Nightfall visit

Pabonya retraced his steps to his house, his heart filled with rage. He no longer walked with an air of superiority. For he had failed to achieve the purpose of his visit to Becky’s house and that had taken away the feeling of self-importance from him. Where was that all-powerful and infallible elder whose utterances became the unquestionable law? With all the effort he had applied, not a shred of intimidation had been shown in Becky.

It was incredible how she had treated him to a reception of condescendence and disparagement. For several years of his existence, he had never come across a woman, born or married to the clan trying to challenge the elders’ endeavors to guide and direct the younger generation. Becky seemed to have taken him as her equal and managed to instill a feeling of inferiority within him.  

He soon got back home, his breakfast was ready. His wife, Tabutany, had set a table for him. But he was in no mood for food. He sat down and was soon lost in his thoughts.

What was it that gave her so much power? He asked himself. Certainly, Becky wielded some power. That is why he had become so helpless and defenseless in her presence. It was by that power that she drove him out of her homestead. Something had to be done before the power grew and spread. Women like Becky could be dangerously influential. The rest of the women of the clan could soon be rendered vulnerable to her contagious attitude and the witchcraft of her perverseness. She was a ticking time bomb just about to explode.

He blamed Tesot for granting her so much freedom. The freedom had bred arrogance. He saw no reason to allow him to remain in love with such a thick-headed woman. How he wished that this marriage could be dissolved. But wishful thinking alone was insufficient. He needed to act and cut off the fountain from which she drew joy. He was aware it would not be an easy feat.

Tesot had been very gracious to him; donating money many times and bailing him out of financial difficulties he sometimes found himself in. How would he execute his idea without setting himself in conflict against his great benefactor?

“You haven’t touched your breakfast,” his wife’s voice interrupted his reverie. Tabutany had not failed to notice that her husband looked so sad and so absorbed in his thoughts. She had been secretly watching him, her eyes deeply searching his face. He had spent a long time staring in the air.

Pabonya looked at her without saying a word. They had been married for over fifty years now. She had been a good wife, meekly obeying his every order. She would at times express a contrary opinion on certain matters, but she always let him have his way. Could he say the same of Tesot and Becky?

“Hey!” Tabutany snapped a finger in his face to draw his attention. “What is it?”

“What?” He stared blankly at her face. “You seem a little distracted.”

“No! I am not,” he struggled to make his voice sound casual. “Yes, you are,” she took a seat next to him. “What is gnawing at you? You can confide in me. Whatever it is, we will work it out. Just tell me.”

Pabonya continued to stare at her. Was there wisdom in sharing his concern with his wife?  “It is Becky,” icy rage raced across his body as her name slipped through his lips.

“What about Becky?” Tabutany inquired with a growing curiosity. “I have never seen a woman chest thump and utter unpalatable words before an elder like me in the most despising way," he remarked sardonically. "She has no decency; no idea how to control her foul mouth. I can’t stand her.”

Tabutany's face showed puzzlement. “You had an altercation with Becky?” 

“Yeah, I am just from visiting her at her house.”

“As early as this, you’ve already been to Tirita and picked a quarrel with your nephew’s wife? That was uncalled-for!"

He explained how he had to reprimand her for the way she behaved towards him the previous day. “But her contempt was so inappropriate and unacceptable,” he said.

“I know Becky, and pardon me for saying this. She is a wonderful young woman who goes out of her way to be nice to people,” Tabutany said.

“Oh!” Pabonya stared at her in disbelief, clearly displeased. “So it is women for women!”

“You don’t get it.”

“Glorify her. Justify her small sin.”

“Am not saying I approve of the way she behaved towards you.”

“But you are so eager to paint a good image of her. You take things at face value. You don’t see beneath her false smiles and assurance. You have been deceived by the masquerade of her insufferable kindness.”

“She is good. But also feisty. Give her trouble and be certain, she will give it back. If only you could be honest with me, tell me what you did to bring out the wild woman in her.”

“I don’t know what you see in her so praise-worthy when her insolence is so intolerable. There is a dark side in her, you are not paying much attention to. If a third of our women behave the way she is beginning to behave, this clan, with its distinguished history, is doomed. And for your information, some of them are already following in her steps. Just take a walk around the village of Tirita and even here in Kures and you won't miss two or three of her ilk dressed and walking in a way that mimics her. Many young women look at her with admiration and many more would soon be led astray. So mine is not a personal concern. It is a concern for the clan. Danger larks in her continued presence among us.”

“What does that mean?” Tabutany asked once again, alarmed. “Something must be done to rid the clan of the contamination of her presence.”

“And is that something you are planning?” her eyebrows rose.

“I am planning to drive a permanent wedge between her and our son.”

“Surely, you would go to such lengths?”

Pabonya saw this as the best way to get revenge. A fraction of the pain he felt at being looked down upon by a woman young enough to be her daughter. “Someone has to do something to stop her from spreading this poison around the clan,” he said.

“You must drop this fight. You must respect your nephew's wife. For like it or not, if Tesot is unwilling to leave his wife, you will end up so embarrassed?”

