Molise 

My house is very chaotic. Phupho and Lelapa generally are chaotic bona self. But now with Molemo in the mix… he’s much older than them, but the three of them enjoy being around each other. So now the party has got a bit bigger. It’s Zah yelling at them since 5:30am that now has me in the kitchen drinking water. I need water to heal my headache because I don’t want to rely on medication. 

“Keng?” My mom asks me. 

She’s also in here as well. 

“Nothing”, I say. 

“Why aren’t you helping your wife prepare your children for school?” She asks me. 

I drink my water.

“This thing with Molemo… you need to deal with it. You must either start being a father to that child, or take him back to his mother.” 

“Where will I find his mother? She’s disappeared! I want to take him back to his mother!” I aggressively say. 

“Please stop saying things like that, Molise. What if Molemo hears you?!” Now Zah is here and she’s reprimanding me. 

I look at her.

My mother looks at both of us. 

The kids come into the kitchen. 

Zah dishes up for them as she catches up with them. 

I observe them so carefully. Molemo is so comfortable around Zah. He’s blended so well with Phupho and Lelapa. They are all in the same school. Molemo is in grade six. Phupho is now in grade R. Lelapa is still in crèche. 

“Papa, are you still going to Jaryd’s birthday party with me this weekend? They said it’s for dads and boys,” Lelapa asks me. 

“Yes, my boy. We are still good for this weekend.” I say.

“What are we going to do while papa and Lelapa are away, mommy?” Phupho. 

“I don’t know. What do you guys feel like doing?” Zah. 

“Let’s go on a holiday!” Molemo. 

Is that how he lived with his mother?! Holidays nje ka-January om’kana?! 

“But the year just started”, Phupho says. 

I can clearly see the difference in mothering between Molemo and Zah. 

“Oh. People don’t go on holidays in January?” Molemo.

“I don’t know about other people, but in this home we don’t. We all do our part to make sure that we make things easier for everyone. Mommy has school and she has to study hard every weekend. Daddy has work. Sometimes he works late at night and sometimes he works weekends. We have school also. We all need to plan properly and in advance for weekend always and holidays.” Phupho. 

Now there’s silence. 

“Oh. I didn’t know.” Molemo says. 

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it”, Phupho. 

“Guys, eat up. We are going to be late. Daddy and I are going to quickly get ready for the day upstairs. When I get back, we leave for school. Okay?” Zah says. 

I know that’s her way of saying we need to talk. 

“Okay, mommy”, the kids all say. Even Molemo. This is not his mom, please! His mom left him at McDonalds and took him on holidays in January. 

“Molise, five minutes hle.” Zah says. 

I follow her upstairs.

“You okay?” She asks me as she closes the door of our bedroom. 

“I need to find Molemo”, I say. She knows I’m speaking about the mother. 

“And then? What happens after you find her?” 

“She must take Molemo back.”

“Why, Molise?! Why?! Keng?! Are we unable to look after him? Can we not afford to look after him?” She says.

“That’s not the point.” I say.

“What is the point, exactly? Huh?! That you give Molemo to his mother so she can terrorise us every chance she gets? It’s clear that she can no longer support him. That means, she needs us to help with Molemo. For me, it’s better that he’s here. That way, mme wahaye will not be calling my man every five minutes for her son, and then sleeps with him on a live video the first chance she gets.”

How did we get to Wehweh’s and Mnqobi’s problems now? And she’s so angry. 

I start laughing. 

She realises she’s being ridiculous and chuckles too. 

“Please just let her be, Molise. Please. Let’s just try with Molemo. He’s not a bad child. He really likes being here.” She says.

“He wants to go on holidays in January.” I say, laughing. 

“He’s a child. He’s teachable. We can’t hold that against him.”

“I get the DNA test results back today. I’ll go to the lab myself.”

“What are you hoping to get?”

“The truth.”

“If he’s not yours?” 

“He leaves my house.”

“And if he is? You promise to try?”

I nod my head. 

My mom is so convinced he’s not mine though. What does she know that I don’t?! 

“I have an early class today. Can I take your car for today? You can use mine then drop the kids off at school? Pretty please?” 

I agree. 

…

I get to work and make my way to my office. 

“Ladies”. I say as I walk in. I notice that my waiting room is already full. I greet my patients too. I call my regulars by name and have some light conversations with them… just to be friendly. I see new faces and I acknowledge them too. 

I now head to my office. I set up properly and start up all my machinery. 

My PA walks in then takes me through my day as I’m starting up my machinery. 

I’ll be quite busy from what she tells me. Thankfully, I don’t have theatre today. And I hope none of my patients go into labour hle. I need to sort this Molemo issue out. 

It’s one patient after the other. I don’t even have time to take lunch. But I wrap up everything at 6pm. 

My PA comes in to take me through the medical aid claims we submitted today as well as the claims that have been cleared. She also tells me that she will be going to the bank first thing in the morning to bank the cash that was received by patients who are not on medical aid. So she locks it up in my safe… the safe that she knows. When she leaves, I usually put it in a safe that she doesn’t know in case anything happens. Then I’ll come in early in the morning to put it back in the safe she knows. Today, we made R95 000. 

I actually need to get the business bank account that has the banker coming to me and banks the cash here for me. This is dangerous for her to be carrying this money and cashing it herself. I tell her to set up the meeting with a banker for me so I can have this sorted no later than tomorrow. 

She finally gives me the an envelope with my DNA results. 

I tell her she can go home. 

I phone my wife. 

“Hey baby”, she answers her phone. 

