Mimi' s POV
Mimi stared at her parent's place. It was a big yard with a three bedroomed house, the yard was decorated by beds of roses and a green flourishing gardening could be sported. Mimi smiled as she remembered how her mother always preferred to use her own produce than to buy vegetables and fruits from the shops. Few orange trees, a mango tree, guava and banana tree aligned the fence.
Her parents were commercial farmers and even though they didn't have much they made sure that she and her siblings were well taken care of. In their house she shared a room with her older sister while her younger brother occupied another room.
Mimi entered the yard and was greeted by her father's German shepherds. Bobby and Spoke were here father's dogs, he bought them as puppies when Mimi was at Senior school. The dogs ran to her and happily licked her face, she returned the affection by happily raffled their furs.
"There is my baby girl." The booming voice said in front of her.
She was startled by the voice because her solemnly focuse was on the dogs and she lost track of her surrounding. She smiled at the man who stood in front of her. He was a large built man in his early fifties, his hair was graying giving him a distinguished look. Mimi went to embrace her father and she was rejoiced in his warm strong hug.
"Hello Papa. I missed you." She mumbled emotionally, leaning more into her father's confronting hug.
Her father's boisterous laugh filled the air, she found herself smiling at the melodious sound. Her father pulled back, held her at arms length and gave her a cheerful smile.
"This old man missed you too Melokuhle." He joked.
Mimi smiled at the name, only her father called her by that name. It was her birth name but everyone knew her as Mimi. According to her father the name Melokuhle means "the one who brings good things". Her father believed that she was a gift sent to bring them greater things in life. Now looking at the mistakes she had made she was ashamed by even her name. She did it no justice.
"I thought I heard a familiar voice. A papa's girl as always. One would say that you father is the one who gave birth to you and breastfed you. "Her mother teased as she exited the house.
Ma' Mokwena said coming towards them. Even at an older age, one could see that her mother was a beautiful woman in her earlier years.
"Mama......" Mimi threw her arms around her mother and embraced her. Her mother smelled like vanilla and cinnamon, a smell she had known since she was young.
"Oh my child. I have missed you so much. Look how grown up you are now." Her mother cooed as she looked her over. Mimi knew her mother would sooner or later complain that she had lost weight.
"I missed you too Mama. I missed everyone, where is Gaone and Kagiso?" Mimi asked as her parents led her inside the house. Her father took her bags to the room she shared with her sister. She sat down with her mother.
"You sister found a job at Ackermans ngwanaka so you will see her when she knocks off. As for your brother he had to go for study. He is writing form three exam in a month's time so he has to be prepared."
"Well that's good. I'm glad everyone is okay."
Mimi spent the day listening to her parents filling her in on what happened while she was away. Her father talked about the cattle post, which cow gave birth, what happened with the goats and all that. Her mother on the other hand filled her in on what her sister and brother were up to. She found her cheeks hurting at how much she smiled at the stories her parents were telling.
Then the converastion shifted to her and her parents were interested on how everything was going with her stay in Gaborone. They wanted to know how Bontle was doing. They knew that Bontle was her best friend and they had come to treat her like family. She evaded any question that was graduation related. She was not ready to tell them and since she had two more days with them she decided to tell them the following morning.
Her sister arrived from work just as she was helping her mother prepare for supper. Unlike Mimi who was curvaceous, Gaone was slender and tall. Unathi had their father's height and their mother's face while Mimi believed she had her mother's body and her father's eyes. Mimi and her sister have always been close since they were young. Gaone always was the one person she knew was always in her side. She even protected her when they were at junior school together. The two year gap between them did nothing to savage their bond.
After hugging and asking about each others wellbeing Gaone went to freshen up while Mimi and her mother finished preparing the food. Mimi knew that tonight they would be sleeping late because Gaone would want to know everything happening in her life. Kagiso was just jubilant when he arrived home to see Mimi.
They had a very lovely and chatty dinner. The atmosphere, the food and the laughters were all that Mimi always missed when she was in Gaborone. She dwelled in the moment and watched lovingly as her family ate the dinner. She slept late that night because she was filling Gaone in on everything happening in both her life and Bontle's. Gaone managed to get her to speed with the village gossip. When she woke up to eat breakfast only her parents were at the table. Apparently Gaone had work and Kagiso had school. Mimi ate her breakfast nervously as she watched her parents. It was about time that she talked to them. She stood up and went by the kitchen zinc.
"Papa, Mama there is something that I want to talk to you about." She mumbled nervously.
"I knew something has been bothering you since you arrived. Sit down and talk to us Melokuhle." Her father's dominating voice demanded of her and she obeyed.
