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 17)
When Richard left, Albert pressed his back into his brown leather chair, rested his head and muttered, “I’m finished! Grace has killed me!”
Then, counselling himself to calm down and think, he closed his eyes.
This was his life and the matter on hand was his business. Whatever he would do must be his decision, he should not allow anyone to influence him to do what he didn’t want to do. Why must he listen to Richard? This matter was none of Richard’s business, he thought.
He must do something while he was still ahead. Sitting up, he took his cell phone to call Grace to fix a meeting for the evening. He pressed a button but before it could ring, he stopped it. Would Grace even listen to him? She seemed to have made up her mind. Thanks to Richard.
But they were in a relationship and he should be able to prevail on her, he thought. He dialled again. And again, he stopped it. What was he trying to do, force Grace to abort the pregnancy?
His eyes went to the framed photo on his table that Richard mentioned. The man was right. If his mother had aborted the pregnancy, he would not be alive today. If Grace kept the pregnancy, he would have a baby in about nine months. He would prefer a girl, and in his mind, he could see a beautiful baby girl with chubby cheeks and curly hair.
He suddenly realised where his thoughts were taking him. Have a baby? Oh my God! He exclaimed. What did he know about being a father?
He couldn’t think properly, and definitely couldn’t make a major decision now. He would have to give it some more serious thought later on and also talk to Donald at the hospital in the evening.
He turned to the computer to continue with the article he was working on but found that he could not concentrate. Various thoughts crept to his mind. When about ten minutes had passed and he hadn’t typed a word, he abandoned the computer, got up and left the room. He needed to cool off his head.
Half an hour later, he returned to his office only to find a memo on the table. A quick look at it made him know that he was to see a Senator on Sunday afternoon.
He went back to his article to continue. Fortunately for him, he was able to get his thoughts together. He knew what to write and the right words to use to make it interesting. When he eventually finished, he e-mailed it to his editor, and left, closing for the day.
He drove to the hospital where his brother’s wife was. His mother and sister were there with some other people. He didn’t see Donald. Disappointed, he asked his mother about Donald and was told he had gone to church.
As he looked down at the newborn baby where he slept, his tiny hands clenched, he thought that he might be the next father in the family. The boy was cute. Having a baby was a thing of joy. It was a problem to him because he did not wait for the right time, Albert realised.
When he left the hospital half an hour later, he stopped at a restaurant to eat.
While eating, Chike phoned him.
“I’d planned to come over to see you this evening but I don’t think it will be possible. I’m still at work.” Chike said.
“That’s fine.”
“Have you talked to her?”
“No. I haven’t seen her.”
“Well, I’ve told you what to do and how to handle her.”
Deep in Albert’s heart, he didn’t think he should press Grace to have an abortion. If he did, he would be killing a baby as wonderful as Donald’s son.
He told Chike of Richard’s visit and their discussion.
“Well, that guy should not decide for you. It’s your decision. If it won’t disrupt your plans, Grace can have the baby. And even then, you don’t have to marry her. Girls don’t get pregnant by accident these days. They do it all the time to hook men. Don’t fall for it. It’s a calculated gamble.”
That’s what I feel, Albert thought as he sipped his drink. But somehow, Grace didn’t seem to be the kind who would do that which was probably why she got angry yesterday when he suggested that her pregnancy was planned to trap him.
“Hello?”
“Yes, I’m listening.”
They talked for a few minutes more before saying goodnight.
Albert stepped into his apartment at about eight-fifty and flipped on the light. After a shower, he came to the living room and turned on the TV before he laid down on the sofa with a can of malt on a table beside him. He had had a long day and was very tired now but he had to call Donald.
He scrolled to Donald’s name on his phone and selected. It was picked on the fourth ring.
After greeting Donald, he said, “I thought I would see you at the hospital.”
“I had to go to church.”
“I need to discuss an issue with you.”
“Okay, go ahead.”
“When can we see?”
“I’m travelling to Abuja tomorrow. Can it wait till Sunday?”
Albert felt disappointed. “Sunday?”
“That’s when I’m coming back. Is it something we can discuss on phone?”
“I’d like for us to sit down and talk but … well, the issue is that my girlfriend is er – pregnant.”
“Pregnant? Albert! But I discussed all these things with you!” Donald scolded.
“I know. What should I do? I – I didn’t expect this to happen.”
“You didn’t expect this to happen? So, what did you expect? You expected to continue to have sex without anyone knowing about it? I thought you told me she was a Christian?”
“Look, it has already happened!” Albert said with impatience and a little irritation. “What should I do – that’s my question.”
“What can you do? You will have to accept it.” Donald said.
Albert took a deep breath which Donald heard.
“Is it er – Grace?” Donald asked. Albert had brought Grace to his house once.
“Yes.”
“Well, I will be back by noon on Sunday. Come to my house and we will talk more about it.” Donald told him.
Albert inhaled deeply again before he said, “Alright. I will.”
After the call, he opened the can of malt, drank direct from it and put it down.
He was watching the TV but his mind was far from it. He soon found himself thinking again about Richard’s visit. The things he said about an aborted baby who was not allowed to see the light of day surprised him. Was that really in the Bible? He went inside his bedroom, took his Bible from the table beside his bed and returned to the living room.
He couldn’t remember the book of the Bible that Richard quoted. Putting the Bible down, he carried his laptop and went online to search. He soon found the Scripture: Job chapter three verse sixteen. He read the New Living Translation.
Why wasn’t I buried like a stillborn child, like a baby who never lives to see the light?
Richard had also told him that the Bible referred to a pregnant woman as being with child. He typed ‘Being with child’ and found several scriptures. He drank a little malt before he began to read the scriptures one after the other.
Hmm. What should I do?
He felt like calling Grace but what did he have to tell her? He had not decided on the line of action. He was no longer certain that abortion was the right thing to do but neither did he think keeping the pregnancy was what Grace should do. How would they take care of the child? Besides, having a baby now would drastically alter their lives.
He finished drinking the malt and put the empty can down.
Feeling a need to hear Grace’s voice, he dialled her number. It rang several times until it cut off. Grace did not pick it.
Sighing, he sent a message to her on WhatsApp.
Let’s talk pls.
He held the handset in his hand and was checking it. Soon, there was an indication that she had read the message. He expected a reply but there was none.
Nigerian Idol which was being shown on TV helped take his mind off his concerns for a while. When it ended, he switched off the TV.
As he went to bed, he still had not made up his mind on what to do or tell Grace but somehow, he had the feeling that he would follow Richard and Donald’s advice. He told himself that he would be able to think more clearly in the morning though. Now it was late and he was tired. Few minutes later, he slid under the cool cotton sheet, turned off the light and closed his eyes.
The next morning, he had a quick bite and left the house at seven-thirty. He had a media function to attend but he planned to stop at Grace’s office. He got here but didn’t meet her. He left.
On the way, his phone began to ring. Using his right hand to take the handset, he glanced at the number. It was unknown. He picked it anyway.
“Hey, it’s me, Patience.” The female voice called out cheerily.
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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