Chapter 3

“HIS BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF ART”
CHAPTER : 03 .

RORISANG MARTINS .

I place my plate in the dishwasher and walk upstairs , I can't let my baby boy be angry for long . That doesn't sit well with me as a mother hence we always have to talk and iron some things . I knock on his door ..

“come in” he says .. his voice is so down , I can feel the sadness in it . I walk in and close the door thereafter ..
“hey ..” I say smiling a bit .
“hello” he says .
“am i allowed to sit ?” I ask because there's a mess everywhere , he does clean up after himself but after what feels like forever .
“hmm”

I sit down besides him and he takes off his headphones and sits up straight .

“yes mother ?”
“i know you're upset and it gets worse because he hasn't been in your life for long ” I say .
“he's in my life but i don't notice him because he never gives me or my sister his free time . He doesn't even care to buy us simple school shoes , you do everything for us and i just feel bad” he heaves a sigh .
“i understand” I respond .
“do you know how hurting it is to watch our friends brag about their fathers ? While we know our father is a sad excuse of a man ? ”
“i know it hurts , i understand how you feel . I'm angry at myself because i fell for him back in high school but there's one thing i don't regret , its you and your sister”

I sigh heavily and hold both his hands .

“you're the only ones who matter in my life and i don't want anything bad to happen to you . Siyabonga may not want any relationship with you guys but i do , you're the reason i live .. i don't know if I'd ever survive without knowing you're fine . (sighs) im actually glad that you speak your mind , you don't bottle anything up inside hence im here to talk to you . Its okay if he doesn't want you guys , I'm here and I'll take care of you till the casket drops . ” I say kissing both his hands and he makes a face .
“you're gonna have to stop doing that , I'm not a little boy anymore mom”
“mxm , you'll always be my baby boy . I won't stop kissing your hands even when you get a girlfriend” I say laughing .

He shakes his head and looks away .

“i won't ever have a girlfriend” I raise my eyebrow .
“and why is that ?” I ask .
“what if i hurt her just like how Siyabonga hurt you when he left ?”

I sigh .

“you're not him , you'll never be him . I'm gonna need you to stop being negative because that's not gonna happen”
“okay ..”
“i love you , I'm sorry that you feel this way too” I say kissing his forehead .
“i love you too mom” he responds as my heart melts .
“and your room is a mess too” I say standing up and picking the clothes up from the floor .
“i was gonna pick them up , i was looking for my green cargo pants” he says .
“okay , chaos ..” I say walking to the door .
“love you mom” he says .
“love you more baby”

I walk out and go to my office , I sit down and grab a bottle of water from the mini fridge , I gulp it down opening my laptop and glancing at Jane's email , Jane is my personal assistant . I dial her number .. I'm actually hiring right now , I need an accountant in my company and I'm in the search of that .

“Boss ..” she says .
“how is it going ?”
“uhm , its not going well . These people are not experinced enough to actually manage a huge company like yours , especially when it comes to finances .” she says and I sigh .
“yoh ..” I say defeated .
“there's this other one , I'm looking at his CV right now , he's the only one that makes sense to be honest ” she says .
“a man ? who is he ?”
“someone by the name , Lwandile Hlongwane . He has just graduated as an official chattered accountant .”

The name .. the name .. wait ..
wait a minute .. Lwandile ? no but ..
the piano guy ? the singer ? but names
are the same , it can't be him right ?

“oh ..” I say speechless , what if it's him though ?
“he's 29 and he lives in Soweto .” shucks ! is it him though ? but it cant be ..
“call him for an interview , I'm available first thing tomorrow morning .” I say .
“as you requested .”
“bye .” I hang up and place the phone down , what's the big deal ? even if it's him , why am I worried ?
—
—
LWANDILE HLONGWANE .

“what are you doing ?” she says as I jump and turn around , I frown .
“don't you know how to knock ? ” i say hiding the painting quickly .

She folds her arms and laughs , oh my younger sister is such a fool I swear .

