The Arrangement

No seriously, what is going on.

Sinothando

When I woke up, it was around early evening, I say this because the sun was just setting. I changed out of the bikini and took a shower. I wore a peach maxi dress with a light brown cardigan. I added some earrings and a necklace to the outfit. I wore gold sandals and brushed my short hair. I decided to wear a header that matched the color of the dress.

I drew the curtains in and walked out to the kitchen. When I got then, I found the young lady from the breakfast table crying. "Oh sweetheart, what's wrong?" My motherly instincts kicked in. She kept crying. "What ever it is, I'm sure it will pass dear one. Shhh ungakhali." I held her tight as she fell apart in my arms.

"Thank you" She sniffed, wiping her face with the back of the sleeve of her sweater. "It's not a problem love. Now...would you mind talking about it?" I asked, rubbing her back soothingly. "Uhm..." She sniffles as her eyes watered again. "It's okay if you don't want to, no pressure." I squeezed her shoulder in an empathetic way.

"Okay" She nodded, wiping her tears. We sat in silence with her head on my shoulder. "Yhoo it's getting late. We should start cooking- oh." We turned to the sound of the voice. It was the rude woman from the morning and the woman who I was reminded is uMamkhulu. "Sanibonani boMah" I stood up to shake their hands. Mamkhulu pulled me in to a hug.

"Makoti wethu" she says before pulling me into another bone crushing hug. She moves on to the young lady. "Don't cry Sinokuhle. Your mother is at peace now my dear " oh, her mother passed away.

She, Sinokuhle, held onto Mamkhulu and cried. I felt like I was invading a private moment so I stood to walk out. "Makoti please start on the pots." Mamkhulu requested.

They moved to the living room and left me with the woman who just glared at me. I ignored her and began washing the vegetables that I'd use. "Ufunani la? (What do you want here?)" I ignored her, thinking-no, choosing to think that she's talking to her ghosts.

"Ngithe ufunani la! (I said what the hell are you doing here!)" She pulled at my arm roughly. "I don't know who you think you are but I will not tolerate your disrespect towards me!" I say, pulling my arm back. She stared down at me and I did the same.

"Find anything you like?" I asked her, looking her straight in the eyes. "You-" she pointed at me.

"I what?!" She stepped toward me. "Haai Khumbulule don't bother the young bride! Help her cook!" Mamkhulu said.

"Oh, it's no bother Ma. I am fine." I say, not trusting this Khumbulule to help me.

"Nonsense! She'll assist you. I insist. And you are a new bride, you do not know the rules of this family. I am merely doing you a favour by letting you cook." She then walked out.

"Move." I turned to the shrill annoying voice. "Sure." With a tight lipped smile, I moved to the side. She began packing everything that I'd taken out back into the fridge.

"So, what are we cooking?" I ask her, leaning towards the countertop that had the fruit basket. "I'm cooking uphuthu pap. You can just sit there and smile" she said.

"Alright." I sat on the bar stool, but before I did that I grabbed a glass of grape juice and a plate of crackers. She started banging pots and pans while I sat there and watched her. "And now? Why the noise?" Mamkhulu walked in.

"Mamkhulu lo makoti wakho uthe akafuni ukupheka ngase ngithi ngipheke. (Mamkhulu this bride of yours said she refuses to cook so I made the choice to cook.)" I chuckled, shaking my head as I stood up and went to rinse my glass. "Leave her to cooking. I need you to stay with Sinokuhle whilst I make a few calls." She walked out after saying that.