Enhle eventually went back to the bedroom and found Manqoba still asleep. She bit her lower lip doubtfully before approaching him. He was hugging onto a pillow sleeping flat on his stomach. She climbed the bed and led her hands to his back, then sleeping on top of him. The touch grew into a hug and she sobbed ruefully. He raised his head with squinted lazy eyes, surprised at the what was suddenly weighing him down in his sleep. She let go and sat up awkwardly. He sighed and turned over so he lays on his back. He shut his eyes before opening then again to look at her.
"I'm sorry", Enhle apologized, twiddling with her thumbs. Manqoba bit the side of his lower lip and fixed his gaze.
"I'm willing to start from scratch. To try again", she went on and he sat up. Eyes tired, painful and heavy.
"I want to book us a weekend away so we can talk things through. I really--", Manqoba's phone began vibrating from the top of the pedestal, interrupting Enhle. He looked towards it before languidly picking it up. He swiped his thumb across the screen before placing it on his ear. Enhle sighed and looked away.
"Yebo?"
"Mm", he coolly agreed to whatever he was being asked.
"Hm?"
"Kuphi?"(Where?)
"Wenzani wena lapho?"(What are you doing there?)
"Okay mama ngiyeza"(I'm coming), he said and Enhle brought her face back to him. The only time she ever heard him saying "mama" to anybody is when he is talking to her. He cut the call and pulled his legs off the bed.
"Mbulazi", she softly called out.
"Hm?", he replied as he gathered the strength to stand, burying his face in both his hands.
"Are you leaving?"
"Yes"
"When are we going to speak about this?"
"About what?"
She stood up from the bed and went round the bed to go kneel in front of him.
"Wenzan manje? Sukuma"(What are you doing now? Stand up), he pulled her teary self up with her hands clasped together.
"We will talk. Just not now. I don't have the energy", he let go of her and his feet led him to the shower. She wiped her tears with her mouth slightly open. She scratched her head and dropped her whole weight on the bed, frustrated.
...
"She's still not replying to your texts?", Melo asked a sullen Mxo after walking into the living room, drinking juice. He sat down next to him and Mxo switched off the television.
"I'm worried about her now"- Mxo
"Surely she's fine. Now that indaba ye morning after indlulile, how are you going to deal with her finding out about Zee?"(... the issue with the MAP has been dealt with...)
"Ey yabo leyo. My head is even hot"(See that one...), Mxo said and dropped the very hot head on the sofa.
"And also, her mother could walk in here any minute now"
Mxo was about to reply when his phone rang. He quickly answered it when he realized that Ndalo was calling.
"Baby! Uright?"
"Kuphi? Are you okay?"
"Okay I'm coming "
He dropped the hand with the phone and turned towards Melo.
"She knows?", Melo asked. Mxolisi shrugged and stood up to leave, after throwing on his black bucket hat in a hurry.
When he arrived at the ruins of the house they once met at, he placed himself on a rock under a tree, waiting for her. She finally arrived. He stood up to hug her and she hugged him back. He leaned in for a kiss but she pulled her face away. She broke the hug completely and took out her phone from the pocket of her jean skirt. She handed it to him and he asked,"What's going on?"
The expression that hung over her face wasn't mad neither was it happy.
"It's over Mxolisi", she finally said. He frowned.
"Over?"
"Yea"
"What do you mean? I'm sorry your mom had to beat you that hard because of me I--"
"What happened between you no Nele?", she interrogated. He gently held her by her wrists.
"Zanele was a mistake baby--"
"WHAT happened?", he was taxing her patience.
"Before I tell you, won't your mom be mad that you're here?"
"She's already mad and disappointed kyafana"
"Ndalo..."
She threatened with her eyes and he knew he had to start talking.
"Okay. Zanele and I met at Lungelo's 16th birthday. She was initially supposed to be Melo's but his girlfriend showed up without warning and I had to save his a**. One thing led to another and we ended up dating for a few weeks"
"Did you sleep with her?", she interrogated further and he momentarily dropped his eyes.
"Yes"
"Were you her first?"
He nodded in approval, biting his lower lip.
"So, I was just another Zee to you?"
"Ha ah baby. I told you I love you Ndalo and I meant every word. Please don't do this?"
"Sne is your main angithi? You just entertain yourself with us here then you go back to your real girlfriend"
"That's not true. I officially ended things with Sne after I met you. She and I are over baby", he explained and placed his hands on her cheeks. She looked away.
"I chose to ignore everything that's being said about you, believing that you actually love me. I had my doubts when she called when we were in the car but I still allowed you to make a fool out of me"
“Please believe me Ndalo I really do love you. You’re not Zanele. I know I was a jerk with her but that doesn’t mean I’ll treat you the same. Give me a chance to prove myself. Give me the benefit of the doubt.”, he begged and she shook her head.
