An hour later, Nasi sat in her car, parked across the garden.

Nasi had been able to track her down thanks to the inscriptions on the back of her tee-shirt. In

The woman wore the same clothes as the night of the failed engagement party. She was instructing over ten men who carried large, clay pots and potted plants to the white van outside the garden.

Determined to confront the other woman and get answers from her, she reached for the handle of the door.

They had ruined her dreams. The image of the woman leaving Lemba’s room burned in her mind. She put her foot out then changed her mind. She watched the other woman for a while then left. She needed Easi for this situation.

***

As Nasilele’s car pulled out, Chonta drove through and packed her car just as the van with the men left. She crossed the road and hurried to the girl.

She found her standing in the middle of the garden sweeping the debris with hunched shoulders. Chonta went to her and touched her on her shoulders. She turned, her face wet with tears. Chonta held the girl in a hug and let her cry out her pain.

***

With her arms folded over her chest, Chonta stood by the window in the Zimba residence, a modestly decorated room despite all their wealth. She watched Teli as she instructed the men on what to do.

Edina walked over to her with a glass of juice."What is with you? Why do you keep sighing and fretting about all day long?’’

‘’Am worried about her."Edina followed her gaze to the girl in her garden. Chonta continued."I just want to wring that Pumulo’s neck. H e had no right to do this to her.’’

Whenever she recalled how the young man had come to her a few years back to beg for permission to court the girl, her blood boiled.

She had wanted to object but they were in love and he had promised to love and cherish her.

‘’Edmond told me what happened at the mall. Will she be okay?’’

Chonta wondered too."She has been through worse,’’ she said simply.

‘’Only time is the best healer for such pain. She has you and now me. She will be fine.’’

The two stood by the window and watched as she pushed the wheelbarrow with the compost.

***

The last person Lemba expected to find in his office when he came back from the factory was Nasilele. He was taken aback as he headed to his desk and placed the helmet on the table."Nasi. This is a surprise.’’

‘’I had come to see your sister. She ran out for an emergency,‘’ she lied.

‘’I see.’’

‘’How have you been? It's been weeks since we last saw each other.’’

Lemba grabbed a bottle of mineral water from the fridge."Good. Can’t complain. You?’’

‘’Well, life as a single lady is challenging is all am going to say,’’ she said with a chuckle."What’s with you men? No sooner was the breakup announced, there were already a mile long suitors."

If she was single and available, she would have been thrilled but she wasn’t searching. She wanted to tell him as much but held back.

‘’That’s great. You should date. There are so many great guys around.’’

The devastating words hit her like a ton of bricks. It took all her might to not cry as she felt her heartbreak. She loved him. She had never stopped loving him."What about you? Seeing anyone yet?’’

Lemba laughed and shrugged his shoulders."There is someone. Nothing concrete yet.’’

‘’We should go on a double date sometime," she said when all she wanted to do was call him out on his lies.

‘’Yeah?"

‘’So what is she like?’’

‘’Sweet and innocent,’’ he said as he recalled his brief interaction with Teli."I will introduce her to you one day.’’

They chatted for a while then she left. In the elevator, Nasilele let out her frustration by hitting the walls of the elevator with her band.

"Nothing concrete? Lying bastard. I will get even with you two!"

***

Easineya walked into the house as Edina walked out with a tray of snacks. Edina found Teli at the back hunched over her laptop on the heap of sand.

‘’Mrs.Zimba’’

‘’I brought you and your men some snacks. You should take a break.’’ She thanked her and called one of the men who came over to take the tray."So what’s that’s got your attention?"

Teli got the laptop and showed her some amazing landscape ideas she had found on the net. Edina went back in after a while.

She found Easineya at the kitchen watching Teli and helping herself to some scones she had just baked.

‘’Who is she?"

‘’That’s our landscaper. Teliwe.You should meet her. She is a nice girl.’’

‘’That’s the landscaper? Isn’t she like what fifteen?’’

‘’And very good at her job too. Did you know she is the brains behind the KK play park?’’

‘’Her?Well, my respect to her.’’ As her mother went to the pantry and got some ingredients out; dry vegetables and pounded groundnuts."Are you cooking visashi again? Didn't we have visashi the other day?’’

Edina chuckled .‘’You and your cravings. As a doctor, you should know better. You shouldn't be so picky about food. How is Nancy, why won’t she visit? Just because she broke up with Lemba doesn’t mean we can't still be on good terms.‘’

‘’ I don’t know. I will drag her here,’’ she said.T thinking of the stupidity of the two that always kept her awake. She didn’t appreciate the sleepless nights. One was a coward and the other an idiot. She didn’t know what to do with either."My brother is an idiot.’’

‘’Now child. You know the family rule. We do not interfere in the lives of family members.’’

‘’But mom..."

‘’Now honey. Lemba is old enough. He knows what it is doing,’’ she admonished her.

‘’Even when it's for their good?’’

‘’Even then.’’

Easineya huffed and walked out. She didn’t need the stress she told herself. But she swore one way or another, she would see her friend happy.

Later that afternoon, Nacilele ran into Lemba in the lobby as he headed to the hotel’s restaurant.

