TO LOVE A BROKEN MAN

21

                                

She’s been awake since their neighbour arrived, arguing with his girlfriend for flirting with a bottle service girl at the club. The girlfriend was a Coloured from Reiger Park so it didn’t take long for her to start smashing things and hurling a few death threats. The downside of living in these clustered apartments was the expensive rent and the paper thin walls because listening to their makeup session was torture, she was just glad it didn’t last longer than the arguing.
     
She already knew the brave tenants will be up in arms, fighting for the rest of them in the Whatsapp group come morning, because they were already known as “that” couple but management did nothing about it.
     
When silence settled again and claimed the night like a long lost lover, Masika was left sleepless and alone with her nomadic thoughts that left her wallowing in self-pity until the break of dawn. Seconds crawled by slowly as she laid in bed waiting for the rest of the world to catch up. 
     
The noise coming from downstairs wasn’t subtle, Lefa was finally up and about and in need of attention. Jesus must come down and resurrect Joi from the ashes. She made the bed and went to investigate the cabinet slaughter happening in the kitchen after brushing her teeth.
     
“Good, you’re awake.”
     
As if she would’ve slept through that racket. He had pots and pans on the stove but nothing was cooking, proving he was down here causing havoc to get Masika out of bed.
     
“What are you doing?”
     
“Nothing.” He closed the fridge and looked at her, assessing her weary eyes. “Were the love birds at it again?”
     
“You mean the couple from hell.”
     
“What were they fighting about this time?”
     
“Same old. Same old.” She sat down, hands cupping her cheeks. Her eyelids were heavy with sleep
     
“It’s time to invest in some ear plugs, don’t you think?”
     
“Then I won’t hear when someone breaks in.”
     
He let out a chuckle. “Girl, relax. We have security.”
     
“You can never be too careful in this country.”
     
He nodded in agreement while scrolling through his phone, a sign that he was done talking about the crazy couple next door.
     
“Is there any news about your grandmother?”
     
“She’ll probably be discharged today, I’m waiting for my mother to call.”
     
“And your aunt?”
     
His demeanour changed in an instant like someone flipped a switch and messed with his settings.
     
“You know better than to ask me about her.”
     
Masika thought his grandmother’s near death experience would get Lefa to believe in the spirit of forgiveness but it seemed like nothing could soften his cold heart. 
     
“I do but holding a grudge is not healthy,” she said.
     
“Oh?” His attention was back on her. “Then why aren’t you calling Demetrius back.”
     
“That doesn’t mean anything, I just don’t want to talk to him because he let me go on a date with a guy who already has a girlfriend.”
     
“What?!” Lefa put his phone down and sat next to her like they were about to do a tell-all interview. “How did you find out?”
     
“She was also there, talking about us becoming a throuple.”
     
He laughed heartily with no regard for her feelings as a friend. Call her sensitive but her futile dating life was no laughing matter.   
     
“I would’ve loved to be a fly on the wall just to see your face.”
     
“I was shocked because I initially thought they wanted to have a threesome.” 
     
“But you’ve done that before,” he said, pointedly, and it was in that moment she realised his unrestrained tongue was sometimes a problem because why would he even bring that up.
     
“It was Theo’s idea and I was stupid enough to go along with it.”
     
“You were in love.”
     
Looking back, she was appalled by some of the things she did and allowed to happen in the name of loving that boy, only to end up broken-hearted because it still wasn’t enough to keep him.
     
“More like blinded by love.” Regret was palpable in her tone, thinking about the years she wasted building him up for the next chick.     
     
“We’ve all been there. Remember how I was with my first boyfriend? I was so crazy in love, Beyonce might as well have written that song about me because I would’ve followed him to the ends of the world. But he ended up marrying a woman and pays random guys to hook-up in hotels. Such a miserable life.” He shuddered as if he was cold.
     
“How do you know that he hooks up with guys in hotels?”
     
Her question caught him by surprise. “Our community is not that big, Masika, so word gets around fast.”
     
“Good to know you’re not stalking him.”
     
“He’s not worth my time,” he said with a slight frown.
     
The urgent knock on the door announced the arrival of an unexpected guest, she got up from the chair to return the pots and pans to their rightful place and filled the kettle with water before setting it on the stove to boil while Lefa welcomed Demetrius in.
     
“Hi.” He smiled coyly, holding up a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. “Can we talk?”
     
The sweet chocolate glaze smelled irresistible so much so, she didn't mind the extra calories.
     
For someone who was never short of confidence he seemed so unsure of himself, standing there with pleading eyes, she didn’t have the heart to send him on his way.
     
“I’m listening.”
     
“I’m sorry,” he said.     
     
“I know. I saw your messages.”
     
“I introduced you to Kwame, thinking you’d be open to trying something different after Theo but I see I was wrong, because I shouldn’t have made that choice for you. I want the best for you and I hope you know that.”
     
His words brought tears to her eyes, soaking her long lashes and she blamed her hormones because there was no reason to be crying.
     
“Alright, you two, kiss and make up already.” Lefa took the box and opened it.
     
“Truce?” Demetrius smirked, waiting expectantly for her answer.
     
A smile shaped her lips as she blinked away the imminent tears. “Yeah, sure. I’ll make us some tea.
     
“No, a bottle of Veuve Clicquot will do instead.” Lefa removed the whistling kettle from the stove.
                                   **********