Short Story
The Devil Always Carries the Bible Part 2
By Lawrence Kadzitche
After the prayers, Abigail left. But it appeared as if the prayers had not destroyed the powers of the fiend. October is normally a hot and dry month. Suddenly rain clouds gathered from nowhere and lightning zigzagged the sky as thunder rumbled in the distance. Then the heavens opened. A bolt of lightning struck a tree close by. Then just as the rains had started, they stopped, and the sun ruled the skies again.
Mrs. Gobede was convinced this was the work of the Prince of Darkness in conjunction with her demonic maid. Betina had obviously brewed the rain with the aim of killing her with the lighting. Armed with her worn-out bible, she started praying while throwing punches and kicks like an out of shape boxer. When Mr. Gobede returned from work in the evening, he found her deeply agitated and praying at the top of her voice. Surprised, he stood in the doorway wondering what had happened. He quickly guessed the story from what he could hear in the prayer. The name of Betina came frequently as an incarnation of evil.
“Good evening,” he greeted her, knowing better not to ask.
It took several minutes for Mrs. Gobede to get out of her prayer induced trance. “Praise God that you’re here…”
Mr. Gobede cut her by giving her the wrapped package that he was carrying. “I bought a present for you, honey.”
“What’s the occasion?” Mrs. Gobede asked, frowning.
Mr. Gobede gave her a disarming smile. “Does a husband need an occasion to spoil his wife?”
The mountainous woman glanced at him like a suspicious dog while unwrapping the package. Inside was a dress. She unfolded it and held it in front of her examining it. It was a shimmering red evening dress with glittering sequins.
“What is this?” she barked.
The question took Mr. Gobede aback. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
“Since when did you become dumb?” she asked. “I asked: what is this?”
“What kind of question is that? Can’t you see it’s a dress?”
Mrs. Gobede gave a terrible laugh. “I’m a Christian woman, Joseph.”
“What has that to do with the dress?” Mr. Gobede wanted to know.
“I live by the holy book,” Mrs. Gobede continued as if her husband had not spoken.
“So, what has that to do with the dress?” Mr. Gobede pressed on.
“Am I a street walker or your wife?”
Mr. Gobede took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Silently he asked: God, what did I do to deserve this? But he kept his mouth zipped.
“This dress is fit for a slut. One, it is too bright; who would I be attracting? Two, the slit slit is too deep. Three…”
“Honey…”
“Don’t honey me. This is a serious matter. How can you buy this sinful dress for a Godly woman like me?” she asked and when Mr. Gobede didn’t answer, she shouted. “How?”
Still, her husband had no ready response to the question.
“Where did you get the idea to buy this dress? Who did you see wearing this type of dress? I’ve now started suspecting your morals, Joseph. From now onwards, I’ll have my Godly eye on you.”
“Comfort…”
Mrs. Gobede moved to the mantelpiece and set her shoulders against it. “Speak no evil,” she hissed caressing the carving of four monkeys. “You should return the dress.”
“Sweetheart…”
“Shup up! I’ve said you must return the dress!”
“Calm down, Comfort…”
“Don’t tell me to calm down. I get attacked and you’re telling me to calm down? Or are you in cahoots with her?”
Mr. Gobede moved to an arm chair and sat down. “In cahoots with who?”
“With diablo through his agent Betina…”
Mr. Gobede got to his feet, frustration written all over his face. “I’ve told you to stop seeing this new prophet of yours. He’s planting weird ideas in your head.”
“Joseph Gobede, don’t you ever speak ill of the anointed of God lest you will be struck with holy ghost fire,” Mrs. Gobede paused and pounced on her bible. “Now let me return to my prayers.”
Mr. Gobede glanced at his wife facing him belligerently with the bible. “What prayers?”
“My bible says pray without ceasing, so that’s why I’m always praying…”
“I don’t think…”
Mrs. Gobede patted her bible like a pet. “Are you trying to go against this beautiful holy book?”
“No, but what I can’t understand is….”
Mrs. Gobede cut him by waving her bible. “I don’t blame you. It’s already written in this sweet book that what has been hidden from the wise and prudent has been revealed to the babes and suckling.”
Mr. Gobede scratched his head.
“Do I need to say any more?” Mrs. Gobede asked mischievously.
A week later, Betina was going about her early morning chores when her sister Anna arrived. She was a bubbly short woman of about thirty-five.
“Hey, you look like some mad woman,” Betina said, laughing.
