Love and sacrifice
“Doctor how is he?” Zandile asks the doctor who has been with Simo in the ICU, he had been in a bad accident. What happened was that he had gone to see Lee-Ann to break things of with her and on his way back he got into an accident. The hospital informed his aunt, Zandile and she then called Mlu and JB who didn’t waste anytime and showed up quickly as they could. They have been in the waiting area for about 4 hours already. Everyone is anxious and on the edge. Simo may have been driving with rage on his way back from talking to Lee-Ann. He probably was speeding or he hit the red light.“Please doctor, please tell me my boy will make it” Zandile is inconsolable as she leans on Mlu's shoulder. Mlu himself is deep in sorrow. He’s thinking to himself that all this happened because of him. His friend was in the accident because he had to go and break up with his fiancé just so that he could prevent him going to jail. Tears start to drop from his eyes while he consoles Zandile.
The doctors sigh deeply, which scares Zandile and Simo’s friends. “It’s been touch and go over the past few hours really. Too early to tell” the doctor says as Zandile starts to cry even louder “Oh my baby boy, my God” as she almost collapses to the floor but Mlu and JB help her to sit down. She’s still leaning on Mlu’s shoulder. “He’s out of surgery. It was a tough one I won’t lie” the doctor continues. “We had to remove shrapnel that pierced his stomach when he crashed. We removed as many as we could. He’s in a critical but stable condition at this stage. So the best thing we can do is pray for him. He really needs his family and friends right now okay?” he concludes, much to Zandile's sadness.
“Doc, can we please go in and see him? Please doctor” JB pleads as he stands up. “I really don’t think at this stage it will do him any much good because he’s just come out of…” the doctor doesn’t finish as he’s interrupted by a voice shouting, “Doctor how is he?” Lee-Ann asks as she charges towards the doctor. She’s accompanied by her sister Derby. But this makes JB’s blood boil.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he shouts at Lee-Ann as he prevents her from coming any closer to the doctor. “Lee-Ann you shouldn’t be here. You and your sister must leave, right now” he shouts, much to Lee-Ann’s shock as she didn’t expect that. But then again, it’s JB. He’s never really approved of her. But she thought, with Simo laying in that bed fighting for his life everyone would put their differences aside for him. She has tears in her eyes, “Please JB, can we not do this right now, please” she pleads. “I just want to know how Simo is doing. Please. Please let me speak to the doctor. Simo is my family too you know. He’s my fiancé. I love him” she starts crying as she looks at the doctor.
Now this has drawn eyes in the waiting area as everyone who was just passing by has stopped to watch the drama unfolds. But JB isn’t about to let this go, “Oh no he’s no longer your family” he shouts. “Didn’t he break up with you last night, huh? After your crazy and racists cousin forced him to?” he shouts even louder, to a Lee-Ann who is very confused as to what JB is talking about Mlu stands up to pull JB from Lee-Ann’s face before he does something stupid,
“Hey man cool it okay?” he says. “You are drawing attention to us man. Come on” he speaks low as he looks around the waiting area where all the eyes are now on them. “Yes, you guys. This is a hospital. Please everyone just calm down okay?” the doctor intervenes. To that everyone calms down as JB goes to sit down and buries his head in between his thighs. Mlu comes and sits down next to Zandile who’s been quiet all along and just crying and terrified at the thought of losing his nephew. Mlu consoles her as she leans on his shoulder. Lee-Ann and Derby are still standing confused at all that JB said. The doctor goes back inside to check on Simo in the ward.
“JB, what do you mean Julie forced Simo to break up with me?” Lee-Ann asks as she comes to sit down next to JB. Her sister remains standing. Only now does JB remembers that Simo had told them to not mention any of this to anyone. But he was furious and got carried away. But of course with Simo now lying there in that bed does change the dynamics, doesn’t it? They would have found out one way or the other. But then he ignores Lee-Ann’s question. But she’s not letting it go, “What did you mean by that JB?” she raises her voice again. “How is my cousin involved in all this? How did he force Simo to break up with me? Please I need to know okay? Please” she starts crying as he takes JB's hands in begging but he pulls away from her.
