Thabang and I are leaving today for Tamia’s wedding. But first, I have a meeting or date or something nyana nje with MmaKB. She asked that she and I do lunch and drinks before Thabang and I leave.

I’ve packed my bags, Thabang’s bags and my children’s bags – including Meme. After my meeting with MmaKB, we are leaving. I’m leaving to meet up with her using my Tucson. We will be travelling in the X5. That’s the one that Thabang will load then we leave. 

We’ve also moved into our new house. It’s a very nice house. It’s a six-bedroom double story house in Taung. I love the house. I did sell my house in the township. Tshenolo is in a new crèche that’s quite close to home. Meme and Mosetsana have moved to a new school – one school. It’s the school that is honestly quite up there with education. It’s the school that the royal twins went to as well. All of Thabang’s kids go to school there. 

The other two kids – Mahali’s kids – are currently living with MmaKB so they can go to school. But every weekend and holiday, they are with Thabang’s mother in Dithabeng. 

I arrive at Reahile, where MmaKB and I are meeting. She’s already here, having wine and eating a salad. 

“Hey. I’m sorry I’m late. The packing took longer than expected”, I say as I sit down at the table.

“No worries. How are you? You look good.” She says.

“Thank you. Ke shup hey. How are you?” 

“I’m good. Look, I won’t keep you for too long. I know that the road to Mpumalanga is quite long and ahead of you. I’ll get to the point. I want to chat to you about possibly living with Mahali’s kids while she’s away.” 

Hai guys! What is this?! 

She sees that I am taken aback and hears my soft chuckle. Because really, WTF?!

“Is it a problem?” She asks me.

“Yes, it is a problem, Mmakabelo.”

“What is the problem? Those kids are Thabang’s kids. Despite your feeling about mme wabona, you must still love them because they are Thabang’s kids… just like Thabang loves your kids.” 

I knew she’d take it there. And I’m not offended shame. I’m comfortable with where my kids are with Thabang. 

“You think you are clever wena, neh?! O nahana ho re o bohlale wena. You think I don’t see what you are doing?”

“What am I doing, Morafe? Please, enlighten me.”

“You know very well that Mahali doesn’t like me. As a mother, I don’t think you’d ever be comfortable with your kids staying with someone that you don’t like or trust. I know I wouldn’t be comfortable with it at all. But here you are, creating further tension between Mahali and I. For you, what’s happening between Mahali and I is a joke… a film you want to sip wine and watch while you appear to be the peaceful wife and the problem solver. You are actually a shit-starter wena.” 

She becomes upset now. Then she says, “I think you have no idea how a polygamous marriage works.”

“So, o tlo yetsang? Send me back home to learn? Akere that’s what you are good at doing? And then do what with my children? Pawn them off to someone I’d never even pay to be their babysitter for five seconds?”

“I sent Mahali home so that you and Thabang could enjoy the first few months of your marriage. If she were here, we both know that she would have shown you flames.” 

“I don’t need you to protect me from Mahali. Please, don’t do me any favours. I can handle Mahali. She’s not the big bad wolf that will huff and puff and blow my house down.” 

“I do what is best for this family.” 

“Don’t you get tired? To be so invested in everything that has got to do with Thabang’s penis? Don’t you crave for him to just hold you and fuck you without thinking about nna or Mahali? Do you ever enjoy Thabang’s penis inside of you? Or are you always in COO mode that you don’t have time to even buy lingerie that will excite him? Keng? Sex ya lona ke “get it out of the way” fela?”

Now she’s really angry.

“The answer is no, Mmakabelo. I will not live with Mahali’s kids. As the senior wife, I’m sure that’s more in your job-spec than it is mine. And please, don’t ever stress about my marriage. I know how to handle and manage my husband within the capacity of my marriage.”

“If you don’t take the kids, Mahali comes back.” She says.

“Tell her I said welcome back.” I say then I leave. 

Wahlanya oe!

–

My family and I are now on the road. I can just tell that MmKB spoke to Thabang. He is very weird nje. And I’m very keen to hear what she said. I don’t trust her. I just don’t. And she doesn’t want me as an enemy. I’m also annoyed and Thabang can also see it. I think we are just waiting for the last kid to pass out then we are chatting. Tshenolo is already out. Mosetsana is halfway there. Meme is listening to music, but she’s also dozing off. 

“Mmakabelo phoned me”, he says. 

“I figured that she would.” I say. 

“You want to tell me your version of the story?” 

“There’s not much to tell. She wants me to live with Mahali’s kids. I told her that I wouldn’t do it.”

“Why not? You know that they are my kids too, right? So, you don’t love my kids?” 

“Really Thabang? Seriously?”

He’s quiet. 

“Yoh! Mmakabelo o tletse masepa. Honestly”, I say.

