Our Second Shot At This

Episode 4: Still in love

Pearl

It’s been a great week. The week of holidaying with my spoiled child and my new found s*x buddy has been great. I am no longer sexually frustrated. Quintin did more than just open the flood gates again. He made me feel good and wanted again. The air is so much cooler. The birds’ singing is so much louder. The flowers are a lot brighter. Yoga feels so much more beautiful. I’m happy. I’m glowing. IVF drip treatment for who? For what? He is even more pleasant lately. He is funnier and looks a lot lighter. His s****l innuendos are through the roof and Gaby is just over us. But today is our last night here and we need to address what Quintin and I have been trying to address since before we arrived here.

Quintin and I are sitting next to each other. We have a fleece blanket over us. Quintin is slouching on the couch, looking like he does not want to be here. My legs are crossed and I am sitting up straight because hey, my posture is even better now. Gaby is sitting on a one seater couch opposite us.

“Gabriella, we need to conclude our conversation about your next steps.” I start.

She rolls her eyes at me. This child – she is even getting me out of my sexified mood.

“Gaby, we are trying here. Would it kill you to just meet us half way?” Me.

“So the two of you have s*x and now you think you are parents of the year?” Gaby says to me.

“Gabriella Ntombikayise Shange, I am your mother! We are your parents! You may not like me, but you will respect me! I will slap the attitude out of you very quickly! Quintin and I having s*x has nothing to do with you being as old as you are and having nothing to show for your life. You are just taking up air instead of taking up space!” I shout at her.

She looks scared of me. Good. Quintin is just shocked.

“Ntombikayise, what is the problem?” Quintin asks her. He is too gentle with her and it’s starting to annoy me.

Gaby doesn’t say anything. Quintin and I look at each other.

“Gaby, do you not want better for yourself? Do you want to just be floating through life for the rest of your life? What do you want?” I ask her.

“I do want better”, she mumbles.

“What is better for you, Gaby?” I ask her.

“I want a business”, she says.

This girl!

What does she think a business is? But at least I am getting her to talk, so let me humour this idea.

“A business in what, Gaby?” I ask her. Quintin is brushing my thighs like he used to do when I was losing my temper over something. We were so young,but he was always able to calm me down. I genuinely appreciate how much he remembers me and everything that was me.

“I want to own a cleaning service. I want to go into a lab and create cleaning products then offer a service of domestic workers and sell cleaning products. I want it to start in KZN then move out into Gauteng. My clients will be people like you, Nova, who want nothing to do with domestic work.” Gaby is also insulting me in that sentence.

“You do realise that you have to go to school for that, right? You are talking about creating products and providing services to people who will give you hell if you supply a crap service or a crap product. You need to finish a matric and actually have a degree.” I say.

She rolls her eyes at me again.

“Ntombikayise, how do you think your business will take off and make money if you don’t have the education?” Quintin asks her.

“The same way that you have a business, but you’ve spent half your life in prison”, this twit says to my Quintin. No one speaks to my Q like that, no one!

“Gaby, I promise you, my child. I swear to you – I will jump over this coffee table and box the breath out of you if you think you are going to continue this conversation speaking to us like we are your friends. Do you understand me?” I threaten her and I see genuine fear in her eyes. She knows I will do it. I never aim to disappoint.

She nods her head.

“Apologise to your father”, I command.

“I am sorry, dad”. Gaby says.

Quintin sits up from his slouching position and rubs his hands together. He is losing his temper. He always gets this tense before he explodes. I put my hand over his hands and look at him. He looks at me. I can see the anger subsiding through his eyes.

“Gabriella, is there another conversation that we should perhaps be having here? Are we putting the cart in front of the horse by raising a future issue when there is something else that should clearly be discussed first?” Quintin asks her. He is calm, but I know Quintin. When he starts asking such questions, this conversation will end in tears if Gaby continues to be herself.

“No dad”, Gaby says. I think she knows this side to him as well because her voice is low and her eyes are not facing us. She looks like she is about to cry.

“Ntombikayise, I am not going to apologise for leading the life that I lead. I did my time and before the law, I am rehabilitated. So if you plan on accusing me of anything without evidence, it is defamation of character. Are you aware? Or you just swing your tongue in any direction you please and not be mindful that there are consequences for the things that come out of your mouth?”

SILENCE! The smart mouth has nothing smart to say anymore.

“Ntombikayise, you will either say whatever you need to say now and we move on. Or, you can keep quiet – you are well within your rights – and you stop disrespecting your mother and me. I have just about tolerated enough of this nonsense, now. If you are expecting me to apologise for loving Nova, it’s not happening.”

Woah!

But why do I feel so in love too?

“I love Nova and yes, we have s*x and we are not going to stop. But that’s an element of our relationship that has nothing to do with you. I don’t understand how Nova’s and my s*x life has anything to do with what we are trying to fix and make better for you. Unless you have insights that we don’t?”

