A noble blood sacrifice

Damsile my first: Part 2

She spilled her coffee on my brand new jacket. Some of it got on my pants too. Burnt the hell out of my lower torso. It was a mistake but she insisted on taking my jacket to the dry cleaners. It was unneccesary but she insisted. I knew then that she understood the differences between cheap and quality. Being a quality man, I appreciated this about her. 

Working two buildings from mine meant we began to notice each other more after she'd returned my jacket. I think i had seen her here and there but did not give her much attention. Her passive aggressive face would have kept me at bay. Realising she was actually a decent human being gave me the hots for her immediately. She was active and sexy at the same time. With an aggressive undertone. My kind of woman. 

We began to meet for lunch every other day after the coffee incident. I was taking lunch breaks now just to be with her. As opposed to bringing lunch to work and eating in a quite corner somewhere in the building. Well, she was buying so it didn't make a difference either way. She recounted all of her personal stories with me. Good and bad. She was honest about everything too. Admitting to all the toyboys she had affairs with. All the beatings and insults she was subjected to since saying "I do". The very recent expulsion from her matrimonial home. I assured her everyday that things would be okay. That getting kicked out was the best thing that could happen to her under those circumstances. 

Theres a story she recounted once that had brought me to this conclusion. One night Ndololwane was home for another weekend. Watching a soccer match on tv. Damsile received a call from one of her girlfriends who she had arranged a night out with. Having her husband at home, she was forced to cancel the arrangement. 

Upon hanging up the call, Ndololwane asked who she was talking to. She answered him from which he concluded she was lying. He was convinced a boyfriend called and she was trying to pretend it was a female. Cancelling on the boyfriend because HE had arrived unexpectedly like normal. The argument got heated to the point which he grabbed her throat and slapped her. She tried to fight back but her stature was not built for physical confrontation. She screamed all the way to the bedroom where he dragged her to fetch his sjambok. Locking the door behind him, he proceeded to whip her black and blue. Touting her disrespect as the catalyst for his actions. It was a purple weekend and a blue Monday by the time he left for the mines. 

I had never met him and I hated him with all my heart. All I wanted at the time was to protect her. Let her stay with me so she could never be hurt by anybody ever again. She had a month to move out and I was ready to receive her. Doing everything I could to let her see the good side of a life that involved me. I was so convincing that she offered to take me on a night out. I was very nervous because I had never been asked out before. It felt like going to the prom. My outfit suggested so. A full suit and tie with shoes to match. 

I was so out of place in the club. Almost burning to death in my heavy outfit from the lights and claustrophobia. I felt too civilised for such archaic activities. After a few drinks, I was half naked humping the floor. She was on the floor too. Laughing at me. We danced and sweated into the night. Kissing and groping each other until the club shut down. Then she drove us to her place. I hadn't bought a car as yet at the time. So being driven by a woman was just as weird as being pampered by one. Our night together was sensual and unforgetable. 

I was ready to receive her when she started her new life in the city. Then she received divorce papers by mail. This was a surprise to both of us. As obvious an outcome as it was. The fact it was happening had us both in shock. My realisation that I was sleeping with a married woman. Hers that her childhood fantasy that she'd finally realised was coming to an end. 

"He was such a good man. Things seemed perfect. I wouldn't have agreed to marry him if they weren't. Then he just changed and everything was spoilt. And suddenly I found myself living in a nightmare. Everyday that I woke, I was facing the same nightmare. The worst part was, I couldn't see a way out of it. Not until he kicked me out. That's the only time I felt like an opportunity had come my way to change things. Make everything better. Now I just feel bitter. Like he's gona take everything and get away with his actions. I want him to pay. He needs to feel what I felt. Every bit of it. He must." I saw in her eyes what I had never seen before. Not that I had known her long enough to recognise any of her expressions. But she didn't look the same. There was vengeance in her eyes. I feared it. And loved her at the same time.