WITH THIS RING – a novel – will be posted all through this month
By: Pastor Taiwo Iredele Odubiyi
Read and be blessed.
(Day 20)
Grace took a deep breath and then she blurted out, “I’m pregnant.”
Silence filled the room as Grace saw her mother’s face change from worry to shock.
“You’re what?” It was obvious the words shook Ibie to the core.
Grace looked down.
“You’re pregnant?! Oh my God!” Ibie stared at Grace who was looking down. “Pregnant … Grace?!” She said disbelievingly.
When there was no response from Grace, she asked, “Who is responsible?”
“Albert.”
“God, help me!” Ibie said under her breath.
For some seconds she was speechless. She eventually asked, “So, what’s the plan?”
“I don’t know.”
“I don’t understand.”
“He said he’s not ready for marriage.”
Ibie struggled to digest what she’d just heard.
She eventually spoke, “So, you’re going to become a single mother as well, in spite of everything I’ve taught and told you?!”
Grace didn’t respond.
“Grace?! How could you do this to yourself? To me?” Ibie cried. Then tearing her gaze away from Grace, she stared into space and said in almost a whisper, “Lord help me! Where did I miss it? Where did I go wrong?”
She was silent for some seconds and looked as if she was trying to hear what God would say to her. Then inhaling deeply, she spoke again, “Lord, help me!”
She stood up abruptly and as she walked toward her room she said, “It shall be well.”
In her room, Ibie closed the door, threw her handset on the bed and stood with her back against the door, still trying to think.
She was the minister in charge of the Singles Fellowship. Grace was one of the singles and a worker in the church. With this situation, how could Ibie continue teaching the singles in the church?
Grace would be a single mother as well?! What was wrong? Ibie wondered.
She slowly moved away and pacing the floor, she asked God again, “Where did I miss it? I don’t know … tell me, Lord! Talk to me! What went wrong?” Tears gathered in her eyes.
Just then, her phone began to ring again but she ignored it. It was most likely Lizzy. There were things she’d have liked to discuss with Lizzy but not now.
Her mind went to Pastor Femi. How could a day that was going on so well suddenly turn so bad? Nothing prepared her for this pregnancy news. And what would Pastor Femi’s reaction be when he got to know about Grace’s pregnancy? Even if he’d been having feelings for her, this case could make him change his mind. What had she done to deserve this? She wondered.
She was silent for some time, and then she cried, “Lord, help me!” She sat on the bed and burst into tears.
Her phone alerted her of a message but she didn’t bother to take her handset. When her weeping subsided, she checked her phone. The message was from Lizzy. She forced herself to reply.
I will call you later.
The door opened slowly. She looked up and saw Grace. She looked away.
“Mum?”
Ibie didn’t respond.
“Mum, I’m sorry.”
She looked at her and said angrily, “How could you stand there and tell me you’re sorry? How could you be sorry when you allowed it to happen? You were not supposed to engage in sex!”
“I’m sorry. I -”
“It’s okay. You can go. We’ll talk about it later.”
Without another word, Grace left the room and quietly closed the door.
Ibie remained where she was, and continued thinking and talking to God, asking Him for help to face the challenge.
Different thoughts came to her mind. Did Grace just fall into sin or was there a kind of a curse on her family? She wondered.
She eventually left her room at about ten. Grace was not in the living room. Ibie checked the front door to ensure it was locked as she usually did before going to bed. As she walked toward the kitchen to turn off the light of the room, she remembered that potato and egg was in the microwave oven for her. She couldn’t eat anything this night. She had lost her appetite. It was a good thing she ate in Lizzy’s house.
She turned off the light in the living room as well and returned to her room. She couldn’t sleep for some time and when she finally did, she was restless.
When she woke up in the morning, she contemplated not going to church. She didn’t feel like going but how could she stay away? Then she remembered she was supposed to have a meeting with the singles. Yes, she had to go to church. Grace was one of the Singles’ Fellowship’s planning committee members but with the way things were, she would not attend the programme. How could she have done what she did? Ibie couldn’t understand it. Soon, everybody would know she was pregnant.
She had her bath and dressed up for church before she stepped out of her room. There was no trace of Grace in the living room.
Ibie stood by her door and asked, “Are you ready for church?”
“I’m not going.”
Under a normal circumstance, Ibie would have asked why and tried to change Grace’s mind but today, she didn’t bother. She would have stayed at home herself if she didn’t have the meeting with the singles to attend.
Without another word, Ibie returned to her room. When she was ready, she had cereal and left the house without saying goodbye to Grace.
Grace remained in her room until she was certain that her mother had left. She came out to the living room with her robe wrapped around her slender body. Taking the control, she flipped on the TV and sat down with her feet propped comfortably on a stool in front of her. Her eyes were glued on the TV but her mind was far from it as she tried to clear her mind.
Some minutes after, deciding it was time to have her bath, she entered the bathroom. About twenty minutes after, she was back in her room, and standing in front of the full length mirror, she looked at her tummy. There was no baby bump yet. She removed a pair of jeans from the hanger and selected a white top which she wore.
About half an hour later, she was seated in the living room, having breakfast as she watched TV. Afterward, she lay on the sofa and made a couple of phone calls after which she continued watching TV until she drifted off to sleep.
(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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