A Mother's Struggle

Chapter 53

It is ten o'clock and as I am showering, I get an idea. I mean, I know I saw Mavis yesterday but how about I visit her today. Perhaps just to see her house and she can take me on a mini-tour around her neighborhood and we can chat. She is literally the only friend I have right now and her company is always the best.
This big house gets really lonely and I do not really feel like jogging today.

As soon as I get back to the room, I call Mavis. The first call went straight to voicemail, maybe her signal is bad.

Then I try again after ten minutes, she picks up on the third ring.

"Hello."

"Hi, how are you Mavis."

"I am good thanks and yourself."

"I am fine, but bored." I tell her.

"What are you planning to do for the day?" She asks me.

"Are you at work?" I ask back.

"Yes but I am going home at twelve." She tells me.

I tell her that I would love to visit her. I ask her if she will be able to come here so that we can go to her house together with a taxi.

"Cool, see you later then." I say through the speaker.

"Bye!"

I apply lotion on my body, get dressed in my blue jeans and a sky blue t-shirt. I then go downstairs for breakfast. I am going to have the muffins from yesterday for breakfast. If I had the chance to, I would have these muffins everyday. I know it is unhealthy but they taste so great.

Two hours later, I hear a doorbell and assume that it is Mavis.

"Hey Mavis."

"Are you ready?"

"Yes."

I offer her water before we can leave. I lock the door and take the spare keys and remote.

We take a taxi that will take us to the taxi rank, then we will take one that will take us to Mavis' place. I took R50, I didn't want Mavis to pay for my taxi fare.

The person sitting next to me in the taxi is very sweaty and his armpits reek. I think the window is broken because I cannot really open it. How many more minutes of this bad smell?
I wonder if Mavis can smell it from the seat just in front of mine. The worst part was when the guy with the bad odor armpits had to take his money to the front, meaning his hand was up and for a second there. I thought I was going to die. Get a deodorant man!

This is what I hate about South African taxis, you meet all types of people and there is hardly ventilation in here. Especially when you need it most, like now.

"On the black gate please." I hear Mavis tell the taxi driver.

Thank God, I cannot take anymore of this smell.

The taxi stops and we get off.

I let out a huge breath that I have been trying to hold in the taxi.

"Hmmm! Fresh air!" I say.

"You smelt the armpits too?" She scoffs.

"Yes, he was sitting right next to me."

She laughs at me.
"Don't be like that Mavis." She doesn't stop laughing at me.

Her neighborhood is full of RDP houses and hers is peach. The one next to hers is unoccupied.

They all look the same, just with different colors. They are small and simple, with a water tank next to them. The gates are also similar, most of them are chain-link fence gates and some are metal gates. Mavis' gate is a black metal gate that has spikes on top, I guess it is to avoid burglary.