She would have slept peacefully till morning had she not decided to look at her messages at 2 a.m. It wasn’t long; no surprise there because Kamau wasn’t a man of many words. He went straight to the point. It had been one of the qualities Laura had liked about him. Having been through a series of talking stages and relationships where men said what they thought she wanted to hear, Kamau was a breath of fresh air. But, this trait could also be double-edged.
“Hi, Laura. I don’t think there’s any need to prolong this any longer. You’re not Christian enough, so this won’t work out,” read the message.
She sat on the bed and switched on the lights to ensure she’d read it right. Her eyes widened as she tried to process that statement. Then suddenly, she let out a chuckle. She remembered on her quest for love, she had disqualified a guy who showed immense interest in her because he was an atheist. Maybe this was things coming full circle, she thought to herself. At least she hadn’t texted him in the middle of the night to attack his beliefs. Instead, she had told him they were incompatible after having endured several instances where he tried to convert her.
Laura then went through their conversations to find the origin of all this because typing out questions to Kamau at that hour felt inappropriate. She went back to when they first met. After having a fantastic year, she thought she wanted to grow spiritually. Some people get closer to God when things are going wrong, others feel closer to Him when things are going well, and Laura belonged to the latter group. She decided to go to church every Sunday.
Like many city dwellers, proximity to church makes one change where they attend Sunday services. Otherwise, one would have to travel to the other side of town. Laura had heard good things about the church and found a community of people her age. She especially enjoyed group sessions that happened occasionally, where the pastors engaged in sessions about practical life events and intertwined that with scripture. Those sessions transformed her view of things and brought her closer to her creator.
Laura had also met Kamau in one of those sessions. His neatness was outstanding. He was in navy blue pants, a lighter shade of blue shirt and a sleeveless bomber jacket. His shoes were still shiny despite it being evening, and it was clear he had come from an office job. Kamau was tall and had a chocolate complexion. You could tell he was popular from the number of people who spoke to him as the group shared a cup of tea after the session. A friend introduced them, and they soon became friends.
A month later, it was clear that Kamau was interested in Laura romantically. This was different for Laura because she had never met a guy in church. It also felt ‘right’ because that already served as something they had in common, and she liked him. This was one of the reasons why that message came as a surprise to Laura. They did most of the things people do while dating. They went on dates, picnic dates, hiking and even started attending church together.
A few weeks into dating, they had their first disagreement. It was a Sunday after the church service. Kamau had wanted them to stay longer and help around in the church, but Laura had made other plans with her friends. She would go for a movie and later rest in anticipation of another work week. Kamau was visibly angry with her leaving decision but didn’t vocalize it until later.
“How was your movie?” Kamau asked Laura.
“Good! I didn’t think they could match up the first movie after Chadwick’s death but they did a good job. I absolutely enjoyed it,” Laura beamed.
“Good for you. Don’t you think you should have scheduled it for another day?” He asked.
“Another day?” Laura asked him.
“Yes, a Saturday perhaps,” Kamau asked.
“I don’t see a problem with going to the movies on Sunday. My plan was to attend church and then go for the movie, which is what I did.”
“You could spend more time in the church and see where you can help around,” Kamau responded.
“I feel like I’m being accused of something,” Laura told him.
“I just question your commitment sometimes and your priorities,” said Kamau.
“I think one’s spiritual journey is a personal one and it looks different for everyone. Some serve in the church, while some give to charity and so on,” Laura argued.
They eventually changed the topic, and Laura thought they were on the same page until she got that message a few days later. After typing and deleting paragraphs, she decided not to respond to the message. Weeks later, she bumped into a mutual friend who had introduced her to Kamau, and the friend inquired about the relationship.
“I haven’t seen you with Kamau in a while, are you guys still together?”
“We ended things a couple of weeks ago,” Laura answered.
“Can I ask why?”
“He said I wasn’t Christian enough,” Laura told her.
“Oh, I didn’t think that was a big deal,” the friend responded.
“What do you mean?” Laura asked her.
“He’d asked me about your involvement in church activities a while back when I introduced you guys. I told him you come religiously for the group sessions and Sunday services but that you were a good person. He sounded like he expected more.”
“I guess he did. Anyway, I hate that he judged my spiritual commitment but I can’t put up a show to prove a point to him. I hope he gets what he’s looking for,” Laura said, knowing the friend would pass on the message to Kamau.
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