Cheating couples paid in kind

By Micheal Oriedo

A story is doing the rounds in Nairobi’s Eastlands of a woman who felt lonely and bored at home one evening and went to visit a neighbour for a chat.

Upon knocking on the door, a man welcomed her into the house. After a few pleasantries, she requested to talk to his wife but was saddened when he told her she had not yet arrived. She then looked at her watch and noted the time, 9:07pm.

"Nitarudi siku ingine (I will come back another day)," she said. "Tell her Anne of house number 56 was here."

The man, keen to inform his wife of the visit, wrote down her name and house number.

At about the same time the following day, he had a faint knock on the door. When he opened, he found it was the Anne. Once again she asked to see his wife.

His answer was unchanged, that she had not arrived. Again, she looked at her watch and noted the time, 9:10pm.

When she was leaving, the man told her to pass his regards to her husband, which she promised to do when she got home.

Same story

On the third and fourth day, Anne knocked at her friend’s door and went through the same ritual. On the fifth day, she was back but this time whining a lot. She complained that her husband had abandoned her and was just chasing after money. "He works late, comes home at about 10pm and doesn’t eat my food," she said.

The sympathetic man also narrated his story. "After work, my wife meets her business friend in town, comes home at about 10 pm and rarely cooks for me," he complained.

That night, the two unloaded their burdens on each other and parted feeling lighter. After two more visits, Anne and the man became very close. They began dating, just like their spouses.

Some days later, the man’s wife was alarmed to find her husband was not at home every time she arrived.

Fearing that he was out to investigate her illicit affair, she informed her lover. She was stunned to learn that his wife, always used to be at home, had begun coming late and no longer cooked for him.

The discovery

The two resolved to suspend their outings for sometime lest they were caught. After a week with nothing happening, they resumed the affair.

The two couples continued with the outings with each arriving home a few minutes after the other. At home, they would talk of how they had worked late.

Sometimes fearing that their spouses may discover them, they would suspend their dates and stay at home but none suspected the other. After two months, both women learned they were pregnant but they persisted with their night outings, returning home minutes after the other.

One evening, Anne and her lover arrived, parked their car at the estate’s bay and chatted awhile. After some time, Anne begged to leave but as she was getting out, the second couple arrived and parked their car just two parking spaces from theirs.

A stunned Anne watched as her friend alighted from her husband’s car. Their eyes met. Both women could not believe the spectacle unfolding before them.

With the back of their hands to their mouths, they ran into their houses. On seeing this, the husbands alighted from their cars and without confronting each other followed their spouses.

Two days later, Anne and her husband relocated from the estate. The story is raising many questions. The two couples have hardly been married for a year.