Noma and Kea

CHAPTER 52

The next morning, the house is buzzing with activity again, but this time it’s more subdued, more focused. Today’s the day. The day Kea and abakhongi bakhe arrive. I’m up early, helping my mom and aunts with last-minute preparations, trying to keep my mind occupied and away from the growing knot in my stomach. I keep checking my phone to see if there’s anything from him. Given what today means to us, I’m sure he’s busy on his end.
As the day progresses, more and more family members start arriving, filling the house with laughter, chatter, and a sense of anticipation. The air is thick with a mixture of excitement and tension, everyone knowing that this is no ordinary gathering. This is the beginning of something monumental. It’s nearly 11am which was the time we agreed on and I’m still moving around like a mad woman, trying to keep myself busy.

Finally, my mom pulls me aside, her hands resting gently on my shoulders, “Noma, it’s time,” she says, her voice soft but firm. I can see tears sitting on her eyes, she smiles at me, now the tears are on my eyes too. Don’t Blink. Don’t Blink. I take a deep breath. There’s no turning back, Now. She turns me around and walks me to my room. I head to my room, where my cousins are already waiting to help me dress. They fuss over me, fixing my hair, adjusting my outfit, making sure every detail is perfect. I try to stay present in the moment, but my mind keeps drifting back to Kea. Where is he? Why hasn’t he called?
When I’m finally dressed and ready, I take one last look in the mirror. The woman staring back at me looks confident, poised, ready for whatever comes next. But beneath the surface, my heart is pounding, a mix of excitement, fear, and anticipation.
As I make my way to the living room, where the negotiations are set to take place, the voices of my family members become clearer, their conversations tinged with curiosity and expectation. I hear snippets of their discussions, their guesses about how the day will unfold.

The time is now, 11:45. They said latest they would be here, was 11am, now they are 45 minutes late. I stare out the window, looking outside and I can see their cars pull up. FINALLY. It’s James’ Bently in front then, Lethabo’s Mercedes, then Thapelo’s Jeep, Mandla’s BMW and I can’t see Kea’s car. Did he even come? Dammit.
My phone vibrates, “I’m ready to make you mine”.
I just wanna scream. This is it. “MLOTSHWA! MSUTHU! MKHATHINI!” I hear one of them shout. AHHHHH, it’s finally happening, “Morwa wa rena, obone le letshoba ka mo…”(Our son has seen a flower in there…) A few moments later, I see Mazwi walking out holding a grass rug.
He walks to the gate, he lies down, “What are you doing here?” asks my mother. I look back at her and she pulls me by my arm. I walk into my room, I put on a white scarf around my shoulders. I sit there, twiddling my thumbs and biting my nails.
Lindy walks in and quickly sits next, “OK, I brought Gossip” I turn to her, “Firstly they brought a White man, as Umkhongi, did you know?”
“Yes, that’s James he’s kind of Kea’s Godfather” that tells me she hasn’t met Vuno and Imani, I wonder why though, they always talk about, the boys and ask how they are?
“Well Lethabo is here, and his brothers are here. They all look fine…”
“And Kea?”
“No sight of him, but they were discussing the fact that their negotiator is white, Malume Thembinkosi isn’t too happy about that…”
“How much did, Mazwi get from the gate?” I ask.
She shrugs her shoulders, “But he wasn’t up in a flash so I think it was too much” she says. I’m sitting next to her, after a few minutes Mazwi walks in, “Ayy labafana, bene mali especially lomlungu” he says, I give him a side look, “He came in a Bentley bro, does he have a daughter maybe?”. I just sit there, he walks out.
It’s been an hour, my phone vibrates, “Apparently they are getting close, because they are asking for me” he texts.

It’s been another hour and still nothing. Lindy is sitting next to me, while I twiddle my thumbs. I decide to call him, the phone rings, but I can hear it in the living room and I immediately drop. Ok, so he is here, well that’s good.
Noma walks in and sits down with us, “Why is there a white man leading Kea’s negotiations and why does he understand Zulu so perfectly?” she asks. We look at her crazy, I didn’t know he understands Zulu. Well given that Vuno is Zulu/Xhosa, I would expect him to know or understand Zulu a bit but not perfectly. We sit in the room talking in hushed tones, about how after me, the next person should be either one of them. Noma was a bit resistant to that, but Lindy was smiling the whole time. She said that, it would be nice to be the centre of attention for a whole week.