ONYIYE THAT GIRL
CHAPTER 23
STHEMBISO JIYANE
Proposal...he is looking at all these men not too sure what to expect. His palms are sweating in fear. His face has turned red in outmost fear. He is guaranteed that he did his outmost.
The are all reading through the files not saying any words - which is very much annoying. Time waits for no man!
"Why security out of all the business you can start up? You do know that we have alot of security services in this country and you decided to add another to the population. Are you up for competition? Which is very much ridiculous."
He chucks not understanding the statement. "You know what?" He stands up annoyed. Straightens his pants pulling them down…. "I will pitch my proposal elsewhere. Your question is very much sarcastic. If you think I'm going to sit here and answers nonsense then thanks but no thanks." He closes his file and attempts to leave.
"I'm board - I like him. His attitude – keep that attitude and it will take you far. Don’t beg my boy." One of the investors say smiling.
"Count me out, I'm not up for this nonsense." He pulls out of the meeting and steps out of the board meeting.
"Don't mind him. He has it bad these days, salt is killing him." The two other investors laugh. “You know how grow men are.”
"I'm giving you chance since you security offers all sort of service."
Sthembiso sits down with his eyebrows furrowed.
"Welcome to the game. I'm counting on you and your services. Don't let us down." These two grandpa's just made his day.
There's nothing more than he wants just to be home with his woman and tell her the good news. He passed by the flower shops and picked the most beautiful flowers of them kind.
He knows that she love sweet things but woman always cries toothache at night and he has to stay up all night shushing her .
A call comes through his phone….
"Talk to me."
"The site is ready just waiting for your signature. Your woman will love this."
Khoza is happy that they finally found each other. Afraid as he was he thought that maybe he will misuse the money but boy has it all good. Thinking of the future of his kids.
"Thank you mfana kithi. You have no idea how much this means to me." He is all miless. He is standing by the till waiting for the woman to shout "next" as they usually do.
"Buti if you lost can you let people pass." The till girl…. Sthembiso removes his phone from his ear,
"Are you talking to me like that? I'm still busy on the phone you will wait for me, stupid girl." He clicks his tounge and continues to stand in the queue talking to the phone.
A man pushes him aside harshly making him hit the trolley on the side of his shoulder. The flowers on his hands scatter on the ground - the goodies in the basket are rolling all over the store. He shoves his phone in the packet…
"Dog!" Sthembiso shouts attracting eyes.
The man stops and turns to face him.
"What did you say?" His tall self is standing right infront of him. Sthembiso swallows in fear and faces him like a man.
"I said dog," he pokes him on his chest multiple times.
Commotion!
The man pushes him again making him to stumble backwards - Sthembiso is beyond angry. He marches his skinny legs through those black pants.
He attempts to punch but his punch was blocked. Unexpectedly the man punches him on the stomach, he groans painfully with saliva dripping out of his mouth. He kneels down trying to catch his breath….
He is breathing fire, the man is walking towards the exit. Sthembiso finally finds the courage to stand up - he will not be shamed by another man!
He follows the man and pushes him forcefully. He grabs the basket and smashes it on his head….
"I'm Sthembiso kayi One. I'm not weed - never will!" He kicks the man that has fallen on the ground. He clicks his tounge and goes back to the store.
One will ruin his moment of celebrating his success with his baby mama!
"I know that I'm lookable bit please don't look at me." He tells the till girl.
She scans the things he bought without saying a word.
Driving back home with an aching stomach. That asshole really knows how to throw a mean punch. He is still parked outside listening to the pains. He cannot even celebrate his victory!
"Maybe you should go lay down a bit." Onyiye suggests. She wants to laugh so bad.
"Maybe,"
"Come," she helps him step out of the car still holding her laugh. "Couch or bedroom?" She asks looking up at him.
"Bedroom will do."
She nods her head and helps him to their bedroom. He carefully sits down and sighs….
"I will bring you painkillers and fix you something to eat." She walks out leaving him groaning in pain.
It's just a quick snack that he will be able to digest. Two slices of bread with a slice of cheese and polony, his favourite…
"I can't feed myself - every part of my body hurts. I feel like I've being knocked down by a truck."
"What exactly happened? Your don't want to tell me."
"Let's drop this. I will find that man and I will deal with him until his ancestors come to the rescue." He hisses out of anger.
"If you have a funeral cover than I'm good."
"What does that suppose to mean?" Like - he is literally confused. Isn't she meant to support him through thick and thin?
"If you die I will mourn you and move on. Forget about you, find another man get married and raise our kids. You will not have the privilege of being called a father."
He frowns looking at the devil testing him. "I should look for coffins, starting from now onwards."
"Haibo! How can you organise my death while I'm still alive?"
"Because you will die anytime soon. You are practically organising your own death an I will help you to organise it further." She shrug her shoulders.
