Thomas Dawson had his eyes locked on his phone as he busily tapped the phone screen, typing out a message. The look in his eyes was a dry one, an indication of how much he did not want to be chatting with the person on the other side of the phone. He took his bottle of Guinness and took a big gulp, placing it back on the table.

It was another Tuesday evening. After a long day at work, time to meet some of his friends from other workplaces and have a drink or two and chat about different issues.

Their chats, really, were mainly composed of complaints and gripes about the few things in life that annoyed and bothered them. Given that most of them had similar ‘problems’, they always had much to talk about.

And it was just one of those days where there was a lot on the agenda.

The main topic of discussion? Their annoying wives.

Just the person Thomas was sending a message to. With a facial expression that portrayed the enthusiasm of a plus size glutton at the gym.

The truth was, as much as they looked like a happy family to the outside world, Thomas was pretty much weary of his union. It had been seven years, and now he felt he had been sold a big lie about marriage being a beautiful thing. It wasn’t that Leticia was a bad wife per se, but he was not satisfied with her, and despite pretending to be fine, after one major fight between them one night, was now beginning to despise her.

He chose to keep his contempt under wraps, however. And in recent weeks, an idea had been planted into his brain. One which he believed would supply him with a bit of happiness.

“The wife anaa?” his friend, Yaw Nyamekye, asked as he put his phone down.

He nodded, rolling his eyes. “Stress nkwaa, chale.”

“Chale, these wives dey worry pass. By the way, how far with the movement?”

“I still dey top ooo, chale. She dey do long things, but me diɛɛ, I’m not letting go. I’ll continue till she says yes.”

“That be all, my guy. Just continue to push through. Na this prison we go pick diɛɛ, if we no find some freedom, we go die.”

“I swear, chale. Herh, no jokes, them scam we papa! Always making it look like the most beautiful and blissful thing to experience on earth. Apuuu! Bliss for the where?”

Yaw laughed out loud as he took a gulp of his glass of beer. “I see no lies in there, Tom. Major scam alert. They said the ball-and-chain mentality be lie. Massa, ibi true papa!”

Thomas shook his head and smiled as he drank from his glass of beer. “At least you can sniff a way out. Me diɛɛ, the encumbrances I get no be small, so backing out go be hard. But at least, this movement source aa, I’ll be okay.”

“Sure thing, Tom. Keep going, chale. You go get am. Abi now she start dey reason up small small?”

“Yeah, chale. At first, always doing ‘but you are married’ and all that bulls**t. Now she dey loosen up a bit. Still doing long, though.”

“Oh, massa, then it’s settled. Just continue pushing. The movement go come on, live and coloured!”

“Amen to that, brother!”

The two raised their bottles in the air. “To enjoyment!” they both chanted before clinking the bottles together and taking a big gulp.

***

“… anyway, this guy was just… oh my God, so damn sexy!”

“Eeei, Boahemaa nono! As to what macho guys have done to you and Glori eh, I’ll never understand.”

“Hwɛ, Sister Rawda, that’s our spec ooo! That’s what Boahemaa and I like. Huge biceps, big chests, muscles that make me giddy when they are flexed… girl, you have no idea! It’s like how guys like girls with big breasts or big ass. Look at your own brother Samed.”

“Hahaha! I knew you’d bring that up. The time he was chasing Amaya. It was crazy, chale.”

“Too crazy! Herh, Rawzy, the way Samed was enchanted! It was serious oo! He can stare at the girl as she walks away eh, and you can see the booty has just confused him. Ei!”

Glori laughed along with Rawda at Boahemaa’s comment.

Her two close friends, it was always fun when they had these conference calls. They could sit and chat for hours. Which usually consisted of Rawda playfully scolding Glori and Boahemaa for being mischievous and naughty, the latter of which they loved to exhibit in their conversations.

“Well, now he’s married to her, so that’s the end. As to what he does with her, that’s not my business,” Rawda commented. “At least he’s having fun within legitimate boundaries.”

“Mmmm,” Glori murmured, more to herself than in response to her friend’s statement.

