"Here", Thando said to the boys as the three of them sat on the same metallic bench. Melo and Lwa took the brown coffee cups and said their low thanks. Mxo remained with his eyes facing the wall in front him , his hands in his pockets. Melo nudged him on the elbow and he immediately said, "Huh?!". He was there but simultaneously lost in a place far, far away. He took the cup as well and they all sat in silence. Thando went to sit on the bench opposite theirs. Mxo took one sip and spat it back into the cup almost a millisecond later.
"Shxt tastes like boiled mud water"
"You shouldn't have spat in in. You should've given it to me", Thando said with irritation.
"Trust me, it doesn't even taste healthy. I'm saving your life here", he flatly replied before he could place his head back on the rest and cover his face with his bucket hat. As pained as they all felt, Thando and Melo wanted to laugh.
"What are you thinking about?", Thando directed this to Lwa. He sighed and shook his head, granting her zero response. Thando took a glimpse of the time and her smart watch reported it to be 21h32. She sighed and finished up her coffee. She immediately stopped drinking when she felt the sweetness that was concentrated at the bottom, by virtue of the sugar she forgot to stir.
They all stood up when they saw the doctor approach in his navy scrubs. He had his surgical mask below his mouth. He was taking quick steps and finally arrived.
"The good or the bad first?"
"How is my mother?", Mxolisi was the first to ask. The question came out at the same time with Lwa's "Bad news first" and Melo's "The good please".
"Okay. Allow me to congratulate you on another addition to your family"
They were all not sure whether to celebrate or not. What was in the box written Bad News?
"She didn't make it did she?", Thando asked on the brink of breaking apart. Mxolisi sunk back on the bench and squeezed his head in between his upper arms, squashing the hat on the top of his head.
"She is not dead", he informed, trying to compile a statement that would be gentle yet still make sense. Mxo quickly raised his head with a frown pasted on its front. A frown laced with relief.
"She is not dead but she's not conscious either. The surgery went very well, better than we expected actually. Her blood pressure gradually dropped to normal. After blood tests, we will surely know what might be wrong with her"
"Might and sure don't belong together in that sentence", Melo took out his frustrations on him. The doctor sighed and briefly looked away with pressed lips.
"What are her chances?", Thando questioned.
"I will be able to make a proper diagnosis after the tests. Please excuse me". With that, he left. Thando ran after him.
"Wait!", she said as her shoes abused the hospital floor.
"Can we see her?"
"Unfortunately, not yet. I want her to get enough rest and allow her body the time to recover from the surgical trauma"
"Can we at least see the baby then?", Lwandile yelled from a short distance. The doctor considered it.
"Sure. Follow me", he instructed before turning and going in the opposite direction. Thando went to quickly grab her bag and they followed the doctor. She was calling Evelyn on the way.
When they got to the room with new babies, he pointed to her tiny self through the large window and told them to walk in one after the other to avoid a crowd.
"Who goes in first?", he asked.
"I am the aunty. You all will follow after me", she said gave none of them a chance to disagree. The doctor smiled and opened the door for her after telling her not to take too long. She sanitized her hands at the door and walked on carefully as if her footsteps would interrupt the new minions. They all watched from outside as they felt their hearts melting the ice that's been building anxiety walls around them.
"She's so small", Melo remarked with a smile, whispering. They continued watching Thando giving delicate kisses on the cheeks of the tiny person. The doctor opened the door.
"Please refrain from kissing her. Babies are overly sensitive. The germs you're able to live with everyday could be detrimental to her", he reprimanded softly. Thando quickly nodded. She placed her back on the yellow blanket and smiled down at her.
Mxo handed his hat to Lwa and went in after Thando.
"Why do you look so nervous? You're not going to an interview",Thando teased and they all laughed, including the doctor.
"Eish...", Mxo exclaimed before walking in. He got there and immediately marvelled at his very first little sister.
"Waze wamncan nawe mancan"(You're so small, little one) She had her pink eyelids closed and her lips pursed peacefully. A flake of dry skin was peeling off of her little lips. He then picked her up delicately. It immediately put a stamp on the fact that he will be holding the product of his own seed in the same manner a few months down the line.
"I've just met you but I already know that I'd die for you. How can you be so little and be able to steal such a big yet crappy heart?", he whispered. Her lips twitched and he perceived that as a smile. The one on his face grew to touch his ears.
"Pretty little thief", he said and there was a knock on the window to indicate that his time was up. He indicated with his head that he will be out soon. He placed the princess down and took a picture.
