Yasmin Amir and Abdi Osman have known each other for most of their lives. They grew up within walking distance of the Marketplace Area in the suburb of Barrhaven, Ontario. They attended the same schools and prayed at the same mosque. Yasmin went to the University of Ottawa to study Law while Abdi went to Carleton University to study Criminology. The two best friends kept in touch throughout their university years. They were never more than that, until fate complicated things...
"Abdi, I gotta be honest, this place is a shit hole," Yasmin Amir said, and the tall, curvy young Somali Muslim woman shook her head, less than impressed by the apartment's decor. Looking at the cracked ceiling, the dirty washroom walls, and the kitchen that looked older than her grandparents, Yasmin wondered what could have possessed her friend Abdi to take this place. Must have been desperate, Yasmin thought.
"Beggars can't be choosers, I checked out a lot of places where the owners changed their minds once they found out I was black," Abdi Osman countered, his deep voice rumbling with discontent, and Yasmin nodded understandingly. They were in the Vanier area, close to Overbrook. Only twenty minutes from downtown Ottawa, Vanier was another world. The ruined asphalt and constant pot holes made driving around a veritable nightmare.
"At least you'll be safe here," Yasmin said, and Abdi nodded. For a brief moment, there was a haunted look in his eyes. Abdi's parents, Bilal and Jamila Osman of Barrhaven, Ontario, found out that their only son swings both ways. In Somali culture, if a person is gay, lesbian or bisexual, and wants to keep breathing, they really should keep such a thing to themselves. Abdi's life would never be the same...
"Life goes on, Yaz," Abdi said, and the big and tall, burly and dark-skinned young Somali Muslim man shrugged casually. Yasmin sat beside Abdi on the plain steel chair which they'd purchased at the Walmart near Blair Station. Four chairs and a black steel table, that's what constituted Abdi's living room. Oh, and there was also the case with the plastic flowers that he bought at the Dollar Store.
A month ago, Abdi Osman graduated from Carleton University with his bachelor's degree in Criminology. The brother had the world on a string and his parents couldn't be prouder of him. Abdi dreamed of working as a cop, perhaps Ottawa Police or RCMP. Of course, that was before Abdi's parents came home early one day and found him in bed with his best buddy Thaddeus Jones, the tall Jamaican dude he'd been friends with forever.
Abdi Osman and Thaddeus Jones had been having some manly fun for quite some time without anyone suspecting. They simply didn't fit the stereotypes that most people attributed to guys who were into guys. For starters, both Abdi and Thaddeus are tall, manly and athletic guys. Abdi used to play basketball for Carleton University and was part of a Canadian Inter-University Sports championship team.
As for Thaddeus Jones, he plays Soccer for Algonquin College, where he studies business management. Like Abdi, Thaddeus is bisexual, and that's part of the fun for them. While they do have fun with each other, they also enjoy having sex with women. Abdi and Thaddeus had it made...for a while. Nobody suspected anything, neither their friends nor their families, until they got careless and got caught...
"Have you heard from Thaddeus?" Yasmin asked, and Abdi shook his head. He didn't want to talk about his former lover Thaddeus. Ever since their split, Thaddeus had gone back to leading a straight life. He was dating a tall, plump redhead named Mildred and their pictures were all over Facebook and Instagram. That's the beauty of male bisexuality. Bisexual men are everywhere, yet they're also invisible. Abdi didn't blame Thaddeus for moving on. He blamed himself for not having anyone in his life...
