Perpetual

I get home and the house is utterly quiet, I didn’t expect to find Sasha here after her outburst earlier. On my way here I called my Lawyers to put the papers in place because I was finally done. I was so sure that I wanted her to push me to a point where it would make sense for everyone if we were to divorce but this is more than I bargained for.

‘I thought you were not coming home.’ She begins picking up a glass of wine from the table. She was really drunk when I saw her last at the party but now she doesn’t seem so drunk, if anything she looks like she has just started.

‘Oh right I forgot. You don’t have a home. You have to depend on me for everything.’ She adds

‘I am guessing the performance you put up earlier was just that right? You were not actually drunk but pretending to be drunk.’

‘The message was put out there though wasn’t it? I hope you got it.’ She says sipping her wine again

I breathe out deeply. I honestly thought that Gabriel was a psychopath, I thought Sasha had some good in her and didn’t deserve that kind of man but coming to think about it now I think they actually deserve each other. If Lona is of the right senses she should leave him.

‘Well, I guess my work here is done.’

‘My Lawyers will be sending you the divorce papers Sasha. I think let us burn this bridge whilst we still have something good to say about one another.’

I go to the spare bedroom where I have been sleeping, the suit is in from the laundry and I must say it is a very good suit. Gabriel and Lona have gone all out preparing for this wedding I just wish that they invested emotions as well. I am still thinking about them when I receive a phone call from Musonda.

‘What’s up?’

‘Where are you?’

‘Home. Why?’

‘I think you need to go to Gabriel and Lona’s right now.’

‘Why?’

‘After what happened earlier, I feel that something is off.’

‘Musonda we know something is off. But I can’t go about meddling into there business.’

‘Please Leo just go there.’

‘Why?’

‘What are you not telling me?’

He breathes out deeply.

‘What are you not telling me?’

‘Lona asked Cindy to take photos of them and something popped up from her notification panel.’

‘And what was that?’

‘Thallium.’

‘Can you please speak in a language that I can understand?’

‘It’s a slow killing poison and death can happen around five to seven days after taking it.’

‘People google different things Musonda. All the time.’

‘Not a person who is hurting. Not a person like Lona. She can’t be googling those things and we consider it innocent.’

‘Fine what do you want me to do?’

‘Check on them.’

‘Why me?’

‘You are the sacrificial lamb. You will go there pretending to want to talk to him because he slept with your wife meanwhile you have a different agenda.

‘You are going to pay for this.’

‘I know. But for the brotherhood.’

‘Fine.’ I say picking my car keys

Sasha is not in the living room and I am glad because I don’t have the energy to start explaining myself right now.

The drive is fast. I want to get this over and done with.

Both of their cars are in the yard when I get there, the lights are still on so I know that they are awake. I don’t have a good feeling about coming here, Gabriel is not my favourite person right now. He will never be my favourite person.

‘Hello?’ I call out but no one responds

‘Hello?’ I call again walking towards the bedrooms

‘Gabriel you promised me a life with you. You said we would overcome everything together, that we would build an empire for our kids and their kids to come. You met my people, we were made to stand in church as the couple that was about to wed, I have done traditional lessons which I didn’t even want to do, we have paid vendors and sent out invitation cards; you won’t look at me today and tell me that you don’t want to go through with this. Gabriel you wont embarrass us like that. You will put your shit together and wait for me at the alter like you said you would.’ I hear Lona say

‘What if three years from now we wake up and realize that we made a mistake?’ Gabriel responds

‘We have three years to find out.’ She tells in a breaking voice

‘Lona I am sorry, my heart is just not into this anymore.’

This is a private conversation and I shouldn’t be here but I have already heard so much I can’t leave just yet.

‘Gabriel we are grownups, we just don’t make such big life changing decisions and then walk out on them because we are not feeling them anymore. Gabriel you need to put in the work, that is how it plays out.’

‘I was so sure about you.’ He pauses, his voice breaking.

‘Then what happened?’

Silence.

‘What happened Gabriel.’

‘I saw how you treated the vendors, I saw how you were with everyone that wasn’t of our caliber and it made me wonder if I had fallen in love only with the good side of you. I wondered if there was some dark evil underneath you that I didn’t know about.’

‘So you decided to allow someone to come between us instead of talking to me? Gabriel you could have said something, you could have sat me down but you chose to talk to another person about this and not me.’

Silence again.

‘What do you want Gabriel, I doubt this story about vendors is even true. Just tell me what exactly is going on.’

‘I wish I knew too, but Lona I can’t go on with this wedding.’

‘I see.’

‘I am sorry.’

‘I am going to bed, I will wake up tomorrow morning and prepare for our wedding. If you want to bail out say no to the vows on the altar. But Gabriel you are not bringing me this far just to break my heart. I will not allow it.’

My heart shutters hearing that but I don’t have enough time to process everything because the door opens. She is shocked to see me but closes the door behind her like I am not even here.

She walks past me and goes into the kitchen then removes a bottle of whisky, she pours it into a glass then removes a small black bottle which she opens and pours into the whiskey.

‘What is that?’ I ask her

‘You didn’t see anything Leo.’ She says

She gets a metal can and throws the bottle in then pours paraffin and lights it up.

‘You didn’t see anything.’ She says again with a huge smile on her face

The end

…

Kwenje’s Girl

Winnie

🙇🏾‍♀️