Dutch Wives for Black Men

A lot of people judge others before meeting them. Take Raphael Saibu for example. In the summer of 2001, at the age of eighteen, Raphael moved to the City of Ottawa, Ontario, from his hometown of Elmina, Ghana, in pursuit of a better life. He studied commerce at Carleton University, and later earn his MBA from the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa. Nowadays, Raphael is a tier one manager with the Canada Revenue Agency, with a staff of nine people who answer to him. Achieving a high rank in the Canadian Government isn't easy for foreign-born black men, but Raphael Saibu isn't the type to give up easily.

The hardiness and creativity that Ghanaians are known for definitely exists within Raphael Saibu. The brother achieved success, and along the way, he found happiness as well. Raphael married a beautiful lady named Dr. Lara Van Aartsen, the mother of his two biracial sons, Hans and Willem. The family resides on a forty-acre farm in the moneyed Stitsville area, just outside metropolitan Ottawa. They've got money and aren't afraid to let the world know it. This had a lot of tongues wagging in the Ghanaian Canadian community.

Folks in the African Diaspora have grown accustomed to successful black men marrying outside their race. What they don't know is that Raphael met Lara on the very first week he arrived in the City of Ottawa. The two of them met in the lobby of Catholic Charities, an organization which lends a helping hand to immigrants. Raphael was looking for things like a work permit and chafing at the bit at the rooming house where he stayed. Lara was an international student in the Pre-Med Program at Ottawa University who was looking to do some volunteer work. Fate brought them together.

"Good morning, ma'am, I am here to learn how to get a work permit, can you help me?" Raphael asked the tall, blonde-haired young woman seated behind the desk. Lara Van Aartsen, a native of metropolitan Rotterdam in the Netherlands, looked at the tall, large, dark-skinned African man as he approached her desk. In spite of the summer heat, he wore a gray suit, white silk shirt and tie. There was something frank and urgent about his demeanor. This was Lara's first week as a volunteer coordinator at Catholic Charities, but she would do her best to help the newcomer...

"Hello, sir, I am Lara, I believe I can help you," the young woman replied. Raphael seemed relieved to hear these words from the young lady, whose name tag read Lara. Beckoning for him to follow her, Lara led Raphael to a computer where she showed him a map of Ottawa, and how to go about applying for a work permit. Raphael, who brought his immigration papers and ID just in case, was thrilled to be shown the process. Lara had been very helpful. When Raphael left the rooming house located in the East End of Ottawa, he was determined to get his bearings and get things done instead of being a burden to the State.

"Thank you very much, Lara," Raphael said, and the young woman grinned, and then handed him her business card. Raphael pocketed it, and then printed the information and forms he would need before leaving the premises. The Office of Catholic Charities helped a lot of immigrants, refugees and other newcomers to Canada. A lot of these people came from Third World Countries. The main function of the office was to provide information, and that's all Raphael needed that day. Well, almost all, at any rate.

"You're very welcome, Raphael, let me know how it goes," Lara said, and she shook his hand and wished him good luck in Dutch-accented English. Raphael smiled and exited the office with a bunch of printed papers which he tucked into his briefcase. The tall, sturdy Ghanaian newcomer looked like an old-fashioned lawyer more than anything else. Raphael headed to City Hall, where he got the ball rolling on his work permit application. He also made an Ontario Provincial ID Card, which had his picture, name and address on it. Anything to help a brother get around without carrying his immigration papers everywhere.

After getting his work permit, Raphael began working at Loblaw's Supermarket. He got out of the rooming house and rented a basement apartment in the Nepean area in the West End of Ottawa. Raphael proudly sent some money to his parents, Elias and Mariam Saibu, back in Ghana via Western Union the day he got his first paycheck. He deposited the rest in an account he created with the Royal Bank of Canada. Feeling good, Raphael went for a walk around town. He was doing alright, but he was alone. He had no friends, or family, anywhere in Canada. What's a lonely brother to do?

Raphael decided to give Lara a call, and surely enough, the young Dutchwoman answered on the first ring. Raphael shared the details of his journey with Lara, who smiled while listening to him on the phone. Like a lot of the foreigners Lara knew, Raphael was determined and hard working. The Ghanaian brother was even talking about saving some money for school, and considered Carleton University a possible choice. Raphael hadn't called Lara just to blather about his adventures in the City of Ottawa. Nope, the Ghanaian brother had something else in mind for the lovely Lara...

