Rumours of what happened to elder Gad had been flying here and there. It later filtered into elder Femi’s ear. At first he felt that it was a lie because he could not imagine how his friend would be sick and no one cared to contact him. He tried contacting him on phone but his phone was switched off. He was still on that when his wife came in.

“Iya Tobi, are you back? You didn’t go to where you are going again,” he asked while still focusing on the newspaper he borrowed from one of his tenant. He had not been able to get one for himself in a long while.

“Baba Tobi, I heard a news that did not allow me to go to where I was going to.”

Elder Femi stretched his back and looked at her.

“What could that be?” he queried.

“It’s about your friend elder Gad. It has been confirmed that he is sick. They said that he was in the hospital but his wife carried him from there to go and meet Pastor. No one knows where he is now.”

“Is that woman mad? May God not allow any of my children to make mistake in marriage. A woman that cannot understand her husband, and follow her husband’s footsteps, is she a wife? If you talk now, she will say ‘I am a child of God. It is against my faith’. Nonsense.”

“I don’t know who is a child of devil,” his wife interjected with a bitter smile.

“Don’t mind the stupid woman. I only pity her husband. But the truth is that my friend is seriously sick. If not, he will never allow anyone to try that rubbish with him.”

“How are we sure that that the wicked woman did not tell the nurses to give him sleeping pill so that she can bundle him to her pastor.”

“Hei you have a point. Why have I not thought of this? I need to go to his house now; the neighbours may give me clue of his whereabouts.”

Elder Femi was surprised to see Mrs. Gad singing joyfully as she was spreading her husband’s cloth that she washed. She bowed to greet him.

“I heard that my friend was sick, how is he now?”

“He is fine by the grace of God,” she answered with smile.

“Why didn’t you inform me that he was sick?”

“Sorry about that sir, but he didn’t ask me to tell you,” she said sarcastically.

“What do you mean by that? Do you expect a sick person to be the one to tell you who to inform that he is sick? You shut everyone out and refused to let us know what was going on. But you have all the time to make arrangement to take him to church. Was he the one that told you to take him to church?”

Mrs. Gad laughed bitterly without giving him a response to his question.

After a while she responded. “So you already knew that I took him to church. So why are you pretending that you don’t have information.”

Her response made elder Femi very angry but he tried to control himself.

“Where is he now?”

“He is inside the house.”

“So why were you wasting my time. I want to see him.”

“You cannot see him sir,” she responded calmly.

“Is he sleeping?” elder Femi asked.

“No sir, he is just resting.”

At that point, elder Femi’s face turned incredibly gloomy and he couldn’t tolerate her any longer. With a furious expression and anger in him, he asked “Woman did you take alcoholic drink? Did they mix drugs for you? How dare you?”

“It’s my husband we are talking about. I think I have the right to decide who sees him and who doesn’t, especially at a time like this,” she fired back at him.

He made attempt to forcefully enter the house but met stiff resistance from the woman.

“If you enter my house, I will empty a full pot of hot water on you. I have been waiting because I know you will come.Enemy of progress. If you decided to be Sanballat must you force my husband to be the Tobiah. Keep away from my husband. You are an ill wind, you blow no one good.” Her voice was full of hostility and anger she had been suppressing for a long time.

Elder Femi was shocked and dumbfounded. He quickly turned hastened his steps and walked away. He kept muttering that Mrs. Gad had gone mad.