Nadir

Instead of going back to the office Ems and I decide to go and have lunch at my favorite chicken place. I hate that we are doing it because that place was where Jackie and I would go to but I guess life happens and friends eventually become strangers. From a little age, mum would always tell me how I had a big heart and that people would hurt me but I would continually give them a chance no matter the circumstances. How I would give people enough rope so they can hang themselves. I loved Jackie, I think there is still a part of me that still genuinely loves her and wishes things didn’t end the way they did.

We find ourselves an empty table. I like this place because it has an outdoor sitting arrangement on the grass with umbrellas for shelter. It has an option of buying food cooked in the kitchen or you can braai your own food on their braai stands. I prefer buying the food not cooked and asking one of the guys to braai for me and then paying him a little something.

‘How don’t I know about this place?’ he asks once we are settled in comfortably.

‘Maybe because you have never gone out looking for it, I love food so I know a lot of food places.’

‘I eat whatever satisfies me.’

‘You have no respect for flavors? You should be ashamed of yourself. Food should be respected Ems, and treated sacred.’

He shakes his head.

‘What?’

‘I see why you and Joshua got along. That man loves to cook it’s beyond me.’

‘He got it from your mother didn’t he?’

‘Yes he did, the two have so much in common.’

‘I see.’

‘What?’

‘What exactly happened between you and your mum? I know you mentioned something some time back but I can’t remember what it was.’

‘It’s not important. What is important though is that I am happy and I am healthy.’

‘Amen to that.’

A waitress comes to our table and takes our order, we are both having chargrilled chicken, a salad and fries. I order a mocktail to go with my food whilst he gets water.

‘You don’t drink alcohol?’

‘I have been off alcohol for a while.’

‘And you?’

‘The last time I drunk it didn’t end well.’

He just smiles fully aware of the moment I am talking about.

The waitress comes back with our drinks and I am just taking my first sip when his phone begins to ring. I can’t help but peep on the screen.

‘That took long.’ He says once he picks up, he has put the phone on speaker and I know it’s deliberate.

‘My wife is traumatized, what business did you have picking her up when you were with her?’

‘You mean when I was with Nandy?’

‘Yes her.’

Ems laughs lightly

‘You can’t even say her name?’

‘Emmanuel I am warning you. I am about to be a father and I won’t let you do anything that is going to upset my wife and jeopardize our chance of being parents. We have wanted this for a very long time I am not going to tolerate..’

‘Shut up Joshua.’

‘Excuse me?’

‘You heard me. You want to walk around the earth like everyone owes you something for the bad decisions you have made. You want everyone to treat you a certain way when you are the one who was in the wrong.’

‘Ems.’

‘Joshua I am marrying Nandy and there is nothing you can do about it.’

‘You could have any woman that you want. Anyone and yet you choose to disgrace me like this. Disgrace the family. Why are you doing this?’

‘Like I said earlier, you think the world revolves around you Joshua. I am not even doing this to get back at you. I like Nandy.’

‘Really now? Since when?’

‘Since the first day I met her. Since you pretended to have been the good guy. Since you knew that Jackie had drugged her that evening.’

‘Shit.’ He says quickly realizing I am sitting opposite him.’

He cuts the line and looks at me apologetically but I pretend like I already knew.

‘Nandy.’

‘Don’t Emmanuel, we said we were going to do this because of our different reasons there is no need for us to pretend like we are doing it for the night reasons.’

He breaths out deeply.

I remove my phone from my pocket and text Martha telling her to go ahead with the plan. I didn’t want to do this but then when people push you more than they should this is what happens and I don’t regret it. Bad people do bad things and usually go unpunished but not this time. For all the pain I have gone through caused by other people, I will make sure they hurt twice as much as I did.

..

Kwenje’s Girl

Winnie

🙇🏾‍♀️