Lion of Soweto

Chapter 3

Sheline returns into the house to find Audrey seated in the dining area of their expansive living room.

"Who was that?" Audrey asks.

"The man who brought you home the other time."

A smile settles on the old woman's face. "Oh, Moyo. Why didn't he come in?"

"He didn't want to." Sheline shrugs surprised her mom still recalls his name. "According to him, he came to see me."

Audrey's brow rises as if expecting more from Sheline.

The girl scratches her head, picking out the best way to express all that just happened.

"Mama, can I just think for a moment, please. I'll talk to you soon."

"It's okay."

Yes, the nineteen-year-old needs to think things through. Is she now so mature that she can receive marriage proposals? Is she old enough to be called someone wife? This Moyo's visit seems to be re-introducing her to herself.

Head hanging low, she traipses to the sofa and drops into it, lying down. Men have been visiting but this feels different. Very much so. None of her ex-boyfriends mentioned marriage or poked it up her nose like Moyo just did. Even if he doesn't look like the ideal partner, he sounded honest and purposeful.

"Marry me," he said. This is the first time a man ever uttered such. Even if marriage isn't the next item on her wish list, it tickles to hear those words.

Coming from a man much older, Moyo's proposal confirms her friend's words. Back in high school, her classmates considered her too tall. "Leave schoolboys for us; go and look for office workers." They used to tell her.

She then discussed with Audrey who gave her green light. "You're old enough to talk or move with men. Just make sure you bring them home."

Those words always play strongly on her mind. Whenever someone proposed, she carried her mom along, seeking advice and sharing fluctuating moods – when necessary. Being on the big side for her age, mostly older men wooed her. Mother and daughter discussed men issues like friends, holding nothing back.

When Sheline's last boyfriend Mark, a banker, started acting two-faced, she alerted her mom.

"Give him some time," Audrey said, "As long as he's not deceiving you."

"He's not straightforward. I see all kinds of pictures on his phone."

"Patience is sometimes necessary when dealing with men."

Sheline put up with Mark until she realised he was insincere. A playboy per-excellence. Every time they hung out, she would return home relieved of worries bordering on city girls greeting him at every street junction.

The door to the affair closed when she eventually gained access to his Facebook profile, which revealed his romantic activities. Not the one to start her life with a cheat, Sheline dropped the affair, and Audrey made no attempt to convince her daughter.

That relationship proved that she could handle older men, even if the number of guys coming around has now reduced since she left high school, probably owing to her few public engagements, which are now limited to infrequent outings with friends and of course Sunday church events.

While hanging out with friends, Sheline doesn't attend late-night parties with them.

"With your fine figure, you should be in big clubs." Her friends will say.

"A good shape is nice but it can sometimes be a pain. You don't know who's real and who's not."

"How do you manage without guys?" They often ask her. "All of those two thousand guys on Facebook profile mean nothing to you?"