CHAPTER 36
SHLOBOSENKOSI MAVIMBELA

I don’t remember the last time I saw my
mother this happy and excited. She has been
smiling since we got here Friday evening; She
knew I was coming down here with a surprise
but she never thought it would be a woman.
My mother has been waiting for a “daughter
in-law” for years now and I finally brought
one home. I know she is going to go around
Mahlabathini telling everyone who cares to
listen. The village women are going to be
disappoint because the same MaZikode gave
them hope. Yes, some of the women thought
I’d pick a wife from their daughters and take
them to Durban.
I was nervous when we arrived but it quickly
went away when I saw how easily my mother
and Nonku clicked. It was like they were old
friends reconnecting after a long time; The
pair never runs out of things to talk about. I
feel like a spare wheel most of the time, but
it doesn’t matter because everything is
smooth sailing. This weekend definitely
exceeded my expectations.
Nonku and I are leaving for Durban in a few
hours. I’m outside washing the car while
listening to the radio. MaZikode and Nonku
are in the bedroom, my mother wants to give
Nonku a few of her dresses and two piece
suits. The ones she wore when she wanted
Mavimbela to be jealous. My girlfriend was
kind enough to act excited so she doesn’t hurt
my mother’s feelings. I won’t even hold it
against her if she packs them away and
forgets about them. The clothes are obviously
outdated and Nonku is a very morden woman.
“Shlobo,” a voice calls out and I quickly turn
and find Mam’Gasela. She’s fiddling with her
pinafore.
“Ma, unjani?” I ask with narrowed eyes.
I’m definitely surprised to see her here.
“I’m… Mmhh I’m okay,” her eyes are puffy and
blood shot red, she has been crying.
“You don’t look okay, has something
happened?” I’m genuinely concerned. She
might hate me but I don’t, she gave birth to
the woman who showed me true love.
“I have crossed the line Shlobo and now my…”
she stops talking, her eyes are on something
behind me.
“What have you come to fight about now,
Thembelihle?” my mother asks and Thalente’s
mother takes a deep breath.
“I didn’t come here to fight, Sisi,” she says and
my mother scoffs then claps once.
“Sisi?” MaZikode asks then smacks her lips. No
one can blame her for the attitude, this
woman was having an affair with her
husband.
“I’m sorry for just showing up, but when I
heard that Shlobo is around I had to come ask
for his help,” Mam’Gasela explains and my
mother laughs.
“You? Ask help from my son? The one you hate
so much?” I wish my mother could tone it
down. Mam’Gasela is desperate, she wouldn’t
have came here if it wasn’t serious.
“Maka Thalente, we can go talk inside,” I say,
gesturing for her to walk towards the door.
My mother folds her arms and gives me a
deadly eye.
“MaZikode, please,” I beg her and she drops her
hands and gets inside the house with the
confused Nonku behind her.
“Come ma,” I lead the way and she’s following
behind me. My mom is on the single couch
when we walk in the lounge. My girlfriend is
not in the room, I appreciate her for giving us
some space.
“You can sit down,” I point to the vacant
couch across from my mother, there’s a
coffee table between them, hopefully
MaZikode doesn’t jump it.
“I’m sorry for showing up here, but you are
the only person that can help me out,” she
gulps down her saliva, “I know I’ve mistreated
you in the past and because of that I don’t
have a right to ask for your help but I’m here
begging for it,” she continues and I look at my
mother who has a dangerous look on her face.
She dealt with Mam’Gasela calmly when she
came here with Thalente. I wish she could
handle this one the same way.
“It’s okay, my mother taught me to never hold
grudges against anyone. How can I help you?”
I ask and she quickly wipes her tears before
they fall.
“I allowed my anger and pain to cloud my
judgemnet and now I might have lost my
daughter forever. She’s not answering my
calls Shlobo. Thalente said I should consider
myself dead to her and I’m afraid that she is
sticking to her words. Please help me talk to
her,” she cries, rubbing her hands together.
“I have spoken to Thalente ma, she told me
what happened. I won’t lie, she’s heart broken
by the whole situation,” I say and she closes
her eyes, pained by my revelation.
“I didn’t mean to hurt her, Shlobo. Thalente is
my whole life, she is the reason I still see
beauty in this life. I wouldn’t know what to
do with myself if she cut me off, I’d be as
good as dead like she said,” that’s deep and I
can see she means every word. But it’s not
fair to have a favorite child, imagine how the
brothers would feel if they heard her speaking
like this.
“She’s just hurting ma, just give her some
space. She loves you and will never cut you
out of her life. Everything Thalente does is for
you,” I say and she shakes her head.
“You don’t understand Shlobo, she’s hard
headed. She doesn’t forgive easily, she is just
like Mav…” she quickly holds her tounge and
her eyes move nervously to my mother.
“Like who?” the question comes out in a
whisper from MaZikode.
“Nothing. Shlobo, please hel…”
My mother quickly gets up, her hands are
shaking. What’s happening, did I miss
something here?
“Yei! Mahosha!” I gasp in shock.
“Ma, no,” I reprimand her and she holds out
her hand to me.
“You stay out of it, Shlobosenkosi,” she’s not
playing with me, it’s a serious warning.
“Thembelihle, Thalente is stubborn just like
who?” why is she pressing on that matter?
Mam’Gasela has a hand covering her mouth as
tears stream down her face.
“She’s my husband’s daughter isn’t she?”
mama asks and my jaw is on the ground.
Thalente?
“I will choke the truth out of you Thembelihle,
I swear to God,” my mother screams and
Mam’Gasela nods vigorously.
Oh my God!
I watch my mother slowly sink back on the
couch, I can see the pain in her eyes.
I thought my father’s affair with Mam’Gasela
happened when I was still a kid. I was 20 or 21
years old when Thalente was born, I was away
from home hustling. Now I want to know
when it all started because the end of it is
clear. They ended months before Thalente was
born.
“Ma, are you serious? Thalente is my sister?” I
ask and she nods, avoiding my eyes.
“Yes, that’s why I have always been against
the relationship you had with Melamina. It
was nothing personal,” yoh! I was not
expecting this, I didn’t see it coming at all. I
mop my face with the palm of my hand and
heave a heavy sigh.
“Get out of my house Thembelihle,” my mother
says with her eyes fixed on the wedding
picture hanging on the wall.
Mam’Gasela gets up from the couch and
leaves without saying a word.
I go kneel infront of my mother and hug her,
only then does she wail, breaking my heart.

