Triangle

Chapter 15: Put Out of Control

A few weeks have passed and Sbu is out of the Hospital. He is still using a wheelchair or crutches to move around as there's still a very long way before he could walk again. Today on a Saturday afternoon his friends have come to his home to visit and have a few beers with him outside by the pool since it's a weekend. In the house Buhle has her friends Lerato and Lindiwe visiting.
"Hey man, how are you feeling? We see you got yourself a new ride, huh?" Tsepo teases Sbu as he looks at him sittin on the wheelchair. At that everybody just laughs at the joke as they sip on heir beers. But Sbu's friends can read that apart from the fact at the he can't walk on his at the moment there is something else that could be bothering him. "Hey brother, how are you feeling? You know that you will walk again, right?" Jabu says as he looks at his friend but Sbu just nods without saying a word. "Yeah man, Jabu is right and we are also here to ensure that you get back to your old self again" Tsepo says as he lifts his beer up, which Sbu smiles and also lifts his.
"Hey you guys, look" Sbu says as he looks to the skies as if to say Where do I even begin with this? "Uhmm, there is something i have to tell you and I just don't know where to begin hey" he says with a trembling voice, which makes his friends look at each other wondering what could that be about.
"Yeah, man what's up?" Jabu says curiously. But that brings a little bit of silence as Sbu takes a huge sip of his beer and suddenly this gives his friends some worry. "Come on man, what is really going on? You're beginning to scare us a little bit" Tsepo says as he looks at Jabu. No they are waiting anxiously to hear what their friend wants to say. "Look guys, what I'm about to tell you, can it really stay between us as the guys and please don't tell anyone, especially those ladies in the house?" Sbu says as he looks at his friends with a face that looks like it is full of regret. "Please guys I'm begging you" his voice is trembling and his eyes look like he will cry.
"Oh okay bro, you got it man, it stays between us, right?" Jabu says as he looks at Tsepo wanting him to confirm. "Oh yeah sure man, definitely it stays between us" Tsepo says. "What is it that is bothering you man?" he asks curiously.
"Guys, uhmm, I cheated on my wife" Sbu says as he finally finds courage to spit it out. This comes as a shock to his friends as become wide-eyed looking at each other. "What?" Tsepo says as he tries to whisper in case someone in the house is listening. "Wait man, let him explain" Jabu jumps in as he looks at Tsepo even though he is just as shocked at this. "Yeah man, not once but a few times" Sbu says as he looks down. "And now I really regret all this and i feel so bad about it. It first happened before Buhle cheated with Tendai, so I can't use that as an excuse for my actions. I started first'' as he takes another sip of his beer. But he is struggling to make eye contact with his friends, he's ashamed.
"Oh wow, I honestly didn't expect this man, honestly" Tsepo says as he looks at Sbu who looks away. "Not that I'm judging you or anything man but...I mean; did you tell your wife this?" he asks curiously to which Sbu shakes his head in some shame.
"Well man, you will have to tell her before someone else does and then you will be in a very serious problem" Jabu says while looking at Tsepo who nods in agreement. " Yeah man I know" Sbu says with a low voice. "But here's a part will shock you guys both. The woman I cheated with is Buhle's friend, Katlego" he says to which his friends almost fall off their chairs, more so Jabu, for obvious
reasons. "You what?" Tsepo shouts. This time he's not trying to whisper. "You did what, man? Are

