Family Afterall

"Oh honey, I actually forgot to asks how it went with your father the other day. I'm sorry I couldn't come with you, the girls' teacher insisted I attend the parent's meeting. I'm only reminded now because I have a meeting with Thulani today." Ayanda says as she gets dressed in front of the dressing table. This is few days after Thamsanqa had gone to see his father and ended up having drinks with the seductive Jessica and came back home late. He has tried to ignore any thoughts about that night ever since.
"Arg, nothing much baby. I just wanted to check up on dad you know, especially how the family dinner turned out." Thamsanqa says as he clears his throat. He looks a little nervous as his mind takes him back to his father's lounge, in the couch where the sexy Jessica sat so close to him. He can still smell her perfume and the visuals of her exposed thighs the color of her lip dress are passing through his brain. 'Damnit, that woman is so attractive...' he thinks to himself as he remembers how seductive her eyes were.
He snaps out of it when his wife asks, "So? How did it go? What did your father say? You know, you came very late and kinda drunk a little. Who else was there?"
Thamsanqa thinks for a second because this question catches him off-guard. He has to think very carefully about what he says next because it can go either way. 'Jesus...what do I say?' he thinks to himself as he does everything to avoid eye contact. 'Do I tell her that Jessica was there? Will she not make a big deal out of that?'
"No, it was just me and dad..." he says with a low voice and immediately he feels a stab of guilt in his heart knowing that he has just lied to his wife. "Yeah I know I came late baby but you know, the old man didn't want me to leave. He actually wanted me to sleep over but you weren't with me so ia couldn't. I suppose he missed me."
"Did he forget that it was a Monday and that you had a wife to go to?" Ayanda says as she puts on her earing while looking at herself in the mirror. "Arg, he is old baby. Like I said...I think he was just happy to see me." Thamsanqa says as he finally gathers courage to look at his wife through the dressing mirror. "Well, Prince might not like that...you bonding with the old man in his old age." Ayanda says with a smile. "Arg, that one will be alright but I really don't think he sees it as a competition baby." Thamsanqa says nervously.
Part of him is a little relieved that his wife didn't probe much on it.
"So, meeting? Why is Thulani having a meeting with you?" he asks as he attempts to change the subject. "I don't know honey, I guess we will find out soon enough." Ayanda says as she shrugs her shoulders. "You didn't ask why he wanted to meet you? Doesn't this meeting have an agenda?" Thamsanqa asks curiously.
"Oh come on baby, don't be dramatic about it alright? I suppose the agenda will drafted this morning before the meeting but I doubt we actually need one." Ayanda says as she comes to sit next to her husband. "No baby, but that sounds like an ambush. Maybe he wants to talk about the stolen monies?" Thamsanqa says as he shrugs his shoulders. "Well then, I guess there's nothing to worry about...what did your father say? Did you ask him about that?" Ayanda probes.
"Yeah I did but he said I must leave that to Thulani..." Thamsanqa says as he shrugs again. "But uhmm...is there anything that uhmm..." he is trying to look for words. "I mean, uhmm...is there anything that will make Thulani wanna know about the stolen money? I mean, anything to worry about?"
"What? Did you just asked me if...are you are asking me if I may know about the missing money?" a shocked Ayanda says she becomes wide-eyed. "No honey I meant that..." Thamsanqa says but Ayanda cuts in, "How can you even think of me in that way Dladla, huh? You think I'd steal from the family...you actually think that? How dare you. Why would I still from the family when I have everything I need because of this family? Unbelievable, Dladla...unbelievable."
She then stands up and walks out of the bedroom leaving her husband sitting on the couch not knowing what to do.
***

Somewhere else, Zoleka has come to see her troublesome little brother at his house. He has been on leave since seeing a doctor a few days ago. He still has the arm sling and hsi hand is still bondaged.
"Wow, this is a serious treat, so early on a Friday morning?" he says as he opens the door for his sister who immediately shouts, "Oh my God, what happened to your arm and your hand?" as she comes in. "Hello to you too Zee, what are you doing here?" Prince asks with an attitude as he leads her to the lounge.
