LAZZO  was amused at the sudden surge of feminism in the hood especially with the encouragement on the political front.
It had been a quiet start to proceedings at the watering hole when out of the blue, Maria’s friend, tall, lanky with a polished satin black face left her erstwhile stool by the counter and proceeded to deliver a stringent warning to one of the patrons.
Lazzo suddenly  saw a menacing finger waving in front of the male patrons face and uttering some words he could not catch because of the loud music but one would plausibly conclude it was a severe caution.
He gestured at the marauding female to get back to her seat and shed some light on the issue…
She obliged and hurried back to her original position seemingly recalling the bygone wrongs the man had committed.
“He called my grandfather a watch in front of a crowd at the watering hole recently!,” she exclaimed to Lazzo.
“Now, I think that every time I see him, I must mete out some punishment!,” she ranted whilst stealing glances at the transgressor who was also beginning to be worked up.
Before Lazzo could blink, the woman had made two quick strides and flung a feminine blow which landed at the man’s shoulder.
A couple of male patrons nearby restrained her from meting out further punishment to the helpless man.
The male victim briefly sat down next to another woman who whispered in his ear:”Just take your leave because you cannot defend yourself against her physical attacks. She is surrounded by male mates who will make it very difficult for you…”
The man thought for a while and a minute later seemed to have decided to call it quits.
He collected his plastic carrier bag which was laden with some vegetables and other goodies for the home and strode out like a vanquished villain!
Another man in the precincts of the watering hole hollered in a drunken voice:””Yes, I can see that women are all out to teach men a lesson because they have been whipped for too long!,” he declared amid some laughter.
“It seems that women have now realised their rights and wont take anything lying down.  If shegoes to the police, they will probably think, the man started the fight because it is rare for women to be so daring!,” said another man with somewhat tongue-in-cheek tone.
At the far end of the counter was a bricklayer who intoned:”These days, women are even marrying men and have turned tradition the other way round!,” he said to another round of laughter.
He went on to explain that in the neighbourhood, one of the esteemed members of the watering hole had been jilted.
The unsuspecting man was a victim of an unfolding drama in which single women with children lived-in with their spouses.
It usually turns out that the father of a couple of children will have left long ago and gone away to marry another woman.
The abandoned woman then decides to ‘marry’ another man to complete the family cycle.
In the typical context, the estranged father of two children went back home and was told off as he stood on the door step.
He was bluntly told that there was another man in the house and that she had nothing to do with him!
The man pleaded for forgiveness as the new found lover insider listened and kept his fingers crossed because the hood was a manufacturing house for miscellaneous behavior and this was one type.
While there was so much anticipation in the new man, the father of the two children did not resist.
He was alarmed by the raising of the estranged woman’s voice who was telling the landlord in the adjoining room that there was a man outside the door interfering in her life.
The beleaguered gentleman understood the ways of the hood and the last thing he wanted to happen was a woman indoors shouting that there was a thief outside her door!
It transpired that the incident turned out to be the talk of the watering hole which had a steady supply of discreet escapades.
Another man suggested that someone conversant with writing should come up
with a manual titled:”How women start fights”.
This should be for free distribution to members of the watering hole who should know how to behave when imbing.
He pointed out that recently, he had made an observation arising from the incident in which a jealousy patron at the watering hole reacted to a man who had not picked her but opted for her friend.
The man was innocently scouting for a partner whom he lavished with drinks but when he looked her way, she questioned his stare and tried hard to build a mountain out of a molehill!
Lazzo was at the core of this fury but could not understand what he had done wrong by looking a certain direction.
She began to swear at him and promised that one day he would see for looking at her like she was his girlfriend.
Being well-versed with the ways of the hood, Lazzo kept his cool as his newly found missus went to calm down her compatriot.
He could see that she was still grumbling because Lazzo was becoming too romantic with her acquaintance.
A man seated by Lazzo’s sight said in low tones to Lazzo:”I have been through this before.  The same woman borrowed some money from me and when I wanted the cash back, she was saying other things like I was wrong to make a demand!”
The ways of the hood had dawned on Lazzo for decades and every time he encountered a misnormer, he made quick reference to it.
This made him make nine of ten decisions right. One was when he was heading home from the watering hole and he pretended he was going straight
down the road westerward.
He made a sudden turnaround and walked back to a taxi-parking lot where booked a cab.
As the headlights of the car flashed brightly, he saw the characters exposed in the bright light waiting on the wayside…obviously thinking he would pass that way!