you crazy or something? Her best friend?" as he puts his hand in his mouth in shock or perhaps he's upset over this. At this moment Jabu is so confused he is lost for words at all this, I suppose for obvious reasons.
In his mind there's so many questions he has as this revelation by his friend can mean so many things. But Sbu is not done with dropping bombs, "Guys it gets worse" he says to which Tsepo becomes wide-eyed as he is asking himself, what could be worse than what you have just told us man?
"Well, Katlego is pregnant and the baby could be mine" Sbu says as he is now feeling more embarrassed than he was before. To Jabu, even though he had already put it all together, but to hear Sbu saying that he could be the father just sends some shock down his spine. This is a real dilemma. This thing here is messy, how do i deal with this? he asks himself but his thoughts are interrupted by Tsepo who asks, "Could be yours? Who else could this baby's father be man?" This brings a little bit of silence as Tsepo awaits the answer from his friend who looks down in shame. He is struggling to find words for all this.
"Look, Katli told me that she was seeing another guy and she sex with him the same night she and I had sex. She said she left my office and went to this other dude" Sbu says as she puts his hands over his head. He realizes how messed up this whole situation.
"Wait, she had sex with two guys on the same night?" Tsepo asks in shock. "How messed up can a person really be? Isn't Katlego a doctor? How can she be so dumb? She put your life at risk, as well as the other guy's. She put herself at risks as well. Damnit, stupid b**ch!" he is really upset over this. "Yeah, man it is messed up" Sbu says as he shakes his head. "But still man, there's no excuse for what I did. My actions may have cost me my marriage and I don't know if I'm willing to live without Buhle" as tears start to roll down his face. "Yeah, man but look you got to tell your wife this" Tsepo says as he looks at Jabu who looks like he is lost for words with shock. "Maybe it's already too late for your marriage or maybe it is not but you definitely have to tell her before someone else. That may give you a slight chance to discuss this with Buhle and maybe she may listen" he says.
As soon as Tsepo says that Sbu snaps out of it as he attempts to leave his friends right there. "Hey where are going man?" Tsepo asks as he is surprised that his friend is leaving tyhem just like that. "Come on man let's talk about this a little more, please don't leave" he begs looking at Jabu as if he's saying, Dude say something.
"Look man, I got to talk to my wife right now. Like you were saying, you were right. I have to talk to her before someone else. And right now is the right time" Sbu says as he turns around with wheelchair, heading towards the house. But Jabu tops him as he says, "Hey man, don't leave. I want to tell you guys something" which makes Sbu turn around curiously. He is wondering what could his friend be on about. Tsepo too is wondering what could Jabu be wanting to talk about that makes him look so nervous. "Are you okay man?" he asks his friend who too now looks like he's guilty of something.
"Yeah man, look, I got to tell you guys something" Jabu says as he breathes heavily. "That other guy Katlego was talking about is me" This almost sends Sbu to fall over his wheelchair in shock. "What?" Tsepo says in shock too. "What the hell is going on here? What are you guys..." he doesn't finish as Jabu cuts him off, "Wait man, please let me explain okay?" he says calmly.
"Look, I swear I didn't know about Sbu until now. What Katlego said to me was that she is pregnant and I could be the father, or not because she was seeing another guy whom she slept with the same night she slept with me" he says looking at Sbu who is lost for words with shock. He is looking away
trying to avoid eye contact with Jabu. He also looks a little bit if not a little more upset, even though it's not clear who he's upset with. "Whoa, whoa, whoa man, can you please just start this from the beginning because i'm so confused right as to what is really going on here" Tsepo says as he also now looks upset at both his friends. He just can't believe what is going on here.
"Look, man okay, alright..." Jabu says nervously. "Katlego showed up at my place one night, it looked like she had few drinks. She told me that she has long had feelings for me and always wanted me. All of this caught me off guard and had had a few myself. The next thing she was on top of me like a hungry lioness" as he tries to make contact with Sbu who avoids it.
"And then?" an impatient Tsepo asks. "But she suddenly went cold after that without any explanation really" Jabu says with a sad and disappointed voice. "Well, a few weeks later she comes to my place telling me she is pregnant and that I could be the father. She tells me that she had been seeing some guy before she slept with me. That they had sex with him but had a bad fight which led to her coming over to my place. So I could be the father as well" as he empties his beer in one go. "Oh man, this is so f*cked up, do you know that?" Tsepo says in shock, while Sbu keeps quiet without saying a word.
"Well, look guys, she begged me to not tell anyone about this until she's sure about what she wants to do with the pregnancy. I begged her to not terminate the pregnancy as this could be my baby too. I just didn't really expect that the other guy she was talking about was my best friend" as he looks at Sbu who finally makes eye contact.
"Sbu, were you and Katlego in a relationship, ongoing affair or it was just a once off?" Tsepo asks his friend, this time with a straight face not showing any emotions at all. "Look, it was a couple of times" Sbu says as he's embarrassed. "Three times to be precise. The third time is the one Jabu is talking about. We fought about it because I made it clear that I am never leaving my wife and that this affair must end and never happen again. She stormed out of my office very upset. I suppose that's when she decided to go your place" as he looks at Jabu who looks upset. This is followed by a very uncomfortable silence amongst the friends. It is as if someone had died.
"You guys really f*cked didn't you?" Tsepo says, and he's not even joking about it. "Whoa, wait,
what did I do? I didn’t cheat on anyone here. If anything, I was the one who was wronged" Jabu says as he looks at Sbu who is less than impressed over that statement.
"Why just don't you say what you want to say Jabu and stop running around" Sbu is upset. "I am saying, Sbu that I did nothing wrong here. I have no reason to feel guilty about anything. I didn't cheat. So that the statement by Tsepo that I f*cked up, I reject it" Jabu says as he is also beginning to look upset himself. "If anything, I'm the one who was played here. Katlego didn't tell me she was sleeping with my best friend. Worse of all she was coming from him when she showed at my door" as he pulls away from eye contact. "Oh so you are saying I'm the one who f*cked up, Jabu? Is that what you're saying?" Sbu asks as he raises his voice a little bit.
"Oh come man, you really want us to spell it out for you" Jabu says as he raises his voice as well, "Of course you f*cked up, big time. You really don't have any luxury to be upset at me right now for saying this. If Katlego was married, yes I'd have messed up big time. But she is not and I am not married as well. But can you say that about yourself?" as he looks at him in the eyes.
Seeing how this situation is quickly threatening to get out of control, Tsepo decides to jump in, " Whoa, hey guys. Can we please just calm down a notch here? I think this will soon get out of control if we are not careful" he says to his friends who are looking at each other in the eyes. "Look, Jabu is right bro. His situation is not the same as yours. You cheated on your wife and you're the one who