Chapter 18: Mending
Few weeks have passed since Buhle moved out of Tendai's house and moved in at a temporary apartment. She is loving it here since her daughter, Naledi comes to visit. This is the arrangement she has with Sbu, that Naledi stays with him because it would be unfair to take the child away from everything she is familiar with. The plan is that she goes to be with mommy anytime she wants to if Buhle is free. Sbu, who can now walk with assistance of a walking stick hired a helper in the house to assist with things he and Naledi need since it doesn't look like Grace wants to be part of that.As for Buhle, it seems that she is back in the same dilemma she was when she first started cheating with Tendai where he'd miss and want to be with him every day. Since that night at Tendai's house where they made love after backing together, she really hasn't stopped thinking about him. She knows it's wrong but Tendai makes her feel something she never has with Sbu. Part of her wants her family back, she wishes Katlego's baby can just die and maybe anger she has against her husband would subside. She loves Sbu with all her heart but she just can't look passed the fact that he impregnated her best friend, that's just too much for her. Now she's struggling to choose between the two men.
After finding out that Lindiwe, her best friend knew about Sbu's affair with another best friend of hers, Katlego she just lost complete faith in friendships. She has completely cut her friends off from her life. She hasn't spoken to any of them since the day she found about the affair.
Today, unexpectedly, she has a visitor she reluctantly let in, Lerato. She just became curious about how she found out where she lived. Seeing her brings really bad memories for her because even though she knows that Lerato didn't do anything wrong, she just can't trust anyone right now. She has just lost hope in friendships. The apartment she is renting is really beautiful and it's in an up market area, very secure. It is a two-bedroom apartment with a huge kitchen and a lounge area. It's not like Buhle will spend a lot of time cooking since she stays here alone apart from times when Naledi is here but she does enjoy home cooked meal from time to time.
"Thank you for letting me in" Lerato says as she comes to sit down on this beautiful and big brown leather couch. She looks very nervous and unsure of what to expect from her friend or used-to be friend. She has vivid memories of how they were chased out of her house the last time.
"Uhmm, I asked for your address from your husband...uhmm, I mean from Sbu" Lerato says nervously. She wasn't sure if calling Sbu husband would trigger her or not, or if there are still even marred. "After I couldn't find you at the hospital, I went to ask Sbu for your new place" as she tries to avoid eye contact with a friend who seems very annoyed at seeing her here. "How is he?" Buhle asks as if she doesn't care about it. This brings a little bit of an awkward silence in the room but Buhle is waiting for a response. "Uhmm not good" Lerato says with a low voice. "It looks like he's given up on life. Even though he can now walk around with a cane, he sits on the wheelchair most of the time. He has lost lot of weight, maybe you should go see him" as she nervously tries to restore eye contact.
"See him?" Buhle says as she raises an eyebrow. "Why should I? Shouldn't his girlfriend do that?" she is beginning to get upset. "Shouldn't Katlego go and check how the father of her child is doing?
Because..." she doesn't finish as Lerato cuts her off, "Oh no, we are not even sure that the baby is Sbu's" she says, much to Buhle's puzzlement,
"What do you mean?" she asks curiously as she didn't expect that. But Lerato gives a huge and looks up the ceiling before saying "Uhmm, it could happen that the baby is not Sbu's but someone else" At hearing this, Buhle is not sure how to feel about it all this. She's even struggling which facial expression to wear. "Who else could be the father?" she asks as she seems to pay attention. "Jabu, Sbu's friend could be the father also" Lerato says with a very low voice. "But why didn't Katlego say that from the beginning?" Buhle raises her voice to which Lerato gives her a look as if to say, Hello do you remember how we left your house? but she decides to keep quiet.
"So when are they going to find out who the father is?" Buhle once again asks with curiosity. "Look, I don't know okay? The last time I checked Katli was going to leave the City for good and never come back. I haven't spoken to her since that afternoon at your place and I haven't spoken to Lindiwe as well" Lerato says as she shrugs her shoulders.
"Look Buhle," she continues "That is not why I'm here okay? I'm not here to talk about Katlego" as she makes eye contact. "But I'm here to talk about you and I" she then moves to sit next Buhle who doesn't move but also make eye contact. "Look, I miss you okay and I really had nothing to do with this thing of Katli and Sbu. And I understand that you are upset, angry even, but I swear I had nothing to do with this" as she reaches for Buhle's hands who looks at that and pulls away before saying, "Look, I know, alright? I know you had nothing to do with it, it's just that when I found out that Lindiwe also knew about this it really hurt me, a lot'' as she pulls away from eye contact.
"I felt betrayed, I feel betrayed" she continues. "This made me question friendship. I mean, I'm not saying that people don't make mistake, they do. I mean I make mistakes myself, but not that Lerato, not that" as her eyes are beginning to be a little teary. "You don't sleep with your best friend's husband to a point of getting pregnant. And you don't keep something like that from your so called best friend, you just don't Lerato" now tears begin to fall from her cheeks. Lerato at this time doesn't really know how to react to this from her friend who is clearly in pain. "I'm really sorry my friend, I really am" is all she can say as she looks at her friend in the eye. Buhle looks at her and nods as she wipes her tears.
