[LARONA]
The food was too good. I really enjoyed my homemade lunch. I’m washing down my throat with a glass of white wine and watching The Mommy Club. I’ve been talking to Kago for over an hour and we’re still at it. My girl is a gone girl and I cannot even fetch her even I wanted to. She’s too far gone and very deep in it.
‘But guys in tech tend to be players and I’m always waiting for him to do some shady stuff’ she says and I laugh.
‘You’re silly kana wena. Stereotypes? Really, Kago? Come on?’
‘You know what they say about them. Let’s not act that we don’t know’ she’s also cackling at her silliness.
‘I am not listening to this. That man has shown you in so many ways that he genuinely wants you in his life. What you’re doing now is attempting to self-sabotage and I’m not going to allow you to. Couzzy you’ve been through a lot in terms of mjolo. Allow yourself to be loved just this once’
Another thing that annoys me heavily about Kago is that she doesn’t feel like she’s worthy of all the attention her man is showering her with. When it comes to the games of self-esteem, that girl is always scoring zero and she has no business being this insecure. She’s pretty, considerate, and very romantic. I don’t see what man wouldn’t want her unless he’s mad.
‘We’ve been talking about me for too long now. How are you?’
I pour myself another glass and sit back. How am I vele?
‘Kurhula kissed me’ I tell her and silence ensues for a little bit, then she screams.
‘Are you joking or are you serious right now?’
‘Why would I joke about something like this?’
She screams again. I can’t help but blush. I still don’t understand what happened in the middle of that kitchen floor.
‘No tell me the details. What do you mean Kurhula kissed you? It just happened? I thought you had decided that it’s strictly business just between you two?’
‘I had and he flipped the board. Now I don’t know what to call this. He keeps telling me about how I’m his and stuff like that’
She’s enjoying this tea and she’s not even trying to hide it. If it was according to Kago, Kurhula would be the king of my castle.
‘I smell a relationship here because I can tell you like him too’
‘Stop it. He comes with complications, you know this. You know the ups and downs of polygamy. It’s never fair’
‘There’s no man you’ll ever have that you won’t share. Let me tell you this for free. At least when he’s polygamous, you’ll know who else he’s sleeping with’
‘Well let me also tell you something else for free. You won’t be happy if someone likened you to women whose characters you don’t agree with so stop being so stereotypical. Not all men cheat and another thing you have to know is that even men in polygamous marriages cheat as well. There’s no formula for this thing’
‘I am glad you know that there’s no formula. Now why are you torturing yourself because I know good and well that this man is fully your type? Kurhula is hot, successful and—’
‘That man loves his wife. With me, it’s probably just curiosity and him wanting to slide it inside. All this is a recipe for heartbreak’
‘Wena don’t you want him to?’ she’s asking with an element of sneakiness in her voice.
‘To what?’
‘To uh uh uh’
‘Ombhora gore’ I laugh. He walks in and I immediately remove Kago from speaker phone.
‘I need to go. We’ll talk later’
He’s looking at me with a dodgy smile on his face.
‘You don’t have to end the call on my account. Was that your taxi driver boyfriend?’
I get up to go wash my dishes.
‘He’s not my boyfriend and no, it wasn’t him’
He doesn’t sound drunk but his eyes are red.
‘Are you okay?’ I ask. He’s standing behind me and I wonder what is on his mind.
‘I’m not feeling too good but I’ll be fine. Give me half an hour. Can I taste your food?’ why is saying that so… seductively?
Your plate is in the microwave. He fetches it and eats while standing.
‘Terrible manners’ I jest.
‘You’ll teach your kids how to behave. I’m already beyond repair’ he responds and has me laughing defeatedly. He’s visibly enjoying the food.
I cannot help but shake off the feeling that something is wrong with him. He looks and sounds a bit off.
‘Are you sure you’ll be fine?’
He doesn’t answer. Instead, he walks to the bathroom and I hear him throw up a minute later. Should I take some water to him? This is getting scary. My phone rings and I realise that Kuli tried to call me about twenty minutes ago and I didn’t see it. My phone is reporting it as missed call. I answer her second call.
‘Lala, where’s your husband?’
She sounds too serious.
‘Uhm… he’s in the bathroom and it doesn’t look like he’s okay’
‘Where was he because I’ve been trying to call him and I couldn’t reach him?’
