In a world where promiscuity is celebrated, Vivian has promised to stay chaste and pure. ‘Holy Mary‘, ‘Iya Jesu‘ were some of the scathing names she had been called in time past because of her stance. Now, she was wondering if it was worth it. She had lost a chain of boyfriends because of clinging to her virginity. They had at one point wanted to get down with her. It left her wondering if that was all they were all about. The moment she declined their advances, the relationship went south.
It became clear that these ‘boyfriends’ were not thinking long term. Vivian had envisioned a life where her husband and herself would wed as virgins. To her, the marriage bed was very sacred.
At some point she had to cut off from all the noise outside, the ridicule was becoming unbearable. Had she lost friends? Yes, a handful. When it became obvious that values were not aligned, they had to drop from friends to mere acquaintances. Growing up under strict parents, Vivian was involved in youthful exuberance but that of sexual impurity was out of it. Somehow, her mother’s cautioning face followed her everywhere. Her mother’s voice was her conscience. All through secondary school to university to service year, there were periods of temptation, but she ended up ‘running away’.
“There is a blessing in staying pure”, Her mother used to tell her. Sighting herself and husband as an example, Vivian could attest to this. Her parents had a loving relationship. They made marriage seem ‘heaven on earth’. If there was another silent wish, it was to have a marriage like her parents. At the age of 31, her hormones were boiling, she was wondering if she would bulge. When she met Geoffrey, she was caught unawares. It was in a shopping mall. He was with a heavily pregnant lady, he introduced as his fiance. This was the same man who insisted on sleeping with her before marriage.
According to him, he had gone through a lot and needed to marry a fertile woman. He could only know this if she got pregnant for him. That was the tradition in his place. How would Vivian sleep with a man that was not yet her husband with the belief that he would? In the first place, it was against her values and belief. Now he wasted no time and has gotten another lady pregnant for marriage. Vivian felt she was at a loss. Considering her age, she thought getting a good man would become an issue. Maybe she should have given in and who knows, she would have been in the lady in question shoes?
Geoffrey had a wicked grin on his face. She could sense he was telling her that she was a loser. The way he kept referring to her as ‘Miss’, Vivian had to stop any form of discussion. She bought all she needed in haste and left the mall before a further confrontation.
All by herself, she kept wondering if she had made the right decision to stay pure? Her birthday was next month. It is rare to hear of a 32-year-old virgin in this age. How long can she keep at it? Would she remain single forever?