He looks at her in defeat.
"Entlek, awungincanwa wena?"
"Believe me I love you with everything in me. I wouldn't have waited for you for so long to be back in my life. The decisions you make sometimes are reckless Sthembiso. It's not what you want and what you will do. Whatever silly action you are trying to take, please make sure that the kids do not suffer because they do I will…."
"Okay, no need to kill me I get your point." He sighs. "I'm sorry I'm just angry that's all. My day started off in a not so good mood and ended in not so good mood." He explains.
"Askies, so how did the pitch go." She gets in bed and snuggles herself next to him.
"Not so hard baby. Be light with me I'm in pain." He reminds her.
"Be light with you? Mxm, so…..?"
"I got the deal signed everything and now I will have to put posters online for it. Design the logo – yoh thixo. Just take that brown envelope everything is there."
Onyiye grabs the brown envelope that is on top of the pedestal and reads through the papers that were inside. A smile grows on her face.
"Wow, so much money!"
The zeroes are confusing her.
"That's all you care about, the money?" He chucks holding his aching stomach.
"You have no idea. I grew up with nothing so this…."
Her eyes glister with tears.
Sthembiso smiles brushing her face admiring he inner and outer beauty. "I did what I did for us."
"Thank you." She leans over for a kiss placing her tiny hand on his stomach. He groans….
"Sorry." She giggles covering her face. He smiles pulling her to sleep on his chest.
"You the best in the history." He brushes her afro. He has never seen a woman who prefers their own natural hair.
"Not in the future?"
"No history mamazi."
"Mxm no wonder you are going to die young."
They both laugh.
She's fast asleep and he just enjoys watching her in her sleep. She's smiling and talking. This one always talks in her sleep, she talks of the events that happened that very same day. He pulls his phone from underneath the pillow and decides to take a short video of her. This woman!
He slowly gets of the bed - he needs to make an important phone call.
“Lindiwe are we still on?”
He asks sitting on top of the couch.
“What time tomorrow?”
“Lets make it around 12. We will meet in that restaurant we last met.” He disconnects the call smiling.
ONYIYE'S HOME
Sisipho has been trying Lungisani's phone since yesterday without luck. She didn't want to believe that the man she loved with her all got married while declared his love for her.
It's pasted in every social media - every post she comes across. Since he is not taking her calls she will leave a message on his Facebook comment section on the recent picture he uploaded.
"Yazi somehow I feel so stupid that I once loved you with my all. Just last month you were with me declaring your love for me. Sweating and mourning on top of me. Telling me all sorts of promises. The heaven and earth you promised me. You made me believe that you are the one for me Kanti you knew very well that you were never mine to begin with. You made me fall for you so deeply that I forgot to love myself in the process…" She stops typing and burst into tears painfully. She wipes her tears off and continues to type. "It's fine I will let you go. Just so you know you left your seed in me. Yes Lungisani I am pregnant and the baby is yours. If you like you can you can be part of your babies life."
She posts and reads through the comments. Most laughing saying she's seeking for attention from a married man.
A response from Lungisani - an unpleasant one.
"First of all it’s not mourning it’s moaning. It was a mistake I will forever regret. I don't understand how I dated a woman who doesn't know how to differentiate filth and cleanliness, moan and mourning. You had an awful smell down there - have you ever wondered why I never muffed you?
I'm even sure that - that baby is not even mine. Please, stop spreading rumours that the baby is mine. Talk about someone who hates her own blood sister. Mxm."
She holds her chest painfully and sobs letting her phone slip through her fingers.
She's not believing her eyes. So he had to say all those mean, hurtful things when he enjoyed her just weeks ago.
She trusted him that he will never mention Onyiye to anyone. Now the whole world knows her as a cruel sister where as people don't know the reason behind hating her.
She gets a call from the hospital telling her that her mother cannot no longer be in the hospital which was very much surprising.
"What do you mean?" She sits up straight and listens attentively.
"I'm sorry but the beds are full and your mother's situation is beyond our control. The last is tomorrow, please make sure that you come fetch her."
"I have to be at work. No one is at home. I can't fetch her tomorrow."
"Unfortunately, there is nothing that I can be able to do on my end. I'm also following the doctors order."
The receptionist says.
"Okay, I'll see if hat I can do."
She drops the line and sighs sadly. This is where Onyiye comes in. She must come back wherever she is to take care of their mother. She cannot put her life on hold.
__________
"Hello mah unjani?"
She's smiling through her puffy eyes.
"Yebo," Lindiwe's mother frowns.
"I'm here to ask for a favour."
"Yes, what is it?"
She clears her throat that is suddenly feeling dry.
"Can you kindly provide me with Onyiye's number. I've been trying to get hold of her but her number is not going through."
"What do you want from her?"
