Amara sat on the floor of her bedroom with Ada, their legs stretched out before them, a tray of beans balanced between them as they picked out the stones and dropped them one by one into a bowl beside them.
The room smelled faintly of palm oil from the stew Ada had cooked earlier, and the sound of children playing in the school in the building behind theirs drifted in through the open window.
"What you're doing is not good. I don't think you should be avoiding him. It doesn't even make sense," Ada said after a while.
Amara didn't respond. Instead, she changed the subject. "Let's do this thing fast. I want to go and start cutting the materials for the dress I want to make."
Ada rolled her eyes, "Go and cut your materials. I will finish it myself. It's better if I do it alone than if I'm sitting down here with you and you're not saying anything."
Amara sighed softly. "Sorry. I'm just not in the mood to talk. Let me kuku go and sew to clear my head." Amara rose and headed for the living room.
Just as she picked up the material and chalk, a soft knock came at her door.
Amara's heart skipped a beat, and for a moment, she thought it might be Michael, until Pastor Dele called out to her. "Sister Amara, it's your Pastor."
Immediately, she walked to the door. "Pastor," she said in surprise when she opened the door and saw him. "Good afternoon, sir. Please come in."
She immediately let him in, and as he walked into the house, he smiled warmly. "Peace be unto this house."
"Amen," Amara said, feeling a sudden urge to tidy the room, even though it wasn't messy.
He walked in slowly, his eyes moving around the modest space. "So this is where you live now?"
"Yes, sir," she said, not sure whether to close the door behind him or not. "Please, sit." She pulled out one of the two plastic chairs and placed it near the cutting table.
Pastor Dele sat and looked around again, nodding. "Your place is nice. If you don't mind, could we sit outside?"
"Yes, sir." Amara quickly took both chairs outside. "Let me quickly go and buy malt for you."
"No, no," he stopped her before she could leave. "Sit down. I didn't come to burden you. I just came to see how you're doing and know where you live."
Amara hesitated, then sat on the chair opposite him, wondering if she should call Ada out or not.
"How are you, sister Amara?" he asked softly.
Amara smiled faintly. "I'm fine, sir. God has been faithful."
"And your mother? How is her health?"
"She is fine to the glory of God."
He studied her for a moment, his eyes gentle and observant. "I'm glad to hear that. Do not hesitate to reach out to me directly if you need my help or counsel."
"I will keep that in mind, sir. Thank you, sir."
Silence fell for a moment. Amara lowered her gaze to her hands, wondering if she should say something or just keep quiet. She didn't like the silence. It made her uncomfortable.
Finally, Pastor Dele leaned forward. "Sister Amara, apart from wanting to check on you, I also wanted to discuss something with you."
Amara lifted her head slowly. "What is it, sir? Is everything okay?" She asked, wondering if it was about her outing with Michael the night before. Maybe the deacon and his wife had reported them.
He cleared his throat. "Everything is okay. Have you been praying about your God ordained life partner?"
Amara paused, taken aback by the question. She swallowed and nodded. "I started praying about it recently."
"That's good to know. Have you heard anything from God? Has He shown you anything regarding your life partner?"
Amara didn't say anything for a moment. She wasn't sure it was wise to tell him that the only dream she'd had regarding a life partner was of Michael.
Besides, that might have been her heart playing tricks on her, rather than God speaking to her.
She shook her head. "No, sir."
"I see. The thing is, two brothers in church have spoken to me concerning you being their wife."
Her heart jumped, and her eyes widened. "Two brothers?"
"Yes," he said carefully, choosing not to mention any names.
Her lips parted, but no words came. She could only stare at him. She wasn't sure what to say. She wanted to ask who they were, but was too nervous to do so.
Why would anyone speak to the pastor about marrying her after what she had told the choristers? She suspected that Emma was one of them, but could Michael be the other?
