[LARONA]
‘My beautiful wife’ he answers. I decided to check on how he’s doing because he’s not at the office today.
‘How are you feeling?’ I ask while compiling a file for advocate Makhubela. I am seated on Kurhula’s chair as we speak. He’d make my life hell if he knew.
‘My whole body is sore but I’ll survive. How are you doing? Are you at work?’
‘I’m fine. I am in your office, sitting on your chair’ I tease. He laughs.
‘You must be enjoying yourself. So it’s true what they say’
‘What do they say?’
‘That when the cat is away, the mouse comes out to play’
‘You’re the cat?’
‘I can’t be the mouse so you do the math’
I chuckle. He’s full of himself.
‘Prove it’ I deliberately poke.
‘They don’t call me The Jaguar in vain, and that’s for the courtroom. I’m also a wildcat by birth. Need I go on?’
‘Do you always have to have an answer for everything?’
‘I actually do. The profession requires that of me’
I sigh. ‘You are so exhausting, Kurhula. Do you know that?’
‘I can think of a few ways of getting you exhausted so yes, I might be aware’
I clench my teeth and lock in a scream. He laughs. He enjoys frustrating me. I don’t know what it does for his ego to be honest. Adv. Maila’s head appears by the open door and I tell Kurhula that we’ll speak later because I need to speak to her.
‘Tell that mgunyathi of a lawyer that I’ve been waiting for her email since Saturday. If she doesn’t want to send the attachment, she must just say so’
‘Kurhula, please behave’
I laugh and cut the call. Of course I’m not going to tell her what he said.
‘What did that big head say?’ she asks and I laugh even harder. They always fight like cat and mouse but I know it’s all love.
‘Nothing. What can I do for you?’
She shakes her head with a smile on her face.
‘Uhm… I know this is unprofessional but I have a huge favour to ask’
‘Go on…’
‘I need to be in court in the next twenty minutes and my helper’s sister has just gotten into a car accident. Can you please watch Mia for a couple of hours?’
Yoh.
‘Uhm…’
‘Please Larona. She’s already on her way here to drop her off. You’ll name your price. Thank you, bye’ she speaks while walking out.
‘Sandra!’ I call for her and I hear her running on the corridor in heels. This woman? How is she trusting me with her baby when we don’t even know each other like that?
The helper indeed arrives about ten minutes later with a baby girl who I’m guessing to be two years old.
‘Hi. I was told I was going to find a Warona in this office’
‘It’s actually Larona. Hello’ I welcome her with a smile because she already looks like a bundle of nerves.
‘Okay my name is Lerato. I’m really sorry about this but I have to rush to the hospital. I hope to be back before madam comes—’
‘It’s okay. Hope your sister gets well. You can go’
‘It didn’t sound good but thank you. Mia, this lady will take care of you until I come back. Or mommy, okay?’ she says to the toddler hiding behind her skirt.
‘Come Mia’ I urge and offer her my hand. I never thought Sandra had a child. She’s so… I don’t know. She gives me ‘I don’t like kids along with their fathers’ typa vibe. Mia agrees and Lerato hands me her bag.
‘There’s everything you’ll need in here. Snacks, toys, clothes, and everything else’
I thank her and she leaves. Mia and I eye are looking at each other in the eye. She’s so cute in her pink vest and shorts paired with tiny white sneakers. Her afro has been sectioned into tree buns.
‘Hi Mia’ I greet her properly. She just waves and laughs. She’s shy but I’m glad she’s not throwing tantrums. What language does she speak?
‘Have you had breakfast?’ I try English. She nods.
‘Okay please sit here while I finish up working neh?’ I put her on the chair opposite mine.
‘I need to pee’ she says after I take a seat.
Oh, it speaks? I find my heels under the table so I can accompany her to the toilet. We go out, holding hands. The way she’s looking around tells me Sandra has never brought her here. This place is obviously unfamiliar to her but we still thank God for zero tantrummy outbursts. She must’ve been really desperate today. When we walk in, I find Andy’s hands under the automatic hand dryer. Mia starts crying when she hears the sound resembling a hair dryer. Most kids are afraid of it. I pick her up and Andy stops. She calms down when the machine goes off.
‘Whose child is that?’ Andy asks, a single tickle away from laughter.
‘Advocate Maila’
‘Since when are you friends with Godzilla?’
‘Her child is here, remember?’ I warn while blocking Mia’s one ear, containing my laughter.
‘Aii let me go back to work. See you during lunch’
‘Sure Andy-Bandy’
‘I’m gonna kick you for that name’
I can’t keep it anymore. I laugh out loud. We get inside the loo and I pull Mia’s shorts down, followed by her underwear. She holds on to my thighs as she pees. We wipe the little miss and leave the toilet after washing our hands. I’m not even going to try her with the dryer. I don’t want problems, I only want peace. We go back to the office and she chooses to sit on the carpet while playing with her dolls. I carry on with my tasks.
When I raise my eyes, I find her gone. All the sirens and alarms in my head go off and I go out running. I find her in Makhubela’s office, joining his meeting with a client.
‘I’m so sorry’ I apologize in a sincere hush and the advocate laughs, along with the client.
‘It’s okay. Is she yours?’ the client asks. ‘She’s delightful’ she adds.
‘No I’m just watching her for a while’ I answer before we walk out and I close the door.
‘I am never getting my eyes off you’ I indicate with my middle and index that I’m watching her. She finds this amusing and laughs. Andy walks into Kurhula’s office immediately after us with a large bouquet of roses.
‘Delivery for Lala’ she says, with a joyful rhythm. For me? I tell her to close the door because we have a runner here, a track star. I receive the flowers and smell them.
‘This must’ve costed a million’ she remarks.
‘Did you read my note?’ I ask with a lifted brow.
‘Do you think I’d still be standing here if I had read it?’ she rolls her eyes and I laugh. ‘What does it say? Who are they from?’
I take out the card and open it.
