MELAMINA THE QUEEN

CHAPTER 6

Every married woman or a woman in a committed relationship knows this. If you are not on good terms with your person, amnesia will hit you hard. Which is why I find myself waking up at 3:30 am just to check on my messages. Luckily I find one from him, accompanied by a missed call. The text states: 'how can i forget the character I married?' text message. It is followed by 'PS. This heart beats for you, and Zweli, And Amahle, and Mane... you know what, you are my first love and that's all that matters.' Okay, that makes me smile. But I am still angry at him so I send him an actual 'please call me' because I am petty. He video calls me after a few minutes and I turn on the lights. I answer the call but remain silent. He smiles at the camera and starts singing:

'You are my sunshine,
My little sunshine
You are my...'

"Stop." I interrupt and he laughs.
"I knew that would get you to start talking. I apologize for not answering your call. I was so pissed after yesterday's lunch. I just went to bed and woke up after midnight. Forgive me, baby."
I frown. My husband is the kindest man I know. He rarely gets pissed off. "What pissed you off?" he sighs.

"How about we discuss this after you come back? You still have meetings to look forward to and to enjoy the post launch glory. Don't worry about my drama." Okay. This is huge. Kuhle hardly protects my feelings because he knows I can handle things much better than him.

"Kuhle, you know very well that I won't be able to focus on all those things you mentioned if I know something is bothering you and I am kept in the dark. Is it about you? Me? The kids? Our family?"

He exhales loudly and looks into my eyes. "I hoped we would talk about this face to face but here goes nothing. My aunts are looking for a royal wife for me. Yesterday's lunch was just a formal way for me to meet Princess Zisanele who is 22 years old. A kid if you ask me. So yeah, that's what's happening. I was too angry to say anything last night, so I slept on it."

I swallow hard. This is it. The end is near. Not even near. It is here. This is what all my dreams from the past have been about. The elders will force my husband to take a royal wife who will give him the heir to the throne. All my difficulties, giving these people six children and mothering two of their offsprings and this is how they thank me? By discarding me to the side like I am yesterday's trash and bringing in young and fresh meat? Really?

"Babe, listen, no one is going to force me to do anything. You are my wife and you will remain the only one till the day I die. Manelisi will be king after me and his wife will birth the next king even if she is not royalty. So please, don't worry yourself too much. I will handle this."

I sigh and shake my head. "You know how women are, Kuhle. If your aunts are so adamant for you to marry this kid, they will make sure it happens whether you like it or not." I respond automatically. I can't put my actual thoughts into words right now. All I know is that I need to cry and then pray. This is one of those tribulations Gogo Mnguni said I will face, and I also saw them coming but that doesn't make the blow less fatal. I just wanna wail and lie in Kuhle's arms.

"Baby, please don't cry." He startles me and I quickly wipe my tears. "What do you want me to do?" He asks in a low voice.
"Come here."

***

A call comes in from my mother just as I am preparing to head to work. I take a deep breath and answer it.
"Hey ma."
"Good morning, baby. How are you? I saw the news about your launch and how successful it was. You sure did look beautiful. How do you feel?" Something about the tone of my mom's voice makes me want to scream.

"I am fine, mom. Everything is going well." She goes silent for a moment and then speaks up.
"What's wrong, Lwandle? And don't you dare tell me it's nothing. Your voice is scratchy as if you have been crying all night. What's going on?"

I pinch my temples to stop my tears from falling and ruining my make up. I sit down on my bed and look at the door. "The Zulus want Kuhle to take a second wife, a royal princess who will give him an heir to the throne. Apparently Manelisi is not royal enough for them." My voice shudders and I swallow hard.

"Say what now? Is that a done deal? They have concluded the whole thing without involving us as your family? How dare they? The king was here the day before yesterday. Why didn't he tell us about this? Or is he a coward?"

"I don't think he knows about this. Kuhle's aunts are the ones on the forefront of the negotiations. They were with him when he visited the princess's home yesterday. He thought he was meeting the Mhlongo king for a normal lunch, little did he know that it was a set up. You know how royal women are. They will even send cows on your behalf if they really want that wife for you."

"The Zulus are crazy. All of them. No one is going to take Manelisi's birth right away from him. I won't let it happen. Over my dead body. I will march to the stupid royal house if I have to in order to stop that from happening." I shouldn't have told her. My father is a loose cannon, but compared to his wife when provoked, he is a saint.
"Mom, you shouldn't do something to jeopardize the civil relationship between the Cele family and the Zulu family. Kuhle said he will sort this out and I trust him."

She scoffs. "No offense, mtanami, but your husband is too much of a softie. He would even marry that princess out of pity just so he can see everyone happy. And I am not going to let that happen."
"What is going on, Jabu?" I hear my father's voice from the background. God. Can she please keep this away from him.

"Those crazy Zulus want Kuhle to take a second wife, a royal wife who will birth the future king. The nerve. I am going there to that palace and beating the shit out of those spinster aunts who can't even land husbands for themselves. The only thing they know how to do is live off the royal funds like fuckin paradise. They will not terrorize my daughter while I am alive. Never. I refuse." Yoh. Now I regret telling her this. However, I feel much better. If I had told one of my best friends, the outcome would have been much worse, even the calm Lee would have been like a tornado.

"Zulu didn't say anything about that to me yesterday. If we are really friends, he wouldn't have kept that important thing away from me." Dad responds.
"Apparently he had no idea. Well, he will know when I get there and tell them off. I am not going to allow this. My daughter is not going to be forced into polygamy just because royal blood doesn't run in her veins. She is smart, loyal, fertile, a good person and an amazing wife. There is absolutely no reason for her to get a sister wife. I mean look at her taking care of eight children like it's a walk in the park. These Zulus are ungrateful and today they will know the consequences of their actions."

I hear some shuffling before my dad's voice comes on. "Sdudla sami, how are you?" He asks in a polite voice and that just triggers me. I break into sobs and I hear him cursing under his breath. "Listen, baby. I will personally sort this out. By the time you come back to South Africa, everything will be back in order and no one will be on the quest to give you a sister wife. You trust me, right?" I sniff and nod. "I know you just nodded but I will need assurance from hearing your voice. You trust me, angithi?"

"I do, baba."
"Then don't worry, about a thing, cause every little thing, is gonna be all right." He sings in his deep voice and I chuckle. "Go to work and take care of the four cousins. We will see you when you get back. We love you, ntombi kababa."
"I love you too, dad, and mom." I hang up and take a deep breath. My parents might fight the physical battle but I need to conquer the spiritual one by myself and win.