Lerato still couldn’t look at Themba in the morning. She was so mad she wanted to strangle him. This thought had kept her up most of the night, wondering if this marriage was a big mistake. Would she have to spend the rest of her life mopping up after Themba’s epic fails?
“Babe, did you pack my lunch?” Themba asked when they went into the house.
Lerato didn’t answer. She wanted to say something hurtful, but remembered that the rest of the family didn’t know about the accident yet. She didn’t want to start anybody off in a bad mood.
She turned to Busi and handed her a cup of coffee, pretending as if she didn’t hear Themba at all. Themba knew the silent treatment well and knew not to push. He took out his lunch box and started throwing some leftover chicken in it. He hadn’t eaten much last night, worried about breaking the news to Lerato. And now he was packing the same chicken for lunch and his wife-to-be was not talking to him.
He tossed the chicken back in the bucket, and reached for some coffee. It was probably cursed chicken anyway, he thought. He wondered if he would ever look at KFC the same again without reliving the trauma of the accident.
Samke floated around the house, getting Khwezi and herself ready. Baba was too pleased at his plans for the crèche to notice. Busi was on her own and she dreaded the car ride with Themba and Lerato at loggerheads.
“Samke, don’t forget I’ll be at the salon after work,” Lerato said, “to help you with the contracts.”
“That’s great, I’ll be ready and waiting,” Samke said giving Khwezi a last hug before she left for work.
***
When Lerato arrived at the salon after work, Samke wasn’t there. She met Samke’s new hire, Lady Zane, who had the not so glamorous job of sweeping hair off the floor.
“Where is Samke?” Lerato said looking around.
“She left in a huff,” Josiah said. “She only had one client come in today and Zane had to do the person’s braids.”
Lerato couldn’t believe it! Typical Samke.
“Do you really think the salon should even be employing anyone right now?” she asked Josiah as they waited, trying to reach Samke by phone.
“I told her to wait a bit, but you know Samke.”
Yes, Lerato knew Samke all too well.
“Reckless. That’s no way to run a business!”
“Can I get you something?” Josiah offered.
“Do you have any cold water or cooldrink, please,” Lerato needed something to cool her nerves down. Today was not a good day for her, and the last thing she wanted to do was to wait for Samke.
“And how are you finding this place, Zanele?” she asked, making small talk.
“I can’t complain. I’m grateful to have a job.”
Lerato could feel her throat tighten at the mention of a job. Today had been the worst day ever and it wasn’t just Samke not showing up. Lerato had received some shocking news of her own.
She watched Zanele walk around the salon, trying to keep herself busy. She remembered Samke boasting about how overqualified she was, but here she was, sweeping the floor.
Lerato wondered if one day this would be her: overqualified and doing small jobs just to stay alive? This was not the life she had envisioned. And the longer she sat here, the more her chest tightened.
She thought about the meeting she had had with management earlier in the day.
The company was too small they had told her. They hadn’t had enough business recently. They had expanded too fast and they couldn’t afford to keep all their staff on. They were really sorry that they hadn’t foreseen this, especially since she was so reliable and skilled at her job.
Lerato was shocked. She was being retrenched. Just like that.
“You’re young and brilliant, you’ll find something soon,” they had offered as words of comfort.
She had to work out her last month at the company but then …
Lerato was never big on waiting, and she couldn’t wait around for Samke any longer. She needed to go home, she needed to cry in private like she had in the bathroom after the meeting. She wasn’t looking forward to telling Themba.
At home she found Themba watching TV in their room. She couldn’t tell him. Not like this, she thought. She wasn’t ready.
***
In the morning, Lerato didn’t bother getting up. She stayed in bed and watched Themba rushing around, getting ready for work.
“Aren’t you not going to work today?” Themba asked.
Silence.
“Are you sick?”
Silence.
“Look, I know you’re still angry with me about the car, but I promise I’ll sort all this out.”
“How Themba? How will you sort it out?” she snapped. “It’s not just the car. How can we afford to get married?”
“I don’t know. But if we work together we can figure it out.”
“Work together? You keep saying that but I’m the one who constantly has to be adult in this relationship. And I’m tired.”
“It will get better …”
“When? How?”
Silence.
Then Lerato broke down and started crying.
“Hey, no need for tears, I’ll fix it.”
“Will you fix me having a job too?”
“No, because you have a great job already.”
Now it was Lerato’s turn to be silent.
“Tell me, what’s wrong?”
After what seemed like a long time, she sat up. Her eyes were red from crying.
“I was told I’m getting retrenched,” she announced.
“What? Why?”
“The company is closing.”
“Why?” Themba was shocked. He felt terrible for Lerato and wished he could do more than bring her coffee and put his arms around her.
“We’ll start looking for a new job, a secure job,” he comforted her. “I’ll help you.”
This was sweet but Lerato wasn’t happy.
“You’re my wife now, and I’ll support you with everything.”
Lerato got up and got ready for work.
“I thought they retrenched you?” said Themba. “Why don’t you just relax. Take a few days off before you start looking for a new job. I’ll help you, I promise.”
“I still have to work the last month. They gave me a month’s notice. And they will pay my last salary. But we’ll have to cut back on everything …”
“I’ll work in overtime,” said Themba. “You’ll find a job soon, who wouldn’t want to hire you?”
On the way to work, Lerato and Themba didn’t say anything to each other. Themba didn’t know what else to say and Lerato was lost in thought. At least she would get a good recommendation letter, her boss had promised that.
When they pulled up outside Lerato’s office Themba squeezed her hand. “I’ll help you search online. I can even help you practise for interviews. You’ll see, you’ll get a job in no time.”
When she got out of the car, Lerato took a deep breath. When she got home she would start looking for another job. She thought of the house that they had looked at. She thought of the wedding. She had pictured it in her head every night. She couldn’t give up now.
