PULL MY HEARTSTRINGS (COMPLETE)

23

                             

     
Three minutes seemed like a lifetime while Kgomotso waited for the life-changing results and it was made worse by the fact that she couldn’t numb her nerves with a glass of wine. Meditating was out of the question because she couldn’t sit still for more than 5 minutes when agitated. She could no longer ignore her symptoms after what happened in her office yesterday so she stopped at the pharmacy on her way home from work and bought three pregnancy tests just to be sure. She chickened out from taking the test last night and fatigue had her down before she could change her mind.
     
She wanted to be a mother and prayed that God would make that dream come true and having Anesu as the father was an added bonus, it also meant their lives would forever be intertwined even if their relationship ended. She hated having to resort to that kind of thinking because she never wanted to be that woman who used a baby to keep a man.
     
Kgomotso checked the timer for the hundredth time and was only left with ten more seconds until her fate was revealed. She couldn’t stop thinking about the bedroom she wanted to turn into a nursery and to know that might happen sooner than expected excited her. 
     
Five, four, three, two and one.
     
She stopped pacing and grabbed the test once the timer went off. 
     
“OMG! I’m pregnant!” Kgomotso stared at the stick in disbelief as tears blurred her vision. She used the two remaining tests and frowned as one of them turned out to be negative, she didn’t panic cause 2 out of 3 were positive so the odds were in her favour.
     
She stared in the mirror, studying her reflection as she gently poked at her stomach it didn’t feel any different but she knew all that was about to change. She was really going to be a mother, her hand instinctively went on her belly and she smiled.
     
After brushing her teeth she wrapped the tests with toilet paper and placed them in her handbag to dispose of them later, she couldn’t risk Anesu finding them. She was planning on telling him but didn’t know how to break the news, they’ve never discussed having children and Kgomotso was nervous he felt the same way about them like he did with marriage.
     
She wore her robe before stepping out of the bedroom to prepare breakfast, it needed to be odourless and require zero spices because it didn’t take much to trigger her nausea. There was a bearded stranger in the kitchen, Kgomotso almost screamed when she saw him sitting by the island with a newspaper spread out in front of him, drinking a steaming cup of coffee.
     
“I didn’t know my brother had company,” he said, not lifting his eyes from the paper.
     
Oh, it was the infamous Tinashe. She imagined he’d look like a nyaope boy and not this proper man, reading the paper and drinking expensive coffee.
     
“Shouldn’t you be in rehab?”
     
Fuck! Did I really say that out loud?
     
He raised his head and frowned when his laser-sharp eyes landed on her, it was like he saw right through her and the jagged scar above his eye added a flair of danger to him, she didn’t get the sense that he’d hurt her so she relaxed. The similarity to Anesu was palpable, however his features lacked finesse.
     
“So, my brother told you that I’m a junkie?”
     
“Well, he didn’t use that exact word.”
     
“Oh, I see.” He closed the paper and folded it in half. “And based on what he told you, you’ve concluded that you don’t like me, am I right?”
     
“You almost got him killed,” she said, sternly.
     
His nose flared, allowing his anger to brew and turn his eyes red. “Listen here…lady--”
     
“My name is Kgomotso.” She interrupted him.
     
“I don’t care.” He waved his hand dismissively, his tone dripping with contempt. “I don’t have time to memorise your name because you won’t be here for long, remember that before you start thinking your opinion holds any weight here.”
     
His words stung but she wasn’t backing down, she’d been baying for his blood since the day Anesu came home covered in bruises because of him.
     
“You might find this hard to believe but I care for Anesu more than you apparently because if you really cared about your brother you’d sort out your life and stop expecting him to rescue you every time you fuck up.”
     
“Of course you ‘care’ my brother is quite the catch and also happens to be successful, so you’re not the first of your kind I’ve dealt with.”
     
“My kind?”
     
He tilted his head and a smug smile traced his lips. “Do I need to spell it out for you, sweetheart?”
     
“So, I’m a gold digger because I’m calling you out on your bullshit?”
     
“If the shoe fits you know what to do with it.”
     
“I can shove it up your ass, how about that? Maybe that’ll knock some sense into your head.”
     
He chuckled, his anger from earlier forgotten. “You don’t mince your words, it’s annoying but I like that.”
     
What? Was he being serious? She frowned.
     
