That’s pregnancy for you

The following day Thandi was woken up by S’bu who brought her breakfast in bed.

“You didn’t have to bring it, I would have come to the kitchen” Thandi said embarrassed. She’s been sleeping a lot lately, it was already 10 o’clock and she still felt so tired.

“The Doctors said you need a lot of rest and I’m going to make sure that you do” he said.

“They did” she asked. She was so shocked by the news that she was pregnant that she missed everything the Doctors said after that.

“Yes, among other things” he said. S’bu had noticed how shocked Thandi was and made sure he asked everything he needed to know about how to take care of her. When he heard that Thandi was expecting, his reaction was the exact opposite of Thandi’s. He had been tracking Thandi’s menstrual cycle and patiently waiting for months since he took care of the contraceptive issue.

“What else did they say?” she asked curious.

“Don’t worry about all of that. Your job is to get better, rest more and eat healthy. Leave everything else to me” he said lovingly.

Thandi agreed reluctantly, she was not used to being this dependent on anyone before. Her Mother was once too dependent on her Father and look where that got her. She promised herself that she was never going to let that happen to her.

“I’m not your Dad and you are not your Mother” S’bu said seeing through her.

Thandi was speechless. S’bu read her mind, she was becoming too transparent and didn’t like it. She got up and took a shower before eating her breakfast. The food looked appetising and healthy but she did not have appetite and only ate a bit.

“I can make something else if you don’t like this” S’bu said concerned.

“The food is great, I just don’t have appetite” she explained.

“What you ate is not even enough for you, let alone the baby” he said, taking a spoon and feeding her.

Thandi had no choice but open her mouth and eat more. She was so nauseous, the more she ate, the worst she felt. She placed her hand over her mouth and ran to the bathroom. She threw up everything she had just eaten and surprisingly felt better after rinsing her mouth and washing her face.

“I will ask Menzi if he can prescribe something for your poor appetite and morning sickness” S’bu said when she came back.

“I’m going to take a walk outside” Thandi said putting on her shoes. S’bu was being very caring and loving but she couldn’t help feeling helpless. She needed time alone to clear her head. Outside, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, taking in the fresh air and basked in the sun. She walked around the huge yard and sat down on a bench in the garden. She marvelled at the beautiful flowers and butterflies flying around her.

S’bu was watching Thandi through the window in his bedroom when her phone vibrated to receive a message. He picked it up from the bed and read the message. It was from Thandi’s Mother telling her that she was sending some herbs to make her and the baby strong. He was about to put away the phone when he saw Thandi’s old messages. It was multiple videos and photos of him and his friends with different women when the two of them had broken up. He cursed out loud. He had hoped that Thandi wouldn’t find out but she already knew that when she was battling with cancer, he was partying with different women. He walked outside to where she was sitting and sat next to her.

“Your Mom is sending you herbs” he said handing her the phone.

Thandi took her phone, put it in her pocket without looking at it and continued looking at the flowers in front of her.

“I’m sorry I was not there for you when you needed me the most” he said breaking the silence.

“It’s fine, I’m a big girl” she said with no emotions and continued looking at the flowers.

“I saw the videos and photos of me on your phone, I’m sorry” he said taking her hand. Thandi remained quiet, her eyes glued on the flowers around her as if S’bu was not there at all.

“Thandi please say something” S’bu pleaded patting her hand.

“What do you want me to say S’bu? What’s there to say? I should be a good girl and obey because you own my everything. My family, my job, my salary, my car, you own all of it and you can take them all away just like that and continue having fun with as many women as you want. You can never let me walk away because I’m your wife and now I’m pregnant with your child” Thandi said tears rolling down her cheeks. She thought she was over all of this but it all rushed back and she couldn’t stop crying.

“Babe I’m sorry, I had no idea those idiots in HR would harass you like that. The truth is I wanted to buy you the car as a present for your graduation but I knew that you wouldn’t accept it, that’s why I lied about it being a company car. That’s actually your car and I can never take it away from you. I knew that you would never accept money from me, so I increased your salary for you to do everything you wanted to do for your family then we could get married faster. Everything I did was because I love you and wanted us to be together, forever. I was really hurt when I found out that you had no intention of marrying me and I ended up doing stupid things. Those women meant nothing to me and I swear I didn’t sleep with any of them. Please forgive me” he pleaded.

“I feel dizzy, I’m going to rest” Thandi said standing up leaving S’bu sitting with his head down.

In the bedroom, she lay down on the bed, dosed off immediately and woke up 2 hours later. When she opened her eyes, S’bu was sitting next to her.

“Have you been watching me sleep?” she asked yawning.

“Do you really despise being my wife and being pregnant with my child?” he asked with a low voice. The past two hours he watched her sleep and felt like a lifetime in hell.

“You get on my nerves a lot lately but I understand why you did what you did. I’m still shocked that we are married and that I’m pregnant but you are still the love of my life and there’s no other man I would rather be with” she said sitting up.

“I thought I was loosing you again” he confessed smiling.

Thandi placed her palms around his face and kissed him passionately.

“MaDlamini, you are still weak, don’t tempt me” he warned her breaking off the kiss. He had often lost control with Thandi especially when they had been apart but he really couldn’t afford to do that now, at least not until Thandi gained all her strength again.

She blushed, letting go of his face. She didn’t mean to tease him and knew that she wouldn’t be able to stand his passion at the moment. The two got on well the rest of the day and even discussed their plans for the wedding and their future. Menzi came in the evening to bring medication to help with the morning sickness and increase her appetite. Thandi was already sleeping by the time he arrived.

“You are getting everything you ever wanted. Thandi is your wife and you getting your heir, congratulations” Menzi said.

“I should be over the moon right? Thandi freaks me out though. This morning I was sure she was leaving me, two hours later she was crazy in love with me” S’bu explained. Menzi understood him and his feelings for Thandi better than anyone else.

“Don’t mind all of that, it’s the pregnancy hormones. It will all get better with time” Menzi said reassuring him.

“Dude, Thandi is not very emotional but I promise you that I have seen her cry more in the past two days than I did in the past nine years!” S’bu exclaimed.

“That’s pregnancy for you, just be there for her and don’t take everything she says when she’s upset into heart” Menzi advised his brother before leaving.