"...that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:" --Deuteronomy 30:19 (KJV)

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Godswill walked away from the table with traces of anger still flowing through his body in waves. He avoided looking in Ewa's direction as he navigated his way towards one of the exits of the hall. He knew looking at her may just make him want to punch a wall or worse, smack-wipe off the knowing grin she had on when she was spewing bile about his Fola.

How dare her? Like, how dare her?

He faked a smile as a group of his acquaintances waved at him in greeting. He didn't have the strength to engage in any form of small talk so he moved as swiftly as he could.

Finally outside, he released a pent-up sigh and shut his eyes against the sunlight shinning above. He tried to make sense of what he had heard but he couldn't reconcile the Fola he knew now with the Fola he just heard she was.

Was. That's just it! She may have been that before but not anymore.

Besides, who was he to place judgment on her? He may have come to Christ sooner or earlier than she had but that didn't make him any more of a saint than she was. They were both saints from the very moment they received the life of Christ as theirs, irrespective of their past.

The anger he was feeling was one against the people who still thought that was who she was and who still labelled her as such. She didn't deserve such treatment or attitude from them, moreso when they weren't any better.

Silently, he whispered to his Father. Abba, help me to stay calm till I leave here. Help me to say the right words to Fola and help me be the friend she needs right now.

The anger he was feeling slowly dissipated and he released another breath. He felt ready to face Fola now.

********

Why did he make an excuse to leave here? Did that girl tell him something about me?

Whilst she was still contemplating, the object of her thoughts walked towards her and occupied Godswill's seat.

Why isn't Ami back yet?

As if Ami heard her thoughts, her phone dinged with a message from her.

I thought you'd want to spend some time with your FRIEND. Enjoy😉

Fola sighed. Her friend really had bad timing. This wasn't the time to leave her alone but here she was picking on her food as she wondered what the girl wanted to say to her.

The hall had also fallen silent as the couple danced to Ed Sheeran's Perfect. The guests had left their seats and were taking pictures or videos of the couple. 

"Hi. Do I know you?" Fola asked.

With a once-over that showed exactly what she was thinking, the lady replied, "How come you don't remember me?"

When she saw that Fola wasn't giving any reply, she continued, "I'm Professor Olaoti's daughter, Ewa."

God, no.

Fola felt a shiver go through her.

"I actually don't even care if you remember me or not. But I do know you and I know all about your escapades while on campus. I don't know why someone like you is with Godswill. He has never given me even a first glance, not when we were in school and not now. But he seems to have a thing for you and that's just about the most ridiculous thing ever. It's like he went from frying pan to fire."

"My father was one of your many sugar daddies and because of you, my family was broken and I became the one person I despised the most."

Ewa cleared her throat as if she was choking on her emotions.

Fola's eyes were round and wide with fear.
Yes, she was done with people trying to still associate her with her past. But she was learning that there were still consequences for every bad decision made.

Fola shut her eyes and opened them. "I'm so sorry, Ewa. I know sorry doesn't cut it. I didn't mean to hurt anyone. Infact, I didn't know any better then."

"But that doesn't change anything. My family is still in shambles and my life isn't any better. Just because of girls like you," she spat with venom. "I have no business with you. But Godswill? Yes. Since he doesn't want me, then he shouldn't want you either. We are the same. Tainted. Undeserving. I'm sure he doesn't know you, that's why he's sticking around like white on rice and defending you like you're a saint. You know what to do. No need to hurt him."

Fola was still silent, staring with tear-filled eyes as Ewa stood and left her table.

The hall was getting stuffy for her and she was on the verge of hyperventilating. She sat still for a moment to gather her thoughts and blink away the tears before picking up her purse and Godswill's, and made her way towards the exit.

Once she got out, she leaned against one of the wall's farthest from the hall. She felt like she had used every shred of strength within her in her encounter with Ewa, even though she hadn't said much.

God, help me.

As much as she had held her own in front of her, she still felt the sting of words said and unsaid. She didn't know how much Godswill had heard or been told, but she was sure about one thing. If he judged her for her past, then he didn't deserve to be in her present or future. The present and future God had changed, and she had fought to walk in. Nobody was worth losing all those for. No one.

On the other hand though, she knew that Godswill was too much of a good person to have her in his life. She had done things she wasn't proud of and she had experienced things no one should. He didn't deserve to be with someone like her and she'd tell him as much.

As she battled with those two parallels of thought, she dusted invisible lint off her dress. And it wasn't because the mere thought of letting him go was already causing her tear glands to become overactive.

**********

Godswill was just about to go back in when his eyes caught Fola gracefully sprinting towards another exit of the hall. He would have called out to her, but she seemed to have something on her mind. He turned to give her some space but he couldn't.

Let me just check that she is okay. Besides, she has my bag.

He winced. Even his second statement sounded like an excuse to his own ears. He rounded the corner and saw her dusting her dress. He knew the environment they were in was too neat to have dirtied her dress.

"You're going to make a hole in your dress the way you're rubbing at it."

He watched as she jumped and looked up, with her left hand finding its way to her chest.

