The Swirl

Ep. 20

Mabea screamed in frustration as she turned to her mother. She was so worked up at this point that she didn't care that she was being a pain in the ass.

"Why won't they let them in?!" she yelled. "It's been 2 hours now!"

"Did you see the money that they are forking out? You are going to be taken away by those people and I want to get the most out of it. Especially now that you're going to live with that man!"

"You are so greedy, Mama!" she screamed.

"Hey!!" her mother warned. "Respect your elders! I'm letting you off this once only because you're pregnant and I'll blame it on the hormones. And stop getting yourself so worked up! You might have the baby at any moment seeing that you're in your last week of pregnancy and I don't want you getting blood all over my new carpet."

Mabea stomped to her bedroom before she could lose it.

As she sat on her bed, she thought about the last couple of months. She was now a master's degree holder having graduated second class-first division which was a wonder. Then during one trip to the doctor's office with Hiroto and MK, Hiroto had proposed in the most unromantic way possible. He didn't even go down on his knee! He simply rolled a bank receipt that he had been twisting in his hand while impatiently waiting for the doctor to finish poking and prodding her. When the doctor was satisfied, Hiroto slipped the rolled receipt onto her index finger and then twisted it in the form of a ring while she talked to the doctor.

"I've asked my uncles to bring a letter to your family," he said out of the blue.

She turned so sharply that there was a crack in her neck. She cursed and rubbed it as she looked at him. "What the hell?! You didn't even properly propose! You just hid that box in my bag that I accidentally found when I thought we were over and I didn't even say yes to that!"

The doctor awkwardly waited in the his seat, not knowing what to do or say.

Hiroto kissed the paper ring on her hand. "Well...do you wanna marry me? Just so you know...my uncles are already on their way so you can't say no. And you're pregnant so we don't want you to be pregnant and unmarried. What will people say?"

Mabea was incredulous. "Are you emotionally blackmailing me right now?" She reached for MK who was sitting on the bed with her. "Your daddy is blackmailing me, MK. What do we have to say about that?"

MK laughed. "Nothing," he giggled as his fingers ran in her wig as always.

"That's fine by me, my baby," she said and then looked at Hiroto smugly. "We're saying nothing."

Hiroto laughed a little. "If you don't say yes, I will walk out that door and you'll never see me again."

"Make sure you leave MK behind and don't forget to close the door behind you. We don't want to make the doctor angry."

Hiroto conceded. "Fine." He went down on one knee, finally. "Mabea Amelia Moshoeshoe, will you marry me?"

"No. You are not romantic," she said with a small smile. "I don't want to be married to someone that proposed to me with a bank receipt ring."

Hiroto laughed. "Are you gonna make me beg? OK. Please marry me, Mabea. I want our children to have a loving home with parents who love each other because I definitely love you. So...will you please marry me?"

She grinned. "OK. Don't start crying. I'll marry you."

Then Hiroto's negotiation party arrived at her house where her mother had decided the lobola was going to be negotiated, at 6am this morning and she had been surprised to see that he had literally flown in his uncles from wherever they were around the world.