"I told both of them I will pray," Pastor Dele continued. "And I will. But I also want you to pray about it. I won't be telling you their names because I don't want your knowledge of their identity to influence your prayer or decision. So, would you like us to fast and pray together about it?"
"But I'm not ready to get married now…"
"And you're under no pressure to do so," he said gently, sensing her struggle. "However, you must pray so you don't miss God's will for you. I'm sure God has the perfect plan for your life, and that's more important than your personal plan."
Amara swallowed hard. "Yes, sir."
"There's something else," Pastor Dele said after a pause. "Pastor David, the pastor of the church where you met Michael, called me yesterday. He asked about you. He said he wants to visit with his wife. "I didn't give him your address. I wanted to ask you first."
For some reason, her stomach tightened with dread. "Please, sir. Don't give it to him."
Pastor Dele tilted his head. "You don't want to see him?"
Her voice came out low but firm. "No, sir. Please. I don't think we have anything to discuss, and there's no reason for us to meet."
He watched her for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Alright. I won't."
"I learned you were out with Pastor Michael yesterday," he said, and her heart skipped a beat.
"We only saw movies and got food. Nothing happened," she assured him.
He smiled slightly. "I'm sure nothing happened. I'm only mentioning it because I heard about it. Let me know when it will be convenient for you, and we can embark on a three-day fast and prayer."
"Thank you, sir. I will."
"Good. Let's pray. I still have to visit other members."
After a few words of prayer and blessing, he left.
As Amara watched him go, she pressed her hands to her face and sighed, "Lord, what am I supposed to do?"
"Amara, my daughter, marry Michael," Ada responded in a deep voice, and Amara turned to eye her.
"You were eavesdropping but didn't come out to greet the pastor?" She asked with disapproval.
"Greet him as per what? Abeg abeg, I nuh dey for all that talk. Take your phone. You have missed calls," Ada said, handing it to her. "I'm going outside to stretch my legs. Let me stroll around."
Amara took the phone, and as Ada went downstairs, she returned inside the house and unlocked it to see who the caller was.
Her heart skipped a beat when she saw that it was Michael's mother, and she wondered if the woman was calling because she'd also heard about her date with Michael.
She bit her lip as she contemplated whether to call her back, then, after a moment, she decided to do so and be done with it.
Michael's mother picked up the call almost immediately, "Amara, my darling. Were you busy?" She asked after Amara greeted her.
"Yes, ma. Pastor Dele was here to see me, so I was talking with him outside and left my phone in the room," she explained.
"Oh, that's fine. So, how are you doing? How is everything?"
"Everything is fine, ma. How are you, mummy? How is Daddy and sister Deborah?" Amara asked politely.
"We are fine. Everyone is fine. How is Tega?" She asked, and Amara hesitated.
Was this a trap question? She wondered.
Remembering that Michael's sister knew about the date and had likely told their mother, she decided to mention it. "Mummy, I have something to tell you."
"Really? Go on then. I hope everything is fine," she said, and Amara swallowed.
"Yesterday, after service, Pastor Michael took me out. We went to see a movie and hung out together," Amara said quietly.
"Debbie told me. I hope you both had fun," she said, and tears gathered in Amara's eyes as she wondered how to tell the kind woman that her son had asked her to be in a relationship with him.
She didn't want her to feel betrayed or that Amara was using her son. What if Michael's mother decides to cut her off after she tells her everything?
"Amara? Are you there?" Michael's mother asked when Amara did not speak for a while.
"Mummy, I'm sorry," Amara cried, feeling sorry that she had feelings for Michael and that he had asked her out.
"Sorry? What for? What happened? Did you do something wrong?"
"Pastor Michael said he likes me and wants to be in a relationship with me. I'm sorry," Amara cried, then rushed to assure her, "but I didn't accept. I told him no and that I'm not ready to be in a relationship. I don't want you to be angry with me for making him like me. I don't know what I did to make him like me. It wasn't my intention," Amara cried, breaking into a sob.