Once they’d arrived home, Anathi wasted no time in returning to the office, briefing one of her juniors on Jez’s case and handing it over. After three days of non-stop work, Karabo decided to stay up and wait for her mother to come home. It was eleven o’clock and Karabo had watched enough TV to make her feel giddy. Isla had gone to bed hours ago (she’d decided to stay in Johannesburg with Karabo until they went to the farm).

Hearing the garage door close, Karabo felt the cool air blow into the lounge as her mother came into the house. She switched the TV off and stood up to face her mother.

‘Nice to see you mom,’ she said.

Anathi sighed. ‘Karabo,’ she said softly, before dropping her handbag onto a chair. ‘It’s so late.’

‘Agreed,’ Karabo answered. ‘When are you going to stop and speak to me and tell me what the hell is going on, and why you are working yourself to the bone?’ demanded Karabo.

Anathi rubbed her eyes, and Karabo could see she was exhausted. Her skin had become sallow.

‘Can I make you some tea?’ offered Karabo kindly. Anathi dropped down onto the couch and nodded.

Karabo moved slowly but intently around the kitchen as she made her mother tea, just the way she liked it. She spread a thick layer of peanut butter across a slice of freshly toasted bread — knowing her mother, she probably hadn’t eaten since breakfast.

Karabo sat across from Anathi, placing the toast and tea on the table in front of her. Anathi sipped the tea and nibbled slowly at the toast. She looked too tired to eat but was trying.

‘I know what happened with William. Jez told me. I begged her to tell me,’ explained Karabo. ‘So, what’s going on with you mom? What are you working on now?’ asked Karabo, watching Anathi finish the last bite of her peanut-butter toast.

Anathi picked up her teacup and hugged it between her palms, before sitting back and looking straight at Karabo.

‘I have other clients Karabz. I have been neglecting them and the juniors have been making stupid mistakes which I should have picked up. Working on this crazy mission for Cedric, and then trying to help Jez, has derailed me. I walked into a firing line from the partners in the firm on Monday. I need to hand over Cedric’s mission to get his treasure back, and a junior can actually manage the paperwork for Jez’s case, with my supervision of course,’ explained a resigned Anathi, the weight of her work pressure appearing to make her shrink further into her chair.

‘I’m sorry mom, you work so hard. You’re amazing you know and thank you for telling me what’s going on, I thought you were mad at me,’ said Karabo, her earnest voice making Anathi smile.

‘Thank you, my angel. I’m definitely not mad at you. It’s just work and I’ve managed to fix quite a few things over the past three days so I’ll go in later tomorrow. I’ll take you and Isla for breakfast in Sandton. OK?’

‘OK,’ said Karabo, relieved to finally know what was happening in her mother’s life, and comforted that she wasn’t cross with her. Anathi’s distance from her had made her worry that her mother

was upset that Karabo hadn’t seen William’s betrayal coming. Something that she still couldn’t stomach or even think about.

The last few days of the August holidays were spent on Isla’s parents’ farm. The brooding grey clouds that swept across the expansive sky, in a seemingly constant drizzle, matched Karabo’s mood. Anathi had flown down to the Hepworth’s farm with Isla and Karabo and stayed over for the night. Karabo had overheard her recounting what had happened in Madagascar. Anathi was most emphatic in her assurance of Karabo and Isla’s safety, reinforcing the fact that the girls had at no point encountered Edward English. Karabo knew that Anathi loved Isla as her own and would do anything to protect the girls’ friendship and ensure they came to no harm.

Anathi felt it was crucial to make the trip to the farm and tell the Hepworths exactly what had gone wrong — especially since they’d returned from Madagascar a week early with tails between their legs.

‘Unfortunately, Edward English and that Frenchman have the Malagasy police in their pockets. As a result, we were escorted from the country and will probably never be able to set foot back on that island,’ explained Anathi.

‘How horrific!’ exclaimed Mrs Hepworth, wide-eyed.

‘No loss,’ grumbled Mr Hepworth, through his unmoving beard. ‘Who wants to go to Madagascar anyway?’

‘But darling, it’s still terrible to be banned from a place,’ said Mrs Hepworth.

Mr Hepworth merely shrugged, perfectly content knowing that they would never go to Madagascar.

‘I just felt I had to explain it to you in person Amy. The children weren’t in danger, but Isla won’t be able to go to Madagascar again,’ said Anathi, her weariness revealing itself in dark sleepless rings under her eyes.

After Anathi left, the days at the Hepworths passed by in Isla’s bedroom, under a thick warm duvet. Mrs Hepworth would bring them tea and treats, and only once insisted they get outside when the rain lifted for a day. Isla’s brother Fab would occasionally saunter into the room, which resulted in Isla screaming hysterically and throwing things at him. Karabo was fascinated by their relationship which seemed to consist only of fighting. Her solitary only-child life seemed far more pleasant than this sibling version.

‘Why do you hate him so much?’ Karabo asked Isla after one of Fab’s walk-ins.

‘I don’t hate him, Karabz,’ said Isla, as though Karabo had just said the most ridiculous thing. ‘He’s just the most annoying person alive, that’s all!’ she explained, as if it made perfect sense. Karabo decided it was clearly something one had to experience to understand.

During their sleepy holiday on the farm, they avoided speaking about William. Mzi would occasionally message to find out how they were doing, and Isla would beam each time his messages pinged through. Karabo had to bite her tongue to ensure she didn’t remind Isla that Mzi was really only checking in as a friend. But she couldn’t break Isla’s mood. Besides, that seemed too cruel to do. Buzz had also called. Karabo didn’t go into much detail about what had happened in Madagascar, and didn’t even mention that William had been with them; she knew very well that Buzz didn’t like or trust him at all. She felt like a liar and, if she was honest with herself, she was being one. It all felt so complicated. She promised Buzz that she would see him in Johannesburg over the December holidays.

***

Question: Why has Anathi been working such long hours?