Maid For Marriage

53

I helped to serve dinner and noticed MaRadebe wasn't eating much. I was worried about her. I helped with the dishes to distract myself from everything that was going wrong.

When I was done MaGumede helped me with tea. "I'm glad you're back." I thought she was being nice so I just smiled. "We can all finally get back to our lives. We all had to pick up the slack for you while you were on your holiday away from marriage. You couldn't even make it through a year. I'm leaving tomorrow. I don't care about easing you back into reality. This is a polygamous marriage and we all got married to serve a purpose. Incase you forgot yours is to look after Ma." She grabbed a tray and left me there speechless.

I took a shower and went to bed expecting Senzo to join me but he never came.

Since my conversation with MaGumede last night I gathered that they thought they should go easy on me so I got up early and got right to my tasks. I started breakfast before anyone was even awake. I couldn't clean much because makeshift beds where all around the house to accommodate everyone. So I started to the laundry. It would take me days to finish.

"Good morning Makoti." I heard Gogo's rough voice. "Morning Gogo." I turned the tap off and let the clothe soak in the soapy water. "I didn't expect you to be up and busy. Don't you want to come join us for breakfast?" I cleared my throat awkwardly. "I already ate but I'll come make tea." I dried my hands and walked inside with her. I served tea. The most I got from Senzo was a thank you so I went to the living room and put away all the bedding and cleaned.  After that I did the rooms and the rest of the house in between hand washing the laundry.

"You've been keeping busy." It was MaKhumalo bringing me juice. "I have a lot to do." She just hummed in response. "Okay." Was all she said and left me alone. I finished all the laundry I could and I was packing it away when Senzo finally came to look for me.

"I guess we should talk." I could feel myself getting angry but logic told me there must be a reason for this. I should just hear him out. "You went silent on me." He said taking a seat next to me. I stopped folding. "You went completely silent on me and then didn't come home. Why didn't you come home?" I didn't know how to answer. "I lost track of time. I didn't mean to do it. I just did." He didn't say anything else. We just sat there. He didn't sleep in my room that night either. Or any other night. His family left and he left with them.

I distracted myself with chores and taking care of MaRadebe. There was nothing else I could do except cry myself to sleep every night he wasn't there.

He came back two weeks later and Ma made herself scarce as if she was forcing us to talk.

"Are you punishing me?" He didn't answer. "I was only doing what you told me to."
"Oh and what was that?!"
"When I left you said go and be selfish. Don't think of anyone but yourself and I did!"
"Yes, and you took it too far! Do you think you're the only one who lost a child!? You're not! You left and I had to deal with it! We agreed on a month and regular contact! You went radio silent and wouldn't have come home if Mbali didn't go see you!"

"Hey! What's going on in here! We heard you all the way from the gate." Ma came in with MaKhumalo carrying groceries. "So, you are punishing me? Punishing me for something you told me to do?" I ignored ma and Mbali's presence. "You took it too far! You left me here to deal with the loss of a child! Our child!" I was getting angrier and angrier. "I could've travelled to the other side of the world and I would've still had to deal with it! There's no escaping it! I asked you for time and you gave it to me! I am not the problem here!"

"Okay! Stop! Both of you!" Ma yelled at us. I was fighting back tears. I was angry him and the fact that I wanted to cry made me even more mad. "Both of you lost this child and you both dealt with it in your own specific way. Nobody left the other to bare the weight alone. Like Thandi said, there's no escaping this. You can't control the way someones grieves. So please, stop this. Take it easy on eachother. You've been through a lot."