How To Love

chapter twenty-four

Currently obsessed with music that fits with the chapters, please play the song above while reading this chapter 🩷

It's New Year's Eve and we're still in North West.

I'm not ready to leave my father's side yet, but luckily, it's December, which means I'm off the whole month, and then some in January. Working for the department of education has its perks, paid holidays being one of them.

Today is actually an exciting day for my maiden family. With my father's health slowly, but surely, returning to normal, or at least him getting better with each passing day, my mother thought it necessary for us to have a big feast to celebrate life, the year we had, and family. And now that my marriage to Thuso helped our family financially, we didn't have to worry about costs.

If this was a year ago, my mother wouldn't have been able to pull it off. Unless of course she had planned for a lunch from January and saved up for it. Many things that have happened, had I not been a Moeti culturally, we wouldn't have pulled it off.

Either way, I've been up since 2 am, courtesy of my mother. She refused to have anything externally made, despite today being a day much like a party since my family on both my maiden and my in-laws side were invited, or the fact that now we were rich enough to afford catering as a last minute call.

It was now 6 am and my feet were killing me. If I was at Thuso's home, I could sulk to him and have him dote on me like a little child. But unfortunately, my mom had requested that I sleep at home so I could reduce the admin when it was time for us to wake up.

Knowing my dad was going to be up soon, I prepared hot water for his morning tea. He was obsessed with it. Even in the heat of December, he had three cups of tea every day without fail.

Around 6:30 am, I took it to him. He was on the chair, reclined on the lazy boy as he watched the morning news. I smiled at the sight, which cemented that indeed, the old man was healing.

"Good morning papa," I said, placing the tray on the side table.

"O tsogile ngwanaka?" He was smiling as he asked this. I nodded my head.

"Eya ntate, ke tsogile. Le robetse jwang?" I asked him.

"Ga monate, re lebogela ntate modimo gore tsosa. Ke tea ya me ena?" He asked like a giddy child. This man loved his tea.

"Eya papa, e re kego thuse," I said and then helped him put the tray on his lap after he closed up the lazy boy. Wanting to spend a bit more time with my old man, I sat down on the other chair, and watched in silence as he took a few sips of his tea.

"You know, it's been some time since we talked about you, my daughter. How are you doing?" He asked.

"Now that you're getting healthy, I'm doing much better," I said with a smile.

"I'm not talking about me. I'm referring to you and that Moeti boy," he said in distaste. My father held grudges longer than anyone in my family.

"I'm actually happy with him. I wasn't at first, I'll admit, and it took a lot of work from both of us so that we can move on from our past. But I'm glad we put in the work because now we get to fully enjoy our union without any lingering bitterness." My dad was trying to hold a smile back.

"You know, it breaks my heart that we had sent you into matrimony with the guy of your nightmares, but when Thuso' father came to us with the prophecy, it was hard to ignore it, especially because I trust my best friend with my life, and that of my daughter. Many would say we sold you off for riches, but driving you towards destiny, even when I didn't understand it, fuelled my decision to go forward with everything. Though, it breaks my heart even further that you had suffered verbal abuse from him without our knowledge. But seeing how happy you are right now, you even beam when talking about him, it brings me peace, makes me believe your mother and I made a good decision agreeing to the matrimony." I wanted to cry at that moment, so I did.