Sindi

George got me a brilliant tender with the government for this Covid-19situation. Zelda has been absolutely amazing. She is honestly a gem in my life. She comes in much earlier than normal now to get my kids up, make sure that they have bathed, eaten and ready for home-schooling. She sets up their laptops in the study and packs their lunch and snacks for the day. Zelda manages their days so well. She even has 2 hours everyday for physical activity in the yard. My babies absolutely love her. 

Then from 8am, she is all mine. She does all my admin for me, manages my diary and manages my stakeholders. She knocks off at 8pm everyday without any complaints whatsoever and has no issues with me phoning her and working further with her when she gets home. She seems to be healing from her son’s death. I think my children are also good for her and when she spends time with them, she connects with her son somehow. 

Zelda understands me. I like her a lot. She understands the calibre of work that I expect from my team and she delivers. She understands that sometimes I have bad days. She just deals with it. She doesn’t bitch and moan about how much I hurt her feelings. She takes what she needs to take from me and gets the job done. I love that about her. She knows we are not friends and she understands what it is that we are here to do. 

“You’ve got a minute?” Mthunzi walks into my office and says. 

I work in the cottage full time now because I have had to give up my office to Mbali. She works in there all day and Siya works in the main study. Zelda and I share an office. My cottage is big enough to accommodate both our desks and work stations. In the other room sits my HR manager, Finance Manager and Operations Manager. I have all I need right here to keep my boat afloat so that I can pay even those sitting at home because they can’t touch people. 

“Sure”, I reply to Mthunzi. 

Zelda has headsets on so I guess I cannot ask her to leave. I step outside and close the sliding door so I can talk to my husband. 

“What’s up?” I ask him. 
“We need to talk to Mbali and Siya”, he says. 
“About what?” I enquire. 
“They are asking questions about why I no longer sleep at home and why you spend a lot of your nights away from home as well”, he says.
Is this a joke?
“So what do you want us to say to them? That we are in an open marriage?” I sarcastically say. 
“We should tell them the truth. We are not happy together anymore and we want to be with other people. We used to have businesses together, but now that your lover has bought me out of them, the only thing keeping us together is them and that’s not even healthy because what are we truly saying about love to them through our actions?” He says. 

I cannot believe my ears. My emotions overcome me. My tears uncontrollably fall down my face. He holds my hand and pulls me to sit on a bench in our garden. 

“We have both played a significant role in pulling this marriage apart, Sindi. It doesn’t mean that we are bad people. It just means that we are not to each other what we clearly are to the people that we are seeing. I don’t want to teach Siya and Mbali that this is what love is. I want them to actually be happy and be in love. I don’t want them to look at marriage and see it as a business deal.” He says. 
“I’m not ready to lose you. I don’t want to lose you. I know that I have been terrible towards you. I know that I’m not the best mom or the best wife. But I want one more chance to try. Please, Mthunzi. Let’s not throw in the towel now. We can still fix this. We can still keep it together and be good parents to our kids. I still love you. I know that I have put my career before our marriage multiple times and that’s what did this to us. I’m so sorry, my love. Mthunzi, I just need one more chance. Please baby”, I plead with him from my soul. 
“Sindiswa, you’ll always be the mother of my kids and by virtue of that alone, we will always be in each other’s lives. But, I’m not in love with you anymore. It’s not fair that I keep you with me when I know that we have reached the end of our marriage.” He says. 

I just cry. He just holds my hands. I am literally falling apart. I am losing my husband. My kids already hate me. There is no way that they will stay with me. I might be losing them too. I have to get Zelda on my side. If I keep Zelda, I keep my kids. My kids love Zelda more than they love Mthunzi and I combined. 

“Can we talk to them today after their physical activity session with Zelda?” He says.

This bastard really cannot wait to have me out of his life and faithfully commit himself to his new whore. I wish I knew who she was so I could slice her nipples. 

“You love her? Your new bitch. You love her?” I ask him. I need to know. 
“She has nothing to do with this. This is about our children and putting each other out of this misery we call a marriage”, me. 
“Who is she?” I ask him. 

He frowns at me. 

“Is it someone I know?” I enquire. 

He stands up and walks away from me. 

“HEY WENA MTHUNZI MSOMI, I’M TALKING TO YOU! WHO IS YOUR WHORE?” I am shouting and following him into the house. 

Everyone has left everything that they were doing and are now looking at us. Mbali and Siya were taking their first snack of the day, so they are in the kitchen, now staring at us. 
Mthunzi keeps walking, ignoring me.

“MTHUNZI! MTHUNZI, I’M TALKING TO YOU! WHO IS THIS SLUT THAT YOU ARE FUCKING THAT’S MAKING YOU WANT TO DIVORCE ME?” Me. 
“HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?” He finally stops and gives me some attention. 
“WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? HOW CAN YOU ASK ME THINGS LIKE THAT OR USE THAT KIND OF LANGUAGE AROUND OUR CHILDREN?” Him. 

Do I look like I care about these kids right now? I need to save my marriage. 