Anna brought her hands on Betina’s shoulders, also laughing. “Can’t you see it’s so windy today? It’s a miracle my wig wasn’t blown off.”
Betina brushed the dust off Anna’s clothes and adjusted her wig which was way off its normal place.
“How’s mum?” Betina asked, returning to cleaning the sitting room.
“She’s very fine,” Anna replied. “So, how’s ‘madam Betina do this’?”
Betina laughed. “Ornery as always but fine.”
“Still living by the good old book?”
“The book of the law should never leave your mouth,” Betina said imitating Mrs. Gobede’s voice.
“I’m a Christian woman, Betina. I live by the good old book,” Anna said, sounding exactly like Mrs. Gobede.
They both laughed and hugged.
“We’re done here. Let’s go and have breakfast.”
“Thanks, sister. I’m famished.”
They went out and sat down on the veranda. Betina quickly prepared the breakfast. As they were about to start eating, Mrs Gobede appeared in the doorway. She looked at the two in shock.
“What is happening here?”
The question astonished both Betina and Anna. They looked at each other, not knowing what to say.
Mrs. Gobede snatched the cups of tea and poured their contents on the floor. Then she dumped the pieces of bread on the ground and stamped on them.
“How can you be having breakfast when you’ve not cleaned the house yet?”
“Madam, I’ve already cleaned the house.”
“You’ve already cleaned the house? Knew it! Whenever this savage of your sister visits you something bad happens,” she declare and grabbed Betina by the collar. “Let’s go and see.”
Both Betina and Anna followed her into the sitting room. The room, which was squeaky-clean when she left it, was now
littered with leaves and flower petals which the wind had blown in through the open windows.
“You called this room clean?” she asked dragging Betina around the room.
“I cleaned the room, madam. It’s the wind that has blown the leaves in.”
“I’m a Christian woman; I do not lie. I live by the book!”
Mrs. Gobede slapped Betina.
“The room was clean! What is this?”
The camera shows what she’s pointing at. They had all stepped on the tea she had spilled at the veranda and as a result left their footprints as we moved about the living room.
“Then why are these footmarks here if you cleaned the room.”
“Madam, we’ve just made these prints ourselves and as for the leaves, they’ve been blown in by the wind. The room was clean before then. As a matter of fact, I helped her in the cleaning.”
“Ah, now I know the source of her laziness-it’s your mother?”
“Hold it right there, bitch. How does our mother come into this?”
“Oh, you don’t, see? A person’s actions are as a result of his or her upbringing. Someone brought up in a pigsty cannot see any filth here. And since both of you cannot see the dirt then I can safely assume that you were brought up in a dump!”
“Mrs. Gobede, our mother keeps her hut cleaner than this house, doing all the cleaning and household chores by herself. All you know is to scream Betina do this, Betina do that; between you two, who’s lazy?”
Mrs. Gobede gave her the glare she reserved for sinners. “You dare ask me that question?”
Anna moved closer to Mrs. Gobede and stood on her toes so that their faces were almost touching. “I’ll dare you whatever I like! And who do you think you are? If Mr. Gobede hadn’t made the mistake of marrying you, you would just be a nobody selling badly brewed spirits in your home village.”
“Anna, please…”
“Shut up, Tina. You shouldn’t let this witch get away with everything. You should teach her to respect you. If not as a human being, then as a worker. In any case she’s a savage who’s just lucky she married a well to do husband!”
Mrs. Gobede looked so shocked. Her mouth moved but no words came out. Then she turned and stormed out of the house. They heard her car drive away.
“Anna, how could you say that to my employer?”
Anna smiled. “Relax little sister. I just told her the truth. She has neither the looks nor manners that justify her being a wife to that nice and handsome man she calls her husband.”
“Anna…”
“Women who mistreat others the way Mrs. Gobede does, do not deserve a good husband. You’re beautiful and well mannered. Like Esther in the Bible, you can easily grab her husband.”
“I came here to work and not wreck a marriage…”
Anna raised her hand. “Esther had no plans of wrecking Vashti’s marriage until Vashti by her own actions provided the opportunity. Mrs Gobede, by mistreating you, has forfeited your trust and loyalty.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“Being a housemaid does not mean that one is not endowed with the assets that men crave for. We take you out of the nanny uniform, you are a knockout, with a body that would make any normal man salivate with desire.”
“I don’t get what you are trying to say…”
“I know, little sister. But when I’m gone, think about what I’ve said and perhaps you’ll have picked something beneficial from our conversation.”
End of Part 2
