Today, Utopia opens. I am so excited. We have complementary drinks to welcome all our day one customers. Kgomotso is here to help me today. She will be our receptionist until the offices at home are up and running. But with how things are going, we might just find another location for offices because my mom kicked our offices out of her yard.
My employees are all here and they are so professional in their uniform. Yes, I make them wear uniform.

My doors open and in walks Zelda followed by three people – a gay guy and three women looking stylish. She looks good. She is a beautiful girl, shame, and money polished her well. Clearly being with Mthunzi has made her look less like a maid.
“Not bad.” The gay one says as his eyes run around my place.
“It’s cute. Not exactly a place I’d come to for Utopia, but I’m sure the target audience is pleased by pretty much anything”, one of the women say.

Why are these people here?

Zelda stands in front of me and smiles.
“Hello Sindiswa”, she says.
Her friends are already vandalizing my store. They are breaking equipment and spilling liquids on the ground.
“What do you want?” I ask her.
“For you to stop harassing my husband and I. I’ve been trying to ignore you, hoping you’d get the message, but you just keep pushing simply because you can. At the rate that you contact us, I thought you’d be happier to see me because I cannot shake you off my life no matter how much I ignore you.” She is so devious as she says this.

I’m most distracted by her friends vandalizing my place. I worked hard for this and what happens if my customers start arriving? My staff is freaked out. Kgomotso is on the phone. I hope she is calling Sandile.
“Please tell your friends to stop this. You and I can talk without all of this drama”, I say.
“I’m done talking to you. Leave my family and I alone or there will be hell to pay. O hlokoloza lepantsula, baby girl. Don’t take me to places you won’t be able to handle me at. Mthunzi is my husband, now. And I will lose my mind when it comes to him. Siyezwana?” She threatens me.
I am so shook!

When did she become this person?
“I need a response, Sindiswa. Am I clear?” She says just as the gay drops one of my vases and shatters it.
I nod my head.
She smiles at me.
She calls her friends and they all walk out of the shop.

When did Zelda become this person?

…
“Is this Sindi Msomi?” The lady over the phone asks me.

I had to come home after Zelda and her friends vandalised my store. I am highly upset and the last thing I need are a bunch of randoms calling me. I hope this is not an insurance call.

“Yes. Who’s this?” I ask.

“Melanie Richards. I’m calling you from KPableC Studios and am the producer of a show that we would love to feature you on.”

Now this is interesting…

“I’m listening”, I say as I take a sip of my green tea.

“We are doing a reality show that follows business people and their ability to make money out of almost anything. It’s a social experiment really. You will be put in a house with ten other like-minded business people who have businesses in various industries. You’ll be required to complete some challenges individually and other challenges will be completed in groups. The business person of the house at the end of the ten days will walk away with R150 000 put towards their business. It’s a week-long challenge and we challenge you to be at your best. The show will be called The Business & Its Capitalists.”

The Melanie chatterbox lady, who has not given me five seconds to state whether I am interested in this show or not, spends another thirty minutes explaining this show to me and even telling me that there will be one day where family will be invited to be part of the experiment, learning how to be supportive and being part of the journey. I instantly know that I’ll be inviting Mthunzi. He will always be supportive of me. Then again, his wife came to see me and threatened me. Now that Mthunzi has blocked me, I need to reach out to her to get to him. Oh gosh.

“I’m interested. Thank you. May I ask who else will be part of this?” I ask.

“You will find out on Friday when you arrive at the house. A car will be sent to come and pick you up. You can email me your details in the meantime such as diet requirements and let us know where we should pick you up.”

After this call, I become extremely excited. I am winning that R150 000. I know I’m the best businesswoman there is. I just know. And, I’m going to be on TV. I think I should tell Mthunzi because he was a large part of my start up and journey. He is also the reason that I have had to start all over. I’ll be open about my divorce and how my marriage contributed to the success and some failures of my business. It is only fair that he knows upfront.

I use my business phone to call him.

