📖𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃-𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍 📖 ✔️

CHAPTER 9

         

               Chapter 9

             Lamais's pov

  Tears sprung to my eyes when I read up Shanty, I was happy that she didn't do anything to make me angry with her, but sad for how much she was hurting. I questioned the universe over and over wondering how I did not see it before now, my grandma would have said that things happen at the right time.

  Shanty use her blouse front to wipe her face, she had always look sad whenever inspector Gregory came here. He's in his late forties and have been visiting my grandmother for reads, now he visits me. Shanty was in love with him, but he was married and is a known womanizer.

"They say talking about something sometimes helps and I'm a listener that doesn't judge," I told her when she calms down.

  She took a deep breath and begin to cry again. "Mama say a my fault cause she did warn mi, but she nuh know how much night him come round a yard an' mi affi gi him," she stated in an angry tone.

  "If him even nuh want mi atleast one a di pickney dem him coulda own cause a fi him dem, no other man never trouble mi when him start come dey a night time. Mi gi him it every way him want it and him still neva want mi, him can gi di pickney dem somn cause him get good pay," she spoke with deep pain and hurt lacing her voice.

  "Which of the children's are his?" I ask her.

"Kemar, Tishawna and Gazwain," she answers. 

  Her three oldest children, that answers a lot of question. "Who is your other two children's father?" I ask.

  She held down her head and answered. "Sheri-lee affi Mr. Beris and Sheika affi Brenton."

  Oh Lord, I said in my head knowing Mr. Beris is a married man and a rum head and Brenton who is Brandon's big brother has travelled abroad some years ago. The children all bore Shanty's surname, none of these men named were called on any of her pregnancies and she has always been struggling alone with her children.

  My phone rings and I answer the business number, it was pastor Esther wanting to know on which nights during the convention I needed her choir to minister. I told her Friday and Sunday, since those two days are expected to be fully packed and she had a big choir.

  I had everything to run the church but I chose not to, my grandma had suffered greatly under the hand of her same church members. They would steal from the offerings and contend with each other giving the church a bad reputation, I had close it after she passed until I had rebuilt it and furnished it. It was the talk of the town now and I am often questioned about why services aren't being kept.

  "Find yourself in church this convention and not in the kitchen or at the back of the church monitoring food, you just may find an husband and has for the father's of your children we'll see how best to get to them. It's no use worrying over spilt milk and I think you've been doing a great job raising your children, you told me you have been keeping yourself pure- continue to do so."

  "Yes ma'am," Shanty said and bow her head at my counseling.

  Apart from the slight deformity in her right foot that made her walk and lean to one side, I saw her as a normal human being. "Go and bring me the 𝙃𝙀𝘼𝙇𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙁𝙄𝙍𝙀 oil," I told her and she gets up and went to the back cupboards.

  "Raise your dress," I command her and I anoint where her bone did not grow straight just above the knee while praying for healing.

  It only bothers her sometimes making her unable to walk or stand up on it, I slapped my hands against the wall seven times and then went and wash off the oil. I had two more visitors before closing off at four, we go over to the church and I told her to get the others so we could start cleaning and fixing up for convention. I jot down important things to take care of and after making a few phonecalls we locked up and she went home to her children.