PULL MY HEARTSTRINGS (COMPLETE)

71

                               

     

Though Caroline caused a racket none of them felt sorry for Prudence and as someone who thrived as the centre of attention, she was not happy about that and made her displeasure known to Sello since he failed to protect her. The friction between them intensified because Sello was against the idea of pressing charges and in Prudence’s mind that meant he was still in love with Caroline, and their lover’s quarrel was the last thing anyone wanted to deal with.
     
Kgomotso didn’t know what to make of Caroline’s actions, she was used to her tantrums but nothing could’ve prepared her for what just happened, and it led her to believe that Caroline probably had mental problems. The pungent taste of humiliation was still heavy on Kgomotso’s tongue and she couldn’t imagine what Anesu’s family was thinking, and because of that they couldn’t stay.
     
It was undeniable that every family had a black sheep but Caroline surpassed that description, she was in a league of her own and unashamed of her ratchet actions no matter how much harm they caused. Kgomotso was more than determined to keep Khanya away from Caroline and spare her from being scarred for life, there was no better time than that enlightening moment to break the vicious cycle she kept going with Caroline.         
     
She was in the kitchen, gulping down her second glass of water because alcohol was sadly off limits, why did pregnancy have to take nine months? Because going that long without an occasional glass of wine was torture.
     
“Are you okay, my dear, Anesu tells me you’re not feeling well?” asked Celiwe, assessing Kgomotso with concern a mother would have for her child. She wasn’t alone, aunt Sthembile stood next to her with her head hung low and avoided eye contact with Kgomotso.
     
She had to feign a headache as their escape plan, but Anesu was taking longer than expected to set up the car seat.
     
Kgomotso plastered a nervous smile on her face and put the glass in the sink, was this another ambush? “Yes, Ma, it’s just a minor headache. I’m sure I’ll feel better after getting some rest.”
     
Celiwe nodded. “Yes, it’s been a hectic week and you do need to take it easy after the scare you had, Anesu almost lost his mind with worry. And I want you to always remember that I’m just a phone call away whenever you and Anesu need help.”
     
She knew Celiwe meant well but there was an undertone of judgement Kgomotso detected and she didn’t like it at all. She wasn’t the first pregnant woman to become responsible for an infant.
     
“I appreciate that, Ma.” She sounded overly polite to mask her irritation.
     
Celiwe smiled oblivious to the damage her words may have caused. “I’m glad we caught you before you left because Sthembile has something to say to you.”
     
“I…” She looked up and cleared her throat. “I’m sorry for how I talked to you yesterday it was uncalled for and it will never happen again.”
     
It was satisfying to watch aunt Sthembile grovel against her will even though nothing about what she said was genuine, her stank face was a dead giveaway. Kgomotso was more interested to find out what Celiwe had on her, because even the Pope would’ve failed to coax an apology out of her.
     
“Thank you for your apology.” She wasn’t in a forgiving mood and didn’t plan on forgetting either, because aunt Sthembile did this under false pretences, and Kgomotso had no choice but to keep it classy because Celiwe was present.
     
“Baby?” Anesu’s gaze roamed between his mother and aunt Sthembile. “Am I interrupting something?”
     
She could kiss him for his perfect timing because Kgomotso didn’t want to be the first person to die from aunt Sthembile’s cold stare.
     
“No, we were done here anyway.” Celiwe’s smile was prideful, you’d swear she just brokered world peace.
     
His vigilant gaze fell on Kgomotso, looking for any signs of discomfort. He trusted his mother but aunt Stembile not so much.
     
“I’m fine.” She put his mind at ease.
     
“Okay.” He stretched out his hand. “We should get going.”
     
Celiwe gave her a quick embrace. “Don’t forget, I’m just a phone call away whenever you need anything.” She said, before pulling back.
     
She may have over reacted earlier when she thought Celiwe was being judgemental because it was actually a blessing to have her and ausi Daphne rally around her, while Caroline was too busy wildin’ out to even care.
     
“What was that about?” Anesu asked, as soon as they made it out of the kitchen.
     
“Aunt Sthembile apologized, did you tell your mother what happened?”
     
