“Boo,” Jabu pleaded.
“Boo?” Vathiswa repeated.
“Shut up,” Babalwa whispered. Slapping her across the shoulder.
“Don’t throw it away. Yes, it’s scary but give us another chance. I gave you your space, you hid me away in the closet, built a family, a beautiful one at that if I might add. But don’t do this. Don’t run away from what we have.”
“I can’t. I’m sorry… I can’t go through this again. I asked you for space and you cost me 30 years of marriage. Now you stand here and ask me not to throw away what we had?”
“Then why did you text me?”
“I don’t know, it was a mistake. I didn’t mean to. It’s just that… when I saw you at the airport, all those feelings, they just washed over me. They came back. I-I-” Mduduzi stammered and ran his hand across his head.
“Mdu look at me,” Jabulile’s voice was stern but reassuring, “Don’t tell me I came here all for nothing. If you didn’t want me, want this, you wouldn’t be standing here in front of me. Deep down I know you want this as much as I do.
“Can we not do this? Here,”
“Things are bound to get crazy but that’s part of love. We’ll find a way to make it work, all I know is that this time, I’m not letting you go. We’ve been here before and I let you have what you wanted, this time, it’s my turn to get what I want and I want you. Because I love you.”
“Listen, I-”
“Let’s stop dwelling on the past and focus on the now, take control and give us a chance. This is our love and we’ve been here before, we didn’t give it a chance. Tell me, do you like what we’ve become?”
Mduduzi kept quiet
“My point exactly, so I beg of you. Don’t give up on us. Because I know all those things you were saying to me were real. You love me just as much as I love you. Just don’t give up on us, I beg you.” Jabulile finished, running his hand along Mduduzi Senior’s cheek.
The room had no concept of sound as it watched with bated breath to find out if a man they had gotten so much wrong about was ready to make one of two choices. Re-ignite a flame that had been burning slowly for so many years and made him an angry, bitter homophobe as a result of being denied the opportunity of being in the arms of his true love or snuffing it out and live out his days like this never happened.
Tell us: What do you think about Mdu Senior’s actions?