Umakoti Ngo Wethu

16

My father left to visit MaRadebe the next day. I woke up late. When I woke up, Jabu was already playing outside with his aunt's like nothing happened the night before. I took a long shower. So long that the water ran cold.

"Here you are. Good morning, my child. Your father had this sent from town this morning." She handed me a box. It was a new phone. "I didn't want to wake you. Jabu has already eaten, and I gave him a bath." The microwave beeped. "That's your food. We all indulged in Nthombifuti's cravings for a full English breakfast. Sit I'll make you some coffee."

"Ma, stop." I didn't want this. Her husband treats me like crap and then she spoils me afterward. I was tired of it. "I can pour you some juice. After you've eaten, you can take your son to see his father. I just don't want you leaving on an empty stomach. You should put your phone on charge."
"Ma." I tried again. She put my plate of food in front of me. "Eat." Her voice was shaky. "Would you like juice or coffee?" She kept her head down as she walked away from me. "Juice, please." I just took a seat. She was trying, but she was too old school to ever properly stand up to her husband.

I ate some of it and packed a bag for Jabu. I looked terrible when I stared at myself in the mirror. Before we left, Jabu started pulling at my top. I tried giving him his bottle, but he refused. He wanted to be breastfed. I gave in. He's had a rough couple of months.

"Litha." Ma gasped when she opened the door. "Come in." She immediately went to get Jabulani. I missed him so much. Usually, we wouldn't show any affection in front of Ma out of respect, but I hugged him tightly. So tight Jabu junior started crying. "Sorry, my baby. Look. Look who's here." He saw his father and started to cry more, reaching for him. He eventually fell asleep in his arms.

"Litha. Don't worry about anything, okay? Jabu's ceremony is at the end of January and after that we'll send a lobola letter to your family so the two of you can finally be married. I looked at him with a small smile on my face. "Really?" He nodded. "Does MaShezi know?" He cleared his throat awkwardly. "No, but my uncle's will inform her after the ceremony. We have consulted a sangoma recently, and he said that the ancestors have chosen you as my wife. My uncles have decided that if MaShezi doesn't approve of the union, we will go ahead without her."

I was extremely happy. I couldn't wait. Not only to move out of my father's house but also to be his wife. Finally, I had been waiting for his since Jabu was born. That very same day, we drove into town. We went to a restaurant with a play area so Jabu could have a nice time. I spent the afternoon venting over my living situation, and it felt like a load off.

When Jabu was all played out, we went to the shops and got him new clothes and some essentials. Well a lot of new clothes and essentials because baba would be going to the city for the next two weeks. He got me the latest iPhone and even got it all set up. I had never had a phone this nice before. I knew only Nthombifuti's number, so I texted her from Baba's phone that I'll be home late.

When I got home, they were all in front of the tv. I greeted and made a couple of trips from the car with all of Jabu's things. He did get me a few things as well. A couple of dresses and some lingerie. My sisters stormed into the room, wanting to know what I got.

"It's just stuff for Jabu." Before I knew it, Nthombifuti got into my lingerie bag. "Is this for Jabu, too?" She teased, holding up lace underwear. I rolled my eyes playfully. "Give that here." I grabbed it and put it back in the bag. They laughed, and I put it away.

New years came and went. My new years day was quite boring because I decided to stay home with Nthombifuti. She was not feeling well. There was nothing wrong with her or the baby she was just extremely uncomfortable. The others went to the city to celebrate as a family. I invited Jabu's grandmother and made lunch. She even massaged Nthombifuti, and it helped her a lot. She used to be a midwife and told us to call if we needed anything.

After New years, our father was back home for Nthombifuti's birthday. He had a newborn. Why was he here so much? I didn't speak one word to him most of the time he was home.

"Litha, come into my office." I knew this couldn't be good. He showed me the seat in front of him, and I sat down. "How are preparations for my grandson's imbeleko ceremony going." Did he really want to make small talk? "It's going good. Everything is in order."
"Good. I'm glad. I found this when I came back home." He put down the box with the new phone he bought.

"I didn't need it. You can give it to Nthombifuti." He just sighed. "Why are you making this so difficult for me?" I almost lost it. Almost. I took a deep breath and spoke calmly. "I'm not the one making this difficult. You are being difficult. I understand that you've made a lot of sacrifices to get us away from our mother, but that doesn't mean you get to dictate our lives. Your control issues are hurting my son. I'm used to this treatment. I could deal with you dictating my life, but once it causes harm to my son, I won't stand for it anymore."

"Do you really think I would cause harm to MY grandson on purpose?"
"No, I don't, but when you see that what you're doing is hurting him, why don't you change your behavior?" I could tell he was pissed off, but he couldn't say anything because I was right. We sat in a tense silence before he moved to give me the phone. "Give this to Nthombifuti." I took the phone and left.

I gave the phone to Nthombifuti and she took it reluctantly. "Are you sure? Baba bought it for you." I nodded. "I'm sure. Anyway, it's your birthday in a couple of days. Are you excited?" She rolled her eyes. "No, do you see how big I am. I can hardly move. The doctor says I might need a C-section because the baby is so big." My eyes went wide. "Seriously?" She nodded. "I know the recovery is painful, but I think I'll prefer it. Litha?"
"Hmm?"
"Can we spend the day together tomorrow?" I was a bit shocked, and I felt guilty that she needed to ask. "Of course. What do you want to do?" He whole face lit up. "Eat!" We both laughed. "We should go into town and eat. I'm tired of home cooked foods." I laughed, but I was too.

The next day, we did exactly that. We went out, ate, got our hair done, bought dresses for her birthday dinner, and just had fun. I used some of the money my future husband keeps sending me. Future husband. It is so nice to say. I had a lot of money in my account because my father never let me leave the house to use it. He was just so frustrating.

The birthday dinner went smoothly. More family joined. Our brothers also came, but MaRadebe was at home with the baby. Two days after her birthday, Nthombifuti started having contractions. Our father drove her straight to the hospital.

My poor sister was going through it. By hour six, she started asking for me and ma. I drove us into town without hesitation. I dropped Jabu at his grandmother's.  I didn't care how my father felt about it.

She was in labor for twenty hours. I stayed by her side the whole time. Her baby was so beautiful. She named her baby Mbalenhle, which means beautiful flower. She was born a few weeks early, but she was a healthy, fat baby girl. Her eyes were always wide, and she was already clingy. She cried when she wasn't in her mother's arms. They had to stay in the hospital for a couple more days just so the doctors were sure all is well.