Umendo Chapter 34

Umendo Chapter 34

He was breathing, so l put him in the recovery position and lifted his chin forward to open his airways. He regained consciousness when I was trying to position him properly. He was a bit confused at first, then he realised what had happened. The cut at the top corner of his eye was not so bad, so he wasn't losing a lot of blood, l held a cloth onto it whilst l called Francis to come back. I knew that an ambulance would take forever to come. Siya told me that he had gotten up to take the plate back to the kitchen when everything went woozy, so he fell and hit the corner of the coffee table with the corner of his eye, then onto to the floor. He barely missed his eye. Francis got back in less than 15 minutes because he hadn't driven far, but it felt like l had been waiting for hours. Siya was reluctant about going to hospital, he kept saying that he was just a bit dizzy and would be fine, but l reminded him that it's better to be safe than sorry.  Francis drove us to the MediClinic in Morningside. The doctor insisted on admitting Siya for a few days so that he could get all the necessary help to fully recover, but Siya was adamant about going to his father's funeral. I called back home to find out if they had set a date for the funeral. I found out that it had been set for Thursday, so l convinced Siya to stay in hospital until Wednesday. He agreed, so we were going to leave on  Wednesday morning.

After he had settled in, l went home to pack. I took a week off work as part of my 6 weeks leave per year. I was very lucky to work with someone like Mike who is so understanding. I felt a bit guilty though because my personal life had been affecting my work lately. Mike understood because he himself had had a rough year a couple of years earlier when he openly declared that he is gay. I was there for him and often worked our projects alone whilst he was dealing with the different problems he was going through. Whilst l was packing, l got a call from Nicole panicking. Junior had been crying non stop for two days and his temperature was very high. She begged me to help her, yet again. I asked her why she didn't call her aunt or someone else not me, she said that her aunt wasn't picking up her calls because she probably assumed that she was calling to beg for a place to stay. Her mother was still not speaking to her, so l was 'her last hope' as she put it. I went to pick up my cousin Nokuthaba first, then we went over to Nicole's. I didn't want to be around her alone, she could cry wolf for all l knew. So if l had someone else, they would be my witness and alibi if ever l needed it. Nicole looked like she hadn't slept for days,Junior was wailing when we arrived and he was boiling hot. We drove to the hospital. It seemed l couldn't stay away from hospitals lately. It turned out Junior had a fever and an ear infection.  We got his prescriptions and l drove back to Berea. I told Nicole to go straight to the clinic next time if she thought something was wrong with the baby. I felt sorry for her because she knew nothing about caring for a baby, she was still a child herself. Lumkile only had her, so she never had any younger siblings to help take care of, so she had been thrown right into the deep end when she had her baby. Ukuphapha konke kwasekuphelile, she now seemed down to earth and more mature. I guess its true that having children changes most people. My cousin invited me to stay for supper, l think Nicole thought the invite was for both of us cos she immidiately thanked my cousin and said it would be nice to sit down and talk to people for a change. When we got to my cousin's, Nicole asked me to hold Junior whilst she went to the toilet. Looking at him,  l thought about how much l wanted a baby of my own. The thought of the possibility that I could die without a child of my own  brought  tears to my eyes. Junior must have been tired from all the crying and not having any proper sleep for days because he fell asleep straight away in my arms. I laid him down and we went to help Noe prepare super. 

Noe: So...., Nicole..., did you think you could snatch Meme's husband away from her? 

Sme: Hayi Noe, there is no need. Sokwadlula

Nicole: No it's fine Meme, I deserve it. In fact, l deserve far much worse after what l did to you. You didn't deserve any of that

Noe: What was your plan vele? Did you and your mother plan to arrest Meme so you could move in with her husband?

Nicole: I didn't plan anything with my mum, she got home that night and told me that l was moving in with Siya. I didn't exactly want to move into your house Meme, l wanted a place of my own. Mapetla had agreed to get me a flat and pay for it, l was going to tell my mum that Siya was paying for it, but my mum kept pushing me to move in with Siya. 

Noe: Did you love this Mapetla guy or was it all for money?

Nicole: I grew to love him. I had know him for nearly six years, l grew very fond of him. He always made me laugh. My mum caught him staring at me a few times, l think that's why she desperately wanted me to move out.

Sme: Do you think she will forgive you anytime soon? 

Nicole: l don't know, maybe she never will. My mum always spoke about how life was going to change for the best when Mapetla finally left his wife. During the first few years, my mum wanted a baby so bad, but Mapetla kept convincing her to wait until he left his wife so they could start a proper family. So you can imagine how hurt she was when she found out about Junior. The chances of her having a baby now are close to none, same as the chances of her forgiving me. I would understand if she never forgives me, l'm sure seeing Junior will always be a reminder of how l betrayed her. And it doesn't help that he looks exactly like Mapetla.

Noe: Khona vele why did you betray her like that? 

Nicole: l don't know, it just happened. Everytime we slept together we swore it was the last, but we couldn't stop. 

Sme: Do you love uSiya?

Nicole: No, not really. I never got to know him enough to love him. 

Noe: So you were prepared to live with someone you didn't love? 

Nicole: I told myself that l was going to learn to love him, he seems like a nice guy, and he has a great body. 

Sme: (l cleared my throat) Ok. Let's leave that there. 

Nicole: I am so sorry Meme, you are the kindest person l know. I regret ever coming between you and your husband, and the pain l have caused you. I regret it everyday. 

After we had our supper, we walked Nicole to her flat. My cousin begged me to sleep over at hers. I tried to tell her that l had to pack and get ready for ukuya ekhaya, she said she was going to go with me the next day and help me pack. I ran out of excuses, so l ended up sleeping there.