Everybody sort of froze for a while. Everyone knows ‘Esther’ is not my name. That it is the name of Franklyn’s first wife. An embarrassed laugh erupted from a guest and Gift, my sister-in-law, quickly grabbed the chicken bowl and passed it on to her dad. 

I was shocked. Was this the same shy, sweet Lawrence who’d charmed me?  Oh, how I hated him. As soon as Nike came out of her room I realised she was under his spell. When Lawrence eventually got a one-room apartment and moved in, Nike started spending the odd weekend at his place.

But women like Annie, who keep getting dumped by their boyfriends, are not as different as they may seem from women like Michelle, who keep dumping their boyfriends.  Psychologists say both are sabotaging their own relationships for reasons that have little to do with the men involved.

Carrying a large bag over your shoulder is no better, particularly if  you always use the same shoulder. Don’t overfill your bag (do you need a lire of water), hold it by the handle, or over the shoulder, switching sides regularly.

Turning to her I asked: ‘What sort of a woman are you?  Do you have any conscience at all?  Would you like to be treated like this if and when you eventually found a husband?  ‘On and on I went as I marched my son into his car and got in with him.  I asked the driver to take Tope to her new home and told Fola to take me home.