‘’Lemba. What are the odds? We meet again, twice in one day.’’

‘’Hey,’’ he walked to her and gave her a peck on the cheeks.

‘’Business or pleasure?’’

‘’Family,’’ he said."I am meeting mum for lunch. You should join us if you are free.’’

She declined to cite work and left. Lemba walked into the hotel’s restaurant. His mother sat at a table that had a view of the breathtaking garden. She looked up from the menu when he got to her table.

‘’Son, you are here,’’ she said as she accepted his kiss on the cheeks. They placed their orders. Edina wanted to know how work was going and if he was doing alright.

Lemba chuckled as he dug into his food."Dad told you didn’t he?’’

‘’We don’t keep secrets," she said smiling. I t was what he loved about his parents and hoped to have a relationship like theirs with his future wife."So, are you sure about her?’’

‘’She makes me nervous. I never felt that with Nasi’’

‘’Son, you are an adult and not a teenager so I have to take comfort in thinking that you are not going to mistaken the emotions of love with that of sex.’’

Lemba chuckled."No mom.’’

‘Okay.Good then.Any luck in finding her.’’

"Thanks, mom.And no to your question."

‘’Well, I do hope you get to find her so I can have my son back.’’

‘’Mom, I never left.’’

She raised a well-pencilled eyebrow at him. Maybe he had been out of it lately, he mused to himself and promised to spend more time with the family.

***

Teli got back to the garden sometime after six just as the sun was setting. She noticed that there was a vehicle parked in the parking lot as she got out of the van. The men offloaded the equipment from the back of the van. Arnold came out. The gardens branded apron over his shoulder.

‘’Arnold, why do we still have customers at this hour?’’

Arnold looked over his shoulder at the other chalet that was her house."I'm sorry. But he wouldn’t leave.’’

‘’Do we have a problem with a customer?’’ she asked heading towards the office.

‘’Teli - he is in your house.’’

She stopped mid-stride. He didn’t need to tell her who, HE was. She headed to her house and opened the door. Pumulo stood near the table with pictures. Pictures, of the two of them.Memories she had framed foolishly thinking she had a future with him. He held one picture and stared at it longingly.

‘’What the hell Pumulo?’’

He turned to face her. For a moment, she thought she saw him wipe a tear away but of course, he wouldn’t she assured herself. She went to him and got the picture. She remembered the picture. It had been taken on her seventeenth birthday when he had proposed love to her. The day he had declared his everlasting love for her. She gathered the remaining pictures, headed to the bin, and threw them all in.

‘’I came to explain,’’ he finally said as he watched the love of his life dump their memories in the bin.

‘’Ha! The nerve,’’ she murmured and went to open the door for him.

‘’Nothing Nsemiwe said is true. I never cheated on you. You have to believe me.’’

‘’So what happened? They kidnapped you and forced you to take marital vows? And how the hell, do you explain the baby?’’

‘’I needed to marry her to save the company, am sorry.’’

Teliwe looked at him in amazement as words failed her. She chuckled wondering how he thought the explanation was any less painful.

‘’Are you done?Can you now leave.’’

‘’Am not asking you to forgive me,’’ he said. He walked over to her. He reached for her hand then stopped himself.S he kept her gaze away from him."I just want you to know, I never meant to hurt you. I Am sorry for everything.’’

Pumulo stood by the door wanting to say more but left instead. Teliwe banged the door after him, leaned against it, fighting back tears.

***

Easineya found her brother working on the laptop in his room with the pencil in his mouth.

‘’Easi."

‘’Hey. Do you have a minute?’’

‘’Sure. What’s up?’’

‘’What’s your day like tomorrow evening?’’

"Nothing. Why?’’

‘’I set you up for a blind date," she told him.

He closed his laptop and looked up at her."Easi, my love life is just fine.’’

‘’Who said it isn’t. Come on humour me. It's just a date. I am not asking you to marry the girl.’’

‘’I don’t know.’’

‘’She is great, sexy and rich too. Did I tell you she qualified for the BAR with the highest score in five years?’’

‘’Fine. You don’t need to sell her bio to me. I will go. Just one date.’’

‘’One date,’’ she reaffirmed. It was all she needed to know if he was still in love with her friend or he had moved on which she doubted.

He chuckled as he watched her leave. However, when he tried to get back to work, all he could think of was the beautiful stranger he had spent the night with. He put his work aside and searched across the social networks for his Teli and came up short.

The next day was a Friday when Edina walked into her son’s room, she found him fast asleep on the sofa. She looked at the laptops screen on the side table. There were various images of Teli’s and none that belonged to her son. She sighed and woke him up.

‘’Oh, mom. What are you doing here?’’

‘’Waking you up obviously. You might be late for work. Your father tells me you have an important meeting later.’’

‘’I do. What is that?’’ he asked stretching himself?

The sound of drilling carried to them as his mother opened the windows. She pulled back the curtains and tied them.

‘’Oh that, that’s our landscaper.’’

She looked out and waved to Teliwe who had straightened up to wipe her brow. The beautiful teen waved back.