Sisterhood

The following day, Thandi and Amahle went shopping. Amahle insisted that they buy colour coordinated dresses for their dinner that afternoon. They went back to Thandi’s flat after watching a movie and prepared for their dinner. When S’bu got there, they were ready and he couldn’t stop complimenting on how great they looked. He decided to join them and wear a tie that matched their colours. When they arrived at the restaurant, he got out, opened the doors for them and handed his keys to the valet. He walked to The Pearls with his arm around Thandi’s waist and holding Amahle with his other hand. The three of them looked so perfect and attracted a lot of attention.

They were welcomed by the waitress who lead them to their table and handed them the menus. Thandi had been there with S’bu a multiple times before but could never get used to the expensive prices their dishes costed. Even though she could afford all this now, she did not come from a rich family and did not think it was necessary to spend this much on food.

“MaDlamini, don’t” S’bu said seeing through her.

“I didn’t say anything” Thandi said amused.

“Yes, it’s all worth it. What’s the use of me working so hard if I can’t spoil the most important people in my life?” he asked seeing through her.

Thandi blushed, she was finding it harder to hide her thoughts from him these days. S’bu read through her like an open book. The waitress could not hide her excitement when she took their order. Very few people ordered a full course meal here because of the prices. Today she was going to get a really good commission. The three of them chatted and laughed happily, enjoying their meal. S’bu watched Thandi and Amahle’s happy faces and vowed in his heart to do his best to make them a family soon. When they finished their meal, their waitress could not believe her luck when she saw her tip. She was so thankful that she even offered to take a photo of the lovely family.

Amahle was already asleep by the time they got home. S’bu carried her to bed, watched her smiling dreaming daughter for a while before leaving her and was more determined to give her a family they both wanted.

The following day the photo of S’bu, Thandi and Amahle was all over social media. S’bu had posted it before sleeping and could not believe how much attention it attracted. There were a lot of speculation on what the photo signified. “If he is introducing his girlfriend to his daughter, I can hear the wedding bells” one user commented.

“But the girlfriend and the daughter have been besties for years now” one of Sbu’s old followers responded. It was not the first time S’bu posted Thandi and Amahle together. He actually posted them a lot when he was still persuading her to be his girlfriend. Others commented on how perfect they looked together but someone was not happy with the attention the photo attracted and decided to act on it. The following day, Thandi took a reluctant Amahle back to the Jobe home and promised to spend more time with her from now on. Now that she knew that Amahle longed for a Mother, she wanted to fill that void but felt guilty that she couldn’t do it the way Amahle wanted. After dropping Amahle off, she went to meet her girlfriends.

“Hey Thandi, that photo of the three of you at The Pearls is so perfect. Everyone at the office is convinced that Amahle is yours” Jane said.

“She might as well be, if I didn’t know any better I would be convinced too” Cindy said.

“Amahle would have preferred that. She can’t wait for you to marry her father, so she can have a Mother” Mandy said.

“Amahle has everything, I didn’t realise that she wanted a Mother so bad until recently” Thandi said troubled.

“Every child wants a Mother dear” Jane said.

“Enough about me, Cindy is there anything you want to tell us?” Thandi asked mischievously.

Cindy blushed.

“There’s a story there, a man perhaps?” Mandy said whimsically.

“It can’t be, not Miss I’m done with man forever” Jane said laughing.

“Oh come on guys, I was done with the cheating bastards” Cindy said still blushing.

“So, there is someone?”

“Who is it?”

“Where did you meet?”

“Is it love?”

“What does he look like?” one question came after the other.

“Why don’t you get popcorn, sit and I will tell you everything” Cindy suggested giggling.

When everyone settled down, Cindy told them about her new relationship with Tsepo who gave her butterflies in her tummy and made her blush all the time. Cindy had been hurt a multiple times before and almost gave up on man but Tsepo was very different from the man she dated before. He treated her well and respected her opinion. She was scared to tell Thandi about it because Tsepo valued Thandi and S’bu’s opinion very much. She was sure that if the two objected, Tsepo would end things with her. Thandi was happy for them, she couldn’t think of anyone better suited for Tsepo than Cindy.

“Brace yourself friend, from now on you will have countless enemies and you will be called a gold digger a multiple times” Thandi warned Cindy after giving her blessings.

“Yes, welcome to the team” shouted Jane and Mandy.

“But, I have my own money!” Cindy exclaimed.

“I do too, Mandy does and so is Jane but here we are” Thandi said.

“We are dating powerful, charming, handsome man with a lot of admirers. You automatically become an enemy and a gold digger, no matter how much you have” Jane explained. Ever since she started dating Menzi, her friends circle became smaller and her enemies grew. The only people who could relate were Thandi and Mandy who were in the same boat as her.

“Everyone knows that my Dad is rich and I make my own money. I never really understood Thandi’s problems until I dated Bonga. Girls use to suck up to me because of S’bu and Menzi but now they hate me for being with the youngest and sexiest of the Kings advisors” Mandy added.

“I was once one of those girls” Cindy said ashamed. She also called Thandi a gold digger and stopped talking to her back in high school when she fancied S’bu.

“That’s water under the bridge” Thandi said. Cindy did apologise for that a long time ago.

“It’s going to be an interesting challenging journey but Tsepo is a good guy and we will be here by your side” Thandi said.

Jane and Mandy nodded in agreement.

Cindy was grateful to know that she won’t be alone.

The girls spoke, shared experiences, laughed and toasted to sisterhood.