Umendo Chapter 7

Umendo Chapter 7 

Forever the dutiful husband, he called a few times checking up on me and sent a couple of messages reminding me how much he loved me. I'm sure he could tell from my voice that I wasn't happy, Siya gets nervous if he senses that I'm not happy. Especially if he has done something wrong or if he is hiding something. So he overcompensated with being extra nice to me. I didn't want him to think that there was something wrong, because then he would be ready to show his "I'm innocent face", I wanted him to relax and think that I bought his story and everything is ok, then bam! Present him with new evidence, but I guess I couldn't hide my annoyance with him. Heh, umendo hayi shem. I was now reduced to plotting and planning how to catch my husband out on a lie like a detective shuwa. 

I left work around 4pm, got home and started cooking. Siya loved my cooking and always said that I was in the wrong career, I should have been a chef. I prepared one of his favourite meals, pasta with chilli con carne.  Siya was self employed, he had a driving school which he co-owned with Francis, a guy he met whilst learning to drive. It wasn't that big, they started it about 2 years ago, so it was fairly new. They had 4 cars in total and employed  4 other drivers making them 6 altogether. They rotate the cars, so sometimes Siya doesn't have a car if another driver is using it. Around 6pm Mandla, one the drivers dropped him off. He brought me flowers and a box of ferrero rochers. Pulling all stops I see. When I was dating Siya, he never bought me flowers, he used to say 'akusi nto zakhe lezo' whenever I asked him how come he never buys me flowers. Then one day he came home from work and found a vase with the most beautiful flowers I  have ever seen, he hit the roof demanding to know who had gotten me flowers. I told him it was Mike, I had been promoted to marketing co-ordinator you see. He got jealous and kept maki snide remarks about them. He only stopped making snide remarks when I threw them away after they had dried up. I came home with more flowers from Mike and some of my collegues in the years to follow, some for my birthday and some for my promotions or signing up a new client. Siya wasn't taking it so well, one day I came from work and I found flowers all over the house. I was pleasantly surprised, he said that he was not going to let other men buy his wife flowers yena ekhona. Ever since then, Siya buys me flowers every once in a while. 

I gave him a warm welcome and served him food. He told me about his day and their plans to expand the business. I listened attentively and made a few suggestions. He cleared the plates, then made himself cosy next to me drinking his castle lager. When I was sure that he was relaxed and comfortabel, I asked him

Sme: Siya, are you cheating on me? 

Siya had just taken a sip of his castle and wavela wahitshwa and started coughing non stop. I remained calm and collected

Siya: Why do you say so?

Sme: I'm not saying that you are cheating, I'm asking if you are. 

Siya: Hayi, mina ngithi why ubuza umbuzo onjalo?

Sme, Siyabonga, what's so hard about this question. I want a simple yes or no. ARE YOU CHEATING ON ME?

Siya: No, I'm not, and you know I wouldn't do that to you baby, to us. Why would I destroy such a beautiful thing like this. Yinto enhle phela le esilayo, and it's something I have always wanted empilweni yami. So angeke ngimoshe into ekudala ngiyifuna. 

Sme: You said that you paid R3000 to bribe uNtuli to get me out. Yaphumaphi imali yakhona?

Siya: From our savings like I said

Sme: When?

Siya: Ohhh, is that why you think I'm cheating? Ngaboleka iR3000 kuFrancis cos l had forgotten my phone kuye. So when I got it back, I found out about your arrest ngilaye. He is the one who said I should call uChris cos he has connections.Chris gave me the number kaNtuli. I called uNtuli who told me that ufuna R3000, so ngahle ngayicela ku Francis ngazitshela ukuthi mina I will then withdraw it from our savings and pay him back ngoba icard ngangilitshiye endlini. So I withdrew it namhlanje ekuseni and I paid back uFrancis. You can call him and confirm.

Sme: Ah, what's the use cos he will cover up for you even if you are lying anyway

Siya: Kanti kutheni usungicabangela into ezinje?

Sme: You just disappeared when I needed you the most Siyabonga, what am I supposed to think? 

Siya: Eish, ngixolise kangaki sthandwa sami. Sengiyafela nje khona ukuthi ngakhohlwa ifoni kuFrancis. Ngiyaxolisa baby, akungiphathi kahle ma ungikwatele yazi. Even uku driver namhla ngicishe ngashayelela kumbe kangaki (etsho ethatha isandla sami esiqabuza)

Sme: Langa says she saw my car parked eMonte casino on Saturday. Do you know what it was doing there? 

(Waqwayiqwayiza uSiya, batting his eyelids like a thousand times per second)

Siya: Ah, how am I supposed to know. Buza uLumkile

Sme: Heeeeeeh Siyabonga! Ngubani uLumkile?

Siya: Isn't she the cop who arrested you?

Sme: Yes she is, but ukwazelaphi wena ngoba l never told you her name?

Siya: Ngatshelwa nguNtuli, he made a few calls to find out who had arrested you so that he knows who to deal with. He then mentioned that uLumkile, the cop who arrested you is a bit tough on women and will need a lot of conniving to let you go. That's how I got to know her name. Ask uFrancis where I was the whole day on Saturday. The last time I went to Monte was with you about a year ago.

Sme: Hayi, asazi Siya. I don't know what to think. ULindo said that my cousin was here for the weekend. Who was here besides you nge weekend?

Siya: Hawu bantu, love, ngiyazi I let you down. But lokhu soku too much. So now I'm cheating with a cop and your cousin? Ah come on love, gimme more credit than that. The only other person who was here was uNtuli. 

Sme: So ubewumana ULindo?

Siya: Who knows what goes on ekhanda lika Lindo, he is always looking for something to gossip about, if kungela he starts making things up. I will deal with him tomorrow. 

( Siya knew that I didn't like people knowing our business, especially ecomplexini, I preferred keeping our life a bit private. So he knew I wouldn't want him to question ULindo.)

Sme: Ok, we will go to him together before we leave for work. 

Siya: Kulungile (he didn't even bat an eyelid), but for now let's relax  si enjoye uthando lwethu. (Watsho ezisondeza kimi)