Crashing into Dane.

24

The clock's ticks get louder by the second as it moves on and on. I open my eyes, and strangely, I'm surprised to find myself in my room. I half expected yesterday to have been a terrible nightmare and, I had gotten used to waking up in the room just down the hallway from Dane's.

Dane. Gosh. I cover my eyes with the back of my hand as I turn towards the window. Light beaming through the curtains and falling all over my bed. Lying on my side I perk myself by elbow and trace my cheeks where he touched them.

Running my hand from my cheek where he kissed it to my lips, I hold back a laugh as I remember how we almost kissed. We almost kissed. I almost kissed Dane... I pulled him in.

I shake my head and throw the bedcovers off me, getting up in a better mood than I thought I'd be. After a quick shower and a call to check on Dad, I start towards the stairs.

Thandie is in the kitchen, making breakfast. I roll my eyes and sit by the counter. "hello auntie," I say, the sarcasm in my "sweet" voice heavy as lead. She looks up and smiles, scrambling the eggs with vigour as her large behind shakes in sync. I feel sick from acknowledging that my thick hips might be from my mother's side of the family. A family that abandoned us the moment my mom did.

"So, how was staying with Catherine?"

"Who's Catherine?" I ask. Not bothering to fill the air with harmless small talk. I don't small talk with the devil.

"Mai va Dane," she responds.

"How did you know that's where I was?" I ask, another question popping into my mind. "How did you even know about dad?"

"It's a small world. I know Catherine from church, I'm in another cell ... in the Masvingo province."

I look at her unamused.

"I saw her at some conference, we didn't speak."

"How did you know where I was, mainini?"

Her eyes, shifty and calculating, she turns back to the stove. "My friend was transferred to the hospital your father is in, in Mozambique. She told me she came across his records."

"You told people about dad? What did you tell them, that would have them noticing him just by his bio profile?" I squint my eyes at the plate she sets before me, not sure if I should eat the food. But I'm hungry, so I dig into the baked beans and scrambled eggs with a few slices of bread.

"His profile is not ordinary Cheryl. I mentioned his case to a few people I thought could help."

"Help with what? I don't understand, how you're suddenly this caring aunt, who has our best interests at heart. What do you want...and when are you leaving?" I say the last words with more agitation than I intended on letting on.

"I'm just here till your father gets back, I want to help out around the house."

I finish the last of my bread and raise my arms in mock surrender, "okay. But I'm watching you. I know you're not here out of goodwill. If you try anything funny, I'll kick you out of this house myself."

She looks at me as I rinse my plate and walk out. I'm watching her too.

****

The tv has a lot of uninteresting junk playing. I put my earphones in and listen to some music and fall into a light sleep by the couch. I'm a awoken a few minutes later by a loud thud. My eyes flutter open as my mind recollects.

I realize the sound came from dad's office and I run towards it. Finding my aunt holding a bunch of papers from my dad's files.

"What the heck are you doing in here?" I raise my voice and eye her with suspicion. "What the hell? .... What are you doing with my father's papers?"