"I was trying to get something to put on. How's you friend?", she asked and gave him a wink. He laughed shyly before giving an answer.
"He's fine, ma"
"Just fine?", she angled her chin sideways in suspicion.
"Yes. Just fine. Where's dad? I was expecting to see rose petals on the floor, empty champagne bottles and the works?", he teased and stopped smiling when he realized that her mind was on a train.
"Ma?", he shook her once. She gasped and almost jumped.
"Are you okay? You look stressed, he noted. She let out a pretentious giggle.
"Stressed? I have no idea what you're talking about"
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you killed someone the way you're going on", he said jokingly and laughed. She felt a thin drop of cold sweat travel roll down the side of her face. Her tongue was taut and tangled.
"Cheer up ma I'm just joking. Now I'm really worried about you. Are you okay?"
"I'm... I'm really fine. I'm just worried about Liwe. She seemed to be coming down with a fever earlier", she mentioned.
"Kids get sick all the time. She'll be fine. Please stop stressing", he tried to quieten her nerves with a hug. She received it and sighed heavily.
"Let me go take a shower yeah?", he said, and she nodded with a subtle smile.
She went back to the closet after he left and found Muzi still thoughtfully seated with his hands over his head. She took a conscious decision to ignore his presence and got dressed in her PJs, including sheepy socks. She tied the belt to her gown and left that room.
When she got to Liwe's, she found the Thandiwe, the nanny, piggybacking Odaliwe's tiny self with a towel.
"How are we doing today?", she asked with a polite smile. Thandiwe could see the emptiness in her eyes. She felt sorry for her.
"We were cranky just minutes ago, but we managed to sleep", she replied turned her neck, trying to see the small person on her back. Betso nodded and massaged her neck with one hand. The other was in the pocket of her gown. Thandiwe undid the front of the towel and asked Betso to help her with the baby. Betso seemed unsure and undecided for a moment. Her sense came back when she realized Liwe might fall if she didn't act as fast as she was asked. She quickly extended her hands to take her and she showed signs of wanting to wake up. Thandiwe stretched her body and Betso waited for her to take Liwe back.
"Don't you want to put her to sleep?", asked Thandiwe.
"Please just... just take her", Betso insisted. She remembered all the blood that was on her hands earlier and there was a stubborn thought in her head that was adamant that she was somehow making the baby's spirit dirty. Thandiwe quickly understood and took her. She placed her down and hushed her for a minute, then Liwe drifted off to her happy rainbow place.
Betso was about to leave when Thandiwe straightened her spine from the cot and called her.
"MakaLiwe?", she said in tone that aroused curiosity. Betso turned back and fixed the large hood over her head. Thandiwe asked that they take a seat on her single bed. Betso obliged. The nanny had to gather her thoughts into one basket before she could begin talking.
"See, before I came here... I was jobless for about six months. I've seen things at my previous workplaces that left me emotional and in deep trauma for days"
Betso frowned. Thandiwe was careful with her words. She walked on eggshells as she tried to convey this point.
"Do you know the Dingilizwe's?", she asked and never moved her eyes from Betso, who was trying to figure out where she had heard this Dingilizwe name. She was certain she had. Her brain was sure that this name once touched on its surface. It tried to remember while simultaneously trying to supress the trigger that came with the tail of that name.
Episode 77
Start from the beginning
