Between Us

Chapter 15: Mother

"Are you ready to go?" Daluxolo asked his daughter as he picked up his car keys and wallet. They were on the way to Zola's therapist after the graceful way she handled herself at the mall the previous week. Her parents thought it best to get her to see a professional who could try to help her deal with these emotions since it seemed they weren't handling it well. One good thing came out of this whole situation though, after her session, Zola called her mother in her hour of need. Honestly if not now then when? She sat on her bedroom floor and stared at her cell phone for a while, then, rather hesitantly, she dialled her mother's number with a shaky hand, a heavy heart and tears in her eyes. 

ring ring ring ring ring

"Zoleka?..." The voice of Sivuyile Tyaliti echoed through Zola's body. 

"Mama..." Zoleka said to her mother, whom she had not spoken to in months.

"Oh sana lwam. It's so good to hear your voice." Said Sivuyile through a deep exhale, clutching at her chest, closing her eyes and smiling as if she could see her daughter in front of her. 

"It's good to hear yours too mama," Zola said with a sense of deep sadness, "I'm so sorry ma. I miss you so much." She whispered through the tears.

"No, no Zola, you have nothing to apologize for, it's alright my baby. As much as it hurt I understand where you were coming from." Zola's mother told her, trying to assure her that it was alright. 

"Are you alright? Is your father with you? Are you home? How is the new school and the new neighbourhood?" Sivuyile swarmed her daughter with questions, almost forgetting to breathe. She felt so behind on everything that had been happening in her daughter's life. Hearing about Zola from her father was just not the same. 

"Uhm, ma?" Zola muttered out of confusion. 

"Oh, right right. I'm sorry I'm talking too fast it's just... I haven't heard from you in a while and I am just so happy you called me." Said Sivuyile as Zola wiped the tears from her eyes. 

"I have so much to tell you. It has been killing me not being able to share everything with you. My new school is great, I made some new friends, I'm in the drama club with this amazing teacher. The neighbourhood is really quiet, and dad has been wonderful. I think he's in the kitchen making spaghetti bolognese again." Zola made sure to answer all of her mother's questions, letting her in on all the things she had been missing out on.

"Oh you mean the only dish your father can execute with zero assistance?" Sivuyile chuckled. "I'm glad you like where you live. I told your father you prefer quiet areas, it makes me happy to know we made the right decision." 

"Yeah, I'm sure it's a mess down there. I had no idea you and dad chose this place together." She said, pleased that her mother knows her so well. Loud places had never appealed to Zola. it always felt like the noise itself just drained her of every ounce of energy she had, never mind having to interact with nosy neighbours and little kids on the streets. Her home was her safe haven. 

"Of course we did. I couldn't just leave without making sure you had a proper place to live, I'm your mother," Sivuyile said, "You said you made some new friends, how is that going?" 

"They're amazing. I'm closer to Sihle than I am to Njabulo and Siya. Siya is in the drama club too! That's how we met. Then I met Njabulo through Siya, and Sihle I met when she helped me get to my class. She's the president of the school. Pretty high-profile friend if you ask me. We all went out together recently and we had so much fun. I kinda lost it at the end but otherwise, it was a great day." 

"Your father told me what happened. Did you already go to your therapy session?" Zola's mother asked her warily. 

"I just came back from it. I think it went pretty well." She told her mother. 

"That's great Zola. She must be very good at her job if she got you to call me after just one session." Sivuyile said jokingly. 

Zola laughed, "Oh please, we both know one session is not enough to fix whatever it is I got going on," Silence followed after that statement. 

"Uhm, I think I'm gonna go take a nap for a bit," Zola said, "I'll call you later?"

"Of course! I'd love that. I'll be back home from class around 1 PM so that's around 8 PM for you, you should call me then." Sivuyile said excitedly. "Oh! Before I forget to tell you, I'll be flying in to come see your big play at school."

Flashbacks of what happened at her last play came washing over Zola. Looking out into the crowd expecting to see her parents with big smiles coming to support her and instead seeing her father leave through the back door with no explanation. Zola chose to ignore it. 

"Alright mama, talk soon," Zola said. 

"Alright sweetheart." Sivuyile said, "Zola, I love you."

"I love you too mama."

Zola stared at her phone once more but this time with a smile so big it lit up the whole room. She clutched the device to her chest and let out a heavy sigh, the weight on her shoulders felt lighter than ever.