CHAPTER EIGHT

His parents had been so disappointed when his sister told them, his father cried when he realised it wasn’t a joke, Dennis was surprised, he hadn’t seen his father cry before, his dad quietly walked into the room, shock wouldn’t let him say anything, he had always preached and advised people to control their temper when angry, it was his turn to practice what he preached, he realised it was difficult but he had to do it.. His mother couldn’t bear it too, she wanted to shout, to beat, to tear him apart but she couldn’t, it pained her even more because she had unconsciously chosen him as her favorite child, she found herself crying too, she stood up and stared at him with a thousand thoughts flowing through her mind but none could be said out loud, she quietly followed her husband. 

They called his uncles to inform them and they were all disappointed. 

Well, it had happened, would they disown their son because he had tasted what was meant for adults? Would they cast him away because he had gotten a lady pregnant? They decided they would only help him feel the weight of what he had done, they had called him and told him their decision; his academics would be suspended, the money to be used for his school would be used to look after his ' wife’ and any other related issue.

 Been a pastor’s family, they knew they had to thread with caution, they had to accept responsibility and do the appropriate. They knew many people would put their ears to the ground to see how the issue would be handled in church. A delegation would be sent to the girl’s house to accept responsibility for what their son had done, to let them know they were truly sorry and that they were all in it together. 

   Two months into the pregnancy, they began to tease each other about the pregnancy. 

“Did you not know that you had turned into a man who was capable of impregnating a lady? You just poured everything into me,” she had accused him.

“Oh oh oh, so now it’s my fault, Right? Didn't I warn you it was my first time? Why did you not tell me you were old enough to be a mother? I had assumed you were just a little girl now and we were just doing papa and mama play.” They had both laughed at each other and thanked God for how everything had turned out. Their parents had been so supportive, after all they were just children. 

He had cried when his parents drove him to a hospital. They had been called and told the girl had an accident on a bike. It had rained and the road had been slippery, the bike she was on slipped and she landed awkwardly. She had stood up and told everybody around she was alright, it was someone who noticed blood dripping between her legs, no one thought she was pregnant, she was just a girl, they simply assumed it  was a cut or she had been seeing her period, It didn’t even occur to her it had anything to the pregnancy. It was an elderly woman who volunteered to take her to a chemist that asked. She had been rushed to the clinic while her parents were contacted. Dennis’s parent’s had rushed to the hospital too as soon as they heard. They were all told she had had a miscarriage, Dennis could not believe it, he couldn’t say anything, ' elders' were there, let them speak, tear flowed down his cheek when he saw the condition she was in. Both mothers noticed the tear, they began to cry too, ' what pure, genuine, innocent, undiluted love could this be?' the nurse had thought. 

“Will she be alright?” he had asked.

“Oh sure, she will be alright, she will be fine, she just needs to rest here,” the nurse replied. 

His mother and the girl’s mother had slept together in the hospital, they wouldn’t do anything that would give the impression they hadn’t been concerned by what their son had done. The girl’s parents had thanked them so much for being very supportive accepting responsibility as good parents would. 

A few years later, her father was transferred to matola, her parents had taken her to Dennis’s house so they would tell his parents. The parents promised to keep in touch, the young lovers too promised to keep in touch. About a year after they left for matola, everything gradually grew cold. At first they had both put effort, always looking forward to hearing from each other, then as days passed by, she felt she was doing more to get in touch, she decided to reduce her effort. Dennis picked it up from there, after a while, he too felt she had left everything to him. Then days began to pass by without them hearing from each other. But that’s exactly what distance does to relationships, it starts by eating up communication, once communication begins to stutter in a relationship, relationship struggles. 

A new life had begun for him, he could now go to school but he had learnt his lesson the hard way. He wouldn’t allow sex ruin his future again, his parents had warned him again when he secured admission to the university. It was in there he met Jane, the lady who had invited him to a seminar in her church where the speaker had talked about women in the society and getting men to respect them. 

 He had returned from school and had just paid the cab man who brought him when he noticed the room which had been empty in his residential building was now open. Curiosity got the better of him and he peeped to see what was going on. 

“Hi, do you want something?” It was a lady’s voice and it completely took him off guard. When she appeared from room, he had been taken aback by her appearance, she was slim and dark with a round face and a beautiful smile, her check shirt had been tucked into her jean trouser and she spoke with confidence.