Wounded Pilgrim 4

WHAT NOW?

The service having come to an end more brethren took to congratulating Eliezer and Happiness for their engagement and wedding anniversary. The wedding was just barely three months away enough time that any necessary arrangements to be made. Just then some elderly brother touched Bartholomew on the shoulder, “God bless you precious Brother Bartholomew.”
“Amen Deacon Musa” he responded. Deacon Musa was one of the longest serving deacons in that church. Most of children were now married and he was boasting of six grandchildren.
“How are your parents fairing on?” Deacon Musa asked Bartholomew. It was a question that most old people liked to ask to young people and sometimes one had to lie that the parents were okay. This was because for someone like Bartholomew he rarely called home to speak to his parents unless when it was necessary. Instead it was them who would try and get to him like when there was bereavement there may be a relative or neighbor. It was on rare occasion when he got the happy news from home like when it rained or the cow had given birth to a new calf.
“They are doing good” Bartholomew replied.
“When was the last time you spoke to them?” the deacon went ahead.
“Eeeh… I spoke to them quite recently though I can’t say exactly when” Bartholomew responded.
“Actually never forget those elders, we went to college together you know” deacon continued to talk. All these time Bartholomew was getting impatient with the old man wishing he could just stop his talk and let him go since he didn’t want to continue staying at the church compound. Every extra minute he spend there he felt like it was eternity, his head was spinning round and round over nothing in particular and with a rumbling stomach the best he could do was get to his house faster as his legs could carry him.

Just as they were talking over nothing in particular Eliezer came by with a broad smile over his face for the people were continuously praising him for taking another step in life. A popular saying whenever someone was announced to be engaged and even having a wedding in waiting was ‘Kachukua hatua nyingine’ he took another step.
“Congratulations kwa kuchukua hatua nyingine” deacon Musa said as they embraced each other noisly.
“Thank you mzee” Eliezer replied.
“Don’t you break my shoulders young man, I still have a number of grandchildren to take care of” deacon as they disengaged from the embrace.
“My desire if God tarries mzee is to get where you are now” Eliezer went on.
“You will since you already took a step that many young men including the one standing next to me have avoided for many years” deacon said obviously provoking Bartholomew who all this time was silent like deep waters thinking of how to disappear from there.
“Did you just say years? That is totally out of proportion deacon am not even thirty and you are saying years. There are still many people ahead of me that need to clear the way like he is doing already.” Bartholomew was pissed off. He turned around to move towards the gate almost knocking another elderly brother who was just coming towards them.

“Oh sorry Mzee”, Bartholomew apologized and they embraced each as they exchanged greetings.
“I was just coming to tell you something kijana” the elderly brother said.
“Oh! What is it that you wanted to tell me Mzee” Bartholomew lit up expecting to hear something else away from the marriage issues that could cheer him up and even give him strength to get to his house now that his stomach was discomforting him demanding for its dues. He had woken up late today and had come to church without any breakfast. He normal came to church without breakfast from time to time and nothing bothered him as he was used to kind of life. It was the life of a bachelor like him. If he took breakfast then most probably he would forgo lunch for that Sunday since laziness on a Sunday afternoon was unlikely to avoid.

“By the way Eliezer is one of your closest friends, right?” the brother asked.
“Yeah he used to” Bartholomew answered knowing it was most probably a request that was being framed in the name of Eliezer though he was totally clueless as to what was the target in it.
“But still that means you are still friends because you still in the same church” mzee went on.
“Kindly go ahead to your point mzee” Bartholomew urged him.
“Now that Eliezer has taken another step in life away from bachelorhood, I think you know that you are next in line” the elder said as deacon Musa clapped his hand s form behind Bartholomew and Eliezer laughed a little. Bartholomew felt stabbed, he was visibly angry with that particular statement.
“Eliezer would soon hand him the button once he is done with his” it was a comment was from deacon Musa. The two elders laughed a little.
“Noted elders” Eliezer said happily.
“I just don’t see what is amusing here at all.” Bartholomew said angrily. “I just don’t understand when advising people to marry became a deacon’s roll?”
Deacon Musa who was still laughing stopped laughing and put a serious face because it was no longer a laughing matter. Even Eliezer knew things were about to get hot and he found himself moving away from them to another group of congratulators. He had not even said to Deacon Musa what he wanted to say. He was going to say it to Bartholomew too but he didn’t bother so much knowing he was going to get him somewhere could be in his house or just somewhere after all he had his number.

“Precious Brother why do you speak so harshly to your elders?” the other elder asked him.
“That is being disrespectful of you son” Deacon Musa added.
“How would you feel at a funeral if one of us walked up to you and said, Now that so and so is no more you are next?” Bartholomew asked them. The two looked at each other, then to the annoyed young man standing with folded arms before them. Just as they were still thinking of what to say Sister Happiness passed by them and shook their hands.
“Excuse me brothers” she asked them and they elders nodded in agreement. “I wish to speak to Brother Bartholomew for a minute or so”

Bartholomew wondered what was that she wanted to tell him that could wait for him to finish frying the elders with their own oil as they say in Swahili, ‘kuwakaranga na mafuta yao wenyewe!’ He simply move aside and bent his head to listen to her. It was second time the two were speaking again after a very long time. The first time was when he approached her over friendship using the narrative of the Lord showed me you and things turned out ugly when she claimed she was married to another brother. When Bartholomew looked into her eyes he was sure she had forgotten the whole incident if not shelve it for more pressing matters.

“I don’t know if Eliezer my love has spoken to you about anything?” she went to ask him.
“Not yet unless you do it on his behalf now that you two are going to be one soon” he responded.
“It is something to do with our wedding and since he told me you two have friends for a long time,in fact it is more of a favour” she said.