Remembering how she had broken up with her last boyfriend, David, Cindy laughed loudly in her bathroom. That had been the first time any of her boyfriends had asked her for something like that. When she told Lora Adams, her best friend in school, Lora’s mother, who owned a private polytechnic, said it wasn’t bad and that most lovers did it.
Cindy couldn't believe what Lora said, especially since Lora was the only child of a single mother. Lora had told her that many ladies sucked on their boyfriends' shafts and that it was an old custom to keep their relationships sweet.
"Gross! And you expect me to do that? I'm sure David is cheating on me," Cindy recalled her response to Lora, shaking her head as she washed her face.

"Calm down, girlfriend. If you love David enough, you won't be shy to do that with him," Lora had replied.
"No, no. I cannot and I will never do that," Cindy had replied, recalling their subtle banter over the phone.
Finally, she walked out of her bathroom and dried her wet body with a white towel before picking out the nightgown she would wear, as night had fallen.
Cindy chose a light milk-colored nightgown and stepped out of her room, heading downstairs to have dinner with her mother.
She could see her mother sitting on the living room couch, waiting for her. When Mrs. Bola stood up from the couch and walked to the dining room to sit, Esther stepped out of the kitchen, serving dinner and bowls of water for them to wash their hands before sitting beside Mrs. Bola.
Cindy sighed as she took a seat across from her mother and Esther. As she was about to eat the delicious okra soup in front of her, her mother said, "Bless the meal, Cindy."

Cindy frowned and looked at her mom and Esther, then finally blessed the meal, and they began eating.
Mrs. Bola didn’t say anything else to Cindy after dinner ended, as she knew she had failed to raise Cindy properly as a mother. She knew that raising a child wasn’t easy.
She wanted to advise Cindy about marrying Jeremy but decided to let her rest first and prepare to meet him on Sunday since the notice had come late.
Cindy had been in a number of failed relationships, and Mrs. Bola was aware of this. Those relationships were all arranged, and now she was determined to speak to Cindy, wanting her daughter to settle down and give her grandchildren.

She had allowed Cindy to start dating at the age of 20, and now, she thought it best to agree with her husband on the arranged marriage since Cindy's attitude toward the men she had dated was lacking.
Mrs. Bola knew that with Cindy being a woman, her cold and aloof behavior might affect her relationships. Most men wanted a caring and sweet woman, not a harsh and strict young lady like her daughter.
Mrs. Bola finally sighed once she finished eating and washed her hands, along with Cindy and Esther. Afterward, Cindy stood up from the dining table and said to her mother, "Goodnight, Mom."
"Goodnight, dear. But you haven’t cleared your plate from the table, Cindy. Remember, Esther isn’t a maid," Mrs. Bola reminded Cindy, who paused to stare back at her mother.
"Alright, Mom," Cindy said, feeling in a good mood. She walked to the dining table to clear her used plate and bowl of water and took them to the kitchen.
Cindy finally walked out of the kitchen and went upstairs to her room to rest. She wanted to chat with her best friend, Lora Adams.
Lora’s birthday was the following day, and Cindy knew that all of Lora’s birthdays were usually celebrated at Lora's mother's home. They had been friends for five years since they were in university.
Lora's mother was a single mom, and after graduating from university, Lora decided to join her mother in teaching at her polytechnic instead of searching for a job. Lora had studied mathematics, while Cindy was a law student.
Cindy remembered when she first met Lora. Although Lora was a year ahead of her in school, they were the same age, and she accepted Lora’s friendship when Lora had approached her first.
Lora was very friendly and had a lot of friends, in contrast to Cindy, who was mostly aloof and hardly interacted with anyone.
*****
Mrs. Bola William stood up from the dining table and went to her room to rest, as she was home alone in the large house. She decided to watch television in her bedroom and checked for any dating websites where she could meet new friends.
Mrs. Bola remembered the handsome man she had seen at the marketplace who had once helped her carry her groceries. Even though cheating on her husband wasn’t in her dictionary, she found it difficult to approach that handsome man again.
Proposing that he accept her as a friend was challenging; she couldn’t bring herself to speak to him openly about her feelings. After much contemplation, Mrs. Bola had called him over one day and expressed her feelings, but he rejected her, despite her offering to pay him a handsome amount to become her sugar boy.
Mrs. Bola was living a lonely life and hated that her husband was frequently transferred from one state to another. With only Cindy as her child, she knew she wasn’t infertile because her family doctor had told her that both she and her husband were fine. It was just challenging for them to conceive with so few encounters.
Mrs. Bola feared that her husband might have a baby mama somewhere, but he had never raised the topic of remarrying, even after family members brought it up.
Mr. Donald William was more focused on his business and his role as a commissioner, even though he knew his wife wanted more children. It wasn’t his fault nor hers, and he accepted that all his assets would go to Cindy.
Mrs. Bola managed the company while her husband worked in the police department and her daughter worked as a barrister.
Mrs. Bola sighed and engaged in surfing the internet and her social media pages to see if she could meet any new friends online.
*****
Cindy later returned to her bedroom and sat on her bed, continuing to think about the handsome man she had seen earlier that day.
She rolled over on her bed and said, "What if I don’t get to see him again?"
Cindy frowned and said, "Gosh! I just wish I could see him again. Maybe I should go back to the shopping mall tomorrow and pretend that I want to buy something so we can meet again. But he stinks..."
Cindy recalled why she had insulted him, frowning again and biting her lower lip as she considered contacting Lora to tell her about her feelings.
Seeing that her room clock read almost 10 PM, Cindy murmured, "No… How do I explain to Lora that I’ve fallen in love with a poor, wretched man? She’s going to laugh at me with her annoying cackles. No, I cannot."
Cindy shook her head, and after much contemplation, she laid her phone down on her bed. She knew Lora would be preparing for her birthday celebration the next day. Sighing, she decided to surf the internet and check her social media for any new friend requests.
Cindy had many followers since she uploaded charming pictures of herself. Some silly men admired her photos as she dressed mostly in fitted clothing rather than seductive attire.
Cindy pouted her lips, uninterested in her new online friends, focusing instead on one man.
"Oh ho!" Cindy exclaimed in frustration as she tossed her phone back on the bedside drawer. She walked to her bathroom to urinate and then returned to retire for the night.