Unhinged Love

CHAPTER 21

Four days have passed and I have tried by all means to avoid bumping into Mbulelo. When I’m at the restaurant I always tell employees to inform him that I’m not there if he happens to come to work. Not that I am being childish and all that, but I don’t want his explanation. He failed to be honest with me, so why should I give him a chance to explain things? I even had to block him because he was blowing up my phone. I have spent the past three nights at Mitchy’s place in Mandlanzini, just so I don’t go home to find him waiting for me. Yeah, showing the guy you’re dating your place isn’t ideal when the time comes for you to part ways. He is always there.

I am glad that my business is doing well. The customers are always there. Lunch hour and dinner times are always our busiest. When it comes to breakfast, we only serve herbal tea but to cater to our non-vegan clients, we have to serve all types of coffees. That means hiring two baristas and buying coffee machines. But I think I should discuss that with my crew before going forward.

I am always working, so a girl needs a breather. That is why I have decided on this spontaneous outing. I also want to stop thinking about Mbulelo. I don’t have time to go back home and change into something cute, so I start at Foschini and purchase a really cute peach dress and some sandals. Slowly but surely, I am getting back to my old self. It’s going to take a while to go back to wearing heels but I’m not in a hurry. I am just glad that I am healing. I drive to Waterfront and decide on going to Sindu Restaurant. This is a really great and chilled spot. It’s also perfect because it's not too busy. I take a few pictures which I will post once I’m home because I don’t want someone interrupting my me-time.

I order my lunch and then wait. A solo date is a great chance to be alone in your thoughts on a different environment. Healthy Eats is going great. I can’t necessarily base the success of my restaurant on the opening hype, but I have faith in my baby and the service my staff delivers. I don’t want to rush and open an Empangeni branch. So I will give this one a year before we can think about branching out. But if all goes well, too well, we will have a new branch before the year ends. All I know that I need a space at either Sanlam Centre or Five Ways Mall.

“My God. I hope I am not disturbing you. But I’m in need of company.” A pregnant woman disturbs me as she drops on the seat opposite me. Okay. Weird. She looks oddly familiar though. “You are here alone?”
I chuckle. “Yeah. I needed a breather.”
She laughs. “Yeah, we all need that. As soon as this baby hits 4 months, I will leave her with my husband and go on a solo vacation because I am tired, yoh.” I can only imagine what she is going through. I’m sure it’s not easy to share your body with a stranger for a whole nine months.
“Your first baby?” I ask.
“No. I have a toddler who still loves my attention but here I am again.” She rubs her swollen belly. “Ow Fuck, where are my manners? I am Nella Semoko. And who must you be, beautiful lady who looks like she has the weight of the world on her shoulders?”

I laugh. “That obvious, huh?” she also laughs and nods. “I am Hlengiwe Mabuyakhulu. And you oddly look familiar. Bear with me while I jog my memory.” I squint my eyes and I suddenly remember her. She is a boxer, a national and international champion. “You’re Red Coat.”
She chuckles. “I haven’t been called that in a long time. Anyways, nice to meet you Hlengiwe. You already know what I used to do for a living. What do you do?”
“I am nutritionist and a chef. I also recently opened my first restaurant. It is situated in the CBD. It’s called Healthy Eats. We mostly serve healthy food, plant based and all that but we also serve meat. We cater to all kinds of eaters. If you haven’t visited it, please come before the end of your vacation.” She smiles.
“I am definitely looking forward to seeing it. You just opened a restaurant, that’s a huge milestone. You should be smiling brighter than any beauty pageant contender. What’s up?” my waiter comes and places my order and then takes Nella’s order.

“We can share.” I bought a platter that I was going to take half of it with me home. She is more than happy to share. Pregnant women and food.
“Okay. Back to you. I am no therapist and I’m definitely a stranger, but they say a problem half shared is half solved. And maybe I can advise you on what to do. Is it relationship problems? It’s always the other gender that wants to drive us crazy.”

I chuckle. “Yeah. I got into a relationship with a 24 year old. Basically I 2k. And everything was going well. He is a nice guy to be honest and he did treat me right. But one fateful day, I bumped into his supposed ex. She was angry at him. She even slapped me. So last week I had an interview on one of the biggest radio stations in KZN and he offered I drive me, but on the morning of the interview, he said there was an emergency at work. Then he sent his father whom I have never met before and asked him to drive me. It was really awkward the whole drive. So it turns out, there was no emergency at work. He took his ex to the hospital because she had cramps. The ex is pregnant with his baby and he didn’t tell me all that. He lied to me and knowing how dramatic his ex is, I don’t want to involve me in that.”

“Yoh. What do you MaZulu call it? Isgaxa. That’s it. Too much drama and you are right to distance yourself from that. I know how dramatic baby mamas are. Dealt with one on my first year of marriage. It was not easy but I guess the attraction my husband had for me made everything easy. I won’t tell you that things might be easy after this because they won’t. You just need to choose you and your mental health. These men never choose us.”

Wow. I didn’t think I needed a stranger’s advice until I actually got it. Nella is right. I should choose myself because nobody else is going to choose me. Mbulelo has shown that he won’t choose me. I am not trying to compete with his unborn child, but if he really loved me, he would have been transparent from the get to. The fact that he only spoke the truth when he was caught, spoke volumes about him. He may be a nice guy and kind hearted but he has that gene that all men have, the selfish gene. And I don’t want to associate myself with that. Maybe I should wait for a matured man to come to me. It’s true that the younger boys can keep you up all night, but at the end of the day, they are young and so is their minds.

“Thank you so much, Nella. Sometimes you do need an advice from a stranger. Even if that stranger is a celebrity.”
She laughs. “Now you’re pushing it. You know that I’m no celebrity. Just a former boxer.” I chuckle and roll my eyes. She knows she is a celebrity.

A very handsome man walks in, looks around the restaurant and then comes to our table with a smile on his face. I notice that the smile is directed to Nella. “There you are.” He hugs her from the back and she giggles. He then looks at me. “Hey. I’m Khumo. I hope my wife hasn’t been bath mouthing me the whole time.”

I chuckle. “She could never.”
He laughs. “You don’t have to protect her. She can fend for herself.” He tickles her and she laughs. God. They look so happy. I’m not jealous for love like this. I just yearn for it and I am happy for people who have found it.