Twenty-seven-year-old teacher Marshais heading back home to her parents' humble abode in the country. After five years in a fancy New Kingston apartment paid for by her married 52-year-old boyfriend, he can no longer afford the SUV (tow trucks just showed up and took them), the rent, trips, allowance and his children's university fees, so he pulled the plug on the whole arrangement.

She can't afford the student loan, weekly beauty salon and allowance for her siblings, so she was seen eating crackers and sardines rather than at her usual fancy restaurants. Marsha is not alone. There are a number of young women like her around town these days. The recession has affected their sugar daddies' budgets so they have had to be deleted as a line item.

This growing trend is happening in upscale gated apartment/townhouse complexes and the security guards have all the dirty details. Your toes would curl to hear the names of some of the 'big man dem' who are keeping their cupcakes in the lap of luxury. But some of the acrobatics and covert tactics involved in the comings and goings of these silly older men make prime time television soaps seem tame.

Keys are thrown down to men to fetch something from the car while another 'prospect' beats a hasty retreat. Many go home at regular intervals to 'catch up their stomachs'; some of the women don't venture out in daylight at all and strange items of clothing or footwear are often discovered at the wrong time. One sweetheart came home early to find her man in bed with another woman, and when she freaked out, he declared: "I am paying for it so I can do what I damn well please."

Greedy girls

Yes, times are tough and girls just must have all the things they can't afford. Plus, working for what you want seems to be a thing of the past for this breed of greedy girls, so they have to 'put out' before their men pay up.

Marsha has already applied for a job in her rural district and plans to finish out the school term here in the city while staying temporarily with a girlfriend. No more rent will be paid beyond May. But, she's hoping to find another man to finance her lifestyle soon. She just can't go back to being 'unkept'.

Name changed to protect identity.

Do you know any woman who is in a similar position? Tell us about her at: lifestyle@gleanerjm.com