"I don't know how to say this. I'm ashamed of saying this to you after all the sacrifices you made for me." Her hands were shaking and her palms sweaty.
"Ngwanaka talk to us. You are not pregnant right? Cause you are too young to have a baby." Her mother enquired hysterically.
"Mama please calm down I'm not pregnant. I failed you, I won't be graduating this year. I failed a module this semester so I have to retake it before I finish. I know you expected a lot from me and I'm very sorry for disappointing you." Her voice was squeaky and shaking with deep emotions.
"Oh you nearly killed me with a heart attack. I know baby that you didn't fail the module intentionally so don't think you are a failure." Her mother released a heavy sigh.
"It might be disappointing but maybe this wasn't the time that God chose for you to finish. We will always be proud of you Melokuhle no matter what happens. We will always be in your side."
Mimi felt tears threaten her eyes. She knew that if her parents knew what she did to fail the module they will be disappointed. Her parents were old school and they wouldn't approve of her having an affair with a married man. She felt hot tears stream down her face as she threw her arms around her father's shoulders.
"Thank you for not being angry Papa. I know you have high expectation for me and I promise to make you proud. I'm going to work hard and make sure to get my degree. And I'm going to take responsibility and pay for my module. Thank you Papa."
Her father held her at arms length and brushed away her tears.
"Hush you silly girl. I'm glad you are willing to take responsibility for you actions. Remember your little brother is looking towards you." He gave her a sweet loving smile.
Even though she felt guilty that she didn't tell her parents the whole truth, Mimi was still happy that she didn't see any disappointment and embarrassment in their faces. Her mother had embraced her lovingly before going to tend to the garden and her father had kissed both her cheeks before going to the cattle post.
She went to take a shower and went back to the kitchen to wash the utensils that were used to prepare breakfast. She decided to spoil her family aand prepared lunch dumplings and beef stew for lunch. She was busy stiring her the stew while waiting for the bread dough when her phone rang. She smiled brightly when she saw Bontle's number flash on her screen.
"Ntle, hi" she answered gleefully.
"Oh you are in a good mood. I presume that everything went well with you parents."
"Yes friend and they were so understanding about the whole retake thing."
"What about the affair?"
"Bontle I couldn't do that to them. How was I suppose to tell my parents that I had an affair with a married man who is about 10 years my senior? They can't know that I failed because I shagged up with a man." She cringed to herself as the though came to her mind.
"What?" A voice said behind her and she turned robotically to see her sister staring at her with shock.
The spoon fell from her already trembling fingers and her phone followed suit. She could hear the screen cracking as the phone connected with the tiled floor but she didn't care. She was frozen to her spot and she just looked at her sister's face transform into a horrified and disgusted face. Mimi could hear the distant voice of Bontle over the phone.
"Tell me what I heard is not true." Gaone begged.
" Gaone....." She tried to walk towards her but the words that followed froze her to her spot.
"Tell me what I fucking heard is not true Melokuhle." Gaone demanded, her eyes were hooded with anger.
"Sister please, I didn't want you to find out like this." Mimi pleaded.
"It sounded to me like you never wanted any of us to find out. You failed because of a man? A married man? A sugar daddy?" The disgust seeped in her sister's voice.
"It's not like that." She tried to reason.
"What is it like then? Pray tell."
"I made a mistake Gaone. I fell in love with him and I lost track of things. He divorced his wife to be with me." She blabbed guitily.
"Are you hearing yourself? What did he give you? Money? Were you selling your body Melokuhle?"
Mimi had never seen her sister that angry, her sister looked mortified as she asked that question. Mimi's stomach knotted into knots, her sister thought she was selling her body.
"No, no I swear to God I loved him. It wasn't because of money." She tried to make her understand.
"What happened to you? What happened to my sweet little sister?"
"I made a mistake. A huge one that I wish I could take back but I can't. I have to live with the fact that I broke someone's marriage. I'm sorry Gao, I made a mistake." Mimi begged, her eyes avoiding her sister's invasive scrutiny.
"I'm disappointed in you. And for the sake of our parents I won't tell them about this. I'm so disappointed in you." She glared angrily at Mimi.
"I'm sorry Sisi." Mimi felt tears stream down her face.
"I don't think I can look at you right now." She stormed out of the house leaving Mimi where she was.
Mimi slid down to the floor and cried her lungs out. The disgust,horror, disappointment, the anger that she saw in her sister's eyes were enough to break her. Her sister has never been this angry with her. She could imagine her parents looking at her with so much disdain.
Her sister didn't have dinner with them that night and she called to tell their parents that she was sleeping at a friend's house. Mimi knew she was avoiding her. She called Bontle back and filled her in on what happened.