PULL MY HEARTSTRINGS (COMPLETE)

59

                              

     

Waking up alone brought back the unpleasant memory of their fight, and there was no evidence to prove that Anesu returned from his escapades. The pillows on his side of the bed were still in pristine condition and cold to the touch.
     
It wasn’t their first disagreement since moving in together but it was the first time he didn’t come to bed, and that made her psychically sick.
     
Pick up your phone and call him, Kgomotso.
     
She almost listened to that voice inside her head but her wounded pride said: men ain’t shit.
     
She promised not to let her personal baggage interfere with work, so she had to show up and pretend all was well in the world. Her black velvet dress stopped just below the knee and moulded her curves, since black was considered a depressing colour she chose silver ankle boots, along with chunky hoop earrings and a vibrantly pink lip colour. Long wigs were her go to because her cheeks got rounder as she gained more weight, which made her face look big and her puffy eyes did Kgomotso no favours. The final result had her looking like she was ready for a night out and not a 9-5 at the office.
     
Macy’s smile quickly turned into a frown when Kgomotso entered the kitchen.
“Rough night?” she asked.
     
They were close but not close enough for Kgomotso to share intimate relationship details, Anesu was still her boss and airing their dirty laundry would give Macy something to talk about amongst her friends.   
     
“Something like that.”
     
Her anger resurfaced again, thinking about how Anesu stayed out the whole night like he didn’t leave a pregnant woman waiting for him in bed. Throwing his phone down the toilet was stupid but it didn’t warrant this kind of treatment from him, she was tempted to call ausi Daphne and vent but she’d tell her father over pillow talk and Jerry will make good on his promise, and break Anesu’s knees.   
     
“Were you really going to leave the house looking like that?”
     
“Is it the boots?” Kgomotso stared at her feet, ready to go upstairs and change.
     
“No, the boots are fine but I can’t say the same for your face, it looks bitten by a swarm of angry bees.” Macy was blunt and didn’t think twice or spare Kgomotso’s feelings when she opened her mouth.
     
Surely it wasn’t that bad, she planned to stop at Dischem for some anti-inflammatories or ointment to help with the swelling.
     
“I think I ate something I might be allergic to.” She sat down, hands on her cheeks.
     
“That’s not good,” said Macy, quickly moving towards the fridge and got a handful of ice cubes from the dispenser onto a dish cloth. “Put it over your eyes, it will reduce the puffiness and I’ll make you some tea.”
     
“Thank you.”
     
“Will Mr Luthuli be joining you for breakfast?” Macy asked.
     
“Er, no…he had an early meeting out of town.”
     
“Oh? He didn’t mention anything to me.”
     
Why would he when she wasn’t the one sharing a bed with him? Sometimes it seemed like Macy thought she was the lady of the house.
     
“He was needed urgently because of an emergency on site.” The lie slithered past her lips effortlessly.
     
“Oh-kay,” said Macy, as doubt lingered in her eyes. She turned the stove on, taking out the pan to start frying the bacon.
     
“Please, make enough for two, my sister is staying with us for a few days.”
     
“Yes, madam.” She did a curtsy. “Must I also change the sheets in the guest bedroom, clean it again and fluff her pillows every two minutes? Or maybe I should feed her grapes instead of cooking, while I fan her with the leaves of a palm tree.”
     
Kamo made a comment once, calling Macy lazy because she sometimes left early without cooking dinner and Kgomotso has been caught in the middle of their beef ever since.
     
“No, that won’t be necessary.”
     
They had breakfast together because Anesu was still a no-show (which had her worried but her pride stood tall and firm) and Kamo was either sleeping or avoiding a run-in with Macy. 
     
“Hey,” Kgomotso peeked through the door.
     
Kamo sat up, propping the pillows behind her. “Come in.”
     
I wanted to check on you before leaving for work.” Kgomotso placed the tray on her sister’s lap. “Did you sleep okay?”
     
“I tried but it looks like you didn’t sleep a wink.”
     
“We’re talking about you here don’t try to turn it around on me, I’ll be fine.”
     
That’s if she could get Anesu to talk to her again because it didn’t look like he was going to make the first move either so, where did that leave them?
     
“Lwazi hasn’t stopped calling.”
     
“You can’t ignore him forever.”
     
Kamo rolled her eyes. “I have nothing to say to him.”
     
“How long are you planning on punishing him? You’re going to have a baby any day now and you need to fix things if that’s what you want before that happens.”
     
“So you’re basically telling me to get over it.”
     
“No, I’m telling you to have a conversation with your husband instead of being hard-headed.”
     
Hypocrite. The voice inside her head was quick to point out.  
     
She slowly sipped her juice, staring ahead like she heard nothing Kgomotso said. “Do you really have to go to work? I thought we’d spend the day together, shopping and getting pampered.”
     
“Kamohelo?!”
     
“Okay, I’ll think about it.”
     
“Good and I’ll see you later.”
                                                                   *********