CHAPTER 19
NALEDI MOLETSANE

I am pissed by what my mother had to say
earlier about the whole polygamy situation.
Maswabi just finds ways to make our
relationship harder, only God knows what she
actually gets from making my life a living
hell. I have taken so much from this woman
and I’m actually at a point where I just
cannot deal with her bullshit anymore.
I am an adult woman who works a pretty
great job, I can afford to live my life with just
my daughter. It’s time I left my mother and
her toxicity behind, she will never change
when it comes to me. Basetsana is growing
up, I don’t want her witnessing the
unpleasant drama between me and the
woman who is supposed to love me
unconditionally. I choose to protect my peace,
I choose to leave behind everything that
makes me unhappy for my child’s sake. I owe
Bassie a happy mother and that’s what she
will get for the rest of her life.
“You’re awfully quiet and your friend is
around. What’s wrong Naledi?” Vhutshilo
whispers in my ear and I quickly snap out of
it.
I heave a sigh, “Only my mother can get me
into this mood on a night I wanted to have a
great time,”
“What has dragon lady done now?” he asks
and I shrug.
“She wants me to get married to Jimmy,” he
gasps in shock.
“No kidding! What the hell is wrong with your
mother?” Everything seems to be very wrong
with that woman.
“I want to move out. Bassie and I will live in a
hotel until we find the perfect place to stay,”
he raises an eyebrow.
“Moving out is good but living in a hotel? No
Naledi, that’s not a good place for our
daughter,” I know that but what choice do I
have?
“What else can I do?” it’s days like these
where I wish we had a big family so I could
have somewhere to run to.
“My house is big. You guys have rooms, you’re
very much welcome to stay until we find a
good place for you,” I appreciate that but his
girlfriend won’t be happy about it. Vhutsilo
hasn’t said anything but I know his girlfriend
is not happy about our co-parenting
situation. I don’t want to cause problems for
them.
“I don’t think Karabo will be happy about
that,” he tilts his head to the side and
scratches his ear.
“I will talk to her and she will understand. We
had a convesation a couple of days ago and
we are on the same page, trust me,” it’s good
to know that but I’m still not sure.
“Talk to her first, I don’t want any drama,” he
chuckles.
“What are you two whispering about?” we
move our eyes from each other to his mom
who is sitting across from us.
“Nothing, just small talk,” Vhutshilo answers
and I nod in agreement. Tonight is not the
right time to talk about my problems. We are
sitting around this table to celebrate Lufuno’s
birthday.
“Oh come on. Everyone knows y’all got the
best gist, now share with the rest of us,”
Avhathu, Vhutshilo and Lufuno’s half brother
says.
“We were just talking about the food and how
good it is,” I haven’t touched my food but I
hope they don’t call me out on my BS.
“Karabo, don’t let these two keep you out of
their gossip club,” Lufuno says and I close my
eyes. They are making things awkward here;
Talking about me and Vhutshilo infront of
Karabo will only heighten her insecurities.
“Ya’ll are exaggerating, calm down,” I say,
chuckling. I hope they drop this now.
“So, Karabo. When will you come visit us in
Venda?” Vhutshilo’s mother diverts the
convesation and I’m thankful. They should all
be trying to engage her in conversation so she
can blend in with the rest of the group.
“Uhm… I don’t know ma. Vhutsilo and I will
talk about it and he will let you know,”
Karabo answers and her boyfriend clasps her
hand.
“Good, you should see where your future
husband is from,” Bassie’s grandma says and
that makes the girl blush.
“I think we will come month end with
Basetsana,” Vhutshilo adds and I nod
vigorously. Our daughter hasn’t been to Venda
this year because Maswabi has been an
impossible person.
“Let’s turn it into a road trip. The Joburgers
will hire a big car and drive up home. Are you
in Naledi?” Can someone shut Avhathu up!
“No, let it be the three of them. Karabo and
Basetsana need all the time to bond,” I answer
quickly.
