Pabonya retraced his steps to Kures, bitterer than he had come. The chill of early morning clung stubbornly to his bones.
The proud elder, whose words once carried the weight of law, had never suffered such humiliation. He felt defeated—not by a rival elder, nor by some cunning young man, but by Becky: a woman unafraid to match his fury with her own.
Gone was the air of superiority that usually clothed his demeanor. His visit to Becky's house had failed to achieve the purpose he intended, and with that had slipped away the sense of self-importance in him.
All his efforts caused only a shred of intimidation to show in Becky, but even that had quickly dissipated, and in its place had come condescension and disparagement.
For all his years, he had never come across such a woman, born or married to the clan, who dared challenge the elders' guidance. Who was this one, that she faced him as an equal?
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?
Certainly, Becky wielded something. Had she usurped his power, and by that power driven him out of her homestead as though he were some mischievous goat in a beans plantation?
Something had to be done, or that power could grow and even spread. Soon a few more women might catch this contagious spirit, and the clan would be thoroughly contaminated.
He blamed Tesot, who had granted her so much freedom. That freedom had bred arrogance. He should not be allowed to remain in love with such a thick-headed woman. How he wished that their marriage could be dissolved. But mere wishful thinking wasn't enough. Action was needed. She had to be cut off from the fountain from which she drew her joy.
Yet it would not be an easy feat. Tesot, who had often shown him generosity, bailing him out of financial troubles he sometimes found himself in, stood in the way. How would he strike without setting himself in conflict against his great benefactor?
He would find a way, for as long as he lived, he would never allow the clan to yield to the power of a woman.
"You haven't touched your breakfast," his wife's voice interrupted his reverie.
Tabutany had been watching him. Over forty years of living with him were enough to let her perceive that something was gnawing at him.
Pabonya absently stared at her.
"Hey!" She snapped her fingers in front of his face to draw his attention. "What is it?"
"What?"
"You seem distressed."
"No, I am not." He struggled to make his voice sound casual.
"Yes, you are." She took a seat next to him. "Tell me. We can work it together."
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's curiosity grew.
"I have never seen a woman chest-thump and utter unpalatable words before an elder like me. She's got no decency, no self-control."
Tabutany's face showed puzzlement.
"You had an altercation with Becky?"
"I went to see her this morning…"
"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 reproached Becky for her behavior the previous day, only to be met with contempt.
"I know Becky," Tabutany said gently. "And forgive me for saying this: she's a wonderful young woman who goes out of her way to be kind."
Pabonya glared, clearly displeased. "Oh! So it is women for women!"
"You don't get it. I don't—"
"Glorify her. Justify her small sin."
"I 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 that masquerade of humble innocence she sometimes maintained?"
"Anybody who understands her would not characterize her behavior so wrongly. She is good, but also feisty. She lives in a different world from the one we know. Give her trouble and be certain she would give it back. So be honest with me—what did you do to bring out the wild woman in her?"
"I don't know what you see in her that is so praiseworthy. Her insolence is intolerable. There is a dark side in her that 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 they will soon be brainwashed to adopt her cynical ideas. So mine is not a personal concern. It is a concern for the clan. Danger lurks in her continued presence among us."
Tabutany looked troubled. "What does that mean?" she asked.
"Something must be done to rid the clan of the contamination of her heresy."
"And is that something you are planning?" Her eyebrows rose.
"I doubt that, going forward, her marriage to Tesot would be a good one. It is my intention to drive a permanent wedge between her and our son."
"You would go to such lengths, surely?"
To Pabonya, it was just revenge—a sliver of the pain he felt at being defied by a woman, a daughter-in-law. But to achieve it, he had to magnify her sin.
"You must drop this fight. Respect your nephew's wife. If Tesot won't leave her, you will only embarrass yourself."
Disappointed that his wife sided with Becky, Pabonya thought of Rebecca. Perhaps she could cooperate. She had long been a widow; Pabonya had stepped in as family head after his brother's death, even leading the delegation to Becky's family for Koito. She would become an ally in efforts to have Becky ejected from the clan.
The next morning, Pabonya set out again, this time to Rebecca's house.
It was still early in the morning when he set foot in her compound.
Rebecca was busy sweeping her grass-thatched, round, mud-walled hut. Pabonya watched as she placed the trash on a goatskin tray and walked out of the hut, taking the rubbish to a dump pit near the fence.
As she turned 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—a reputation she was determined to uphold.
"Pomuru!" Pabonya called out warmly as he got close to the threshold. 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 in?"
"Welcome in!"
He entered and sat on a wooden bench behind a small table she had carefully wiped clean.
"Chamgei!" he greeted her the Kipsigis way as he sat down, setting his walking stick leaning against the wall beside him.
"Chamgei mising!" replied Rebecca, wondering what urgency had brought him so early.
It was very warm inside, and Pabonya was soon relieved of the morning chill.
"Is it well in Kures?" she asked.
"It is well. People are busy on their farms planting."
"The same here. The oxen finished ploughing Becky's land yesterday. Today they rest, and tomorrow they will till mine," Rebecca explained.
Tesot had bought his own oxen, and neither Rebecca nor Becky relied on Pabonya's anymore.
A sufuria of tea simmered above the fireplace.
"Speaking of Becky—she is why I'm here this morning," Pabonya declared.
Rebecca, tilting her gaze towards him, wondered what he implied by that. "Is something wrong?"
"I am a little unhappy with certain things."
"And what is that?"
Making himself comfortable, he began, "We met yesterday. You should have seen how she was dressed. I tried to advise her—fatherly words—suggesting it was time to change her dress code. But her reaction was cruel. I received nothing but insults."
That was no doubt my daughter-in-law, Rebecca thought, cavalier where other women would stammer before words could come from their mouths. "I am sorry you had to go through that," Rebecca replied, without appearing perturbed by Pabonya's revelation.
She moved to the fireplace to attend to the now-boiling tea. She lifted the sufuria with her bare hands and placed it on the floor, then walked out and returned within minutes with a thermos flask in her hands.
She did not like the way Pabonya was concerning himself so much with Becky's life.
"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, 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. 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 pressed.
"Haven't we tried enough? It doesn't work," Rebecca replied calmly.
"Don't you agree that we should be clear and forthright in condemning such behavior? I mean… how does it 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? Are you sure we should tolerate that?"
"What other choice do we have? Isn't it clear? Becky made her choice long ago. And knowing her social history, and how she has maintained this personality since joining our clan, I believe it is time we adjust ourselves to such developments—be more tolerant and indulge someone who does not play by our rules. Maybe, to Becky and her husband, this matter we are troubling ourselves with is a non-issue. Tesot surely knows her ways—and yet he's unbothered. Isn't it best that we leave this generation alone?"
Pabonya noted regretfully that, as it was with his wife, he could not count on Rebecca to back his vendetta, and the incorrigible daughter-in-law would continue to have her way.
He quickly finished his tea and rose to leave. Targeting her clothing alone wouldn't succeed, he thought. He needed something more shocking—something that could truly destroy her standing.