"How is Lindiwe?" she asks as she looks away. "Uhmm, I haven't spoken to her since that day as well, so..." Lerato says with a low voice. "But I know that she loves you Buhle. What did she is inexcusable, no doubt about it. So you have every right to be mad at her. But Buhle, she didn't have affair with your husband. She actually ended her friendship with Katlego because of what this did to you and her. I am not trying to tell you what to do but I'm just saying that, whatever you decide just know that Lindiwe really loves you very much" as she stands up to heads towards the door, to which Buhle follows. They stand by the door as Lerato turns around to look at her friend with sad eyes.
"I'm really sorry for everything my friend" she says, "Please know that I will always love you" as she turns around and walks out, leaving Buhle standing there with her eyes beginning to be teary once again. She wants to stop her but she doesn't as Lerato gets into the elevator.
***
In another place, at Bheki's house things haven't really been rosy as well as the couple doesn't seem to get along very well. These days they hardly ever sleep in the same bed, either because Bheki is
always away or Lindiwe sleep at her Hotel. But there's a big chance that they are both using that as an excuse to not be together. Truth of the matter is that things have been cold in this marriage for a very long time. So Lindiwe has told her husband that she'd like to talk to him about something very urgent. Even though he was uneasy about it Bheki reluctantly agreed to it.
"So, what's going on?" Bheki asks curiously. "This seems very serious. What's this about?" as he sits in the couch opposite the one Lindiwe is sitting on. He can read Lindiwe's eyes that something may not be okay and that makes him anxious a little bit.
"Look, after a very long consideration I have decided that there's nothing else to fight for in this marriage. I want a divorce Bheki" Lindiwe says, much to Bheki's shock as he almost falls off the couch. "What?" he asks but Lindiwe doesn't respond but is still looking at him in the eyes. So Bheki moves from his couch to come and sit next to his wife. "But Lindi, Uhmm why do you want a divorce, why now?" he asks as he looks like he’s lost for words. "Come on Bheki, you know why I want a divorce and it's not sudden. We were just avoiding and delaying the inevitable" Lindiwe says as he fixes her eyes on Bheki. "Well you should be happy because now you'll be free to be with your girlfriend"
This statement catches Bheki off guard as he looks u as if he's trying to figure out what his wife is talking about. "Oh please don't treat me like I'm stupid Bheki" Lindiwe says as she appears annoyed by that. "You know exactly who I'm talking about, right?" she says showing no emotion.
"Uhmm...Lindi my love, I don't know what..." Bheki protests but is cut off by his wife, "Oh come damnit" she shouts. "Think I don't know about your model girlfriend? Well I do. Now you are free to be with her instead of sneaking into hotel rooms" as she looks away, to which Bheki doesn't seem to have answer to. That is followed by awkward silence as both of them think about what to say next. "Look, yes baby I had a little fling with that girl after I found out about you and that journalist and..." Bheki says but doesn't finish as Lindiwe quickly cuts him off, "Oh so, I am the reason you had an affair, right? So that shall always be your excuse now?" she says as she looks really upset over that.
"But Lindi is true okay?" Bheki says as he also raises his voice. "Look, what did you want me to do? So yes, I was devastated and I met this girl who made me forget about my marriage issues. But it's over now Okay? I don't want a divorce. I love you and i will always love you, okay? So please don't do this Lindi" he begs his wife who gets away from him and moves to the other couch.
"Look I have made up my mind on this so please just forget about trying to change my mind" she says looking away. "You will be hearing from my attorney soon and I'd really like to finalize this as soon as possible so please don't fight on this" as she takes her bag and walks towards the door. "Where are you going?" Bheki asks as Lindiwe stops and turns around. "I'm going to the Hotel" she says as she walks out the door.
***
Somewhere else, Jabu has come to have man to man talk with Sbu after he asked to see him. They hadn't spoken to each since the day Sbu told them about Katlego. Things have been very awkward between the, both men not knowing to approach this predicament they find themselves in. But what is better than sitting down and talking about issues, Sbu thought of this situation.
"How are you feeling? Your leg?" Jabu asks as he avoids eye contact since he can sense the awkwardness in the room. "Uhmm, I'm getting better" Sbu says with a half-smile. "I can walk now, with a cane most times but it gets easier every day. But the wheelchair just makes it easier for me to move around the house faster" as he looks the wheelchair he's seating on. "But don't you think you should put that thing away and just try and use only the cane, so that you can get used to walking?" Jabu asks with a low voice. "Yeah but what's the use man?" Sbu says. "It's not like I'm rushing anywhere. My wife left me and my daughter recently went to live with her. So there's not much to fight for" as his voice changes to being a little sad
"Yeah I'm sorry about that man, I really am" Jabu says as he tries to make eye contact. "No man, there's nothing to be sorry about, I got myself into this. I deserve it." Sbu says with a sad face. This brings a little bit of a awkward moment in the room.
