by Mott, Teisha
“Yo!” Nathan said, happy to have someone to talk to. “We could start a movement or something!”
“Like a dating club!” The guy said. “And you could be our president. From you come in here, the girls getting cross eyed. They’re entranced by your hair!”
“I hear that girls go for guys with big hair!” Nathan nodded.
“Yeah?” The second guy added. “Then why I am I still single?”
“Could be the ugly mug you sporting under the ’fro that’s causing the problem!” The first speaker suggested smugly.
“Could very well be!” Nathan laughed. “By the way, I’m Nathan.”
“Keith!” The second speaker said. “And this moron is Chris, my younger brother, who has not mastered the meaning of ‘respect your elders’. So, you’re Elder Nicholson’s grandson, right?”
Nathan nodded.
“Elder Nicholson is our Sabbath School teacher,” Chris said. “He’s cool.”
“He’s a cool grandfather, too!” Nathan agreed.
“So what you doing at our forum?” Keith asked. “I didn’t know you came to church.”
“I dropped my sister off for the movie,” Nathan explained. “Maria over there hijacked me.”
Keith laughed. “That is classic Maria! She’s very pushy. But welcome yout’. Glad to have you!”
Nathan was about to comment when Maria took the floor. “Alright everybody!” She shouted above the din. Please take your seats. We are about to begin.”
Everyone obediently shuffled to find a seat. Nathan sat next to Chris, close to a door, so he could make a speedy getaway if it became necessary.
“Welcome to our monthly open forum!” Maria continued. “We’re going to have a good time in Jesus tonight! Amen? We have a special visitor tonight – Elder Nicholson’s grandson, Nathan. Let’s see you, Nathan!”
Wishing the floor would open and swallow him, Nathan stood and waved. He was about to sit, but Maria stopped him.
“You cannot sit without a special youth welcome!” She said.
“What…” Nathan began, before he found himself being bombarded by a throng of girls, all wanting to give him a hug.
“One at a time, ladies, one at a time!” Chris chortled. “Don’t smother him!”
“As you can see, Nathan, we have a bunch of enthusiastic young ladies at Mobay SDA!” Maria told an absolutely mortified Nathan. “You may sit.”
He obeyed, looking at the girls who had mobbed him. He made a mental note to have a long talk with Joie. He would have to train her well, so she did not turn into those insane wildebeests.
“Let me introduce our moderator for this evening’s programme, Stephen Eyre,” Maria continued “Stephen is the AY Leader from Greenwich Seventh Day Adventist Church. He is also employed as a Youth Councillor at the Ministry of Education office right here in Montego Bay, and young ladies, he’s single and seeking!”
There were titters from some of the girls in the room. Nathan rolled his eyes. These church girls were totally boy crazy!
“As usual, we have our very own resource professional, Pastor Paul Rollins to assist if needed,” Maria continued. “Pastor Rollins, for the benefit of our special visitor, is our associate Pastor, and chaplain at Mobay Mercy Hospital. He has been married for thirteen years, and is a trained and practicing marriage councillor. Now, without further ado, I will turn over to our moderator. Stephen, the floor is all yours!”
“Thank you, Maria,” Stephen said, taking the podium. “Good evening everyone. This evening’s open forum will be on ‘God’s Guide to Sex’.”
“Oh crap!” Nathan thought.
“We will be looking at what the Bible says about sex outside of marriage, and how far is too far in dating.”
“This must be a conspiracy!” Nathan thought. He was convinced that the stars were lining up to teach him a lesson, and point out how wrong it was for him to have made the bet with Jeremy.
“We’re living in a time,” Stephen continued, “when sex has been degraded to crass adult humour, and virginity is a cheap commodity to be discarded as soon as possible. As Christian young people, the onus is ours to bring back the understanding that sex is to be valued and respected, and virginity is a precious gift that should not be given away loosely. But before we begin our discussion, let us stand for prayer.”
Nathan found himself struggling to his feet with the other young people in the room. He had no idea what Stephen was going to be saying, but he knew it would have some bearing on his relationship with Andie. He was sorry he had opted to take Joie back to church, and more than anything he wished he could leave. He knew he had the choice to leave, but something was holding him back.
Two minutes later, Stephen began his presentation. Nathan half listened as he spoke of the gift of intimacy that God had given to the first man and woman. There was nothing wrong with sex, Stephen was saying. In God’s eyes, like everything else he had created, sex was very, very good. But it had to be in the right context, and that context was marriage. Then Stephen said something that caught Nathan’s attention. Something he had always known, but never paid much attention to. Virginity was like a balloon. Once it got broken, that was it. It would be gone for eternity. Nathan closed his eyes. There is nothing wrong with being a virgin, Stephen purported. In fact, in this day and age when there was so much pressure to have sex – from television, movies, music, magazines – it was a very commendable thing. Delaying gratification – waiting until marriage to experience sex and then having that relationship only with one’s spouse, -- required remarkable self-discipline, and strength of character, not to mention personal integrity!
