Khanyisa is at that stage where she refuses to sleep in her cot and wants to sleep with me in bed. Now I have this cot in here for nothing. I also ended up buying a stand alone bathtub for her in my outside room because she’s still too small for a shower.

I hear chatter outside and I’m instantly annoyed because I know someone is going to knock on my door and think we are friends. 

“Is Fikile still sleeping? It’s 8am”, I hear Neli say.

It’s 8am on a fucken Saturday morning. What do they want? 

“Wake her up. She must come and help us clean the house”, I hear Noni say. 

I immediately wake up and take a shower. When I’m done showering, I wrap a towel around my body and wake Khanyisa up. I bath her and make the bed. I’m not cleaning shit. I’m taking Khanyisa to the zoo. She’s not a morning person, like me. But when she is wide awake, she’s very chatty. 

I dress her up in an Adidas dress that I bought for her and Jordan sneakers. She’s such a sassy 20-month-old kid. I wear an Adidas dress as well and Jordan sneakers. 

“Kazi, we are twins”, she says. She calls me Kazi, short for babekazi. Babekazi indicates that I’m her father’s sister. 

“Yes baby, we are.” I say.

I pack my handbag and her bag for the day. When we are all set, I grab my keys, put the bags over my one shoulder then hold Khanyi with my other hand. 

As we get out of the room and lock it, Noni and Neli are already giving me fail looks. 

“Are we going to Uncle Thomas?” Khanyisa exposes my business. 

“No nana, we are going to the zoo.” I say. 

She is excited. 

She then sees her dad’s door open and she sprints in there. 

“Baba!”

“Hello baby. Ushup? You look so beautiful. Where are you going?” 

“Kazi and me are going to the zoo.” 

“Why didn’t you invite me?” 

“I don’t know”. 

They chat away then I greet my sisters. 

“Our children also want to go to the zoo, Fikile. Just like they also want to go to Uncle Thomas. Just like they want to go to Curro. Why aren’t they being taken care of like Khanyisa?” Neli says to me. 

I just roll my eyes and start walking towards Sbo’s room. 

“Sho“, he greets me when I walk in.

“Hey. We are going to the zoo neh. We will be back later.”

“Okay. Will you need the car? Because I’m taking someone out on a date today”, he says. 

I just smile and say, “Nope. We are sorted.” 

Khanyisa and I climb into the uber and make our way to Thomas’ office. He told me that he was working today and I’m a bit worried because weekends are his time with Rofhiwa. Why is this one different? 

When we get to his offices, we buy lunch just across the road then make our way to his office.

“Is this the zoo?” Khanyisa asks me. 

“No baby, this is Uncle Thomas’ office”, I say. 

“We are going to see Uncle Thomas? Yay! Yay! Yay! Yay!” This girl really loves Thomas. Hai bo!

I’ve never really been here before so when I get to reception, I’m not sure where to go. It’s very quiet here as well.

“Hi”. A gorgeous woman says to me. She’s GORGEOUS! She’s even making me feel a bit insecure and I’m not the type to feel threatened like this. 

“I’m Koena. I’m Mthunzi’s wife”, she says as she extends her hand for a handshake. 

I’ve heard about Mthunzi from Thomas. He’s like Thomas’ second in command. 

“Hi. I’m Fikile.” 

She smiles at me and says, “It’s nice to FINALLY meet you.” 

“Finally meet me?” 

“Yeah”, then her face changes into a sincere frame as she says, “Thank you for making him smile again. Thank you for bringing some long-needed sunshine again.”

That was a bit deep. I just smile at her. 

“And you must be Khanyisa! Hello pretty one”, her energy is up there again and she’s all over Khanyi. She’s making her laugh and she seems so great with kids. She really comes off as a grade one teacher. This energy! But I love it. She’s so nice- the rare kind of nice. Her energy is infectious without her even trying too hard. 

“These men owe us big time. Work on a whole Saturday? Hai khona!” She says as we are now in the lift that’s taking us to the fourth floor where apparently Thomas and Mthunzi sit. 

