After Bab'Bayede left, taking with his hanging jaw, Manqoba carried his bruised ego to his room. He found Enhle in her night robe with all her make-up off. She just stared ruefully, waiting for a reaction. Manqoba opened his mouth wanting to spit out the fire that was roasting his lungs but closed his mouth instead, turning to the bathroom.
"Baby?", she stood up and followed. He got there and tightly held against the basin. If it was the work of a negligent installation, it was certainly going to tumble to the floor in pieces, considering the force he was exerting on it.
"Baby I'm sorry. I didn't think he was going to be here today. I swear this wasn't intentional", she begged placatingly. She'd rather he lash out than keep quiet in any argument. The silence can mean one of many things. Including irreparable hurt.
"Ufuna ngithini mama?"(What do you want me to say?)
"I'm really sorry. I really did not mean to undermine your throne", she continued trying to staunch his bleeding heart.
"Why did you do it then?", he questioned sourly and raised his face to capture hers in the mirror. She kept quiet.
"Hm?", he persisted.
"I don't know. I just--, I wanted your attention", she confessed and played with her fingers.
"Attention?", he hissed.
"Yes", she expressed, voicelessly.
"In your world, disrespect buys you attention?"
She kept quiet.
"Don't you have my attention Mbalenhle?"
She held on to her silence.
"I asked you a damn question!", he shot out, veins visible on his temples. She jumped like a mouse at the quick realization of a snare. The cheese suddenly wasn't worth it anymore.
"Do you want a weakling for a husband?"
She raised her face, clearly flummoxed by this question.
"Where is that coming from?"
"It doesn't matter ukuthi iqhamukaphi. The bottom line is that it's here. Do you want a weakling for a husband?"
"No", she answered doubtfully.
"Why?"
"There's nothing attractive in being weak. Where is this coming from?"
He pulled out a heavy breath then released it.
"Are you the weak man in this case?"
"I'm not. You want to turn me into one. Unga phambanisi iynkomishi"(Don't confuse things)
"That's not true"
She tried to touch him and he arrested her hand away from his chest.
"It is. You don't miss a chance to emasculate me and you do it so perfectly"
"But I don't have to kneel and serve you to prove that you're a man. The way I dress has nothing to do with you as an individual. You see it as an emasculation because your idea of masculinity is toxic", she defended lowly and he quickly said,"Askiies?!", for her to repeat what she had just said. She kept quiet and shot her eyes to the shower glass, riveting them there.
"Now I see why abadala feel I need--", he stopped himself before he could finish his sentence. Incomplete as it is, it was enough to light a few firecrackers in her brain. The soft apologetic look on her face flipped into a scowl.
"What? That you need another wife? Because I'm not good enough?!", she shot out.
"Fix yourself...", with that, he left.
"Manqoba!", she yelled for attention. He kept walking.
After he shut the door to the whole room, she screamed and sent a hard and impulsive punch into the mirror above the wash basin. The second victim of two. It sliced her soft hand when it came crashing down and breaking even further upon impact with the ceramic surface below it. All her senses flushed down her face contemporaneously, bringing her to earth after a moment of shutting her out. She inspected the hand and realized that the bleeding was bad. Her hand carefully went into the basin and she tapped the faucet up so hot water flows out. She whimpered when it came in contact with her torn and bruised skin. The diluted blood ran over the pieces of the mirror that fell into the centre. She waited for the blood to retire in its flow but it wasn't happening. She then went across the room to the closet to look for her first aid kid. Inevitably leaving drop trails of blood. She got there and found a bandage and wrapped it around her hand. She changed into pair of velvet tracksuits and left with only her phone and car keys. She passed by Manqoba's study and found it closed. She then stopped for a second before deciding against it.
"Muhluri", she called him once she got into the car, strapping on her seat belt. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand. Something in her needed to hear his voice desperately.
"Heyyy, wa rila? What's going on?"(Are you crying?), he questioned in great concern.
"Where are you?"-Enhle
"I'm at home. Ku endleka yini Enhle? Where are you?"(What's going on?)
She sobbed and tried to speak. The muscles around her mouth felt tired and painful. She ended up closing her mouth while seated in the slight dark of the garage.
"Tell me where you are so I can come get you?"-Muhluri.
He eventually went quiet and allowed her to collect herself enough to speak. When the current of her tears stopped choking her,
"Can you check my hand?"
"Sure", he said curiously.
"I'll be there in a minute"
"I'm not on call today"
She went dead on the line.
"Okay. I'll just have to see who's there"
"I'm at home. I'll send you the coordinates"
She went quiet again and wiped her red nose with a pocket tissue.
"Okay", agreeing, eventually.
