Johannesburg – I am chuckling about something very serious and potentially life-threatening.
An ex-flame called the other day wanting to talk.
Since I had some time to kill, I gave her my audience.
Listening is one of my strong points and I don’t mind letting people bend my ear to offload whatever is on their chests.
The one thing I never do, however, is offer relationships advice.
I’ve learnt that when couples have a tiff, the chances are that they will reconcile and you will be caught in the crossfire.
Anyway, the ex missed me and my liberal ways as her husband was the jealous type who did not want her to go out much.
When she visits home, he would call her and inquire where she was and who she is with.
The chap would follow that call with a WhatsApp video call and ask her to pan the room she’s in and the people she said she is with.
And therein lies the rub.
I don’t need to spell it out to you what the guy is up to.
This is a green monster who uses technology to track his partner and all I can say is that it’ll end in tears.
This week, I was driving my aunt and her neighbour, whose live-in lover works out of town and visits on weekends.
Ausi’s phone rang and she told ubhuti she’s going shopping and she thumbed a ride with a neighbour. Then came the dreaded WhatsApp video call.
The poor lady, sitting behind me, had to angle her smartphone camera to show her lover who she was with.
I could not believe it. Perhaps I should point out that I’m not a fan of a video call.
I also dread the popular voice notes as I prefer writing.
Call me old school if you like as we are living in an era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. If you want to call me on video, you’ll have to make an appointment first, like it happens with business-related Zoom calls.
I can stomach voice notes, especially from those people whose spelling is atrocious.
I do use emojis as they save time although using the wrong one can lead to confusion.
So, what advice did I give to these hapless ladies whose loves of their lives clearly have trust issues?
None.
It should be clear as spring that they are being stalked.
It’s only a matter of time before it ends in tears when she cannot account for her whereabout.
I’m certain video calls were not designed for jealous partners.
When he or she video calls you, alarm bells should start ringing.
But don’t tell your jealous lover you read about it on Straight & 2 Beers.
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