"You scared me!" She shrieked as she flung his purse at him. Thanks to his reflexes, he was able to catch it in time.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd have thought you wanted to stone me with my purse."

Fola only eyed him and she straightened to her full height. "You deserved it."

"Hmmmm." He could see the tell-tale signs of tears in her eyes but he didn't mention it.

"So, why are you outside? Did you miss me so much that you had to come looking for me?"

She wrinkled her nose at him. "You wish. I just needed some air."

"Are you sure? Or are you indirectly calling me the air you breathe?"

"Stop it, Godswill. Your jokes are so dry, I can almost feel the crunchiness." She rolled her eyes.

Laughing out loud, he gestured for them to find a place to sit. They walked towards the lone fountain facing the event hall and sat.

"So, why did you come out? Did you even finish your food?" He asked as he looked into her eyes.

She stared back a second longer before turning away. "It was getting stuffy in there so I had to leave. Besides, I was also worried you didn't touch your current favourite meal."

"So you came to look for me. See, and you denied it before."

She sniffed, but said nothing in reply.

There was a comfortable silence as they both were lost in their thoughts. The highlife music being played by the DJ filtered through the openings of the hall and found its way to them.

Godswill began to tap his feet in time with the beat, while Fola hummed along.

"Even your humming sounds beautiful."

"Thank you. But why is your feet-tapping a semi-demi beat late?"

With his eyes narrowed and nose scrunched, he replied, "Whatever, babe."

He only realised what he had said when he saw the amused look on her face. He let it pass to avoid things being awkward.

While they still enjoyed the mini-serene atmosphere, he saw Ewa walk out of the hall, now clinging onto another unsuspecting guy's arm.

"Another prey," he muttered.

"You said?"

Turning to her, he gave a smile. "Nothing."

*********

Godswill was acting suspicious and her interest was piqued. She tried to follow the direction of his eyes and then she saw Ewa. Her breath caught in her throat. She couldn't hold back her questions anymore, so she spoke up.

"Did that girl say anything to you?"

"What girl?" He asked, with true confusion evident on his face.

Fola looked in the girl's direction. "That one. The one at your 12 o'clock."

"Are we covert agents now?"

Fola knew the moment he saw the girl. She was sure he'd have had whiplash if he had turned faster than he did to face her.

"Do you know her? Did she say something to you? Why do you ask? Did she really say something?" He asked, while he looked like he wanted to go to give the girl a piece of his mind.

She held onto his arm to get his full attention and dropped it when he faced her again.

"No, I don't know her. Yes, she did. I saw your reaction that's why I asked."

"Ewa doesn't listen. I warned her to stay away from you."

"So, she did say something to you." It was a statement.

*********

Godswill had no intention of hurting Fola's feelings but he wasn't going to patronize her. She deserved better. And if he wanted her to open up to him, he had to do the same and trust that she'd do the same thing.

"And you even know her name too," she was saying.

He gazed into her eyes and he could see the struggle to control her emotions. Her poker face was award-winning but her eyes told a different story.

"I know her name because she was a classmate while I was in school. We weren't even friends but... ," he trailed off. "Anyways, I met her again here. When I heard her call my name I actually thought it was you. I must have been out of my mind because you're nothing like her."

He didn't need a fortuneteller to tell him that Fola didn't hear the humour or compliment in his statement. Her expression was more stoic than it was a few seconds before and she looked like she didn't want to hear more.

I need to say what needs to be said.

"So she was the reason I left my food uneaten. Apparently, she—."

He was cut off by Fola's ringing phone. Godswill sighed and watched as she picked up.

******

So she's important enough to stop you from eating your favourite meal?

Fola's line of thought stopped as she picked her phone without checking the caller ID.

"Where are you, babes?"

"I'm outside the hall."

"What are you doing there? Ooooh, I see you. No wonder you left the hall. You wanted some alone time with Mr. Godswill, uhn."

"What are you talking about, Ami?" Fola looked around till she saw her clown of a friend grinning like a wolf from the doorway of the hall.

"Keep pretending you don't know what I mean. Anyways, the wedding party is rounding up. We should return to our hotel to avoid traffic at some spots. You know how Lagos is."

"Okay, I will meet you by the car."

Fola ended the call and made to rise up.
She wasn't sure she wanted to know how much Ewa had told Godswill. Maybe later. All the bravado of earlier had suddenly developed wings and flown away.

"I need to go."

"Oh, okay. I wanted to still talk to you. I'm returning to Abeokuta early tomorrow morning. Would you love to travel with me? You can save your transport fare and have a comfortable ride with me."

"Ugh, I'm not sure I can leave so early. I still want to say bye to Bola before I leave."

"Which Bola are you saying bye to? Bola that is going on her honeymoon in a few minutes. Her flight to Bali is tonight," Ami quipped in.

"When did you get here?" Fola asked with irritation in her voice.

Ignoring her, Ami continued, "Sir Godswill, she will go with you in the morning. Just come to Eco Hotel in Lekki Phase one. She will be ready to be picked up."

Godswill looked from Ami to Fola and back again. "Okay. I will be there by 5:30am, so that we can still make service in church. And Ami, you can call me Godswill. Sir Godswill makes me sound like an old British colonial master."