"Please have coffee with me," Raphael asked, and on the other line, Lara went silent. The Office of Catholic Charities didn't exactly encourage staff, or volunteers, to get involved with clients, but Lara had a good feeling about Raphael so she accepted. The way the young Dutchwoman figured it, sitting down with a new male acquaintance was harmless enough. Lara had an on-again, off-again relationship going on with Hans Von Gerlach, a German fellow she met in the international students club at the University of Ottawa.

"Sure, Raphael, let's meet at the Tim Horton's close to Parliament Hill," Lara suggested, and Raphael happily acquiesced. They bantered a bit before saying goodbye. Raphael lay on his bed, smiling. He had a date with the tall, gorgeous Dutchwoman from the office. As for Lara, she lay in bed, wondering about what she'd done. Was meeting with Raphael okay since she was still seeing Hans? Lara called her best friend, a young Vietnamese student named Valerie Nguyen, to ask her for advice.

"Come on, Lara, having coffee with a new friend is no big deal," Valerie Nguyen said reassuringly, and Lara chuckled softly on the other line. The two young women bantered for a bit, talking about how hard life could be for international students like themselves at the University of Ottawa. Lara thanked Valerie and wished her goodnight. As soon as Valerie hung up, she burst out laughing. The sultry, curvy and dark-haired young Vietnamese woman rested her head against the chest of a tall, blond-haired and blue-eyed, athletic white male.

"You're perfect," Hans Von Gerlach, Lara's erstwhile boyfriend, said to Valerie Nguyen before kissing her. Valerie kissed Hans back, and the two of them began making love. For the past few months, Lara's boyfriend and her best friend had been carrying on an affair. Fate and a little comeuppance would serve Valerie and Hans right, though. Their little charade would be exposed soon enough. Lara was devastated and would need a lot of comforting, which a certain tall African gentleman would provide. Of course, let's not get ahead of ourselves...

"You look lovely," Raphael said to Lara, as they met at Tim Horton's. Dressed in a red silk shirt, and blue silk pants, Raphael looked like an office worker. Lara wore a pink turtleneck shirt and blue jeans. It was late August, and while it wasn't cold yet, it wasn't exactly hot. Lara blushed as Raphael pulled her chair for her and only sat down after she did. For a man from distant West Africa, Raphael had the manners of an old-fashioned European gentleman. Lara remembered her grandfather, Dieter Van Aartsen, always pulling a chair for her grandmother Adele and all the ladies in the family.

"You look handsome, Mister Raphael, nice to see you doing good," Lara replied, grinning. The two of them sat there and got to know each other over coffee and sandwiches. Afterwards, Raphael took Lara for a walk around the downtown core of Ottawa. Raphael looked at the City of Ottawa with wide-eyed curiosity. He'd grown up in a small town in the Ghanaian countryside and Canada's Capital was wondrous and exotic to him. Lara, who grew up in Western Europe, felt that Ottawa was okay but could never equal the City of Amsterdam for example. Ottawa was a good place for education and government work, but lackluster in all other areas...

"One of these days, I will work in one of these big buildings and buy a big house for my lady and whatever offspring we have," Raphael said to Lara as they walked among the throngs of government workers exiting certain government buildings. Lara smiled, noting Raphael's confidence. A lot of the refugees and immigrants whom Lara dealt with at work carried themselves with confidence and an innate toughness inherited from their hardy but impoverished homelands. Lara envied them that innate toughness. Growing up in a middle-class family in the Netherlands, Lara was not exactly familiar with hardship...

"You will achieve that goal, Raphael, I believe in you," Lara said with a smile, not knowing how prophetic her words would turn out to be. Raphael smiled and nodded at her. They finished their walk, and parted ways but not before promising to keep in touch. Raphael and Lara came from different worlds, but in many ways, they were kindred spirits. Over the next few months, as Lara's relationship with Hans became strained, and her friendship with Valerie turned into estrangement, she increasingly turned to Raphael.

"I will always be there for you," Raphael said to Lara as he hugged her. After getting coffee together and walking around the Rideau Shopping Center, they went into the National Gallery of Canada. Throughout their time together, they discussed their lives, and the future. Raphael had started the process of getting his permanent resident card, and urged Lara to do the same, but she hadn't made up her mind about staying in Canada beyond graduation. When tragedy struck in America in September of that year, Lara called her parents, who were glad that she was okay. When Lara called Hans place, Valerie's voice answered.

