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The estate grounds were abuzz with good energy as my girls and I moved from stall to stall, our voices alternating between chatting and singing along to the African music mix the DJ was pumping through the speakers.
Of course Ashley had chosen to live in a neighbourhood that did fun stuff like this. It really suited her free-spiritedness. The whole thing was a vibe, from street food and delicious cocktails to jumping castles, a stage and even a dancefloor on which people were having actual dance battles, there was something for everyone and I highly doubted anyone could claim they were having a bad time.
"Oh, gosh, Ashley...you're torturing these boys. Look, he literally can't stop looking back at you." Tendai laughed when Ashley winked at a guy who'd turned to look at her suggestively as he walked past us.
"Code word is boys," Ashley sighed, "that's all I ever attract. If that was a man I wouldn't get away with that wink. He'd be back here in my face, trying to see if I can actually walk the talk. But these ones, ah, wote ni wavulana."
"So the flirting is a game you play? To see who's who?" I asked, referring to the wink and all other suggestive interactions she'd had since we got here.
"I guess you could call it that." Ashley shrugged as she took a sip of her gin and juice. "They show interest, I present a challenge and sit back to see if they'll accept. Most of the time, they don't finish what they started."
"You'll find him some day, though, Ash." Chey encouraged through a sweet smile. "The man of your dreams is out there for sure."
"Ugh, I don't think I'm even dreaming anymore." Ash revealed. "I'm just going with the flow at this point. Enough about me and my non-existent love life, though. What about you, Tee?"
Tendai scrunched her face. "I don't know, I never really have time to date, but when I do, it's usually someone from the hospital and we realise the only thing we have in common is the hospital. Not a great plot for romance."
"So how did you end up marrying Alex?" Ashley asked bluntly, making me nearly swallow my tongue.
Tendai didn't skip a beat as Chey comically tried to pretend she was no longer part of this conversation. "We met at school," she said simply, "great plot for romance, but we all know why that didn't work out."
"Do we, though?" Ashley quipped, earning a warning scowl from Cheyenne.
"Ashley, I think that's enough." she told her.
"Hear me out, I'm not trying to be messy," Ashley put her hands up defensively and locked gazes with both Chey and Tee. "I just mean, we know Alex's side of the story, based on what he told Chey. Tendai's our girl now, maybe we should know her side as well."
Cheyenne considered this and put away her proverbial claws, giving Tendai room to respond. Tendai chuckled lightly, "Not the staring. You guys are making me nervous now, but my side of the story is that we should have been more careful. Not that I regret having Faro, she's the reason for every breath I breathe, but Alex and I were very careless and living a little too much in the moment. Neither of us was thinking we could make a baby that would lead to an embarrassingly short and unhappy marriage. Our relationship became strained and toxic as soon as Faro came into the world. We would hate each other's guts right now if we didn't let it go as soon as we did."
