The Lives We Lived

31: Sister Alexis

THIS CHAPETER IS DEDICATED TO MISS PAINTE

Kemi sat down on the fifth pew behind the rows of office chairs reserved for the minister's. Osa's church in Benin was not as large as the one in Lagos. It was expected. This was where he had grown up. Usually she would attend her own church but she had decided to follow Efe and Sandra to church. Kemi fiddled with the leather strap of her bag that lay in her hands. She only got to visit this church once or twice in a year, and although she loved the ambience and the sight of the choir standing in their bright red uniform beside the pastor on the altar as well as the tiled floor, she was miles away in thought.

All through the service, her mind chewed on one thing only and that was mama's history of hatred towards Mayokun. Kemi could count on her fingers the amount of family members that Mama hated. She and Mayokun would definitively make the top of the list.

Her hands tightened around the bag. Mama was quite hostile for a woman who had lost her husband to another woman. She expected mama to be sympathetic towards her but mama was bitter and full of hatred. Her relationship with mama was almost non-existent, sprouting to life with bursts of anger, insults and the occasional threats as well as long rants in Edo which she didn't understand.

"Let us now stand for the hymn," A young woman, dressed in the same red dress as the rest of the female choristers announced. Kemi rose to her feet. She stared at the large screen at the side of the altar, where the lyrics for the song was displayed, but she saw nothing. She chewed her mouth for several minutes and decided that it was better to hum along to the unfamiliar tune.

She shut her mouth and allowed her mind to take the reigns of control. Why was mama so interested in her having a child so badly? Mama wouldn't die anytime soon. The woman was clearly fit enough to fight her for Osa's attention. Or did mama fear that Osa would take the same path as his father? Kemi's body remained rigid. Osa would never do that. He had respected her decision to stay without children. They had been married for three years and he hadn't given her a single reason to believe that he would cheat.

A slight tap of her left hand and a tug of her right one brought reality to the forefront. She looked down at her right and saw Efe sitting in his seat, and giving her a concecerned look.

"What is it?"

"Sit down. We're done with the hymn."

Kemi looked around and felt all eyes on her. Every eye, from the pastor's to the choir's and even the young children. How long had she spaced out. She could have sworn that up until Efe tapped her hand, the choir was still singing.

"Yes." She kept her eyes on the back of the pew before her and her eyes lit on the hymn books that sat there. She settled into her seat and kept her eyes on her laps. Her heart beat faster and faster and her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth.

"Kemi, are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? Do you want to go home?"

"No!" She bit her lips for sounding much louder than she had intended. "I'm okay."

Kemi tried to keep her mind and body focused on the Lord's words. She had to struggle between running away with her thought and listening to things that made no meaning to her. It didn't help that the preacher spoke on forgiveness- a concept that she was sure mama had no idea of.

After the service, she sat in her chair and waited until a considerable amount of people had left the building. She did not want to be involved in a conversation with anyone. Efe had stood up earlier and he was presently talking to a member of the choir beside the pulpit. Sandra was no where to be found. Thankfully, they hadn't questioned her further about her episode. She wasn't sure she could explain how she felt.