I walk into my house after a rather long day at work. It wasn’t a bad day today. It was just a normal day and honestly, I’m beginning to appreciate normal because busy days/disasters leave me unbelievably drained. This morning, I managed to have breakfast with Gideon. 

Gideon is one of the hospital’s security guards that has now become my friend. He’s from Venda and he’s supporting three households. I like him. He’s funny. He keeps me human in the madness of medicine. I always tell my wife about him. I tell her how when he first got to Taung, he slept in petrol station toilets because he had no accommodation. I was living alone at the time because my family was back home with my mother, so I invited him to live with me until he found his feet. My wife then also started doing nice things for him like preparing two lunch bags for us – one for me and one for him. When he goes home to Venda, my wife hires a meter taxi to drive him there then buys two months’ worth of groceries for all three of the households that he looks after. 

Zah has a stunning heart. Her heart is one of the many reasons that I love about her – her heart and the fact that she’s just so beautiful. I’ve been with women in my life, even while we’ve been married – when she was living with my mom – but no woman has substance like my wife. Because we also know that Gideon lives here alone, Zah usually cooks him dinner too and puts it in a cooler box for me to give to Gideon when I knock off. He was very happy. He sent blessings and all our way. 

I walk into the kitchen of my house and find my wife as well as my brother’s wife cooking. My brother is sitting on one of the barstools chatting to them. He always does this. 

“Dumelang”, I greet, kissing and hugging my wife.

They all greet me back. My brother gives me a handshake. I still have my wife in my arms. 

“You okay?” She whispers to me. 

“I’m good. Just tired.”

She stands on her toes to kiss me again. I kiss her back. She’s quite short. 

“Where Mme?” I ask everyone, noticing now that Mmaneo, my brother’s wife, is smiling at Zah and I. 

“She’s sitting in the garden with Rapulana, Letsatsi and Katleho”, Mmaneo says. 

Those would be my other brothers. They are all staying here because we basically no longer have a house back home. The floods did away with our house.

“Phupho and Lelapa bona?” Me.

“It’s still their nap time. They should be waking up any time now”, Zah tells me. 

I nod my head. 

“Let’s take a walk and have a chat”, Molefe says.

I haven’t even put my bags down or had a quickie with my wife hle.

My wife takes my bag from me. 

“I’ve put your slippers close to your favourite couch in the TV room. Just leave your shoes there, I’ll take them upstairs for you”, my stunner of a wife says to me.

I smile at her. 

It’s things like these that just make me love her more and more. I kiss her. 

My shoes are changed. I’m in slippers… my brother offered me beer that I BOUGHT and that he found in MY FRIDGE. They’ve been boxing my alcohol in my bar since they got here. So I lock my bar now and they must take what’s in my fridge. 

We are now strolling in the streets of this rather quiet neighbourhood. All you see are old white grannies walking in their formed squads, kids running around and playing about, and some people riding in their golf carts. Vele, why didn’t we just take the golf cart. 

“I found a job”, he says to me.

“That’s really nice. Congratulations, monna.” 

I’m genuinely happy for him.

Katleho is in retail but he’s always asking us for money. I’m the one who does everything. Then everyone else just doesn’t work. So it’s nice to have another employed brother around here. Hopefully, he will help me. 

“Yeah. It’s a decent job with decent pay. I’ll be a driver for the NFR Legends. I’ll be driving the first team. They’ll be paying me about –

“I don’t need to know your salary, monna. Congratulations, though. I’m happy for you. So you’ll be moving up to Taung as well?”

“Yeah. We found a nice house in the township. With Mmaneo’s salary as well, we will comfortably afford it. She’s finally been made permanent as a nurse at the government hospital in Taung township.” 

“Things are really looking up for you hey. Congratulations to both of you.”

I’m so happy and RELIEVED. 

“But I’m thinking… before we just move out and leave you with this burden, I was thinking we could maybe work together to find mom a house or build her one where she can live with Raps, Kat and Tsatsi. Then you and I can go on with our lives with the wives. We will also talk to Kat and tell him that since we are building them a home, once the home is standing, he’s the one who’s looking after that home. A re emise motse wa ntate hle.” He says.

I’m hearing him. 

And I’m happy with his approach in that this will not be a Molise project, but we will be helping each other out to make this work. 

“I’ll definitely talk to Zah. I hope we will be done quickly. It will be easier if we just buy a house. But if she wants to in the homelands, we will have to build.”

He agrees with me. We also agree that we will tell mom tonight at dinner.

Now we are just walking around and just talking shit.

We are all at the table enjoying dinner in silence. Lelapa is sitting on his mother being fed while she also eats. Phupho is next to me. She can feed herself, she just needs minor assistance. So I provide that minor assistance. 

“Mme, Molise and I were talking. We are prepared to either build you a house ko mahayeng or just buy you a house where you’ll be able to live with Rapulana, Letsatsi and Katleho”. Molefe says. 

My mom looks at us. 

“Keng? Are we no longer welcome here?” My mom’s response. 

I actually unintentionally laugh because really, this woman is so ungrateful. I’m not her husband. She irritates my wife every chance she gets. All the times that my wife and I have fought, it was because of her. 