He was disappointed that his wife sided with Becky.

He thought about Rebecca. Perhaps he could rely upon her to back his mission. He got along with her fairly well. The widowed sister-in-law lost her husband a long time ago when his firstborn son, Tesot, was still a young boy. Pabonya had taken over as head of the family, representing the departed brother whenever the situation necessitated.  This representation role was clearly manifested when he led a negotiation party to Becky’s home to forge a marriage engagement between Tesot and Becky.  For that reason, Becky, prior to her differences with him, had referred to Pabonya as ‘father-in-law’. She had accorded him all the respect she considered due to him. But that gradually changed as Pabonya began pestering her.

The day that followed, Pabonya made another trip to Tirita. This time destined to a different house: Rebecca’s.

It was still early in the morning when he set foot in her compound. She was busy sweeping her grass-thatched, round mud-walled hut. She placed the thrash on a goatskin tray and walked out of the hut, taking the rubbish to a dump pit a couple of meters near the fence.

As she turned around to go back to the house, she noticed her approaching brother-in-law and hurried to put the house in order. She had always been regarded as a well organized woman, and she intended to maintain that reputation.

“Pomuru!” Pabonya called as he got close to the threshold. And in the word he used, was expressed, the respectful manner in which a brother-in-law and a sister-in-law addressed each other?

“Yes, pomuru,” came Rebecca’s gentle response.

“May I come.”

“Welcome in!” He stepped in and was shown to a wooden bench behind a small table. Rebecca had taken time to wipe the furniture clean so it would not dirty his clothes.

"Chamgei!” He greeted her the Kipsigis way as he sat down setting his walking stick beside him leaning against the wall.

“Chamgei mising!” said Rebecca, wondering what it was so urgent that had made Pabonya make such an early morning walk all the way from Kures to her house.

It was very warm inside and Pabonya was soon relieved of the cold.

“Is it well in Kures?” she inquired.

“It is well. People are busy at their farms planting.”

“The same case here. The oxen finished ploughing Becky’s land yesterday, and today they rest and tomorrow they will till my land,” Rebecca detailed.

Tesot had bought his own oxen and both Rebecca and Becky no longer relied on Pabonya’s oxen to cultivate their land.

A sufuria of tea was simmering above the fireplace.

“Speaking of Becky, she is the reason I am here this morning,” Pabonya announced.

Rebecca, tilting her gaze towards him, wondered what he implied by that. “Is anything the matter with Becky?” she asked curiously.

“I am a little unhappy with some things that have been going on lately.”

“And what is that?”

“We met yesterday. You should have seen how she was dressed. I tried to talk to her, intending to give fatherly advice that it was about time she considered the elders' counsel and changed her dress code. But her reaction was so nasty. She assumed a very cruel attitude and I ended up being a recipient of all manner of insults.” 

“I am sorry you had to go through that,” Rebecca said, moving to the fireplace to attend to the now boiling tea. She did not like the way Pabonya was concerning himself so much with Becky’s life. She lifted the sufuria with her bare hands and placed it on the floor. She then walked out and returned within minutes, a thermos flask in her hands.

“I don’t know what has gotten into her,” Pabonya resumed, as his sister-in-law settled on a seat beside the fireplace.

She seemed to be pondering over something, and then she said, “Was it really necessary to confront her? You have had this conversation with her countless times. You ought to have known by now that it doesn’t help.” She fetched the steaming liquid from the sufuria and sieved it into the flask. Done, she took a clean cup in one hand and the flask in the other and approached his table. She set them before her brother-in-law.

“Let’s bow down for a word of prayer,” she said. They closed their eyes and she led the prayer.  And Pabonya said Amen, when she was done.

“Now have your tea,” She said before going back to her seat. She fetched more tea from the sufuria and filled her own cup. Pabonya removed the thermos lid and filled his cup too.

“So you think she wouldn’t listen?” He continued to pursue his course.

“Haven’t we tried enough to influence a change in her?” Rebecca asked. “It simply doesn’t work.”

“And how does that make you feel? That your daughter-in-law does not listen to any of our advice? That she cannot conform to our norms and customs? Do we endure this kind of behavior for the rest of her life in the clan?”

“What other choice do we have? Isn't it clear, that she has made a firm decision to please herself rather than please the clan? And knowing her social history and how she has maintained this personality from time dating prior to her joining our clan, I believe it is time we respected her decision. Maybe we need to be more tolerant and accept someone different from the rest of us. Maybe, to Becky and her husband, this matter we are troubling ourselves with is a non-issue. Don’t you think that Tesot is well aware of the kind of lifestyle his wife is leading? Yet he is not bothered in any way. Wouldn’t it be prudent to leave this generation alone?”

Pabonya noted regretfully, that as it was with his wife, he could not count on Rebecca to back his vendetta. Clearly, she was being protective of her. And the obdurate daughter-in-law would continue to have her way. 

He quickly emptied his cup and rose to bid goodbye.

Basing his conflict with Becky on matters clothing alone would not guarantee any success. He would have to look for something more shocking and ground-breaking to discredit her.