Last night I told Jonathan I don’t want to see him. I have too much going on in my life, Kian is so young, he needs my attention. And Angelo, ai, Angelo. What more can I say about Angelo?
I love Jonathan. With my whole heart and soul I am in love with that man. Last night we spoke on WhatsApp. He called me.
“I can’t, Angelo needs me,” I said.
“Angelo needs both of us. Please don’t throw me away, Petronella. I love you. We can get through this thing together,” he pleaded.
I kept back my tears. He is everything I ever dreamed about. And he wants me, with all my baggage. He says he loves me. But my children need me now, not a man. I need to make sure Angelo does not end up like his father. Having a man in my life will just provoke him further.
“I’m sorry Jonathan, but I can’t,” I said and dropped the phone.
He typed a message. I read it and left him on read. As they say, blue ticked.
But today is a new day. Angelo told me he is done with the gang. My heart feels funny about it. Such a strange feeling. Almost like the feeling when his dad was shot. No! I will not have a repeat of that. No, God, no, asseblief tog! I prayed.
Suddenly my phone rings. I answer.
“Mevrou Petronella Adams?” a woman’s voice asks.
“Yes?”
“Mevrou, your child was involved with the gangs, he was almost stabbed by four guys.”
“What? Where is he! Is he safe? What happened?”
“He is safe. We have him here at our day hospital. He is just in shock. A man helped just in time. The man is in a critical condition, he was stabbed.”
I look around for my handbag, my keys. “I’m coming immediately!”
At the hospital I see Angelo waiting for me outside the door. He grabs me and cries.
“Ma! I’m so sorry, Ma! I just wanted to be out … they almost killed me.”
“It’s okay, my child. Ma is here now.” I comfort him. Dankie tog, he is safe! But who is the man that risked his own life for my child? “Where is the man who helped you?”
“Ma, it’s Jonathan,” Angelo says and cries.
My body goes cold. No! Jonathan! No! No! I take Angelo’s arm and run into the building. Where is my man? Please let him be okay, please let him be alive. I need to know that I haven’t lost the man of my dreams!
I go up to a nurse at reception. “Askies, I’m here to see a patient, Jonathan Adriaans?”
“Are you his wife?”
“Ah, no, I’m his neighbour and friend,” I say. “He also saved my child’s life, he also won my heart, but I ignored him last night … please tell me where he is!” I cry.
Angelo sees my tears, he hears my sadness, he grabs my hand. “I’m sorry, Ma …” he says.
“My child, you don’t have to say sorry, just be grateful for God’s mercy,” I grab his hand too.
The nurse smiles kindly. “Mevrou, you can come through, doctor wants to talk with you.”
“I’ll wait here, Ma,” Angelo says.
I go through the door and my heart beats hard. Did I win my child only to lose my dream man forever?
They walk me through the cold corridors. So many lives lost within these walls. Public hospitals are never a pretty sight. And there he lies. Broken. My strong Jonathan Adriaans who saved my child’s life.
***
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