Pernicious With A Purpose

“Olawdry, are you coming to bed yet?” Mairlz called from the bedroom.

Olawdry was staring at himself in the mirror pulling down the bags underneath his red eyes. “Yes, sweetie. I’m coming.” He responded tiresome. He hit the light switch, shut the door behind him, and walked over to his side of bed where he could see the moonlight outside the window.

“Good night. Love you.” Mairlz said, pulling the blankets over herself.

“Love you, too.” He replied, pulling the blankets over too. He lied on his side letting his skin glisten off of the moonlight. His body was steaming internally. It was impossible to preserve his eyes of sorrows, allowing the sheets to absorb wet drops.

“Olawdry, are you okay?” Mairlz asked, startling him.

“Yes, I’m fine.” He answered.

“Okay. It just sounds like you’re sobbing-”

“I’m fine, Mairlz!” Olawdry snapped then took a deep breath to speak more calmly. “Just go to sleep, okay.” He heard her laid back down.

***

It’s the same ole day again: clock in, clock out, go home, and if you needed, Olawdry would fetch something at the store so Mairlz could cook something for dinner. Lastly, he has to check on his daughter Aarifeja and see how she’s doing in school, which according to her, she’s been getting good grades, and aced her reading test.

On this occasion, Olawdry decided not to go straight home. Instead, he went to a club. It was just around the corner from his house. When Olawdry entered, he made a beeline to the bar, effortlessly ignoring all the hard dancing around him.

“Tequila and gin, please?” Olawdry said, leaning on the counter with his head down.

The bartender placed the shots in front him, but he didn’t notice. “Hey, my man?” The bartender tapped him.

“Oh, sorry.” Olawdry apologized chucking both drinks in his mouth. “Another please?”

The bartender left then stopped and looked at him for a bit, then fetched the drinks again. “Here you go.” He placed them down, making his presence known this time.

Olawdry chucked them down again, then shook the cups signaling he wanted another.

“Not to pry in your business, but you seem to be having a tough day.” The bartender grabbed the cups to refill them.

“That counts as prying.” Olawdry casually replied.

The bartender laughed, placing the cups down. After Olawdry chucked them again, the bartender said, “You look like you’ve been holding your tongue for many years.”

Olawdry gazed at him. “How you would you know?” He defensively said.

“Dude, I’ve worked here long enough to read people’s faces and can tell what possible situation they’re in.” The bartender laughed, leaning on the counter with his right hand on his hip. He looked him up and down, then extended his hand. “Yizra Hinouge.”

Olawdry analyzed him for a bit. He shook his hand. “Olawdry Anntrabie.”

“And if you want to beat me up after this, my name is Yizzy Hinnz.”

They both laughed.

“Go on. Confess. Everybody confesses here.” Yizra said.

“Everybody?” Olawdry knitted an eyebrow.

“I have yet for a secret to leave this club.” Yizra said in confidence.

Olawdry took a deep breath. “I’m living a life I know that’s not meant for me.”

“Explain further.” Yizra rolled his wrist around.

“My life is traditionally boring.” Olawdry said. “I did not want that typical life that every man strives for.”

“Why did you strive for it?” Yizra questioned.

“I didn’t. My father is the one who strived for me to have it. My marriage was quickly arranged after I confessed that I didn’t want traditional life for myself.” Olawdry said.

“Do you at least… love your family?” Yizra wondered.

“No.” Olawdry said impassively.

Yizra averted his eyes. “Can’t say that’s not the first time I heard a man say that. What exactly do you want to do with your life?”

“I want to be a cartoonist.” Olawdry said as his face begins to brighten up. “I wanted to draw for comic books and cartoon shows for children. If I could choose my wife, she wouldn’t believe in me paying all the bills. She’d have her own career and have an outgoing personality. My current wife is too… robotic for my taste.”

“By robotic, do you mean she just cooks, cleans, extremely quiet, and pleasures you when you want it?” Yizra asked for clarification.

Olawdry scoffed. “You would think that’d be every man’s dream, right?”

They both laughed.