“What did you say?” 

“I said what I said! And you are full of shit too for not seeing right through her. How do you not see it? She’s not the COO you think she is. What sense does it make that I look after her kids? Mahali and I don’t get along. If Mmakabelo is the peaceful maker she claims to be, she should stay with them because Mahali gets along better with her than she does with me. Can you imagine what will happen if she comes back and finds her kids with me? I would never forgive you if you passed my kids onto someone I don’t like. No mother would. These are the facts. And wena you are going to play the “my kids card” the exact way that she did.” 

He’s silent. 

“You know what, Thabang… Mmakabelo is your COO in your marriage with her. She doesn’t run shit in my marriage with you. You and I discuss our things. Mmakabelo doesn’t run shithere.  I don’t run shit in her house or her marriage with you. She’s definitely not about the peace that she insists she wants in the family. If she wants to start shit with Mahali, she must leave me out of it. But I will not be a pawn in her little chess game where she watches shitpop off between Mahali and I, then she gets to be the peaceful one. I’ve figured her out. Maybe it’s time you did too. And this whole thing of her sending Mahali away for me…. For us… it’s bullshit. But if it’s really for us, tell her to bring Mahali back. Her kids need her.”

He’s silent. 

I just look away as we drive on.

…

It’s 2am when we arrive at the lodge that we will be staying at. Everyone is staying here from what I understand. The white wedding will also be here the day after tomorrow. I’m still quite irritated at Thabang. 

After he parks the car, I climb out of the car. I wake Meme up as I open the door where the kids are. 

“We here?” She asks me. 

“Yeah. Let’s go in and sleep. We will unpack in the morning.” I say to her.

She yawns then nods at me. 

I see Thabang has Mosetsana in his arms already. I take Tshenolo and put him in my arms.

Our chalet has four bedrooms and three bathrooms. I settle Tshenolo in one room after changing him into pyjamas. I put Mosetsana in another bedroom after changing her into pyjamas. Meme settles herself in. But I do go and say goodnight anyway. They are all passed out in no time. Now, Thabang and I are in the room allocated to us. I’m still not talking to him. He is unsure of how to be. 

“Baby”.

“No, Thabang. I’m not going to talk about your other wives tonight. I’m here with my husband and unless we are going to focus on us, I don’t want to hear it.”

“I just want to say that I understand where you are coming from. I’ve heard you and I’ll sort this out. You won’t live with the kids.”

I look at him. 

“Thank you.” I say.

“And I’m sorry that I accused you of not loving my kids.” He says.

“T, you have to realise that women don’t like each other. At all. And none of us will ever do anything as a favour to the other. We are all fighting to be perfect in your eyes. We share a penis. We would never like each other. Ever! You need to understand that. And sometime, you need to step away from a situation for five minutes and ask yourself if what you’ve discussed with your COO or any of us is for the benefit of this family. Your COO is not always going to get it right. Her intentions are not as pure as you think.” 

He nods his head. 

“I also want to say thank you”, him.

“For?”

“Mom tells me that you go see her very often. That’s special to me. And I love your relationship with her.” He says.

“I learn a lot from her. I love picking her brain and I genuinely enjoy her company. Plus, I trust her to keep me in check. She can be honest because you know… she’s not sharing a penis with us.”

He laughs then says, “Wow!”

I strip for him. 

He watches me closely. 

I’m now in my red and lacy underwear. 

“T, only you will protect me in this marriage. Not the COO. Not anyone else. I need you to always pull through for me. For us. For our family. I can trust you, right?” 

Now I’m on top of him.

He is pulling my panties down.

“I got you. I love you. You are the only woman I’ve ever loved like this. I’ll protect you with my all.” He tells me.

I’m now riding him like a bull! My work is done here! And best believe that Mmakabelo will pay for this! 

…

I’m so happy that this woman is my wife. Morafe is all that I need. I’m glad that she doesn’t give me ultimatums that involve divorcing the other two because she has me so pussy-whipped that I’d probably do it. 

We just woke up and she woke me up with a blowjob. Yoh! You know, Morafe knows how to serve me sexually. She touches me in places that my other two wives are sometimes too scared to touch me in. She knows how to fuck me. Sex with her is a shared experience. It’s not just me doing all the work while she just lies there. Sometimes, she makes me scream. And I love it. I love her. 

Now, I’m fucking her against the window. She’s not scared that someone will see us. She embraces it. Both our asses are out there and if anyone is looking, we are giving them a show. 

She screams. I moan with a hint of a scream. 

Good morning. 

Morafe is now getting the kids ready for the wedding. We quickly showered together, then she got back into a gown so that she could finish up with the kids. I’m all showered and lotioned up, but I’m wrapped in a towel lying on my back… recovering from last night and this morning. My penis is very happy with me. 