Ami giggled, then turned to Fola. "He's funny too. I like him."

"Ami!" Fola shrieked.

"See you at the car. Bye, Godswill." Fola watched as her friend sashayed towards the parking lot which was already filled with the party attendees also leaving for their various destinations.

"Let me walk you to the car."

Nodding, she moved with Godswill walking in step with him.

"So, we will continue this conversation tomorrow?"

"Yes, we will," she replied half-heartedly.

"I enjoyed spending today with you. And I'm looking forward to tomorrow too."

Hmm. That may change soon.

"Okay. See you in the morning."

With a slight wave and a small smile, Fola turned and entered the car waiting for her. She had mixed feelings. She didn't want to hear what Godswill had heard and she wanted to at the same time.

Oh God, help me.

*******

Sunday morning arrived with the sun shinning bright at dawn and the birds chirping excitedly. Godswill could see and appreciate the beauty of that morning which was unusual for him. He wasn't one for watching sun rises but that morning was different.

The knock on his car window broke him out of his reverie and he saw Ami's mischief-filled smiling face before he saw Fola's reluctant one.

He alighted and helped Fola with her bag.
"Good morning, ladies," he greeted with his eyes lingering on Fola.

"Good morning," Ami chirped. "She's ready to go."

"Thank you very much, Ami." Fola gritted her teeth at her friend.

"I'll miss you, babes. I'll come see you soon in Abeokuta. And hopefully hear some good news," Ami said with her thumb pointing in Godswill's direction.

"Will miss you too, babe. Okay. Bye."

Godswill waved at Ami and got into the car while Fola and Ami exchanged the legendary teary female hugs; something Godswill was sure was a mystery to all the male species on the planet. When guys meet up or leave, it was always the same bro handshake or second-long bro hug mingled with friendly insults and hailing. But females were a whole different vibe. The shrieking and hugging peppered with cheek kisses and jumbled words were their specialty.

After some minutes of the ladies exchanging their teary hug, Fola got into the car and continued waving till Ami faded out of sight.

"You guys must be great friends."

"Yes, we are. She's one of the few people with whom I can be myself. And I will miss her."

"Cool. She reminds me of Vwede in a way."

"I know right. I told her the same thing. She's low-key jealous of Vwede at the moment though. She claims I'm always talking about her."

Godswill laughed.

"Did you rest well?" Fola asked after a beat.

"Yeah, I did. You?"

"Yep."

They both stayed silent as they tuned in to their church's online early morning devotion. As they participated in praying in tongues and listening to the declarations being made, Godswill navigated the car out of Lagos and onto the highway leading to Abeokuta.

*********

Fola really didn't want to continue the conversation, especially while Godswill was driving. So, after the devotion, she was glad that they were almost in Abeokuta and only some minutes were left before they got to church for service.

"Will you go home to refresh or drive straight to church?"

"Hmmmm. I'm not sure yet. I think I'll go straight to church but I can drive you home and wait to pick you up back to church."

"That's sweet but you don't have to. I'll find my way home and meet up with you after service is done. I think that's okay, shey?"

Godswill turned for a second to look at her before he replied, "Okay then."

Beautiful!

********

"There are some people here. You have been asking God for a spouse. God says your spouse is here already!" Pastor Jake was saying into the microphone. "Another group of people have been asking God for financial breakthrough. God says He has done it already. Step into your miracle now!"

The entire congregation responded with a loud amen, while some very enthusiastic parishioners sprinkled across the auditorium broke forth in a dance.

"Your level has changed. You have moved! Say this to five or six people: Relocation Alert! I am no longer where I used to be. I have moved!"

There was an organised pandemonium as some people left their seats and searched for the five people to exchange the words with. While some others just rotated in one spot and told the people seated around them. It was lovely to see the joy on people's faces as they enthusiastically repeated the words to others.

"Somebody rejoice in your God!"

The instrumentalists began to play the intro of Miracle by Anthony Brown and Group Therapy which made all the parishioners jump and scream with joy.

Godswill joined in rejoicing as his eyes tried to find the one he felt so sure was the one God had prepared for him. He had heard what others thought of her but he had a witness in his heart.

She was the one.

It didn't mean he was fully fine with what he had been told but he knew God had had everything good planned for him even before he came on the scene. Fola was his everything good and he wasn't going to miss the blessing of having her in his life by being a sanctimonious jerk.

********

Fola could feel that someone was staring at her even in the midst of all the jubilation at the word going on in the service. But she couldn't find the person. The service was a special one as declarations kept coming forth feom their Pastor as soon as he was done preaching. Healings took place as prayers were said and people came out to testify to the goodness of God.

It felt like the burden she carried got heavier with the words proclaimed. There was no way she was someone's spouse. Too much damage had been done. And she was just fine serving God just the way she was. In fact, being single was the latest trend. Wasn't it?

She didn't know when she dissolved into quiet sobs right in the middle of service. The young lady seated to their right was kind enough to give her tissues and rub her back as she let it all out.

She felt that it was better she wept now, so she wouldn't while speaking with Godswill.