When we get to the fourth floor, we need access to get into the space where their offices are at. 

Someone comes to open for us. She doesn’t greet us though, she just opens and keeps it pushing, heading back to her desk and putting on headsets. 

“That’s Tom’s office”, Koena says as she points to some direction as she walks into another office. 

What a beautiful woman – inside and outside.

“Hello” I say as I walk in. 

Khanyisa has already sprinted to Thomas and yelled “Uncle Thomas”. She’s already sitting on top of him and he’s already tickling her and making her love him even more. 

“Hello! Someone recognise me, please”, I repeat as I get comfortable on some couch in his office. 

“Hello beautiful”, he says to me as he gets up from his chair and comes around his desk to kiss me. Khanyisa is playing and bouncing about. 

“How are you?” I ask him. 

“A bit frustrated. We didn’t get an account that we were looking forward to getting… but one of my account managers messed up big time – didn’t do enough research and now we need to recover the money we could have made from that account.”

“Sorry baby. What account is that?” I ask him. 

“Metsi a Lewatle” He says.

“Oh really? I’ve actually done some work with them and I’m MC-ing an event for them tonight”, I say.

“Really?” He looks at me with that sly smile of his. 

I start laughing. 

“Okay, what was your pitch?” I ask him. 

“They are looking for a construction company that will build their first sustainable building for them… these will be new offices for them as they plan to move from where they are. We got them what we believe to be the best location that will give them a quality home for business at an affordable price. We will instil solar energy for them and regulate their taps to allow water to be released sparingly.”

He goes on and on about the proposal that they have put in place.

“It sounds like a good plan, but it also sounds too detached from your principles as an organization.” I tell him.

“What do you mean?” 

“Vincent is obsessed with sustainable business operations. He even incorporates it in his own lifestyle. So, he can smell a sustainability con-artist from a mile away.” 

We both laugh as I say this. 

“Okay, take me through your sustainability agenda here at your company.” 

He’s looking at me like he doesn’t have one.

“Thomas?”

“We don’t have one, babe.” 

“Then that’s the problem. Vincent probably researched you and your company has nothing on the topic. Therefore, he knows that you are not a partner in their journey of being the first sustainability giant in their industry. That’s a requirement for them when they do business with companies.” 

“But we can do the work”, he says. 

“I’m sure you can. But how are you branding the way in which you are doing the work?”

He walks to his door and calls Mthunzi. 

“I’m not here to consult today, babe.” I say.

“We know. We just need your help. Please babe”, he says. 

I take a deep breath. 

The three of us spend the next three hours working. I also redesign their website… how does anyone’s website still look like this? 

I give them tips on how to appeal to the CEO. 

“You must fire your brand and PR people. You can’t be a company as big as you are and have a website that looks like that or not have someone branding you to be marketable to all these people you want to do business with.” I tell them and they both laugh. Koena is in here chilling with us, but she is more focused on Khanyisa than she is on us. 

When we are done, I tell them that I have three extra tickets to tonight’s event. They were given to me as one of the ways that they are paying me for MC-ing the function. 

“Would you three like to accompany me? These are VIP tickets and I’ll make sure I organise some time for you and the CEO.” I say. 

“We are on”, Mthunzi says. 

We eat the lunch that I brought together with the lunch that Koena brought. Then we all go home to change and get ready for tonight. We get Khanyisa’s nanny to come in and look after her because Neli and Noni refuse to babysit Khanyisa. Apparently, I don’t do for their kids what I do for Khanyisa so they will not do for my child what they do for theirs. Sbo did say that he had a date today and I don’t want to bother my parents. Khanyisa can be a lot sometimes. Sbo was telling me that the one day I left her with Sbo and my parents to sleep over at Tom’s house, she cried all night and was banging on my door. So Sbo opened my room and had to sleep with her in there. Now I do not sleep out without her anymore.

The nanny arrives at Thomas’ house as Thomas and I are getting ready. 