“YOU WANT US TO TELL THEM THAT WE ARE GETTING A DIVORCE,ANGISHO? THEY AT LEAST NEED TO KNOW WHO THE SLUT IS THAT IS RIPPING OUR FAMILY APART”, I yell. 
“WE HAVEN’T BEEN WORKING FOR YEARS, SINDISWA! YEARS! YOU GAVE UP ON OUR MARRIAGE WHEN YOU STARTED SLEEPING WITH BLESSERS SO THEY COULD FUND YOUR BUSINESSES. HARD-WORKING MTHUNZI WAS JUST A MERE EMPLOYEE WHO WAS NEVER ENOUGH FOR YOU! EVER! NOW YOU’VE GOT THE AUDACITY TO SHIFT THIS FROM YOU AND PIN IT ON SOMEONE WHO HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HOW WE GOT TO WHERE WE ARE TODAY.” He yells back. 

I am taken aback by that statement. Mbali and Siya and crushed. 

“You two are getting a divorce?” Mbali enquires. 

I cannot even face them. I see Zelda walking up to them, whispering something to them and leaving the room with them. I just cry and everyone around me is just dumb-founded.  

“I am moving out today.” He says. 
I look at him. 
“I’ll continue to pick up and drop off whoever you need me to pick up and drop off. But, we are done. My lawyers will be in contact with you moving forward. One of my divorce requests would be for you to remove my name off this house. You don’t even need to buy me out. I’ll give you everything for free. I’m done with you and I’m done with this marriage”, he says.

I try to respond, but my phone rings and it’s George. I look at him. He looks at me. He takes my phone from me and sees that George is calling. His face takes a change for the worst. He answers the call and puts George on speaker. 

“Baby, how are the tenders going?” George. 
Something breaks inside of Mthunzi forever. He had no idea that George got me these tenders. 
“They are going fine. Is there something that I can do for you?” I ask, cold enough but still respectful because George can take everything away from me. 
“I see you are in a mood. I need you to come to my place for some entertainment purposes that are going to pay both of us extremely well. I’m sending a car for you. They’ll give you the outfit I want you to arrive in”, George. 
Mthunzi shakes his head. I feel all the eyes in the room on me. 
“Okay”, I say. 
“You know I’ll take care of you. I always have. You deserve a good life and you work hard for it. I’ll see you when you arrive, baby. Make sure you are sexy”, George. 
I hang up the phone. My phone is still in Mthunzi’s hand. 
Mthunzi puts the phone on the table and walks away from me, towards the stairs. 
I turn around and see all my staff looking at me. I feel completely naked in front of them. I am ashamed and embarrassed. Sonto and Puseletso get back into the kitchen. 

My car arrives before I can tell everyone else to disappear. 

…

I arrive at George’s house and there are some wealthy gentlemen already naked and drinking expensive alcohol. Inside, I am dying. My marriage is done. I will not survive this. Outside, I have to smile. This is my job right now and customer service is everything. I spot Terrence Khalo. Our eyes instantly connect and I already know that he will be my full time job today. 

I make my way to him and my job starts. As usual, it starts with a few careless whispers between him and me. It ends up being a sexual festival between the two of us. We are later joined by other people, some of which have been trafficked. When our session is done, Terrence and I retire to the jacuzzi, naked. It is just the two of us and a lot of champagne. I actually like him. 

“You look like you have a lot on your mind”, he says. 
“I do. But my job is to ensure that I relieve you off what’s on your mind”, I say. 
“Well, I was hoping this would be mutual. And as they say, ladies first”, he says. 

I take a deep sigh and let a tear run down my face. I grab a glass of champagne and down it to stop my heart from crashing before Terrence. He wraps his arms around me. We kiss. Before I know it, we are having sex in the jacuzzi. My vagina is already painful from the sexual activities we had earlier on. But this is a job. I have a workforce to support through this pandemic and kids to look after. What’s sex in the greater scheme of things? 
We have the sex then drink some champagne. 

“What’s going on?” He asks me. 
“Well, my husband wants a divorce”, I say. 
“I don’t see how he wouldn’t want it. I’d never let my wife do what you do for a living”, he says.
“I had to. I needed to look after us. He wasn’t always a managing director of a big company. When I met him, he was still at an entry-level role at some company and was trying to make his way up. I always knew I’d never work for anyone in life. No one has ever been good enough to be the boss of me. He tried to fund me for my businesses, but it wasn’t enough to take me where I could be. So I found alternative funding so that I could take the pressure off him”, I explain. 
“So you emasculated him and hoped he’d stay with you?” Him.

I look at him. He realises I’m not happy with this. 

“I think it’s a done deal. You don’t want men that don’t wreak of power. You love the Georges and Terrences of the world. That’s why you were okay to put your marriage on the line just to sleep with us. When our penis comes inside of you, it leaves you with stacks of money. Don’t be ashamed of it.” He says. 

He makes me sound so detached. 

Before I can respond, he is inside of me again.

…

I get home at midnight. The house is quiet. I go to my bedroom and I see that Mthunzi’s cupboards are empty. He really is gone. I check on my kids. Siya is peacefully sleeping in his room. Mbali is not in her room. 
I phone Mbali and she does not answer my call. Where the hell is this child? 
I phone Mthunzi. 
“Sindiswa?” He answers the phone. He doesn’t sound like he has been sleeping. 
“Is Mbali with you?” I ask him. 
“No, she’s at home. I left her there when I left”, He says. 
“She’s not here, Mthunzi”. Me. 

Now I am panicking. Mthunzi hangs up the phone. After ten minutes, he phones me back. 

“Mthunzi”, I answer. 
“Her cellphone is off”, he says. 
“Mthunzi, where’s my child?” I start to panic. 
Mthunzi hangs up his phone. 

Where the hell is my child?