The Arrogant Jerk

CHAPTER 13

I knock off at work and head straight to my apartment. I actually find time to check at my emails. Trust me, I didn’t have time to check them last night and this morning. The catch up session with Mathenji took forever. I hold my breath when I see a new email on the primary folder. Opening it, I nearly scream when I see that it’s an invitation to an interview. There is a date, time and venue stipulated in the email. This is really great news. I don’t know how many schools I have applied to but hardly got any response, whether it was a rejection email or what. I am not going to share these news with anyone. I will wait until I get a job before I announce it.

After showering, I receive a call from my older sister, Nneka. She is a marine biologist. She works and permanently resides at Port Macquarie, in Australia. We are not that close but we call each other at least once or twice a month. I think in a way, she inspired me to teach biology. She is a genius.

“Sister, how are you?” I ask as I sit on the couch. Our calls are usually longer because we are just summarizing all that’s been happening in one phone call.
“I am good, little one. How are you?” I smile.
“I am fine. How is life at the ocean? Met any merman yet?” she cracks up.

“Oww, how I miss you with your stupid sense of humour.” I chuckle. “I am currently dating this Asian guy. The relationship is still new, so we are just getting to know each other. All I can say is that he knows how to fuck.” I laugh.

Here is a thing about me. Being the middle child means I am literally everyone’s best friend. The young ones come to me with their problems and the older ones come when they want to vent or just to chat. I am that open. My sister’s romantic life is very colourful. She has dated American men, Italian, Mexican, Portuguese, South Africa, basically all the countries she has travelled to because her work sometimes requires that she travels to other countries for research purposes.

“Are his eyes small?” she laughs.
“He is Asian not Japanese. He is a mixture of American and Asian, so he doesn’t have Chinese eyes.” I chuckle with a nod. “What’s up with you?”
“I am in a no-strings attached arrangement with some guy who is in the television industry.”
“Extinguish that flame, Chichi. Fast before it burns you.”
“Why?”

“Those things never end in good terms. One of the involved parties fall for the other and when the other doesn’t reciprocate the feelings, it causes problems and chaos. To save yourself time and avoid the drama, exit sister.” I sigh.
“I hear you and I will take your advice into great consideration.” She laughs.
“You are always doing your own thing. I heard about your brother’s shenanigans.” I crack up. “Is he crazy though? How can he do something like that to Celine?”
“Men are trash, that’s all I can say.”

“Not all of them.” I chuckle. “Anyways, one of the reason I called you is because I am coming to South Africa next month. I will be staying there for a whole month. 3 weeks for work and one for pleasure.” I smile widely. The last time I saw her was at Christmas, 3 years ago. It’s much expensive for her to travel home every year, even if she has a job that pays her handsomely.

“That’s great. Where are you going to stay?”
“At some apartment organized by the company. It’s in Sandhurst. I don’t know how far it is from your place but I know I am going to visit you whenever I find time.”

“I am also going to come by at your place just to check it out. If it has 2 bedrooms, I will probably spend some nights there.” she laughs.
“I will hold you to it.” My phone indicates an incoming call.
“Someone else is trying to reach me, sister. Let me attend to the call. We will talk again sometime soon.”
“I love you, little one.”
“I love you more.” we end the call and I answer Zoe’s call. She tells me she is waiting at the parking lot.

I change into denim shorts, t-shirt and sneakers. I quickly head down and find her driving a different car this time around. What was I expecting? The woman is married to a millionaire. She is driving a silver gray Ford Ranger.

“I never pictured you as a ranger girl.” I state, climbing the 4x4. She chuckles before driving off. “In fact I never pictured you driving any type of car. When you said you are all about spending your husband’s money, I imagined you being driven anywhere you go.” She laughs.

“That’s not the case. The only person I enjoy being driven by is my husband, not a total stranger. Because I get to pick on him and annoy him.” I laugh. “How is everything back at home?”

“My older brother impregnated a woman outside marriage. Worse the woman is an ex-friend of mine. She was even there when my brother got married to his wife. And to top things off, he ran from his marital home because he was fearing his wife’s wrath.” She laughs so hard, even accidentally hits the hooter which has us both startled and then laughing more.

“Your brother is an asshole though. If he were my son, I would’ve punished him for that and sided with his wife.” I chuckle.
“How do you punish a grown man with his own place and job?” she gives me a side smile.
“My sons love me so much, they actually complain when I no longer call them or check up on them. So imagine if I were to do that for a whole month. I am sure they would literally die.” I crack up.

We get to this really nice building in 2 Wellington Road, Parktown and I am in awe as we drive inside. Fuck, this place is really beautiful. A huge upgrade from Central. She parks her car and climbs off. I also get off and follow her inside the building. There is an elevator, something that we don’t have in my apartment. She greets the doorman and we walk inside this perfect lobby. This place qualifies as a hotel. Real people live here? But I shouldn’t be shocked since I have been inside Zoe’s castle. We head to the elevator and get off on the 4th floor. The corridor is so clean and quiet. I think the walls here are actually soundproof because in my apartment, you can hear any sound when you’re in the corridor. We stop room 403. She unlocks it with a key and we step inside.

“Wow.”

The room is so spacious. It is fully furnished but there is so much space. The floor is fully tiled. There is a cozy lounge with a long couch, TV, TV stand and a coffee table. There is a small dining area with 4 chairs and a table. The kitchen has a fridge, washing machine, dishwasher, built in cardboards and stove and everything you might possibly need in a kitchen, except for a kettle and the cupboards are completely empty. We move on to the next room which is the bedroom. It is empty but there is a built in wardrobe. You can actually fit in a king-sized bed here, a small couch and a dresser. One of the built in wardrobe doors lead to an en-suite. I am really in heaven. The bathroom is classy. There is a bathtub, sink with a cabinet, toilet and a nice table. We lastly head to the balcony. The bedroom actually has floor to ceiling windows which makes you see everything that’s happening outside.

“How much is rent here?” I ask Zoe, still shocked by everything I am seeing. She chuckles.
“This is no rental apartment. People purchase them. The whole place costs R1 150 000. You can actually get a bond loan and I think it’s round about 9k a month, I am not sure.” I gasp.
“What?”

“No biggie. Anyways, the movers are waiting for your call. I expect you to be settled in by Friday evening so that my husband and I will come for dinner.” She says with a smile and walks to the front door. “I am giving you some time to take it all in. you will find me in the car.”
“Thank you, Zoe. Honestly, this is too much. I don’t know what to say or where to start thanking you.” My eyes get filled with tears and I try sniffing them away. She steps closer and hugs me.

“Don’t cry. You are part of our family now. Your family away from home.” She kisses my forehead and then heads out.

I go back to touring the place with tears streaming down my cheeks. How the hell did I get lucky to get all this? A mere conversation with a stranger at a book club has led me to this. Is this God’s sign? I have no words, literally. God, I thank you for creating people like Zokuthula and Mazwakhe Gumbi in the world.

A/N
I love you. Stay safe this Easter Weekend. Till we meet again on Monday.