“You looking forward to going back to work?” Lethi asks, brushing my arm. We are cuddling in the lounge couch. He is full because I fed him some of the leftovers. Men. No matter how rich they are, they always forget to feed themselves or they are always hungry. It is very rare to find a man who denies food. That’s why they get bewitched via love portion so much.
“Yes. I miss everyone and just being at work. I love my job so much, so yeah.” He nods.
“How is the housewarming coming along? What is the theme vele?”
“Summer vibes. So any floral outfit in your wardrobe will do.”
He frowns. “You would have to buy something for me. In fact let’s go to the mall now so that we can sort out the outfit shit. I will tell Mqondisi to meet us there.” He stands up, taking his keys and I frown.
“Aybo, Khambz, malls are about to be closed now.” I check my wrist watch and it’s nearly 4pm.
“I think it’s time you learn how powerful your man is and I am not Khambz.” I roll my eyes and stand up.
“Let me go get changed.”
“You will find me in the car.” I nod and head to my bedroom.
When I am done changing, my phone rings. I frown when I see that Lee is calling. She hardly calls. She usually texts when she needs something and it's been a while since she needed something from me.
“Mrs. Nzama, how are you?” I answer, grabbing my side bag and walking to the lounge.
“I am fine dear. How are you? You are so scarce these days.” I chuckle.
“Now you sound like Futhi. What did you hear?”
She laughs. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing. But even if there was some adventure in your life, I would love to hear it from the horse’s mouth. Sthuli has been asking for you, so how about you join us for dinner tonight?” Lies. That child is too shy to be asking about other people other than her cousins. I lock the front door and climb into Lethi’s car. He brings the engine to life.
“I will just pretend as if you didn’t lie using the princess’s name and somehow committed treason.” She cracks up.
“You’re crazy.”
I snort. “Fine, since you love me so much, I will come to dinner and I will be bringing a guest.”
“A guest? Is it the mystery man from Singapore?” I can hear the excitement in her voice.
“One, he is not from Singapore and two, after tonight, he won’t be a mystery to you or your family.”
“My God, I can’t wait. Bring Gin. Bye.” She hangs up before I say anything.
“Dinner?” Lethi asks as he drive away from my street. “Who was that?”
“A friend. She is Lindelwa Nzama. The one whose father-in-law is a polygamist. Maybe they will give you his contacts.”
“Okay. So we are going to their house for dinner?”
“Precisely. Unless you have other plans though. I wouldn’t mind telling them that.” He smiles.
“It’s fine. I can meet some of your friends. It will be less awkward on Friday if I know at least two of them at the party.”
“That’s Mr. Khambule for you, always thinking about a positive outcome.” He chuckles.
×××
“Mr. Khambule, always a pleasure to see you.” A shop assistant welcomed us as soon as we step inside the shop.
I have never been here before. It's like a mini mall with expensive clothing brands that are probably worth more than a total of different houses in one suburb. They are worth more than people’s retirement funds or even lotto. I don’t know their names yet but I can see they are of high quality from a distance. The current shop we have entered had two levels. There is a giant spiralling staircase leading to the upper floor. I wonder what’s there. More expensive items? Is this where the filthy rich population of Durban shop? The ones who you won’t see abusing Gucci or YVL on the socials? Definitely.
“Hey, Fikile. Is Swati in?” Lethi asks in a polite manner. I have never seen this side of him. Is this him humbling himself? What a sight to behold.
“Yes. He is right this way. Please follow me.” Fikile leads us to a lounge which has three couches, a coffee table, a mini runway stand and a big floor to length mirror at the end of the runway. A woman is sitting on one of the couches and she is busy tapping on her tablet but when she hears footsteps, she raises her head and a smile automatically spreads on her face. She is not bad to look at but… okay let me not say anything about her looks. She stands up and opens her arms. She is wearing red dress pants, a white chiffon blouse and red heels.
“Ahh, Lethinhlahla. What a pleasant surprise. We weren’t expecting you.” They share a hug.
“I also wasn’t expecting myself but life is full of surprises.” They both laugh. He turns to me. “This is my partner, Lindani Mzobe. Lindani, this is Zamaswazi Mathenjwa. She and her husband are the founders of this fine establishment. Her husband is the designer behind 90% of the clothes here and she is a stylist, fashion guru and also a designer.” Zamaswazi smiles at me.
“It’s nice to meet you, Lindani. He forgot to mention we met at boarding school where he was very troublesome and always got bailed out by his family’s money.” She wiggles her eyebrows and I turn to Lethi. That definitely doesn’t sound like him. He smiles shyly.
“We were all kids once who made stupid mistakes. Just like that one time when you sent a Valentine’s Day card to the captain of the Ruby team and ordered me to break his bones because he made fun of you. The guy couldn’t play for a whole season.”
“Wow, it sounds like you guys have amazing memories together.” I comment and Swazi smiles.
“We do. It would take more than a week to revisit them. Now what can I do for you today? The usual?”
Lethi shakes his head and points at me. “He has a party this Friday, a housewarming, so we both need outfits. Something floral but not too much.”