“That’s true, Naledi. If Karabo and Vhutshilo
plan on being together forever then they have
to spend time together to get to know each
other better,” – Vutshilo’s mother.
“Okay everybody, finish up please. The club is
calling my name,” Lufuno says, gulping down
her cocktail.
Her mother clicks her tongue, “I never thought
the sweet girl I was raising would turn into
an alcohol loving adult who has covered her
body in ink. God surely cannot recognize you,”
Not tonight please. Karabo doesn’t need to see
it happening.
“Here we go again with the magical creature
that somehow lives in the sky,” It’s time for
this dinner to end. Lufuno is an atheist and
this particular convesation with her mother
always ends up badly.
“Mama, you’ll take my car and drive yourself
and Bassie back to my house. Naledi, Lufuno
and Avathu will come back later with Naledi’s
car,” Vhutshilo says, cutting short the war
that was about to happen between his mom
and sister.
“What about you?” mama asks with a raised
eyebrow and I press my lips into a thin line.
Isn’t it obvious?
“Karabo and I will head to her place from the
club,” he says, avoiding his mother’s eyes.
.
.
.
We arrive at some club in Sandton and it’s
already going crazy. I just want to have a
great night and forget about the craziness
that’s been happening in my life these past
couple of weeks.
We are led to our table in the VIP section,
Lufuno made sure to reserve a spot so we can
be comfortable.
Everyone settles down and a few minutes
later the bottle girls come with champagnes
and cognacs. The MC gives Lufuno a birthday
shout out and we start singing for her.
I had to order a bottle of taquila, I just cannot
party without my poison.
We are having a great time, the three of us
are dancing like tomorrow doesn’t exit, we
are lost in the moment. Vhutshilo and his girl
are all loved up on the couch, they kiss every
other minute. I am not jealous but damn, why
come to the club to cuddle? They should head
home and get it on.
Someone comes to our table and goes straight
to Lufuno, the girl whispers in her ear,
pointing at me. Okay, what’s going on now?
Lufuno nods at whatever the girl is saying in
her ear then the mystery girl in leather pants
comes to me with the biggest smile on her
face.
“You’re very beautiful, Naledi. I see why he
was willing to risk it all for you,” she says and
I frown.
“Excuse me?” she shakes her head.
“My dad, Jimmy Khambule. He wanted to
divorce my mother to be with you,” oh, not
this again. I’m trying to live my life, why can’t
these people just leave me alone.
“Listen, I didn’t know your dad was still
married and I’m done with him so please leave
me the hell alone,” she raises an eyebrow with
a smirk on her face.
“Don’t lie, my aunt told me that he’s taking
you as his second wife,” fuck this shit!
“I don’t have time for this. Excuse me,” I try to
walk away but Jimmy’s daughter pushes me
back and grabs two bottles of champagne
from our table and hits me on the head with
them. I fall down with my head pounding,
she’s wagging a finger at me, cussing me out.
I remove my hand from my forehead and I’m
bleeding so bad. Lufuno starts fighting
Jimmy’s daughter while her brother attends
to me.
“Guys, I’m rushing her to the hospital. This cut
doesn’t look good,” he scoops me up and heads
towards the exit.
People are watching us, wondering what’s
happening. I pray no one caught the incident
on camera, I don’t want to trend because of
Jimmy, AGAIN.

KATHERINE MOLOTSI

I haven’t seen or spoken to my husband since
the day he went through my phone and
realized that I’ve been talking to women on
the dating site. He walked out on me angrily
and hasn’t been home since; I’m super worried
about him, nothing of this kind has happened
before.
His phone is off and I cannot even track him
using his car because he left it in the garage. I
am crossing fingers that he makes his way
home by tomorrow at least, because his
mother threatened to show up here and give
me hell.
I had to call her when Thabo didn’t show up
24 hours after leaving. I wasn’t about to keep
his disappearance to myself and be blamed
when something tragic happens to him while
he’s wherever. I didn’t exactly tell her why her
son left because my mother in-law would use
it against me for the rest of my life.
