“Ahhhhhh! Ouuurrrrr bishop!”

The familiar cheers filled Cues Corner as Bishop Gordon walked into the restaurant that Thursday evening. As he approached the restaurant counter, the attendant grinned at him, already knowing what their favourite man of God was stopping by for. “Bishop Bishop! Good evening ooo!”

“My guy, how are you doing?”

“All is well by God’s grace, Bishop, and you?”

“Same here, same here. Chale, you know the deal. Madam has sent me, so… the usual.”

“Yes sir. Hamburger, no onions, chips, and of course, coleslaw. Very essential.”

“Ahh, very good! You have learnt well.”

“Oh yes. I don’t want to put you in trouble when you get home.”

“Ah, you are a wise man! For that, may God give you a pleasant surprise by this weekend!”

“Amen ooo, amen!” the attendant replied passionately, to the amusement of his colleagues and Bishop Gordon.

“Hahaha! Lemme go and sit down and wait.”

“Sure thing.”

Bishop Gordon turned and saw the three young men seated at one of the tables in a pretty passionate conversation. He immediately moved toward them.

As they saw him approach, they paused their convo and erupted with the standard cheers. “Ooouuurrrr bishop!”

Bishop Gordon laughed as he took a seat and sat down next to Clarence. “How are you guys doing? And what are you guys talking about that you’re looking so animated and stuff?”

“Oh, all is well ooo, Bishop!” Bruce declared. “We’re just discussing what happened on Velvet FM this morning. That government official’s interview.”

Bishop Gordon shook his head. “Hm. As for this government, I prefer not to talk. Such an utter disappointment. And he was there doing what, listing the scandals that happened in NDC’s time. Massa, that’s why we kicked them out! You can’t come and do worse and try and remind us how bad they were. Makes no sense.”

“Hmm, Bishop. If I tell you how annoyed we were in the studio, eh,” Deladem mentioned. “Ah. Speak to the issues, you are there trying to deflect. Vanessa di33, she wanted to explode with rage ankasa, the thing was just annoying her to the core. As for these government apparatchiks, tweaa! They won’t accept anything but praise and more praise for the government. It’s so disgraceful.”

“It is. It really is. But please, let me not go there before I say things that will make you guys look at me someway bi. So… what’s happening with you guys? Everything okay with you?”

The guys shrugged and nodded. “Well, so far, so good. We can’t complain too much,” Clarence answered.

Bishop Gordon nodded. “Nice, that’s good to hear. I hope you guys are pressing on in all your endeavours. I hope you’re pushing on in all you want to achieve.”

They all nodded.

“Good, good. So, I know you’re all waiting on one thing or another to come through, whether it’s a job, children, marriage, I know. You’ve told me and I’ve prayed for you. So I know you’re all waiting for something new to happen in your lives. And I’m sure you can’t wait for this period of waiting to be over. Trust me, I know how painful this process can be. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my walk with God, it’s that you should never waste this waiting period. While you wait, prepare yourself for the blessing you’re praying for. Because it’s more than likely that God has you in this period to ensure that you’re fully equipped to handle the blessing.

“So for example, Clarence, as you’re searching for the new job, I hope you’re taking those online courses.”

Clarence nodded. “Oh yeah. I just finished one this week.”

“Excellent! Coz who knows, maybe if you had gotten one right after you lost your job, you wouldn’t have been motivated to add something extra to your resume. And you wouldn’t have been prepared for what God actually has intended for you. Or even worse, you might have totally missed it. As you’re adding more substance and strength to your CV, you’re building muscle and readying yourself for the door God will open for you, so that when you get it, you will not be overwhelmed and now count the blessing as a curse.”

The guys nodded thoughtfully.

“And for Bruce, your own, same thing. While you and Asor wait, it’s crucial to prepare yourselves. Not just to be parents, but to be parents that love each other. Coz listen, when children enter the equation, a lot changes. I know what I’m talking about; I’ve got four of them driving me and Akpi crazy around the house. You need to be ready for all that parenthood brings, and most of all, you need to use this period of waiting to really bond with your wife. Coz trust me, in dealing with your children, you can easily end up becoming just a fellow parent with your spouse, and the longer you let it fester, the deeper it’ll affect your marriage.

“And before you know it, in about twenty years’ time, when the children get married and leave, you’ll now be sitting in the house with someone you barely even know, because you two weren’t living as life partners, but just parents. Now you’ll realize you were married to a stranger all along. And I don’t think you want that, do you?”

Bruce shook his head. “Definitely not.”

“Exactly. And in any case, one of the best things you can give your children is a beautiful marriage. When children grow up to see their parents loving each other, it leaves such a lasting impression on them. It sets a great example for them to aspire to. Personally, there’s nothing that will be a greater compliment than for Dorlu to tell the world I am the reason he wants to be a great husband to a woman one day.”

The guys nodded again. One of those moments where Bishop Gordon dropped precious gems of wisdom. They hadn’t asked for it, but they sure did need that word.

“So guys, the long and short of it is that this thing called the waiting period, it’s not pleasant. It’s painful. But it’s a necessary process. And the beautiful thing about it is that when God finally brings you to the point of completion, all the pain and tears you felt and cried during the waiting period fades away, and you’ll come to understand just why you had to wait. So my brothers, just be still and know He is God. He is your Shepherd, so you shall not want. Just prepare while you wait, and don’t complain. You’ll look back on these days and realize that God knew exactly what He was doing. Amen?”

“Amennn!” the three, and another voice behind them, responded.

They turned to see Mr. Cues himself, Quincy Bamfo.

