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The Administrator IV-By Edward Maroncha

(Continued from The Administrator III)

(Reminder: we now have two payment systems at the bookstore.

  1. MPESA Automated Digital Payment Method. Log in to the bookstore- register if you are new-(https://www.maroncha.com/book-store). Select the book (The Administrator). Add to cart, check out then pay by inserting your number on the space provided then clicking ‘confirm’. You will be able to download instantly from the bookstore. A copy will also be automatically sent to your email.
  2. Pay Via Till Number. Log in to the bookstore- register if you are new-(https://www.maroncha.com/book-store). Select the book (The Administrator). Add to cart, check out then pay via the Buy Goods Till Number provided. Once you get the message from MPESA, insert the MPESA code on the space provided then click ‘Validate Code’. You will be able to download instantly from the bookstore. A copy will also be automatically sent to your email.

If you get stuck in the process, kindly send a DM to Sanctuaryside on Facebook or email me at info@sanctuaryside.com.

Warmly,

Edward)

                                                       *

Reverend Erastus is confused, but he is also angry. This was supposed to be a happy day for him. He has always wanted to be a pastor, and on this day that dream was coming true.

Then Daisy ruined it.

The decision to become a pastor was not an easy one. He is an only child, and his father is a wealthy businessman. Although the old man Geoffrey is a Presbyterian elder, he did not support his son’s decision to become a clergyman. He wanted Erastus to take the reins of the vast family empire.

The Waithaka family enterprise spans many industries, including real estate,  hospitality, agriculture, banking, insurance and aviation. Under his company, Joncy Enterprises Limited, the old man has rental properties in Nairobi, Nyeri, Karatina, Kerugoya, Kutus, Mwea and Embu. His commercial buildings in these towns generate millions of shillings monthly. He also has a vast farm in Embu and three hotels; one in Chuka, another in Embu and the largest of them in Nyeri. He also owns substantial shares in a bank, an insurance company and a domestic airline.

As he hops into his car, Erastus is thinking about his father. Maybe the old man was right after all. Geoffrey and Daisy have never gotten along. Daisy doesn’t care much about personal wealth. She is a missionary through and through and that is what initially attracted him to her. Although he was brought up in wealth, Erastus got attracted to Christian Ministry when he was in High School.

But the old man refused to buy into his ambition, and insisted that he would have to join the family business. That is how he found himself studying Business Administration at Kenyatta University while interning in his father’s office during school holidays. He met Daisy at KU Christian Union. She was a firebrand missionary, and she re-ignited his own fire. During their time at KU, they went with the Christian Union to places such as Samburu, Turkana, Migori, Lamu and Tana River to spread the gospel.

It did not take long for the old man to discover the influence Daisy was having over his life, and he disliked her instantly. When Erastus told him that he wanted to marry Daisy, the old man Geoffrey refused to bless their union. Daisy and Erastus got married at the Attorney General’s office before they graduated.

The old man refused to talk to his son for several months, but eventually came around. When he did, he had a proposal. Erastus could go to theology school provided he worked part-time at the family business.

“Fine with me,” Erastus said. “Provided you accept Daisy as my wife.”

The old man reluctantly agreed to bless their union, although it was obvious that he still had a bone to pick with Daisy.

                                                                    *

Erastus parks the car outside Marvel Hotel and takes the lift to his apartment. Marvel Hotel is his father’s hotel, and Erastus has a furnished apartment there, complete with an office. This is where he will be working part time while pastoring full time at Makara. It is also in this apartment that he and Daisy have been staying for the last one week.

Predictably, Daisy was not happy with the deal. She would have preferred to have him focus all his energies on the church. But the old man is as cunning as a fox. Upon realizing that he might lose his son to Daisy a second time, he struck a deal with her.  He agreed to set up a Missionary Fund that she would be managing. That placated Daisy.