Let me actually phone Mmakabelo and solve this issue between her and Morafe. To be honest, I hear both of their views. It’s just that Morafe has made me view things a little differently. Mmakabelo would have never been on my suspect list for trying to start shit. But the way that Morafe made me view Mmakabelo’s intentions has now made me question every decision she ever took… like sending Mahali away for six months. Even my mother thought that it was an extreme consequence for just being hurt that I was getting remarried. But the way that Mmakabelo positioned it to Mahali made it seem as if this was for Morafe. Now, Morafe has her sent away for six months then looks after her kids. It does almost seem as if Morafe is trying to take her place OR Morafe is suddenly the new wife in charge, making Mmakabelo less of a threat to Mahali thus Mahali ends up being an issue for Morafe; ‘dangerous’ as Mmakabelo puts it. It’s as if she’s planting the danger herself then she will appear as if she warned me that it would happen when something bad actually happens. 

“Hello?” 

“Mmakabelo, ujwang?” Me.

“I’m fine, Mothipa. I wasn’t expecting your call.”

“It won’t be long. Morafe won’t live with Mahali’s kids.” I say.

She starts giggling in disbelief. 

“You are already making this woman unclear of her place in this marriage, Mothipa.” 

“I think you are the one that’s unclear of your place in this marriage.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m the husband here. My role is to protect all of my wives. Now that I’ve heard what Morafe has to say, I’m questioning a lot of your intentions… not just with her, but with Mahali too.” 

“What did this woman feed you, Mothipa? Mahali was right about her!” 

“The point is… you will live with those kids. And you will not bring Mahali back. I’ll deal with Mahali moving forward. Until further notice, you live with the kids. Am I clear?”

“Mothipa! Stop this! Keng ka wena?!”

I hang up. 

“The kids are done and breakfast is ready. I’m quickly applying my makeup and getting dressed neh”, Morafe says, pouncing around our bedroom. 

She’s so beautiful.

I just smile at her. 

I also get up from this bed and start getting dressed. I’m just wearing some chinos with a siSwati pattern shirt. It has siSwati prints, but is mostly linen itself. 

As soon as I’m done getting dressed, tying my sneakers’ laces and all, I head to the kitchen. The kids are eating and chatting. Meme is feeding Tshenolo. 

“Good morning, everyone”, I greet them. 

“Morning!” They all greet me.

“Did everyone sleep good?” 

“We did.” Mosetsana says.

I see Meme giving me looks. I take it she heard Morafe and I last night. But she mustn’t get familiar with me. We are not friends. 

“Your food is in the warmer. I will just quickly get it for you.” Meme says as she heads to the warmer and gets me the food. 

She puts the plate of a full breakfast in front of me. This looks so good! 

“I can pour you juice. Or do you want coffee?” Mosetsana asks me.

“Juice will be good, baby girl. Thank you.” I say.

She pours me juice. 

Tshenolo comes to sit on top of me. I take his plate from Meme and feed him while I eat.

I worry about this boy. I really do. He’s very emotionally needy. If it’s not me, it’s his mother. When we are both not around, it’s Mosetsana. I’ve told Morafe that we need to consider therapy or something for him. He might be more affected by his crazy father than what we think. Mosetsana can at least express herself, so we generally know what’s going on with her. Tshenolo is definitely different. He’s quiet, but attaches to people that he trusts. 

“I want to wear makeup like mommy. I want to be pretty like her. She says I’m not allowed yet. When will I be allowed, papa?” Yoh, it’s so early for Mosetsana’s grilling.

“Why do you want to wear makeup? It’s for adults, baby girl.” I ask her.

“I want to be pretty like mommy. Mommy is so beautiful.”

“But you are beautiful. Gorgeous. I won’t cope if you get makeup.” 

“Why?”

“Because boys will always be looking at you. I’m going to start killing people. No boys should be looking at my baby girl. No ways.” 

She’s in stitches. So is Meme. 

“I’ll help you, papa.” Tshenolo says.

I fist-pump him. 

She’s still laughing.

“Okay guys, I’m ready.” Morafe… the stunner… yoh!

I’m still picking my bottom lip up from the floor.

“Wow! Wow mommy! You look wow!” Mosetsana. 

“Let me take a picture! First of the parents, then with the kiddies.” Meme.

Meme takes pictures of us. 

Wandi is the one who knocks on our door and tells us it’s time to go… now, we bounce. 

…

The wedding 

I actually don’t understand half of the things happening here. It’s just really hot. But thank God we are in a tent. Mosetsana is sitting on top of me and Tshenolo is sitting on top of Morafe. She’s cuddling Tshenolo. Mosetsana is playing games on my cellphone. Morafe and I are holding hands. This is actually beautiful. 

