"Be-you-tiful"
- Anyonymous
I was woken up by the sound of my grandmother singing.
"Ukhulil' uSipho. Ukhulil' uSiphooo" She was holding a small gift bag in her hand.
Wait? Did I forget my own birthday. I slowly rubbed the sleep off my eyes and stretched my aching back.
"Gogo. Is it my birthday?"
"Of course wena ngane. I wouldn't be singing if it wasn't. Go boil your bath water and change. Your ride will be here any time soon" she said.
"What ride?"
"Ay Siphokazi nawe ukhuluma kakhulu. Hamba uyogeza" (You talk too much, go and bath)
I smiled at her and peeled the covers off my body. I boiled water on the kettle while I picked out an outfit.
After bathing and having a full English breakfast, I brushed my teeth
"Go, your ride is here" I took my small purse and wore flats since my feets were swollen.
I walked towards the gate and saw a Vito outside. At the same time, Mbali walked out of her house wearing a black miniskirt and a bright yellow crop top.
"Happy Birthday" she said giving me a hug and a small gift bag. I hugged her back and we made our way towards the Vito.
"Thank you. Did you know anything about this?" I asked.
She took her thumb and her pointer finger and zipped her mouth, throwing the 'key' outside of the window.
"Okay. It's cool if you're not going to tell me. I'm going to sleep, I'm very tired plus my feet hurt" I said as the car started moving.
I felt cold hands on my skin and I woke up instantly.
"What the hell?" I was shocked when I saw that the car now had more people. Charmaine, Nathan and Andile had now joined the bus.
I felt tears form on my eyes.
"You guys" the vehicle came to a stop and the driver opened the door for us. We got out of the car and I didn't waste any time, we group hugged.
"I missed you asswipes so much. Seeing you guys physically, this is the best birthday present ever" I said.
We pulled away from the hug and I turnt back and looked at Mbali who was watching from a distance.
"Mbali come here" Charmaine called her over. She walked towards us and raised her hand in greeting.
"Don't worry Ada, we already talked while you were snoring" a small blush made its way to my cheeks. Everyone around me laughed at my embarssement.
I was blindfolded thereafter and we took a small walk. I felt someone's hands on my shoulders and I slowly relaxed as they led the way.
My anxiety tripled when I felt the soft material that was covering my eyes being untied. The sight in front of me took my breath away and I cried instantly.
"Don't be like this" Nathan said walking towards me. I cried into his embrace and drank in the scenery that was in front of me again.
They led me towards a pillow and poured me juice since I couldn't drink any alcoholic beverage.
I sat down and wiped the tears off my eyes.
"I guess we arrived a bit too early" Andile spoke.
Charmaine slapped the back of his head and his facial expression changed instantly as if he just realised what he said.
"Who else is coming?" I asked standing up from the pillows.
"Woah" Nathan said rushing to my side to sit me down.
"Calm down. It's a- surprise?" Charmaine said hesitantly. Mbali was quiet all this time with her cider in her hand.
A few minutes into our small catching up session, I felt steps behind me. The steps were followed by the sound of a spoon on a glass.
"Hello young ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for joining us here today" the voice began. I turnt back and saw that it was my mother who was speaking. She walked towards me and placed her hand on my shoulder. I put on a fake smile on my face because I didn't want to start any drama.
While she was talking, James ran towards me and gave me a kiss on my cheek. He then went to sit on one of the pillows.
"Ada baby, I've had the pleasure of watching you grow, but I missed out a lot on your life and I'm not planning on doing that anymore. I want to be a part of your life. I don't want to repeat the same mistake with my grandchild." She said.
Zweli walked in a few seconds later carrying a gift bag and a baby pram wrapped with a huge red bow.
He gave my mother a brief hug and whispered something in her ear which caused her to come sit on the pillow and hand over to him.
"Hello kids. Most of you might not know me, you must get used to this face right here. I am Siphokazi's father" James gasped across me but my mother gave his hand a small squeeze.
"I wouldn't miss this day for the world. I put my differences with your mother aside for today my daughter. I just wish this day becomes a success. I promise to be with you during every step of your journey to motherhood and I'll also support you academically and financially.