My husband’s family doesn’t know that I’m
bisexual, he asked me to keep it a secret from
them because they wouldn’t understand. The
only reason I agreed was because I didn’t
want to deal with the drama, not because I’m
ashamed of who I am.
I admit that what I did was wrong, I shouldn’t
have signed up and started talking to other
people. But I just wanted to vent to someone
who wouldn’t be biased; I knew my family and
friends would take my side if I spoke to them
about my situation. They wouldn’t have
pointed out where I’m wrong and should
improve on, because their job is to support
me in everything. One of the ladies I was
taking to gave it to me straight and that’s
exactly what I needed. Her honesty is the
reason why I signed up.
I wish Thabo can come home and believe me
when I say I love him and I didn’t get on the
site to cheat on him. I know it’s hard to
believe me because I’ve cheated before, but I
swear this time it didn’t even cross my mind.
I chose to be with a man and to marry him, I’d
never go back on my word or the vows I made
to him and God.
Yes, sometimes I see women and I have
fantasies but it’s nothing I would act on.
He is still the love of my life, even though we
are facing a tough period in our marriage.
I slept on the couch last night waiting for him
to get home so we could have a convesation.
It looks like I’ll be on it until he comes back
home; The bed is too big and cold without
him. I pick up my glass of wine and take a sip;
I’m watching some movie on Netflix but I
keep on zoning out and missing parts hence
I’m not understanding a thing. Maybe I should
just call it a night, it’s clear that my husband
isn’t coming back again, I mean it’s already 1
am.
I get up from the couch and head to the
bathroom, I do my business then head to our
bedroom to grab a pillow and a blanket. I’m
just glad my couch is big and comfortable
enough.
I hear sounds in the kitchen and my heart
starts thudding in my chest, this cannot be
happening right now. Thabo canceled our
rapid response security and now I have to deal
with criminals myself.
I take a deep breath and go back to the
bedroom to get my gun from the safe, I have
been owning this firearm for 3 years now. I
have never used it before, I hope today won’t
be the first time of pulling the trigger.
I tiptoe to the kitchen, my mouth is dry and
my hands are shaking. I need to calm down so
I can be able to shoot accurately if needs be.
Something drops on the floor in the kitchen
and a male voice complains, I recognize it to
be Thabo’s. I sigh in relief and walk
confidently inside the kitchen; He can barely
stand still as he tries to pour himself a glass
of wine. My husband is drunk out of his mind
but I don’t care, I’m just happy he is home.
“You’ve had enough, don’t you think?” he looks
at me and shakes his head in disagreement.
“I need to stay drunk because I don’t want to
think about my wife cheating on me once
again,” he slurs his words and I exhale sharply.
“I didn’t cheat, Thabo. I just needed someone
to talk to, I swear to you,” he drinks from the
bottle, leaving the glass he just filled to the
brim.
“Maybe you should invite your lovers over, I’d
love to see you in action,” that’s an
inappropriate thing say, but I’ll let it slide
because he’s drunk out of his mind.
“Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick,”
he shrugs his shoulders.
“I’ve been with friends,” he’s lying.
I called his friends before his mother and non
of them knew where he was.
“Which friends?” he laughs.
“My new friends. I met them while drinking
yesterday and I’ve been with them since. I
figured why not get myself some new people
to talk to too since my wife is talking to
women she’s attracted to online,” I put the
safety back on the gun.
“Please don’t shoot me, officer,” he says,
putting his hands up.
“I thought the was an intruder in the house.
I’m gonna put it back in the safe. Let me help
you to bed,” she shakes his head.
“I don’t want to sleep yet. I didn’t even want
to come back here, my new friends forced
me,” they must be good people then.
“They did well, you need to sleep before you
blackout,” he smacks his lips.
“You go sleep, Kat. I’m not a child,” I should
just leave him be and talk tomorrow when
he’s sober.
At least he is safe and back home now. I’ll call
his mother first thing in the morning to
inform her.