SIMPHIWE SHANDU THE HUSBAND
CHAPTER 3
SIMPHIWE
I haven't slept a wink and it hurts. I should be the one protecting her but I pushed her to the edge and opened a wound that I did not mean to peal on. I sigh standing up. My whole body is numb and hurting. The fear of finding her dead somewhere…I feel my body shiver in cold.
Sharing a bed is almost the kiss of death, to us, for us. No matter how mad we are at each other it has never come to this extent. That means my words hurt her more than they should. It was just a slip of tongue which I regret at the moment.
I try her numbers again and still it takes me straight to voicemail. I sit on the couch and a call comes through thinking that maybe it's her requesting for me to come pick her up but it's this useless Bagqibile.
“What!” I snap. I'm angry at myself and everything. I am the last person who she expected this from.
“I am craving for…”
“Please, it so early in the morning. Try your sister or something. My wife is missing and it is all because you exaggerated what happened yesterday. I was so stupid to believe that my wife would hurt you intentionally.” I hiss.
“But she did hurt not only me but our child, your baby as well.”
“Which she did not do on purpose. She does not even know you for crying out loud. You are just a hidden carpet remember!”
“Wow,’
Good thing she dropped the line. I cannot deal with her stupid mood swings at the moment – honestly, she is beginning to annoy me. It's the baby that has me become so attached to her sending wrong signals.
“Still no luck?” One of the police men asks standing beside the door. They searched the whole entire neighborhood with no luck. I had no other option but to call for the cops to intervene. My mother will be coming later on. I am even afraid to call her father. What will I say to him?
“Are you sure there was no fight quarreled between you two before she disappeared.” Even if we did it is none of their business. I am worried sick; she does not know anyone - she is always indoors.
Before I could even answer the door fully opens and there, she is looking all fresh. I was up all night and she was out and about God knows doing what!
She frowns looking at us and takes off her shoes off going upstairs without even greeting.
“Is that her?”
I nod my head praying that they do not get to ask any further questions.
Thankfully they leave without being persistent in asking questions. I lock the doors downstairs and rush upstairs…
The shower is running. The clothes she was wearing were on the bed and the weirdest thing in me does the unthinkable. I pull them and begin sniffing. I know how dry semen smells. They just have that foul smell I cannot explain. Surprisingly it's clean, just a man's smell scattered all over her clothes which means she was with a man all night. My wife has some explanation to do. I throw her clothes on the floor and march to the bathroom. I find her leaning against the bathroom wall with her eyes closed. I clear my throat – she opens her eyes and looks at me. Her eyes are bloody red shot.
“Mkami, where have you been?”
“Out.”
She closes her eyes again.
“The water is going to get cold.” I speak. I was here to investigate her and now I am here feeling like shit. Maybe I should find another way of approaching the matter.
“My mother…”
The doorbell rings. I am sure that that might be her. I step out of the bathroom to open the door. To my surprise I found Masindi standing outside with a baby in her hands wrapped in a pink blanket.
“Masindi, what are you doing here?”
Masindi and I have had a few sexual encounters in the hospital. We broke things off after my wife caught me. But it did not stop there, we continued numerous times until she was involved in a serious relationship. I look back at the stairs praying that I she doesn’t come down…
“Simphiwe, I am not here to cause havoc in your life. But I am here to speak to your wife woman to woman. I know she will understand better. “
“Understand what better?”
What is this girl on about. She doesn’t even know my wife in person.
She pushes me aside an walks in with a woman I presume it is her mother. They both sit down and I am still off-course. Sighs, closing the door…the footsteps acceding down the stairs have my heart pumping in between my rib cages.
She stands there and looks at everyone squandered.
“Babe,” I fake a smile and she looks even more charlatan. I have never seen this smile before that is fakery wide on her face.
