CHAPTER 9
[KULANI]
‘My goodness!’ he exclaims when he walks into the bedroom. I did a full face of make-up today. I felt I needed to cheer myself up and I haven’t done this in a while.
‘You like? I tried a cut crease and it turned out perfect’
‘I’m not even gonna ask what that is. Stand there’ he says and takes out his phone. Pictures. He changes positions on the floor, capturing me as I stand against the curtain. I am tired of changing poses like a Levis model. I feel like exactly that because I am in a t-shirt and jeans, barefoot. I needed to feel like myself again even though I’d never step out of this room dressed in this manner. I need to go get my toes done.
‘I have come across a plethora of words to describe beauty but I don’t think wordsmiths have seen something like this before’ he says before approaching my face for a kiss. I laugh and kiss him back. I can see by his facial expression that he’s irritated with the texture of matte lipstick.
‘What’s wrong?’ I laugh.
‘Mm-mh. Nex. Are we still going out for ice cream or do you have other plans in mind?’
‘We are. We’re actually going to get my nails done’
‘And how long is that going to take?’
‘A minimum of three hours’
This is inclusive of the thirty minutes it will take us to drive there. Michael is slow but he’s the only one that lays gel exactly how I love it.
‘What? Can’t I drop you and fetch you later?’
‘No I want you to keep me company. I haven’t seen you all day’
I am being honest. I have missed seeing his face and feeling his presence. I am slowly getting addicted to this man. He’s not happy with this but he has no choice.
‘Marha baby. What will I be doing there with such ample time?’
‘Keeping me company ah…’
‘Watching you filing and applying Qtex to your nails for three hours? That’s an exam’
I laugh.
‘You’re really old. When last did I hear this that word?’
‘What? Qtex?’ he chuckles.
‘And you’re wrong. I’m going to do gel’
‘Ey whether it’s gel, concrete or tar, I can’t just sit and do nothing baby. That’s one problem I have’
My convincing skills need a bit of polishing here.
‘You’ll go window shopping at Lowveld Mall when you get tired? It’s nearby’
‘Please take me serious. I only go into the store when there’s something I need and after I get it, I leave’
‘Come on. Take it like… quality time. We’ll be bonding’
‘If you were saying let’s go chill by the grass and set up a picnic situation for ten hours, trust me, I wouldn’t mind. I am not sitting and watching you do your nails my love, I’m sorry’ he kisses my forehead and checks his phone. I’m gonna go drop you off and I’ll come fetch you when you’re done, okay?’
I keep quiet, trying to emotionally blackmail him. He shakes his head when I stare at him.
‘The answer is still no’
I give up and change into tight-fit dress, a kimono, and sandals. I offer to drive and he laughs.
‘I don’t wanna die young. What if you lose it while behind the wheel?’
Every chance he gets, he teases me about this. He throws himself in the car and I stand outside, holding my waist. He continues laughing and opens the passenger door to the double cab bakkie from the inside.
‘I’m sorry. I swear, this is the last time I’m mentioning it’
I thin my eyes at him.
‘Why are we taking this car?’ I ask as he drives out.
‘You don’t sound happy’
‘It doesn’t have a sunroof. I want to take pictures and there’s no proper lighting in here. This face can’t go to waste’
‘You have too many demands today. Are you on your period?’ he asks. He continues driving out.
‘I’m not. I just want proper lighting’
‘I’ll take you proper photos when we get there but I am not changing cars for pictures’ he kisses my hand after saying this. I am defeated.
‘I hope my kids don’t take after you’ I jest. He laughs and kisses my hand again.
‘You need to get your eyes checked’
‘I don’t mean looks. I mean stubbornness’
‘So, looks are fine?’
‘Mm… you’re not half bad. We can work with that’
He scoffs. ‘The nerve of this woman’
‘But there’s nothing special though. You’re a typical Tsonga guy; tall, flawless darkskin, beautiful teeth, big eyes. See, not half bad’ I continue to tease.
‘I am beginning to wonder. How many “tsonga guys” have you mingled with Kulani? Four? Seven?’
‘Objection. Speculation, Your worship’
He laughs out loud and I enjoy this sight. ‘You’re something else’
…
When Fanisa gets to Magezi’s hut, she looks around dubiously before leaving her shoes at the door. She finds him grinding granules in a small pestle and mortar – seated with his knees raised.
‘What can I do you for today? You look like someone is chasing you’ he asks, still powdering the ingredients. Fanisa anxiously swallows before she speaks.
‘That little girl I told you about? She is stirring things up. She has to kick the bucket as in yesterday’
Magezi laughs, seemingly unbothered. ‘The wife?’