“You need some tough love and it’s obvious Anesu won’t do it cause he would rather spread himself too thin where you’re concerned, but I don’t mind being the bad guy. My only hope is that you’ll really get your act together this time and stay clean, your brother will have more important things to focus on in the near future.”
     
“Important things like what?”
     
She touched her stomach again, briefly this time not to make him suspicious of anything.
     
“Starting his own family.”
     
He failed to hide the shock on his face. “Are you two getting married? Because he’d be a fool to repeat the same mistake twice and my brother is no fool.”
     
Her pregnancy changed everything and Anesu would have to do the right thing.
     
“It will happen eventually.”
     
“Don’t hold your breath, sweetheart, because honestly speaking you are not the type he normally goes for. He’ll move on once he gets bored of you.” His eyes roamed the length of her body as he spoke and Kgomotso was reminded once again that her body type didn’t meet the universal beauty standards, all women were forced to live up to.
     
Kgomotso instantly paled at his words and wished to vanish at that moment.
     
“Tread carefully, Tinashe, I will not tolerate such talk about Kgomotso.” Anesu sauntered into the kitchen dressed in shorts and a black t-shirt.
     
Oh, shit! Did he hear everything?     
     
He was unfazed by Anesu’s warning as he picked up the paper and dumped the coffee mug in the sink. “I’ll be in my room if you need me.”
     
After their unpleasant encounter she’d be sure to stay out of his way and hoped Tinashe would do the same.
     
Kgomotso busied herself, filling the kettle with water for her porridge, it was the safest choice she could think of for breakfast.
     
“I’m sorry about that, I hope he wasn’t much trouble,” said Anesu, wiping his face with the towel around his neck.
     
She turned to face Anesu and refrained from touching him when he got close to her. She almost told him about the pregnancy because even Tinashe’s presence didn’t diminish her excitement about the news.
     
“He was fine.” She shrugged, trying not to look bothered by what he said. “But you should’ve told me that he was coming here.”
     
“I only found out when I got to the hospital that he was being discharged and you were already asleep when we got home.”
     
“Is he going to rehab?”
     
He opened the fridge and took out bottled water, taking a generous sip and how was watching him perform such a simple act a turn on?
     
“Yes, but there are a few things we need to sort out first.”
     
“Okay. How was your work out?” She changed the subject.
     
“Horrible,” he grumbled.
     
“What happened?”
     
“I got knocked down twice, but he got lucky cause I’m still in pain.”
     
Kgomotso laughed unable to keep a straight face when his expression changed. “You’ll get him next time.”
     
“I plan to.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her body flush against his. “What are you cooking?” He lowered his head close to her neck. “I’m famished,” he whispered in her ear.
     
Even when she tried not to show it her body found a way to betray her and succumbed to his will without a fight. It was like he understood the language coursing through her body and spoke it with a clarity that left her wanting for more.
     
“Porridge.” She checked the kettle and frowned. “The water is still cold.”
     
“It must be load shedding.”
     
“You need to invest in a generator or solar panels because I can’t keep suffering like this.”
     
She was too hungry to deal with this nonsense.
     
“I’m working on it.” He smirked.
     
She grabbed an apple and a knife from the drawer and washed it before peeling it. She made sure to get everything off in one clean precise cut and tossed the peeled apple in Anesu’s direction when she finished and searched in the pantry until she found some Marmite.
     
“Don’t you have peanut butter?” she asked, staring at the Marmite with uncertainty.
     
“No. I’ll tell Macy to add it to the grocery list.”
     
“How come I’ve never met Macy?”
     
The only evidence Kgomotso had that Macy existed was how spotless this house was and the meals she sometimes cooked.
     
“She doesn’t come every day.”
     
He frowned when she dipped a piece of the apple skin in the jar and ate it.
     
“That was a bad idea.” She quickly closed the jar and put it back in the pantry, she finished the remaining peels and took out another apple, washed it, peeled it and ate the skins only.
     
“What’s going on?” he asked because this was new to him and he didn’t know what to make of it
     
“Nothing, why?”
     
He shook his head. “Never mind.”
     
“Okay. I’m going out, I feel like pampering myself today and I still need to get my dad and ausi Daphne presents, so I might be gone for a while.”
     
“Will I also get a present?”
     
She tilted her head and pretended to give his question some thought. “Yes, because you’ve been a good boy.”
     
He captured her unsuspecting lips in a dizzying kiss and she melted against his chest. He had to love her, he had to and despite what Tinashe said Kgomotso was hopeful she’d get her happy ending one day.