How To Love

chapter twenty

Please listen to the song above as you read, enjoy ❤️.

It was Saturday, a few days since we've been back home.

I won't lie, things have been a bit difficult. Thuso was forever in a foul mood and honestly, I was up to here with his behaviour. I wasn't going to excuse the traumatic events that took place early on this week, but I didn't deserve to be an after thought.

Maybe I was being selfish, wanting to be cared for even in his distress. But honestly, I had not signed up for constant drawbacks every time we seemed to be making progress. And right now, Thuso wasn't doing a good job of convincing me that this was a good decision.

I was driving back from the shops. I needed to leave the house for a few hours because if I had not, Thuso and I would have had a fight. I had went to a cafe to drink some coffee, enjoy some pastries and do some research on starting a non-profit organisation. Afterwards, I had went to Woolies to get some groceries for the house, having told Mmapula I'd do it, just another excuse to keep me out of the house longer,

Now, hours later, around 17:00, I was finally making my way home. After a text from Thuso, apologizing for snapping at me when all I had wanted was to help him, I allowed myself to cool up first before going home.

I pressed the remote that controlled the gate once I was close enough and got inside the yard once the gate was fully opened. I parked my Hyundai in it's rightful spot, got my bags out of the car and walked into the house.

I was welcomed by a line of rose petals and candles lighting up my path down the hallway, something straight out of the movie. I won't lie, the sight definitely softened me up, and Oh Wonder's Landslide playing through the speakers had my lips pulling into a smile.

Unsure, I placed my bags by the door, followed the lit path which led towards a room in the house which was left empty, whose function we had not yet decided. The door was ajar, and a beam of orange glow filtered into the room. I walked inside, the sight of Thuso holding a bunch of white tulips welcomed me. It was too heartwarming not to swoon at, and the fact that he was a man in casts made this even sweeter because I knew he struggled with standing up for long periods of time.

"What is this?" I asked, genuine surprise in my voice.

"My apology to you, and also, a step in the direction I had promised things would take," he said. "These are for you." He held out the flowers and I closed the gap between us. I grabbed the flowers and then stepped closer to him so I could give him a hug.

"Thank you so much, these are lovely and this is a nice surprise. Not that I want you to keep making me angry, but one could enjoy such a life of apologies with action," I said into the crook of his neck, which smelled absolutely amazing. A touch of him and his cologne, my favourite scent on earth right now.

He laughed at my silly comment and then gestured to the set up, as if to say I should sit. Natural instinct, especially after the accident, was to help him first to sit down, but then remembered that's why we had a fallout earlier. He said I didn't allow him the space to do things for himself, and while I understand that, how he phrased it was my problem.

I walked towards the set up and sat down, not looking to see if he was faring well, though I couldn't help but sneak a peak. The strength of this man shocked me when he was able to sit down by himself, all the way down on the floor.

"So who set everything up?" I asked.  A big white sheet was laid on the floor. Two medium sized canvases were placed on top, back to back. Paints, brushes, palettes, snacks and wine were all set up on the sheet. It actually looked lovely. Off to the side, a box with the words 100 Questions sat.