Chapter Fourteen

STRING OF PEARLS: FOURTEEN

_ONEZWA _

"Babe, please move over; I want to take a pic too," I say to Troy.

"Wait, one more," he replies.

I quickly snatch his phone.

"What are you doing?" he asks and I ignore him as I put his phone in my pocket and continue taking pictures of the beautiful sea turtles.

"Mxm, you are lucky I love you," he says sulking and I giggle.

"Are you ready for tomorrow's show?" he asks pulling me into his arms and I nod.

"I'm proud of you," he says.

"Thank you, motho wame," I say and he chuckles.

Troy and I met in Botswana about a year ago. I had done all the traveling from Cape to Cairo. My very last stop was Botswana and man, did this guy sweep me off my feet. I don't want to say he is perfect but he damn well comes close. He is actually from Mafikeng but majority of his family members are in Botswana. He owns a couple of construction companies in Johannesburg and Durban. I've also started my own clothing line. Its for curvy women and tomorrow I'll be hosting a fashion show and launching my new store right here in Durban.

I am so excited I can't even sit still.

Me and my Troy were taking a stroll on the beach when we spotted sea turtle eggs hatching and thousands of mini cute turtles came out of the sand into the water. It's just a beautiful sight I tell you and me and my man are literally fighting to capture the wildlife documentary worth footage.

"It's getting a bit cold. Let's go home," he says before putting his arm around me and we walk back to his beach house.

Did I mention that he is rich?

We get to the house and he makes hot chocolate for us then we snuggle close to the fire place.

Our perfect moment is disturbed by his phone ringing. He ignores it a couple of times but whoever is calling is persistent.

"Why don't you just answer?" I say irritated.

"I'm sorry, I'll switch it off," he says and I smile.

"You better tell whoever it is that it's my time now," I say with a slight giggle and he smiles.

"There's no one except you," he says before pecking my lips and I deepen the kiss sealing it with a sultry moan before our clothes come flying off.

The next day...

Everything is a mess. The catering people haven't arrived yet, the stage is not ready and one of my model's mother decided to die today of all days.

"Don't cry my love. Everything will work out. Let me run to Woolies and see if we can't get those cocktail pies they prepare at their deli," Troy says and I nod.

"In the meantime, try finding another model. I'll ask my employees at the construction to help with setting the stage. Everything is going to be perfect. I promise," he says before pecking my lips and he runs off.

I am so happy to have him here because if it wasn't for him, I swear I would have given up.

_CAROLINA_

Married life is absolute bliss. Six months ago, my husband and I welcomed our adorable daughter, Nonkanyezi. She's just so cute, and both my husband and I are obsessed with her. My husband kept his promise and bought me a house, and I even started my own YouTube channel, "The Chronicles of Being Married to a Zulu Man," which is doing well with over 100k subscribers.

Today, I'm visiting my mother-in-law with Nonka, and she has everyone fussing over her, even the ice queen, MaSibiya. Me and her have actually gotten closer. She's not as bad as I thought; she's just old-fashioned, and I don't mind nor do I get offended when she comes off as being judgmental.

"Let me get going, Ma; it's been really great," I say, getting up.

Her smile quickly turns into a frown. "So soon?" she exclaims.

This isn't new; I stayed here when Nonka was born until she was three months old. I swear, my mother-in-law threw tantrums, not wanting us to leave. She even went as far as emotionally blackmailing us, but I know it all comes from a place of love.

"Ma, I promise to visit again next week," I say, and she nods sadly.

"It's just nice having a baby around, you know," she says wistfully.

"Excuse me," MaSibiya says, storming out.

"Was I insensitive?" Ma Mthethwa asks, and I shake my head, unsure.

After strapping and securing the sleeping Nonka, I decide to go to MaSibiya's hut. After knocking a couple of times, I let myself in and find her leaning against the kitchen counter.

"Aren't you going to say goodbye to Nonka?" I ask with a warm smile, and she wipes away a lone tear.

"Yeah," she says.

I lead the way to my car.

"Will you be okay?" I ask, concerned.

"Of course, I'll be fine. Please, don't mind me. I'm just being silly," she says, and I give her a warm hug before getting into the car and driving off.

Arriving home, I find my husband watching soccer. I walk past him to put Nonka in her cot before walking back into the lounge.

He lowers the TV's volume.

"I thought you'd be at the rank today," I say.

"Mcedisi is there," he replies.

"Ma said I must greet you and tell you that she misses you," I say.

He smiles briefly, his eyes still glued to the screen.

"Babe!" I call out, trying to get undivided attention.

"Mmm," he says.

"Yes, Babe?"

"I'm worried about MaSibiya. This thing of them not having kids is messing her up, and now I feel guilty every time I visit with Nonka," I say.

He stares at me blankly.

"I mean, Ma said something about enjoying having a baby around, and I think she took it personally," I add.

He doesn't say anything.

"Aren't you going to say something?"

"I don't know what to say, but I can ask Mcedisi to have a word with her if she's making you feel uncomfortable," he suggests.

I shake my head.

"I'm sure this also affects your brother too. We mustn't come off as insensitive," I say.

He nods.

"MaSibiya must just allow Mcedisi to take a second wife," he says.

"If you ever come at me with that second wife nonsense, Mthethwa, I swear I'll castrate you," I warn.

He finds it amusing, laughing.

He should know I mean what I'm saying.

MCEDISI

I'm fuming right now. Just as I was about to head home, I received an alert that one of my drivers was arrested. He had a special load – a group of people to drop off and pick up later. But now, with month-end chaos at the rank, I'm forced to step in.

These drivers do as they please for extra cash. Since when do we run a shuttle service?

I park outside the receiving parking lot at the mall and wait. The door opens, and a group of people wearing black and white flood in, all speaking at once.

"We want our money."

"That bitch doesn't want to pay us, and it's not our fault."

"Mdriseni, we paid you, but we arrived late, now the client doesn't want to pay."

Their noise tests my patience.

"Mageza!" one says, pushing me over the edge.

"Mageza unyoko," I snap, silencing them.

A young man steps forward, calm and collected.

"I'm sorry, mfwethu, but because of your driver's delay, we arrived two hours late for our catering gig. The client refuses to pay, which isn't fair since it's not our fault. Can you please clarify that to the client?"

I nod, understanding.

"Take me to your client, and I'll apologize and take responsibility."

He leads me inside the clothing shop through the back entrance.

A familiar voice stops me.

"Did you forget something?"

Our eyes lock – it's Onezwa, stunning in a black body-hugging dress. Two years have passed, but my heart recognizes her, and emotions overwhelm me.

"Uhm...can we help you?" a yellow-bone man asks, wrapping his arm around Onezwa's waist.

She clears her throat, avoiding my gaze.

"This is the taxi driver who delayed us," the young man explains.

The guy nods.

"We stand firm; we can't pay for incomplete work."

I barely register his words; my focus is on Onezwa.

"Ukahle MaMthethwa?" I ask.

She nods.

"Umuhle," I say, and shock crosses her face.

"Babe, who's this?" her companion asks.

I take one last look at Onezwa before walking out.

Two years, and I'm still not over her.