Absa

Absa was our guide. She’s 55 and lives in the big city of Kaolack with her five kids. One night, after 30 years of marriage, her husband told her he would be getting married the next day. She told him, “I’m happy for you,” and then went to bed. She never expressed any displeasure and refused to gossip about her situation with her friends and coworkers. Instead, she threw herself even more into her work and raising her kids. His marriage wasn’t a financial strain because Absa is the main breadwinner, and her husband doesn’t have access to that money. From what she told us, I gather that she still cooks for her husband, sleeps with him, and discusses daily matters with him. But she’s taken her heart out of the marriage and invested it elsewhere. He seems to feel the difference. Now he tells her, “I made such a mistake.” She just ignores him and goes about her business.