Fanisa nods. ‘We have to get rid of her’
‘We?’
‘Yes, otherwise secrets are going to spill and we’ll be in trouble’
‘I am getting into no trouble. You came here like everybody else, made a request and I made it come true. Do not annoy me’ he speaks in calm spirit.
‘Do you understand what will happen to me if the family finds out?’
‘I am responsible for none of that. You speak as though I’m solely responsible for the disasters you create whereas you have enough knowledge to pull this off by yourself. If you want her gone, kill her. It is that simple’
‘It’s actually not. She’s not that simple to deal with. She’s heavy’
‘Start slow. You don’t even need to kill her right away. You can just blind her from seeing what you think she sees’
‘Magezi, this is not your simple ‘I dreamt of you doing unholy things at odd hours’ kind of case. She’s digging up things, literally!’
He pulls the old newspaper next to him and empties the mortar onto it, then wraps it up.
‘I don’t know what you want me to say, truly’
‘Okay. You will have something to say the day your name comes up’
‘I would kill her within a second. Tell her I said so’
‘If she finds out about Cheyeza, it is over!’
‘Your problem is that you’re quick to panic. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I’ll see what I can do’
Fanisa grinds her teeth due to frustration and gets up. She bumps into Xongi by the door. They both frown upon this concurrency.
‘Fanisa, what are you doing here?’
‘Am I not allowed to get sick these days? What are YOU doing here?’
‘Same reason why you are here’
Fanisa picks up her shoes and they both look back at one another, suspicious of each other’s intentions. Xongi walks in and greets. Magezi laughs.
‘Hhawu, did I say something funny?’
‘No. Sit down. I am laughing at my own issues. How can I help you?’
She clears her throat and pulls out a stack of cash from the inner pocket of her handbag.
‘What did I say about bringing dodgy money in here?’
‘Sorry’ – she puts it back into the bag – ‘I’ll drop it at the house on my way out’
‘Ndzik’ pfuna hi yini namuntlha?’ (What can I do for you today?) he repeats.
‘Do you remember the time you told me that I was carrying two boys?’
‘I’m incapable of memory loss’
‘Well, the other one is back and I need you to make sure that he sits on that throne’
‘And Kurhula?’
‘I have thought about it long and hard. He will just have to get over it. He’s too much of a hot head to rule’
‘What if I told you that neither of them is meant to be king?’ he asks, with a smirk on his face.
A sharp frown pulls Xongi’s features.
‘What?’
‘Or both of them are meant to be king?’
‘You have lost me’
‘The decision you took thirty years ago is now dividing the family, the council and the ancestors’ he states with a tinge of judgment.
‘You are the one who encouraged—’
‘No. I did no such thing. I gave you the information I felt you needed to know. What you did from there is none of my concern’
‘What was I supposed to do??’
‘Do like all the other mothers who gave birth to the forbidden and left this place’
Xongi chooses silence.
‘How is it possible that both or neither is meant to be king? Or whatever it is you’ve just said?’ frustration engulfs her whole.
‘Who was born first? What’s the other twin’s name?’ Magezi asks, rhetorically.
Xongi scratches her neck.
‘Fikani. To be quite honest? I have no idea. In between me wanting to hold them and the anxiety of having to separate them, I—’ she runs out of words, remembering Masingita’s judgmental question. ‘Why did you lie?’
‘He was the first one out’
‘But Singi is convinced otherwise?’
‘Take her word for it then’ he gives up on the conversation.
‘You still haven’t told me what you meant?’
‘Fikani was born first. Edward doesn’t approve of him. He’s adamant that he only has one son who is the rightful heir’
Xongi sneers in disgust.
‘He is still ruining things even from the grave?’
‘You owe him an apology. I have told you this before’
‘Is that the only thing it will take for him to acknowledge Fikani?’
‘No. He’s not the only one that needs to be appeased. You have angered your father as well by naming the child after him and then getting rid of him like used toilet paper. He felt disrespected by that’
‘What? Why is it so difficult for them to understand that I had no choice?’
‘They are known to be unreasonable. I guess that’s why’
Xongi breathes out fire.
‘What am I supposed to do?’
‘Get the appropriate goat. It needs to be accompanied by beer made by your own hand’
‘You want me to announce to everyone that I killed my husband? I will do no such thing’
‘It will get messy then. Even a corpse might come out of this’
‘Why is Edward doing this to me?’
‘You need to understand that death doesn’t change people’
She sits back, with her hands flat on the ground behind her.
…
When Fikani walks into Grill n’ Dine, he finds Boitumelo and her two friends seated by the corner, having shots, champagne and hubby. He walks over to them and sits next to her since she was seated by the far end.
