was in fact quite embarrassing.
Nandi sniffled into the phone, holding back the tears.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to evoke forgotten feelings,” Zaza said. “I just don’t want you to get hurt again.”
“You’re right, my friend,” Nandi murmured. “It’s so damn hard to let go. I hate it that after all these years I still hurt.”
“Who said getting over someone you loved is easy? Life is hard, sweetheart, but you’re pulling through.”
“Chris and I often joked we would grow old and get fitted with false teeth together. You know what’s funny: that a part of me believes Chris ending our relationship was my fault. Maybe I didn’t do enough to save it, maybe I gave up too soon.”
“You’re doing it again, blaming yourself for his cruel actions. You had nothing to do with him leaving. He wanted out of the relationship. You couldn’t have stopped him from doing what he wanted,” Zaza said. “Listen to me for a second. I may not be the best person to dish out advice, given my own not so clean state of affairs, but one thing I know for sure is that you are phenomenal. You’re beautiful. You’re strong. You’re smart and successful. You have a loving partner. You have everything going for you. You don’t need to allow the stress called Chris into your life.”
“I know,” Nandi said quietly.
“Good. Unfortunately I have to end this conversation now. I’m picking up Bheki from the airport. We’ll continue this discussion at Soya this afternoon.”
Nandi replaced the receiver, closed her eyes and pictured Chris’s face to herself. He was nearly thirty-four, three years older than her. His birthday was coming up the following month. She wondered if he was still so good-looking and if he would still find her attractive. She wondered what their conversation would be like, if they met. She wasn’t as angry with him any more as she had been; over time her fury and humiliation had subsided. She only wanted answers from him. And an apology. That much he owed her.
The office phone rang, snapping Nandi back to reality. It was Tumi.
“Chomi, I need to see you. Can we meet up after work?”
Nandi noted the distress in her friend’s voice. But then, there was always something Tumi was concerned about, her phone call earlier that morning being a case in point. “Sure. You still feeling uneasy?”
Tumi drew a deep breath, looked at the ultrasound in her hand. “I don’t know, maybe my uneasiness isn’t baseless.” She told Nandi of Nomkhosi’s visit and the ultrasound the young woman had left behind.
Nandi was silent for a long time. “Iyadelela bo lentombazana, why did she come to you?”
“To apologise in person. She says she’s ashamed of what she has done.”
“Tumi, you can’t go sympathising with her. You don’t know anything about this woman,” Nandi cautioned, adding, “Don’t tell me you buy her story. Do you?”
“No,” Tumi said with some hesitation. “You know I . . . I trust my husband.”
“But?”
Tumi breathed heavily into the phone. “I don’t know what to believe. I’m confused. I’m not thinking straight. This woman said things that are still stuck in my mind.”
“Don’t allow yourself to be confused by this woman,” Nandi stated firmly. “Have you spoken to Tshepo?”
“I couldn’t bring myself to,” Tumi confessed. “Something held me back.”
“Chomi, your husband is implicated. He needs to know about this incident.”
“I know,” Tumi said. “So do you think we can get together this afternoon?”
“On condition that you have a chat with Tshepo.”
“I’ll talk to him,” Tumi said. “By the way, have you spoken to Pri today?”
“No. Is she all right?”
“I wish I knew. She sounded odd when I called her but insisted she was fine. Now her phone is going straight to voice mail.”
“Must be work,” Nandi said. “The other day she and a group of women were on the news. They were barricading the court or something hectic like that. I applaud her for the work she does for humanity, our little Princess, the feisty tigress. I’ll call and tell her we’re meeting.”
“Where are we meeting?”
“I’ve agreed on Soya with Zaza.”
“Chomi, is it a good idea to get Zaza and Princess together in the same space?” Tumi asked. “I don’t want to have to witness their squabbling in public again. Those two are like children; one would think they’re thirteen going on fourteen instead of thirty-one going on thirty-two. When are they going to grow up?”
Nandi thought back to when Zaza and Princess were first introduced, many years ago, after Zaza had moved to Joburg with her husband. The two women had taken an instant and irrefutable dislike to each other, as if the matter had been decided long before they even met. Neither woman could hide her dismay at how a delightful person like Nandi could be acquainted with the other. How can you choose her for a friend? their eyes questioned.
Zaza’s claim was that she knew Nandi back when they used to catch and dissect grasshoppers and play naked in mud puddles in the streets of Lamontville township, south of Durban. She said they were blood friends.
Nandi met Princess later, while serving her articles with a large accounting firm in town. Princess, who was in the middle of studying towards a law degree with the University of Johannesburg, had ditched life in a campus residence for a somewhat more permanent place to stay. The decision to move out was necessitated by the fact that she didn’t exactly have a home to go to during university holidays. She had fallen out with her father following her mother’s death while she was completing her matriculation, and hadn’t returned home since. Princess had posted an advertisement for a roommate on the internet and Nandi responded; she was looking for a place closer to town. Princess contended that it was the quality, and not length, of the friendship that mattered. “Friendships aren’t like wine that you shove in the cellar for years and expect to come out tasting divine,” she said. “You have to work at maintaining good friends.”
Initially Nandi disregarded the friction between her two friends, figured they would warm up to each other with time. She didn’t imagine that they would become best friends and remain that forever – their personalities, and the core nature of the friendship each girl had with her, were simply too different. Nevertheless she expected them to tolerate each other for her sake.
“You’re right, Tumi,” Nandi said on the phone. “I’ll mention to Princess that Zaza will be joining us as well. She can then choose to come or not.”
Nandi felt grateful towards Tumi. She was mature and got along fantastically with everyone. Dubbed the mother of the group, Tumi had practical advice for every situation.
Nandi had met Tumi through Chris, just after they’d started dating. Tshepo and Chris had been great pals once upon a time. They used to double date as young couples, and even holidayed together. Abruptly