“When will you be back?” Khanyisa asks us. 

“Maybe you’ll be asleep when we come back, but when you wake up in the morning, we will be here”, Thomas tells her. 

“Can I sleep here until you come back?” 

“You don’t want to sleep with Stha?” Stha is her nanny. 

She shakes her head and says, “I’ll wait for you”. 

“Okay baby girl, you can sleep in here. But sleep in the middle so that when we come back, we can both make sure that you sleep between us.” 

Thomas says and she smiles at us. 

The four of us arrive together at the event and the event is extremely vibey. We take PR photographs then head inside. The welcome food is nice and we enjoy it together. I then head to the stage to start the programme and I MC for about two hours. After the last speaker has spoken, I invite the CEO, Vincent Laubscher, to come and give his vote of thanks. He gives the vote of thanks very well then I close the event and people start dancing and drinking. 

I’m now backstage with Vincent and we are chatting. 

“I hear you are searching for a construction company to build your new green home”, I say. 

“I am. And I may have found the perfect company.” He says.

“I hope you are talking about the Ramaru Construction Company.” 

“They actually didn’t quite do it for me. Sustainability is just business to them, it’s not in their DNA. They may compromise the journey.” 

“They may not be living and breathing green, but they are living and breathing customer service. Plus, they’ve also taken quite the decision in embarking on a sustainability journey themselves and I’ll be branding that journey myself.” 

“Really?”

“Yeah. I’ve actually invited the CEO and the company’s Managing Director this evening. Come with me to join them for a glass of whiskey”, I say. 

He agrees and offers me his elbow. I link my arm in his elbow and we make our way to Thomas, Mthunzi and Koena. I introduce everyone and introduce the topic. As the men start talking, Koena and I walk away and let them be. 

“Nice one, girl”, Koena says to me as we take a sip from our champagne glasses. 

“Thanks. This deal meant a lot to them. He’s been working hard on it”, I say. 

“Yeah, it did. I’m so glad because it just means more spoils for us”, she says and we laugh. 

“He hasn’t been this happy since- 

She pauses, but you can just see that she’s taken back to a very dark place.

“Did you know her? His wife?” I ask. 

“I did.” 

“Would you say that I’m competing with a ghost?” 

She laughs and days, “I’ve never heard that one before, but no… he really worked on himself and he genuinely gave himself time to heal and he invested time in Rofhiwa’s healing too. He’s ready and from where I’m standing, he’s met the right person at the right time.” 

I’m genuinely moved by this. 

“Are you planning to have kids?” She asks me. 

“No thanks”, I don’t even know where that came from, but I know I mean it. 

“Why?”

“We have Khanyisa and Rofhiwa. We will be fine. Besides, Thomas is too old to be making any more babies”.

She bursts into laughter as I say this. I laugh too. 

“Ladies”, Mthunzi says as he wraps himself around Koena and as Thomas wraps himself around me. 

“I take it everything went well?” I say. 

“Signed, sealed and delivered.” Mthunzi says. 

Koena and I clap for them.

“Thank you so much, Fikile. You really saved our ass”, Mthunzi says 

“But it’s time we fired Thami. I’m tired of him now.” Thomas says. 

“Yes, but you must follow process, babe. Part of sustainable operations is managing the number of disputes against the company.” I say. 

Mthunzi and Thomas look at each other. I can’t read the look. 

“You guys should consider taking out an ESG loan. It will keep you honest in the company’s sustainability journey”, I say. 

“Would you like to come work with us perhaps?” Mthunzi says.

“I’m a brand specialist, not a sustainability one. I just know about it a lot because I’ve had a lot of clients who have sustainability agendas.” 

“Yeah, but come and brand the sustainability journey for us – take us as a client”, Thomas. 

“Do you generally make a habit of hiring your girlfriends?” I ask. 

Everyone is suddenly uncomfortable. 

“Well?” Me. 

“It’s not a habit. But if you are good at what you do, I want you in my camp.” Thomas says. 

