Amile The Queen

Chapter Thirty-One

***Amile Gumede***

He’s watching TV in the lounge and I’m sitting in the kitchen looking through cook books to see what I can make for dinner. I gave Sis’ Melo the day off to rest. There was no need for her to come here with me because I’m perfectly capable of doing things myself. She’s just going to be taking care of household duties when I can’t.
I want to try making dumpling, I’ve never made it before, but my mom makes the best and I miss her cooking. I remember that I have a phone so I rush upstairs to take it.
I still haven’t turned it on, the last I touched it was back in the car when he gave it to me. I sat on the bed and turned it on.
I don’t want to have social media, and I only want to have the contacts of the people that are important. I’m fact, I might just stick to using SMS as my line of communication just like Nkosi.
Jama is home, I can hear his raspy voice and Nkosi is greeting someone else. I walk out the room and stand at the top of the staircase. My heart leaps when my eyes land on my best friend. I run down the stairs to go engulf her in a hug.
I missed her so much.
“You’re actually here!?” she cries.
“You’re also here.” Now we are laughing through tears.
I look at Jama, is he behind this? Is there something going on between them.
“How did you get here?” I wipe her tears and she wipes mine.
“I was basically kidnapped by this man.” I laugh, so does Nkosi, but Jama and Nambitha don’t. Oh okay.
“Let’s go sit in the terrace.” I hold her hand and we walk upstairs to sit at the terrace.
It has an amazing view of the ocean in the far distance, and watching the white people walking their dogs is pleasing.
“How have you been.” I ask her. She’s awfully quiet.
“I should be asking you! How are you.” You can see the pity in her eyes.
“I’m good. Getting better everyday, slowly getting used to the fact that I’m a wife.” She smiled gently.
“And what about Nkosi, how do you feel about him.” I sighed and banged my palm against the wooden chair.
I can feel my tears pushing their way to my eyes. I don’t want to cry, but I haven’t spoken to anyone since I got here and a lot has happened. She sees that I’m slowly breaking down and she stands up to hug me in a tight hug.
“Kubhlungu Nambitha. It hurts like hell and what makes everything worse is the fact that he’s not taking it well. He’s becoming a man I didn’t love and the fear of losing the love that I had in my heart for him scares me more than losing him like I have.”
“You still love him?”
“With my heart body and soul. I love him and think of him everyday when I wake, even before I go to sleep. I love him.” My chest hurts.
“Are you going to cope living here with him?” this us her way of helping me, I know she can’t give me advice.
“I don’t know, it’s already difficult as is.”
“It will get easier like you said babes, and maybe him turning into the mam you didn’t fall in love with will be a good thing, you’ll get over him much easier.” I wish it was easy like that.
“Enough about me and my depressing life, how are you?” she gave a exhausted smile before burying her head in her hands.
So we are both going through the most?
“Chomie is it a boy?” she nods without lifting her.
This is what happens when you start dating at an older stage of your life. Stress has you by the balls.
“Who is that boy?” she lifts her head and her whole face has turned red.
“Nkululeko Dlamini.”
“Do I know him? Does he go to our school?” she shakes her head and laughs.
“You know him very well.” She looks at me.
I don’t know of any Nkulul…
“Are you fucking dating Jama!?” she slapped my arm.
“Shush, why are you screaming. Do you want the whole world to know!” I cracked up. First of all, it’s Jama!
“Wait, when did this thing start?”
“Hes been asking me out ever since that day we were here.”
“And when did you agree to date him?”
“Yesterday.” Hhayini!
“So why are you guys already having problems?” she genuinely looks frazzled.
“So mans never thought of mentioning that he has not one but two fucking breathing humans from his balls.” Okay, she’s angry. Nambitha doesn’t swear.
“He has children?” I’m shocked.
“Not one Amile, he has two. One calls him daddy.” Her hand is shaking.
“I looked at my mom like she was crazy when she said I must stay away from grown ups, now I see what she means.”
“Aren’t you glad you found out earlier though chomie?”
“No, because if I hadn’t forced him to answer that call, I wouldn’t have found out.”