“Mrs Shandu,” greets the devil, she stands up and offers a handshake. With my confused wife she gives in. “Can you please sit down so we can talk.” she says and sits. Nozimanga sits opposite them. The woman Masindi came with is awfully quite observing everything. I sat next to her, making sure to put my hand around her neck.
“I am so sorry for disrespecting you in your home.” She takes a deep breath with the baby still held against her chest.
“I rueful everything that happened. Even after you caught us, we still continued behind your back until I fell pregnant. I did not tell Simphiwe because I thought it was the right thing to do.”
I swear God does not want to see me happy. I swear that he enjoys blowing things right back at my face. I slowly supplanted my arm that was around her shoulders. Her face is tranquil and it scares me a lot. How do you explain a motionless face. I did suspect that the baby was mine but she never told me anything so I just assumed it was not mine.
“Then why are you here?”
she asks with her arms crossed against her breast's chest area. I have never been so afraid of my wife the way I am today. I feel like shitting on my pants right this minute!
I shit uncomfortably running out of words to utter. If I were to defend myself, what would I say? Where will I even begin.
Masindi takes a deep breath before letting out a long sigh. “I am leaving to the states, I found a better opportunity there. I do not want my child to grow up in a foreign world without her family close to her. So, I decided that it is best if she gets to come and live with her own family.” She drops her head realizing what she has just spewed is complete nonsense.
“Babe, I can explain…”
She slowly turns her head to look at me and her eyes have no emotions, her face is blank as a white drawing paper.
“Explain what Simphiwe? How much of an incompetent woman I am. A failure that is unable to give her husband children. Explain what to me Simphiwe. I have long told you that if you no longer need me let me go and let me find happiness where I will be loved and appreciated. Let me free.”
I gasped at her outburst. That is not true at all and she knows it.
“No babe. You are not a failure…” she raises her hand indicating for me to shut up. I do as told and the room is silent.
The door opens and I just know that it is my mother. I have spoken to her countless times that she needs to knock before entering.
“Did someone die? Why are you all quiet?” she asks, placing her ukhonzekaya on top of the glass table. She throws herself on the couch and takes a deep breath.
“Makoti, is this how I taught you? To starve your visitors?”
Without saying a word, she stands and goes to the kitchen - I assume to make tea for the so-called visitors.
The news of me being a father hit home to my mother. The baby has been on her lap ever since Masindi and her mother left. I haven't said a word. And my mother finds my infertility in handy.
“If your father was here, he would have been proud of you.” she says. She condones cheating.
“So, you wouldn’t have minded if your husband brought another child out of wedlock?” I ask. Is this woman really my mother? How can she be so happy turning my house hold upside down?
“He wouldn’t have. My womb is very much blessed. Unlike for some people who are failing to hold their household. Why don’t you marry this woman since she has already given you a child?”
I chock my own saliva. I have no time to entertain her. My main worry is my wife. I stand up leaving my mother ranting utter rubbish. I found her in the kitchen cooking dinner. How will things unfold if she gets to learn about Bagqibile. The very same woman that…
“You can help by chopping the vegetables.”
She threw the knife in my direction, almost chopping my hand. I catch the knife before it gets to do any damage. But unfortunately, it cut my hand.
I looked at her and held my breath in. Did she do this on purpose? I am bleeding. She doesn’t flinch. She takes the dishwasher and wraps it around my hand. No words being exchanged. I look at her and find her looking at me.
“I'm sorry babe.” I repeat.
“Are there anymore secrets that I should know of?” she gives me her back and continues to chop on the chopping board. I do not know this cold wife of mine.
“No.”
My response is too quick. I don’t know what she has in that beautiful head of hers.
“Good.”
I look at my hand and I just pray that my mother dies not get to see it. Hell will break loose.
BAGQIBILE
‘You are just a hidden carpet remember.’ I am trying to process what I have been told earlier on in the day. I am still finding it hard to believe that Simphiwe just told me that without remorse. But I think he is just under a lot of stress – he will come around.
