LUCYTwo days after I left Ryan’s apartment, he sent me an email about the contest. I looked at the email, rubbed my eyes then looked again.When my eyes landed on the questions, my mind went blank. It felt as if I hadn’t ever stepped into a class.However hard it seemed, I resolved to put my best foot forward and to win this contest. I owed it to my son, to myself, and to Ryan. I also so badly wanted to prove John wrong.I was still going through the questions when Paul walked into the house. He was from practicing basketball, and he had a downcast face.I looked at him once and knew something was definitely wrong. He walked right past me and locked himself into his room.“Paul. Paul!” I called out as I knocked on his door.I heard things being thrown across the room and knew then that he had discovered something awful. I couldn’t figure out what it was, though.Determined not to

I was happy that I had succeeded at doing something for Paul and me. It was not easy, but I still managed to do it. That alone was an accomplishment that would make me happy for a while.It was probably corny for others, but I did not care. I’m not the best mother out there, after all, and I know that. At least I am aware of that, and  I am willing to improve.“How are you coping up at work?” Ryan asked days later. He continued, “It must be stressful balancing so many things in life.”“It sure is. What pushes me is to do better than I was previously,’ I replied with a small smile.  “Can we have dinner sometime? At a place of your choice,” Ryan asked.I had been working my ass off, and I thought I at least needed a break.Besides, since my divorce from John, no man had ever asked me out. Ryan doing so made me feel so young again, and I loved the feeling.We parted once I

“Give me a chance to help you achieve that,” I countered with a smile of assurance. He looked at me for a while before sighing, and then it did to take long for him to follow me into the car.I smiled at him brightly, which earned a roll of his eyes. I was in a good mood as I drove to the field that I had made arrangements for.“Are you for real? Where are we going?” Paul asked when we got to the gated compound. He was looking at me suspiciously as if he had an idea of where we were at and what my goal was, but he still could not believe it.Well, the place was what we needed at this time. Stephan and I had leased it for practice.“We will be practicing here,” I said with a smile, and his eyes widened in unmasked surprise.I don’t know what surprised Paul the most. It could have been that I had used us instead of you or the fact that I had looked for the land. He was silent for a while, even when we got out

Gerald was the second child in our home, and he had never married. Some of us thought that he might be gay. We did tease him about it or tried to confirm it from him, but he just smiled most of the time.Well, it was not like it would be a bid deal if he was gay, we were just mostly curious about his preference, and perhaps we did not want him to be alone and wanted to help him look for the right partner later on.So yeah, many years passed by without any confirmation from him. Now, at 45, he was yet to introduce even a girlfriend to any of us. He was so committed to his work that we often joked that his wife was his work.“There’s no running away from this,” Josephina said, and her tone sounded so lost as if she had already given up the situation before even trying.“There is. Watch me,” I answered as I disconnected the call.I put my phone on silent and didn’t answer any of her other calls. She called Marietes

“I have seen women like you come and go. It’s just a pity you’re older and acting like a young adult. He won’t marry you. He’ll want someone younger like me who will give him children. Do not fool yourself. You can have his money but not his love. Such a gold-digger,’” Josephine said while looking at me coldly as if I am the lowest of the low.I was so hurt by their words that I couldn’t control my feelings. I am not the most outstanding woman out there, but I am not selling myself at least and I raise my child as the best as I could. It felt so wrong to hear that to someone who barely knew me.It felt so wrong to be looked down upon by someone who knew nothing. I would like to retort, defend myself but I also thought that it was useless. It was useless to talk to someone who did not even give me a chance for the mere fact that she knew nothing about me.Before I realized, I already found myself weeping I their pre