“When did this happen?”
“Today, now on the way here. I told him to take me back home but he refused.”
“Do you like him?”
“I do chomie, but this is too much. Children are baggage, one is enough, but two! That is absolutely ridiculous. I’m too young to be dealing with baby mama drama, and older women love causing drama. You could tell from the voice that she was dramatic.” I laugh, I don’t mean to, but I’ve never seen her like this.
“Welcome to real life babes.”
“It’s not funny Amile. This man is toying with my feelings, and how sure am I that he won’t also knock me up and leave me for a newer fresher younger girl?”
“Then talk to him, get his side of the story and let him tell you what his plans are with you. If you really like him, I wouldn’t advise you to leave him because of children he had before you.”
“Easy for you to say, you like kids.”
“They love me, and I’m technically a step mother to four boys, and one is a year younger than me.” She wanted to laugh, but she held back.
“You can laugh, it’s hilarious. He can’t even look at me.” We both laughed.
Maybe this will be my best coping mechanism, just accepting what has happened and find laughter in the things that bring me sadness.
“Cool down, and think about this with a level headed mind. Make a decision and talk to him about it so you can find a way forward. I just want to see you happy chomie.” I stood up to give her a hug and she met me halfway.
“I missed you so much.” I whispered.
“Me too.”
^
^
^
She’s not talking to Jama, I don’t know how they are going to drive together in silence. Who am I kidding, I have to stay behind with Mandlenkosi. I’m not looking forward to that.
I see her off and go back to the kitchen to prep my cooking things. He goes in to fetch a beer in the fridge. I’m standing in front of the drawer chopping and he needs to open the drawer to get the bottle opener. We aren’t speaking, I’d like to see him ask.
He looks at his beer bottle before opening the fridge to take out another one. I continue to chop without looking at him. I won’t give him the satisfaction. He opens it using the other one and directly drinks from the bottle, gulping it down all in one go.
I’m actually stunned. This is the reason he’s always hungover. He goes to dump the empty bottle in the bin and comes back to stand next to me.
“Can I open here please.” Liquid courage I see.
I moved out the way and he opened to drawer. He took out the bottle opener and opened the bottle and threw it back in the drawer, not where he found it.
“Awuyificanga lapho.” I say as he closes the drawer.
“If I bothers you fix it then.” Rotten man this one is.
He walks our and he leaves me chopping violently. He’s not my favourite person at present.
My plans of making dumpling were disturbed by Nambitha so I won’t make it anymore. I just made chicken briyani, I found myself craving it for some reason. I was glad the drunkard had all the spices to make it.
Jama came back just as I was about to dish up. He walked straight into the kitchen.
“Kyasho ukuthi kukhona umama wasekhaya ke manje.” I laughed.
“I’m dishing up now, go do whatever you need to do and come eat. Call your friend too.” He gives me that look.
“Go Jama.” He shakes his head.
He’s still excited from the food. He’s rubbing his hands together, and that’s a good sign.
Nkosi is the first one at the table, he already looks drunk. I lost count of the beers he had while I was cooking. He kept going in and out of the kitchen. He’s drinking on an empty stomach. He gives me pleading eyes.
“Please dish up for me.”
Sober Nkosi is rude and talks down on me and treats me terribly but drunk Nkosi, he’s a big baby who cries and gets his way.
“Udakiwe Mandlenkosi?” I asked him.
He shook his head and took a plate from the table and handed it to me.
“Please Amile.” I placed him hands on my hips and looked at him in displeasure.
I’m so disappointed in him.
“Don’t look at me like that.” He stands up, I’m guessing he’s dishing up for himself.
I won’t let him. I try to take the plate from him.
“Letha Mandlenkosi.”
“Leave it Amile you said no!” now we are fighting over a plate.
He lets go of the plate and takes the dishing spoon out the bowl of briyani and tries to take another plate.
“Mandlenkosi stop it man!”
He slams the plate on the table and storms out the dining room leaving me with a big mess on the floor and the table. Jama comes out of his room in panic.
“Talk to your friend, please, talk to him.”
I’ve lost my appetite.



