After Bab'Bayede left, taking with his hanging jaw, Manqoba carried his bruised ego to his room. He found Enhle in her night robe with all her make-up off. She just stared ruefully, waiting for a reaction. Manqoba opened his mouth wanting to spit out the fire that was roasting his lungs but closed his mouth instead, turning to the bathroom.
"Baby?", she stood up and followed. He got there and tightly held against the basin. If it was the work of a negligent installation, it was certainly going to tumble to the floor in pieces, considering the force he was exerting on it.
"Baby I'm sorry. I didn't think he was going to be here today. I swear this wasn't intentional", she begged placatingly. She'd rather he lash out than keep quiet in any argument. The silence can mean one of many things. Including irreparable hurt.
"Ufuna ngithini mama?"(What do you want me to say?)
"I'm really sorry. I really did not mean to undermine your throne", she continued trying to staunch his bleeding heart.
"Why did you do it then?", he questioned sourly and raised his face to capture hers in the mirror. She kept quiet.
"Hm?", he persisted.
"I don't know. I just--, I wanted your attention", she confessed and played with her fingers.
"Attention?", he hissed.
"Yes", she expressed, voicelessly.
"In your world, disrespect buys you attention?"
She kept quiet.
"Don't you have my attention Mbalenhle?"
She held on to her silence.
"I asked you a damn question!", he shot out, veins visible on his temples. She jumped like a mouse at the quick realization of a snare. The cheese suddenly wasn't worth it anymore.
"Do you want a weakling for a husband?"
She raised her face, clearly flummoxed by this question.
"Where is that coming from?"
"It doesn't matter ukuthi iqhamukaphi. The bottom line is that it's here. Do you want a weakling for a husband?"
"No", she answered doubtfully.
"Why?"
"There's nothing attractive in being weak. Where is this coming from?"
He pulled out a heavy breath then released it.
"Are you the weak man in this case?"
"I'm not. You want to turn me into one. Unga phambanisi iynkomishi"(Don't confuse things)
"That's not true"
She tried to touch him and he arrested her hand away from his chest.
"It is. You don't miss a chance to emasculate me and you do it so perfectly"
"But I don't have to kneel and serve you to prove that you're a man. The way I dress has nothing to do with you as an individual. You see it as an emasculation because your idea of masculinity is toxic", she defended lowly and he quickly said,"Askiies?!", for her to repeat what she had just said. She kept quiet and shot her eyes to the shower glass, riveting them there.
"Now I see why abadala feel I need--", he stopped himself before he could finish his sentence. Incomplete as it is, it was enough to light a few firecrackers in her brain. The soft apologetic look on her face flipped into a scowl.
"What? That you need another wife? Because I'm not good enough?!", she shot out.
"Fix yourself...", with that, he left.
"Manqoba!", she yelled for attention. He kept walking.
After he shut the door to the whole room, she screamed and sent a hard and impulsive punch into the mirror above the wash basin. The second victim of two. It sliced her soft hand when it came crashing down and breaking even further upon impact with the ceramic surface below it. All her senses flushed down her face contemporaneously, bringing her to earth after a moment of shutting her out. She inspected the hand and realized that the bleeding was bad. Her hand carefully went into the basin and she tapped the faucet up so hot water flows out. She whimpered when it came in contact with her torn and bruised skin. The diluted blood ran over the pieces of the mirror that fell into the centre. She waited for the blood to retire in its flow but it wasn't happening. She then went across the room to the closet to look for her first aid kid. Inevitably leaving drop trails of blood. She got there and found a bandage and wrapped it around her hand. She changed into pair of velvet tracksuits and left with only her phone and car keys. She passed by Manqoba's study and found it closed. She then stopped for a second before deciding against it.
"Muhluri", she called him once she got into the car, strapping on her seat belt. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand. Something in her needed to hear his voice desperately.
"Heyyy, wa rila? What's going on?"(Are you crying?), he questioned in great concern.
"Where are you?"-Enhle
"I'm at home. Ku endleka yini Enhle? Where are you?"(What's going on?)
She sobbed and tried to speak. The muscles around her mouth felt tired and painful. She ended up closing her mouth while seated in the slight dark of the garage.
"Tell me where you are so I can come get you?"-Muhluri.
He eventually went quiet and allowed her to collect herself enough to speak. When the current of her tears stopped choking her,
"Can you check my hand?"
"Sure", he said curiously.
"I'll be there in a minute"
"I'm not on call today"
She went dead on the line.
"Okay. I'll just have to see who's there"
"I'm at home. I'll send you the coordinates"
She went quiet again and wiped her red nose with a pocket tissue.
"Okay", agreeing, eventually.
...
Mxolisi eventually went back after he was done with his tattoo. He arrived 20 minutes later after Lwandile.
