SIMPHIWE SHANDU THE HUSBAND
CHAPTER 1
SIMPHIWE
I look at Bagqibile peacefully sleeping on the hotel bed. I smiled a bit looking at her beauty, and then the guilt of knowing that I left my wife alone at home. I sigh getting out of bed. I need to take a shower and go back home. My phone has been off all weekend – trying to run away from my imagination and the pressure at home. The traumatic reality itself. The topic of the baby, day after day until it gets to bore me at some point. My family does not understand the strain that they are putting on our marriage. At some point I feel like we are drifting apart. I would say I understand my wife - simply because of the pressure that she gets from my family. Sometimes I cannot even get to be there for emotional support. I get to be the opposite of what she requires. The fighting in the house has increased and it is just getting tiring to be honest. I love my wife but she can be too much at times.
The endless business trips I go on have never been business trips, really. You know when they say cheating in your marriage is a sign of self-regulation failure. When it happened once, it was a mistake. When it happens twice – it's unfortunate. I chuck shaking my head.
A sudden gush of cold water shocks my body. The hammering heartbeat kills me slowly. While a one-time mistake will be painful, it may be possible to move past it and have a healthier relationship going forward. But that's rarely the case when it comes to habitual cheating. While many couples can overcome cheating, there's an unwritten two-strike rule!
I’ll be honest, the actual cheating felt amazing at first. It was great sex. The aftermath, unfortunately, was the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my life. It gets to be fun when it has all started – new and still fresh. Once I get to taste what I am after - I am always left with the trauma of guilt. The guilt of the paranoia, always overwhelming. But, I did it again. Again, the paranoia and guilt kicked in. I did it again. And again, the guilt and paranoia were just horrible. After two more rounds I had had enough and ended it. I am not proud, quite the opposite. It was quite frankly the most horrible thing to have done. I was caught even though I had ended it because being the stupid dick I am I continued sexing the other woman and that was what found me out.
I step out of the shower and wipe myself with the towel and sigh. Just months away I will be a father.
“Babe,” she calls out to me. “What time is it?” she asks stretching herself. She is just six months and already she is huge. I haven't even started buying baby clothes.
“Yes,” Bagqibile is pretty but not as much as my wife.
“Your phone is off. I received a notification that you are needed urgently.”
One of the disadvantages of being a doctor. You can never fully rest and surprisingly my wife has been understanding enough. I do not even remember a day when she would complain about my job. She is one of the remarkable women who always have my back.
“Shit! Can't a person just rest for a second.” I whine and throw myself om the bed. She laughs getting off the bed to go take a shower also. I decided to switch my phone on while I wait for Bagqibile to finish dressing.
A lot of messages come in flooding. I just close my eyes and take a deep breath not wanting to open the text messages. I know… my phone immediately rings. I glare at the screen and my wife's name pops up. It is still early in the morning and I do not have the time nor energy to fight with her.
I clear my throat before I answer.
“MaShandu.”
“There is a man here looking for a job. He wants to be a gardener.”
I remove the phone off my ear and look at the screen just to be sure. Did she really just get straight to the point without even giving me an earful?
“You can hire him.” I say, she drops the line and doesn’t even bid farewell. I frown to myself. Nozimanga is a very quiet calm woman who burst when she has had enough. Maybe she is tired of my endless non-existent business trips! Which doctor goes away on a business trip every weekend?
“I need to go to work.” One thing I love about Bagqibile is that she knows her place. She never gets to ask me about my wife nor my personal life.
“Do you need anything before we leave?” She asks me.
“No.”
“Breakfast?”
“I will eat at home.”
The look in her eyes is the hint of hurt. This happens every time I get to leave and go back home. “Come here.” I pulled her to my chest and kissed her temple.
“I promise to see you next week.” I say and she nods her head. I think she has fallen deeply for me and this was never meant to happen. I sigh letting go of her.
“We should get going.” I say helping her with her bags. I normally spend time with her when I want to bond with my child. The day my wife finds out about this big secret – all hell will break loose, honestly, I am not prepared for any of that.
I can sense the tension in the car and I must say I did not mean to hurt any of them. It was just the weakness in me that made me…
”Drop me off at my sisters.”
The sister that hates me the most. I cannot believe that she once told me to leave my beloved wife for her own sister.
“Okay,” I do not want any arguments – she can really start when she wants to.