“Yes, because had I confronted her, they would’ve called a family meeting.”
     
Kgomotso took pride in knowing that Anesu didn’t think twice about standing up for her, but she was happy a confrontation was avoided because that woman would’ve found a reason to blame her for it. A popular belief in the Black community is that men who are overly protective of their partners are hexed, and Kgomotso didn’t doubt there were rumours about her because Anesu would slay dragons for her.    
     
“What’s her story anyway? She disliked Kamo for no reason and now she’s doing the same thing to me and I’m not even married to anyone in her family.”
     
Anesu sighed and reached for her hand. “I don’t know the full story but her fiancé was murdered, so I think she didn’t allow herself to move on from her loss and I guess it was easier for her to be mad at the world.”
     
“How long ago did this happen?” she asked.
     
“In the early 90s, I think.”
     
Kgomotso remained silent because she had nothing polite to say about the situation.
     
Yes, what happened to Sthembile was tragic but it should be emphasised that she allowed one unfortunate event to dictate the rest of her life and was fine with making everybody else suffer because regret came knocking.
     
They stopped at the bottom of the stairs and Kgomotso watched in stunned silence as Nomusa came strutting out of the room Lwazi took refuge in and the plate of food she brought him was untouched.
     
Why did she stay when the nosy guests were asked to leave? She wasn’t ready to deal with another tikoloshe so soon after Caroline’s departure.
     
“What’s wrong?” Anesu followed the direction of her gaze and cleared his throat as Nomusa came closer, head held high and clearly on a mission to reclaim her position in Lwazi’s life.     
     
Irritation transformed Kgomotso’s face and her nose flared. “My sister has been buried for less than 24 hours and she’s already here lusting over her husband. If you ever go back to Jessica after my death, I’ll haunt you until kingdom come and I mean it.”
     
He held back a smile, biting his lower lip. “You don’t have to worry about that, baby. I’ll go talk to him and meet you by the car when I’m done. The bags are already packed and you’ll call if you need help with the car seat.”
     
“I think I can manage.”
     
He couldn’t resist kissing her before she ascended the stairs to get Khanya and allowed his eyes the pleasure of watching her voluptuous curves. The ring was almost ready, now came the hard part of figuring out how to propose and when, he didn’t want to wait but due to current circumstances he had no choice. Kgomotso still had to work through her grief and settle into this new role as a caregiver to a new born baby.
     
Anesu had to knock twice before Lwazi answered, his back was facing the door and he didn’t look to see who it was. The mood was sombre and it was sad to see his friend as a shadow of his former self but Anesu didn’t dwell on it because Lwazi didn’t want pity especially from him.
     
“Are you here to ask me about Nomusa?” Lwazi’s tone was flat like the spark in his eyes.
     
One of the benefits of having a decade long friendship was knowing what Anesu was thinking 90% of the time and vice versa, they knew each other so well and because of that there was no room for secrets between them.
     
Anesu stepped away from the door and sat down, also facing the expansive window overlooking the spacious garden. “Is there something to tell?”
     
He frowned and fixed his gaze on Anesu. “No, I’m done with Nomusa for good.”
     
That was a relief because he didn’t want any bad blood between Lwazi and Kgomotso with him left in the middle to pick a side like high school kids.
     
“I know today was tough, how are you feeling?” 
     
“I buried my wife today, how do you think I’m doing?” He could barely control the slight tremor in his tone as anger consumed him because he was not willing to accept his new reality of being a widower.
     
“Despite what we were told growing up there’s no shame in crying, you know?”
     
They weren’t words of comfort but crying seemed like a good start to unburden his heavy heart.
     
“Indoda ayikhali, you know that.” Lwazi insisted.
     
“Well, make an exception for today.” Anesu patted his back.
     
“What good will that do? It won’t bring her back and it definitely won’t make me feel better about using a wheelchair.”
     
His brain and mouth were working against each other because there were tears streaming down his face but he hurried to wipe them, eliminating any sign of weakness but it was a losing battle because his vulnerability was already exposed.
     
