The diary of an African man

CHAPTER 26

Fixing Zama's car turned out to be a hectic job. I focused too much on wanting the job as soon as possible that I even forgot to rest before work. Heavy eyelids and zero concentration was the consequence of that.

I ordered food food for Mandla and I while everyone had coffee and small little snacks to satisfy their hunger. The clock had not even struck midnight by then to atleast show me that I was halve way through the job. We were still having our thirty minute tea time at halve past eight. Bayanda  came to me running like a headless chicken with my ringing phone in his which he had borrowed to play games. Kids.

"Muntu wethu is calling." He exclaimed as he passed the phone to me. As soon as I took it the phone he stared at me expectedly as if waiting for me to the phone on loud speaker.

"Sthandwa sami." I said and a series of sniffing sounds are heard. I immediately stood up and went outside of the room. "MaCele, kwenzakalani?" I panicked. I was met with silence for some time before she finally spoke.

"Uhm... Nkosana, I was almost hijacked again and I-I..." She tried to explain before wailing into the phone.

"Where are you right now" I growled in an almost animalistic sort of way. Rage rushed in every capillary of my body as I tried to pack my stuff.

I checked the time only realise that I only had fifteen minutes left. Zama's apartment was about twenty-five to thirty minutes away. I didn't care at that moment. When needed me no questions were asked, logic was lost and reason would be found later. Consequence was a thing of the past when she needed anything.

I took my phone and car keys and did not bother to change out of my greasy overalls.

"Tell me where you are." I exhaled. Without running or any physical labour, I was breathing that heavily.

"My apartment." She mumbled almost inaudibly.

I signed out of the register and sent our supervisor a message to tell her that I'd be late. Nontokazi wasn't a bad supervisor but she just let us off the hook to easily. She had a sweet tooth that we always took advantage of when we were in trouble. I ran to Mseki's car(do not ask of how I bullied him into giving it to me. Besides it was mine first) and drove to her apartment, making sure that my foot never left the accelerator. I arrived in about fifteen minutes due to the fact that there weren't many cars on the road.

I finally arrived at her apartment and saw her hugging herself as her eyes were plastered on the floor. My arms enveloped her quivering self as the waterworks came in.

"They stopped me right in the middle of the road and then he forced us out with a gun pointed at our heads and then after that he looked at me and called me 'sistera'. He apologized and told me that I was the wrong person and left me there. He didn't even take any thing from me, Nkosana. I'm so scared, it's the second time this is happening and I'm afrsin that when it happens for the third time I —" she rambled on endlessly.

"There won't be a third time. I will make sure of that." I interupted before I planted a kiss on her forehead.

"You smell really disgusting by the way." She deadpanned.

"You didn't really give me time to change out of my overalls." ,I retorted. "I also recommend that you bathe because all of this grease will not come off after a few hours" ,I said.

"Stop blaming your dirty lifestyle on your job",she jabbed.

"I'm starting to think you staged all of this just because you miss me" I said in a cocky tone.

"Get off me. You're suffocating me. You smell like oil and machines and the other nonsense things that you work with." She said as she tried to wiggle out of my hold.