Makukhanye

It had been three weeks since Sthembiso left, and I was still stuck with a bodyguard I couldn’t stand. Even Kandy couldn’t stop teasing me about him.

“He’s not bad looking though,” Kandy said, “If he could shave his hair and that ridiculous mustache, he could be lookable.”

“He’s 58!” I exclaimed.

Kandy shrugged. “So?”

I playfully rolled my eyes. “You’re disgusting.”

Kandy laughed. “Okay, fine. Let’s get to the heart of the matter. Why is your dad torturing you with this really old grandpa looking bodyguard?”

I smiled despite myself. “You’re not here to discuss my bodyguard.”

Kandy gestured to the guard standing nearby. “How can I not? He’s standing right there!”

“Kandy!” I laughed. “Can we please focus?”

“Okay, okay. Do you know why your father sent Sthembiso away?” Kandy asked.

I shook my head and put my legs on the coffee table. “No, but I suspect he knows something.”

“Did he say anything to you?” Kandy pressed.

“No, he seemed normal when it was time for me to come back here. He didn’t appear mad or anything. But I have a feeling deep down that he knows something.”

“We all know how dangerous your father can be,” Kandy said. “Do you think he might have…?” She made a slashing motion across her throat.

I laughed. “That’s a bit extreme, don’t you think? My father may be a lot of things, but I doubt he’s capable of murder. Maybe he just scared Sthembiso away.”

“Right,” Kandy said, her voice laced with skepticism. 

I leaned back on the couch and let out a deep sigh. “Come on, have some faith in my dad,” I said.

Kandy turned to face me, “You know, I think you’re blessed.” I raised an eyebrow. “Blessed? Why? Because we’re rich?” Kandy shook her head. “No, because you have a caring father.” I snorted. “You mean a suffocating father.”

Kandy’s face softened and her voice dropped to a whisper. “He may be overbearing, but he loves you. Imagine if all fathers were like yours– willing to do anything to protect their daughters. My father was nothing but an asshole, he was a drunkard and an abuser he didn’t care about us. When he got a job, guess what he did?” Kandy let out a humourless laugh, “He left, that bastard left us. He left and went to stay with another woman just down the street and they had three kids. And you wonder why I am the way that I am, I keep on jumping on every guy I land my eyes on because I lacked a father figure. At some point I thought I was not his because what kind of a father does something like this? But I am the splitting image of that man. What tore my heart into pieces was seeing him pass me on the street as if I were some stranger, it used to sting but now I say whatever because he clearly doesn’t care about me so why should I?” 

I held Kandy’s hand and squeezed “I didn’t know.” Kandy took a deep breath and blinked her tears away, “I was not telling you to feel sorry for me, I was just trying to show you how lucky you are because I would give anything to have a father like yours.”