The Riff

The Riff

His mother insisted that his younger brother would not get married before him

His younger brother couldn’t believe it

He had been dating the love of his life for six years

The lady’s family had formally requested that he bring his people to meet with them

He practically ran home to give his mother the good news

Only for his mother to congratulate him half-heartedly and drop the bombshell

You will not be getting married ahead of your elder brother

He couldn’t believe his ears

His elder brother didn’t have a girlfriend

His elder brother didn’t even behave like somebody who was interested in getting married

How just would he be that his own progress would be placed on hold because of his elder brother?

He ran to his Father

“Daddy, this was the news I brought and this was Mummy’s reaction”

His father listened carefully and told him to exercise some patience until he discussed the matter with his mother

They discussed

His Father totally took his mother’s side

This was not in the least surprising

His Father and mother had never disagreed on anything he knew of

They always had one voice

The difference this time was his Father had an explanation for him whereas his mother didn’t bother to explain why

His Father called his attention to several branches of their family tree

Over many generations

Once a younger sibling got married before the older one

The older sibling usually end up not getting married at all or getting married only to be barren

“Your mother has been praying about this particular trait in the family and she was determined that the jinx would be broken on her own children”

He took his Father’s explanation as gospel

He explained the developments to his babe

His babe became alarmed

She didn’t envisage that there would be any form of resistance to their wedding plans

She had convinced her parents that every arrangement was set and he was her man

What did he expect her to tell her folks?

He thought about it

He told her to tell her folks that his elder brother would also be getting married and the entire family resolved that the weddings should be done one at a time. Therefore, his elder brother would be married the following year and they would have to shift their plans for till the year after his elder brother got married!

She agreed with the explanation

Some questions would be asked but the explanation was tenable

The problem was, they weren’t sure his elder brother would be married within a year

He told her he would speak with his brother and encourage him to get married as soon as possible

The next day he told his brother his predicament

His brother got worked up

He had no plan to disrupt his brother’s marriage and he didn’t support his mother’s stance on the matter at all

His elder brother went to see their parents that evening

Their parents wouldn’t budge

It felt as if the only way he would not mess his younger brother’s plan up was to get married as his younger brother suggested

He told his younger brother he was ready to get married

He had a good job, a nice apartment and a bright future but he didn’t have a spouse

His younger brother and his fiancé decided it was time to go wife shopping

They discussed all the ladies around them who were single and the prospect of match making them with his elder brother

By themselves they disqualified many

Eventually the three of them decided to fast and pray for three days for God to reveal his elder brother’s wife

They were all born again Christians and they have a good relationship with the Holy Spirit

On the third day, his elder brother was driving out of his street when he accidentally hit the car in front of him

It was neither a mistake nor an error

A tricycle swerved right in front of him to avoid a big ditch, he had only two options

Wait for the tricycle to hit him and damage his car or swerve to the left to create some space

He chose the latter

The tricycle was avoided but the car next to him was not!

It was a very minor incident

The lady driving the car alighted and checked the damage

She wasn’t pleased at all

He offered to repair the damage

The lady was in a hurry

They exchanged numbers

He called her the next day

They talked

She suggested that they meet the following weekend

He drove to her house the following weekend

As soon as she opened the gate

He knew she was the one

She told him she had repaired the car

She just wanted to know if he was a man of integrity

That was why she made him drive all the way from his house to hers

Most people wouldn’t bother following up on such issues even after they had made a promise to do the right thing

She was impressed

He was equally impressed

Impression led to expressions

They became friends

She was an architect

A lecturer

He took her home

His parents approved

She took him home

Her parents approved

He proposed

She said yes!

One year later, they got married

His younger brother was his best man

The following year, on the day of his younger brother’s wedding

His wife delivered their first child