The Best Man's Dilemma (2)

Continuation of The Best Man's Dilemma 
Declining, she explained that she had driven her sister's car to work that day, so assured Ato that he didn't need to drop her off. Guard down, he leaned in to accept the grateful hug that she offered....

As they often say, One thing leads to another. That hug led to a kiss. That kiss led to a 'proper' make out session. Primal urges took over: jackets were crumpled, make up was wiped off, shirts were missing a button or three and a rip appeared in Tina's hem, accompanied by the obligatory stamp of shame.

Neither of them could remember exactly how they had gotten home that night or who had stopped their session from escalating further. But now they were both hooked. They still snuck out, but no longer just for lunch. They masterminded covert operations to meet up secretly, coded messages were transmitted and they engineered their schedules to ensure they always worked late, all the while laughing off their colleagues comments and taunts.

They continued this way for months.

One day, while shooting each other seductive glances across the room, Tina’s eyes fell on Ato’s desk. They fell on his girlfriend’s picture to be precise. It was still on his desk, and she was still smiling sweetly in the frame. Tina furrowed her brow. Across the room Ato wondered what that meant, this gaze wasn't the usual come hither look he was used to.

There and then she decided to cut it off. She wasn't a “bad girl”. Neither had she set out to steal any one’s man, or become the dreaded ‘other woman’. She definitely didn't want to be second fiddle to anyone. The only one her man should have on his desk was her! And if he couldn’t do that then she shouldn’t be with him.

Tina had been talking to a guy for some time. He was really charming and caring, plus he was single. Picking up her phone, she replied his message, which had been left unanswered from morning.

A few weeks after that she decided to go on a weekend away with him to an idyllic spot that she had wanted to visit for ages. The entire trip was amazing. Michael was sweet, charming and completely attentive. 
There was only one problem, he wasn't Ato.

As soon as Tina got home she arranged to meet Ato. As she later narrated to a friend, I decided that I couldn't lie to myself anymore. "...I told Ato that I loved him and only him  and that I didn't want to be with anyone else, regardless of his circumstances...but he didn't say anything and I was so crushed and disappointed"

The silent man may not have said much at the time but he broke up with his girlfriend a few days later. Ato did not tell his girlfriend the real reason why he was splitting up with her. He felt that it was better that way. He really didn't want to hurt her and he truly cared for her very deeply. But the connection that he had with Tina was so intense; he simply could not ignore it any longer.
Ato and Tina started to date officially after that, much to the revulsion of their colleagues. But they didn't care, instead they worked through the guilt they both felt about how their relationship started. They were finally free to be together and shrugged off all the nastiness. Tina ignored all the comments that people passed and the 'advice'. She could not even fathom the thought that Ato would cheat on her: Their relationship was too important, they had been through too much and what they shared was much too special. Those were Ato's precise words, and she believed them.


...Three years later Ato and Tina are getting married and are at the rehearsal dinner...

Kwame shook his head. In church? Hmmm. How can I possibly tell this 'adulterous' story, even though it would captivate and titillate its audience, in the church!??! The best man wondered. Catching, the eye of the groom he gestured for him to come over to his seat. They needed a cover story, and fast!  

The Best Man's Dilemma

Ato and Tina worked in the same office. Tina had gotten to know him pretty well after working closely with him on a client's account. She found him absolutely irresistible but he had a serious girlfriend and he was a straight laced kind of guy. He wore the girl like a shield and made it clear to everyone in the office that he was serious about his girlfriend. He even kept a picture of her on his desk and spoke to her often during the day. He spoke so highly of her and the work she did. No one couldn't believe such handsome, 'clean' guys existed any more!
It started out as a joke, Tina began to call him my "my office boyfriend", named their relationship the "AccuRate affair" (after the name of the client whose account they were working on) and it quickly turned into a major flirtation.
They would e-mail each other all day, sneak out for lunch, meet by accident after work, magically bump into each other on weekends and joke about it all at work. Ato was joking...initially. Tina laughed through it all, but not because she found it funny.
Tina knew it was getting serious one afternoon when they were driving back to the office after a cosy lunch somewhere. He placed his hand on her knee the whole way. You think that was nothing, but it was electrifying for Tina.  And if you knew Ato you would understand that it was a big deal.