"Well, you weren't answering my calls and my texts, so I went to your office but they said you haven't been to work since last Friday. What happened to you? Oh God please tell me you weren't in a fight at the club over some girl Prince." Zoleka says with a worried voice as she comes to sit down on the couch. "What difference would it make if that was actually the case, huh?" Prince responds as he comes to sit next to her. "Oh Prince come on man, are you seriously going to let these whores ruin your life like this?" a concerned looking Zoleka says with a begging voice.
"Look who is talking..." Prince says as he moves to the side table. "Drink?" he asks as he pours a double whiskey on two glasses with his one working arm. "Are you serious? It's like 09:30 Prince..." Zoleka says as she shakes her head in disbelief. "Well it's actually 09:48. Come on, I know you are thirsty as hell okay?" Prince says with a smile as he comes over to sit next to his sister and gives her the glass. Zoleka reluctantly takes it and shakes her head with a smile that her brother returns.
"Look, it wasn't a fight at the club over some girl, alright? It was actually an argument with Lerato on Sunday evening. It didn't end well, so when she'd left I had a few drinks and uhmm...I injured myself pretty bad." Prince says as he takes a sip.
"What was the argument about?" Zoleka asks as she takes a sip. "What else? What else to drive me crazy but this family?" Prince says as he takes another sip but his sister quickly cuts in, "So are you saying to me that if you and I also argue about our family you will drink and end up breaking your leg? Are you kidding me Prince?" Zoleka says as she raises her voice a little bit. "Pretty much yeah..." Prince says as he finishes off whatever was left on his glass. "You know what, this has got to stop alright? I'm serious..." Zoleka says with a disappointed face.
"Oh come on, give me a break alright? I already had this conversation with Lerato, alright?" Prince says as he also raises his voice but once again Zoleka cuts in, "No, no, no...you give us a break." she shouts. "We need a break from you alright? Why are you so angry and ungrateful Prince, huh? What has dad done to you that was wrong? Last Sunday you stormed out of the house, leaving him devastated. Have you gone back to see him and check if he is alright?"
Prince doesn't know how to respond to that but his sister continues, "You are so selfish you know that?" she says. "You make everything to be about you and what you are going through...what about the rest of us, huh? You don't think we have issues of our own? But have you ever seen taking it all on dad, who is 80 years old by the way. Would it be so hard for you to be so nice to him? Why do you insist on rejecting this family's love? Mom and Dad's love? Your brother and your sisters' love? What wrong did we do to you?"
"Alright, alright, alright....you have made your point okay?" Prince says with a sigh which suddenly leads to a very sombre mood as Zoleka looks so emotional.
"Look, uhmm...what did you want to see me about?" he says with a low voice as though he is embarrassed but Zoleka shakes her head in disbelief. "What? Oh come on, give me a break alright?" Prince says as he goes back to the side table and pours himself another drink. He needs to calm himself down.
"Look sis, I'm really sorry for my behavior lately..." he says with a sigh as he comes back to sit down. "What's wrong little brother? Something bothering you?" Zoleka asks with a low voice and a concerned face but when she doesn't get a response she says, "Look, I'm here if you need to talk alright? We are all here...we are your family and we love you very much. Nothing can ever change that."
When she sees her little brother smiles she says, "Alright enough with that, I actually came here to say I think we should throw a party for dad. His 80th birthday is coming soon so I was thinking that we can come together and plan something. So what do you think?" She seems excited at the thought of this very idea.
"What are the others saying?" Prince asks as he seems to think about it for a second. "Oh no, I have only spoken to you about it...I will talk to others there after." Zoleka says as she takes a sip. "Oh wow, I feel really special." Prince says as he takes a sip. "Oh don't be silly alright? Ofcourse I'd have come to you first, always." Zoleka smiles and shakes her head. "Yeah well, that's cool by me...I think it will actually be nice to do something for dad. But it's just gonna be us only, right?"