“Ahh, Mr. Cues! Good to see you!” Bishop Gordon exclaimed, shaking his hand.

“Same here, man of God. I can see you’ve brought church to my place,” Mr. Bamfo commented mirthfully.

“Yes ooo. I said I’m just passing by to get wifey a hamburger, and just a small chat I’m coming to chat, the Holy Spirit just led me to speak to my guys. One of those things.”

“Yes, yes, I can see. Guys, get your offering ready!”

They laughed. “Bishop, I’ll send you Momo, please,” Deladem joked.

“I’ll be expecting it… ahh, yes, thank you, thank you,” Bishop Gordon thanked the waiter who brought him his order. “Well, I guess it’s time for me to bounce now. I’m very sure the Lord had that word for you guys, so He made Akpi call me to ask for this, so I could meet you.”

“Oh yeah,” Bruce agreed. “Very strategic. I’m sure your wife will feel very good about this.”

“Oh, I won’t tell her anything. That woman, her head will grow big if I say it.”

The boys and Quincy laughed as he rose to his feet. “Oh, Bishop,” Quincy started, “I’ll call you tomorrow morning so we can finalize the arrangements for the talks, okay?”

“Sure, sure, you know I’m ready for it kraa. Let’s talk tomorrow.”

Shaking hands with Quincy, Bishop Gordon then walked off, waving to them as he exited the restaurant. Quincy then asked the guys a few questions before he duly made his way back to the office.

***

Delasi, good evening. I hope by His eternal mercies, you are doing fine. I’m still kinda disappointed at how you handled the whole matter with your brother, I won’t lie. But… maybe it’s because it’s your brother, and you know, family bond and all, so you were afraid. But you need to remember that our allegiance to Jehovah’s kingdom should be supreme to all, and that we shouldn’t be worried about what people feel whenever we tell them the truth-

“Ah! Like seriously?”

Delasi shook her head in disbelief as she turned off the voice note. She had no idea why Dina was reaching out to her, but she had no desire to understand the reason for it. The beginning of that voice note was more than enough to irritate her, which she did not need after a long, busy day.

“I thought I had blocked her,” she murmured to herself as she swiftly moved to ensure the girl could no longer contact her. Once she pressed the block button, she nodded and lay back on her bed, sighing.

Back then, she honestly felt bad for the girl, who was pretty much a loner in Shalom Temple. She had heard a few stories of her rather radical ideas and clashes with some of the members, but genuinely believed she was just a misunderstood lady who needed guidance. And that’s when she got closer to Dina and eventually became her friend.

It didn’t take long for her to see Dina’s true colours – overly zealous about the weird things, and highly belligerent in defending them. She had watched on as Dina went super aggressive on certain people all in the name of ‘correction’ and ‘snatching them from the fire’. And she did not like it at all.

She advised her once to approach such matters with a bit more love and compassion, but immediately got scoffed at, with Dina claiming the world didn’t need softies but soldiers who would ‘enforce the Lord’s commandments’.

As uncomfortable as Delasi had felt, she continued to keep her around, hoping against hope that somehow, she’d be able to gently get Dina out of her religious extremism.

It was after Dina turned on her following the splat with Deladem that Delasi realized it was better for the girl to stay away from her. And at this point, she really wanted nothing to do with her. Aside from the fact that she offended her brother and clearly had no regrets about it, she just was not a pleasant person. For someone who claimed to passionately love God, she did not know how to treat people well. To her, stepping on people’s toes and offending them when confronting them was a sign that she was on track, and that heaven was applauding her.

That was certainly not Christlike at all. In fact, it was way more reminiscent of a Pharisee. And she didn’t need that kind of influence in her life.

“I’m done with her,” she muttered to herself, her phone in her hand as she searched for Joe Mettle music on YouTube. “Totally done.”

***

“Chale, I for bounce now. Asor dey wedge me for house,” Bruce remarked, checking the time on his phone.

“Me sef ooo. I for catch house then relax,” Deladem mentioned as he stood to his feet.

“Oh okay, okay. Me diɛɛ, I go dey here for a few more minutes before I go go house,” Clarence said.

“Eish, why ,you get some movement bi anaa?” Deladem asked, a grin on his face.

Clarence laughed. “Massa, I just want spend some time by myself, that be all.”

Bruce shrugged. “If you say so, bro. Chale, make we talk later, wai.”

“Sure, sure, see you guys later.”

A couple of handshakes later, and Bruce and Deladem were out of the door, on their way to their respective homes.

Clarence then leaned back, his face brightened up as he lifted his phone and typed.

Heyy! I’m currently at Cues Corner. Will be setting off soon.

Less than a minute later, a reply came through.

Alright! Lemme know when you leave.

He nodded and typed a response.

Sure. Btw, Bishop passed by earlier, said he was getting Lady Akpene some hamburgers.

A reply came through.

Awwww, that’s nice. My romantic bishop 😍😍

Clarence smirked. She sure loved calling him that; she always waxed lyrical about Bishop Gordon’s display of affection towards his wife.

Then another message followed.

 😂😂😂 btw, she’ll not be happy to see you called her Lady Akpene ooo. She prefers Sister.

“Ei! It’s true ooo!” Clarence laughed to himself, remembering what the Bishop’s wife said the last time. He typed.

Yeah, yeah, true. Sorry ooo. Don’t go and chook me to her ooo.

He grinned at the response that followed a few seconds later.

Oh, definitely not. Your mistake’s safe with me 😉😉

Wait a minute. Clarence is dating a girl from Shalom Temple?? Well, talk about a surprise! But who is it?