‘He said he was going out with his friends’
‘Yoh, I’m late. I think he was poisoned. I know, rather’
My heart begins spinning around. What does she mean he was poisoned? Is he dying?
‘By who?’
‘I only know the face of the person who did it, not his name’
‘Should I take him to the hospital?’
‘That would be you finishing him off. Do you have tea there?’
‘Yeah there’s complimentary teabags here. Uhm…’ I say while scrambling through the coffee station. ‘There’s FreshPak and Five roses here’
‘Okay. Boil some water, rip three Five Roses teabags and pour it in, then mix. Tell him to purge everything out using that’
I’m going to use this bowl because there’s nothing else here. It drops to the floor and Kuli tells me to relax. I’m even shaking.
‘Are you done?’ she asks after the kettle goes off.
‘Almost. What is he supposed to do with this again?’
‘Purging. He does it all the time. Just give it to him, along with a cup or something he can drink with. He’ll know what to do’
I take the warm bowl and go knock on the bathroom door.
‘Kurhula?’
‘Yeah?’ he sounds weak. He mustn’t do this to me.
‘I have a purging bowl for you here. Kuli’s instructions’
He opens the door and receives it.
‘Don’t look so worried. It’s probably food poisoning or some shxt’
I’m not even sure if I’m supposed to tell him what his wife has told me.
‘I’m gonna be fine’ he assures and closes the door. I wait for him to get done and hear him brushing his teeth a while later. He comes out bare-chested with his t-shirt in his hand. He climbs the couch and lays his head on my thighs.
‘Yohhh… yesses…’ he exclaims.
I put my hand on his head and he looks at me with a smile.
‘Admit that you love me Larona’
‘Where is that coming from now?’
‘Look at how panicked you look. You’re afraid to lose me, right? I’m not dying baby’
I laugh out loud. He’s such an idiot.
I let him lay there and he eventually falls asleep. He looks so peaceful like he’s not the menace that he is. We are leaving when he wakes up. I’ll drive. We were supposed to leave in the afternoon. Had we done that, none of this would’ve had a chance to occur.
…
[MABONTLE]
I have been waiting for this man for the whole day yesterday and he never came back. I think he knows. Something deep inside me is telling me that he knows the truth and now I can’t sit still. I am busy pacing up and down in the living room, hoping that he will walk in. I just concluded a meeting with some of the ladies that work for the Hosini NGO. Apparently, by virtue of me being queen, I am automatically offered the chairperson position. I can’t even get excited for all the great things I plan to do. We need a sanitary pad distribution initiative here because the stories they’ve told me about young girls missing school because of menstruation are horrifying. Okay, I need to sit down because I am starting to feel dizzy.
Kurhula walks in with a sports bag over his shoulder and a laptop in his other hand. I was really hoping it would be his brother.
‘Morning sesi’ he greets and puts his things down on the table. I greet him back.
‘What’s wrong?’ he asks.
‘When last did you speak to Fikani?’
‘Erhh… yesterday around 9PM. Why?’
‘No, no. Just asking’ I feign a smile.
‘Don’t lie to me. What’s going on?’
‘Do you… perhaps know where he is?’
His eyes are telling me that he had no clue that Fikani is not here.
‘He’s surely fine wherever he is. I think he said something about closing off a deal. I’m not sure. Don’t worry yourself about this’ he says while texting on his phone.
He’s trying to cover for him. I can just tell. I hold the backrest of the chair in front of me when I feel my condition getting worse.
‘Bontle? Are you okay?’ he asks and approaches. I feel like this whole room is spinning. Kurhula’s arms are supporting me because my knees are failing me.
‘Mabontle? Can you hear me?’
It spins and spins until everything turns black.
When I wake up, I met by the blinding lights and white walls. My throat and lips are dry. Someone is holding my hand. When I turn to look at them, I find Fikani by my bedside.
‘Hey baby…’ he softly greets. ‘You had me worried. What happened?’
Then I remember.
‘Where were you?’
‘Don’t worry about that. Focus on getting better’
‘Where’s my doctor?’
I ask and take a glance at the TV mounted to the ceiling. It’s just the news, nothing interesting.
‘He’s coming. We’re still waiting for your blood tests’
I try to sit up and he helps me. ‘Where’s everyone?’