"Where's your mother?", he asked him and Lwandile laughed lightly, seated lazily by the couch.
"Why? Are you done? Lemme see", Lwa asked, referring to the tattoo.
"Yeah", he said excitedly and extended his hand to show him the big black eagle circling almost his entire lower arm.
"This is so pretty omg", Lwandile admired it. Mxo smiled with pride.
"I know right? And you? How was swimming?"
"Yoh. Ryan was angry today so he overworked us. I am so flippin tired"
"Who needs motivation to quit when Ryan is your coach? He's another reason why I dropped it", Mxo remarked before dropping himself on the couch.
"He's a big time mood killer", they stopped complained when they heard the front door opening. Mxo freezed a bit. Muzi appeared and he sighed from relief. He appreciated the respite from his mother's expected earful.
"Ja nina", he greeted them coolly and they greeted back with smiles.
"Is your mother back?"
Lwandile shook his head. Muzi took out his phone to call her. When he established that she was still at the shops, he went to sit next to Mxo. His eyes fell on his hard-to-miss arm bedecked in black ink.
"This is new", he said as he raised Mxo's arm to inspect it. Mxo just waited for another comment to direct his reply.
"An eagle. Why it specifically?", Mxo asked, still inspecting the fresh tattoo.
"It's there to remind me that it's in my nature to soar high, no matter the obstacle or the circumstance", he explained and Muzi nodded a few slow nods in approval.
"I like it. Just don't get more in places you won't be able to cover should you need to okay?"
Mxolisi laughed.
"Like where? My face and ruin this pretty muh'fxcker? Never."
Muzi laughed as well and brushed Mxo's head before standing up.
"Lwandile are you okay?", he asked suspiciously at the state he was in. Lwandile was already dozing off with his eyes half open.
"The water drained the life out of him", Mxolisi replied on his behalf.
"Oh konje it's Monday today...", Muzi commented and stepped over to him with the navy jacket in his other hand. Mxolisi nodded and took out his phone.
"Boy? Lwandile?", Muzi gently tapped his cheek to wake him up.
"Hambo lala ekamaren you'll sprain your neck here"(Go sleep in your room)
Lwandile swallowed languidly, stretched his arms first before standing up and pulling his bag and blazer off the couch.
...
Evelyn heard screeching and shuffling noises in Melokuhle's open room and decided to go check the cause behind them. She found a basket full of his sheets outside the door.
"Sonke?", she called out cautiously when she jumped over the miscellaneous pile blocking the door.
"What's going on?", she questioned when she saw him appearing from the bathroom at her call.
"Ngiya cleana gogo"(I'm cleaning), he reported and she looked around. The bed was balanced on its head by the wall. The study table moved to a different location- a corner.
"But why?", she was still baffled. "Did they skip your room this morning?"
He laughed.
"No. You wouldn't understand", he stated and brought the bed back to stand on all fours. He then pulled the light brown fitted sheet from the chair and asked her for help. She approached with doubt, still trying to figure out the reason behind this extensive cleaning. The fitted the sheet to the mattress together. He occasionally raised his face, struggling to decide whether to ask or not.
"Gogo?"
"Hm?", she answered, running out of breath. When they were done she dumped her weight on the corner of the bed.
"Haa you're already tired?", he laughed.
"Hey angiyona intanga yakho phela mina. Ihambe no moya iminyaka"(I'm not your age mate. The years have gone by), they laughed together as she pulled him towards her so he could sit.
"What is it?"-Evelyn.
"Why did Ava leave?", he finally decided on the right string of words.
"I am not the right person you should be asking about that baby"
"Please gogo. She always changes the topic when we speak about this. Always avoiding why she can't come home if not giving excuses. Why is my most immediate part of the family in shambles?"
Evelyn sighed heavily and placed her hand on his far shoulder.
"Your sister was dealing with a lot Melo. Especially when she turned 15. Her mental health was very... sensitive and volatile. Unpredictable. I can't count the number of times we've had to fetch from public spaces because of panic attacks and meltdowns. Sometimes she'd just drop to the floor and the people around would have to call an ambulance. It's a miracle how she made it out of high school. When she was 16, she became addicted to alcohol, and other stuff. Luckily, we found out sooner so we managed to contain it", Evelyn explained and Melo just sat there, listening.
"You need to understand that Ava was not raised by your parents as a baby. You know this right?"
He nodded.
"I think she began attaching your mom's arrest to her as a person since the first woman she knew as mom was also in jail"
"You mean like, blaming herself?"
"Sort of. Yes. At least that's what I think. It took multiple, multiple therapy sessions for her to get back on track again. Bese sis'khohliwe ne smile sakhe ukuthi sibukeka kanjani"(We had even forgotten how her smile looked like)
"But she doesn't sound and seem like a troubled somebody to me. Why did you let her go if she was that unstable?"
