I’m not judging; just fruit inspecting.

Let’s talk it…

“This is it!” shouts Patricia, who is known as Pat for short; “I am so tired of meeting and dating guys who do not have any money and is always looking for the women to pay half the check every time we go out to eat. I vow to put me first regardless of what anyone thinks of me. I vow to go after what I want at any cost.” Frustrated, Patricia calls her best friend Barbie to vent her anger. “Hey Barbie, what’s up girl?” “Hey, Pat, nothing much. What are you up to? You sound upset.” “Girl, I am going to break up with John.” “So, another one bites the dust, you are dropping them like they are hot. What happen this time? Why are you breaking up with John? He is good for you.” “Why would you think he is good for me?” “Well, you both are 25 years old and do not have any kids. You both have the same interest in sports, entertainment and you both work in the hospital.” “Barbie, John, and I are so different when it comes to finances. He asks me to Cash App him my portion of the bill every time we go out to eat and whenever we purchase tickets to attend sport events, concerts or to see a movie.” “I hear you Pat, but take it from me; I am ten years your senior. Sometimes, you must hang in there with your significant other when you both are freshly finding your way in life. You two graduated from college only three years ago and you both have only been employed for a couple of years. Give him a chance to work his way up the ladder before you criticize him for not being a provider. Keep in mind, he is not your husband; you do not have kids together and he makes only a couple of dollars per hour more than you.” “Barbie, are you not the same person who told me how a man starts the relationship sets a foundation towards how it would end up.” “Yes, I did say that; however, there is always an exception to the rule and I think John is this exception. He is a good man. Besides, have you two discuss your future endeavors as far as marriage and the responsibility of each person in the marriage?” “No Barbie, it is too soon for that type of conversation. I do not think John and I would ever have that conversation; because, I am not looking to marry him. He does not make enough money for me and he is cheap.” “Pat, are you judging John based on your interpretation of what is a man?” “I am not judging; I am fruit inspecting. His tree is bare and is not producing much fruit.” “Okay Pat, on that note; I am shouting Uncle! I give up. Anyway, I would like to invite you and John to my fifth-year anniversary party. It will be in 2 1/2 weeks. The invitations will be mailed tomorrow.” “Thanks for the heads up. I will let John know. I will talk with you later. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

As both ladies hang up the phone, Pat thinks out loud; well back to my thoughts on self-vows. Suddenly, Pat’s thoughts shift to Barbie’s party. She realized it is a great possibility that Barbie’s husband would invite some of his friends as well as some of his business partners. Pat begins to think out loud again. “It would be good to meet someone exactly like Barbie’s husband. He is a good-looking man for his age. I think Barbie said, he is 40ish. He owns several businesses and he is a good provider. Barbie do not have to do anything but look pretty. His Nigerian accent is a little too heavy for me; however, his giving heart speaks loud and clear.” Pat decided she would go solo to the party. She did not need John there intercepting any passes that might come her way. She was ready to find a rich African man. Pat went shopping to find the perfect outfit for the party. Pat, thinking out loud once again; “The outfit has to be sexy and revealing just enough flesh to arouse curiosity.” Pat purchases a sexy, tight red dress. She could not wait until the party. Pat and John had previously planned to have dinner after the movie on Saturday. She felt this would be the perfect time to put things on hold with John while she pursues her idea man.

John makes small talk at dinner by asking Pat her thoughts on the movie. Pat was slow to speak. Normally, she would be the one engaging John into conversation about the movies they watch. John noticed that Pat was distracted in her thoughts; her body was presence, but her mind was obviously somewhere else. John breaks the awkwardness of Pat’s silence by saying, “a penny for your thoughts.” Pat thought to herself before speaking; that is the problem, your ass is cheap as hell, talking about a penny for my thoughts. “John, I need to discuss a very sensitive serious issue with you.” “Okay, what is it?” “I think we should put our relationship on hold to focus more on our careers. We both are in our prime at the hospital. You are working in two capacities; part-time as an X-ray technician and part-time as respiratory therapist. We both are paid at the lowest rate on the scale for our professions because we are newly out of school without any previous experiences. Besides, as a LVN nurse, I would like to further my education to become a Registered nurse.” “I understand states John. When do you want this brake to begin?” “I think it should start after this weekend. On Monday, I would like to start looking into a Register Nurse program.”