Nathan realised that he had no personal integrity. He was a person of weak character and no self-discipline. Apart from the fact that he had given away, very cheaply, his virginity when he was only sixteen years old, he had schemed and plotted with Jeremy to rob Andie of hers. He felt his face turning red, and hoped no one else would notice. He looked straight ahead, and listened to the questions and comments being raised from the floor.
“I don’t know what is wrong with boys!” Maria was saying. “Sex is all that fills their cup – like it’s tonic and if they don’t get it they’re going to die!”
“Exactly! I think they honestly think they’ll die if we don’t put out!” Another girl, who was identified as Chantal, commented. “Church boys and boys in the world – no different!”
“It’s not just the boys!” Chris clarified. “You girls are just as disgusting when it comes to sex!”
The guys in the room murmured their agreement. “You know how many times I have to flee like Joseph in the Bible!” One guy put in.
“No! How many times, Joshua?” Maria asked. Her comment earned laughter from around the room.
Nathan smiled. He understood what Chris and Joshua were talking about. There were some girls who were just downright nymphomaniacs.
“Well, all I know is that boys come up with the stupidest reasons why we should allow them to feel us up!” One girl, who Nathan was sure could not be more than fifteen said. “Can sex cure acne, Stephen?”
Stephen laughed. “Not that I know of, Toni!” He said. “What you say, Pastor Rollins?”
“Never been proven,” Pastor Rollins confirmed. “It doesn’t cure insomnia or palpitations or migraines either.”
Nathan laughed to himself. He never had to use any of those pathetic excuses on girls to get them to sleep with him. Perhaps it was his natural charm, or his dimples or his curly afro, like Keith had suggested, but girls usually threw themselves at him.
“I just don’t know how you can jump up and have sex with just anybody!” Maria said. “I value myself, and what I have may not be valuable to anyone else, but it is certainly valuable to me!”
“Amen!” Toni concurred. “My stuff is not no riff-raff!”
Nathan was thinking about
Andie and himself. He was thinking about all the girls he had not valued, simply because he had slept with them, knowing fully well that he was not in love with them. Andie was different. He was sure he was in love with her. If he truly loved her, he should value her enough to not go through with the stupid bet. If he truly loved himself, he should not be so willing to have sex just to prove a point. But it was too late for him. He was no longer a virgin. There was nothing he could to change that…
“If you have already made the mistake of having sex out of marriage,” Stephen began, bringing Nathan back to the present, “it is not too late for you to correct that error.”
Nathan did a double take. Was Stephen reading his mind? He sat up straight in the chair and listened closely.
“Because sex is enjoyable and because an emotional bond is created between two people through this act, stopping is going to be difficult. But there are a few points to keep in mind if you need to end or have recently ended this kind of relationship.
“The first thing you need to do is repent. To repent, means we stop what we’re doing wrong and change direction. Repentance also includes admitting our sin to God and asking for His forgiveness. The Bible says ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness’. You have to repent if you want forgiveness. Then you need to have the courage to do what is right. God respects people of courage who do what He says, and He promises us strength when we do. Next, you must accept God's forgiveness. When we repent, God not only removes our sin from us, He no longer thinks of us as having committed it. The consequences will remain, whether it’s loss of virginity, an STD, pregnancy or a temporarily broken heart, but God forgives us completely when we repent. Believe God—not your unstable emotions. And finally, as Jesus has instructed, ‘Sin no more.’ To follow this instruction, we may need to change habits and, in some cases, even friends. We don’t need to be accountable to friends – just to God, and we can do this through daily prayer and Bible study as well as attending worship services every Sabbath!”
It was decision time, Nathan thought. What was he going to do when he got back to Kingston? The right thing would be to tell Jeremy that he was not going through with the bet. He knew that from the start, but now he had to make up his mind to face the consequences of forfeiting. It was too late for him to enjoy sex for the first time with his life’s partner – the one that God would choose, but it was not too late for Andie. He would not be the one to rob her of that opportunity.
Nathan did not hear the remainder of the presentation. He was not sure when the forum ended. He did not recall the conversation he had with Keith and Chris and Maria, and even Stephen when the refreshments were served later on. He just knew in his mind that all his questions and doubts had been answered. He knew exactly what he needed to do. He knew how he would solve the problem with Jeremy. Stephen had mentioned changing friends. He never considered Jeremy his friend, but still he gave him a lot of wiggle room in his life. Well, no more, he decided. Things were going to be so different from now on.
Nathan was quiet as he drove Joie home after the movie. He was not in a talking mood, but Joie chatted incessantly all the way home. She told him from beginning to end what Chicken Run was all about, and how much she enjoyed it.
When he got home, his mother was lying on the couch, flipping through the latest copy of Bella Magazine.
“Grandma is at church watching Grandpa give Pastor Edwards six love in dominoes, and Joie is putting herself to bed,” he greeted her leaning in to kiss her cheek. “How you doing? Tired?”
“Not really,” Dr Hansen said with a smile. “It wasn’t a bad day. No real emergencies – just a lot of flu-y babies!” She ruffled his head. “So you went back to church.”
Nathan shrugged. “I only went to drop Joie to the movie. This girl suckered me into staying. But I enjoyed it though. The young people had an open forum.”
