PULL MY HEARTSTRINGS (COMPLETE)

40

                              

     

Kgomotso finished packing the last suitcase and zipped it up, taking one last look around the room, leaving under the current circumstances was something she never imagined because Kamo opened up her home and it became her sanctuary.

She helped Kgomotso put back the shattered pieces of her heart, it wasn’t easy and most certainly didn’t happen overnight but eventually Kgomotso was able to rebuild after the storm passed.
     
Kgomotso was naïve when she first met Xola and lacked the experience to recognize a play boy because she was more focussed on her books in high school than boys. He worked his deceitful charm on her and she fell under his spell fast and hard, that even when he started treating her less than she couldn’t leave.
     
The cruel thing about time was that it never went back, if mistakes were made in the past you had to find a way to live with the choices you made day by day. For Kgomotso it was her regret of wasting eight years of her life on the good-for-nothing-piece-of-scum like Xola. There weren’t enough insults in the world to adequately describe how she felt about him and not only did his latest stunt leave her hurt she was angry too.
     
She was angry because regardless of all the work she put in to heal and move on as best as she could, he came back into her life like a tsunami and left her to pick up the pieces once again.   
     
Anesu deserved the best of her so she wasn’t willing to be consumed by the anger and watch it turn her into someone she didn’t recognize. It was time to close the chapter on that part of her life and fully embrace being with Anesu, because living together was a big step.
     
She did it with Xola, thinking he would realize she was serious and ready for marriage, but the joke was on her.
     
No. Kgomotso shook her head, she was done thinking about him.
     
Her father probably wouldn’t approve because in his eyes a man and woman needed to be married to live together. She believed Anesu would do right by her and hoped her father would understand. She got up from the bed and dragged the smallest of her Celine luggage, ready to take a leap of faith trusting that Anesu will always be there to catch her.   
     
“Are you done?” asked Anesu, getting up from the sofa. He insisted on coming and in true Anesu fashion wouldn’t take no for an answer.
     
“Yes, but there’s still two bags in the bedroom.”
     
“You’ve packed everything?”
     
“Ja.” She nodded. “I don’t want any reason to come back here.”
     
Her words brought a slight frown on his face and questions lurked deep in his eyes, she had no choice but to look away.
     
“Kgomotso?” He gently pressed, tilting her face up.
     
She took a shaky breath, rapidly blinking to stall her tears. “Anesu, please get the bags so we can go.”
     
“Okay, baby.”
     
He went to her bedroom and returned with the bags. “Ready?”
     
Was she ready?
     
Were they moving too fast?
     
This decision could potentially strengthen their relationship or leave it in tatters and her fear of the latter loomed within her reach, waiting to grab her.
     
“I’m scared we might ruin a good thing by moving too fast,” she said.
     
He looked at her with serenity in his eyes. “I’m a little scared too but we’ve been through so much in such a short span of time and we’re still here, making it work by choosing each other. I know we’ll make this work, too.” He leaned forward and kissed Kgomotso’s forehead.
     
She cleared her throat and cast one final look around the living room and the surge of memories invading her mind left a bittersweet taste in her mouth and all she wanted to do in that moment was pick up the phone and call her sister.
     
“Okay, let’s go.” She led the way towards the door. 
     
He loaded the luggage in his Mercedes while Kgomotso locked the door, she needed a plan to get these keys to Kamo.
     
“Were you going to leave without saying goodbye?” Yolisa appeared from behind, still dressed in yesterday’s clothes and a cigarette not far from her lips. She was hungover and could still use a few more hours of sleep.
     
Oh, Jesus! Today was not the day.
     
Kgomotso stepped back as soon as the nauseating smell of yesterday’s liquor reached her nostrils. “I don’t have to report my comings and goings to you.”
     
“Yho, what’s got your panties in a knot?”
     
Kgomotso sighed, fiddling with the keys in her hand. “Sorry, I just have a lot on my mind.”
     
“You’re still dealing with the case? Is there going to be a trial?”
     
She won’t be fooled by Yolisa’s fake concern.
     
“Why do you care?”
     
She laughed, putting out the cigarette. “I don’t. I just want to know what to tell people when they ask.”
     
“What do you want, Yolisa, I have to go.”
     
“Hai suka, I’m sure sbari doesn’t mind waiting.”
     