“Thomas, do you have ex-girlfriends working there at your company with you?” I ask him. 

Mthunzi looks like he wants to sprint out of here. 

Thomas is scratching his head. 

Koena is looking at Thomas and I, carefully analysing us. 

I chuckle, gulp down my champagne and say, “I hope they know their place because I’ll slice a bitch’s nipple.” 

“What the – 

I walk away and go socialise. 

I need to get over this piece of information that has been given to me. I’m quite upset actually. But I just have to make sure that I keep my cool. This is work for me and I have to respect it. 

It’s 11pm when Thomas finds me and tells me that we should go home. I say goodbye to everyone I’ve chatted to then head to the car with Thomas. We hold hands as we go to the car, but I’m still not happy with this. Our car is brought around then we get in and drive off. 

“Thanks for tonight, baby”, he says. 

“You are welcome”, I say. I don’t look at him. I look out of the window.

“Are we going to talk about this?” He asks me. 

“What are their names?” I ask. 

He is silent. 

“I don’t want to be caught off-guard. I don’t want to entertain people at your work functions only to find that I’m entertaining someone I share a penis with.” 

“You are not sharing a penis with anyone”, he says. 

“Oh, so you just work with people who once had the penis that I’m having now?” 

“Can we perhaps leave the penis out of this?” 

“Why? It’s the reason why this conversation is taking place”. 

He takes a deep breath. 

“Pearl was the first woman I married and worked with.” He says. 

I’m still looking out the window. 

“When we started having issues, I had affairs with my PAs.” 

I charge a look at him. 

“More than one?” I ask.

“More than five”.

I can’t! 

“Was Thando one of them?” I ask.

“No.”

“Thomas, don’t lie to me.” 

“I’m not lying. She was there for me after my wife passed away. She briefly helped me with Rofhiwa when I was still coming to terms with what had happened. But nothing happened between us.” 

I laugh in disbelief. 

“Lydia was a junior employee in my company when I accidently bumped into her. Our connection strengthened and we ended up getting married. After she passed away, I met Maphito some time later.” 

Maphito? Why does this name sound so familiar? Where do I know it from? 

“We had casual sex, but there was nothing there. When she came to work with us as our Head of Legal, we were done. I’ve never touched her since.” 

“You hired someone you were sleeping with to look after your legal affairs?” 

“She’s good at it.”

“At what? Fucking you or looking after your legal affairs?” 

He just looks at me. 

I’m in utter disbelief. 

We get home and I go straight to bed. I’m not interested in doing anything else. Khanyisa is all over our bed, so I just settle on the floor. 

He doesn’t come to bed immediately. 

I fall asleep and he’s still somewhere in the house. 

I wake up the following morning feeling a bit down. I see Thomas sitting next to me, leaning his back against the bed. He sees me open my eyes. 

“Good morning”, he greets me. 

“Hi” I say. 

“Are you still not talking to me?” He asks me. 

“I’m just feeling a bit insecure”, I say. 

“Why?”

“Because Thomas, I’m scared of what you’ll do to me if you don’t have boundaries that guide what you do and don’t do with the women that surround you.” 

“Those days are over for me, baby.” 

“You don’t know that.” 

“I do. Fikile, I love you. I’m serious about you.” 

“And I love you too, Thomas. That’s why I’ll never be okay with hearing who you slept with – especially if you haven’t cut ties with them. It just makes me feel like I’m not special.” 

“But you asked me”, he says 

“Because I was curious”. 

We both laugh. 

He lies down next to me and wraps his arms around me. We kiss. 

“You are the only woman in my life, right now. And I’m serious about us being forever. Everyone who came before you doesn’t matter anymore. It’s just me and you now and our two daughters. I love you.”

We kiss and start getting a bit naughty when we here Khanyisa wake up. She cries and starts yelling, “Kazi! Uncle Thomas!” 

We get up and look at her.

She stops crying and laughs. 

“Were you hiding from me?” She says. 

