Sister-in-Campus 14

I

 just can't believe what I just heard coming from your mouth” Joyce said scratching her head in confusion.

“So am I” Her mother complimented her.

“Isn't it you Joyce who first thought of an abortion?” Pastor said calmly. Joyce almost shouted “Lier!” but then she held her mouth with her hand.“I heard you tell someone by the name of Stacia about it. Not only did you also ask Petro for some money you also visited Mama Mukhosio seeking for her services” Pastor went on. Joyce who had been looking at him directly on the face now looked away in shame. Her mother stopped to look at her.

“My daughter why would you do that?” she asked her. “We all know how you got that pregnancy. But our desire for you is still a better life.” Tears tickled uncontrollably on Joyce’s cheeks as her mother continued to narrate how terminating the pregnancy would not only harm her life but tarnish their family's reputation. All this time questions of how dad knew all these information kept lingering in her mind and she could not get straight answers. She swore she was going to find out who had been spying on her even when she tried to keep a low profile.

“For your information when suddenly you start to keep a low profile or take a back benchers' role people will start to get interested with what you are hiding from them.” Her dad said as if he was hearing her thoughts.

“Please dad and mum forgive!” was all she could say. She didn't wait to hear their forgiveness. She went to cry in her room.

A day later she was coming from the shop when she met Petro coming to the shop. She didn’t bother to greet him, “I don't know when you became a woman to say things you are not supposed to say”

“Joyce greetings are free unless they started to sell them while I was asleep” Petro said ignoring her question.

“It's so annoying of you to publicize private issues” she continued to attack him.

“Joyce I honestly do not have an idea of what you are talking about, please enlighten me” Petro was totally clueless.

“Please enlighten me” Joyce mimicked him which greatly annoyed Petro more.

 “Why did you tell my father that I asked you for money?”

“I have not talked to your dad for a long time. Am very sorry if someone may have overheard our phone conversation and spilled the beans to him.”

“Liar!”, her voice was raising making Petro totally unease. Passersby could not help but smile at them.

“Surely Joyce you have the guts to call me a liar and in public” his voice was broken and almost not audible enough. He wanted to cry but then he was being held hostage by his adulthood and reputation.

“Mwalimu don’t lie to Pastor’s kid!” some mischievous boda boda rider said as he passed by.

“Please Petro don’t lie to me!” her voice was still soaring high.

“I have already told you I haven't talked to your father lately” Petro said as made as to walk away from her. She was becoming a nuisance to him.

“Anyway it’s not healthy at all to argue with a pregnant woman” He expected to see her boil again but she didn't.

“At least am going to be a mother but for you going to inherit a widow is worse!”

“It is not what you think” this was too much for him. He left her without warning and went further on to the shop farthest from there. Joyce too walked away slowly a mixture of feelings taking her captive. A group of women who had stopped to know what was going on also left shortly. Women who sold near the boda boda shade began to highlight the whole situation in the local media if you like gossip international media.

“She appears to be with child”, a woman spoke after staring at Joyce leaving the shopping center slowly.

“Where could she have gotten it from?” another woman asked.

“Pregnancy is the only evident that sex was carried out”, it was that naught boda boda rider again. Most of the boda boda laughed at the statement.

“So Namachanja you want to rule out she got from a holy spirit?” another Boda Boda rider asked.

“No only Mary was allowed to catch pregnancy with the holy spirit.” Namachanja added.

“She must have gotten it from the university I suppose”, the woman who had started the gossip said.

“In the university these days they give out pregnancies at times when they don’t feel like giving out the degrees.”

* * * * *

Petro was back at Debra’s home from the shopping center where she had sent him to buy a pack of ‘Always’. It was the first time he had gone to buy such an item. It took a lot of courage from him to do such a task. Even the shop keeper had wondered aloud if he had a wife or a young sister to buy such an item. Schools were already closed and it did not add up for someone like him to come buy them at the shop unless he had a minor in the house. Petro only looked down in shame and explained to him that he had been sent by a friend in need.

Laughter was the feedback he got from the naught shop keeper as he served him. This whole experience had made him feel like a coward on top of what he had to go through after meeting Joyce. It short it was a double insult on his good reputation as Mwalimu. He had made a habit to pass by Debra’s homestead to do odd chores for her like fetching firewood, drawing water from the well though today it was more than expected. Debra had pleaded with him and he decided to give it a try and go shop ‘Always’ for her.

While away Debra remained thinking on how to lay him down at least for once. She had found herself admiring him from time to time however she didn’t know how to approach him on the issue. He didn’t appear to be getting attracted to her at all. All he kept doing was lament about Joyce yet he now knew she was pregnant with God knows who.

“Why are you looking annoyed like this?” She asked him when he had sat down to eat the breakfast she had prepared for him.

“It is that pregnant pastor’s daughter”, he answered.

“What has she done again this time round?” she asked curiously.

He went ahead to narrate to her what had happened on his way to the shop. She couldn’t help but feel some hatred and anger for that confused daughter of a pastor. She was supposed to be resting in her father’s house to let the thing in her grow in peace but not out loitering causing havoc to young men trying to have a life, Debra thought.

“So she stopped going to seek the services of the old witch to fix her pregnancy and now is out to causing mayhem”, she asked him.

“Seems like so” Petro said. A long silence followed.

“But then that aside there is something that has been bothering me for quite a long time and I have been wondering how to bring it up to you”, Debra said after the long silence.

“Please go ahead”, Petro reciprocated to her. She stood up to come sit next to him as she had been intending ever since they sat there talking. Petro wanted to refuse her from sitting next to him but felt it was still the best thing she ever did. The first time he came to work for her she let him into her bedroom to show her the spot that was leaking he bumped into her while walking backwards. She was standing a few inches behind him and when he almost knocked her backwards. Had he not held onto the window grill that was nearby they would have fallen onto each other backwards. But although he apologized she was okay with it as it gave her a good feeling. Since he was busy thinking about the job ahead of him the incident left nothing substantial to him. Today the incident was refreshed in his mind.

“Petro I have been thinking to tell you that you should stop thinking about Joyce and start thinking about …”, she went on.

“About?” Petro was blank.

“Me off course!” she said in a soft tone with her arm over his shoulder. Many things crossed in his mind like a large swollen river moving along with things it had taken from various places like people, cows, household items after floods. Whatever this was leading to he felt two things were sure results to him: loosing or winning.  However he was not sure what he was going to lose or winning on either options.

“The sooner the better!” her words continued to hit his ears. “The kids would soon be here from their grandmother’s place” As Petro thought on whether to take it or leave it, they heard the commotion of the kids outside approaching the house from the gate.