‘Kuli, Kurhula and AK are outside’
‘Who did she leave Tlhari with? She shouldn’t be here’
‘She was worried sick about you’
I don’t know why that makes my heart dance a bit. For a moment, I thought I had lost her and that made it ache. I have never seen her that mad and this was our first fight. The silent treatment was getting to me. Even with our last conversation, I felt like we weren’t connecting like we used to. She was a bit distant. I need to apologize. I also need to tell my husband the truth.
‘Baby?’
‘Hm?’
‘There’s something I need to tell you’ I start.
He sits on the bed and continues holding my hand. I tell him the whole story of how I met Vincent. He was hands on with the bursary scheme he was heading on campus. We had interviews conducted and that was our first encounter. I did not make it on that list on merit. I had to make a plan otherwise I would have had to go back home and please my neighbours. There’s nothing I wanted more than to be able to take care of my mother and little sister. I wanted to be that person for them. I wanted them to know they could rely on me. To know that they would never want for anything for as long as I’m still alive.
I tell him the whole story and he doesn’t seem to be upset. I wasn’t listening to the television but the Vincent Nkwashu’s name being mentioned caught my attention. I see a body bag there and the reporter is saying that Vince was murdered in his vehicle. I turn to look at Fikani. I find him looking at me without a blink in sight and fear courses through me.
‘Baby?’
‘Hm?’ he answers – still unbothered.
‘What have you done?’
‘That perverted douchebag took advantage of you. I’m sorry but I don’t let shxt like that slide’
I swallow – hard.
‘He came into that institution to offer bursaries as a disguise for his sick ways and he continues to do so to this day. What he did to you is sexual assault’
I am in tears now because if he could do this to Vincent for something that happened in the past, what is going to do to me when I blatantly lied to his face?
‘Come here’ he pulls my head towards him and hugs me.
‘Vincent didn’t rxpe me, baby. I consented to everything we were doing that time’
He shouldn’t have done this. What about his wife? His kids? Vincent had people who loved him dearly. What happened between us was an exchange. He did not deserve this.
‘Have you ever heard of daddy issues?’ he asks. He is not about to justify kxlling a man using that! What have I gotten myself into?
…
[KULANI]
AK is sleeping in Kurhula’s hands. We are seated on this cold bench, waiting for feedback from then doctor. I was worried to my stomach about Mabontle until it was revealed to me that she’s not sick, just pregnant.
‘What’s taking them so long?’ Kurhula impatiently asks. He’s also not feeling too good. I gave him something for the stomach cramps but he’s still not a hundred percent. I think the toxins have completely his body. I also don’t think he was going to react to whatever they fed him if he was in good condition. Kurhula makes sure that his immune system is always up to date. Mabontle’s pregnancy compromised him. I tell him this and he frowns.
‘What do you mean, baby?’ he asks.
‘You’re at your weakest right now because your sister-in-law is with child’
It’s crazy how she’s his sister-in-law both ways. I can’t help but laugh at this. He’s not getting it.
‘Wait a fvcking minute. Why am I getting sick instead of Fikani?’ Wouldn’t that make more sense?’
I shrug.
‘And you’re still going to suffer’ I let him know and laugh.
‘No man. What the hell?’
He is not impressed – at all. The extrasensory perception part of twin telepathy is showing him flames.
‘I never got to compliment you on your new hair because of this whole thing. You look gorgeous as always my love' he unexpectedly says and I smile.
‘Thank you baby’ I went and got a pixie cut because I didn’t know what to do with the long hair anymore. I love how he notices everything. I try to take AK from him and he refuses.
‘You’re in pain, baby’
My heart is breaking at the sight of him. He is not coping. He keeps sighing and closing both his eyes, opening one squeezing the other. He also keeps sniffing and vigorously rubbing his nose. He is clearly irritated and I can’t help him with whatever he’s going through right now.
‘Let’s go away’
‘Away?’
‘Yeah. To get some fresh air’
‘The kids—’
‘We’ll take them with. I just want to be alone with my wife. We haven’t spent proper quality time together without outside noise and chaos’
‘You want Mhan’ Singi to have my head?’
‘Masingita is my father’s wife, not mine. I, the head of this house, am saying that we are going away for a week and that’s final’
I laugh at his first statement. Kurhula is a walking and talking headache.
‘How about we do it when Tlhari is a month old, at least?’
‘My son is not weak. He has been strengthened. Nothing is going to happen to him’
‘A month. That’s all I’m asking’
He sighs. ‘Okay then. And no arguments when we have to leave, right?’
I steal a kiss from him and nod. ‘I promise’