The Bitter Pill

She met him at a concert
She was a singer and he was an admirer
It was at a Christian event
She finished her rendition to a huge 
round of applause
and some kind words by the pastor
When it was time for her to go home she 
stayed at the bus stop waiting for a taxi
He drove up to 
her and asked her where she was going
She had seen him at the event
He was one of those admirers whose 
face betrayed their feelings
She knew he really liked her performance
She had also learned from experience 
that some people fall in love with the 
personality on the stage but 
wouldn't be able to stand that same 
personality in real life
She was a talented singer but the singer 
is different from the everyday girl
She wouldn't have given him the time 
of day if she was sure a taxi was 
coming anytime soon
She swallowed her pride and got in 
the car
He told 
her he was a fan
She said she knew
He told her he had consistently 
followed her career and made time 
to be at almost all the events where 
she had been invited to perform
She shook her head
He laughed and then he began to 
mention event and date and what 
she wore and what she sang 
He was either a stalker or a true 
admirer
The ride was so pleasant that she 
didn't want it to end
She was the one that offered him 
her phone number
She was the one that made him drop 
her at home and even showed him 
her flat
She would have invited him in if he asked
She was that 
smitten by him
He didn't ask because it would seem 
creepy
So after he had parked his car, he 
urged her to stay a little with him in 
the car before alighting
He reclined the driver's seat and she 
did the same with her seat
He played a soft gospel song and 
they just laid there and 
gave the moment its magic
They were there for almost an hour
From 7pm till around 8pm
They spoke a little in that hour
She spoke about her mixing her 
academics (She was a student of 
Yabatech, with her tailoring 
(she had a shop at Yaba where 
she sewed curtains) and her 
music career 
He spoke about the day he heard 
her sing for the first time and what 
her music did to his heart
He also talked about his determination 
to get to meet and know her before 
going into any relationship
He said he wanted to be sure she 
wasn't the one before moving on
He was totally 
devoted to her
She fell in love that night
She didn't plan to but she did
Her mother died when she was 
three years old
She grew up with her grandparents 
and had learned to fend for herself 
from an early age because her 
grandparents were not that rich
She had never known love in 
any capacity but as she laid down 
on that car seat and listened to him
She heard the mood and the texture 
of his voice
She heard the sincerity of his heart
She heard the depth of his love
She heard his devotion to her even 
when she didn't know he existed
Something happened to her 
heart
It began to buzz in a strange way
It grew warm and fuzzy and swoony
She fought very hard to hold back 
her tears
She was loved by a total stranger and 
he was able to convince her of his 
love without asking her out or trying 
to get anything from her
It was for her love at its 
purest form
When she eventually alighted from 
the car, she could barely stand
Her knees were weak
Her feelings had tied her up in knots
He drove away and she went home 
daydreaming about them
The next day he was back as early 
as 7 AM
He said he couldn't sleep all night
It was the 
same for her
She just wanted to be with him
He took her to her shop that morning 
before going to his office
He was working with an international 
logistics company
They were together every day of that 
week
He picked her in the mornings and 
dropped her off in the evening
it was the 
best week of her life
When she got to church that Sunday, 
the pastor invited her into his office 
and said "I saw you during the week 
while i was praying. 
I saw you with a young man. 
You have grown very fond of this young 
man and you are already dreaming of a 
future with him... 
She told the pastor what he said was 
true
The pastor said "He is not your husband, 
this union will bring you much grief and 
sorrow, it will be wise of you to walk 
away from it now"
She was shocked but she nodded her 
head and said "Thank you, sir"
The guy had not asked her out 
no commitment has been made verbally 
but emotions were running high and 
intentions were as plain as day
It is only a matter of time before he 
would state his intentions and she had 
planned to say a very loud YES to 
whatever future he offered to share 
with her.
it was a tough day 
He came around to pick her the 
following day
Immediately she got into the car, he 
said "I have something to say to you. 
When I got to church yesterday, one 
of our pastors, the one heading the 
prayer department called me aside 
and warned me about being with you. 
He didn't say much 
He just called me into the prayer 
room and said "You met a lady recently, 
do not pursue a relationship with her. 
She is not your wife. 
Bless her and let her go
She busted into tears right there and then
It was the thought that plagued her mind 
all night
She had prayed, tossed and 
turned all night asking the Holy Spirit to 
confirm the word through her pastor or 
send a contrary word to her.
She would usually hear the word of the 
Lord for herself but she was too invested 
in the issue to be objective!
He cried too, bitterly
He wondered why God would not even 
give their young love a chance to blossom
She wondered the same
He drove her to her shop
She waited two hours and wrote him a 
thank you text
She said she believed they are better off 
as friends and wouldn't want to encourage
 him to keep coming around because it 
would lead to no good
He got the message and didn't come 
around to pick her later that day
She missed him and mourned for the 
future she had imagined
A future that God killed prematurely
Another year of struggle went by
He kept in touch but from a distance
She met a man, a music promoter who took 
interest in her work
He paid for studio sessions and all and 
invested so much in her career
It was a business relationship without 
any intimate entanglement
She was in the studio working at releasing 
her debut album when she heard that he 
was getting married
She fainted! 
Everybody assumed it was from exhaustion 
but she knew better
It stung her like a bee
Even she didn't know she was nursing the 
hope that things would change and they 
would be allowed to be together
She couldn't continue her work on the 
album for another two weeks
It was tough! 
Eventually, her sponsor got concerned 
enough to find out what was wrong
She told him, someone, she used to 
be in love with got married and it 
threw her off balance
He tried his best to comfort her
Eventually, she returned to work and 
finished the album
The album launch was a good 
success
Three weeks after the Album launch, 
her sponsor proposed
She had zero romantic feelings for him
He was eight years older than her and 
they had very little in common
She didn't even pray about it
She told herself he was only pitying 
her or trying to marry the talent that 
will keep making him money
When she got to the church, the 
choirmaster said "I smell a fragrance of love, 
someone here is getting married", another 
singer in the choir said "i saw a bouquet of 
flower overnight with two names written 
on it "Kingsley and Bidemi"
She was Bidemi and 
her sponsor was Kingsley
It was enough to make her pay attention
She decided to get serious about it in the 
place of prayer
The following Sunday, she invited her 
sponsor to church
When her pastor saw him, he said "Welcome, 
our husband"
She almost screamed with embarrassment 
They got married immediately after their 
marriage counseling session which lasted 
six months
She relocated to the USA to be with him 
eight months after their wedding
The marriage is blessed with a set of twins
Jasmine and Josephine
She said she didn't expect her marriage 
to be as 
blissful as it turned out to be based on 
how they started
She works with a fashion designing outfit 
in the US and also has a blooming music 
ministry
The ways of the Spirit is the way of the 
believer
We do Him and Him alone
Those who trust in him can never be 
put to shame