Everyone is looking at me now, searching for the joke. 

After a brief moment of silence, Molefe continues, “Mme, Molise is a married man. He lives here with his family and they’ve more than accommodated us. We need to give them their space back.” 

“You know… I’m old now. I don’t why Zanolwazi left me because she was really looking after me. Le wena, Molefe, you get married but take your wife and not leave me with a daughter to look after me. Nna God didn’t bless me with daughters. That’s why bomakoti baka are my daughters, by they all run away from me. These boys don’t know how to cook, clean and look after me. Sometimes I get sick and I need a daughter to bath me. Zanolwazi made sure that I took my medication on time properly… and proper medication. These three mix my medication up and sometimes end up giving me wrong medication. I went two weeks without bathing because I was severely sick. They couldn’t even prepare porridge for me. Maria’s daughter was the one bringing me food everyday and just helping me in the house. These three… all they know to do is to go to parties and come back so late that they don’t even realise that I’m sick and need their help.” She actually gets emotional as she says this. 

Zah did tell me that my mom used to work her like a slave. Now that she’s saying all of these things, I believe Zah. 

“We can get you a domestic worker, mme”, Molefe. 

She shakes her head, closes her eyes and releases tears.

“Mah, you can continue to live with Molise and I. I really didn’t know that me living with you made this kind of difference. I didn’t mean to hurt you by leaving. I really just wanted to study and grow so I can be a partner to Molise, not a responsibility.” Zah says. 

I look at her because I’m genuinely shocked. 

“Zanolwazi, I know you thought that I was hard you. But you really took care of me. I had a daughter in you. You irritated me when you made me exercise for an hour everyday, but I appreciated it because it helped me with my health. You’d cook me nice healthy meals even when I want food with a lot of fat. And we fought all the time, but you were a child in my house. You did not get angry. You were patient with me. I never told you this, but I appreciated you.” 

Now Zah is also getting emotional. 

“Bana baka, I know that I’m not the easiest person to live with. I’m not. But I’m asking you to be patient with me and not abandon me. Ke kopa haholo lona bomakoti baka. Thaka ya Mme ke ngwana wa ngwanyana. Please.”

Zah just gets up and hugs her. We all honestly don’t know how to be. Molefe and I didn’t prepare for this part of the conversation if I’m being honest. 

Now what do we do with the three dependent sons then because I’m not living with all these people in my house. No!

Zah has given my mom her medication and put her in her room. Today, she actually bathed my mom because my mom’s hands were too painful from her arthritis. She said that she would take her to the doctor tomorrow. She will get a new doctor this side and while we sort out putting her on a medical aid, we will pay cash for her doctor visits. 

We settled my mother in one of the guest bedrooms downstairs so she doesn’t have to deal with the stairs every time she wants to sleep. She got the biggest guest bedroom downstairs. It has a queen-sized bed, a mounted 65inch smart TV that she operates very well, a balcony that has an occasional couch and side table… two couches that is. The room has a walk-in closet, insuite bathroom with a bath, basin and toilet only. No shower. There is also an open space that has couches, a coffee table and I don’t know what else. It’s basically an apartment. She has no reason to come out of that room. I also decided that above and beyond our two domestic workers, we will have a private nurse for her. My wife is not going to be her slave again. It’s not happening. 

I know that Molefe’s wife was washing dishes while Zah was busy with mom. I’m not sure what the ladies are doing now, but my brothers and I are now in the TV room drinking together and talking. 

“You guys are not going to live in my house forever! In fact, I want you out of here in a week”, I say to the three delinquents. 

“Where are we supposed to go? We don’t have a house and the one that dad left us is gone”, Katleho says. He even has a job. Can he stop being a leech? 

“I don’t care where you stay. You are grown ass men and I’m not your father. This house is not your home. It’s Phupho’s and Lelapa’s home. You can live with Molefe if he will have you.” 

“Katleho, you have a job. Why don’t you make a plan?” Molefe. 

Silence. 

“I’ll take mom. The three of you… make a plan”, I say then get up from where I am sitting.

I walk into my bedroom and find Zah coming into the bedroom from our insuite bathroom wrapped in a towel. She probably just took a shower. 

I lie down on the bed and watch her bounce around the bedroom. 

“You did say that you wanted a third child. Now we have your mom”, she says.

We both laugh a bit. 

“Thank you”, I tell her. 

“You know it’s not an issue, right?”

“Really?”

“Babe, this is your family. They are important to me. You’ll be stomaching my family for Christmas and trust me, we know how to do drama!” She says. 

I laugh and say, “really?” 

“Heh! Uzobona wena! Nasi”, she says, crossing her fingers. 

She sits next to me. 

I unwrap her towel… 

“You are being naughty!” She says.

But we have our way with each other for the best part of the evening. 

We are lying in bed naked now. 

“I’m worried about Ruri and Wehweh… and Mapho actually. I haven’t heard anything from them since the funeral”, she says. 

“Their associations are quite risky. But they’ll be okay. And they’ll know where to find you when they need you.”

“Neh? I sent them messages just letting them know that I’m here if they need me.” 

“You are a good friend, baby.” 

“And you are an even better husband.”

I kiss her forehead. That actually means a lot coming from her.