Shop Floor & Warehouse Unite

I really needed Khenan. Hammed was loving and certainly not physically inadequate. But he wasn't exciting. He was ordered. Planned. Calmly supportive. Khenan was impulsive and demanding, albeit in a very polite way. Hammed needed me as a person but Khenan wanted my body. And Hammed was -- well not happy but willing -- to let me take what I needed from Khenan to support our long term future.

I realised I couldn't say any more to Sally, so I finished my wine and made my excuses.

* * *

Khenan came by regularly. And I was normally pretty regular, too. 28 days. But my period didn't come and Khenan had obviously planted his seed. I told Hammed and he wanted to go to the mosque to say a special prayer. I told him he couldn't until I was three months along.

I told Khenan and he grinned.

"I'm glad you have the baby you want, Maryam. Now, we don't have to stop just yet. I can keep coming over if you want."

"Yes, keep coming, Khenan. I think I need the affirmation."

"Is that what they call it these days? We used to call it fucking."

* * *

He kept coming by. The sex was good. I almost always came on his cock, now. I definitely always came when Hammed cleaned me up, though. He never complained, never got excited, and always made sure I came hard on his tongue.

And I made sure that Hammed and I made love, too. In fact, I saw Khenan less and demanded more love making from Hammed, which he liked.

"I love you Hammed. I know I've been a bad wife for the last few months. You've been a fantastic husband. I don't deserve you at all. But I love you so much."

"You haven't been a bad wife, at all, Maryam. You've been having a tough time and I've tried to support you. I know you are a good woman and I love you. And I want to be with you always, which means being flexible. I am not good at people but I am good at you. We were married for more than 10 years before Khenan. I understand you -- or I think I do. You were tense and needed something. You thought you needed Khenan. And maybe you did. I think you also needed a baby. And I knew you needed me. So I was there for you and soon we'll have a baby."

He said it so calmly. He was talking about us but as if we were other people. He was talking about emotions but from a rational place. But he described active forgiveness for a -- well not a transgression because he'd given permission -- but some kind of exceptional behaviour.

And it brought us closer together than ever. Five years later, we have Khenan's little girl and two sons from Hammed.

I'm too busy with the kids for a supermarket job now. But I did see Sally the other week because she's decided to settle down with one man now. Funnily enough, she went back to Al, who she said was boring her.