A Woman Scorned

CHAPTER 19

Kayla's POV

"Miss King I understand that my friend had cause you lots of pain but  believe it when I say I don't condone her actions. Please do not judge me based on my friend's behaviour. I really work hard and if you give me this chance I can prove to you that I am worthy of your trust." Bontle begged. She needed the extra money to manage some costs at the University. Mimi was barely at campus, they used to share some expenses but lately she never cared  about anything besides Michael.

"It's okay Bontle. Judging you for what your friend did would be unjust. Do you go to school?" Kayla asked with interest. Bontle on the other hand was taken aback by the sudden interest. She was sure that Kayla would kick her out once she knew about her friendship with Mimi.

" Yes I am a final year student at the University of Botswana. I study law." Bontle said proudly.

" That's a good thing. I guess you need the extra money then. I am going to trust you to take care of my daughter for the five hours I will be in the office. As I have already said Ayanna is a premature so if you realise that her temperature or her breathing or even her skin colour is changing please call me. She is still delicate as it is and a minor change can have some detrimental effects."

"Thank you for your trust and the opportunity Miss King. I promise to not let you down. I will make sure to keep an eye on everything you just said. Ayanna is such a pretty name." Bontle said, sucking up for extra points.

Kayla laughed at the comment. She then took Bontle for a tour around the house. She showed her where everything was. She showed her where she stored the baby's milk. Kayla hated pumping her milk into the bottle, she wanted to be the one to feed her little girl but she knew she didn't have a choice. Ayanna also hated the bottle and she always put a fight when she was fed one.

After they got everything covered Kayla gave Ayanna a bath and she dressed her in a pink dress. She took a lot more time than she would have liked to settle Ayanna down. Her daughter was cranky as if she could feel that her mother was leaving her.

Kayla showed Bontle the emergency numbers as well as her number before she left. She felt sad going to the office on her own. She had never been away from her daughter more than an hour. Ayanna was a sickly child so she had always made sure to keep her close. She felt silly at how she was feeling but she knew her feelings were validated.

When she arrived at the office she found it buzzing as everyone was anticipating the arrival of Mrs De Punt on Friday. She went to her work room to check on the dresses that she worked on when she was at the village. One of them needed some final touches so she spent the whole morning working on it. The stylists worked with models who would showcase the dresses to Mrs De Punt. The models were getting prepped. The seamstress and other junior designers also worked on final touches on some dresses.

After two hours she called Bontle to check on how things were going and Bontle assured her that Ayanna was fine. Kayla went to meet the creative director for their monthly meeting.

The creative director, Mr Salone and his team worked on determining the theme, color palette and styling of an apparel season’s collection. He  conducted the trend research and reviewed the high-level sales data to determine which colors and styles are trending so that the customers would likely purchase.

At the beginning of each month, Kayla and Mr Salone met to establish the color palette, theme, inspiration sources and any key design elements they want to see in the collection. The meeting took longer than she anticipated. Mr Salone had many ideas on what their customers would be interested in and Kayla took notes.

She visited the boutique lastly and she found it running smoothly. When she was satisfied with everything she decided it was time to go home. She felt relieved because she had been anxious and worrying about Ayanna. She took her bag and some reports and rushed home. Bontle was preparing late lunch when she arrived. After checking on Ayanna who was put down for her afternoon nap, Kayla joined Bontle for lunch.

She enjoyed Bontle's company. She was an intelligent, beautiful and humorous young girl. Bontle was very interested on what Kayla was doing. She found it fascinating that at 32 years old she owned her own designing company.

She asked many question that at one point she thought Kayla would be annoyed but she seemed interested in answering her. The more they talked, the more she admired and respected her. She was a true defination of a strong woman. Bontle couldn't help but feel sorry for what Mimi did.

Finally at two Bontle left and Kayla spent some quality time with Ayanna. They watched some cartoons and she read a fairytale story to her. Ayanna was fascinated by her mother's face as she read the book. The little girl's eyes were glued to her mother's face. Her tiny fingers reaching out to touch her mother's nose. Kayla always found it funny how Ayanna would scrunch her little face to concentrate on her. After the baby fell asleep Kayla went to work on some papers.

Michael's POV

Michael was tired after a long day at work. He decided to go home for a quick shower before meeting some friends for drinks. He didn't have the energy to fight with Mimi so he was relieved when he saw her message saying she was staying at a girlfriend's  for a few days.

He went to his house at Phakalane and when he got home he smelled his mother's famous roasted pork and roasted potatoes. The smell was heavenly and mouth watering.

He wondered if his mind was playing tricks on him so he checked the kitchen. He felt tears of joy sting his eyes as he saw his mother humming softly, stirring the pot. He rushed over to her and threw his hand over her.

"You big baby..." His mother teased as she turned around to give him a proper hug. After the long hug she held him at arm length and observed him.

"You have lost weight Michael." She reprimanded. Michael let out a hearty laugh and hugged his mother some more.

"Mama when did you come to town? Why didn't you call me?" He asked as he pulled away.

"Slow down. I arrived few hours ago and I guessed you were at work.  I came straight to the house and did some cleaning."

"Mama you know you don't have to clean after me."

"I know that but I wanted to do something nice for my son. The last time we talked you sounded so depressed and I wanted to make sure you are okay."

"I am now. You are here now so I am okay."

"Food is almost ready so go change you clothes and come join me."

Michael left the kitchen smiling like an idiot. He found his bedroom sparkling clean. He knew it was his mother's doing. He changed into some baggy shorts and a golf shirt before joining his mother at the kitchen.

They ate a soul filling supper, he didn't fail to comment on how his mother was a wonderful cook.They continued to catch up but the issue with Kayla was remained unmentioned. Michael was grateful to his mother for that. That night he slept with his heart at ease and peace. The sleep was the best he had in the longest time.