“Listen, I don’t often do this. I’m helping somebody start something.” Yizra reached in his back pocket, pulling out a business card. “Come by this small warehouse. You seem alright.”

“Rare Views of Men.” The card read. Then at the bottom right corner was a name: Mallowan Prielonsal. “That name sounds kind of familiar.” Olawdry commented.

“Really?” Yizra asked. “How so? He’s very low key.”

“I don’t know. It just does.” Olawdry said.

“Well, come by Saturday at five o’clock p.m.” Yizra said before extending his hand.

Olawdry shook his hand, paid for the drinks, then departed.

***

It wasn’t until Olawdry stood right in front of the warehouse, is when he realized he never officially asked Yizra what the place is about. He assumed it’s just group therapy, which he wasn’t against.

Olawdry always felt like the men in his the family are putting on a façade like he is. Almost all of them bad-mouth their wives to each other and find them exhausting, especially if they don’t get pleasured after a while.

Olawdry tried to twist the knob open to the warehouse. It would be barely twist. Olawdry twist the doorknob harder until he felt it click, then pulled. Surprisingly, the room looked pretty decent. The floor was made out of white tiles, the walls were a dark red, and the room wasn’t gloomy from a barely working light.

In the center were a group of men forming the chairs into a circle. The copper skin man in the middle pointed at him. “Olawdry Anntrabie?”

Olawdry pointed back. “Mallowan Prielonsal?”

Mallowan smiled, patting a random empty chair beside him. “Have a seat. We’re just getting started.” After Olawdry sat down, Mallowan asked, “Who wants to go first?”

No one raised their hands.

“I get for most of you it’s your first day but come on. We won’t make progress by having a staring contest.” Mallowan said. Still, no one responded. “Alright, I’ll ask a question: what’s something as a man that you like, but won’t say out loud because it socially makes you look bad as a man?” He eyed everyone around the circle.

Yizra slowly raised his hand in the air.

“At least someone in here is actually brave. You have the floor, Yizra.” Mallowan said.

Yizra hesitated for a second. “I’m really infatuated with ladies of the evening.”

“What is ladies of the evening?” Mallowan inquired, crossing his arms.

“Spontaneous women.” Yizra smiled.

“Spontaneous?” Mallowan rose an eyebrow.

“They’re a lot more fun when they bring some friends over for a wild time.” Yizra said.

Everyone shared interesting stares amongst each other. Then one guy ask, “So how does it play out with you and the other women?”

“Who says it’s just me and other women? I invite my friends too.” Yizra said.

The men made disgusted faces. “I would never do that. I would’ve kept it all for myself.” The man said.

“Yeah, sure you would.” Yizra scoffed.

“I wouldn’t have mess with any of those women at all.” Another one said. Olawdry recognized his face from somewhere. “They’re unnatural.”

“And us liking to get wild isn’t?” Yizra challenged.

“No!” He sternly replied.

“What’s your name?” Mallowan asked the man.

“Lealalden Haddious.” He said.

Olawdry’s eyes widened.

“That’s explains it.” Mallowan said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lealalden questioned.

“With the way you talk about women on the internet, you never seem happy. What age did you start getting busy, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Twelve.” Lealalden said causally.

“Well that’s not normal.” Mallowan said.

“How? That’s an accomplishment to a lot of young men like myself.”

“That’s why a lot of them are too wild for their age now.” Mallowan rebuttals.

“And what’s wrong with that?!” Lealalden responded.

“You being introduce to stuff like this so early caused you to think it’s normal for you to

act this way.” Mallowan told him.

“How would you know that?” Lealalden asked out of irritation.

“I used to be a lawyer. I’ve studied things like this.” Mallowan said.

“That may be the exception for some, but it’s not the majority. I stand by what I said.”

Mallowan simply sighed, slamming his head into his palm.

“What are you now?” Olawdry asked, breaking the silence between everyone.

“What?” Mallowan lifts up his head.

“What do you do now?” Olawdry asked again.

“Im a elementary teacher.” He answered.

Olawdry pondered to himself for a second and realized something. “Oh my gosh! That’s my daughter’s elementary teacher!” He said in his mind.