Many women hope the man they are with checks the financially stable box. However, as people continually discuss relationships, more women are advising their fellows that being rich doesn’t mean being generous. The Swahili have a proverb, kutoa ni moyo usambe ni utajiri, meaning generosity has to do with the heart, not wealth. Maggie learnt this lesson the hard way.
Meet Maggie, the fifth born in a family of seven. She grew up in a family where the size of new clothes bought was strategically chosen. The clothes needed to be baggy enough so that it took a while to grow into them. Calling them new clothes is a stretch, too, because most of them were second-hand. Maggie’s mum was always on the lookout for donations.
From a tender age, Maggie knew she wanted to do better. She needed to do better. Like many girls from that background, there were only two possible routes that she could think of—school or marrying a rich man. For Maggie, school was another hurdle, so marrying into wealth seemed like the most viable option. She had her mother’s support on this.
Armed with a determination to escape poverty and her curvaceous behind, she took to the town nearest to her village. She was in her early twenties. Maggie was lucky enough to find a job at a busy matatu terminus. She operated an M-PESA shop. Many of the matatu drivers and people in business around the area frequented that M-PESA shop to deposit or withdraw money. The universe seemed to be aligning her steps for her to achieve her goals.
She met Herman, a matatu driver who was starting out. Herman also came from a humble background but was ambitious. He was also appealing to the eyes, and it didn’t take much persuasion for Maggie to agree to go on a date with him. They started dating shortly after that. Herman was an open book. He deposited the daily earnings that he sent to his boss at the M-PESA shop where Maggie worked. Since that was his only income source at the time, Maggie knew how much he made.
Months into the relationship, Maggie started having issues with her boss, which led to her dismissal. She could no longer afford her rent, so Herman asked her to move in with him. Meanwhile, Herman was still going about his work. Maggie had no success finding another job, so Herman suggested that he could use his savings to help her start a business.
Maggie loved dressing up, and she had style. She had mentioned her desire to sell clothes, so it was agreed that she would set up a clothes stall. Herman was resourceful, and he found a stall in a busy area of the town. He gave her the money to pay for the stall and get her first inventory. Having done this, Herman was left with hardly any savings. He didn’t mind it since he loved Maggie.
Maggie’s business did well at the beginning. She was able to get more stock, and she became very popular with young women. As a matatu driver, Herman encountered many business people who needed parcel delivery services. Many of these business people were in the second-hand clothes business, so he got insights from them on what kind of clothes to invest in. He would share this information with Maggie.
Everything was going well for them. Maggie had even managed to start sending some money home to her parents. Herman was also fortunate enough to stumble upon a deal and bought a pickup, which he used to provide transport services. Then suddenly the tides changed. Herman’s boss got sick, and he had to sell the matatu to offset his hospital bills. Herman had bought the pickup using a loan, and servicing the loan became challenging with his job gone. He was also finding it hard to find another job with favourable terms like the previous one.
Maggie saw Herman’s troubles and decided she was not going to stay in a sinking ship. She had many admirers, one of whom was Frank, a well-known businessman in the town. Frank invited her to join him as he travelled for work. He bought her expensive gadgets, jewellery and wigs. She wasn’t even trying to be discreet about her affair. Herman tried talking to her, but she didn’t care about what he had to say. On a Saturday morning, Maggie came to Herman’s house early in the morning. She picked up some of her clothes and gave him the spare key to the house.
“Why have you left the rest of the clothes?” Herman asked.
“I don’t need them. You can burn them or give them out,” said Maggie as she slammed the door on her way out.
Herman couldn’t believe what had just happened. Maggie looked at him with so much contempt. In Kenny Rodgers’ words, she picked a fine time to leave.
On the other hand, Maggie was busy having fun with Frank and neglected her business. She’d open the stall twice or thrice a week. Regular customers started fleeing, and there were hardly any new ones since she was inconsistent. Making the stall’s rent became a struggle, so she turned to Frank.
“Why do you need that stall that makes you peanuts while I can provide everything?” Frank asked her.
She closed the shop and became fully dependent on Frank. The first few weeks worked out okay for Maggie, and Frank gave her money without her needing to ask for it. Then she found out she was pregnant, and everything changed. Frank was furious with her.
“How could you let this happen?” He asked her.
He gave her money to terminate it, and when she didn’t, he kicked her out. Having nowhere to go, she went back home. She had nothing to her name. While at home, she got the idea to try to fix things with Herman. She texted him and asked to see him. He agreed.
Herman was caught off guard by the pregnancy, which showed a bit. He wondered if the child was his, and that was why she had asked to see him.
“I know you’re wondering why I asked to see you, but I was hoping we could fix things. I messed up by leaving you like that, but I’ve realised what we had was true love,” said Maggie.
“I see you’re with child. Congratulations,” Herman responded, ignoring her previous statement. He needed time to process it.
Maggie sensed that he was hesitant, so she attempted to lie to him and say the child was his. Being a calm man, Herman told her he would care for the child despite everything, but they would have to go to the hospital for a check-up first. Knowing that he would find out the actual length of the pregnancy, Maggie became hysterical. She cried and eventually told him the truth.
Herman was on an emotional roller coaster. When she had initially reached out, he was willing to hear her out because he still had feelings for her. However, her lie triggered all the anger he had when she left him during his low moment.
He asked her never to contact him again. Maggie felt the weight of the loss even further when she learnt that Herman was doing well and had gotten a job as a chauffeur to a wealthy man who was also trying to mentor him. She went back home with many regrets as she tried to figure out what to do with the pregnancy.
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