So while Daisy studied education, she will now be doing mission work full time. She has an office in Chuka town where she will be working. She has a staff of three: a secretary, an accountant, and a janitor. According to the proposal that she submitted to the Board of Trustees of the Fund, she will be working with volunteer student missionaries. The Board of Trustees has three trustees: herself, Erastus and the old man Geoffrey.

The old man established the Fund with an initial capital of one hundred million shillings, with a promise for more depending on how that initial amount is used.

Maybe she married me to further her own selfish ambition, Erastus thinks now.

He only notices that he is still in his pastoral robe when he enters the apartment. He undresses and takes a shower. He throws a bathrobe over his naked body and calls the hotel manager requesting for lunch. He eats while watching a movie.

                                                                  *

After spending several hours with Edna, Daisy realizes that she has been underestimating the older woman. Although she is now Presbyterian, thanks to her husband, Daisy is a Pentecostal at heart. With the exception of her husband, Daisy sees most Christians from mainstream churches as spiritually inadequate. She is a tongue-speaking, demon-chasing, heaven-bound Pentecostal, and a fiery preacher.

While her husband is a charming orator, Daisy keeps her audience engaged through a combination of demonstrative theatrics that only dedicated Pentecostals can pull successfully. She has always believed that her marriage-just like every other aspect  of her life-is protected by a hedge of fire. She is a servant of the Lord, and Satan cannot touch anything that pertains her.

When Edna told them about her divorce while explaining the challenges they would face at their new station, Daisy had worked hard to keep a blank face. She was sneering on the inside. How could a woman of God be divorced? There must be something she was not doing right. Maybe she was not even born again properly. They joked about it with Erastus afterwards and agreed that there is no way something like that would happen to them. They are servants of the Lord with a hedge of fire around them.

Except that today, barely a week after they laughed at Edna behind her back, a similar fate is threatening to befall them.

After seeing her own husband falling to the charms of a temptress, in broad daylight and inside the church he will be leading, Daisy was shaken to the core. She has done everything right. She prayed before she agreed to marry him, and their marriage has been founded on God. So why would humiliations like these befall her? Erastus left without notifying her, and she has called him several times without a response.

So she has spent most of the afternoon crying and listening to Edna. She has been surprised at the depth of wisdom that Edna possesses. Behind the warm smile, the pastor is a strong woman who is well soaked in the word. She may not shout while praying, but this calm woman is indeed a woman of God.

It is only now that Daisy is appreciating how difficult it must have been for Edna to step on the pulpit every Sunday while going through a nasty divorce. How difficult it must have been for her to work with a parish administrator who had ‘stolen’ her husband without any sanction from the church.

“Why are you still a Presbyterian?” she asks the older woman suddenly. “If this church was properly grounded in the faith, that woman Elosy would have been fired a long time ago.”

“There is no single church that is grounded in the faith. It is people who have faith. I have been a Presbyterian minister for twenty years now, and I have worked with some amazing Christians. I want to believe that I have touched many lives through the Presbyterian Ministry. For me, the Presbyterian Church is an instrument that God has given me to use for his purposes. I believe every Christian institution is an instrument. PCEA has worked for me for the last twenty years. I don’t think I should switch just because I met a few nasty characters in this parish.”

                                                                  *

It is getting dark, and Daisy is getting worried.

“Can you call Erastus for me kindly? Maybe he is ignoring me.”

Edna picks her phone from the table and dials Erastus’ number. He does not pick.

“Maybe he just needs space. You can spend the night here then you two can talk tomorrow.”

                                                                 *

Erastus doesn’t want to talk to his wife, so he puts it on silent mode and continues watching the movie. When the movie is done, he checks his phone. He has eight missed calls. Six from Daisy and two from Edna. There is also a text from Edna.

Hello Mchungaji. Your wife is with me. She is upset that you left without informing her and that you are not picking her calls. But I have explained that you probably need space. She will spend the night at the parish house. Could you kindly come over and pick her tomorrow? Blessings. Rev. Edna.