“Yes, we were playing hide and seek”. 

Khanyisa laughs and says, “Okay, let’s play together.” 

“Nope! We are going to the zoo. We were supposed to go yesterday.” I say.

Khanyisa is super excited. 

“Maybe, we can invite Rofhiwa”, I say.

Thomas kisses me and says, “I’d love that. She was visiting a friend this weekend. I need to see her, even if it’s just for one day. Plus, she’s been wanting to meet you.” He says.

I suddenly feel nervous. 

“You told her about me?” I ask. 

“Of course I did.”

“And what did she say?” 

“That she cannot wait to meet you.” 

“What was her tone like when she said that?” 

He laughs and says, “genuine. We even spoke about it in therapy. She’s not upset about us.” 

I just nod my head. 

We are using Thomas’ G63 to head to the zoo. We are picking up Rofhiwa now from her school. We see her and Thomas walking towards the car, coming out of the school’s office. 

“Who is that, Kazi?” 

“It’s Uncle Thomas’ daughter”. 

“So, she’s my cousin?” 

I’m too nervous to answer that question.” 

“Hi”, Rofhiwa says as she climbs into the car. 

“Hi Rofhiwa, how are you?” I say.

“I’m good thanks. Is this my baby sister, Khanyisa?” 

Khanyisa giggles. She’s clearly won her heart. 

“Hello”, Rofhiwa says to Khanyisa. 

“Hi”, Khanyisa.

“It’s nice to meet you both. And thanks for inviting me to the zoo.” Rofhiwa says. 

The drive is just Khanyisa and Rofhiwa chatting. My palms are sweating bullets. Thomas has to put his hand over mine to calm me down.

We get to the zoo and we all climb off the car. 

“Khanyi, you and I will go and pay for the entrance”, he takes Khanyi and leaves, leaving me and Rofhiwa to walk together.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Rofhi. Your dad talks about you a lot.” 

“He talks a lot about you too. I haven’t seen him this happy in a very long time. Thank you for that. I don’t remember experiencing a happy side to him growing up. I’m happy that he met you.” 

I smile at her. 

“I hope we can also be cool. I really want to have a relationship with you.” 

She smiles at me. 

“I’d really like that. Maybe now that you will be around more, I can start thinking about coming back home.” She says.

“Of course. You don’t like boarding school?” I ask her. 

“Not really. And honestly, I’d rather just be around my dad even if we don’t spend a lot of time together because I know that he has to work.” 

She really loves her dad. He loves her too. I think I’ve just met my first born. 

We spend the day having tons of fun at the zoo. Khanyisa is fascinated by every animal here. At some point, she wanted to just jump into some yard to go play with the monkeys. Imagine! We take so many pictures together. 

When we are done, we go out to have dinner together. At dinner, Rofhiwa asks if she could sleep at home tonight. She will go to school in the morning.

“Sure. If you like, you can drive with me to Joburg. My office is there”, I offer because her dad’s office is all the way in the east rand. 

“I’d love that. Maybe this week I can travel all week.” 

That’s her assuming I’m sleeping at Thomas’s place all week. I wasn’t planning too.

“I’ll speak to your headmistress. If they allow you, then okay.” Thomas says. 

“Do you mind traveling with the girls all week, baby?” Thomas asks me. 

Is he really expecting me to say no? 

“I’d love to, baby.” I say. 

He smiles at me. 

Ngaze ngalal’ amalundi ngingazimisele.

It’s 7pm when we all get home. We settle for a movie before bedtime. I made the popcorn. Rofhiwa mixed ingredients and ice, slushy came from that and Khanyisa has learned a new way to be naughty. 

We watched Harry Potter and Khanyisa was so blown away that she didn’t even pass out. But after the movie, we all go to sleep. Thomas and I are made to commit to watching one Harry Potter movie a night until we finish the series. 

Ja no, we are not having more kids. 

The sex we have to end the night tells me that I’ve done okay today… and that the day today was simply priceless. I’m in love!