“What did Simo say to you last night?” Mlu jumps in, asking with a very low voice. Lee-Ann looks up for a second as if she’s trying to recall. “He came to my home last night. I was with my family. He just told me it’s over and that he doesn’t think our relationship will work” she says as she starts crying. “He said that in front of my parents and my sister,” she wipes her tears as she looks at Derby, who nods in agreement. “I actually thought this was about our argument the other day. He then stood and walked towards the door. I tried to stop him so that we could talk because I didn’t want to lose him. He didn’t want to hear it. He stormed out of the house. I thought I’d go see him this morning to try and sort things out. But a few hours later auntie Zandile calls me and tells me what happened” she starts crying again as she looks at Zandile who is still on Mlu's shoulder.
Derby comes over to console her sister. All the while JB has his head buried in between his thighs without saying a word.
“Oh well, if you must know, your cousin laid charges of rape against me” Mlu says to Zandile, Derby and Lee-Ann’s shock. And he sees how they have turned stone faced. “Oh yeah” he sighs. “She accused me of raping her. I got arrested a few days ago at JB’s house. I got out on bail the following morning. And then she went to see Simo yesterday and told him to break up with you and she’ll drop the charges against me” now he’s becoming upset.
Lee-Ann and Derby are lost for words. They don’t know what to say to all that. Zandile stands up and looks at an embarrassed Mlu, “What are you saying to me Mlu? Huh?” she cries all over again. “What are you saying to me? My son is in that bed because…” she doesn’t finish as Mlu cuts her of “Yes ma, Simo broke up with her in order to ensure I don’t get sentenced for rape, which I didn’t commit by the way” he says angrily. At that Lee-Ann stands up and tries to console Zandile but she pulls away from her. “So your family is responsible for what happened to my baby boy huh?” Zandile cries as she shouts at Lee-Ann. But Lee-Ann herself starts crying in shock, not knowing how to responds to her. Derby comes over to console her.
“Yeah well it seems my friend wasn’t thinking straight as he had to break up with you, after your cousin forced him by threatening to send Mlu to jail for a crime he didn’t commit” JB jumps in as e raises his
voice also. “So do you still think I’m overreacting?” he looks at Derby. “Didn’t you say at your folks’ party that you people aren’t the same? Huh? Guess what, it turns out that actually you guys are the same, what happened to me has now happened to my friends, didn’t it?” his voices is only getting higher. But Derby doesn’t know how to respond to all that. Neither does Lee-Ann. Once again they have become centre of attention in the waiting area as everyone has stopped to watch them.
“I think you guys should leave, right now?” Zandile intervenes as she comes closer to Lee-Ann and her sister. They can’t believe she said that Lee-Ann starts sobbing, “please Zandile” she pleads. “I had no idea what Julie did. I wasn’t part of it. Please. You know I love Simo. I didn’t mean for any this to happen. I want to be here for him, please I beg you” she starts looking at Mlu hoping he’ll back her up but he doesn’t as he stands there next to inconsolable Zandile. She’s not really expecting much from JB. She looks at Zandile again, “Please let me stay auntie. I need to be there for Simo. Please Zandile” she begs but Zandile isn’t having any of it.
“Look. After what I’ve just heard. I don’t think it’s a good idea that you stay. I don’t think that’s what my boy would want” she says and those words cut like a knife in Lee-Ann’s heart. She never thought she’d ever hear the day Zandile speaks like that. She’s always been fond of their relationship.
“I think your cousin wins,” Zandile continues. “This is what she wanted, right? To get rid of my son from your lives, well she succeeded” she lets a year. “my boy may not wake up from that bed” at those words Lee-Ann starts crying, “Oh no please don’t say something like that okay?” she cries as she turns to look towards the ward where Simo is. Derby comes over to her and tries to console her, “Shhhh…it’s okay. Let’s just go okay?” she whispers to Lee-Ann who is reluctant, “No, no, no.” she wants to pull away from Derby.
“I don’t want to leave him alone,” she whispers back with tears down her face. “He’s not alone okay?” Derby says as she pulls her sister back to her, “I think we should give them space okay. Let’s just go home and let them deal with this and let things calm down a bit and then we’ll come back, okay?” she says whispering to the inconsolable Lee-Ann while Simo’s family watches on.
At that, Lee-Ann obliges as she looks at Zandile, who looks away to avoid eye contact. She then looks at Mlu who also looks away. Then she looks at JB who stares right back at her with a furious look. But Derby then pulls her away as they walk towards the door. Zandile go back to sit down. There’s a sombre mood in the room now.