“Hey. What are you up to?” 

“I was just giving your mom her foot massage. I’ve also already cooked. Mama ate so I could give her meds and her massage. Now she’s going to sleep. The kids and I are waiting for you. We will eat when you get here.”

I laugh.

“Yini?” She asks me, also laughing.

“How do you do it? School and our family?” I ask her.

“It’s the sex you give me”, she says.

Now I laugh aloud. 

“Are you okay? How’s work going?” She asks me.

“Just finished now. I have the DNA results with me. I wanted to open them with you. Are you alone there?”

“Let me go to your office”, she says. 

I hear her moving around. 

I hear a door close.

“Okay. What are they saying?” She asks me. 

“Let me open it.” 

Indeed, I open the envelope. 

“It says… it says that he isn’t my son. It says we are related, but he’s not my son.” 

She’s quiet. 

“Mama knows something and she refuses to tell me. It’s fine. I’m going to find Molemo. She’s going to explain herself to me!”

“Please come home, Molise. Please.” 

“Let me do this, msadi waka. I’m asking. Please let me do this.” 

She’s quiet. 

She sounds like she’s crying. 

She really grew a liking to Molemo and I told her not to get attached.

I decide to phone Mnqobi. I’ll offer to help him with Wehweh if he helps me with finding Molemo. I know he can help me.

“Sho”, he answers his phone. 

“Sho. I need your help. I need to find Molemo’s mother.” 

“Your baby-mama?” 

“I just found out that he’s not my child. Now, I’m here dealing with her son while she’s disappeared off the face of the earth.”

“Shit. Sorry. I know where she is.” He says.

Already?! 

“What do you want to do?” He asks me. 

“I need to see her”, I say. 

“Okay. Where can we meet?” Him.

“I’m at my office. You let me know. I’ll be there.” 

“Sho. I’ll send you details just now.”

We hang up.

–

Mnqobi and I are in the car outside some mall now. We are waiting for someone to bring Molemo. My car is parked next to his car and we are sitting in his car. 

“How are things with Wehweh?” I ask him. 

“Ey… uWehweh is hurt. I wish I could take it all away. I wish I could undo it all. You know… I love my daughter with everything that’s inside of me, but I sincerely regret ever having anything to do with her mother. Every time that woman is in my life, shit falls apart. I don’t want to lose Wehweh.” 

“Are you guys talking, at least?” 

“We talk. We’ve even had sex. But she refuses to get back together with me. She says she doesn’t know how to trust me again.” 

“Manje what does she want? Just sex? Friends with benefits?” 

We laugh. 

“I don’t know. But I’ll be whatever she wants me to be until we fix things. I’m not letting her go. Ngizoyishada le ngane. I love her.” He says.

“If there’s anything that you need from me, I’m here to help you. I owe you one.” I say.

He nods his head.

“I hear that Lindiwe is going to be on a reality show.” I say. 

He looks at me – shocked! 

“When the friends were over at my place, I heard them talking about it. Wehweh even spoke about getting a lawyer to speak to production about the content that Lindiwe will be bringing to the show and if her name is mentioned or if Lindiwe insinuates anything about her, she will sue production and Lindiwe. Now, production is considering dropping Lindiwe. Apparently, they are saying she’s more trouble than she’s worth.” 

He’s so shocked. 

“You knew none of this?” I ask. 

“No. Not even Wehweh said anything to me.” 

“Ja… you really are in shit with her. And it’s deep. It’s better if she’s consistently shitting on you. But you guys talk and have sex, but she hasn’t said anything?” 

I’m guessing she didn’t even tell him the other thing. I guess out of loyalty to him, I might as well say something. 

“There’s another thing that you need to know.” I say.

He looks at me then says, “you really listen to these women’s conversations neh?” 

I laugh and say, “ears have no lid. And my home office is right next to where they chill.”

We laugh. 

“Look, Ruri wanted to tell you. She begged Wehweh to tell you. Wehweh said no. She said she needed to protect you from this.”

“Dude, now I’m worried.” He says.

“When Wehweh found out about you and Lindiwe, she got really sick. She went to hospital. They found out that… she had a miscarriage.” 

His face! 

“I’m sorry”, I say.

“I really fucked up hey”, he says. 

“I really hope you two find your way back to each other”, I say. 

A car arrives. 

“She’s here”, he says.

We get out of the car.

She’s thrown out of the car. She’s fighting and swearing at these guys that have pushed her out. 

Mnqobi leans against the car. 

I put my hands in my pocket and look at her. 

The minute she notices me, she tries to run away. But the guys catch her and throw her back at me.

“When are you fetching your child from my house?” I say.

“He’s your son too. And I’ve looked after him all this time. It’s your turn now”.

“Uskang’ tlwayela masepa! Don’t you dare! You know damn well that’s not my son! I had a DNA test done on him.”

The shock! 

I’m clearly shocking people today. 

“Why would you do that?” That’s her question.

“Take your child!” Me.

“Give him to your mother. She knows everything. She will take him. But I can’t take him right now. It’s too dangerous for him”. 

“Ey wena –

“MOLISE PLEASE! I CANNOT DO THIS WITH YOU! IF YOU DO NOT WANT HIM, GIVE HIM TO YOUR MOTHER. IF YOUR MOTHER DOES NOT WANT HIM, TAKE HIM TO A HOME! BUT I CANNOT HAVE HIM!” 

I cannot believe my ears. 

Even Mnqobi is shocked. 

“I need to go!” She says then runs away. 

I’m so shocked!

Defeated, actually!