A MEETING FOR FOUR
At an office..
Her: I’m so done with all this drama.
Him: (eavesdrop on her conversation with her female colleague) what drama?
Her 2: None of your business.
Her: No! It is his business. By the way aren’t they all the same?
A male colleague with a coffee mug in his hand walks into the office space.
Him 2: (inquisitive as he sips from the mug) Who are?
Her: (pauses to gather herself) You men! You all are venomous..
Her 2: (cuts her friends and adds to the matter) .. and emotional manipulators.
Him: How? Not all men are like that.
Her 2: (surprised) So you mean you don’t feel remorseful for what you did to Carol?
Him 2: (pause) what’s going on?
Her: I got dumped by some guy. We have been together for some months and he decided to call it quits.
Her 2: When they feel like they have known you too much, they end it and find ways to emotional gaslight you.
Him 2: Him, not they!! (Sips from his mug and places it on the table.)
Him: (chuckles and he remembers Carol) ohh, that chick!! Nah, I just tossed her like sautéed vegetable till I felt she needed to be burnt. Besides..
Her: (furious and loud ) Can you see?
Her 2: ( indicates a shush with her finger) Don’t be too loud.
Her: (louder than before) You just destroyed her like them!!
Him 2: Who is the them?
Both females: MEN!!!
Him:(pauses) Look, Carol was sweet but she was too obsessed. Me need a lady who is genuine.
Her 2: (disgusted) We are all talking about the girl you dated two months ago..
Him 2: Tell me it is still the same one?
He looks bereft.
Her:(even more disgusted than her friend) When every she can’t keep up, just to the next. You even had to audacity to date a girl named after your sixth ex.
Him: (chuckles in sheer embarrassment.) Seven.
Him 2: My guy, you need help walahai!!
Her 2: (laughs) Like!!
Her: Jeremy dumped me because he said I wasn’t good enough. He was real when he said he loved me.
Him: (begins to analyse) and then?
Her: He just ghosted me after I tried calling to know what was wrong.
Him: Did he ever complain about certain things or people to you before?
Her: No!
Her 2: (adds) are you trying to support him?
Him: Just processing what happened sweetie.
She hisses loudly.
Him 2: What he is trying to say is (looks at him and glared almost irritated) Probably he ended this because he was afraid of a commitment.
Her 2: Really? It’s not like she complains and nags about how their relationship is.
Her: He can be too quiet, Yes. Too innocent. Yes and hardly complains. I loved those. All I can say is that he ghosts a lot and hides his feeling.
Him 2: Hypothetically speaking, Has he ever talked about his family? His upbringing?
Her: Yes.
Her 2: What of it?
Him: A little detail about his life.
Her: He had an abusive father, verbally..
Him: JACKPOT!
Her 2: We ain’t playing cards.
Him 2: He has issues expressing himself and feels stressed when pushed. He won’t complain. He will just leave.
Her 2: I kinda get.
Her: (shocks) ohh really?
Her 2: You kinda complain about when he comes late or when he doesn’t call or text. (Looks at him) I didn’t think about that. I sided you wrongly. Instead of looking at what and why is like that, we just focused on a false assumption that we believe all men posses.
Him. Exactly. Judged him wrongly.
Her: (irritated) so it’s my fault?
Him: Kinda.
Him 2: (shuts him up to prevent further escalation.) what he is saying is that you shouldn’t have judged him based on his traits and then generalizing it to be universal trait.
(She shuts him up)
Her: I didn’t.
Her 2: Girl, even I admitted that you.. we were wrong. You knew his past. Why did you provide what he lost?
Him: Yeah.
Her: Bobo shut up.
(Realizes)
Her: I should call him. I should have payed more attention to him.
Him 2: Exactly.
Her 2: You sef, why you con be like others?
Him: I get trust issues.
They all laughed.
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