Noma and Kea

CHAPTER 51

Its Thursday and my house is bustling, with family. Lethabo was right, Friday was just around the corner. The nerves are setting in, but it’s nothing too big. Right? The whole week we have been busy, buying Blankets for Kea and his family. I bought his blanket personally because, there’s no way I’m gonna let these people pick his blanket. Its heavy, Black and Purple, he’s gonna like it or he’s gonna pretend to like it. We are in the Garage, cooking and making a noise. My mom’s family is also here, her brothers and sisters are here. I never thought I would be surrounded by so many family members, asking me questions. We even had to go to our neighbours and apologize, for the noise levels that are about to happen. I walk into the kitchen, I find my mom, Noma, Dorcas, Akhona, which is my mom’s sister in law, so I guess she’s my aunt. She’s supercool, she gives off Rich Aunty Vibes, but low key. I guess, I’m also about to become rich aunty now. LOL. Now that, I think about it, the fact that the main man who’s gonna be negotiating his Lobola is a white man, may have some faces turning sideways, but I’m sure Lethabo or Mandla will say my family’s clan names.

Eish ja neh, I’m stressing about things, I’m not supposed to be stressing about. My job is staying away, from any smoke and Alcohol without raising too much suspicion, and Kea hasn’t been picking up his phone the whole day. He’s starting to stress me, I look down at my stomach, ‘You see what your father is doing, wait until he gets here, I’m gonna kill him’ Lindy walks in, she sits down.
“Hello julle” she says tired.
I don’t understand her tiredness at all. I still don’t understand, how Lethabo bought her a car. When did she get her license? We are talking and making a noise, you know how we women are.
“So cuz tell me, what’s Kea like?” asks one of my other cousins, they have been asking me this all the time.
“He’s good, he’s a good man” I say smiling.

“Yoh mara mntanam, you couldn’t choose a Zulu man? You just had to choose a Pedi man? A Pedi man, if you chose Xhosa it would’ve been fine too, but a Pedi man?” asks Dorcas snidely.
You see Dorcas’ problem is that she thinks I’m one of her children, I’m not, I will put her in her place. I’m about to speak, when my phone starts ringing and it’s a Face-Time. FINALLY! Where has he been?
I connect my Ear bud and walk outside, “Sawubona future Mrs. Mahlatji” he says and my heart just flutters and I giggle like a toddler.
“Thobela” I say and he smiles, “Where have you been?”
“Work, has had me in a chokehold and the new furniture arrive today, so me and the boys where setting things up, I can’t lie. The place looks great thanks to you” he says.
“Thank you” I say smiling, “I was just telling our kids that their father is stressing me out, because hasn’t been communicating with me”
He laughs, “I’m sorry, tell them daddy apologizes”
I nod my head proudly and laugh, he’s moving around a lot, “What’s going on?”
“I need to go buy food, because I still haven’t bought my wife” he says smirking at me, I forgot how funny he is, I laugh.
“What are you going to get?” I ask.
“Probably Spur or McDonald” he says.
“Can you please get me something…” I blurt.
“Sure” he says as I hear the engine switch on.
“Wings, I don’t care, what shop just bring me wings oh and Ice Cream” I say.
“OK” he says.
“Are you starting to have cravings?” he asks.
I nod my head and he laughs, he thinks it’s funny but it isn’t.

“I love you” he says.
“I love you” I say and walk back into the house. I was about to tell Dorcas, her business, but mkwenyana calmed me down. I swear, let this be last time, that anyone disrespects him or looks down on him. They don’t even know him, so they have no right to look down on him. YINDODA, and indoda yam, at the end of the day. He saved him and his brothers from Hunger, and put them through school. They mustn’t come here and think they known him like that.

After some time, my phone vibrates, a text from him and it says, “I’m outside, sneak out not to raise awareness, I don’t wanna be fined” he ends with laugh emoji’s.
I glance around the bustling kitchen, making sure no one’s paying attention, and quickly type back, “Give me a sec, I’ll be right there.” My heart races, not just from excitement but from the thought of sneaking out without anyone noticing. I quietly make my way to the back door, carefully avoiding the watchful eyes of my mom and aunties, who are deeply engaged in their conversation. I walk out and it’s cold and quickly hurry to the gate.
“Noma where you going?” asks Lindy behind me.
“I’ll be back” I say.
I know she won’t tell on me, I scurry to the gate, since it’s already open, I just walk out. Kea’s car is parked a house away, I walk there and walk up to the window, I’m bouncing up and down. He opens the door, “There she is,” he says softly, his voice filled with warmth and amusement. “You look like, you’re sneaking out of your parents’ house for the first time.”
I laugh, a little out of breath.
“It kind of feels like that! The last thing I need is for someone to catch me and start asking questions, plus you not supposed to be here and, I’m not supposed to be here” I can smell the food in the back, “Is that mine?” I ask.
“Yes, apart from some Buffalo Wings and Oreo McFlurry, I also got you a T-Bone steak too” he says and kisses my forehead.
“You gonna make me fat” I say.
“Don’t worry, I will see you the same either way” he says then kisses my cheek.
“I have been gone for a minute, they gonna notice” I say.
“I understand” he says

