Mai VaMaidei tried her best to pretend that I was not there. She was using a dust feather to comb the cobwebs that had gathered on the ceiling. After that, she took the dirty dishes from the previous night’s supper and started rinsing them. She did everything else except look in my direction.
I sat in the kitchen while all this was going on. After a while, I stood up and went to the bedroom. I lifted the mattress up so I could get some money. The cheap khaki envelope in which we kept our money was gone. There must be an explanation for this.
I went back to the kitchen with a puzzle on my face. I found Mai VaMaidei humming under her breathe, her nose was in her mouth. I cleared my throat so I could say something. She did not give me a chance to say anything, but instead, she took a bucket of water and went outside at the backyard.
I lifted my eyebrows when she came back with the empty bucket.
“I can’t find the money we keep under the mattress, where is it?” I said. Before she she could even say anything, Mai Hwidza, our co-tenant, came out of her room. There was a hollow silence as she made her way out of the house. The sound of the silence extended even further after she had shut the door.
I had to ask her again.
“Where is the money?” I said.
She suddenly wheeled around and stared at me. There was no emotion on her face. The emotion was from deep inside her heart and a flicker in her eyes.
“Mai Bhobho saw you with Sister Lynette at the shops yesterday. Do you want this marriage to work or not?”
I groaned inside. Mai Bhobho, our neighbour never tired of gossiping. Mai VaMaidei always suspected that there was something going on between me and Sister Lynette. That was not the case. Sister Lynette was a hairdresser at the shops. My interaction with her was just brief and cordial all the time, nothing more.
“I saw Sister Lynette at the shops, but I was not with her. Don’t listen to everything Mai Bhobho tells you,” I said.
“You spend too much time at the shops in your free time. What do you expect me to think?” Mai VaMaidei said.
I half expected her to sit down so that we could discuss over this misunderstanding. Instead, she picked up the basket that contained sweet potatoes. She was preparing to go to the market.
“If you go sleeping around with every woman you meet in a skirt, you are going to wreck this marriage, I am warning you,” Mai VaMaidei said.
I was perturbed. I looked outside. The sky was blue, indicating the clearest sky I had seen this winter.
I suddenly had no appetite to go to the shops. I had never spent a Saturday at home. For the likes of me and there were many people like me, Saturdays were created for fun and enjoyment, not at home, but anywhere else. It would be my first Saturday at home in years if I stayed indoors.
Mai VaMaidei had even hid the money from me. It was my turn to buy beer. Rasta and Fatso were likely waiting for me at Zororo Bar. Baba VaTata had travelled the previous day to Musina to buy some spares for his car. Mai VaMaidei had denied me permission to accompany him on fears that we could get into some mischief.
There was a sudden knock at the gate. When I opened it, it was Mukoma Edza. He had a small hand cart. I helped load three large baskets into the cart. The baskets contained red tomatoes, sweet potatoes and green vegetables. This time she did not have green peas.
Our house always had this fun smell of freshly dug soil because of this type of farm produce. For the trip to the market with the load, Mai VaMaidei paid him one dollar. The same dollar also covered for the trip back home at the end of the day.
Mai VaMaidei always carried on her head a black canvas bag full of second hand clothes for children even though there was always enough space in the cart. She would follow behind Mukoma Edza until they reached the busy market.
I stood on the front porch of the house as they were leaving. During this time of day, there were a few passersby in Hwata Street.
As Mai VaMaidei was closing the gate, a woman in a yellow floral dress met her by the gate. To my surprise it was Sister Lynette. What did she want? I had never seen Mai VaMaidei so angry. Within a few seconds, her face metamorphosed into a mask of rage. She took hold of Sister Lynette’s hand firmly and dragged her back to the house. I ran back inside the house, with my heart pounding like a sledgehammer.
I was least prepared for what happened next, but that is the story for next time.
Onie Ndoro X@Onie90396982