“Auntie I’m really sorry about what really happened here” Mlu says as he turns to Zandile. “I know it’s my fault that Simo lies in that bed fighting for his life and I swear I wish…” but he doesn’t finish his thought as Zandile cuts him off, “No, no, no son” she says. “It’s not your fault that this has happened. Simo knew what he was doing and I’m sure if he had to do it all over again he would, because he loves you. He loves both of you boys” as she looks at JB as well. They both nod without uttering a word.
Zandile stands up and looks towards the ward with a sad face.
***
In Lee-Ann’s car, the mood is just as sad. They are driving back home from the hospital. Derby had decided to drive, seeing how bad a state her sister is in. The last thing they want is another accident.
Lee-Ann hasn’t said much of anything since the hospital.
“Hey, do you want something to eat? Here’s a drive thru” Derby asks her sister who still has teary eyes. She doesn’t answer. “I think you need to eat something okay? It’s about 10:00 AM sis and we’ve been at the hospital since what, 06:00 AM?” she insists. But Lee-Ann continues to look through the window without responding to her sister. In her mind happy memories of her and Simo keep playing over and over. She remembers the first day Simo approached her and how she thought it was brave of him. She then remembers some of their birthdays moments where they’d give each other gifs. She then touches wrist and plays with a bracelet while reminiscing about the day Simo bought her that bracelet. She then let’s out a little smile at the thought.
She then fast forwards to the day at her parents’ anniversary party. She recalls the look on Simo's face when her parents tore into him and humiliated him in front of about 30 people. But when she recalls how she just stood there and not protect her man, a tear rolls down her cheek. She doesn’t wipe it. She’s overwhelmed by sense of regret. I could have done something she thinks to herself. When Derby noticed the tear that rolls down her sister’s face she feels bad about it. She can assume what she’s thinking about. When Derby sees another drive thru she decides to take it. There’s quite a few cars in front of them waiting to order. This gives them some time to talk, she thinks to herself.
“Hey sis, I hope you don’t mind, I need something right quick.” She says to a Lee-Ann who is still looking outside the window looking very discouraged. “Sis, listen to me Simo is going to be okay. Don’t lose hope okay? He’s going to pull through from this and you guys will be together again. You will get married and have many kids. You owe me being an aunt, you know that, right?” Derby smiles.
Lee-Ann can’t help but smile herself. And the thought of her marrying Simo does lighten her heart up and brings hope in her as she wipes her tears and looks at her sister. They are interrupted by the intercom asking for the next order. “Oh yes, can I have chicken mayo sandwich, large coffee and…” Derby says as she looks at her sister to indicate what as she wants. But Lee-Ann shakes her head. “And plain water please” Derby says. She then grabs the receipt and move along to the pickup side. There’s still a few cars in front of them towards the pick up as well.
“You know, sis, we still got to talk about Julie. Maybe not now but at some point. We can’t pretend that we don’t know what she did” Derby says. At hearing this, Lee-Ann turns her head from the window and looks at her sister as if she’s annoyed by what she just said. Derby sees that maybe the timing wasn’t the best at all.
“But it is true sis. I mean I don’t want to get into your business but you are my sister and I love you, okay. I want what’s best for you. I want to see you happy and I don’t think what Julie did was going to make you happy but it was going to make her happy and…” they are interrupted when she has to give the receipt to get the order. She receives it. “Thank you” she says and then she moves forward and finds a parking. She switches the engine of. She then gives water to Lee-Ann who immediately takes a huge sip of it, while Derby herself takes a sip of her coffee. There’s a moment of silence as Derby takes another sip of her coffee, while Lee-Ann decides to look away through the window again. This topic does annoy her a little bit, or maybe she’s just not ready to talk about it
“Oh as I was saying,” Derby says looking at Lee-Ann who turns to look at her back. “What Julie did was…” she doesn’t finish her sentence as Lee-Ann cuts her of, “And your mother” she says much to Derby’s surprise. Her sister hadn’t said a single word since leaving the hospital. This is the first time she’s uttered a word.
“It’s Julie and your mother who did this sis” Lee-Ann says. “They have been planning this for a while. They’ve never liked Simo. In fact, they hate him, for whatever twisted reasons. And for that I will never forgive them. I can never forgive them. I will never understand their reasoning. Simo is in hospital fighting for his life because of them” she’s now upset all over again. But Derby is just happy that her sister is letting it out of her system so that at least when she gets home things don’t get out of hand. So she decides to not interrupt her but allow her to say aa much as she could. At this time of day there isn’t much people in the restaurants and Derby picked perfect parking spot.
