Meet Fatima Alwan, a tall and very lovely Somali Muslim woman who has made a few bad decisions in her personal life and her private life. Like many people, Fatima is trying to get back on her feet after a rough time. At work, Fatima got into the government sector, also known as the most treacherous of all environments. This was back in 2010, and for the wide-eyed young woman that Fatima had been, the future looked bright. Now Fatima knows better, but is it too late?
Women in the workplace must operate differently from men, even in the Age of Equality. The truth is that the Canadian government is a tough place for minorities and women to work, especially in the City of Ottawa, Ontario. Things operate a certain way in the Canadian Capital. Men and women of all races are equal...on paper. The white person is still first among equals though, and Canada never lets minorities forget it. That's why so many minorities end up quitting and rushing to the private sector, where things looked a bit less bleak.
Fatima Alwan has always been different, and that's made her something of an outcast among both Somalis and Canadians. The two communities couldn't be further apart. As an openly bisexual Somali Canadian Muslim woman, Fatima doesn't fit it into either world. To the deeply conservative Somali Muslim people, a woman who has sex with both sexes and speaks about it publicly is strange and unacceptable. To Canadians, Fatima Alwan is a novelty and nothing more.
Fatima Alwan had an affair with a French Canadian female co-worker named Roxanne Plamondon, and it turns out, the other woman only slept with her because Fatima had some influence after being promoted to manager. Who says lesbians can't be cold and calculating in their dealings with women? Roxanne, a tall, gorgeous redhead with frosty blue eyes used her charms on Fatima. Roxanne used Fatima and discarded her, and this soured Fatima's outlook on life and relationships, to say the least.
Fatima Alwan became depressed and her life spiraled out of control. The betrayal she suffered affected her self-esteem and mindset. In the end, Fatima's work suffered, and she took too many days of sick leave. The Canadian government gave Fatima some time to get her affairs in order. When that didn't work, the Canadian government demoted Fatima, and now she works under Roxanne, who took over as manager of their division. Isn't life peachy keen?
Fatima Alwan recently decided to move on from her disastrous affair with Roxanne. She created a profile online and started online dating. Fatima is aware of the fact that she looked far different in 2019 than she did nearly a decade ago. At five-foot-eleven, she'd always been considered unusually tall for a Somali Muslim woman. Fatima still considers herself lovely, but was surprised when many people bypassed her profile. One day, Fatima received a message from an old friend...
Fatima Alwan met Suleiman when he was nineteen years old, a newcomer to the City of Ottawa, Ontario, by way of the Republic of Haiti. Back in those days, Suleiman went by the name Salomon Magloire, since he hadn't yet embraced Islam. In those days, Suleiman was trying to get his permanent residency in Canada and also enroll at Carleton University. Fatima knew that Suleiman was sweet on her, but considered him too young for her. Over the years, they lost touch...until now.
"Suleiman, I am flattered, but I think you're better off dating women your own age," Fatima Alwan said, and tall, curvy Somali Muslim woman flashed her good friend and former neighbor a wan smile. When they met in 2010, Fatima was attractive, and smart, at the very start of her thirties, and she had life on a string. Fatima had her bachelor's degree from the University of Montreal and was going to succeed in the cutthroat government sector of Ottawa, Ontario. Life turned out quite differently...