A Mother's Struggle

Chapter 43

Lesedi's POV

My mom is reading her favorite novel, Pride and Prejudice is what she said the name of it is. She is smiling and her favorite song is playing on the television, the music is playing very softly.
Mom has not been happy lately and she says reading helps her escape from the real world, she connects with all the characters in her favorite books. I think I will understand that when I get older.

My father has been gone for two days, my mother said that he went to work but I remember hearing them fight before he left. It was at 02:00 a.m, I think, and my dad was shouting at my mother for something. The exchange of harsh words and vulgar is what woke me up. I kneeled down and prayed to God that the screaming would stop and that my dad does not beat my mother up. I thought blocking my ears would help.

On that night, I remember my dad just slamming the bedroom door and he left.
I keep asking my mom when daddy is coming back but she says that the longer he leaves is the more money he will make. I was afraid to ask further questions.

I hear someone unlocking the door and my mother's face lights up because she knows that it's dad.
Mommy said that daddy makes her the happiest woman alive. I wonder how that feels like.

Dad is talking to someone, I assume that he is on a phone call.

Just as he enters, my mother runs up to him to give him a kiss but he turns to his side to expose his cheek to my mom just before he says, "Sarah, you can come in."

A tall skinny woman wearing a short white dress follows and stands next to him. She is light-skinned and has the biggest grin ever. My mom drops the book she had in her hands to the floor and her face looks like she has just seen a ghost.

Who is this woman?

My mom's lip quivers and no words seem to be escaping her mouth. I can see that she wants to say something. I am so confused.

"Who is this woman Thabo?" My mother asks my father, her voice is shaky and anyone would hate to see their mother like that.

"I do not answer to you, you are not my wife remember?" I think I heard him shout.

He was drunk, too drunk and his tongue would twist as he tried to speak. His eyes were bloodshot red but the person next to him seemed to be proud to have such a man holding her waist.

I am scared, I have no idea what to do.

"Pack your bags and leave. We... we are done." I hear him say.

"Thabo, but why?" My mother asks in defeat.
I know she wants to cry, I know she wants to cry so bad but she wants to act strong. That is what she always does,  she tries to put on a mask for everybody to think that she is okay. Well, she cannot be okay with having this submissive-dominant love with my father. This is not fair at all.
I want to protect her, I want to speak up for her but I am just four years old, who would listen to me? Who cares about what I think.

He puts every piece of clothing that we own and shoves it in two big black trash bags and throws them outside. I tremble as I watch him push my mother through the sliding door.

"Thabo I have been with you for seven years and you have the audacity to do this to me?" My mother tries to fight back, with pain clear in her eyes.

"Mmampho you are nothing without me, you are too weak. This whole thing would never work out." He shouts, his bottle of whiskey falls to the ground and the sound of the shattering bottle startles me.