Swazi grins. “You and Floral? My husband has to see this.”
“He is still in Milan?”
“Yes. The fashion week ends this Friday and after that he will be heading to the states to meet with HER, Dua Lipa and Harry Styles. He is dressing them for the Met Gala.”
“Cool. Harry Styles’s style need intervention.” Fikile comments as she walks in with Mqondisi and I resist the urge to break into laughter.
“Hey Junior.” Swazi greets Mqondisi and they share a hug.
Then Lethi sits down on one of the couches and Swazi looks at me from head to toe squinting her eyes. She gestures with her fingers that I should twirl an I do just that because she looks all business right now. She steps closer to me and brushes my cheek.
“You have nice skin.” She then turns and walks out of the room.
“What was that all about?” I ask as I go join Lethi on the couch.
“She just did a full assessment on you and your style. To her, this is more than just a career, it’s a calling. She started dressing people up even in high school. 30% of the girls in our school were styled by her for the matric dance. She is pretty awesome.”
“She must be if you hold her in such high regard.”
He smiles. “She is one of the few people I trust when it comes to dressing me up.”
“Mmm.” I turn to his brother. “So how are you, Mqondisi?”
He smiles sheepishly. “Great now that I am talking to you. I am such a huge fan of you and your crew. I admire you guys.”
I smile at him. “That’s so cute. Which couple do you ship the most?”
He blushes. “King Mkhwanazi and Princess Lisakhanya. It’s just that people respect them so much and the guy looks scary sometimes but from the videos I have seen of you guys having fun, I love how both him and his wife let loose and just live in the moment and also the way he loves him. Gosh, I should like a girl right now.”
I laugh. “Don’t worry. I also ship them but don’t tell anyone.” He chuckles. “I wonder how you’re going to behave when you meet the crew on Friday.”
His eyes pop out. “They are going to be there?”
I shrug. “Maybe. These guys are really busy so it’s a miracle to have them all in one place but so far at least 60% of them have confirmed that they are coming. I don’t know about Lisa and Zenzo though. Last time I checked they were in Guatemala. Those two are so cute and they are always exploring new places which one or both of them have never been to. Lisa doesn’t even mind traveling with a baby bump.”
“She is pregnant?” Mqondisi asks, utterly shocked. Fuck. What have I done?
“Don’t tell anyone or I will cut out your tongue.” His eyes pop out.
“I would never. But why is it kept a secret?”
“From what I have picked up on your conversation, the couple you’re talking about is a king and queen.” Lethi chirps in and we look at him. “Many kingdoms don’t announce a Queen’s pregnancy especially when she is carrying an heir. So many things can happen that may lead to her losing the baby or even her life. In life, not everyone wishes you well, no matter how kind or humble you are. It’s worse with royalty.” He shrugs. I couldn’t have explained it better myself.
“Time for chitchat is over.” Swati announces, pushing in a clothing rack. She stops in the middle of the room and takes out four outfits from it. “I have paired shirts with pants and kept them at a minimum floral because I know you.” Lethi chuckles. “So how about you go try them out?” she asks looking at Lethi but I know that’s not a question. It’s a polite demand. “You will come back and show us what you’ve picked.” Lethi nods before standing up. He takes the clothes from Swati and disappears into one of the closed doors behind her. I’m guessing those are changing rooms. “You’re up next, Lindani.” I stand up and she hands me a pile of clothes.
“I already like everything I see.”
She grins. “I know my stuff.” I love her confidence and she has earned the right to be arrogant.
I head to one of the unlocked changing rooms and start trying on the clothes. The first thing that charms me is a white lapel collar lace shirt. This looks so sexy. I love it. It is paired with white graphic print straight leg pants. I will definitely wear this. The next outfit is a black random floral & crane print kimono with black shorts. I can definitely wear these when I welcome my guests. Fuck I’m already excited. The other is a green floral print ombre shirt with green pants. I love these clothes very much. I never knew there was a boutique like this in Durban. I only ever saw one like these in k-dramas which stars stinking rich people. With my normal salary, I don’t afford most of the shit in this store but your boy has a black card, so I will definitely be visiting it soon. I walk back to the lounge and find Lethi, Mqondisi and Swati there. Lethi is wearing a black and white floral print shirt with black solid drawstring waist pants. The outfit goes well with his sneakers. Mqondisi on the other hand is wearing a palm tree print shirt with light grey letter graphic drawstring cargo pants.
“You guys look really handsome.” I bite my lip and Lethi frowns.
“Didn’t you like any of the outfits?” he asks.
“No. I actually loved all of them and if its not a problem, I would like to purchase them all. I didn’t wear them for you guys. You have to see them with the rest of the guests on Friday.” Lethi rolls his eyes.
Swati chuckles. “I understand your logic. So how about you guys go change and we will pack these things for you? In the meantime, Lindani you can look around the store and see if there is anything else you will like.” She takes the pile of clothes from my arms and I smile at her. I am definitely inviting her to my housewarming.