“Hello?” He answers after two rings.

“Mthunzi, it’s Sindi. And before you hang up, I just want you to know that I’m calling because your name might be appearing in the media soon and I thought I’d give you a heads up.” I say.

“Why would my name be appearing in the media, Sindiswa?” He sounds very annoyed.

“I’ll be joining a reality show and I’m most likely going to bring you up.”

“Are you high?”

“What?”

“Sindiswa, why would you bring me up in a reality show that has nothing to do with me?”

“Because you are part of key elements in my life. I still have your surname, for goodness sake. When I talk about my life, you are instantly part of some highlights and the reason that I had to start all over.”

“You know what, if my name is even mentioned in whatever you are busy with, I promise you, Sindiswa, I’ll make sure you lose whatever deal is meant to come out of this. I will sue you. I will sue the production company. And I’ll make sure that no one touches you by the time I’m done with you. This will be the last business deal you will ever enter into.”

“But, Mthunzi-

“I can make your life very difficult, Sindiswa. And this thing of yours of pushing me too far will give you whatever it is that you are looking for one of these days. Stay away from me. And stay away from my wife. I can end your career faster than what you plan on ending my marriage. And this better be the last phone call I receive from you.”

He hangs up.

WTF?

“Everything okay?” KG walks into the TV room and asks me.

I shrug my shoulders.

“I’m on my way to get the kids from school. We can go together and chat in the car.” She says.

I don’t argue. I get my phone and purse, then we leave together in my BMW that she has now claimed.

“I got an offer to be on a reality show that focuses on business people and their business sense. There are some exercises that will require family and I phoned Mthunzi to let him know that I’ll be mentioning his name from time to time because he is a critical part of my rise and fall in business and he just overreacted”, I tell her.

She sighs then she says, “Sindi, you have to let go of Mthunzi. This is making you look desperate. You are not desperate, Sindi. You are one hell of a businesswoman and that has nothing to do with Mthunzi. If he were the businessman that you make him out to be, he would be the one that is invited to the reality show. But they chose you. They chose you because you know business and you are a business owner. Mthunzi is an employee. How exactly is he critical to your rise and fall?”

She doesn’t understand. She just doesn’t get it.

I sigh.

“Sindi, we moved here because you wanted a fresh start. Give yourself a fresh start. Siya needs you. And you running after Mthunzi every time you get an excuse to do so is limiting you in being a present mother for Siya. We are your family. If your family is needed at this reality show what-what, then we will be there. Leave Mthunzi and his maid. They are two employees that are happy with bowing down to making other people’s dreams come true. That’s not you. That’s never been you. Being with Mthunzi has dimmed your light enough. Now shine like the star that you are and in fact, show Mthunzi now more than ever what he let go of. That maid is not even half the woman that you are and she never will be. Make sure that when they watch that show together, they both see how above both of them you truly are. You are Sindiswa! Everyone knows who that is and that’s why you get reality show deals. Who is Mthunzi again, if not your shadow?”

We burst into laughter.

I think I may have misjudged her too quickly. I like this girl!

…

“Are you sure you are okay?” Sandile is asking me for the fiftieth time.
“I’m fine, Sandile. It’s Mthunzi‘s new wife. She came to tell me to stay away from Mthunzi“, I say.
“Why aren’t you leaving him alone?”
I don’t say anything because I am getting tired of this question.
“Stop this, Sindiswa! Stop this! You will draw unnecessary attention to us. You know that we need to keep a low profile. If that girl could just drive here and find you, what more about George?” Sandile.
I just look at him.
“Your shop will be open for business tomorrow”, Sandile says.
I stay in this position on my mom’s couch, contemplating if I should phone Mthunzi and tell him about his wife’s behaviour at my store today. I decide against it then go to sleep.