Kgomotso threw a subtle glance in Anesu’s direction, hoping he’d catch her signal and rescue her from Yolisa’s clutches, but he was preoccupied with his phone and didn’t notice her distress.
     
She teased him a lot about being a workaholic but she admired how he still continued to work hard despite his astounding success. She wished the same for herself but knew it wouldn’t be easy because women weren’t often commended for working and devoting their time to their families.
     
“Okay, I’m listening.” Kgomotso relented.
     
Yolisa’s smile grew wide, revealing a lonesome dimple on her right cheek. Her wig had seen better days and she didn’t bother to brush it. 
     
“I need you to hire me for the receptionist position.”
     
“Askisi?” Kgomotso frowned.
     
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop…”
     
That was a lie and Kgomotso couldn’t hide her annoyance because only Yolisa would think it was a good time to have such a conversation.
     
“But I overheard you talking about filling the position the other day and I’m the perfect candidate.”
     
“That’s not how it works and the closing date for applications was days ago.”
     
Yolisa shrugged, unbothered by Kgomotso’s resistance. “There’s no need to complicate things with interviews and CVs because you know me, Baby girl.”
     
“Do you have any experience?”
     
“I’m a fast learner.” She replied, proudly. “How hard can it be to answer a phone and make appointments?”
     
Clearly she thought Kgomotso was running a circus, it was the only way to explain her audacity.
     
“Do you at least have any references?”
     
“For what?” She grimaced as if Kgomotso insulted her. “Isn’t my word good enough? All I’m asking is for you to give me a chance and I won’t let you down.”
     
Oh, Jehovah! What was the meaning of this?
     
“Is everything all right, Yolisa?”
     
For as long as Kgomotso had known her, Yolisa had never expressed a desire to work because her boyfriend wasn’t the stingy type and the money he gave her allowed Yolisa to support her kids.
     
“Ja, I just want to show my boyfriend I’m capable of making my own money. I won’t be controlled by a man who can’t keep his dick in his pants, the last time he fucked around and caught Gonorrhoea,” she said with an expression of disgust on her face.
     
She knew better than to comment on the matter because tomorrow Yolisa would be back with her boyfriend and happy like nothing happened.
     
“I’ll have to talk to my partner first,” said Kgomotso.
     
“Just remember to sing my praises because I need to get a job.”
     
“If you’re serious about working at my firm then you need to handle your drinking, I will not hire you if this is how you’ll come to work on a Monday morning.”
     
“I know that I’m not stupid.” She snapped back.
     
With that attitude Yolisa definitely wasn’t the perfect candidate for the job but Kgomotso found comfort in the fact that she could fire her if her performance was unsatisfactory.
     
“So, how long will it take to make a decision?”
     
“I don’t know, I’ll call you.”
     
She looked at Kgomotso, trying to decipher if she could be trusted with this. “Okay. I have to go, I need something strong for this hangover.”
     
Kgomotso got in the car and Anesu slowly drove out, there was no turning back now.
     
“Are you okay, baby?” he asked, briefly stopping to let an elderly couple cross the street.
     
She let out a deep sigh and tossed the keys in her handbag. “I will be.”
     
Before this the worst falling-out Kgomotso and Kamo had led to a week without speaking and that was 10 years ago. She saw Kamo’s then boyfriend with another girl in town and instead of confronting her boyfriend when Kgomotso told her, Kamo accused her of trying to ruin their relationship. She was 17 and hung-up on that boy being her first love and Caroline’s constant interference made matters worse.
     
She apologized because Kamo was 17 and didn’t know any better, but the problem was Kamo still wanted to act like that 17-year-old teenager, living in a bubble.
     
“Lunch?” he asked, holding her hand and his touch was the anchor she needed to keep from spiralling over this. 
     
“Yes, please, I’m famished.”
     
“Where do you want to go?”
     
Kgomotso moved closer and laid her head on his shoulder. “Right now, I really want to go to that seafood restaurant we went to after the helicopter tour.”
     
“Okay. I can get us a jet as soon as possible.”
     
“We can’t go to Cape Town, Anesu.” She raised her head and found him looking at her.
     
“Why not?”
     
“Because…what about work?”
     
He chuckled, amused that she was worried about such a trivial thing. He was the boss and didn’t have to answer to anyone if he wanted to spend the day with his girlfriend.
     
“We’ll come back tomorrow and they can reach me on my phone if there’s an emergency.”
     
“Okay, then.”
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