"The thing is my mother is sick and she needs someone to take care of her. Since Onyiye is not working she will have to come back home and take care of our mother."
"So now that she is sick all of a sudden Onyiye is her child too? Interesting."
"It's not like that…."
"Don't, just save it. I've never seen her ever since your mother kicked her out of the house. You should go look for here where your mother dumped her."
A door being shut on her face.
"Wow!" She's not believing.
Where to from here? She also doesn't know. She spots Clive from a distance and decides to wait for him. Looks like he is taking his own sweet time and time is not on her side - she needs to find that girl before noon.
"I've been waiting for you." Finally, Clive catches up with her.
"Is it? Why?"
"I need your help. I want you to give me Onyiye's number. I know she's your best friend and you call each other from time to time." She's holding her breath.
"I haven't spoken to Onyiye in months. I lost my phone and that is when I lost her contact."
She sighs feeling discouraged. Clive was her only last hope! She tried calling Auntie Sandi but she got no assistance. Looks like she vanished within the blink of an eye from the surface of the earth.
"Why are you looking for her anyway?" He asks.
"It's nothing important." She leaves him standing and goes back home. First it was Lungisani with his drama and now this! She's just adding more trouble to the already trouble that she has.
AT THE STATION
Zulu is searching through Sbahle's files looking for every information that he could find. Nothing informative!
He clicks his tounge annoyed, maybe ambushing his house will do.
The last time they made themselves look like fools. He puts his hand in his pocket, fishes for a paper that he was provided earlier on and mistakenly a USB drops out of his pocket. Without him noticing he walks out of Sbahle's work station and goes outside for a smoke. He bumps into Sbahle at the door….
"I'm coming for that boyfriend of yours. I'm this close." He smirks as he walks past her but Sbahle kept her mouth shut. She will not pay attention to him - he has been seeking it for quite some time now and honestly his song is starting to be a bore now. She mistakenly stomps on something…she picks it up and looks at it.
"A USB?" She asks herself. Maybe someone dropped it. But what if….
She will just keep this to herself. Whoever lost any USB will come forward. She shoves it in her pocket and begins to work.
STHEMBISO JIYANE
"Don't you think you in a bit of a rush, perhaps? She's still young and she's still yet to see the world. Maybe she's yet to find her Mr right and Wena you want to trap her in marriage?" Khoza is not hearing this one, one bit at all As much as he is happy for him he is just afraid that he is making drastic decisions.
"I'm sure Khoza. You know I never had this kind of relationship with my own brother. So, hearing your point of view is the best for me. So what do you suggest I do?"
He asks biting his pen. It's midnight and they are chilling like it's midday.
"Wait for her to graduate first then take a decision after you've seen her that she can handle a house hold. By then she will be like 24-25 if I'm not mistaken. Wena nje just make sure you get to know her from the back of her head."
"That's a bit extreme don't you think? Knowing someone at the back of their head."
"You understand what I meant and you will know. Let's go back to the site. A site is fine giving it to her as a birthday present. In five years to come money will be rolling in because what I do know is she will make good use of it and plus she has a mind of an adult."
"Seeing her locked up all day where as I know that she loves farming more than anything haunts me. You know today she told me she wants to go help mum with their harvest because it's too big."
"Let her go and have fun with the soil. Maybe she missing the kids - she doesn't want to stress you."
Sthembiso sighs sadly. Maybe telling her to spend the weekend with his mother will bring her mood back. She's been sulky lately.
Khoza looks at his ringing phone and smiles picking it up.
"Babe, okay, I'm with Sthembiso. We are coming." He drops the phone and looks at Sthembiso who was looking back at him.
"Let's go." Without asking any questions they stand up and walk towards the door. Sthembiso locks behind.
Khoza drives to a secret location and finds Sbahle already standing waiting for him.
"You should look at this I don't have time." She kisses him and runs back to her car and drives off in full speed. Khoza does the same and drives off to his house near by.
BACK AT THE HOUSE
Onyiye slowly opens her eyes in shock of unfamiliar voices. Her heart pounds in fear as she slowly gets of the bed.
Windows breaking…
She grabs her phone and tries calling Sthembiso but his phone rings from the inside. She curses not knowing what to do. She dials Sbahle but it just takes her straight to voicemail. She looks around searching for a place to hide.
She looks at the window, if she opens it and jumps out of it will they catch her?
Her mind tells her to grab a gown and her slippers.
She throws it out of the window….
The voices are getting closer making her freeze and shake in fear.
Her phone slips from her hands and drop making a sound on the tiles.
"Check all bedrooms, I heard something." One of the men say.
She tries picking it up but it slips underneath the bed further. The bedroom opposite hers opens, the kids bedroom!
She's biting her nails in horror…
She's thinking hard scratching her head. The door handle of the door drops down and the door slowly opens. She's ready for whatever she will be facing. She's been in way worse situations than this!