‘The Song-Warrior’ (Short Story)

Summary

She awoke with a song in her heart. Her elation would not be confinedto her soul. She opened her mouth and warbled: ‘He has given mevictory…’

‘Wenie,’ her husband jested, ‘can't you wait till we get tochurch?’

‘The Lord is everywhere,’ Wenie declared. ‘Wherever we are is achurch, for He is everywhere.’

‘You got into the wrong profession,’ the man joked. ‘You should havejoined a band.’

‘And, Poro, could you have married a woman who toured with a band?’He was silent, and she teased, ‘Africa Man!’

‘There's this couple I used to know,’ Poro told her. ‘The wife had areally fantastic voice… soprano. When she sang, I had goose pimples…Then, once at the University Arts Theatre, she came and sang at somecultural event. Really brought the house down. People stood,cheering, clapping. After all that, she came and sat beside herhusband for the rest of the events. I was on his other side. Youknow what he told her, in that hour of her glory? “This is the lasttime you’re getting up to sing in public. You forget you’resomeone's wife. You won't make me lose people's respect.”’

‘Africa Men!’ she chuckled, and resumed her crooning. That morning'seuphoria could not be suppressed.

Wenie attended to the morning's routine – supervising the sweeping byher house-girls, their serving of a light breakfast, preparationsfor lunch – then her own bathing and dressing. She sat beside herhusband in their Escalope jeep as he drove to the day's mostimportant engagement: the church service. On Sundays, they dispensedwith their driver. It delighted Wenie to sit beside Poro as hedrove. It recalled their courtship and early married life, beforeprosperity and status made drivers indispensable in their lives.

After church and lunch, she was relaxing in her sitting room when acar, let in by the gateman, rumbled in. She knew that her secondhappy engagement that day was imminent. A tall and sprightly maleform emerged from the driver's seat, then went round to the otherfront door to open it. A woman handed him a white-draped bundle,then eased herself out.