CHAPTER 52
SHLOBOSENKOSI MAVIMBELA

I’m holding Naledi tightly in my arms, I don’t
want to let go. How did time go by so
quickly? It was just a minute ago when I
came here to pick her up and now I’m
dropping her off. This is not fair, we didn’t get
enough time. I wish she can stay longer but
she explained that she can’t because she’s
starting work tomorrow. I got tempted to
book myself a seat on the flight and go with
her to Johannesburg, but I also have
responsibilities. My son, my company and the
football team.
“I don’t want to go,” she whispers and I kiss
the top of her head.
“I know baby, I don’t want you to go either,”
this is tough, I’m not even gonna lie.
We spend the whole day closed in our hotel
room, making love, talking and just wishing
we could melt into each other.
“When am I seeing you again?” she asks and I
gently push her off me so we are eye to eye.
“You tell me sthandwa sami and I’ll be there,”
please don’t judge me, I’m there already. My
heart is gone, it beats for this girl. She’s
everything I have been waiting for all these
years.
“Okay,” she leans in and we share another
passionate kiss in the middle of the airport.
“Thuli is picking you up from the airport yes?”
I ask and she nods.
“Yes, babe. She will be waiting when I land. I’ll
call you immediately after my feet hit the
ground,” I caress her cheek and she closes her
eyes.
“I miss you already,” I mutter.
she rests her head on my chest and tightens
her arms around my waist.
“I’m already loosing my mind,” that’s what I
want to hear. Knowing that she’s in this as
deep as me makes me relax and want to give
more of myself to her and what we are
starting. “Thank you for this weekend. I had
an amazing time,” she adds and my heart
skips a bit.
“No, baby. Thank you for dropping everything
and coming to be with me,” she pecks my lips
and it’s announced that the gate is about to
close.
“Don’t give him to anyone else,” Naledi says,
brushing over my dick.
I chuckle, “He wants no one else but you girls.
I trust that you’ll not remove the padlock on
my cookie,” I locked her good girl with an
imaginary padlock after our last round of sex.
“You’re the only one with the key,” music to
my ears.
“I’ll wait for your call then babe. Have a great
flight,” I say and we let go of each other. She
grabs the suitcase and walks away. My heart
is heavy, It feel like a part of me is leaving
with her. Naledi looks back and waves
goodbye, I blow her a kiss and she catches it. I
only leave when she has disappeared.
This weekend was perfect, it exceeded all my
expectations. On Friday I was scared that I
will not be able to make her trip worthwhile,
but all doubts flew out when I saw her
laughing, smiling and unable to keep her
hands off me. God, she made me feel alive
after so many years of just existing. I don’t
want to stop feeling this way, not for
anything or anyone in this world.
I get to my car and her perfume hits my
nostrils. Damn, how I wish this smell was in
my bedroom back at the house. The next time
she comes to Durban I’m definitely taking her
to my house.
I’m planning on having a convesation with
Nonku tomorrow, I’m coming clean to her
about everything. She’s going to hate me for
cheating and hurting her and I’m genuinely
sorry for that, but what we had is over now.
It was over the minute I got between Naledi’s
legs and made love to her in Cape Town.
I switch on the radio and it’s not connected
to my iPhone anymore, Naledi has been the
one playing music. Let’s say our taste in
music is the only thing that reminds the both
of us of our age gap, I am 23 years older than
her. I never in my life thought I’d fall head
over heels for a younger woman like this, but
the heart chooses its owner without taking
anything else into consideration.
Her age is not the only thing I got to know
this weekend. She told me about her daughter
and the relationship she has with the father.
I’m glad that they have a bond for the sake of
their daughter, but I’m her man and naturally
I did get a little jealous. But not as much as
when she told me that she’s taking over the
company of her late ex-boyfriend. Check this,
Thuli is the wife of that ex. I was shocked to
say the least, but at the end of the day I’m
glad that both women didn’t decide to hate
one another over a man who lied to them.
She also told me about her family, her mother
is a minister of the Republic. There’s another
woman she considers a mom, she calls her
Manana. Naledi adores her, I could tell from
the twinkle in her eye everytime she
mantioned the lady. She has no siblings, just
cousins she is yet to meet. Her father has
never been in the picture, Naledi doesn’t know
his name, neither has she asked her mom
about him. I laughed so hard when she told
me to relax and not think she’s attracted to
older men because she has daddy issues. My
head wasn’t even there. That woman is very
sharp, men in her age group wouldn’t know
how to handle her.