“you're painting a girl ?” she says smiling widely .
“what girl ?”
“you're drawing a woman Lwandile ! i saw that !” I frown , this fool .
“i don't know what you're talking about , I'm just painting .. it's not a big deal” i say standing up .
“who is she ? is she that special that you're painting her ?” she says stepping closer .
“girl .. step away , i wasn't painting anyone . That's just a random painting , nothing much ” I say .
“oh my my ..” she smiles and begins laughing .
“what are you laughing at ?”
“are you maybe inlove with someone ?”

I shake my head , really now ?

“I'm not inlove with anyone Thando .” I say .
“okay .. ”

I reach out for my phone under the pillow and immediately turn because she just grabbed the painting .

“I'll fuck you up Thandolwethu , bring that here !” I say half shouting .

She uncovers the painting and gasps .. I'm gonna kill this girl .

“I'm gonna kill you”
“who is this gorgeous beauty ?” she says glancing at the painting . I sigh lightly .. why am I even painting her .
“it's no one”
“who is she ? i don't recognize her .. please tell me” she says pleading and I shake my head .
“its no one , cover my painting and place it besides the piano please . I'm not in the mood to be interrogated by you . ”

I say walking out and heading to the kitchen where my mother is chopping the vegetables .

“what are you two arguing about now ?” she says chuckling as I sigh and stand by the fridge .
“your daughter is annoying ”

She comes out of my bedroom laughing and exclaiming shit .

“mommy , do you know that your son , Mr Lwandile Hlongwane is painting a woman's face in there ?”
“a woman's face ? ” she says fixing her glasses and glancing at me .
“that's a random woman's face , i just thought of drawing the face . Nothing more ..” I say avoiding her eyes .
“he's lying ! you know how he is when he's lying” she says as I close my eyes , this girl is brainless .
“what are you talking about ?” I say glancing at her .
“who is she ?” oh there it goes .
“who is who ? mother come on .”
“my daughter inlaw” eh , sizani .
“you don't have a daughter inlaw ..”
“Lwandile ..”

I sigh and glance at Thandolwethu , I'll strangle her because she's the reason this is happening .

“okay okay .. she's not my girlfriend , she's not my anything . We've met once at church and that's it” my mother chuckles .
“that's it ? why are you painting her then ?”

How do I tell you ? I'm painting her because her face is gorgeous . Her face is perfectly beautiful , but I can't tell you that , obviously .

“just .. i wanted to see if i can nail her face type” i lied.
“oh ?”
“can you just leave me alone ? I don't really know why you're interrogating me .” I'm in a tight position here .
“we'll talk about this , we're not done . Thandolwethu go and buy bread from the tuckshop . ”
“Alright” she takes the 20 bucks and walks out ..

I sigh and fold my arms .

“are you inlove with her ?” what ? no I'm not .
“I've only seen her once , I'm not inlove with her”
“what's her name ?”
“Rorisang ..”
“gorgeous name , the owner must be beautiful too.”

You have no idea ..

“she is ..”
“hmm , hopefully .. she has the manners .”
“but i think she's older than me”
“meaning ?”
“she has two children , 15 and 12 .” she stifles a laugh .
“oh my my , she might be in her late thirties” I sigh .
“and I'm 29 .”
“age is just a number , you know that right ?”

I nod .

“lets stop discussing her now , her ear must be twitching”
“yeah .. Thandolwethu's school called”
“and ?”
“they're giving us till the end of the month to pay the tuition fees or she'll get expelled ”

I sigh , what do I do ..

“I'm still trying to make ends meet , i applied for a job at this company in Rosebank . Still waiting for their response ”
“I'm just worried that she's gonna end up sitting here at home doing nothing while she has this much potential”
“I'll make sure she doesn't get expelled . Even if it means taking a loan”
“i hope i get customers to buy these clothes , we need the money ”

I nod , we don't struggle but .. we struggle , you know what I mean ? A job could fix all our problems right now . I don't want to overwork my mother whereas I have a degree in finance , I adore singing and painting .. I'm talented in many ways , even the one you're thinking of . (winks)