…

My spirit is extremely down today. I miss Mthunzi so much. After what Zelda and her friends did yesterday, I just feel so violated and even more pressed to piss Zelda off. But, Sandile is right. I ran away from Joburg because I wanted to stay away from George. George hasn’t tried to reach out to me in anyway and I haven’t heard of anyone in this house being stalked. If I want to keep this way, I need to keep a low profile. I hope my reality show feature does not put me in an exposed position.

I am having coffee in the kitchen on one of these nice barstools that Kgomotso got for the house. I scroll through my pictures, scrolling through the memories that Mthunzi and I created with our children. I cannot believe that I gave all of this up for George. I have really made some stupid decisions in my life and I am embarrassed by where they have led me.
Mthunzi was an amazing husband – probably the best man I will ever know or be with. I was selfish. I wanted more. I was always driven by more. I thought that I could get more by doing what I needed to do and he would never find out about it. But George‘s working hours were always odd. Mthunzi asked questions until I ran out of answers. The day he found out, I knew I had changed his life forever. The look he gave me told me that his heart was done with me. He didn’t divorce me immediately, so I truly believed that we had time and we could still fix our marriage and tolerate each other for our kids. He would be the one tolerating me, I’d still be loving him. Little did I know that he was running paternity tests behind my back on both our kids. Had he not done that, we would still be together for Siya’s sake.
The part I am trying to understand the most is when he and Zelda startedsleeping together. I can understand how they got away with hiding it from me. I always requested Mthunzi to drive her around. But that’s because I trusted that girl. She was smart and she was always there to solve whatever problem we had – at home, in the office and with my kids. I did not realise that she was taking my place in my man’s life too. Now, she has the audacity to bully me in my own beauty bar and threaten me to stay away from a husband who was mine first?
I find myself dialling her number because I need to do something with this anger and regret and…

“Hello?” She answers her phone.
“I don’t appreciate the stunt that you pulled yesterday.” I say.
“There are a lot of things that I don’t appreciate about you, but you don’t find me harassing you on umpteen phone calls”, she says.
“Zelda, can we talk? Can we just talk, please?” I request. This conversation is long overdue.
She sighs.
“You really hurt me, Zelda. Can you at least acknowledge that? I may not have been the perfect wife for Mthunzi, but I did love him. I built with that man. We had a family, assets and fifteen years of marriage. That’s not water under a bridge. That is a whole life. It was my life and you played a role in turning it upside down. Why are you treating me like I am the problem in all of this?” I plead my case.
“You didn’t deserve me sleeping with your husband. I am someone you trustedamongst your staff members. I do apologise for that. I never went into your house with the intention of destroying your marriage. I didn’t mean to fall in love with Mthunzi while he was still your husband. You are right, you were not the best wife to him. But you are also right that it didn’t give me a right to do as I pleased with your husband. And for that, I am sorry.” She says.

This I didn’t expect, but I am relieved that this conversation is happening.

“Thank you for that, Zelda.” I say. I am genuine.
“Sindi, I will take the blame for sleeping with Mthunzi while he was still married to you. It was wrong and I am sorry. Please also remember that I didn’t rape him, there was consent from both parties that engaged in that relationship. So for you to now take that and think that it gives you the right to harass me every chance you get is uncalled for. Mthunzi is with me now and you need to move on with your life. He doesn’t want you anymore.” She says.

This cuts me deep. Mthunzi has always wanted me. He wanted me before I even noticed him. Today, he no longer wants me because he is with my maid?

“Please, just stay away from us. Please.” She says.
I am still quiet.
“Hello?” Her.
“I’m still here. It’s just difficult to accept that everything is over, you know. And Siya is also struggling. He doesn’t deserve to be punished for my mistakes. Mthunzi is the only father that he knows and it’s getting to him as to why Mthunzi doesn’t want him anymore.” I express.
“I hear you. Siya is a good kid and he doesn’t deserve any of this, you are absolutely right. But Mthunzi doesn’t deserve to deal with the consequences of your actions neither, raising and being responsible for a child that he had nothing to do with in the first place. Sindi, you created this mess and put everyone in positions that they’d rather not be in. You don’t get to be the victim. You need to sit your son down and tell him the truth instead of expecting everyone to feel sorry for you and cover up your actions.” She says.