“So, you are trying to tell me that the wife bumped into you on purpose?” I even forgot the topic we are on.
I believe so. I think she knows me and she is just playing dumb.
“She did. I mean how do you explain her being there on the very same isle as me? She knew I was and I was there for shopping. I cannot be a coincident.” I snap.
“How did she know?’
I hate it when I have to explain myself to my sister all the time. I know I may sound bizarre but I know what I saw.
“The hate in her eyes was very much visible.”
She chucks and stands up leaving me seated.
“The problem is you here, you just cannot accept the fact that man you claim to be your baby daddy does not love you. You are so stuck up in this world of yours thinking that he is the man for you. He will not just drop his high school sweet heart for a woman he just met moths back. Open your eyes before it is too late. Do not say I did not warn you.” she walks out. I know that Simphiwe loves me. He is just afraid to leave that woman because they have been stuck together for a very long time. No man just drops everything to be with a side chick. That means I clearly mean something to him.
I tried calling him this morning and his phone is taking me straight to voicemail. Let me try again, maybe he was just busy earlier on.
“Avbob hello.”
A womans voice greeted me. I frown removing the phone off my ear thinking that maybe I dialed the wrong the number but it is his number.
“Avbob hello.”
She repeats. My spirit goes down. I drop the line with my mouth tongue-tied. Could this be? No, it is highly impossible. Maybe it is his sister that is playing tricks on his phone. It cannot be his wife. This morning he told me that she went missing because of the fight they had about me. A small smile creeps on my face. See what I mean? I am very important in his life.
A call comes through.
I compose myself before picking it up. Looking at his name displayed across the screen ‘babe’ makes my heart melt.
“Babe,” as usual respond.
“Do not call me. I am with my family.”
“Family?” I am confused. He always tells me whenever he is travelling home.
“Family meaning my wife and daughter.”
“What?” I am still confused. What daughter is he talking about because as far as I am concerned this is his first child. First legacy.
“I have other commitments Bagqibile. Just because you are carrying my second born does not mean I should drop my family whenever you need me.” The line goes dead. Did he really say my child is his second born?
“What is that look on your face?”
“Simphiwe just told me that my daughter is his second born.”
“So, what is shocking about that?”
“You do not understand. He told me that my child is his first born and now he just told me that he has another child.”
“Clearly this child is also another busted child out of wedlock.” She shakes her head and laughs a bit. “And you are here believing that – that man loves you. No sane man will ever leave his wife for a side chick. I repeat”
It's pointless having this conversation with my sister because she finds this very amusing when it is not. What is wrong of falling in love with a married man? A man that will make you a second wife. I do not see a problem at all. I always envisioned myself being a stay home mum looking after our kids while he is at work. This means he will be spending too much time with me since his wife cannot bear his kids. But he still needs to explain that part of my daughter being a second born. I am still stuck on the Avbob phrase. He still has some explanation to do!
SIMPHIWE
Apologizing to my wife will be the first step. I know I have been a failure as a husband but I want to make it up to her. Pouring my heart out will be the first.
“I am sorry for my actions, and I can only hope that you will one day forgive me. I cheated on you, and that is unforgivable. But for the sake of our children in the future, I hope we can find a way to resolve this so that we can keep our family together. You are my first love and the most important person in my life. I know my apology can't undo what has been done or ease the pain in your heart. You have been the perfect partner that I could ever have. You have done a lot of things for me and you have always been supportive to me but I…”
“Who is avbob?”
I know where this is going. I will tell her that it is one of the pregnant floozies.
“It's one of the chicks I have been hanging out with.”
“Is she also pregnant?” she asks with a hint of pain in her voice. I can't bring myself into answering and breaking her heart even more.
“No babe. You do not have to worry about yourself.”
“Will I ever get pregnant?”
The topic that I always get to avoid all the time.
“Since the doctors have confirmed that you are one hundred percent healthy. I believe that the right time for us to have our very own will be granted once God has approved.”