Pabonya retraced his steps to his house bitterer than he had come. The chill of early morning clung stubbornly to his bone.
The proud elder, whose words once carried the weight of law, returned defeated. Not by a rival elder, neither by some cunning youth, but by Becky: a woman unafraid to match his fury with her own.
Gone was the air of superiority that usually clothed his demeanor; he had failed to achieve the purpose of his visit to Becky's house, and with that, his sense of self-importance had slipped away.
Despite all his effort, not a shred of intimidation had shown in Becky, instead, she had met him with condescension and disparagement.
For all his years in the clan, he had never come across such a woman — born into or married into it — who dared challenge the elders' guidance. Who was this girl, that she faced him as an equal? How did she managed to instill a feeling of inferiority within him? He could not tell.
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. She had usurp his power and left him helpless. And by the power, she had driven him out of her homestead as if he was some mischievous goat in a young beans' plantation.
Something had to be done or that power could grow and spread. Another one or two like her would be dangerously influential. Soon, Pabonya feared, the rest of the women might catch this contagious spirit, and the clan would be thoroughly contaminated.
He blamed Tesot. He granted her so much freedom. Now that freedom had bred arrogance. He should not be allowed to remain in love with such a thick-headed woman. How he wished that this marriage could be dissolved.
But mere wishful thinking wasn't enough. Action was needed — to cut off the fountain from which she drew her joy.
Yet it would not be an easy feat. Tesot had often shown him generosity, bailing him out of financial troubles. 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 noting the unmistakable look of discomfort in his gaze. Over fifty years of marriage had taught her to read his moods.
Pabonya looked at her without saying a word.
"Hey!" Tabutany snapped a finger at his face to draw his attention. "What is it?"
"What?" He stared blankly at her.
"You seem distracted."
"No! I am not." He struggled to make his voice sound casual.
"Yes, you are," she insisted taking a seat next to him. "Tell me. Whatever it is, we will 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 did have 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."
"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 the masquerade of her kindness?"
"She is good. But also feisty. Give her trouble and be certain, she would give it back. If only you could be honest with me, tell me what you did to bring out the wild woman in her."
"I don't know what you see in her so praise-worthy. Her insolence is so intolerable. There is a dark side in her, 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 would soon be led to adopt her radical ideas. So mine is not a personal concern. It is a concern for the clan. Danger larks 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 lenghts, 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 thrash 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. And in the word he used, was expressed, the respectful manner in which a brother-in-law and a sister-in-law called each other.
"Yes, pomuru," came Rebecca's gentle response.
"May I come."
"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 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 at 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 the words could come from their mouth. "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, 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, and 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. And 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 think 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 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 as to accept someone do 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 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 won't succeed, he thought. He needed something more shocking — something that can truly destroy her standing