"Oh come on bro, we can't organize dad's birthday party and not expect him to invite his associates, Thulani and Jessica..." Zoleka says as she takes another sip. Prince thinks for a second, "Alright then..." he says as he finishes off his drink. "Okay great, so can I ask Thami and Lira to come over here for dinner this afternoon? I will help you cook, if you don't have one of those girls already upstairs...hahaha."
"This evening? Oh come on Zee, you are killing me alright?" Prince says as he seems a little troubled. "I mean, me and Lerato ain't vibing right now okay and I doubt she wants to see me as well. Can't it be another day?"
"Leave Lerato to me okay? Besides, that will give you two a moment to reconcile...we are family." Zoleka says. "Now that's settled. when last did you change that bondage?"
"Uhmm...nah I haven't changed it since I put it on Sunday..." Prince says as he looks at his hand. "What? Are you crazy? You know that can be infected right?" Zoleka shouts in disbelief. "Come, let me clean that up and redress it. Where do you keep first aid kit?" She goes to the other room to look for it.
***

Later on in the evening Prince reluctantly hosts his siblings for dinner in order to discuss the excited Zoleka's idea. Everyone is here including Thamsanqa's wife Ayanda.
"So Prince, who cooked? One of your girls? It smells really delicious, I can't wait. I mean, because we know that you can't cook, hahaha. And your house is really clean, you really are putting them to work, aren't you? Hahaha..." Ayanda jokes as they all sit in the big lounge. "You've got jokes Ayanda, aren't you?" Prince says as he takes a sips his juice. "No actually, Zoleka helped out a little, but I did most of the work."
"Helped out a little, huh? Really? And you did most of the work? With what? One arm? Oh please, hahaha..." Zoleka says as she bursts out laughing. "What happened to your hand anyways? Bar fight? And what with you and the juice? That's a new one, hahaha." Thamsanqa joins in on the teasing. "You know what, I didn't invite you guys over so that you'll interrogate me okay? So please be nice...oh and yeah I'm actually planning on having lots of wine during dinner okay? So please don't get to excited, hahaha." Prince hit back as she also laughs loud.
"So really, what happened to your arm and hand?" Lerato asks with a rather serious tone and a straight face. She and Prince haven't spoken since last Sunday when they had a sharp argument, so things are a little bit awkward between the two. Prince smiles a little because he's happy that atleast his sister is talking to him.
"Arg, don't worry about it, it's nothing really." he says as he looks at his hand and the arm that's resting on the sling. "What do you mean it's nothing? Clearly you were seriously injured, what happened?" Ayanda probes but Prince quickly jumps in, "I said nothing Ayanda, alright? Now rest it..." he says as he looks a little irritated. "Okay, okay, okay everyone...I'm actually the one who called up here." Zoleka says as she intervenes before things turn tense. "I wanted us to discuss some family issue and then we can have nice dinner afterwards."
"Is there something wrong?" Thamsanqa asks curiously. "Hawu, must there be something everytime we discuss family matters?" Zoleka says as she throws hands and shakes her head. "That's always been the experience..." Prince says as he shrugs his shoulders. "Oh shut up wena(you) because you know why we are here." Zoleka says. "Look you guys, dad's birthday is coming up soon and I was thinking that maybe we can do something for him. I mean, after mom's passing this will be the first one without her."
"Yeah I think you are right, it's actually a good idea. Dad will be celebrating his birthday for the first time without mom and I'm sure that won't be easy." Lerato says as she looks at Thamsanqa who thinks for a second and then says, "Yeah it is a good idea...dad would sure appreciate it. So, it's just gonna be us?"
"Uhmm...I don't think that's easy as that." Zoleka says as she looks at Prince who adds, "Yeah I mean, dad has friends and we can't deny him that wish to invite whoever he wants. Ofcourse if he doesn't want to invite anyone else, good...but I'm sure he'd wanna have Thulani, Jessica and Luzuko over."
