"Dear! The landlord said he will park our load out tomorrow,  if we refuse to pay the house rent. " Matthew said, after a long deep sigh.
Elizabeth,  her wife who was busy turning amala took her hands off the turning stick that its lower part was buried in the heap of amala, separated her feet that were gripping the pot firmly to the ground and rested her forehead on her shaken hands.
Matthew expected to hear the continuity of the po-po-po sound of amala,  but it did not come.  He  realized  that this was not the right time to break this kind of bad news.  He had done a good job to pet Dorcas,  their four months old baby and saw her sleep. He left the room for kitchen, which is just 4steps walk to do the second petting.  "Dear,  you don't  need this,  God will surely provide. " he said.
After a short while, she raised her head, looked up, spread her hands like a person trying to tell someone in a distant lousy place 'I don't  know' and whisper: "God we have no one,  but you alone, never forsake us Lord."

The next day dawned. The two bedroom flat they resided in had only a bathroom. They'd take their bath one after the other. He stood by the bathroom door, waiting for her, so he could take his bath as soon as she came out. As  she was coming out from the bathroom,  they heard knock at their door,  Elizabeth volunteered to go check, so as to save Matthew's time.  When she opened the door,  it was Daddy Ayo,  the cunning  man from the next street.
"Good morning mummy Dorcas,  do I meet Daddy Dorcas? " he said, refusing to turn his eyes away from her body.
His lustful  look brought her to the consciousness of herself that she was on towel.
  "Oh! I'm just coming  from the bathroom,  good morning sir.  You meet him, he just entered the bathroom, he goes out around 7:30am... " she turned to check the time by the wall clock "and this is still few minutes to seven. " as she turned back, his eyes were still plugged on her body.
  "Come in sir"
"Never mind,  I'm okay like this"
Look at the beauty in her eyes, a glow that shines like the sunrise. Her smile opens up the cloudy skies,
She is a thorn-less rose without compare, Aw, if my wife can be like this, I will indeed be the luckiest man on earth. He thought.

He finally turned down his head, changed the laptop bag he was carrying to his lefthand, unzipped it and pulled out a bail of 500 naira note and zipped it back.                 As he was about to give her he couldn't still control the lust that overwhelmed him.

" I have #50,000 with me and all this will be yours if" he paused.

They have prayed all night,  she was grateful to God in her heart, as she sensed this was God at work.  Her feeling of the greatness of God now superseded the lustful look plugged on her body. she was curious to hear the next word, but it did not come as fast and vibrant as she hoped.

  "...If you can let me have just a glimpse of your nakedness." he whispered.

This rendered confusion to her thought. Can this be God?  But God is not evil now. The words of her husband about the landlord parking their load out today now appeared more real to her. The blunt sound of the heavy drops of water reminded her that her husband will soon be out of the bathroom and that she needed to decide fast. she remembered their long hours of prayer in the midnight.  In her head she scanned through the stories of the Bible to confirm if God did use small sins; as she saw it to bring salvation and deliverance. She remembered the story of Abraham and Sarah in the foreign land, that Abraham  had to lie that Sarah was not his wife but sister.  She remembered that of Peter how he denied Jesus three times.  She found these  stories applicable to her current situation and imagined the shame that would be bequeathed on her family if she failed to accept this uncommon offer, because the landlord was a man of his word. The story of Judas Iscariot pop up in her head.
All she needed was a story related to hers in the Bible, so she could forever use it to patch any loophole that might give conscience the chance to torment her.
Why is the money the exact amount of our rent?  Why did he come today, which is the ultimatum of our rent payment?
  Why am I the one that came out to answer the knock at the door? 
All these questions hovered on her mind, and convinced her the man was God-sent.

She unwrapped  the towel and wrapped it back at once.

  Daddy Ayo smiled like a person that had just successfully completed a mission, handed the money to her and left.

She was carried away  by the joy of having the money to the extent of not remembering to ask him of his reason for the morning visitation before his untold departure.

She was extremely happy but as well bothered. She knew it would never sound pleasant in the ears of her husband.  As she approached the room's door, she thought of various congenial lies: I will tell him it is the woman from the next door,  and if he asked me what she came for, I would say she came to borrow matches.  Noooo...  The man might have said something I did not hear like 'hello' while knocking ... Hmmm.  Oh! I will tell him the truth about who knocked and if he asked what he was here for,  I would tell him he came to pay the money he was owing me.  She noded her head and smiled.

"You are done bathing?" She said.
"Yah. who was that?" He asked the question she was prepared to answer. He did not turn to her,  busy unbuttoning his ironed parked shirt.
"It was Daddy Ayo" she answered.

He turned abruptly "enh?" Parted his lips, opened his eyes wide. And smile touched his jolted face.

"Yes,  Daddy Ayo that resides in the second street" she repeated in a convinced tone.

Excitement, happiness and enthusiasm were written on his face.

She trembled seeing this, nervousness overwhelmed her. She looked anxiously, expecting more words from him, but words were not coming. she was startled, fear caged her. All manner of thoughts started coming:
Did he see us ? But he was bathing... How could he...?.
Is this a trap?
She can't think straight again.

"Did he give you the money"  he said.
Her heart beat uncontrollably. Her phobia escalated. The drops of water that slid over her face from her wet curly afro hair now turned to sweat.

"Wh.. hich  mo  ..ney ey?" She muttered.

He wore a new look.  He hurriedly retired his face from the long mood of excitement.

"Actually, he was owing me 50,000 naira" he said "Did he give you?" He searched rigorously through her face, and desperately expect her response. He seemed oblivious of her strange look; likening it to a pretense.

The peace that enveloped her was missed with confusion and betrayal.

She was confused whether to say yes or no to his question...And felt that Daddy Ayo betrayed her. She realized he was here naturally to pay her husband.

"Yes he gave me" she whispered. 

"Praise the Lord!" He exclaimed
"Hal  ..l..l..elu...yah" she responded. And threw her hands over her head

Morals:

Generate the morals yourself!

©. Olayiwola Tayelolu