It was early in the morning around 06:00 a.m. when Xolelwa Mbiko, a 19 year-old girl, had just arrived home. She had spent the previous night, for the first time, at her boyfriend‘s place. She stood in front of the gate and noticed that the lights were switched on in the house. “Oh My God! My parents are awake,” she stressed. Why so early today? How the hell am I going to get inside? she thought to herself, worried.

She walked quietly around the back to her bedroom where she had left the window opened so she could gain entrance on that morning. To her surprise; the window was now closed. That’s when she began to panic; she was certain that she had left the window open. That could only mean that either her father or mother closed it and had noticed that she did not sleep at home the previous night.

“Oh Shit! Daddy is going to kill me!” This explains why they woke up so early today, she thought, they are waiting for me. “Oh my God! What am I going to do?” she mumbled to herself in panic. She took out her cellphone to phone her boyfriend, Vuyo, also 19, for advice as this was her first time having slept out. Before she could dial the number she heard a voice behind her, whispering in an annoyed manner.

“Xolelwa uvelaphi?” (Where are you coming from?) Her mother hissed.
Xolelwa was shocked and nearly dropped the phone as she turned. Her mother was standing behind her repeating her question. “Uvelaphi Xolelwa? If your father knew that ubutakile, you did not sleep at home, he’ll kill you. Come around the kitchen engaka kuboni. Khawuleza”.

Her mother was visibly angry as she ushered her through the kitchen door, tiptoeing, so as not be seen by her father. It appeared that the mother, Nokwakha, was the one who closed the window the previous night and had noticed that Xolelwa did not sleep at home. She had kept that information from her husband, Lungile, as he was a very strict person; he would have beaten Xolelwa if he had found out.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Xolelwa entered her bedroom and threw herself on top of the bed. She could not believe what her mother had just done for her. But she knew very well that was not the end of it; a long lecture from her mother would soon follow later. “Agg!! I must come up with a plan to lie to Mommy, I can’t confess that I was with my boyfriend, she will be very disappointed,” she mumbled as she lay in bed. The thought of her boyfriend, reminded her that she needed to let him know that she was safe.

She picked up her phone and opened her WhatsApp:

Xolelwa: Hy bbe

BbeVuyo: Luv U 2, my X

The thought of the possibility of Xolelwa being pregnant could not get out of Vuyo’s head. Although he managed to make light of it, it still bothered him extremely. They had only been dating for a few weeks when they decided to take their relationship to the next level. Their night of passion had been unplanned; Xolelwa had visited Vuyo unannounced and one thing had led to the other. They only realised later that there were no condoms but they continued to have unprotected sex.

Vuyo did not want his child to experience what he went through in his childhood; growing up without a father. If indeed it happened that Xolelwa was pregnant; that would mean he would not be as present a father as he would want to be. They were both still young and still lived with their parents. Vuyo knew the pain of growing up without a father and he didn’t want that for his child.

His father did a slayza tsotsi (hit and run) when his mother, Phindiw was pregnant with him. Vuyo’s mother had been in a relationship with his father not knowing that the man was married. When she discovered that she was pregnant, she broke the news to him expecting that he would be excited, marry her and they would live happily ever after. Instead, the man bluntly refused to be part of the baby’s life and told her that he was happily married. He was not willing to leave his wife, who was a few months pregnant, for a side dish.

That was the last time she ever heard or seen Vuyo’s father. She was deeply in love with him and was convinced that he was the love of her life. When he left her; it really broke her heart nearly to depression. But she worked hard and turned her life around, found a job and raised her son as a single mother. Though they were struggling financially but she managed to send him to tertiary where he met his girlfriend when they were doing their first year.

Three weeks after Vuyo and Xolelwa’s passionate night, Vuyo’s fear came to the realisation when Xolelwa visited him one night. She informed him that she had missed her periods; and she had been experiencing morning sickness lately.

They were both extremely scared. Xolelwa feared her parents and even suggested that if indeed she was pregnant she would have an abortion. But Vuyo did not want to hear any of it. He managed to calm her down and told her that it could be a false alarm. They decided to do proper tests to confirm the pregnancy before taking any decisions or announcing it to the adults.

He further came up with a brilliant idea that before they announce the pregnancy, they should build a relationship between their families. Vuyo would invite Xolelwa to meet his mother and Xolelwa would invite him to meet her parents. Vuyo’s intention was that when the news of the pregnancy broke he would have already met Xolelwa’s parents and got to know them better.

As days went by they successfully arranged to introduce each other to their parents and managed to keep the pregnancy under the carpet. Vuyo’s mother loved Xolelwa from the moment she laid eyes on her; she was already calling her Makoti. But Xolelwa’s parents were not too keen on Vuyo. They felt he was a township boy and he was too poor for their daughter. They kept their feelings to themselves because they could see that Xolelwa loved Vuyo.
The children then arranged for the two families to meet. It was agreed that Xolelwa’s family would prepare a lunch at their house the next weekend and they would host Vuyo and his mother. Obviously it had to be at Xolelwa’s home as they were the rich family who lived in a suburb; Lungile and Nokwakha would have never agreed to meet in a township where Vuyo and his mother resided.

The day arrived. It was a beautiful sunny Saturday and Vuyo and Xolelwa were super excited. While Nokwakha was busy finalising the lunch for the day, Xolelwa took her father’s car to fetch Vuyo and Phindiwe in the township. When she arrived Vuyo and his mother were all dressed up and ready to leave. Without wasting anytime they got in the car and drove to Xolelwa’s home.
When they arrived at the house, Phindiwe was intimidated by the big house. She had not realised that Xolelwa came from such rich family; she was sweet and humble. She began to be nervous and worried about what Xolelwa’s parents would think of her.

They got off the car and they all walked towards the door, Xolelwa walking in front and Vuyo and his mother behind her. Xolelwa then opened the door and said, “Welcome to my home Mam’Phindi.” They found Xolelwa’s parents sitting in the lounge with a huge smile on their face.

Phindiwe walked in and suddenly stood frozen at the door, eyes wide open, starring at Xolelwa’s father. She became angrier and angrier. She shouted, “LUNGILE!”

He jumped up from the chair. “Phindiwe. Ufuna ntoni apha?” (What are you doing here?)

Everyone in lounge was confused. Vuyo’s mother started shivering with anger, tears rolling down her face. “Lungile, you’re a bastard, How could you?”
Vuyo interjected “Hayi Mama,”

She looked at him with teary eyes. “Vuyo my boy, meet your father Lungile.”
The End

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