My Uber driver, a woman, had parked her compact Uber Go vehicle on the opposite side of the road. After crossing over, I greeted her, took my seat, and promptly fastened my seatbelt. Surprisingly, she let out a deep sigh. Confused, as I hadn't kept her waiting and had already used my seatbelt, I wondered why she seemed bothered. She continued sighing more deeply, and it became clear that her demeanor had nothing to do with me. Concerned, I asked if everything was alright. Responding with another deep sigh, she said, "We women dey try for men mata o." It was then my turn to sigh, thinking, 'Here we go again.'

Observing her closely, it was clear she was in her thirties, casually dressed in shorts, a simple shirt, and a wig. She shared that she had slept in her car the previous night and hadn't eaten anything all day, mentioning that I was her first client today, and it was almost 3 o'clock. Wondering what that had to do with to a man, I asked, "What happened?" She explained that she had decided to visit her boyfriend, as she usually does, but this time he didn't open the door for her because she came without permission. 'Oh, oh,’ I murmured as my eyes widened.

She mentioned that she could sense he wasn't alone in the house, which explained his odd behavior. Despite this, she decided to stay, insisting on being let in. According to her, he refused and even yelled at her to go home. As she recounted the story, she expressed her embarrassment over her boyfriend not allowing her into the apartment. He embarrassed her in front of the security personnel and left her stranded, not caring if she would drive home so late or if she was still outside waiting. She said that she called him on the phone at least fifty times throughout the night while she was in the car, and he didn't answer once. I wondered where that left their relationship when she said he hadn't yet reached out.

She shared that she had just managed to compose herself to take her first ride of the day. At this point, she asked for my thoughts, and I tread carefully. I expressed that it was terrible of him to leave her outside, and even worse that he hadn't bothered to check where she spent the night. She then inquired about what I would do—would I end the relationship? I responded, ‘Anything that starts in relationships will only continue in marriage’  and a brief silence filled the car.

When she eventually spoke, she acknowledged that if she let this behavior slide, he would repeat it. I said ‘yep’. She commented that it all meant that he does not respect her, to which I agreed. She further remarked that it reflected on her lack of self-respect. Again, I nodded in agreement. Then she said, "Okay, but where am I supposed to start from? At my age, where am I supposed to start from? Should I begin dating all over again? And who's to say that other men out there won't cheat too? What do you have to say?"

I didn't need to respond to her question because, from that moment until she dropped me off, she shared details about their daily routine. She spoke about how they prayed together in the morning over the phone, how he would send her money when he was in a good mood, and how he could be such a funny man sometimes, whatever that meant.

At this point, it seemed she wasn't seeking my opinion or merely narrating to me. It felt more like she was explaining why she had chosen to stay—articulating the reasons to remain despite the compelling reasons to leave. I sensed concerns about age, a fear of loneliness, and an acceptance of fate. I couldn't help but wonder how many other passengers would hear the rest of this story.