SILENCE!

Allow me to just say, I LOVE THIS SIDE OF QUINTIN! It just makes me wet.

“Now, let’s try this conversation again… you want to have a business, but you don’t want to study for it. Why?” Quintin.

Take me now, Quintin! I’m yours!

“Cleaning is not something you need to go to school for”, she says, much more humble and with the adequate amount of respect required from a child when speaking to its parents.

“But managing people and creating products are two skills you need to go to school for”, I say.

She sighs.

“Fine, I’ll go back to school.” She says.

“And you’ll come live with me. Because you will not waste another cent of my money doing Lord knows what in Ndwedwe when you should be in a classroom. You’ll go write your matric then go to UKZN and get a bloody degree.” I say.

She looks like she wants to fight me.

“Or you stay with me”, Quintin says.

“Next thing you’ll be saying I’ll be living with both of you”, Gaby.

This child!

This child!

“And what’s wrong with that? We are your parents! And if we decide that’s what is going to happen, then that’s exactly what’s going to happen.” Quintin.

…

Today we go back home. I don’t know how to feel about the conversation from last night, but I do think that living with Gaby will do her and me some good. We will fight, but eventually we will see each other for who and what we really are. I want what is best for her. I am sorry that I have lost out on her. I am okay if she hates me forever, as long as she knows that I am her mother and I love her.

But I just need to check in on Quintin. He just went hectic on us because of this human we call a child and I don’t like that she took him there.

I walk into his designated room and hear the shower going on. He is taking a shower. I lie down on his bed and wait for him.

He comes out after about ten minutes and is shocked to me lying on his bed. But he smiles at me. I am distracted and embarrassed because he is completely naked. He sees my embarrassment and he laughs at me. He wears underwear then lies next to me.

“I am worried about you”, I tell him.

“Why?”

“Gaby brought out a side to you that I haven’t seen in a long time.”

“I am okay. She’s a child and she’s still going to bring out monsters in us. As much as we need to love her, we also need to make it very clear who the parents are around here. That child inherited your tongue and it’s a problem.”

“What? Never! My tongue is nothing like that child’s tongue!”

We both laugh as I say this.

Then I wear my serious face.

“Did you mean what you said? About you loving me?” I ask him.

“I never stopped loving you, Nova. And I’ll never stop loving you. You are the love of my life and the mother of my daughter. I don’t want to do life with anyone who is not you. I want you. I love you.”

“I love you too, Q. Not because my marriage with Thomas never worked out, but because it has always been you, and it will always be you. I cared about Thomas, a lot. And yes, I loved him. I was with him for a long time and we built a lot together. But when I am with you, I become so stupid again. I become that fifteen year old girl who fell in love with you and never stopped. My stomach becomes tight and my head feels light when I am around you. Q, I thought I was done with you until I laid my eyes on you again. You are the only man on this planet who I can be completely naked and vulnerable with. You accept me as I am and –

I am crying now, unable to finish my sentence. He just kisses me. He holds me in a way that only he can hold me and I just know that I am home.

I make my way to the kitchen to make some food for the road. Driving back to Mhlanga from Limpopo is a long drive.

“What are you doing there?” Gaby asks me. She can see that I am making food. Why is she asking me stupid questions? If she has something to say, she must just spit it out. I am not a small-talk kind of woman.

“Just some food for the road”, I say.

“May I help you?” She asks me.

“Sure”, me.

The chicken is still grilling. I’m making salad. She is buttering rolls and frying chips. I bought olive oil because that oil that Gaby likes is just not for me. She says Olive Oil lacks township-chips-ingredients. This girl better thank our ancestors that she has my genes, else she would be massive in weight.

“Gaby, I know that I wasn’t there. I know that I left you. I know that my choices always had you coming second. And I’m so sorry, my baby girl. I’m so sorry.” I say to her.

She gets emotional. She nods her head. She doesn’t say anything, but her tears and her head nodding tell me that she is hearing me.

“It’s important that you know that I love you. It’s important to me that you know that.” I conclude.

“I love you too, Nova. And I’m very happy that you are back”, she says.

Wow.

I smile.

“And the way that you spoke to Quintin yesterday… Gaby, I can take it when you speak to me like that. I am used to it and I can give as much as I get. But I’ll never forgive you if you ever speak to Quintin like that again. Not him. Anyone but him.” I say.

“I’m sorry, Nova. And I spoke to him as well. It will never happen again.” She says.

I nod my head.

“You love him, don’t you? It’s beautiful to see you like this. He brings out the little girl in you.” She says.

I chuckle.

“So, you and dad…”

I look at her. We both laugh.

“What about Sheila?” She asks in the middle of her laughter.

