Wehweh 

“So Patrick, you are the one who brought Mnqobi into Wehweh’s life?” My stepfather angrily says to my favourite person in this entire room. I don’t understand why he’s even here to discipline me – first of all – and why Patrick is in shit. 

“Leave Patrick out of this! Please! I love Mnqobi and I don’t understand why I’m being treated like a child because of it!” I yell. 

We are in my mother’s house… in the kitchen. And I can see the little boys she birthed – who are supposedly my brothers – peeping into the dining room where we are sitting, eavesdropping on this entire conversation. 

“Nomawethu, ungazongihlanyela! This boy even makes you disrespect us now?! Awukahle wena!” My mom. 

“Mah, I’m not going to UP”. I say. 

“Do your father and I sound like we are asking you perhaps?”

“Nizokwenzani?! You’ll drag me to lectures?! I’m not going there willingly.”

My dad just looks so stressed shame. He’s not saying anything. He’s just sitting there. So is Patrick and my stepfather. It’s just my mom and I going at each other. 

She tries to slap me and I grab her hand then throw it to the side. 

“Ung’shayelani?! UNG’SHAYELANI MAMA?! UNGISHAYELA UKUTHI NGITHANDA MNQOBI?! WENA WHO HIT YOU WHEN YOU FELL IN LOVE WITH ANOTHER MAN WHILE YOU WERE MARRIED TO MY FATHER?!” 

The shock on her face! 

Just because I never addressed it, it doesn’t mean that I forgot all about it. 

“Nomawethu –

“HEH EH! NO! UBABA AND HIS CONCERN – I CAN UNDERSTAND! HE ACTUALLY LEARNED HEARTBREAK FROM YOU! WENA! YOU ARE THE LAST PERSON TO JUDGE ME OR TREAT ME LIKE AN UNREASONABLE PERSON WHEN IT COMES TO LOVE! YOU LEFT UBABA AND I FOR THE NONSENSE THAT’S HAPPENING IN THIS HOUSE! PATRICK IS THE BEST THING THAT CAME OUT OF YOUR BETRAYAL AND NOW YOU NALENDODA YAKHO TREAT HIM LIKE THIS?!” 

My mom tears up. 

I actually don’t care. 

“LALELA LA! NGIYAM’THANDA UMNQOBI KHUZWAYO AND THAT LOVE IS NOT GOING TO BE STOPPED BY YOU!”

“Nomawethu”, my dad says. 

I look at him. 

“You cannot talk to your mother like that.”

I take a deep breath. 

“Apologise”.

I look at my mom. She’s crying. 

“Ngiyaxolisa ngoba ubaba uthi ngixolise, and I actually respect him. But I’m not apologising for how I feel.”

“NOMAWETHU!”

Now I’m silent. 

“Ngiyahamba!”

“Uyaphi?!” My mom. 

“Ngiy’ekhaya.” 

“Ku kini la, Nomawethu.”

“Ngiya kwikhaya that my dad built for me – the one that you decided to leave unprovoked. It’s still my home that I appreciate dearly. I’m going there ngiyozikhoth’ amanxeba.”

I walk out as I say this. Fortunately, my car is here. I came in it because my dad is headed to the airport from here, headed to Switzerland for business. 

He followed me home. Great! I guess he’s here to babysit me. 

I walk into the house and find Bridgette in one of my dad’s shirts… looking like an oversized shirts to her. 

My dad is right behind me. 

She’s shocked to see me. 

“What are you doing here?!” I ask her, taking threatening steps towards her. 

I’m actually going to smack this bitch. 

“Wehweh”, my dad. 

“Le nja le… this prostitute! Ifunani la?! Didn’t I warn you wena to stay away from my father?!”

“I’m not here for your father, Wehweh!”

“Then why are you here? And why are you dressed in his oversized shirt?!” 

“What’s going on?” My half-brother runs in and says. He has champagne and two glasses. 

Now I’m making the connections. 

“So, you first wanted my father… and now you decide to land on his son instead?” 

“Wehweh… ngiyakucela– 

“Phuma la ekhaya!” Me. 

“No offence, Wehweh. Kodwa this is my guest!” My half-brother. 

“Ngithi phuma, nja ndini!” Me. 

She stares at me. 

I grab a knife. 

As I charge towards her, she sprints out of the kitchen. My father holds me back, trying to calm me down. 

Fuck man! 

I’m waking up now at 5am. I’m preparing to hit the road for a run. I wish I had a way of contacting Mnqobi. 

When my dad was dragging me out of the hospital, Mnqobi’s mom put a burner phone in my pocket. I haven’t had a chance to go through it and understand what to do with it. 

I open my bag and take the burner out. 

I switch it on. There’s one number on it. I dial it. 

“Baby”, Mnqobi says. 

“Mnqobi? Uwe?”

“You have other men calling you baby?” 

I start laughing. I’m so happy. 

“I miss you so much.” I keep saying through my laughs. He starts laughing too, saying that he misses me too. 

“I want to see you”, I say.

“Is that possible? Phela uIsaac Hayes is ready to kill me.”

He calls my father Isaac Hayes. Apparently it’s because of his bold head and hectic beard. 

I laugh then say, “he left for Switzerland izolo. I probably won’t make it to the kingdom because my mom is doing his work for him right now. But I could do a hotel if you meet me halfway.”

“It’s Christmas tomorrow, baby.” 

“I know. I just miss you. And I have so much to tell you.”

“Already?”

I laugh then tell him about Bridgette and our incident yesterday. He’s in stitches and in disbelief. 

“Day after Christmas, I’m there.” He says. 

“And Sasi?”

“She’s with her mom. Lindiwe picked her up day after you left.”

“Okay. Well, we will have fun together. I love you.”

“I love you.” Him. 

We hang up. 

I hit the road for my run. The air is nice. It smells like it’s going to rain and I’m here for it. 

5km into my run, I bump into Wandile running too. We used to do this together, but now I’m so done with him it’s not even funny. 

He stops me, grabbing my wrist and I instantly slap him. 

He’s shocked. 

I try to run again but he stops me again. 

“Ufunani?! UFUNANI WANDILE?!” 

“Sidinga ukukhuluma!”

“NGANI?! ABOUT HOW YOU WENT AND TOLD MY PARENTS ABOUT UMNQOBI?!”

“SOMEONE HAD TO! ANGISHO WENA MAWUJOLA, UVELE UPHENDUKE IS’LIMA NJE!”

“FOKOF YEZWA! FOKOF! UNKULULEKO WAS RIGHT ABOUT YOU! YOU WANT TO CONTROL ME! AND UMNQOBI WAS RIGHT ABOUT YOU BEING OBSESSED WITH ME! UHLUKANE NAMI YEZWA?! LEAVE ME ALONE! I LOVE MNQOBI! AND YOUR LITTLE STUNT IS NOT GOING TO CHANGE THAT!”

“Well, I love you!”

Yeh?!!!!

“Ngiyakuthanda, Nomawethu! And I hate seeing you with all these losers!”

“I love Mnqobi. You love Sanel. That’s the beginning and the end of it! Please!”

I just carry on with my run from there. 

What the fuck?! 

… 

BONUS COMING RIGHT UP AT 8PM TONIGHT!