Chapter 1: Chronicles Of A Zulu Kasi Princess (Page 10)

“What if you find your soul mate... at the wrong time?” 

― Lauren Kate, Passion

Its Saturday morning.Windy and cloudy. Tshepo and Ntiseng are attending a funeral of Pingo. His death came pretty soon, while they were organising a Charlton Vos high school re-union. Pingo was a boy from a wealthy family, it was known that his father is an uncle to Patrice Motsepe, the wealthiest man in South Africa. However it was unfortunate to find out that he committed suicide after he was told that he is HIV positive. 

The burial is over and all Pingo's classmates and friends suggested to meet in town to further discuss the high school re-union-better now to honor their friend. While driving to town, Tshepo took out Ice Tropex in the cooler box, my baby you look offish, whats wrong babe?

Wrapping her jacket around her knees, Nteseng  answered,No babe, nothing wrong. I am just tired.Is it? Tshepo enquired swerving the car to the east. 

Nteseng, testing if their thinking was on the same issue, she said, Eish love,

This funeral reminded me of how short life is. And I wonder if people like Pingo considered that before sleeping around. She quickly rose from the front seat chair in the ML Mercedesbenz Tshepo bought for her. She tried to correct the harsh words coming out of her mouth. No love, I wish the education our parents gives us can protect us from such diseases. I mean if our parents paid so much money, to take us out of unprivilleges and poverty, why do we even go back to filthy townships to get diseases. I would think twice before having to have unprotected sex with some chick in Kasi.

She had made up her mind and no one was going to come and tell her anything; her truth was that her husband cheated with Kasi chicks and that said a lot about them. Growing up in a village, taught her that marriage is respected but these girls from Soshanguve, Mamelodi and Attredgeville stole her man on weekends. If she had to love one Kasi chick, where would she start? In her books, all of them are damaged and home wreckers. She tried so hard to trash them infront of Tshepo, but the more he explored further around those areas. For Nteseng, first she need to know where you schooled, where you stay and that’s when shell consider being your friend. In her circle of friends, she was the pretty one compared to the others and that gave her confidence to become the boss and hand out instructions about life.  

I know, I might sound abit harsh Tshepo but I find this awkward, she said looking wearingly. 

Tshepo looked at her and smiled, in his mind he knew this was no going to end.

The car parked outside the mall, and to ignore his wife he quickly starts talking to the car guard.Thank you, just watch for me broer. The guy kept on complimenting him in tsotsi taal. They laughed and shared a cigarrete.

Oooh shit, Bongani and his girlfriend are here. Ntiseng knew the first girlfriend of Bongani and now she had to meet another. Her face flattens due to the fake lifestyle she's exposed to. And maybe she does not like Bongani’s girlfriend because she schooled in Johannesburg and spoke in fluent English. 

Annoyed she said, " I just can’t stand seeing the fake relationship pretending to be real. She was used to people being honest about their life. But her sighs and frowns made a salad of all the fresh thoughts in her mind, of how to hate another woman.Everything was annoying her these days.

Hi, how are you? Greeting the girlfriend, rolling her eyes.

I'm great Ntiseng and how's you?  Confidently she greeted back.

They hugged and entered the restaurant. Then before they knew it, they occupied three tables to sit in and ordering food and drinks. The noise of Tshepo and his friends  reminiscing about the good olden days, Tshepo cherished friendships but it was hard for his wife as she has now put on weight and not doing well career wise.

Tshepo was the happiest person ever, flaunting his expensive belt and navy blue jeans hed spent R12 000 on, until he came back from the bathroom to find Lindiwe serving their table. 

For a minute, he froze and Bongani seemed restless looking at him. The other school friend, was still looking at Lindiwe’s body and commented, wow if I find this one mchana , just give me a weekend, not even, a month. They all enjoyed watching and undressing her., laughing as usual, boys becoming boys.  

After clearing the table, Lindiwe realises that Bongani is in the midst. She said nothing, when she turned. The tray she held fell, and with hesitation and guilt she runs for the tray and the light brown Timberland boot is standing. Her heart knew it when she saw bracket legs standing firmly waiting for her face to comeback. She hated this feeling, butterflies in her tummy. Legs twitching and she had planned to run after cleaning up. Something about Tshepo; she struggled to defeat, just his presence, made her weak. Did Tshepo bewitch her?

After picking up everything, she run and asked a colleague to serve the three tables, she was also assisting cause the table was big and they had no waiters. Tshepo changes, his face looks like he saw a ghost. He  started to tell the school friends where to get off, giving a full sermon on how to respect a woman's body. They were all surprise, him of all people. It was apparent that where there’s a smoke, there’s fire. He had side-chicks for weeks and one-night-stands, but something different about Lindi. She was different and mothered her two kids he feared to see.

Ntiseng was bored and saw every detail of the story happened infront of them. In her mind, she thought how Tshepo was looking at the Nando’s cashier was disrespectful. At home after the big fall out they had, Tshepo  threw his hands into the air in exasperation when Ntiseng confronted him. He started blaming her for gaining weight.  "This is why we can't talk about your weight problem". You just fly off the handle immediately.

My weight problem? shrieked Nteseng in disbelief .

Come on babe, come out of it. Said Tshepo irritably. You know you have weight issues. When I met you , you were miles slimmer .You were thin, for heaven's sake. Now look at you! You've just let yourself go and this ya nkwatisa. And he looked at her like he is seeing something distateful, let's just say I said nothing about it.

You are talking now, Nteseng hissed. He just ignored her as he climb into the varanda to smoke and continued throwing bombs.

You wouldn't believe the number of times I've thought of buying you a piece of sexy lingerie or a nice tight dress when I'm away with colleagues from my normal,  international trips. But I can't. And why not? Because your bipolar self would have a seizure if I come home with a size ten label on it. ., That's why now we even discussing the thin cute cashier at Nandos. I mean every girl in Tshwane wants me.

Nteseng stared him, dumbstruck.

You know you're a size 40, I know you're a size 40 and we can't possibly talk about it.

Tshepo was enjoying this, Nteseng thought. He really was enjoying it, getting stuff off his chest that he'd been harbouring for years.So now we all have to pretend that the kilos you gave gained is just an unfortunate phase you are going through. When we all know you are fat because of what you put in your body.How do you think that makes me feel at office parties when everyone's wife and girlfriend is dressed up in slinky little dresses and you are in some shapeless jacket with too much make up on so you have something to hide.

You are always hiding behind something. When you got your current job. I thought you'd cop on, realise how secretaries should look like at work.

He stopped and took a deep breath.

Will he ever get over Princess Linda?