All this while nothing 'major' had happened.

A few weeks after the 'first contact' Ato and Tina had to work late. Nothing untoward happened. It really was a just a late nate at the office, working hard to meet a deadline. When they wrapped up their tasks they congratulated each other and Ato offered Tina a ride. Declining, she explained that she had driven her sister's car to work that day, so assured Ato that he didn't need to drop her off. Guard down, he leaned in to accept the grateful hug that she offered....

[to be continued]

Stolen Affection

I opened my eyes, giving up on the sleeping charade. I was sweating, even though the A/C was on, blowing a cool breeze right over my head. I had been tossing and turning for about an hour. The bed felt huge and lonely. I hadn't slept a wink since Nat left. 

Sitting up and wrapping the sheet around myself, I hugged my knees. They were all I had to hold. I had never had trouble sleeping alone. In fact, I enjoyed nothing more than sprawling across my large bed and enjoying the fact that I didn't have a man hogging my luxurious Egyptian cotton sheets or snoring loudly, disturbing me. 

Today wasn't one of those nights. 

Tonight I wanted nothing more than my boyfriend's comforting arms. His soothing voice telling me that everything would be fine. I wanted his comforting presence. His, perhaps empty reassurances, but assurances nonetheless. 

But there was nothing. Nothing but the deafening silence of the night. The coolness blowing from A/C suddenly felt like an Arctic wind. I shivered and reached for the duvet. My phone was underneath it. I picked it up and slid my finger across the screen to unlock it. The harsh light from the display made me wince. A tear fell from my eye and surprised me.  Irritated,  I swatted the tear away like a fly. 

The truth is that I couldn't call him. Not at this time. It was much too late. He would probably be in bed, asleep. Maybe not asleep, but it wouldn't be convenient. It would be risky to upset him. I didn't like upsetting him. 

That unruly bit of me was it it again; screaming, urging me to dial, what about you!? what about your needs?? Call him! But in times like this I thanked God that I was reasonable and level headed enough to ignore my recalcitrant inner voice. Thinking about God made me feel guilty. I shouldn't be thanking Him, I should be hiding under an impermeable rock from Him. In times like this, when I felt most alone, I felt Him watching intently, asking if I was ready to walk back into His embrace. But the pleasure, stolen kisses and clandestine meetings were so much more alluring during the day. I often felt so powerful. Only to be reduced to this embarrassingly whimpering figure once in a while. More and more often lately.

I decided to be stubborn, so I dialled his number, pressed the speaker button and waited. I wish you could see me. My whole body coiled in readiness like an athlete. I waited with bated breath as the phone icon appeared and began to transmit the call. It rang. Once. Twice. Thrice. It kept ringing. Again and again. "The number you have dialled has not answered..."

 The screen was a blurry fuzz of light. I was crying.

When did I allow myself to become this person??  I felt like such a stereotype. A mere statistic. Listening to the same old excuses, believing the same old lies, forgiving the same old broken promises?? 

When? What happened to me? When did it push me away from God? leaving me fatherless. How on earth had I gotten to this point? I had been lonely before, that was my justification but I was as good as alone now, wasn't I? 

I would see my little sister the following morning. She always made me happy. I made a mental note to tell her to learn to guard her heart. People will use it, stomp on it, destroy it and throw it away...if you allowed them. 

That is what I have learned. The great love that I felt has destroyed the person I once was and replaced it with a woman who has no identity, heart and soul. All I am now is mostly depressed and inconsolable, unless he is with me. I would tell her that as women we need to think twice about getting involved with a man who belongs to someone else, no matter how much we love him.

My phone beeped, a text message. 

It was from Nat:

My wife is sleeping and I don't want to disturb her. Is something wrong? Hope you're ok. I'll call you in the morning,on my way to work. Sleep tight x

credit: wisdom4wives on Instagram