Chick Flick (5)
By Ayanda Xaba, South Africa
There is another person you need to meet in my life. That is Zethu, my little sister. She is such a happy teenager. At sixteen she has a free spirit only found in matured adults. I would like to take credit for teaching her well but I think the teachings just found a good mind. I love that young woman. We talk about everything. I am twelve years older than her but I have opened a free communication line with her. She tells me everything going on in her life, including boy stuff. And I tell her about my stuff too, just enough to not corrupt her growing mind.
On the day I went back to Durban Zethu decided to accompany me, and visit for the weekend. Schools were still open but my little sister would never miss an opportunity to visit the beach. And that time she was eager to meet the new love of my life as well. On the very first day in Durban Zethu dragged me to the beach and made me call Lethabo to meet us there. Lethabo arrived from Lesotho a week before I came back to Durban. Look at God! Like a faithful lover my Lethabo arrived with her friend Sibs and we had a fun day at the beach. That’s Zethu for you! She gets what she wants. That was the only time she met Lethabo that weekend though. We spent the rest of the weekend together before I sent her home.
2016 was a busy year for Mimi Simelane. As soon as I came back from Dundee I got a publishing deal for a book I had been working on since 2014. While busy with that I got a call from the radio station to cover local government elections. As a freelancer you can’t really say no to any gig. I had only spent one night with Lethabo when I packed my stuff and went back to Dundee. The relationship was starting to take strain. When you’re dealing with a lot of things at the same time, one is bound to suffer. My romantic relationship was suffering. I tried, as much I could, to reassure Lethabo but one can only do so much. From the election buzz to a week long coverage of activities at the maximum security prison. That was the time when Lethabo told me that Sbu, one of the location scouts she was working with, asked her out. She actually showed me the conversation and a rush of panic attacked me. I was suddenly taken over by insecurities. She had told him clearly that she wasn’t interested but I still couldn’t rest. I wondered; ‘do I have what it takes to take on men?’
I rushed back to Durban immediately after the prison week. That was fun by the way. I even got a chance to attend a bookclub meeting and watched inmates ingaging in a debate. It was a lovely sight, would love to do it again. The first thing I did upon my arrival in the playful city is to ask Lethabo to come over to my place. She was busy with a photo shoot in the south coast and would ask her brothers to drop her off when they come back. They came back too late so she didn’t come. She only managed to come two days after my arrival. At that point I had calmed down a bit after the whole Sbu issue. Her visit was pleasant as they usually were. She brought vodka, Lethabo knew just how to set me off. I didn’t drink much that day, I had other plans. We were cuddling after a making love session when I asked her;
“Babe, do you miss dick?”
She was shocked. So was I. I don’t know why I asked that outloud but it was out there so I had to stick it out.
“Why would you ask that? No!” She exclaimed.
But have I told you what an amazing accent she had? I loved the way she spoke, especially when she spoke Sesotho. At that moment she switched to Sesotho so fast, it felt like English went out with Flash. I knew I had to explain myself. Sigh.
“It’s not a bad thing love. I mean you’ve slept with men before, it’s natural to miss…”
“Is this your way of telling me that you miss dick Mimi?”
Snap! Not going the way I wanted.
“Love look, no. That is seriously not what I’m saying…”
She interrupted once again; “What are you saying?”
“That I could get like toys for penetration and stuff. That’s if you’re up to stuff like that…” I felt her relax so I continued; “There is a lot we could try. It’d be fun.”
“You should’ve just said that maan!”
She started blushing again. I was out of trouble. Close call.
“And no I don’t miss dick, you’re enough for me babe.” She added softly.
“Okay my love. But we could still…”
“Yes we can always try something new. I’m game for anything, as long as it is with you.” She sealed it with a kiss.
It was funny how she didn’t move away from my chest during that little argument. I was expecting her to move away at any point but she didn’t. At least we got that out of the way. Just as the relationship was getting back on track, Lethabo got selected to be part of a team for a SADC film project. This was a documentary on SADC democracies and governments, the pros and cons. Not only was this project dangerous, it was long too. Can you imagine how long it would take them to be done with the whole region? I was excited for her. The travelling she would do was a dream come true for her, so was the project of that magnitude. I planned a great farewell private party for her after a night of clubbing. As she set off to film Africa, I went back to Dundee to cover a soccer tournament. I knew things would be different but I had no clue just how much.