The Khumalo family are gifting the Maphumulo family. Everyone is dressed in siSwati… except for the Maphumulos. They came here is their isiZulu outfits and are not prepared to change for shit. 

Now, there are speeches. But at least we are having lunch as these speeches are being said. The food is really nice. The mother is really happy shame. She tells Tamia that she must go and build at the Maphumulo home, not tare anything apart. She tells Tamia that when she gets there and finds children that belong to her husband, she better not say things such as “I didn’t come here with children”. She must embrace those children, feed them and be their mother. From what Morafe has told me, that’s exactly what Tamia has done. But it’s good that her family is encouraging this and not saying her daughter is too good for that. She says that this is now a grandparents’ home for all of Ntuthuko’s kids. They must feel at home.

The dad is very emotional. He just says that the Maphumulo family need to understand that they are taking his ONLY princess. So, they must please not see a daughter-in-law in her, they must see a princess… a queen. 

I look at the happy couple. They will not stop looking at each other. Ntuthuko is looking at Tamia like he’d be having sex with her if it weren’t for all of us. But she does look gorgeous. He looks good too. 

The dad now gives Ntuthuko a gift. Inside the wrapped box – as it is being opened in front of us now – is a key to the house. The dad explains that it symbolises that he is home now. He can come by any time and feel at home. The other gadget is a suit jacket and it’s really nice. With this gift, he now has a seat at the family table to have important conversations about the family as he is now the son in this family. This is really beautiful. The last gift is another key… we all look behind us. It’s a seven-seater Range Rover Velar. It’s gold in colour. That’s his gift to his only son-in-law to ask him to look after his princess and also welcome him in the family as his son. Ntuthuko is very happy. We are all cheering because this is very nice. Ntuthuko and the dad hug each other. Tamia is incredibly happy. 

They now call up Ntuthuko’s kids. They are nowhere to be found. They are playing with their newfound cousins… the kids to Tamia’s brothers. In their absentia, they are also given welcome to the family gifts. I think this is really beautiful.

Finally, Ntuthuko’s parents now speak. They thank the Khumalo family for being so good to them and for welcoming their son so beautifully. They thank the Khumalo family for such a beautiful bride who was clearly raised right. They promise to look after her… to be good to her… and to treat her like the queen that she is. Their speech is short and sweet. 

Now there are dancers performing while we enjoy dessert. Ntuthuko’s kids come and get Mosetsana and Tshenolo from us, saying they are going to play. We let them go play. They are more than excited to leave us. We don’t know where Meme went. But we are happy she found people to hang out with. Before we know it, people are partying and dancing. Morafe leads me to the dance floor. Now she and I are dancing together. I can’t even dance, but I’m having fun.

My phone rings. It’s Mmakabelo.

“I’ll give you some space”, she says. She saw my caller ID. I kiss her. She walks to say hi to her friends.

I find a quieter spot.

“Hello.”

“So, this is how it’s going to be now? You will be disrespecting Mahali and I now?” 

“What are you on about?” 

“Those photos on Meme’s instagram.”

“On Meme’s what?” 

“Social media. She posted pictures of you, Morafe and her kids. We don’t do things like that. Why are you allowing that girl to change things in our marriage like this? This is inappropriate, Thabang.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about. But if it’s just photos, I don’t see what the problem is.” 

“Thabang, you have girlfriends everywhere. You think we don’t know? Those girls will see these pictures, be triggered to comment and cause chaos. The next thing we are a running joke and a topic for everyone across the world. People will dig into our lives and we will no longer have privacy. Morafe is not your only wife. Please think about our privacy too.” 

“Yerrr! Mmakabelo, just relax! Please! And I stopped seeing other women when Morafe and I got together. You don’t need to worry about that.” 

She’s quiet. 

“Hello?”

“Morafe made you stop seeing other women?” She asks this as if she’s disappointed.

“I just figured I have my hands full with three wives. If you also want to post pictures of us on social media, feel free. I’ve never stopped you before. Now please… relax. I have to go.”

I hang up. 

“Everything okay?” Morafe asks me.

“Mmakabelo says Meme posted our pictures on insta-something. So, she was upset.”

“She follows Meme on instagram?”

“I’m the only person who doesn’t know what that is?”

“Am I not allowed to have pictures of us on socials?” She asks me.

“I told her to chill. She can post pictures too if she wants.” 

“This isn’t a problem, is it?” She asks me.

“It isn’t. Did I tell you that you look amazing today?” I say.

“You didn’t tell me.” She says seductively.

“You look amazing”, I say… heading for a kiss.

She lets me kiss her.

I hear a flash and a light hits us aggressively. I hope it’s not another picture that will end up on insta-what what.