"Valerie, what are you doing at Hans place?" Lara shrieked, and Valerie then passed the phone to Hans, who cussed Lara out and then hung up. Distraught, Lara went to Raphael's place. The young Ghanaian was watching TV while drinking a Pepsi when his front door buzzed. Raphael thought it might be a friend or acquaintance of the people who lived upstairs, but he checked it anyways. Upon seeing a teary-eyed Lara standing in the rain, Raphael ushered her into his basement.

"Are you alright? What happened?" Raphael asked, and Lara simply hugged him and sobbed on his shoulder. After a few moments, Lara calmed down enough to share the bad news with Raphael. Listening intently, Raphael shook his head. A lot of guys cheat on their girlfriends and vice versa, but cheating on someone with their best pal was a low blow. Raphael comforted Lara as best he could, and offered her Chinese food and Pepsi. Lara lay on the couch while Raphael sat on one of the six stainless chairs he'd bought from Walmart.

"Sorry I interrupted your evening," Lara said to Raphael, who shrugged. On TV, Raphael's favorite show, the vampire detective series Angel, played. Raphael had been a fan of both Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel back in his native Ghana and kept up with both series in Canada. Lara looked at Raphael, and not for the first time, she was struck by how handsome and strong he looked. The tall, burly Ghanaian was built like a heavyweight boxer. Raphael was rugged while Hans, Lara's now former boyfriend, was tall and classically beautiful in a masculine way. One looked rough, the other looked polished, but the former was decent while the latter was rotten...

"I will always be there for you," Raphael said to Lara, and he gently touched her shoulder before excusing himself and heading to the bathroom. Lara watched Raphael go, and smiled as she noticed how cute his butt looked. Raphael stood in the washroom, humming an old Ghanaian song as he took a piss. The door swung open, and Lara stood there, smiling coyly. Raphael's eyes widened as the tall blonde Dutchwoman drew close to him, and looked at his penis.

"What if I need you now?" Lara asked, licking her lips while looking at Raphael. Lara moved closer, until her face was inches from Raphael's. Raphael looked into Lara's blue eyes, wondering if she was serious. Lara nodded, and then Raphael kissed her. Just like that, the two friends crossed the line. Raphael pulled Lara into his arms, and they began making love, right in the middle of his bathroom. They embraced passionately and undressed each other hastily.

"I need you," Raphael said to Lara as he kissed her throat and caressed her breasts. Lara moaned softly, and felt her nipples harden as Raphael sucked on them. His large hands caressed her breasts and then groped her thick, round bottom. Raphael kissed Lara's nipples and then made his way down to her crotch. Lara held her breath as Raphael brought his darkly handsome face to her crotch.

"Show me what I'm looking for," Lara said, and Raphael nodded and began eating her pussy. Lara was only the third female he'd been with, the first two having been young women from his village back in Ghana. Raphael nevertheless knew how to pleasure a female and showed Lara what he was made of. The young Dutchwoman closed her eyes as her lover licked her pussy, teasing her clit with his tongue. When Raphael slid his fingers into her pussy, Lara sighed happily. Let the good times roll...

Raphael ate Lara's sweet pussy, and the Dutchwoman tasted oh so good. Afterwards, Lara took care of him. Raphael leaned against the wall, a big grin on his face as Lara grabbed his long and thick, uncircumcised dick. Lara winked at Raphael and then bent down and took his dick into her mouth. Raphael closed his eyes as Lara sucked his cock and massaged his balls. The Ghanaian stud hadn't been with a woman in months, but Lara took excellent care of him...

"Oh yeah," Raphael groaned, and Lara worked him over with her mouth until he was hard as a rock. Picking Lara up in his strong arms, Raphael carried her over to the bedroom. Once there, they did their thing. Raphael lay flat on the bed as Lara climbed on top of him. Straddling Raphael, Lara impaled herself on his hard cock and then began riding him. Raphael caressed Lara's tits with one hand and palmed her big round ass with the other. Moaning softly, Lara rode Raphael, loving the feel of his thick cock in her pussy. The Dutch are among the world's most passionate people, and Raphael would learn this lesson after that fateful day...

After making love for hours, Raphael Saibu and Lara Van Aartsen lay in bed together, feeling exhausted but alive. For these two friends turned lovers, a son of Ghana and a daughter of the Netherlands, this was a bold new beginning. Raphael's adventure in Canada was just beginning, and he was filled with wonder and excitement about everything. Lara was at a crossroads. She was in the second year of her Pre-Med studies, her relationship with Hans had just ended, just like her friendship with Valerie. Where does the young Dutchwoman go from here? Lara looked at Raphael, who slept next to her. Whatever life had in store for Lara, she wanted Raphael to be part of it. Time will tell if their union is meant to be...