AYANDA: Another Chance At Love

Chapter 21

*Ayanda's POV*
The doctor comes up to me holding my little bundle of joy,"mommy, meet your strong and healthy baby girl" at this point besides my exhaustion, my heart is filled with so much joy, tears make their way, I'm holding her, I am finally holding my baby, this truly feels like a dream.

Nathi is standing next to me taking pictures. I hold her close to my heart and honestly I don't know how long it'll take for this to register, I am someone's mother. "you can hold her" I say looking up at Nathi, he looks surprised at my offer but he is also happy that I offered. He takes her into his arms "hello princess..." my heart is full, I think I finally know exactly what has been missing in my life, my baby has completed me.

"what are you going to name her?" he asks, okay that's something I didn't give thought. "Her existence brings me so much joy, uyiNtokozo yami, Ntokozo Owami Mabaso..." he smiles and nodds.

To be quite honest I'm tired and I could do with some sleep, the baby is taken for a bath after I was stitched and cleaned before I could breastfeed her and I'm taken to a different ward while Nathi says he's going to fetch uMa no Baba from the airport.

I doze off, after taking pain meds because honestly the stitches are kind of painful right now. While in my sleep I'm woken up by this weird feeling of someone's presence in the room. When I open my eyes I'm met by Muzi's eyes "hi..." he says, at this point I'm not even upset or hurt or even disappointed in him, I'm wayy too happy to let him ruin that for me.

"Hi" I respond back, "so I heard we have a baby girl, an addition to the Mabaso family" he chuckles nervously, I smile, "yes...", "MaGumede, I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you when you got your Labour pains or when you gave birth, trust me I wanted nothing more than to be there for you and our baby" as I was about to respond the nurse walks in wheeling a baby court so I assume it's time for my first breastfeeding moment.

She explains how it should be done and shows me, it's a bit painful or maybe just a bit of irritation. My baby looks so cute, tiny lips, a tiny nose and her tiny hands. Muzi takes a few pictures of her and I then he asks to hold her, I let him.

"awwwww there she is!!" ma walks in more like screaming all the way from the door, she walks over to me and gives me a warm hug "how are you feeling koti wam?" I smile, "I'm in a bit of pain ma kodwa ngikahle" she smiled then walks off to take Ntokozo from Muzi, my father in law greets me then asks to be excused to have a word with Muzi.

"I brought you your favourite, I know hospital food can be boring so at least here's something to eat" Nathi says while handing me an ocean basket paper bag and I'm truly excited, I'm not about to eat what they serve here. "not so quick, you're breastfeeding now, it is advisable to watch what you eat, we don't know yet if our baby here isn't allergic to fish so eat what the hospital offers" there goes my mother in law being a party pooper.

I share with them the names I gave my baby and she suggests that she comes and lives with us for a few months but then my house isn't big enough for a guest so the conclusion is that when I get discharged I need to move in to their family home in joburg so that uMa can help me for the first 3 months.

Muzi comes back in, "maQwabe, have you had anything to eat?" I nodd, "I don't feel like eating yet kodwa uNathi brought food for me" I notice him clenching his jaw but he just nodds.

"let's give you two some space" Ma says, she hands me Ntokozo then drags nathi out with her. "Muzi, ubukuphi?" I honestly need answers, why couldn't he get here on time? "I'm sorry maGume...", "Muzi I asked you a question, I hear you, you've apologized and I forgive you but where were you?" he sighs "I was caught up somewhere I couldn't get here on time" this man is unbelievable, "with another woman?" he doesn't respond, I guess I got my answer.

"when are we going to tell them?" he looks away "do they really have to know?" is he honestly being serious right now? "Muzi I can tell that you're seeing someone else so why not just tell your family about the divorce it's no use keeping it a secret when you're busy playing happy family with another woman"

"Divorce?" my mother in law stands by the door holding 2 cups of what looks like cafeteria coffee, I sigh, part of me is glad that she overhead us, I'm tired of this lying that Muzi expects us to live. "we were planning on telling you ma, after I have given birth, we didn't want to stress you guys out" she walks over to me and starts asking when it happened and why, we inform her, all she does is give me a hug "I'm proud of you baby" these words warm my heart.

*Muzi's POV*
I got to the hospital as soon as I could after listening to the endless voice messages that Nathi left for me. Nathi is Aya seem pretty close lately or maybe they've been close eversince but I couldn't notice because I was so caught up with uLihle.

Speaking of which, Lihle is leaving in the next 2 weeks, she's moving back to the US with her husband and yet again she's choosing her husband over me. I mean I always knew that she wasn't fully mine, but she made me lose my wife and now she's leaving me, it hurts honestly and you know what else hurts? Seeing that Ayanda can actually live without me, seeing that she no longer needs me to provide for her.

All along this has been my biggest fear, losing the power I had over her, I thought she'd never leave me because I am all she has and I do everything for her, she is dependent on me, but this new woman she is, she isn't even hurt by my stupid actions anymore, I've lose her for good now. I've lost a good woman.

Sitting here watching her and Nathi laugh and share jokes, finding out that Nathi is the one who brought her here, finding out that he was here to experience this before me it tears me apart, I couldn't even be there to witness the birth of my first and only child.

On the plus side, my little human is cute, seeing her, holding her, looking at her while her mother rocks her back and forth gives me hope that maybe someday things will makes sense again and I'll be out of this whole mess that I put myself in...