your life today and he would marry another person tomorrow. You can’t stop him.” He told her.
He continued, “I don’t know how far you’ve gone in your relationship but I don’t see much love and commitment in it. And is God in it at all? If God’s not in it, then you have nothing. Don’t do the wrong thing because of your relationship. It’s not worth it.”
She took a deep breath.
“What is your heart telling you to do?” He asked.
To be continued.
You will learn about the mercy of God and that there is hope for you, in this novel.
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