Chapter 2

Dear reader, from what you’ve read so far, you might be tempted to think that Paul came to our pub just to announce to everyone that he was a cuck--and that the love of his life had been cucking him even before they moved to the UK. That he wanted all of us to imagine as her new bull and lust after her whenever she tagged him along.

But that wasn’t usually how things went. Paul was just another bloke in Coventry--non-descript, often wore jeans, sported sweaters in winter, and was often clean-shaven. He sat at the tables as often as he did at the bar. He often enjoyed the company of us, and above all, he loved Man United and was always in whenever the Champions League was aired.

And we always treated him with respect. Those who knew his story would never bring it up in front of strangers, and we never pushed him to reveal anything he didn’t fancy talking about. Months would often stretch by before he chose to disclose his wife’s affairs--past or present--and we were cool with that.

During those months, we would just talk about the usual stuff--his work, our favourite clubs, which part of Scotland he visited that year. (Yes, he loved Scotland almost as much as Manchester United.) Sometimes, those conversations would drift toward interesting stories about what he and his wife (and her bull) got up to on vacations, but that’s a story for another time.

Before we got to hear about Nikki’s first bull, Paul told us about what he and Nikki did in the last year of her university. Because the bull wouldn’t be in the picture until two years after Nikki’s graduation.

The story goes like this. It was Sunday, and Nikki and Paul had been out together since morning. Before dropping her back at Nilar’s house--so as not to arouse suspicion--they decided to squeeze in one of their usual fondling sessions on the outskirts.

It was around four o’clock in the evening when they left downtown Yangon and made their way through the suburbs. By the time they reached the outskirts, they still had a few hours of “fondling” time before they needed to reenter the city.

Paul was excited. Nikki was nearly 22 by then, and she was no longer the shy girl he had first met. Their relationship had come a long way, and the subject of sex was no longer taboo between them--as long as the talk didn’t gross her out.

They had even begun discussing the possibility of letting Nikki’s father know about their relationship before Paul formally asked for her hand in marriage.