"We didn't want to. However, when she landed her first job in Australia, that was the first time in a very long we've seen her that happy. Keeping her here wasn't going to do any good", she continued to explain and there was silence.
"What do you mean your family is in shambles? You have a mother and father that love and care for you. Including your brothers"
"UMa ngiyamthanda and I appreciate the way angithanda ngakhona. She doesn't make feel like an outcast but recently, I've been feeling this void in my heart that just won't go away"(I love ma and I appreciate how she also loves me)
"See why I don't want you talking to your mother on the phone? You're always a mess after each and every phone call"
"Don't start gogo. Please don't start..."
Evelyn raised both hands in surrender and looked away. The maroon vacuum cleaner kept her eyes company as Melo digested the contents of their conversation.
"Someone is here to see you", Nokwanda reported to Evelyn after knocking on Melo's door. She thought it was one of the people who usually drop by for the queen's point of view in their personal lives, for guidance. She stood up and promised Melokuhle that they'll continue when she comes back. She walked out with Nokwanda as they engaged in banter and chit chat. Her smile disappeared when she saw Mbhekiseni by the couch, legs cross and arms outstretched over the headrest on the couch. He was certainly feeling comfortable.
"Sawubona swidat"(Hello sweetheart), he greeted with the widest of all smiles. Evelyn sneered and looked away briefly.
"Thank you, Nokwanda", she said and Nokwanda proceeded to her duties in the kitchen. Evelyn marched to him and raised him by his foul-smelling oversized jacket.
He dragged her out the glass door and closed it as they stood outside.
"WHAT THE HELL--", she hissed through gritted teeth.
"What the hell are you doing here?", she lowered her voice as her eyes travelled the inside of the house with speed, to ensure that nobody was coming.
"Hawu. Ngikutshelile ukuthi ngizobuya. Awusho, sishada nini mina nawe ngisale ngihambisa le suit yam kuma dry cleaner?"(I told you I'll be back. Tell me, when are we getting married so I can take my suit to the laundromat?), he then twirled in his grey attire, raising the jacket only for Evelyn to see the few loops he missed when he rounded his ravaged and brown leather belt eaten by overuse. She felt fury rising in her chest.
"Mbhekiseni. I no longer want to see you here or else I'm going to set the bulldogs on you are we clear?"
"Uyayithanda indodana yakho mara wena?"(Do you love your son?), he threatened and his awful breath flew right into her nostrils. He was drunk as a skunk.
"How much do you want?", she asked in a low and overpowered voice. A mischievous smile grew on his face.
"Yabona ke?"(You see now?)
"How much do you want Mbhekiseni?!", she hissed some more, still trying to see if anybody was coming. The only people she could see were the lawnmowers at a far distance.
"Uyangazi angihluphi kakhulu mina. Nginike nje i-one thauzen fafandrethi ngizophuma eynweleni zwakho"(You know I'm not bothersome. Just give me R1500 and I'll disappear)
"I don't have that kind of cash with me right now. I'll send it to your bank account hamba ke", she said trying to shoo him away.
"Haibo azongenzan ama bank charges? Ithumele ku Shoprite sthandwa kuzoba ngcono"(Bank charges are going to rip me apart. Send it to Shoprite)
"I'll include the fee hamba Mbhekiseni tuu", she continued trying to chase him away without having to touch him.
"Awungithi mancaa ngo kiss phela(give me a kiss), he stuck out his pouted dry lips for her. She frowned at the thought and rolled her eyes as he kept his shut.
"Hamba Mbhekiseni ngiyak'cela baba so I can quickly send you your R2000", she decided to bribe him and he smiled, forgetting completely about the kiss distracted by the monetary increase. He finally left. She placed her hands on her waist and sighed off the anxiety and exhaustion that comes with pleading with a man like Mbhekiseni. Her nightmare in a tattered suit came back.
"Nkosiyam ufunani manje?!"(What do you want now?)
"Yey CISHE, cishe ngakhohlwa. Qabula phela"(I almost forgot about my kiss), he pouted again and came closer. Evelyn slapped his approaching hand and backed away. Melokuhle appeared and Mbhekiseni opened his eyes at the sound of the door clicking open
"Gogo uright?"(Are you okay grandma?), he asked with his eyes lodged on Mbhekiseni, threatening him.
"Uhm, yes boy. I am fine. He was just leaving", Evelyn stated.
"I was?", Mbhekiseni asked and jerked his head back in surprise.
"Yes. You were", Evelyn gravely said and pushed him forward to give him a jumpstart for his journey. Melo's eyes travelled back and forth between the two. She wiped her hands on her dress and marched back into the house.
UNEDITED.