“I don’t think I will ever be able to trust you Mxo. This won’t work. Also, the last time I saw my mother cry was after my dad died. I’ve hurt her. Badly. I don’t want her to give up on me like she did with my brother. I’d die. I made reckless decisions because I can’t think straight where you’re involved. There’s just a lot of reasons why we can’t work. If Nele finds out that I’m dating her man she’ll go crazy”
“I am YOUR man Ndalo nobody else’s!”
“If I knew you were her ex I wouldn’t have dated you. I don’t want to be that kind of friend”
“So in other words, you’re choosing her over me?”, he asked and she shrugged.
“Your reasons are not good enough for me. I’m not gonna watch myself lose you over nonsense”
She yanked her hands away from his grip.
“My mother’s tears are nonsense to you Mxo?”
“That’s not what I mean but I want you to fight for us Ndalo because I know I’d do the same. She is well within her right to be mad about this and I don’t blame her but she will see how serious I am about you as we grow”, he held her shoulders and gazed into her eyes intently.
She kept shaking her head in disapproval. He tried to kiss her but she drew her sad face back. He sighed.
“Ngiyak’thanda Ndalou. My daydreams are filled with imaginations of us as a married couple one day, of you heavily pregnant with my babies, of us travelling the world together. I want you in my life. BUT, if there’s one thing my father taught me when coming to women, it’s consent. I am not going to force you into anything you don’t want to do. Tell me now and forever that awungifuni and I’ll immediately leave you alone. In the short space of time we’ve known and spent with each other, I believe I never missed a chance to tell and show you how much I love you. If you refuse to see it, I am not going to over-explain myself ngikhuluma into eyodwa engapheli”(... now and forever that you don't want me... saying the same thing over and over again)
“Ndalo!”, an exasperated voice called out before charging to the two. Ndalo rolled her eyes at the boy Melo once rescued her from.
Mxo’s eyes reposefully moved from him to her. Then back to her.
“Ubusy uthi awujoli kanti uyafeba?!”(You keep saying you don't do relationships but you're out here being a whxre)
“Ngifeba nobani Sthe? Angizangi ngithi kuwe angijoli. Ngithe angikufuni!”(Who am I whxring with? I never said I don't date. I said I don't want you)
Mxo continued watching in silence.
“Kodwa uyayifuna le cheeseboy? Ngowakuphi yena lo?”(But you want this cheese boy. Where is he from anyway?), he scanned Mxo from top to toe before grabbing Mxo’s bucket hat and throwing it on the soiled and dusty ground. Mxo scoffed, taking a moment before picking it up and dusting it of the dirt.
“Ngithi ungubani Danone ? UNdalo ngowami hamb’ uyofuna eyakho icherry!”(I asked you who you are. Ndalo is mine go look for your own girlfriend), he stated before spitting on the ground and waiting for a reaction.
Mxo lost all of it and pushed him against the tree trunk. The rough surfaced collided with his back in a flash as Mxo strangled the disrespectful life out of him.
“Mxo no uzombulala!!”(You're gonna kill him!), Ndalo yelled and cried as she looked around to see if there wasn’t any elder to help. The streets were clean and uncaring.
“Ubiza ban ngoDanone? Unganginyeli ngoba awungazi angikwazi. Angaz uqhamukaph’ kodwa ngizok’posa back to the correct address ngempama eyodwa uyezwa?! Unganginyeli”(Who are you calling as Danone? Don't shxt on my head because you don't me just as much as I don't know you. I don't know where you come from but I'll post you back there with a single slap?), he hissed as Ndalo cried for him to let Sthembiso go.
“Hade mfethu. Hade bra”(Sorry bro), Sthe breathlessly tried to convey his apologies. Mxo dropped him when he remembered how he almost killed Mzwanele and Sthe coughed out.
He turned his sight towards a freaked out Ndalo and she handed the phone to him since she wanted to leave that approximate of a crime scene.
“U serious?”, he questioned with a straight face.
“She nodded as she sobbed her tears away”
He looked away and bit his lower lip in brown study.
“Take it or else ngizoy shiya phansi”(... I'll leave it on the ground), she threatened and he just looked at her blankly before extending his hand to take it. He turned to see what Sthe was up to and he was gone, he looked ahead and saw him walking away with his hand on his neck.
After Mxo took the phone, Ndalo distorted her lips regretfully before walking away.
“Ndalo!”, he called for attention and she kept walking.
“Ndalo!”, he called out again and she stopped before turning in his direction.
“This is it vele?”, he questioned and she nodded. He dropped his face and brought it back up again.
“Okay. Can I at least have one last hug?”- Mxo
She pursed her lip undecidedly before turning back to go fall in his open arms. He still had his hat in one hand and her(or his) phone in the other.
He held on to her tightly and she broke the hug after a moment too long.
“Bye Mxo…”
“Sharp…”, he voicelessly let out.
