Through It All

Chapter Two

I park my car outside of Tsholo's home.

A few minutes later, she walks out with my baby hanging on her waist and his bag in her free hand. I get out of the car to meet them and Loapi leaps into my arms.

"Papa!" he exclaims. He's a vocal 2 year old, my mom says it's because of crèche, whatever reason, I'm glad to have a baby that recognises me.

"Hey my boy, okae?" I ask while holding up a fist for him to pump.

"Teng!" He has a habit of shouting out his words. I think he gets it from his mother.

Speaking of, I lift my gaze to Tsholo. The air shifts immediately. There's always some kind of tension between us that is unspoken and heavy.

"Dintshang mo?" I ask, forcing my voice to be steady. Tsholo and I were together for a few months before Loapi was conceived. It was nothing serious, but I was exclusively seeing her.

I won't lie, when she told me she was pregnant, I wasn't thrilled. Not because she'd be birthing my first child, but because I wasn't ready to be a dad yet. Now that Loapi is here though, I count him twice when I list off my blessings.

Her eyes sweep over me, sharp as ever. "Ke shap, wena?" she asks, folding her arms across her chest. Tsholo never leaves the house undone. Right now she's dressed like she's going somewhere, which, knowing her, is probably the case.

"I'm good too. Let us leave you to it then, I'll see you on Sunday," I bid, but my words come out clipped. I never give her more than I need to. If I do, she'll take my silence for an opening to fight, and I don't want that.

She gives a small nod, her lips pursed like she has something to say but won't. She turns and walks off without another glance. The tension lingers long after she's gone.

I turn my attention back to my son, who's playing with my chain. His innocence grounds me. "O ready poi?" I ask him, and he nods eagerly.

I help him into his car seat, which his mother insists on. If it were up to me though, he'd be riding shotgun. But because I love peace, I've decided to listen.

It's kind of late, so most stores are closed. But there's a mini PnP market at one of the garages I pass by when going home, so that's where I go to fill up on Loapi's snacks.

"Let's go my boy," I say while unbuckling him. I prefer that he learns his independence early on, so even though it would be faster if I carried him around, I let him use his two feet towards the store.

"'Nono papa," he says while pointing at his favourite thing to eat, which is yoghurt. I let him pick out the ones he wants and take two of the trays. We go around the store together and after letting him pick out everything he wants, we head to the till.

"Kuke papa," he says while reaching up his hands. Even though it was a short walk around the store, for his tiny legs, I understand that he is tired out. So after paying up, I pick him up and grab the plastic bag with his things before heading out.

When we get home, I park my car and head to main house. Loapi runs straight to his grandma. These two are inseparable.

"Hello koko's baby!" my mom exclaims, swooping him up like she hasn't seen him in years. Her joy always makes my chest tighten.

"Ma, don't baby him too much," I say, though I'm already smiling.

She laughs. "He's my only grandson, of course I'll baby him as much as I'd like."