It was the first of February and at last Sipho had all the money to buy the necklace. He was just waiting till lunchtime so he could draw the last thousand rand needed from his salary, and then he’d run into Starlight Diamonds and pay the full amount he owed. He felt on top of the world. He couldn’t wait to see her face when she opened the box and saw what he’d been saving for. She would know how much he loved her, and that he hoped to spend the rest of his life with her.

Karabo had been very cross with him for a few days after the party, snapping at everything he said. He couldn’t do anything right. But they’d spent this last weekend together. He’d taken her to the movies, and he let her choose a romantic chick flick, and he’d bought her a Coke and a slab and a big tub of popcorn. She had laughed at his jokes and been happy. The old fun-loving Karabo, who loved him, was back.

It was less than two weeks till Valentine’s Day. There was going to be a special celebration – a dance at their church hall. He’d bought tickets and he couldn’t wait to see her in her sexy, black, low-necked dress, with the necklace shining on her glistening skin. When she saw it she was going to know how deeply he loved her. The other girls would all be jealous when they saw how well her boyfriend treated her.

At one o’clock he was about to ask Mr Mahomed if he could take lunch when he saw the Gumtree lady come into the shop, carrying the cage. His heart sank. There in the cage was Perry, chirping away.

“Is there a problem?” he asked.

“Sorry man,” the woman said. “I have to return the parrot. My husband is allergic to birds and we only found out just now. He’s had asthma since the day I bought him, and the doctor says we can’t have birds around the house. I’m sorry, hey.”

In disbelief, he stared at her. No, this couldn’t be happening. But it was.

He opened his wallet and gave her back the money he was about to spend on the necklace. He was back to square one.

There was only one thing to do – to repost the advertisement on Gumtree. Then he decided to advertise on Facebook too. None of his friends had that much money, but maybe they might know someone who would want to buy it.

It was ten days since he’d been on Facebook. The shop was quiet after lunch, so he spent a little while checking out his friends’ posts. Sim was having problems with his car again. Mzi had won two thousand on the Lotto, and he’d spent it all on clothes at Markhams. Sira and Saida went to the Justin Bieber concert, and had their photos taken with him. And Motso had uploaded hundreds of photos from Thabi’s party.

He wished he could have been there. The house was awesome, and Thabi had gone to town with the food. She loved cooking. There were so many people there, dancing, and drinking and chatting around the little pool. Sim was braaing in the garden, which had a big tree and a swing. Wait – was that Karabo on the swing? But who was she cuddled up with?

He took another good look at it. The guy was Dominic. The gears of Sipho’s heart changed in a sudden jolt, and a rush of adrenalin ran through his veins. He flipped through all the photos. The rest were worse. They were dancing together, and he had his hand on her backside. Sipho felt sick. What was he going to do? The girl he loved the best in the world was slipping away from him, and there seemed to be nothing he could do.

***

Tell us what you think: Will Sipho break up with Karabo? Or will he confront Dominic?