Khonzani parked his muddy Jeep in the garage. He paid little attention to the dark BMW SUV parked on the street. He slammed his door, nearly shattering the glass. Frustration had hit him again after another unsuccessful job interview. It was waste of resources; his fuel, hotel costs, and time disappeared very cheaply. He burst into the house, loosening the same orange tie (a neck-tie that was fed up with unfruitful job interviews), hoping that his wife was awake to comfort him. Upendø was his only hope on earth. Apart from being a good wife, Upendø had been his comfort zone ever since he was fired from law firm where he had worked as chief accountant for eleven years. The reason for his dismissal was possession of cocaine and beer at work. This dismissal affected him mentally so much that he yelled at everyone in the neighbourhood except Upendø, and punished Milå beyond her size.

He rolled his eyes as usual and stormed into the lounge, shouting to his wife to hear his disappointment: “Waste of time, I’m still unemployed!”

When Upendø didn’t respond, he looked around suspiciously, and his eyes landed on some visitor sitting on the sofa. And when Khonzani realized that the visitor was Arishi Mzitheyi, a woman with whom he had a bad past, he threw his half-drunk cider on the floor. The visitor took him to a worst trip down a memory lane—Arishi was a beautiful woman who gave him a cold shoulder back then when he was a rookie at law firm, without a car, house and looks. Arishi had opted for a rich man, Mzitheyi, a man twice her age and was a governor of Reserve Bank. She wanted some man with money to take care of her beauty at its peak.

Khonzani hated to see his former crush in his home. “Arishi, what are you doing at my house?” he asked with one eyebrow raised.

“I’m here to apologize for my son who’s dating your little daughter. For the sake of our peace, I want to separate him from your daughter,” Arishi Mzitheyi said, and shakily placed the coffee mug on the stool.

But things were about to get from bad to worse—Khonzani now understood that the boy dating his daughter belonged to a woman who gave him unforgettable cold shoulder. He boiled. He recalled the heart-breaking words Arishi had said to him nineteen years ago: “You and I are not meant to be one flesh”. So, Khonzani shook his head and recreated those words: “My daughter and your son are not meant to be one flesh.”

“I know, that’s why I’m here, to make peace,” Arishi Mzitheyi said sincerely, folding her arms.

Khonzani looked away from her in disgust. “Actually, my daughter is too beautiful for your son. He cannot afford her beauty. Perhaps you should witness how beautiful my daughter is. Upendø, please call our daughter here.”

“Okay, dear.” Upendø complied.

Arishi Mzitheyi couldn’t help but sigh, knowing this was a revenge. However, Upendø was caught off guard in her daughter’s bedroom. She noticed the open window, the untouched breakfast, and the scent of vanilla perfume in the air. She ran back and reported: “Dear, our daughter went out the window.”

“What!?” Khonzani fumed, and glared at Arishi Mzitheyi: “My daughter should be in your house with your ugly son.”

“I don’t want to argue with you,” Arishi Mzitheyi reacted, “how sure are you that your daughter is at my house?”

“I’m about to find out!” Khonzani yelled as he stormed out.

Arishi Mzitheyi stood in fear and asked for peace again: “Khonzani, please. Please don’t hurt my only child.”

It was Khonzani’s Jeep that responded: Vroom!