“I still can’t believe she’s gone,” he said, with a slight shake of his head. “I keep thinking she’ll walk through the door and I’ll get to hold her again, hear her say my name like she’s singing a love song or see the gorgeous smile she used to charm me the day we first met, and I knew she’d be mine.”
     
“Oh, you were such a love sick puppy after that day, I couldn’t stand you. And I knew she was out of your league the day you introduced me to her.”
     
Tears restrained his chuckle and for a second it was hard to breath. “She was my everything and I didn’t know how good I had it until I lost her, and I don’t see anything beyond this pain.”
     
“Don’t say that because you still have Khanya and she needs you.”
     
“I don’t think I can do it, ndoda.” He didn’t bother to wipe his tears. “All I see is Kamo when I look into my baby’s eyes, do you know how haunting that is?”
     
He was going to treat that as a rhetorical question because no answer would be good enough for Lwazi to accept. He was heartbroken and that was understandable but turning his back on his own child wasn’t going to help the situation.
     
“I’m not abandoning Khanya or the responsibilities I have to fulfil but I need time to work through my grief and I hope you’ll allow me that grace,” he said after a brief silence, fresh tears in his eyes. 
     
“You don’t even have to ask Kgomotso and I will always support you because we want the best for you, and I want you to remember that you’re always welcome to visit Khanya whenever you want.”
     
“Ngiyabonga, ndoda.” He took a shuddering breath. “I can’t stop thinking of the day the accident happened.”
     
“What do you want to know?” asked Anesu.
     
“I want to know what happened that day with the brakes, I’ve driven that car many times and had no issues. I’m aware my father is hiding vital information from me and I need to know for the sake of my sanity.”
     
“It wasn’t your fault.”
     
His face hardened as he looked at Anesu. “Don’t tell me what I already know, I need the truth, please.”
     
Anesu sighed, bouncing his leg anxiously. “Someone tempered with the brakes.”
     
“Do you know who did it?”
     
Anesu nodded, running his gaze away from Lwazi. “Petersen. Kgomotso’s former boss.”
     
“And he’s still alive?”
     
“For now.” Anesu popped his knuckles.
                                                                    **********

     

When they arrived home, Khanya needed a diaper change and Kgomotso was happy to be back in her castle far away from aunt Sthembile’s shenanigans. Anesu was careful as he unbuckled her from the car seat and it was a turn on to see him in dad mode.
     
Her father took Ausi Daphne out for drinks and a much needed catch up session after spending a week apart, allowing them a few hours of quality time, providing that Khanya remained a sleeping beauty.
     
“Did Macy come in today?” she asked, once they made it inside. The smell of furniture polish still lingered in the air.
     
“Yes and she made lasagne.”
     
Oh, bless her soul because she was a life saver.
     
“Do you know how to change a diaper or should I take over?” she asked, reaching for Khanya.
     
He chuckled, pretending to be offended. “It’s not rocket science so I’m confident I’ll manage.”
     
“We don’t have enough diapers so you’ll have to go to the store and did you get a chance to set up the bassinet?”
     
“I did but there’s something I want you to see.” He held her hand, leading her upstairs to the bedroom she always envisioned would be her baby girl’s nursery and slowly pushed the door open.
     
“Anesu.” She gasped, heart pounding in her chest. “When? How?” She was speechless and tears gushed down her face once her shock wore off. He could’ve given her a warning because she wasn’t expecting this.
     
“I did it because I want Khanya to grow up knowing that this is her home too.”
     
The once neutral bedroom was transformed with soft pink and lavender tones and the wall art depicting a whimsical garden was the perfect backdrop for the canopy cot. It was styled with a blushing pink rug, which complimented the ideal colour scheme and the cosy rocking chair placed next to the window. There was also a cream white dressing table with a changing station set up on top, and the picture she took of Kamo and Khanya added a personal touch to the space, making her eyes misty all over again. 
     
“Do you like it?”  
     
Kgomotso nodded, wiping her face with the back of her hand. “It’s beautiful.” She gave him a hug, getting as close as her stomach would allow and pressed her lips on his cheek. “Thank you.”
     
He was heaven sent and God hand delivered him on earth to show off His wonderful creation.