A Valentine Day Fiasco Chapter 5 – Sunday Services..

Sunday was a usually slow day for Cynthia. Normally she woke up and did her personal care routine. Today was no different, at first. She woke up at 7:00am and said her morning prayers. After that, she stood up and went to her bathroom. From the wooden shelf hanging in a corner of the bathroom, she took her face scrub and applied it in her face. Sunday was the only day she had to take care of her skin and pamper it she did. She waited for the facial scrub to do its job and while she was waiting she took a look at her legs. “Yikes. The hairs are already out again. Why did I inherit this hairy trait from dad?” She muttered to herself. She made her way to the bathroom opened the cupboard and brought out her shaving cream. She took her time to apply the white substance on her legs taking note of areas she had taken notice of that had stubborn hairs. While she was doing that, she heard her phone ring. She took a look at the clock on the wall; it was just 7:30 in the morning. Who could possibly be calling her now? She rushed into the room from the bathroom to pick up the phone call. It was her mum. She groaned and answered the call.

“Hello mum. Good morning”, she said as sweetly as she could.

“Good morning Cynthia. I hope you are getting ready for church today. Remember today is the day we are doing your cousin’s freedom service at church”, her mother replied

She swore silently. She had totally forgotten. Chimamanda or Amanda as she called her, was having her freedom service today. She just finished learning hairdressing and a bunch of other things from a big time hairdressing and cosmetology school and there was a special service for her after the normal church program. Amanda was her favorite cousin. She couldn’t afford to miss this for anything. She and Amanda were really close; not as close as she was with Rachel but they were close enough compared to her relationship with her other cousins. Amanda was the only sane one from that family of theirs and she only related with her other cousins because of her. She wasn’t like the others.

“Cynthia? Are you still there? Why aren’t you saying anything?” Her mum continued disrupting her thoughts.

“Yes mum I am. I had almost forgotten. I will be there.” She said hanging up before her mum would start nagging her.

She had already started having a burning sensation in her legs so she hurried to shave her legs, washed them and washed off the scrub off her face and started running her bat. She hurried to have her bath and came out to choose an outfit for the event. After 20 minutes of choosing and tossing clothes on the bed she settled for a cream colored, three-quarter sleeved, off shoulder crop top and a flowered knee-length skater skirt. She choose a pair of black pumps to go with it and some gold jewelry. “I am so going to be late today” she lamented. When she was done putting her outfit on, she set out to put on her make up. She couldn’t afford to go to a family event without full body make up. She started with her primer and then started drawing her brows.

John was woken up from sleep by his ringing mobile phone. He ignored the phone, letting it ring for the first time and it rang again and again. On the third ring, he decides to answer the call in frustration. Who in their right senses would be disturbing his sleep this morning? As he was picked up the phone from the bedside table he saw the caller id mum and groaned. His mum really wasn’t going to let it slide this Sunday after all. He cleared his throat so that his mum wouldn’t know he had been sleeping and answered the phone with the most civil tone he could muster.

“Morning mum. Sleep Well?”

“Morning dear. I hope you didn’t forget you promised you would be in church with us today? Your sister with her husband and son are coming too. You can’t afford to be MIA.”

He chuckled at the fact that his mum used the word MIA. Where had she learnt that from?

“No mum I didn’t forget. But do I really have to come? I mean Ronke is going to be there with you guys. You don’t need your embarrassing unmarried son of yours around. Plus I can’t stand being around Ronke and husband with her family looking all cute, picture perfect and so in love. Not that I hate her or something. I love her to bits but it just seems too unreal to me”

“Dele John Martins, do not even go there. You are going to be in church. You promised and you know a promise is a debt. I always know how to collect such debts remember?”

“Yes mum. I do.” He replied

He cringed as he remembered. His mum was really good at collecting such “debts” from him. He wondered what she might have had in mind. It didn’t matter though, he didn’t want to know. He was going to find a way to get to church even if it meant staying round Ronke and her seemingly beautiful family.

His mum had hung up knowing that her statement has sunk in since he wasn’t saying anything and he got up from his bed.

He went into the bathroom and proceeded to have his bath. Within minutes, he was ready and proceeded to leave.

   Meanwhile, Cynthia on her own end had just finished her makeup application, after which she picked up a black clutch, tossed her phone and wallet in it and dashed out of the room. She came back to switch off her appliances and headed out of the apartment entered into her car and drove off to church.

Click here to read Chapter 6.