Pat shows up at Barbie’s anniversary party ready to mingle. She is a lady on a mission. She walks around the party looking for familiar faces. She notices Barbie and her husband are on the other end of the room. As she walks towards them, she is looking around to see if any African men are present at the party. Barbie greeted Pat with a hug. “Pat, you remember my husband Akin.” “Yes, happy anniversary Akin”, states Pat as she hugs him. Akin, couldn’t speak as he stares at the red dress Pat was wearing. Barbie breaks the silence by pointing out to Pat the area where she can get a drink before dinner. Barbie asked Pat, where is John. We will talk about it at another time replied Pat. Pat begins to walk in the direction pointed out by Barbie. She noticed; Pat’s husband was watching her as she walked away. Unfortunately, Pat did not find any rich African men at the party. She thought about trying an app dating site for meeting professional African men. Barbie calls Pat the week following her party. She was upset and felt Pat owes her an ear to vent. “Hey Pat, are you busy.” “No, I was getting ready to sign up on this dating site; it can wait.” “This time, I am calling you to vent.” “Ok Barbie, let me give you my undivided attention, you never call me to vent. This must be serious.” “It is, stating Barbie. Akin and I are having problems in our marriage. I never talked about it because I thought things would get better as we celebrated making it to five years of marriage; but the party made it worse.” “How so asked Pat.” “Well, our problem began two years after we were married. Akin asked me to give him a son to carry on his name and legacy. I have tried to get pregnant on my own and with IVF; but my womb does not hold the embryo more than two months. Akin has stopped being intimate with me. I was going to talk to him about finding a surrogate when he asked me to leave our home. He gave me the keys to one of his rental homes then told me, he will have my things delivery in two days.” “Wow Barbie, I am sorry to hear this. I pray all work out for you. You know I am not the voice of reason or wisdom. I will keep you in my prayers. Give me a call once you get settle into the home Akin gave to you so I can come to check on you.” “Will do Pat. I will talk to you later.” Immediately after hanging up from Barbie, Pat searched on Instagram for Akin. She finds him; then preceded to send him a DM letting him know that she was sorry to hear that his marriage is over; but she wanted him to know that she is here for him and that she cares about his happiness and legacy. She further expressed, if he needed anyone to talk with, she was available day or night. She gives him her personal phone number and ended with I do house calls. Three days after receiving Pat’s DM, Akin text her to request a house call. Within an hour, Pat shows up at Akin home wearing a sexy tight body jump suit with six-inch heels. Pat had stop taking birth control after breaking up with John. Her and Akin became intimate that evening. Pat blocks Barbie number in her phone as she continued to have an intimate relationship with her husband. Six weeks after sleeping with Akin, Pat finds out she is pregnant. Akin moves Pat into his home and forbids her to work. He does not want her to be under any stress as she carries his child. Pat wants to celebrate with a gender reveal party so she can invite all her friends and family. Pat asked Akin when is he planning on divorcing Barbie. After you give birth states Akin, I do not want any stress during this pregnancy. After everyone enjoy themselves with food, drinks, and entertainment, it was time to reveal the sex of the baby. Pat comes to the podium to speak as Akin waits for her cue to pull the string for the balloons to fall from the huge black bag holding them in the ceiling. “Hello everyone, thank you all for coming to celebrate with us. I am so blessed to have this good man in my life. God is still in the blessing business. Akin and I are having our first child in life as a couple. I would often hear the church mothers say that God will give you double for your trouble. Well, God has given me double. Akin, you and I are pregnant with twins. Akin could not believe what he was hearing. Pat had kept this information from him so that she could surprise him at the gender reveal party. Akin accidentally pulls the string as he rushes over to Pat to hug her. The proud couple is having twin boys.

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Thank you to all who have purchased my book title “A Thirst That Never Ceases” on Amazon. Please be so kind to leave a review on Amazon; hopefully five stars 😀

Judy Owens