“Oh of course,” Boahemaa agreed. “So Rawda, you should be praying for Glori and I, so we too, we get our macho husbands and they can spoil us all they want.”

“Oh Lord, B, why are you so dirty, lah?” Rawda asked, laughing in her foiled attempt to scold her. “You, I hear, you girls will get them. I really pray you do.”

“Amenooooooo!” Boahemaa and Glori chanted.

“Chale, girls, I think my people are looking for me. It’s almost time for prayers as usual. Got to go now.”

“Alright, Rawzy. Take care of yourself, baby girl.”

“Will do, boos. Later, y’all!”

“Later!” Boahemaa and Glori responded.

***

As she hung up, she noted the WhatsApp notification on her phone. Her heart beating slightly, she opened the messaging app, wondering if he had sent her anything. 

Sure enough, there was a Hi from him.

She rubbed her face and smiled shyly.

It had been two weeks since he had made his intentions known to her.

He had told her in no uncertain terms that he was madly attracted to her, and wanted to have some fun with her. He had been pretty raunchy, speaking about her body like she was some Ghanaian reincarnation of Kim Kardashian, which she certainly wasn’t. 

She rejected him instantly, shaking her head and making it clear she wasn’t going to entertain his feelings. She had a bright future ahead of her, and there would be no acceptance of his proposal. In any case, he was married, and the last thing she wanted to do was disrespect that union. 

Her no, however, had not sunk into his head. He bombarded her with text messages, reiterating his feelings and his determination to have her. 

It was highly irritating at first; she couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t just leave her alone. The fact that he seemingly got irritated and super defensive whenever she reminded him of his vows to his wife didn’t impress her either. She saw him as nothing more than a selfish creep and had even considered reporting him to Madam Leticia.

As the days passed, however, she found herself being entertained by the things he sent her. For example, that video of Ed Sheeran lyrics from the song ‘Shape Of You’. He was being super persistent, and to an extent, she was beginning to like it. Whereas a few weeks ago, his insistence enraged her, it now give her this strangely warm feeling within.

If that wasn’t enough, she was now beginning to actually notice how much of a hunk he was. Five foot eleven, with a huge chest and well-toned abs and arms that looked like they would have no problem breaking a plank with minimal effort, he was exactly the kind of man she and Boahemaa dreamed about.

What had been an absolutely preposterous suggestion a few weeks back now sounded so appealing and ready to sway her mind.

She responded.

Hi, Mr. Thomas.

A message came through. You know this ain’t ending till you say yes, right?

She felt her ears get hot upon seeing that. She typed back. Lol, I seeeee…

Come on, girl. Quit doing long with me. I want you so bad, you wouldn’t believe…

Her heartbeat increased as she read that message. There was something about the way he made his desire known for her that sent sweet shivers down her spine.

Trust me, when I’m kissing you all over your body, playing with your twins and sending you straight to heaven with my skills, you’ll know I ain’t playing.

She sucked in her breath as that message appeared. “God, this man really wants me,” she whispered to herself. Shutting her eyes as she thought of what to respond to him, she couldn’t help but let her mind slip, as she pictured being in his strong grasp, getting a ferocious necking from him.

Her eyes popped open. Shaking her head, she reminded herself.

Madam Lit, Glori. Think of Madam Lit.

It was a complex situation for her, even though she knew what really had to be done. The thought of getting illicit with her madam’s husband was not the right thing; she knew all too well how despicable it was. Yet, he had now captured her attention too tightly to just let go.

She typed her response. Oh wow. Well… let’s see what happens, then…

With that, she tossed her phone away and turned her TV on. Eventually, he’d come home and probably make a statement to her after she opened the gate, but for now, she needed some space.

“Hmmmmm,” she murmured to herself as the late night news came on. “I don’t wanna do anything that’ll disrespect Madam Leticia; she’s such a good boss to me. But good God, Mr. Thomas is sexy. Lord knows how sweet it’ll be to get down and dirty with him. I know, it’s so wrong, but… well, like I told him, let’s see what happens…”

So Glori is considering his ‘proposal’? Smh. Not good enough. With the way she’s saying they’ll see what happens, she’s definitely gonna give in…