She is really cruel, shame. She forgets that she practically raised Siya. But, I am also done begging her so:
“Okay, I guess this is it then. Take care of yourself and Mthunzi. He is a good man. Good luck with everything.”
She hangs up.

“Knock knock“, I hear someone say. He is already inside the house. He is one of Sandile’s employees. I look at him.
“Hi sisi”, he says.
“Can I help you?” I ask him.

I mean, I’m dressed in a short satin gown and I look hot. But I do feel slightly exposed because this man is turned on by my lower thighs and my calves. But hey, let me have a little fun with him. I stand up and show off my ass and hips as well. His hands are now covering his penis. LOL!

“Well?” Me
“I am looking for uSandile.” He finally says.
“Okay, let me go find him.” I say.
I turn around and model my way out of the kitchen to go find Sandile. I know he is watching and I know that he is enjoying the view.
LOL!

The opening of Utopia is a success. There is a red carpet leading our first clients in. Kgomotso makes an incredible front of house. The shop is full. Each therapist is working on a client and the waiting area is occupied. People are buying books and reading while waiting to be attended to. I invited the authors to join us today to sign books, so that’s also bringing in a crowd. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, we put extra chairs outside for people to sit and wait their turn to come in.
This is nice.

A man walks in with a bunch of flowers. It’s the horny fool from this morning. He is smiling at me now, not looking like he is about to be killed by his own sweat and erection. I can’t help but laugh when he stands in front of me. He is looking a lot more confident that he did this morning and I realise just how nice he is. He even smells nice.
“Congratulations on the opening of your shop”, he says.
“You mean beauty bar”, I say.
“Huh?”
“This is a beauty bar, not a shop”. I say.
“Oh, I see.” Him.
“Are those for me?” I ask, pointing my head at the flowers in his hands.
He nods his head and gives them to me. I accept the flowers and ask my receptionist to put them in some water for me.
“Can we talk?” The guys says to me. Please don’t tell me he is about to mack on me already. Come on dude, you are probably a driver for my brother. What am I expected to do with you?

I come out of the reception booth and walk with him outside. We stroll together away from the buzz of my beauty bar.

“I’m sorry about this morning. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable”, he says.
“You didn’t know that you’d find a woman in a lingerie gown when you came looking for your boss. Don’t feel too bad about it. It’s honestly forgotten. I have moved on from it”, I assure him.

He is not rich enough to handle me, so he doesn’t need to believe or feel as if he made me uncomfortable. He cannot afford to.

“Thank you. I really respect Sandile. I don’t want to ever come across as if I am disrespecting him or his family in any way. You are a beautiful woman, but I do respect boundaries”, he says.
Okay. Honourable.
“I’m Sindiswa, by the way. But everyone calls me Sindi”, I introduce myself.
“Phumlile”, he says, extending his hand for a handshake. I accept the handshake.
“Have a good day further, Phumlile.”
“You too, Sindiswa”.

He walks away and heads to his car. Yep, it is one of the taxis we bought. I’m out of his league. Cute or not, I’m not willing to explore that further. I wave at him as he drives off and he has the audacity to hoot at me.

Tjo! 

…

What to expect in the bonus episode —> Sindi’s Voice:

Sindi comes back home on time for Christmas just to make sure that it’s everything her family deserves – especially Siya. George is not completely gone – he comes back and in bonus episode 2 (on Sunday) we hear from his voice for the first time, leading us to the voice of a new character – Luthando, George’s wife. Will it be a merry Christmas and a happy new year for our girl Sindiswa?

Tune in this Saturday at 11am for bonus episode 1 and on Sunday for bonus episode 2 at 12pm. Tag a friend or two and PUT THEM ON! Surely you need at least one of your friends by your side for when Sindi meets Luthando! You might just not survive it reading it on your own!