(not edited)
NKANYISO MADIDA
Leah and I make our way into the room Amahle is in. I wonder what happened to her to fall down the stairs. Amahle has been going up and down those stairs for years and not once have we had an accident like this. Maybe I should only take her on weekends when I can keep a close eye on her. It’s a miracle that her mother is so calm. I have to say, Leah has changed. The Leah I know was going to make a deal out of all this or even ban me from having Amahle.
Is she maybe like this because of the new man in her life? I don’t want to lie I am jealous. She looks happy and she is glowing. The fact that another man is behind her smile kills me. Does it mean I wasn’t making her happy? I watch Leah talking to Amahle. This is how things should be – we should be like this. A complete family.
I shift closer, “Hey, baby. Does it hurt?”
Amahle nods, “It hurts.”
“I will ask the doctor to give you more painkillers. You need to be careful on the stairs so you don’t fall.”
She looks at her mother and says, “She made me fall.”
“Who made you fall,” I ask her.
“The lady at the house, she made me fall.”
Leah looks at me and know that look. She hugs Amahle and tells her that she will be fine. Does it mean Nandi made her fall? How and why? Why would Nandi hurt my daughter? The same Nandi that insisted I invite Amahle over. I usually take her for a day and get her back that same day.
The nurse tells us that is time to leave. We assure our daughter we are just around the corner and we will come to see her in the morning. Luckily she doesn’t cry for us when we leave. From the hospital, I drive Leah to her apartment.
“Do you think Nandi made her fall as she claims?” says Leah. I knew she would bring this up.
“I don’t know, why would Amahle says she made her fall? What could Nandi have done to her?”
“Maybe they argued and she slipped,” she answers.
“An argument with an eight-year-old?”
“Amahle is very stubborn, maybe Nandi said something and she fell. I don’t know what to think.” – Leah
“There is only one way to find out. I will ask Nandi what happened when I get home.”
She says, “Don’t fight with her. I know Amahle and I am sure it was your daughter’s fault.”
“You have changed. You are very calm…you remind me of why I fell in love with you.”
She chuckles, “You have a way of turning a woman into a psychopath. It requires a lot to be your woman and I feel sorry for Nandi.”
“Why are you making me sound like a bad person?”
“It is not easy being your woman, Nkanyiso. One has to deal with not asking you questions. One has to accept that once in a while you are going to plan a trip that you don’t want to talk about. One has to deal with your excuses and you always choosing work over anything. It’s a lot to deal with and for a second I fell for it. I got used to the bare minimum until I met Justin. He showed me that a relationship is a partnership between two people who love, trust and respect each other,” she answers.
“I loved and respected you.”
She scoffs, “But you never trusted me enough to tell me about your heists. You never loved me enough not to cheat on me and you never respected me enough to consider my feeling before laying with another woman.”