Okay, he types and sends.

It is almost seven in the evening. What will he be doing all night? The planned dinner was abandoned because of Daisy’s drama. He sits on the couch and switches on the TV. Then his phone vibrates. It is a WhatsApp video call from the girl that Daisy slapped in church. She has been on his mind all afternoon. He thought he should call her and apologize for his wife’s behavior. Maybe even get to know her better. He doesn’t want to admit it, but he has been itching to see her again. The challenge was that he didn’t have her number. But now here she is.

“Hi beautiful,” he says before he can stop himself. He is surprised at himself. Since when did he start flirting?

                                                             *

Alice got the number from her mother. As the parish administrator, Elosy is the custodian of all such information. After the altercation in church, Elosy has gone all out to help her daughter bag the youthful minister. She has finally convinced herself that she doesn’t need the young minister. She has slept with enough men and acquired enough wealth. It is her daughter’s time to shine.

It is Elosy who has also advised Alice to video call Erastus. After all, it is a simple video call that broke the Makau’s twenty-three year marriage. And Patrick hadn’t even been interested in the first place.

But even Alice is surprised when Erastus calls her ‘beautiful’. True, he doesn’t know her name. And yes, she knows she filled him with lust in the church. But still, he is a man of God. She would have expected that he would exercise some restraint.

“Hi sweetheart,” she replies, following his lead. She has just left the bathroom and has a towel wrapped around her body. The plan is for the towel to ‘accidentally slip’ allowing the pastor to see what he shouldn’t. “I just wanted to say I am sorry for ruining your induction. My name is Alice by the way. I am sorry I have called you before I even got properly dressed. I have just been feeling so guilty.”

“It is okay. I am the one who owes you an apology. You did nothing wrong. It is my wife who was on the wrong. I don’t know what got over her.”

“I think she just got jealous. She loves you.”

“That is not love. It is obsession. I feel like I should do something to make it up for you.”

“You don’t have to, but if you insist, then dinner will be fine.”

“What are you doing now?”

“I want to dress then watch a movie.”

“Can you come to Chuka?”

“What is in Chuka?”

“The hotel where I am staying. We can have dinner quietly away from the prying eyes of Makara and Kiromo.”

“What about your wife?”

“She will not be coming until tomorrow.”

“Perfect. I will be there in an hour.”

Alice terminates the call then goes to her mother’s bedroom.

“I got him ma,” she crows. “Tonight I am spending the night with our new Parish Minister. Can I use your car?”

“Of course honey. Go out and enjoy yourself. More importantly, give him a night he will never forget; an experience that will make him forget his wife permanently. And while at it, get pregnant if you can,” Elosy says, and they burst out laughing.

[End of the free part of the story. To find out what happened to Erastus and Daisy, follow the instructions below to purchase your copy of the novella.]

Image by Ashbrauw from Pixabay:https://pixabay.com/photos/bible-jesus-maria-ascension-3689899/

                                                                                        *

To purchase a copy of the first novella of August, The Administrator, you can follow either one of two ways:

  • MPESA Automated Digital Payment Method. Log in to the bookstore- register if you are new-(https://www.maroncha.com/book-store). Select the book (The Administrator). Add to cart, check out then pay by inserting your number on the space provided then clicking ‘confirm’. You will be able to download instantly from the bookstore. A copy will also be automatically sent to your email.
  • Pay Via Till Number. Log in to the bookstore- register if you are new-(https://www.maroncha.com/book-store). Select the book (The Administrator). Add to cart, check out then pay via the Buy Goods Till Number provided. Once you get the message from MPESA, insert the MPESA code on the space provided then click ‘Validate Code’. You will be able to download instantly from the bookstore. A copy will also be automatically sent to your email.

Remember you can always inbox Sanctuaryside on Facebook or email me at info@sanctuaryside.com if you have a query or feedback.

The next story will start on Tuesday. See you then.

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