Whatever It Takes…

EUNICE ANSAH-AGYEMAN

WHATEVER IT TAKES

EPISODE 45

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The Author

Sunday came.

Esenam woke up early and got ready for Church.

She left home earlier than usual with the hope that Boat would also be early so they could talk before the service started.

She was therefore extremely disappointed when she realized Boat was not there when she arrived. Working quickly, she helped in getting things ready for the service. By the time the service started Boat was still nowhere to be found.

Two hours later, the service was over.

Esenam looked everywhere for Boat, hoping he sat in the back row, but there was no sign of him.

She greeted a few members unenthusiastically and went outside. For once she felt uncomfortable around people. She was about to cross the street to the other side when she heard someone call her name from behind.

She stopped and turned.

Elder Asare, walked briskly to catch up with her.

“You seem to be in a hurry today. Hope everything is going well with you.”

“Yes, Elder. I’m doing well, by God’s abundant grace.”

“Anyway, I’ve not seen you after the surprise situp in your house. You made us all proud, Esenam. Hope your Dad was proud of you.”

“I guess he was. I heard he was very happy about my results.”

“Anyway, I couldn’t help but notice that you were not your usual self today. Your eyes, Esenam; you seem troubled. Do you want to talk about it?”

“It’s nothing really. I just feel worn out. I think I need some rest. Thanks for the concern, Elder.”

“By the way, I couldn’t help but notice that Boat was absent from church today. Did he say anything to you? He usually calls when he couldn’t make it to Church so I was a bit worried when I didn’t hear anything from him. Is everything all right with him?”

“I’m not really sure if he is alright or not. I saw him briefly three days ago so I can’t really tell why he is not in church today.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. I was hoping you two could join my wife and me for lunch this afternoon. There is some good news we wanted to share. I guess we have to reschedule it then.”

“Yes, I think so Dad, We’ll make it some other time,” Esenam said, unconvincingly.

“Send our best wishes to him when you see or hear from him. All his phones are off so we couldn’t reach him.”

“Okay, Dad, I will do that. I need to run. I have another appointment and I’m running late.”

“All the best, Esenam.” Elder Asare said with a smile.

Elder Asare was not fooled.

He knew something unpleasant might have happened between Esenam and Boat. He could not put a finger on it but he knew whatever it was had to be dealt with soon because he saw how helpless Esenam looked when Boat did not turn up for Church.

Esenam hurried home and locked herself in. She was in no mood to entertain anyone. She put on some music and felt even sadder when “How do I Live Without You” started playing in the background.

Later, she switched on the Television and flipped uninterestingly between the channels. She did not find anything interesting to watch.

She picked a magazine from the sofa to read but she realized she was reading the same paragraph over and over again and tossed it aside.

Esenam walked to the window and looked out, again nothing interested her. She went back to the sofa and lay down. She rushed to her feet and unlocked the door when she heard a car pull up at her gate.

But she was disappointed.

It was a guy who was lost and needed directions to her neighbour’s house.

Esenam could not deal with the frustration anymore. She locked up and headed out. She was soon at Boat’s gate. Breathing shallowly, she rang the doorbell and waited since the gate was locked from the inside. That gave her hope that Boat might be in the house. After what seemed like forever, a young lady opened the huge gates, rubbing her eyes sleepily. 

Esenam noticed she was very pretty and young and was dressed provocatively in skimpy shorts and a spaghetti top. There were cuttings in the top that showed parts of her tummy.

Esenam’s heart missed a beat.

She looked at her watch and greeted. The young lady did not respond but asked how she could help her.

Esenam told her she was there to see Boat.

After grilling her with unnecessary questions, the young lady informed her Boat was not home.

“Do you know where I can locate him?” Esenam asked.

“I don’t keep his itinerary, Madam. Who are you anyway to come here in the middle of the day and wake me up from a beautiful sleep with questions about Yaw?”

“I am Esenam. Boat is a good friend. I heard he was not feeling very well so I decided to stop by and check on him.”

“Well, he is not here and I don’t know what time he’d be back. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to go back to sleep.” the young lady stated and closed the gate.

Esenam wondered who the girl might be and what she was doing in Boat’s house.

She did not want to get ahead of herself so she dismissed the thought of another woman in Boat’s life. She was sure Boat would not be

capable of something like that, at least not so soon.

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