“On what?” Dr Hansen asked. She pulled her legs up, allowing Nathan to sit.
“God’s guide to sex,” Nathan told her, taking her feet into his lap. He rubbed his mother’s toes.
“I see. Did you learn anything?”
“Quite a lot!” Nathan said. “And they said some things that I’ll definitely be putting into practice!”
His mother smiled. “Really, like what?”
Nathan smiled back at his mother. “Let’s just say that Grandma doesn’t have to worry about me making her and Grandpa look bad anymore.”
“Good enough for me!” Dr Hansen said. “You’re a good son, Nathan.”
“And I’m going to be a better one from now on, Mom!” Nathan promised.
“Just take it one day at a time, baby,” his mother advised.
“I know,” Nathan said, standing. “I’m going to bed now, but first thing’s first – what time does Grandpa’s barber start work in the morning? I badly need a haircut!
253
The Bet
chapter eleven
Sunday evening, prior week 8
The common area was noisy when Nathan pushed the door open on Sunday evening. Cricket was on and West Indies and Australia were locked in a life or death battle. Jeremy, Micah and the other guys were shouting into the television as though the team could hear their instructions and criticisms.
“I need to talk to you!” Nathan said, poking Jeremy’s shoulder.
“Easy, nuh man. This soon finish!” Jeremy said, not even looking around.
“I need to talk to you now!” Nathan repeated.
The over was finished, and the match went to break. Jeremy turned and looked at Nathan. “What are…” He noticed Nathan’s hair. “W’happen to your hair?”
“I cut it!” Nathan said shortly. “It’s over, Jeremy!”
“What’s over?” Jeremy asked, moving towards the fridge to get a drink before the match resumed.
“The bet. I’m done.”
Jeremy looked at him. “You screw her?”
“No, and I’m not going to.”
Micah looked away from the TV, for the first time interested in the bet. “What?”
“I’m not going through with it!” Nathan repeated. “I thought about it and…”
“And you knew you couldn’t get her, so you decided to forfeit,” Jeremy concluded. “You still have a few days, man. You sure you don’t want to keep trying?”
“I’m not forfeiting!” Nathan told him. “You’re obviously not listening to me. As at right now, we are going to pretend that this stupid bet never took place.”
“Oh really now?” Jeremy was standing too close to Nathan. The other four guys had forgotten the cricket match, and were more interested in the battle that was obviously brewing between Nathan and Jeremy.
“Yes, really,” Nathan said. “I like Andie, and I am not having sex with her just to prove something to you. I don’t have to do anything you say.”
“You must have cut your brain when you cut your hair!” Jeremy commented. He moved back to the television.
“As a matter of fact, Jeremy,” Nathan corrected. “I just started using my brain. I should have never made that stupid bet with you. I don’t know why I ever thought anything that came from your stupid mouth or was formed in your sick head could be a good idea!”
“You watch your mouth!” Jeremy threatened. “You just watch how you talk to me!”
Jeremy was glaring menacingly at him, but Nathan did not flinch.
“I’m not afraid of you!” Nathan told him. “I’m taking a stand and doing the right thing for a change. Sex and virginity is not something to bet on, and girls, especially the girl I happen to like, is not going to be a puppet in the middle of this anymore.”
“Oh how noble!” Jeremy spat. “It’s commendable how you can go to Mobay one weekend and suddenly come back with morals and scruples. I wonder how your precious A
ndie would react if she knew she was only a bet to begin with? That you did have plans to screw her just for fun!”
“You wouldn’t dare!”
“Why not?” Jeremy shrugged. “I have nothing to lose. As a matter of fact, you’re the only one who has anything to lose in all of this – you and Andie of course.”
“Look, you just stay away from my girlfriend!” Nathan was beginning to see all shades of red.
“’Stay away from my girlfriend’!” Jeremy mocked. “You’re a real pussy, you know that, Hansen! You haven’t even tapped her, and still you’re whipped. You’re a joke!”
“You can say whatever you want,” Nathan said, as he moved towards his room. “The fact is, the bet is over.”
“It’s not over till I say it’s over!” Jeremy seethed, following him to his room. “And either you go through with what we planned, and lose like the pussy that you are, or Dr Persaud’s little daughter is going to hear what you had planned to do to her.”
“Go to hell, Jeremy!” Nathan slammed the door and flopped into his bed. He stood up to Jeremy. He told him just as he had planned that he would not go through with the bet. He anticipated that Jeremy would be mad. He had not anticipated Jeremy threatening to tell Andie.
There was a knock on the door. Nathan was not in the mood to talk to anyone. He ignored the knock, but the person did not intend to go away.
“Who the hell is it?” Nathan yelled.
“It’s Micah. I have something to say to you.”
Nathan unlocked the door and Micah came in.
“You finally decided to stop being a punk and start being a man!” Micah commented.
“He’s going to tell Andie,” Nathan said flatly. “He’s going to tell her and she’s going to hate me.”
“But even if she does – which I doubt – you can look at yourself in the mirror and know that you did the right thing,” Micah pointed out.