***Nkululeko Dlamini***


He’s pissed off, in fact he’s fuming mad, especially after seeing her expression, how drained she looked. His mission was clear, her wanted to murder him.
“What the hell is your problem!” he barged into his room.
He was passed out on the bed. He couldn’t even tell if he was conscious or not, but his position on the bed says otherwise.
“Nkululeko get out of my room.” He spoke in a raspy voice.
“Why are you behaving like this, why are you acting like a hooligan!?” oh he’s pressed.
Nkosi gets up and faces goes up in his face.
“Watch how you speak to me.” His eyes were bloodshot red.
“Or what Zulu. How do you think she feels watching you behave like this?” He grabbed him by the t-shirt.
“Jama, I’m warning you, let go of me.”
“I’ve been talking to you, I’ve been warning you about your actions, you are getting out of control Zulu, get a grip.” He’s slapping his cheek a few times as to wake him up.
This angers Mandlenkosi and he tries to throw a punch at him, but he’s drunk and he misses easily.
But Jama doesn’t miss. He almost knocks his teeth out in one hit and he finds himself lying on the bed suffering from the pain and the headache.
“Pull yourself together Zulu and when you are done, apologize to MaGumede.” He leaves him lying there.
It’s all just piling up, the frustration from Nambitha ignoring him the whole way here and back, the rocky relationship between him and Nkosi because of his drinking, now this. He deserves a break.
She didn’t even get a chance to enjoy the meal she slaved all day in the kitchen making, and the look on her face when she left the dining room is still pasted in his mind.
He cleans up the mess that was made and dishes up for himself and goes to sit in front of the TV, eating thinking about how he’s going to handle Nambitha. The reason he didn’t want to tell her this soon was because he knew she would react this way. No woman sane enough would agree to dating a man with two kids, especially with two different baby mama’s. But he has to explain himself, that at least if she says she can’t do it anymore, he would’ve tried to make her understand his side.
It’s too early to say it’s love. He’s attracted to her, he’s attracted to her body, the way she speaks, the way she carries herself. It’s hypocritical of him to feel like this for a young one like Nambitha when he judged Mandlenkosi for dating Amile.
These kids are forward, he saw it with Amile and the other friend they had. He even sees it with his little sister, they love things. The only thing that drew him to her despite her age is her innocence and feistiness all in one. She hadn’t even had her first kiss, it goes to show just how fragile she is, how pure she is.
He’s calling her. He knows she’s not speaking to him but he’ll take his chances. He’s surprised when she answers, but she doesn’t speak.
“Nana I know you won’t speak to me but please listen. I’ve never lied to you, all that I told you about me is true, I just withheld information, but that was only for the better of our relationship. I wasn’t going to spring such on you when you are only starting out in this dating thing, when you have put so much trust in me to make you happy. I was going to tell you, I swear, but when the time is right, and when we were both sure of what we were doing.” She cleared her throat.
“Are you done?”
“No. I have two beautiful children, my daughter Azande, she is five years old and my son Banele is turning three in December. They are the reason I went back to school and why I continue to work hard because I want them to be happy and give them whatever their hearts desire. I won’t force you to be in their lives as yet, especially if you aren’t ready, but I love you and I want to see where this things with you will go.” He said the word without flinching.
She picked it up but she kept quiet.
“Nana?” he called out.
“I need to think Nkululeko.”
“Take all the time you need MaXulu.”
“Bye.” She said.
“Have a good night Nana.”
Whatever it is that is going through her head it freaks him out. Women are dangerous creatures and you never know what they are thinking. Nambitha is unpredictable, that’s what he’s picked up about her. You can think and conclude something about her only to do the total opposite, disappointing you.
He’s going to sleep and leave room for disappointment. If it doesn’t work out, at least he would’ve tried, but he’s not going to compromise his children for a woman who doesn’t consider how much his life will change when they come in. His children are his first priority always.