I get to my house and the Mercedes-Benz is
parked outside the garage. Nhlangano was
having the time of his life, being home alone
and driving my car around. At least he didn’t
go to places he wasn’t supposed to go to. The
tracking company would have called me to
ask if I’m safe. I park next to the Mercedes
and climb out the car. I take out my leather
bag from the boot and head to the front door.
Nhlangano and Thalente are sitting in the
lounge, eyes fixed on the TV. They are
watching a movie and I know how they hate
being disturbed mid-action. I just greet them
and settle down on the single couch.
Nhlangano calls it the head of house chair. I
decide to take out my phone and look at the
pictures I took of Naledi and of us together
the whole weekend.
When those elevator doors pinged open I had
absolutely no idea that I’d meet someone who
would affect me so much.
How the hell did I become so lucky?
“Haibo! Nhlangano why did you pause the
movie?” I look up and find my sister starring
at her nephew pissed.
“I’m sorry but I have something important to
talk to baba about,” he says and I narrow my
eyes. My son looks hostile, what was going on
here this weekend? I know Thalente has no
clue because she only got back from
Mahlabathini earlier today.
“What’s happening Nhlaks number 10?” I ask
and he clenches his jaw.
Kahle bo! Are we fighting now?
“Baba, I want you to know that you’ll always
be my dad. I appreciate you for raising me and
providing me with everything I need and I’ve
ever wanted in my life. No one will ever take
your place in my heart,” hao Jesu, such kind
words. He has been cold and distant since we
had the talk about Mphikeleli in Cape Town.
I pray he’s letting go of this whole thing and
staying away from that piece of shit.
“However, I’m still disappointed in you for not
telling me that my biological father has been
reaching out, asking to have a relationship
with me,” he adds and I close my eyes. I did
what I did to protect him.
“Nhlangano, I’m sorry. I didn’t tell you because
Mphikeleli is not a good man,” I say and he
shakes his head.
“He’s not a good man because you felt he
wasn’t good enough for my mom just because
he was poor? Not a good man because you
blame him for my mother’s death? It was an
accident baba and if you didn’t send your
girlfriend to pick her up from my father’s
place while it was raining then maybe they’d
still be alive,” my son says and I gasp in shock.
“Nhlangano!” Thalente exclaims horrified.
“Where did you take all of this?” I ask, utterly
shocked.
“I met up with my father and he told me why
you hate him. You’re using me to punish him
for something he didn’t do,” my head is
spinning but my heart? It’s in pieces.
Nhlangano is saying all these things to me?
“You just believed all he said to you?
Nhlangano you won’t even hear my side of the
story?” I ask with tears burning my eyes.
“I tried getting your side in Cape Town and
you wouldn’t tell me. It doesn’t matter now,” I
drop my tears. I don’t know what to say.
“I love you baba and I’m not trying to hurt you
in anyway. I just wanted to tell you that I’m
giving my biological father a chance to get to
know me,” he murmurs and I close my eyes.
Mphikeleli has managed to get between me
and Nhlangano. My biggest fear has come to
pass, that son on a bitch has his claws into
my boy the same way he did with Busi.
“You don’t want to hear my side of the story
which happens to be the truth?” my question
comes out in a whisper.
“I just want to move on baba. Everything is in
the past now and I’m begging you to
understand that I want to get to know him.
Please don’t see this as me choosing him over
you,” but that’s exactly what it is.
He was able to sit down with a man he knows
nothing about and listen to him, but he can’t
offer me an ear to tell him the real truth.
I get up from the couch and pick up the bag
on the floor, I’m numb.
“Goodnight,” I make my way to my bedroom
with tears streaming down my face.
For 18 years I’ve done nothing but love and
protect Nhlangano. I put him above
everything, even myself. Mphikeleli is not a
good man, he never was and he never will be.
He will always be a user and an abuser and no
one can tell me otherwise. I would have never
denied Nhlangano a relationship with his
father if he was a good man. He grew up
without a mother because of the man he’s
now hurting me for. If he really changed then
Mphikeleli wouldn’t have lied to his son.
After matric I moved to Durban, there wasn’t
much to do in Mahlabathini. I found work as a
brick layer and started saving some money to
start my own construction company. Busi
was five years younger than me and when she
finished matric I had already started my own
small company, extending people’s homes in
the townships. Business was not booming,
sometimes I had no clients. I had to find other
ways to feed, help out back home and see to
it that Busi attends university.
