Maid For Marriage

9

It took all three of them to get her off me. I ran out of the house and went back home. People started to gather in the street, but I didn't care.

"Ma!" I screamed. My aunt was in the kitchen. "She choked me! She choked me!" I cried. My aunt was confused, but she hugged me anyway. I was hysterical. Even Thabo came to see what was happening. "His wife called me names and choked me." I explained to him, and he was livid. He grabbed the whip behind the door and stormed out of the house. We ran after him.

"Come out! All of you! I don't hit women, so you need to choose who's going to take this beating! Father or son! If you don't come out, I'm coming in!" My aunt held me as I "cried". Senzo came out with his wife. He was dragging her. She lost all of her confidence now. She was even hiding behind her husband.

"So I assume you're taking the beating?!" Thabo asked Senzo. "Look, I'm sure we can talk this through. Let's go inside and talk. My wife made a mistake." Senzo said calmly, and his wife nodded. "Ma, your husband is lying!" Came a scream from the crowd. "I saw both of them get in the car yesterday, and they came home late!" The same girl screamed.

"Oh!" The wife started gaining confidence again. "Don't 'oh' me! We went into the city to sort out renovation details, and then we tried getting my parents an anniversary gift. Get your head out of the gutter, Mbali." He lied swiftly.

"I don't care what happened! Who is taking the beating!? You!? Or your father!?" Thabo yelled, hitting the ground with his whip. "Do you think you can just lay your hands on my daughter, and I'll let it go!?" Senzo put his hands up in surrender. "Please, let's go inside and talk about this." Senzo tried reasoning with him again. "Baba." My aunt said, and he looked at her. She nodded.

"Fine, meet us in an hour at our house. Bring your parents too. Let's go." He led us back to our house. "Thandi, what happened? Tell me before I call your father." I went into shock as soon as he mentioned my father. "I swear nothing happened. I was cleaning when she came. She was shouting. I finished in the bathroom and then went to the main bedroom. That's when she saw me. She called me to them and shouted at me and called me a slut. Then MaRadebe shouted at her and I tried to go back to the room. I was cleaning and Bab'Senzo came to appologize she came into the room and choked me. They got her off me and I ran."

He rubbed his face. "I have to call your father to see what we have to do. But don't worry this is not on you. You were only doing your job." He called my father and explained what was happening. I heard some shouting and then they were speaking about a fine. They seemed to be agreeing.

"He wants to speak to you." I didn't want to but I took the phone. "Baba." I said with a shaky voice. "Thandi, are you okay?" He seemed genuinely concerned and that made cry for real. I've never experienced this before. "Thandi?" His voice was soft. "Yebo, baba. I'm fine." I knew he could hear that I was crying. "Don't cry. It'll be fine okay." This was too much for me. It was the first time ever in my life that it seemed like he cared for me. I cried like a baby and my aunt came to comfort me.

"Brother what did you say?" She asked angrily. "Oh. She's going to be okay. Don't worry about it. Here baby. He wants to say goodbye." I shook my head. I wouldn't be able to. All of this was too much. "Maybe another time brother. I'll make sure she's okay. Bye." She hugged me tightly. "Shh babygirl. Thabo! Bring some sugar water! I think she's in shock." She held the glass for me while I drank the water.

"Okay, go wash your face baby. They're going to be here any minute now." Just as she said that there was a knock on the door. I went into the bathroom and washed my face and fixed my headwrap. After a while I just sat there until there was a knock on the door. "Come join us." I sat on the grass mat next to the couch my aunt was sitting on. Senzo and his family was sitting across from us. I didn't look up once.

"I've contacted the chief, Thandi's father and he's advised me on the situation. We trusted you with our daughter and this happened. Gogo you were supposed to protect her and you let this woman hurt her. What do you you have to say for yourself?" He was speaking calmly unlike before.

"I'm ashamed and very sorry. You know us. This is not how we behave. I'm so embarrassed. Please forgive us and pass our appology on to her father. We are sorry." Ma said in her soft voice. She really was sorry. "The chief has insisted on a fine of three cows. You can't just hurt the princess and expect no punishment. Each cow's value is ten thousand rand. So your fine to the chief is thirty thousand rand. Here are his banking details." I was shocked but kept my head bowed.

Senzo took the piece of paper and took out his phone. The room filled with silence as he did the transfer on his phone. "Here you go." He gave Thabo his phone. "It's immediate. The chief should have it." Thabo handed the phone back and excused himself to go call my father. The room was filled with awkward silence and it felt like we were sitting there forever.

"The chief has received the fine and he accepts your appology. He also says that going back to work is Thandi's decision."

"Thandi, what do you say?"

I didn't know what to do. So much happened and I was just confused. I couldn't answer.