Entangled In Sexpreneurship (Episode 3)

'I love you too', I shouted in reply to her message. Sitting at the other corner of the bed was a determined lady seeking to accomplish her Godmother's wish or should I say she was seeking to gratify her own emotional quota. The determination in her eyes was visible and lucid.

I was also ready to play the naughty.

I turned to Caro with an honest face, 'Am married' I said, 'I have a lovely wife who is three months pregnant for me, see, she just sent this me'. Caro seemed uninterested in the conversation I was trying to weave. 'Caro, I can't sleep with you. I need the money for my boss tomorrow', I told her in plain language. Her response: “And so? Go tell Godmother you want your money. She sent me on a mission and that is why I'm here, period”, she exclaimed.

After minutes of another silent ritual, I reached over the phone to check on wifey. This time, the line went through. She hesitated for a second before responding to my greetings, and when she did, her voice was so cold. I knew she was not happy with my absence this night. I always made her feel like an Ethiopian Empress anytime I was around, she would not forget this night. 'It's all my fault, forgive, ok?' I made an attempt to explain myself to wifey. “I am in Ashaiman right now, I will pass the night here but I promise to be at home before 5 am tomorrow”. Wifey had no problem with that. She had almost hung up when Caro rudely interrupted the conversation.

Oh gosh, my wife had heard her voice. “Junior, you have a woman with you by this time of the night”? “No no no, honey listen…”, I attempted to foil the ensuing argument …..”no no no, honey listen to me.....”. Wife had blasted the temper meter off. Much as I tried to blow cold air into her burning heart, she kept yelling on top of her voice. She might have also broken her vocal virginity. After dressing me up with verbal lashes, she hanged the phone on me with a promise of reporting me to her in-laws.

What a trouble I had entangled myself in? Here sat a young man in his attempt to eke out a living doing the simplest of jobs in town, and still finds himself in trouble. Who on planet earth wouldn't understand a three-month old pregnant woman, who tries reaching her husband in an ungodly hour only to listen to a scintillating voice of another woman? What could that woman be doing with her husband? Praying together or perhaps compensating the hard day's work with an Egyptian massage? Your guess is as worse as mine.

It is rare for me to lose my temper on a woman, but I was angry, I felt insulted to the nonsense degree. I was blind with fury. “And you!, what was that for”?, I turned to Caro with wide naked eyes in confrontation. “What was that for? I swear, if my wife………..”, the phone beeps again, a call from wifey again. Caro was saved by the phone. “Junior!, let me talk to that harlot, give the phone to that woman and let me tell her my piece of mind”. Left with no option, I pressed the phone to loudspeaker and passed it on to Caro. What was left could perfectly be described as 'girls talk'.

Wifey: Hey you, what are you doing with my husband at this time of the night?

Caro: Hey you too, why did you leave your husband to a much younger and prettier lady like me?

Wifey: Listen, you educated fool, you better leave my husband alone or else……

Caro: Or else what? What can you do? Now. you listen to me and listen for good. I don't want your husband. He is not my type and if you care to know, my work doesn't demand I keep one man. I just want a one-night stand, and your husband is not bold enough to handle a beautiful woman like me.

Wifey: Goodness, my husband is in the arms of a prostitute? Please, I beg you, don't touch him. I love him, I'll do anything and everything for you.

For the first time in my married life, I heard my wife weep and beg for me, as if I was kidnapped by a Tuareg soldier. Her anger suddenly dropped to sympathy for me.

“I love my husband, blah blah blah, I thought you wanted to show your 'Krakye powers. I have no interest in him. Dear pregnant wife, go back to bed for you are safe”, and she ended the phone call in anger.

“And now, you listen to me Mr. taxi driver, you are so so lucky your wife touched my heart. I would have added your name to the list of my casualties”

“List of casualties?” I queried. “What kind of casualty?”

For the first time encounter with Caro, she went emotional. This question made her sob for close to ten minutes. Tears rolled down her cheeks and got trapped in an already gnashing and caged teeth. “Caro, what did I say wrong? Did I insult or hurt you?”. She was still mute. “What could be wrong with Ghanaian ladies of today?” I was catapulted on a mind journey-mood-swing everywhere

'You laugh and giggle now, shout Baghdad the next moment and go haywire the next minute. Weird attitudes. What at all could l have said wrong to this damsel to turn her wedding into funeral within seconds?”, I kept thinking.

Much as I wanted to probe further, I needed to catch a sleep. It was close to 2 am now. I had abused myself the previous day trying to catch something for my boss. I threw my arm and pulled one pillow for my head, pulled myself to the floor to catch a night flight. She was left on the bed alone.

I raised my head to bid her a goodnight. Caro was still sobbing.

“Caro, am sorry ok? I have headache, let's continue this tomorrow”, I said apologetically. “You only have headache and you want to sleep? How about me? What should I do to myself? You wanna know what is wrong with me? I have HIV, yes, Human Immunodeficiency Virus. You have headache and you're all over the place complaining. I'll die any time sooner but am still prostituting just to send some stipend to the village by the end of the month”. I opened my mouth in disbelief. I was washed with shock and sympathy. Shocked because, here was a lady of my taste I almost did the unthinkable with her, had my wife had not intervened. I have sympathy for her, because, here sat a beautiful young lady, perhaps, in her early twenties, whom by no fault of hers is about kicking the bucket any time sooner. She prostitutes to feed her family in the village. Gosh.

Back to the bedroom, I raised myself to her, held her by her arm and told her...”Listen, Caro, am with you on this one, my wife is an expert in HIV and AIDS matters. She can help you”. Her plight becomes an encumbrance I partly wanted to share. I planted a kiss on her forehead and allowed her to coil in my arms for a good night sleep.

………………………….TO BE CONTINUED………………………………….