I stay there in the shadows outside the shebeen for a few minutes, clinging to the safe space. There is a table of women chatting and laughing like my mom used to do with her friends. I feel that old ache in my chest as I hide alone in the shadows, watching people who love each other and belong to each other. That hollow feeling of having nobody who really loves me threatens to swamp me.

From where I'm standing I can see Gorgeous and Lindi sitting on the bonnet of a flashy car, flirting with the two sugar daddies they left the pub with earlier. I know a sugar daddy when I see one now.

As I shrink back into the shadows I can't help overhear their conversation.

"So I bought this girl drinks all night last night, and she didn't give me any!" the one guy protests."I mean, what a user?"

"So I taught her a lesson. I said I'd take her home – but instead I dropped her on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. She was crying like a baby, begging me not to leave her there."

"That'll give her something to think about, hey brother? Teach her not to mess with someone like me." They high five.

There's a sudden uproar from one of the older women nearby. She had overheard him.

"No Way!" she shouts, outraged, "I heard what you said you awful man! You're disgusting to treat a woman like that! You can't get away with that, it's criminal behaviour!"

"We've got 10 witnesses who heard what you said," she says, gesturing to her friends. "Maybe you'll care a little more when we report you to the police..."

Gorgeous and Lindi jump in surprise as the outspoken woman unexpectedly rounds on them.

"And you two girls must learn to use your brains! What kind of guys are you choosing?! Think about it. You can do much better!"

The Minister of Finance is looking for me. I feel confident knowing these women are behind me. I walk up to him right in front of them: “You should be ashamed of yourself for thinking you had the right to expect something from me just because you bought me drinks and I flirted a little.”

My back is straight and strong as I turn away and walk over to Gorgeous and Lindi.

"Hey my friends. I think it's time we called it a night, don't you? Do you want to walk home together?"

“Baby we need to tell you we think that there is something going on between Kim and Guy,” they tell me on the walk home.

Do you think it was easy for Baby to do what she did and stand up for herself? Is this something she'll regret or is it a step in the right direction?