KATHERINE MOLOTSI

I’m so late, Mongezi is going to kill me. But he
will have to understand that I couldn’t leave
my house without making sure that my
husband is okay and will be comfortable until
I come back. Things between Thabo and I have
been really amazing, signing up for post
marital counseling has been the best decision
for our marriage. Everything feels right, we
are at the best place we have ever been in our
relationship. We have understanding, empathy
and respect. Those three things were lacking
for a long while and it’s good to have them
back.
I get to the restaurant and tell the hostess at
the door that I’m meeting someone here. She
asks for the name and checks her reservation
list, Mongezi is the one who made the table
booking. She tells me that I’m the first one to
arrive and takes me to our table; I drove here
like a mad woman because I was insanely
late, only to find that Mongezi hasn’t even
arrived. I am going to give him a hard time
over this. He can’t invite me out and keep me
waiting.
The waitress comes to take my order and I
ask her to give me a margarita and a shot of
tequila. Yes, I am aware that margarita has
taquila but I find it too weak so I give it an
extra kick. I take out my phone and there’s a
text from Mongezi, it came through 30
minutes ago. Oh he is such a fuck! How do
you cancel on someone you begged to meet
up with? This is disrespectful, I could be
cuddling with my husband watching some
action movie. Sundays are for lovers for
crying out loud!
My drink comes and I decide to enjoy it and
place an order for their seafood boil. I cooked
Sunday several colors so I will take the boil
for lunch tomorrow at work and leave some
for Thabo to eat during the day. He’s going to
kiss my bum for bringing it, my husband and I
are obssed with sea food and this place offers
the best of the best.
“Kat?” I look up and gasp for air.
Oh my God.
“Karabo,” it comes out in a whisper.
I can’t believe I’m looking at her, she looks so
gorgeous, just like the last time I laid my eyes
on her.
“Wow, I can’t believe I’m looking at you,” she
says with a smile and the butterflies in my
stomach go a tad crazy.
This girl used to drive me completely insane,
no other woman had an effect on me the way
Karabo did.
“Me too. It’s nice seeing you,” I say and she
tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“Are you here with someone?” -Karabo.
I shake my head.
“No, a friend of mine stood me up,” I explain
and she scrunches her nose.
“Can I?” I nod vigorously and she pulls out a
chair and settles down.
“I was having lunch with my sister, she left a
couple of minutes ago. I stuck around for
another drink, I didn’t think I’d bump into
you,” she says with her head tilted to one side
then licks her lower lip. Oh no she didn’t, is
she trying to turn me on?
“Are you visiting? The last time I heard you
were in Cape Town,” I ask to make
convesation and she shrugs her shoulders.
“I came back about a year and a half ago. I
got a job with better benefits this side,” she
explains.
“Where is your husband?” she asks and I clear
my throat. What an uncomfortable question.
Karabo is the girl I cheated on Thabo with;
She didn’t know I was in a relationship with
Thabo, I lied and said he was a close friend of
mine and she had no reason to worry about
him. She was broken when I ended things
between us; I didn’t mean to hurt her but I
loved Thabo more than what she and I had
going on at the time.
“I left him at home, he’s doing good,” I say and
pick up my glass and take a sip, “What about
you? Is the a Mr or Mrs?” I ask and she
chuckles.
“A boyfriend, I’m hoping it leads to marriage.
He is an amazing guy,”
“It will because you are equally an amazing
girl,” I murmur and she leans back and starts
playing with the salt container.
“I am a pain to him most times, too insecure,
Kat. I keep thinking there’s something going
on between him and his baby momma, but
there isn’t. Everyone keeps reassuring me but
I can’t help myself. I was once told not to
worry about someone only to be dumped for
him. I carry that with me and now it might
cost me this amazing relationship,” she says
and I swallow hard. I know she’s referring to
me.
“I’m sorry for what I did to you, Karabo. I hope
one day you can find it in your heart to
forgive me,” I say and she shrugs.
“Let me order a drink,” she says, waving for a
waitress, “Tell me about work.” I pinch the
bridge of my nose. This shouldn’t be
happening, Karabo is a hard limit for Thabo. If
he knew I was sitting with her over drinks we
will take a hundred steps back and we have
made so much progress. At the same time I
can’t just brush off Karabo, especially after
what she said about having insecurities
because of what I did to her.