"But look man, I called you here so that we can talk man to man about the dilemma we are both finding ourselves in." Sbu says looking at his friend in the eyes. "We haven't really spoken about this in detail since that day we both found that we could father a child. I really hate what it did to our friendship. I hate the awkwardness between us. I also apologies for not telling you and Tsepo about Katlego, maybe if I had, this could have been avoided. But now we are here. I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you have anything you'd like to say on this matter, feel free to say it. Whatever it is I'll accept it" as he tries to reassure his friend who looks away for a second.
"Uhmm, look man," Jabu says with allow voice. "This has obviously been a very difficult time for both of us. I also don't like how it has really messed up our friendship" as he looks at his friend in the eyes to read his reaction but Sbu just keeps quiet without showing any emotion.
"Do I wish this baby was mine? Yes of course I do" Jabu continues, "But that really doesn't depend on me, does it? And I know and am aware that the baby could be yours as well. I just hope that whatever outcome is, it won't ruin our friendship. You and I come a very long way, so to have something like this come between us is very hurting. But at the moment the best we can do is wait for the DNA testing and results and then we can take it from there. Will that be okay with you?" as he keeps eye contact. "Yeah man that sounds like a plan" Sbu says with a low voice. "I really regret what I did bro, i really do. I wish I could turn the hands of time where I was fully committed to my wife and not allowing temptations to get the better of me" his voice now starts to sound sad.
"Do you still love her?" Jabu asks as he looks away not wanting to see his friend's reaction to this question. "More than anything bro, more than anything" Sbu responds with a now very sad voice. "And I'd do anything to undo what I did to her. I'd do anything to save my marriage. Buhle and my daughter mean everything to me" as he wipes a tear and embarrassed that his friend can see him vulnerable.
"I'm sorry man" Jabu says. "If you love your wife, then you must fight for her." he tries to encourage his friend but Sbu just looks at him and gives half a smile as he says, "Yeah man, I don't know about that. I messed that up pretty bad. I really don't know if Buhle will ever forgive me. I hate myself for it. And, if this ends up being my baby then, there'd be zero chance for me to fight for my family" he begins to be sad all over again. "But enough about that" he says, "Do you love Katlego?" he asks Jabu who is caught off guard by that question. For a second he is taken down memory lane to the night Katlego came to his place. He remembers the how they made love on the couch on his lounge.
"Hey buddy, are you okay?" Sbu asks as he interrupts Jabu's day dreaming, he snaps out of it. "Well, do you love her?" he asks again which makes Jabu looks away to avoid eye contact. This question is making him feel a little awkward for many reasons.
"Uhmm, well..." he says as he looks for the right words. "After that night she'd come to my place, I started to feel some kind of way about her. She said she's been feeling something for me but I guess she was just playing me after she had left your office on a sour note. She was just using me as a bloody rebound. So right now I don't know how I feel about her" his face starts to change as he looks a little upset. "But then again if this baby turns out to be mine, well that changes things doesn't it? She'd be the mother of my child." as he looks a little embarrassed by that. To that Sbu doesn't utter a word but just nods and then they sit there and talk for about an hour or so over this matter.
***
Somewhere else things are a little different as Tendai has decided to spend time with his daughter and Sharon. Things are never clear between these two, some moments they are happy and in some they are not so happy. But today they are pending time together as Sharon has come to sleep over. Maybe this is exactly what Tendai needs, to get his mind off Buhle whom she clearly has deep feelings for.
“So Mr. MEC what do you have to say for yourself?” Sharon says as she sips on her fruit juice sitting on the couch in the lounge. They are just watching whatever their daughter is watching on TV. “You have been a little quiet this morning, something on your mind?” she asks curiously, to which Tendai takes a moment to think before saying, “Uhmm, no not really” as he also sips on his juice. “I’m just thinking that maybe I should spend more time with you and Karen these days. I have been neglecting that lately and I know that’s it’s unfair to guys” as he pulls away from eye contact, not wanting Sharon to read him. But she just smiles and not say a word.
“So I was just thinking” Tendai continues, “Maybe we should go away for a vacation somewhere as a family, just to try and reconnect you know” These words seem to brighten Sharon’s eyes as she smiles widely. “That is such a great idea babe, we’d really love that” she says. “Hey sweetheart, did you hear that? We are going on a vacation” she says to her daughter who doesn’t seem to take interest in that as she is focused on the cartoons she’s watching.
“I am glad that you want to do this you know” Sharon continues. “I think it will be great for us and I really want us to work” as she takes Tendai’s hands and smiles. “Yeah I want us to work too” Tendai says, “I have wasted too much time on non-important stuff. It’s time I focused on things that really matter in this life, you and our daughter” as he looks at Karen who is fixated on the TV. From there they enjoy a beautiful evening together as a family.
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