Amos stepped out of the Uber with a proud grin on his face, his arms full of grocery bags. The driver beeped once and pulled off, leaving him standing in front of the rusty gate to his compound with bags from Melcom dangling at his sides.

He kicked the gate open with a satisfied swing of his foot and strutted into the compound like a man who had just won a major contract.

Up the stairs and into his small chamber and hall apartment, he walked with an air of achievement. The moment the door shut behind him, he chuckled under his breath.

“Ahhh! See the Lord’s doing,” he declared aloud, dropping the bags onto the tiled floor. “And it is marvellous in my eyes.”

As far as he could remember, he had never walked into any supermarket with the confidence of a rich man ready to empty the entire place. Even though he obviously wasn’t going to attempt to empty out Melcom’s shelves, the fact that he could buy in bulk all the necessities his kitchen needed was just beyond delightful. Not to mention the fact that he could also afford an Uber to transport him back home. 

This was what he had been wanting all along. The freedom to live comfortably.

He whistled as he began unpacking the bags, one after the other. Tins of milk, juice cartons, biscuits, fresh vegetables, sardines, toiletries were all duly given their place in his kitchen and packed accordingly.

Ten minutes later, having completed his little task, he stepped back and gazed at the open cupboards.

Well stocked with various provisions.

He then opened the fridge and nodded in admiration at the neatly arranged structure.

Nicely stacked with juices, bottles of water and fruits. A huge upgrade from an almost empty fridge a day or two before, save for some sachets of water.

“This is what I’m talking about,” he said to himself. “This is how a man of God should be living.”

As he shut the fridge door and reached for the last bag, he chuckled again. “Mr. Aaron really came through for me, chale. That man understands value.”

The thought lingered for a while. Then a little something came to mind.

“Hmmm, I should find out if there’s anything else I’ll need to do for him. Maybe he has some more instructions. Which would mean, hopefully, there’s more money to be made.”

He pulled out his phone and scrolled to Aaron’s name. His thumb hovered briefly over the dial button before he pressed ‘Call’ and brought the phone to his ear, pacing slowly around the kitchen.

The line rang.

Once. Twice. Four times.

Then it went to voicemail.

Amos frowned slightly but quickly shrugged. “He’s a busy man,” he reminded himself. “He’s probably in a meeting or something. No worries, I’m sure he’ll call back when he’s free.”

Tossing the phone onto the small dining table, he picked up a pack of nkate-cake, tore it open, and picked one out and chewed it, savouring the sweet taste of groundnut and honey.

He returned to stocking the final shelf, humming a chorus from a worship song. All the while, one thought pulsed through him like a silent anthem…

This was worth it. Every bit of it was worth it.

***

“Well, that was nice. Really nice.”

While he zipped up his trousers, Aaron glanced over at Diana as she adjusted her tight high-waisted jeans and smoothed her wig in the mirror. He chuckled and nodded. “Indeed it was. You do your part so damn well, Dee. I already feel all the stress has left my system.”

Diana snickered. “With a body like this, why wouldn’t that be so? Oh, and yeah, you destress me too. Mutual thing, right?”

“Right.”

“As it should be.” With a swing of her huge and curvy hips, those same hips that had drawn him in the first place, she made her way to the door. “Alright, later, Mr. Essel. Don’t forget to call me when you need some destressing.”

“Sure. Will do. Later,” he replied without much emotion, watching as the door shut behind her.

Once she was gone, Aaron let out a long breath and stretched his limbs. He sat on the edge of the bed in the guest house, grabbing a bottle of water from the nightstand and chugging it down.

Diana. His longtime friend with benefits.

It wasn’t love, and it had never tried to be. Just biology at work. Diana had a superb backside that had him hooked, plain and simple. He didn’t even consider her particularly beautiful. She was alright, but it was the body, and the fact that she didn’t bother him with emotions, that kept her relevant and necessary in his life.

For four years, they had sustained this rhythm. No strings. No complications. Just satisfaction. Whenever they were in the mood, a quick call was followed by a mutual agreement on where to meet, and ended with a heated session.

And they both liked it that way. While Diana strongly believed love was a scam and irrelevant to her life, Aaron just needed an outlet to let out the sexual energy within. After all, the one and only woman he had ever wanted to make love to died before that dream could come true. And Phyllis… well, she was nowhere near good enough. Sleeping with her was as exciting as watching paint dry, with her extreme puritan ways opting for a preference for only one style and hesitance to try new things, always questioning the morality of these things.

So he needed another outlet. And Diana, with her devastating booty, dirty bedroom antics and a preference for no emotional connection, was the perfect fit for him.

“As for Phyllis… kai! Always moving like she’s stuck in Children’s Service. No flair, no fire… nothing. Just Bible verses and soft apologies,” Aaron muttered to himself with a dry laugh. “Yep, no contest. Phyllis can’t hold a candle to what I have with Diana. Not in a million and a half years.”

Aaron leaned back and grabbed his phone from the bedside table. He had missed a call while busily ‘destressing’ with Diana; time to find out who it was.

A missed call notification blinked at him. It was from Amos.

Aaron chuckled, shaking his head.

It was hilarious how quickly the young man folded when he received that amount of money. Who did he think he was kidding when he tried to play Mr. Holy Prophet with robes of righteousness? Aaron had heard all his complaints on that Sunday and knew exactly what to do to get him on board with his plan. He knew Amos would happily take that money and do his bidding. What else could you expect from a broke young man?

“Chale!” he snickered. “The Bible was so on point with that verse about money… it really does answer all things. See this ‘prophet of the Most High’. Giving attitude and saying ‘oh, I can’t put words in God’s mouth’ and all sorts of things. One small MoMo alert, and now the man is ready to twist the mouth of the heavens. Hahaha! Ohh, poverty really be bastard! But hey, it’s working nicely for me.”

As he dialed Amos back, a deep sense of satisfaction settled in his chest.

Everything was falling into place. The prophet was bought, the wife was silenced, and Tete Munchies could breathe a little longer.

Just the way he wanted it.

On the second ring, Amos answered.

“Hello, sir! Good afternoon!”

“Good afternoon, my trusted prophet. I hope all is well with you.”

“Oh, by the mercies of God, I’m good. Hope you are too. I just wanted to thank you for the money once again. It’s really helped me a lot, and uh, I also wanted to let you know that if there’s anything else you need to me to help out with, I’m ready to do that.”

Aaron’s grin widened.

Yep, money truly did answer all things.

“Hmmm… weelllll… there is one other thing I believe would be helpful to my cause. It’s quite simple, but, if you can do it, I’ll increase your… blessing…”

Yeah, Amos has been blinded by the money. You just know this is not going to end well…