"Oh geez, not again..." the visibly annoyed Thamsanqa says as he shakes his head. "I mean, can't we just tell dad that we wanna celebrate this one just as a family?" He looks at Lerato who says, "Yeah but usually it's the birthday boy or girl who decides who should be at their birthday parties bro, come on. We can't decide for dad. What we can hope for is him just wanting this to be a family thing, but I can't see him not wanting to invite Thulani or Jessica or Luzuko. We have to let him have his wish...it's his birthday."
Thamsanqa thinks for a second but it's clear that he is not excited about this idea.
"Alright then, let dad have his wish. So are we doing this at the Dladla mansion?" he says. "Yeah I think, it only makes sense that we do it there...I mean, he is 80 years old." Zoleka says as she shrugs. "Maybe we should take the old man for bungee jumping, hahaha..." Prince says as he bursts out laughing. "Oh come on wena(you), you wanna kill dad through a heart attack? Hahaha..." Zoleka jokes laughs back. "I'm just saying guys...hahaha. I mean, dad needs to have some fun before, you..." Prince says.
"Yeah it's true that dad needs some fun to take his mind off things but let's park that for now alright? So what budget are we working on guys?" Thamsanqa asks. "Well, we don't know who he'd like to have come, so can't we find out first?" Lerato says as she looks at Zoleka who says, "Yeah sure I think I can pass by dad's later or tomorrow morning."
"We only have a few days guys because his birthday is what, Wednesday?" Thamsanqa says. "Yeah and it's actually a holiday which is perfect." Ayanda says as she shrugs. "Alright then, let's do it." Lerato adds. "Okay it's settled then..." Zoleka says with such excitement on her face. "Now who is hungry, because I know I am? Lira, Ayanda can you please help me in the kitchen please?"
The three ladies quickly go to the kitchen, leaving Prince and Thamsanqa enjoying some brother to brother moment in the lounge.
***

Somewhere else, Richard is having drinks at some lounge bar with his associate Abs.
"So my friend, this woman is really giving you the run around huh?" Abs says as he takes a sip. "You mean Lerato? Oh come on man, she is not giving me a run around alright? I told you that I'm not rushing her." Richard says as he also takes a sip. "Oh yes, she is giving you a run around...she is stringing you along." Abs smiles. "Dude, will be stop with that? She is not stringing me along okay? I'm just being understanding of her situation right now. I told you that I'm gonna have to play a long game."
"Well, as long as you haven't forgotten the objective...have you?" Abs asks with a raised eyebrow. "Come bro, ofcourse I haven't..." the visibly irritated Richard says. "Your problem is that you think this is the zama zamas where everything moves fast and sloppy. This is the big leagues okay? Patience is key."
"Patience is what I don't have my friend alright? I told you that I want to expand my empire...I'm going to construction. I'm a hustler baby, sitting in boardrooms is just not my thing alright? I want where the action is."
"Zama zamas and now construction mafias? Man, what's wrong with you? Why do you always want to live so dangerously?" Richard says as he shakes his head. "I told you, I'm natural born hustler. I want that quick money and your girlfriend will help me get it." Abs says with a smirk on his face. "Look man, I told you that Lerato is into mining alright?" Richard says with a sigh. "Her sister Zoleka is the one in the construction but she's just a COO in that company, she doesn't make all the decisions."
"Look, I don't care about that about that Dladla company okay? Atleast not for now anyways. I know that Raymond is a powerful man and he's got connections, so I want to work my way up to the top. I know that Cold Stone works with many construction companies as sub contractors, that's my way in."
"So, what are you saying?" Richard asks curiously. "I'm saying, I want to control the companies sub-contracted by Cold Stone, that's how I get my cheese." Abs says as his face changes to being a little serious. "How are you gonna do that exactly?" Richard probes. Abs thinks for a second and says, "Don't worry about that alright? Just get me the list of all companies that work with Cold Stone."
"Uhmm...are we stepping into something illegal here Abs?" Richard asks with a rather worried voice. "Don't worry about it man...just get me the list." Abs says with a straight. "Okay now enough about business for now alright? Let's enjoy some drinks." he calls on the waiter who comes quickly to take their order.