You're my only daughter. I love you wholeheartedly Siphokazi. Your mother knows, I knew that you were going to be a girl and I made her promise to name you Siphokazi. Thanks for blessing me with a beautiful baby girl Nessa" he said.
I was now blowing my nose into a tissue that Mbali had passed on to me. After the speeches that everyone gave, we had a three course meal and I opened the presents later on.
It was now getting quite dark outside, everyone was tired after the long day we had.
My mother and Zweli called me over. James was now inside my mothers car sleeping.
"Did you enjoy your day honey?" Zweli asked.
"Yes I did, thanks. Even though I don't know who organised it between you two"
"It was not us, Langa organised this"
"And he couldn't make It?" I said rolling my eyes
"About that- go inside that car. Your friends will be driven to their homes. Take care baby" my mother said. They both leaned in to give me a kiss on my forehead and their shoulder touched awkwardly.
"Oh sorry, you go first"
"No, you're her mother. Go first"
"I'll leave you guys to your little argument" I said giving them both a kiss on the cheek and heading towards the car I was instructed to enter. The driver greeted me and I responded, all I remember was me taking off my shoes and the rest was history.
"Ms Launter, we have arrived" the driver said waking me up. He opened the door for me and I stepped out, not before slipping on my flats.
I entered the house and I was lead into the familiar backyard but there were candles placed all over. They were also lining the pool.
A massage bed was placed on the soft grass with a towel on top of it. I looked around and quickly stripped naked and wrapped the towel around my body. I slept on the massage bed and wore the pink sleep mask too.
I relaxed onto the bed and I felt rough hand slowly make their way on my shoulders. I released a loud groan from the satisfaction I was feeling right now.
The hands stopped massaging my neck for a second.
"Carry on" I moaned.
"I'm glad you're enjoying this" the voice spoke. It was Langa.
"Thank your for everything." I said speaking once his hands were back on my body.
"Anything for a friend" he said.
After the massage, I removed the sleep mask and took in his appearance. He was wearing black swim shorts which were just below his v-line.
I wiped the drool off the corner of my mouth and regained my composure.
"Where's my swimsuit?" I asked.
"Just jump in with no clothes" he must have seen the shock all over my face because he laughed. It was the same laugh I heard on the first day I met him back at the cafe.
"I'm joking. There's a change room. Just follow the path on your right. You'll find something to wear placed on the hanger"
I found a black one piece swimsuit and wore it. It fit perfectly.
I walked back towards the pool and I went inside the water. Langa was drinking his normal, Hunters Dry.
"Doesn't this make me look huge?"
"Yes" he said laughing loudly. I splashed the water on his face and went to the far end of the pool.
"I was not finished yet. I'm joking" he said coming towards me.
"You look like you're carrying a life inside of you. You look like the mother of my unborn child. You look beautiful" he said.
I blushed. I'm so glad he wouldn't be able to make it out because the only source of light we had were the candles.
"Thanks again" I said hugging him. We stayed like this for quite some time until we both pulled away and decided to float around the pool as we looked at the sky full of starts. We started talking about the future of our unborn child and of course it led to our daily argument.
"She's going to be a beautiful girl"
"Langa it's a boy. I can feel it." I said placing my hand on my belly. I could sense Langa's frustration from where I was.
"Oh my word Ada. We're not going to argue about this on your birthday. I'll let you be" he said as he continued swimming around.
"What are your plans Langa?"
"What do you mean?"
"Do you plan on raising our child into this drug business?" He took a sip of his cider and swam towards me.
"Never. This was supposed to be a surprise but, here we go. I'm getting my Law degree online" I was so shocked, I almost drowned.
"I'm so proud of you" I said as I started tearing up.
"Don't cry. Not on your birthday"
"I'm just excited" I said.
We spent the rest of the night talking about all the plans we had for the future. Langa with his cider in hand, whilst I was stuck with orange juice.
"I love you Ada"
"I love you too Langa. You're a great friend"
****
Sooooooo. H FOR HECTIC. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. There's still more to come. Thanks for reading. Font forget to vote.
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