My sister and I were living together where I
was renting and it happened that Mphikeleli
was living in the same neighborhood. He was
known as the neighborhood headache, he and
his crew were into all the bad things. House
breakings, carjackings, robberies, you name
them. I don’t know how Busisiwe fell for that
bastard but she did and hard. I tried all I could
to separate them, I even threatened to send
her back to Mahlabathini. When that threat
didn’t work I decided to move to another
neighborhood. For years I thought they were
done, only to find out at Busi’s graduation
that they were still seeing each other.
I had a word with her but my sister told me
she’s a grown woman and she can do
whatever she wanted. I had to tell my mother
about the kind of man her daughter had
chosen. MaZikode tried speaking sense into
her but Busi was in-love and she wasn’t about
to listen to any of us. She moved out of my
house after getting a job as a teacher, she
rented an apartment and her thug boyfriend
moved in with her. Busi always denied it but
we knew that they were living together.
I was already in a relationship with Melamina
and she was working in Durban as a
receptionist at a local clinic. Mela and Busi
were friends, from when they were little girls.
My sister confided in her and trusted that my
girlfriend wouldn’t tell me her business. Mela
did for a while, until it was hard for her to
keep the situation to herself, she was fearing
for my sister’s life.
Mphikeleli turned my sister into his punching
bag because he thought she was dating my
business partner. Apparently every time Busi
was visiting my house I would leave her with
my partner to have sex, because I didn’t like
him and wanted my sister to marry a
successful businessman. Yes, he was accusing
me of pimping out my little sister.
As if that wasn’t enough, the son of a bitch
was taking my sisters salary and controlling
how she spent it.
I couldn’t just sit back knowing that my
sister was being abused. I went home to tell
my mother and together we went to Busi’s
place to try and talk her out of this
relationship. She denied everything and even
stopped talking to Melamina for telling me
what was happening in her life. We tried for
years to open Busi’s eyes but my sister
wouldn’t leave that son of a bitch.
One time he beat her so bad after accusing
her of sleeping with the principal of the
school she was working at. Busi ran to
Mahlabathini and my mother called me
immediately. My sister was black and blue,
Mphikeleli had dealt with her. We advised her
to leave Mphikeleli and open a case, she
refused going to the police but promised that
she was done. I believed her and saw it
happening because at least she didn’t have to
go back to Durban immediately, it was the
school holidays. My mother called me crying
before Christmas, Busi was packing her things
and leaving with Mphikeleli. The bastard was
there to pick her up. MaZikode said he
managed to convince her that he will change
and work on his anger issues. He promised
that he will leave all the illegal things he was
doing for money and chase his dream of being
a professional trainer.
Busisiwe fell pregnant and my mother and I
were devastated. She was going to be tied to
Mphikeleli for the rest of her life. Mama and I
tried harder to get her to leave him, we didn’t
want her to bring a life into that toxicity but
she believed that she and the baby would be
able to help Mphikeleli deal with his issues.
Like the other times throughout the years,
our efforts to save her were futile.
I was in Johannesburg on business when I
received a call from Busi one night. She was
hysterical, I had never heard my sister cry like
that. She was asking me to come pick her up
and take her to the hospital because the baby
was coming. It didn’t make sense because she
still had a month to go. I forced her to tell me
what was happening and that’s when she told
me that Mphikeleli came home mad as hell,
when she asked what was wrong he didn’t
want to talk about it. Busi kept on asking and
that’s when he lost it and started beating her
for nagging him. He did not give a shit about
his baby growing inside of her.
I called Melamina to help, luckily she was at
my house and could use the car. Mela called
when she got to my sister’s place, she found
Busi alone, she was bleeding on the floor.
Mphikeleli was out with Busi’s car, the
bastard left her for dead on the cold floor.
After an hour of not hearing anything from
Mela I called her number and a police officer
answered. He asked me to come to the
hospital but I told him I was out of town and
only flying back the next day. That’s when he
told me that the was an accident and the
driver died on the scene, while the pregnant
woman was rushed to the hospital.
Mphikeleli might not have killed Busi and
Mela directly but it’s his fault that Mela had
to drive in the dark while it was raining cats
and dogs to get my sister to the hospital.
Now he has turned the story to make it look
like he’s innocent and I’m the bad guy. My
heart is bleeding that Nhlangano even used
his own mouth to say its my fault. I thought
I’ve felt pain in my life but this? Having my
own son turn on me like this is the worst
thing ever.