“I’ll call you when I get home” he kisses me, passionately, if he didn’t have to go, I would’ve moved to backseat. I open the door and cold air rushes in, I close the door. He takes off his Suede jacket and hands it to me, I put it on, I kiss him and then get out. I rush back to the gate. Only when I get to the gate do I hear his car switch on and drive past the gate. I make my way back into the garage and seems like no one even noticed my absence. I quietly sit down at my chair, then plastic bag crumble. They all turn to me. FLIPPING SNITCH.
“What” I say.
“Where you coming from?”
“Who’s jacket is that?” asks Lindy smirking, I’m guessing this is revenge for the funeral.
“Who brought you McDonalds?” asks other Noma.
“They brought me food” I say.
“Who?”
“Who else” I say cause really.
“You’re telling us Kea travelled from where he lives to bring you food, where does he live?” asks Akhona.
“He lives around don’t worry where” I say, can’t have them knowing he has a Mansion a day before the negotiations.
“Where?” they push.
“Near Oaklands” I say.
“Noma that’s 20km away” says Lindy, she still hasn’t been there even because she’s busy studying.
“No thing is I was craving Ice Cream and he was leaving the house cause I’m not there so nobody cooked for him, since I am the one that cooks for him, so when he called me earlier. I told him by mistake I was craving a McFlurry. And he was like OK, I thought he was gonna order it, but haike, I’m his baby he will do anything for me” I say.
“So he was here?” asks my mother, I thought she’d be freaking out, but no she’s chilled about it. She looks so happy…

Half an hour later, my phone rings again and it’s him, my sister grabs it, “Wena Mkwenyana why didn’t you buy food for everyone but you buying for your baby” says Lindy.
“Xolo, xolo hle eish where is she?” he asks.
“Right here” she says and flips the camera to face me.
“I got home neh” he says.
“OK, I love you” I say, he nods his head.
“Haibo Mkwenyana why don’t you say I love you back” says Akhona. And Mazwi walks in and sees the confrontation and starts laughing, then walks out.
“It’s not like that, eish respect yabona?” he says in Zulu and then the room starts to Boo him and he is looking at me defeated and smiling.
I’m laughing “Noma…Nomakhosi…” he says.
“Yebo” I reply.
“Letshoba la pelo yaka” he says.
I know that means, ‘The Flower of my Heart’, “Yebo” I say hiding my smile.
“I love you” he says and the room goes wild with screams and he is smiling looking at me and I’m flushed with redness and blushing.
“I love you too” I reply. He hangs up and the room is still a bit loud.
Dorcas walks in, “Why are you so loud? We still have so much work to do” she barks around.

I’m sitting with Lindy and Mazwi, in my room, as we share the T-Bone, while I devour the Wings.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
“Come in” I say.
Our father walks in, we haven’t talked since, I even arrived. Immediately, Lindy and Mazwi walk out and he sits on the bed next to me. We sit in silence, not looking at one another just staring at the wall.
“Noma” he starts softly.
“Baba” I reply.
“Do you love him”? he asks.
I look at him, then the wall, “Yes, with my whole heart” I say.
He looks at me, “I don’t know why, but I don’t trust him” he says.
“You liked him, when you first met him” I say.
“Yes, but the more we learnt more about him, something kept telling me, something is wrong with him, what man, sneaks into your brother’s office and just sits and waits for him? The security, PA, they didn’t even see him, come in or out, he was like a Ghost” he says a bit terrified, “The fact he has a gun too, awesabi na? Angeke ngikuvumele ushade nendoda enjalo”(Are you not scared? I cannot let you marry such a man)
“Baba, you trying to find problems, where there are none” I say holding his hand, “The gun, he told me, first day, he carries one for business reasons” that’s a lie, I guess this is who I am now, “I’m your daughter, I get that you are trying to protect me, but trust me, I love him and he loves me more than I love him” he scoffs and smiles.
“Are you sure? After tomorrow there’s no going back” he says. I nod faintly, he scoffs and hugs me, tighter than he has ever hugged me, today is my last day, as his daughter. Today, that is today… I can’t even formulate words to express how I’m feeling now. After tonight, I belong to another family, I’m their problem. LOL.

After he leaves, I sit on the bed, staring at the half-eaten wings and the T-bone steak. The food is cold now, and my appetite is gone. I’m left alone with my thoughts, replaying my father’s words. His concerns, though well-intentioned, weigh heavily on me. But I shake them off. Kea is a good man; I know it in my heart. He’s just… complicated. And who isn’t, these days?
As I start cleaning up the remnants of the food, my phone buzzes again. It’s a message from Kea, “See you tomorrow future Mrs. Mahlatji” AHHGGG, my heart. He’s the perfect men, literally.