“What about her? That one is ghost to me. And she isn’t your step-mother!” I say.

Gaby is legit in stitches, laughing tears out of her eyes.

…

Quintin

My girls are getting along. This is nice. They are laughing together and have made the trip beyond bearable. It was actually a very nice drive back.

We are now at Nova’s townhouse. All three of us decided that we will sleep over here. I have never been here before. It is a very nice place. Nova has always liked the finer things in life, so I am not surprised that her place looks like this.

She instructs us to put our bags down. The domestic worker is coming tomorrow and she will sort out our luggage.

Gaby tells us that she wants to shower and sleep, so we don’t argue with her. She says goodnight and leaves the room. Her room has an in suite bathroom, so she will probably lock her room and we will only see her tomorrow morning. The room that Nova and I will be using also has an in-suite bathroom and a walk-in closet. It’s big and beautiful. Then there is one extra room that she refers to as the guest bedroom.

Nova opens a bottle of dry red wine.

“Care to join me for a glass? I’m making wings that we can snack on”, she says to me.

I walk to the kitchen and sit on one of the barstools.

“Any beer?” I ask her.

“Why would I keep beer in my fridge? I don’t drink beer, Q.” She says.

She hasn’t called me Q in a very long time before this weekend.

“Can we go into the township and get a six pack of beer? We will braai meat there as well.” I suggest.

“Will I ever lose weight? Between you and Gaby, I’m going to be a whale in the next three months.” She says.

She’s perfect. What weight is she losing?

I walk up to her and wrap my arms around her very tiny waist. I even rub my hands on her round big ass. She is very short. She is even shorter than Gaby. She is tiny and yet she’s such a bully. I used to call her my portable Pearl. It would make her blush so much.

“You look beautiful, Nova. Give yourself a break. Let’s go.” I say.

She kisses me back.

“Let’s tell Gaby we are going out”, she says.

She disappears into Gaby’s room.

“You need to knock, Nova! This is my room!” Gaby shouts.

They were doing so well.

“In whose house?!.” Nova viciously responds.

Silence. I chuckle to myself. These two are going to give me a headache.

“Your dad and I are going out. We’ll see you when we get back.” Nova says.

I am already grabbing the car keys. These two…

We get to the township and obviously people love Nova’s car. It’s a G63 for crying out loud and it’s a beautiful car. We park at a street located BBQ, and Nova is actually not being a snob.

She lets me buy her a drink. She drinks that Red Square sweet cider. I buy her a six pack of Red Square Purple Ice and order us some meat to be braaied. While the guys braai, we go stand with some friends of mine that I’ve just bumped into.

“Did you get enough for that brat we left at home?” She whispers in my ear.

I chuckle and kiss her.

“I got enough”, I whisper back.

The boys and I are talking nonsense as I wait for my meat. I see Nova participating in conversations with the girlfriends. The stick up her ass is not too far up, you know. I am so impressed. I’ll even look past the fact that she introduced herself as Pearl.

Then I spot Sheila and she is walking straight up to me. This evening is going so well. I was not anticipating that I would have to deal with what Gaby told her over the phone.

She stands in front of me while my arm is wrapped around Nova’s neck. Sheila looks like she is about to hit me.

“I’ve been calling you”, Sheila says to me.

“He hasn’t been available. He’s been away with his family”, Nova and her English that comes out through the nose. This is not going to end well.

“I’m not talking to you, Nova. I’m talking to my man.” Sheila says.

“Your man? Oh please!” Nova says then kisses me.

Believe me when I say that all eyes are on us. Nova is getting us into greater trouble with Sheila. When we are done kissing, I am the one who gets a slap from Sheila. Me! I get the slap, not Nova who has disrespected her and kissed me in front of her.

“You take me for granted, you damn swine!” She screams at me.

“Hey! Calm down! What the hell is your problem? So much unnecessary drama in public! Hai bo!” Nova needs to stop talking because I’m the one who is getting slapped and hit and abused, not her.

“So you are choosing her, Quintin? You are choosing your baby mama who left you for a rich man in Joburg and is now back because life has humbled her? Who was there for you in jail? Who was there helping you pick up the pieces that she left your heart in?” Sheila says and I honestly think that this is extremely unnecessary nor is this the place to have this conversation.

“Thank you very much for your efficient services, but they are no longer needed. I’m back now. You will not be my daughter’s step-mother, as you had proposed, and there is absolutely no room for you in our lives. Quintin forgot to break-up with you when my return to KZN was announced. So here’s your break-up, babes. It’s over between you and my man – the father of my child. You can stop the madness now! Friend!” Nova.

The way she said “friend”… now people are looking at Sheila like she is the shady one and not at Nova for being a side chick disrespecting a main chick. The way she said friend even hit a nerve in Sheila.

“Can we get our meat and go?” Nova says to me.

I do just that.

…