“Sis, I just don’t know if I have the strength or will to see my parents right now. So can we just drive around just a little bit, okay? At least until I’m calm?” Lee-Ann pleads with her sister, who can only oblige to that. It’s the least she can do for Lee-Ann right now.
So they drive around a little bit but eventually they get home around noon. As they get of the car walking towards the door there’s tension building from both sisters. None of them are looking forward to a possible drama in the house. Derby goes in first and her parents are in the lounge room, clearly waiting on them. They have a face of relief about them. Derby goes in and walks towards them without saying anything or even smiling. But Lee-Ann comes in and goes straight upstairs without even greeting her folks. Morgan and Debra look disappointed at that as they look at Derby waiting for her to explain what is that all about.
“Well I hope you are happy, mom and dad. You should be proud of yourselves right about now okay” Derby says without even letting a smile as she goes to sit down but far from them. Morgan and Debra look surprised and confused about what their daughter is saying, especially Morgan. He looks upstairs hoping Lee-Ann will come down but she doesn’t.
“What are you talking about sweetheart?” Morgan asks in confusion. But before Derby could say anything they are interrupted by Julie who comes through the door, “Hey good day everyone” she shouts joyously, much to Derby’s annoyance. Julie comes and hugs Morgan and Debra but before she could even come close to her, Derby moves from her, clearly irritated. “Well as I was saying you should be proud yourselves” Derby says. “Because of all you Simo is in hospital fighting for his life. Because of your racist nonsense he might not even make it. Are you happy now?” she raises her voice a little higher as she turns to Julie, who pleads ignorance to what she’s saying.
“Cousin, are you happy about what you did to my sister and to Simo?” she shouts even more much to get parents' shock and confusion. “Darling, what are you talking about? What happened to Simo and how does that involve your cousin?” Morgan genuinely asks. But he’s interrupted by Lee-Ann coming down the stairs. She is carrying a bag.
Julie then approaches her attempting to hug her, “Hey cuz, Derby just told me about Simo, how is he?” she asks. But she wasn’t ready for what followed as Lee-Ann slaps her do hard that she bumps her head against the wall. “I will never forgive you for this. Never” Lee-Ann says pointing a finger at her cousin as she walks straight for the door without even looking at her parents. But Derby then runs after her before she could open the door. She holds her hand. Lee-Ann turns around and hugs her as they both let out a tear. “Don’t worry I get it okay? Go do what you have to do?” Derby whispers to her big sister who responds by making the hug tighter, “I will call you okay?” Lee-Ann says. After a moment they break the hug.
All the while Morgan and Debra are standing far, lost for words. Julie is still standing by the stairs holding her cheek. But as Lee-Ann turns around to open the door, Debra calls out, “Sweetheart, can we at least talk about this? Please baby” she starts sobbing. But Lee-Ann doesn’t look back. She opens the door and leaves, closing the door behind her.
Derby, in anger comes back and charges towards her parents and cousin who has come back to sit down next to them. “You three, should be ashamed of yourselves” she says angrily. “And let me let you know that if anything happens to my sister I will never forgive you for it. You are selfish human beings who think life revolves around only your happiness and choices. And…” but Morgan interrupts her, “Darling, what is going on? What are you talking about?” he asks as he looks at Debra and Julie who look away and avoid eye contact. This seems to annoy Derby, “Ask your niece?” she points at Julie as she storms out of the lounge and climb stairs to her room and slams the door, leaving the three perplexed.
“Julie, darling, will you explain what was all that about? Why are they saying you are responsible for that man being in the hospital?” Morgan asks with a concerned voice. But as Julie attempts to go to the kitchen to get some water, she becomes dizzy and almost collapses to the ground. But she leans on the table chair.
“Sweetheart are you okay?” Morgan shouts as he rushes to help his niece up and brings her back to sit down while Debra gets water and gives it to her to drink. “What happened darling? Are you feeling okay? Should we call a doctor?” Debra asks with a worried voice. But Julie drinks the water and put it half way the glass. “Oh no aunt Debra, there’s no need for that okay. I’m perfectly fine. It was just a slight dizziness that’s all” she says trying to allay fears. She then quickly stands up and picks her bag, “Look guys I’ve got to go okay? There’s somewhere I need to be alright? But I will come check on you
next week” she says without waiting for Morgan and Debra to respond as she heads towards the door, leaving the old folks confused.
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