‘Ladies…’ he greets. Cynthia and Namhla greet back with wide smiles. Tumi releases the hubbly smoke onto her husband’s face and he just looks at her.
‘I thought I had told you that we needed to talk after work. What is this?’
She chuckles and wraps her hand around him. He shakes his head because he knows that laughter. It mean one thing and one thing only; she’s wasted.
‘If it isn’t the man that travels long distances for pxssy’
He stops himself from replying and bites his lip.
‘Let’s go home. I don’t want to drag you out of here’ he tries to be discrete in his conversation with her. She stands up with her stemmed glass. He tries to pull her down and stops when she yells, bringing all the attention on them.
‘Excuse me. Attention everyone!’
‘Boity!’ Cynthia chides. Namhla laughs into her glass, looking away.
‘This man’ – she points at him as he seats – ‘This man thinks I’m not woman enough because I can’t give him a baby. Would you imagine that? A whole me?
He grabs one shot from the table, downs it and stands up.
‘I hope that bxtch you’ve been fvcking—’
He puts her over his shoulder and places his hand on the back of her thighs to avoid any live explicit scenes, knowing the beef between her and underwear. The people continue looking at them like they just fell from the sky.
‘Obe sharp meiskat!’ Cynthia yells as Tumi is being carried out.
‘Did you have to? We have enough eyes on us already’ Namhla admonishes and fakes a smile to the rest of the people. ‘Please forgive that little incident. Do enjoy your food and drinks’ she says and waits for the unwanted attention to evaporate. Fikani gets to the car and puts his wife at the back. She continues laughing and he shuts the door. He races angrily to their house – adamant on keeping quiet as Boity asks him senseless questions.
‘Oh you no longer love me?’ she asks when she gets no answer to any of them. He continues keeping silent. He carries her out of the car when they arrive, the same way, like a bag of potatoes. He ignores when she continuously kisses his back. He puts her on the bed and helps her out of her shoes.
‘You look mad. Are you mad at me?’
‘Sleep. We will talk in the morning’
She pulls him back by the wrist when he attempts to walk away.
‘Let’s talk. You said you wanted to talk…’
‘Talk? What the hell was that Boitumelo?’
She gets off the bed.
‘I don’t like it when you call me by my name. My government name is baby in this house’ she gets on her knees and seductively touches his crotch. He removes her hands and he tries to get her to stand up. She pulls the zip down and he just looks at her. His flaccid dick goes into her mouth and she licks on it – starring at him with the eyes he can barely say no to.
‘Punish me. I can see that you’re mad. Punish me…’
‘I will talk to you tomorrow morning. You need to get some sleep’
‘Take me. You said there’s no excitement anymore. Fvck me, Fikani. Fvck me harder than you did her. I am your wife. I deserve to have this when I want it’
‘You’re drunk’ he says, watching himself getting erect. She laughs.
‘And hxrny’ she pouts and sulks, still playing with him. He throws his head back and releases a long sigh.
‘Tell me I’m a good wife’
‘You have your moments. Please leave my dxck alone’ he ignores his desire to have her right there and then.
‘But I need you…’
‘What you need is some sleep so you can quickly wake up with the hangover you deserve’
‘You’re denying me my marital rights?’
‘I will see you in the morning when you’re sober. You won’t be able to handle it now’
She continues staring at him with her trusted puppy eyes. He pulls her up and meets her with a kiss that leaves her breathing heavily. He pulls her skirt and separates her legs with his hand. He rubs on her sensitive spot – gently and slowly stimulating her heightened nerves. She moans in his mouth and he breaks the kiss.
‘Is this what you want mama?’ he asks. She nods desperately.
‘You know what I want? I want you to sleep with a throbbing clxtoris’ he lifts his finger and it hovers over her love bean. His middle finger goes inside and it comes out moist with her juices. He smells it and inserts it into her mouth. She knew how much he enjoyed sniffing on her and her underwear on the days she decided to wear it.
‘Are you serious? Baby please…’ she pleads after tasting herself.
‘I’m dead serious. When I say be home by seven, I don’t mean half-past or two hours later. This is the first of two times we are ever going to have this conversation’
‘Two times?’ she tries to squeeze her legs together and keeps them separated. He knew that alcohol went straight to her lady parts. He sucks on her lips and breaks the kiss when she deepens it.
‘You and I gonna have a proper conversation tomorrow. Go to sleep. I have work to do’
His phone rings and the screen informs that it’s Kurhula.
‘Heh mfo?’ he answers and leaves her there, still thirsty for his touch.
…