KEPT

21. FIRST CHILD.

NKOSIYABO

It's a hectic couple of days, with the recent activities of my father and the company. I'm stuck splitting myself over different duties at a time. Bangizwe has been helping out by taking a portion of my COO workload while I fill my father's position and for that, I'm very grateful to him. It's at this time that I find myself feeling very grateful that I have shadowed my father for the longest time and learned how to run the company for the past ten years now. All those lessons and trainings and following him around while acquainting myself with other shareholders is paying off now because everyone still believes that even in my father's absence, the company is still in good hands. Which is the truth, Between my siblings and I, none of us will ever let our father's hardwork go to waste and the last thing we want is for him to return to a company that's sinking.

I've managed to go see him a couple of evenings after work, it's normally just myself or with Bangizwe. The last time I went to see him, My father in law went with me. To say I was nervous to see Khanyisa's father again after the whole Christmas nyovadam [disaster] that Liyana stirred up would just be me putting it mildly. I was nervous about him holding that over my head but when I saw him, his eyes held nothing but warmness, so I did not dare bring it up again, at this point I can say the man still trusts me with his daughter and that's all I'll ever ask for.

I also liked how he and my father were getting along like old friends, so much that I ended up sitting quietly in the room while they had the time of their lives chatting, that's when I learned that they also do talk on the phone from time to time, which explained the whole friendly aura that was going around in the room.

Right now I'm on my way to fetch him from hospital, he's finally coming home and him being the person that he is, he refused to let everyone come and flood his room and requested that I be the one who gets him from the hospital, so the others are at home waiting for us, my mother has called me atleast two times to check if we had left the hospital, she really missed her husband and we missed our father.

Right now, we are all just grateful that things didn't turn out to be worse than what they were and that we still get to have him with us, as grown as we are, he will always be our father and he will always hold a very special place in our hearts and lives.

I get to his room and find him trying to put on his slippers, he's groaning from having to bend and I quickly rush to his side to help.

"Ake ngikusize" [Let me help you] I get on one knee then help him put both slippers on.

"Ngiyabonga ndodana" [Thank you, son] he says then leans back on the chair groaning again while squinting his eyes. I want to ask why he didn't ask one of the nurses to assist him but I know my father, he probably refused their help and told them that he will manage.

"Uzizwa unjani namhlanje?" [How are you feeling today? "I ask him when he's relaxed.

"Ah, ngizizwa ngingcono. Ngijabule nje ukuthi ngiyahamba kulendawo" [I feel better, I'm just happy that I'm leaving this place]

"Usho ukuthi bebekuphathe kabi ngaleyondlela?" [You mean they were treating you that badly?]

"Awazi wena, akukho lutho oluhle ngokulala lapha uzizwa ungenamandla. Futhi ngiswele ukudla okuphekwe ngumkami, hhayi lombhedo abangiphakela wona lapha" [You have no idea, there's nothing nice about laying here feeling helpless. And I'm missing food that is cooked by my wife, not the nonsense they serve me here]

I see the smile on his face when he mentions Ma, I find myself wondering how he made it work for over three decades. I know that he arranged their marriage just like I did with Khanyisa, for different reasons maybe, but that's how their marriage started and they are still going strong. Do I think my parents love each other? Absolutely, was it always like this? According to them, no... So that just brings about a lot of thoughts in my head regarding my wife and I. I decide against asking him about their marriage.