# ~Truths_of_the_Heart~ ❤️
13
“Peter, greet your father.” Naomi nudged her son who stood in her shadow.
“Hello son.” Lwipa extended his hand.
“Peter, come on.” Naomi pu-ll-ed him from behind where he stood.
“Hi.” Peter responded, keeping his hand in his pocket.
“Dont be rude. Shake the mans hand.”
Reluctantly, Peter shock Lwipa’s hand and quic-kly pu-ll-ed away.
“I thought maybe we can have some lunch.” Lwipa suggested to Naomi.
“That’s great. I’m famished.”
Peter followed them quietly as Lwipa led them into a restaurant. Once seated he begun pla-ying with his hands to keep busy as Naomi and Lwipa made small talk. The waiter c@m£ throu-gh to take their orders a few seconds after they were seated.
“I’ll have the quarter chicken grilled with a Greek salad. I’m watching my weight.” Naomi said. “Peter, what will you have?”
“I’m not hungry.” He responded in a low tone.” “Ouch!” Naomi pinched him un-der the table.
“He’ll have the chicken and ch!ps combo.” Naomi smiled handing the menu back to the waiter.
“I’ll have a big burger and fries.” Lwipa ordered them as some drinks as well before the waiter disappeared.
“So Peter, your mum tells me you love pla-ying video games. I got you a pla-ystation 4.”
“Dad bought me one for my birthday.” He responded.
“Thank you.” Naomi responded taking the parcel from him. “This one is the latest version Peter. Say thank you.”
“Thank you.” Peter stood up. “May I use the bathroom?”
“Sure thing son. Want me to esc-rt you?” Lwipa ask.
“I can manage on my own.” Peter left the table quic-kly. He wanted some time to compose himself.
“He’s not much of a talker huh?” Lwipa asked once Peter was out of earsh0t.
“He’s just shy. Give him some time to get used to you.”
“Do your husband, he treats him well?”
“Yes he does. But we’re not here to discuss my husband. You have met the boy, so what next?” Naomi took a sip of her drink.
“I want to be a p@rt of his life.”
Naomi sneered. “It will take more than some cheap pres£nts.”
“Yes I know. Tell me what I nee-d to do. I’ll do it.” The desperation in his voice was ha-rd to miss.
“Tell me, why now? And be honest.”
Lwipa faced his hands on the table. “I’m trying to undo the wrong I did. I got punished for my behaviour. And I’m paying for it.”
“Still doesn’t explain a thing.”
Lwipa sighed. “My wife and I have been having difficulties having a child. She is barren.”
“Really?” Naomi g@sped as if surprised. “And now you think you can come a get Peter from me just like that? If you had children with your so called wife you wouldn’t be here today.”
“No! No! It’s not just that. My conscious has been eating at me. I’ve been searching for you for a while now. Your family moved from Kalulushi and I didn’t know where else to look.” He defended.
“Ok, so now that you’re here, I nee-d to see how serious you are about my son.”
“Anything! I’ll do everything you ask.”
Naomi smiled inwardly. “I have taken care of him alone for the past 11 years. That’s food, clothes, health care, and schooling. And that has not been cheap.”
“I will pay you back for everything you spent on him. As his father it’s my duty. I was alre-ady planning on do it.”
“Good.”
“So I’ll nee-d you to s£nd me a block figure. Also tell me how much his fees are currently and I’ll pay for that as well.”
“Great.” Naomi smiled wi-dely. Peter returned to the table just then.
After lunch Lwipa esc-rted then to the car park where Naomi was parked. He took put some notes and handed them to Peter.
“This is for you to use at school.” He turned to Naomi. “This is to replace the fuel you used to get here.”
“So I’ll get back to you by Monday.” Naomi told him getting into the driver’s seat.
“I’ll be waiting on you.” He looked at Peter. “I cant wait to see you again soon.”
Peter only nodded in response.
As they drove out of the mall, Naomi looked at her son throu-gh the rearview mirror, satisfied with how the day went.
“Do not tell Mwamba about today, or where you got the gift or money. It’s our secret ok?”
Petter nodded, saying nothing yet again.
“Good boy.” She smiled.
*****************
“Hi. You guys took forever!” Mwamba was in the garden tending to his flowers.
“So you were timing us now?” Naomi rolled her eyes.
“Nope, just curious as to what took you so long. You said you were just buying a few things from the supermarket.”
“Well, Peter and I decided to get some lunch. It’s been long since we bonded.” Naomi explained.
Mwamba looked at Peter who faced away immediately. “Are you ok Peter?”
“And why wouldn’t he be?” Naomi asked immediately. “Go and take the bags inside.” She instructed him.
Peter did as instructed, take the few groceries Naomi had bought out of the car boot. Mwamba looked at him suspiciously noting his strange behaviour.
“St©p staring at the boy, you’ll make him trip, aah!”
“MWAMBA! MWAMBA!” A panicked voice c@m£ from the gate.
Dusting his hands, Mwamba rushed to the gate with Naomi in tow. They found a distressed Tamara pacing in circles.
“Tamara?”
“Mwamba mum has coll@psed. I cant wake her plea-se help me. plea-se quic-kly.” She turned and run home before he could even respond.
Mwamba followed behind as Naomi followed him as well. When they arrived, the found Mrs Banda unconscious in the kitchen. Kneeling down next to her, Mwamba placed his hand near her nose. He sighed relief. “She’s breathing.”
He quic-kly picked up her hand and felt her wrist to check her pulse. “The pulse is weak. We nee-d to get her to the hospital immediately.”
Without a word, Tamara disappeared out of the kitchen, returning almost immediately with the car keys. She opened the door to the back seat then went back inside where Mwamba and Naomi where in the process of lifting her from the floor. All three staggered throu-gh the kitchen door until they managed to get her into the car.
“Thank you.” Tamara said rushing to the drivers seat.
“No, you cant drive in that state.” Mwamba took the keys from her as Tamara sli-pped into the back with her mother cradling her head.
“I’ll be home as soon I drop them off at the clinic.” Mwamba called to his wife as he opened the gate. He took the drivers seat, and sped off leaving Naomi in a daze.
When they were out of site, Naomi went back to the house and endured both the front and back door were locked before closing the gate and returning to their home.
Mwamba only returned past midnight. She found herself unable to sleep. She had never met this Tamara before and wondered how she seemed comfortable enough to call her husband using his first name. And worse still, why skip the few houses between them to get help? There was something about Tamara that made her feel uneasy.
“You’ve taken long.” Naomi told him as he took off his clothes.
“Yeah. There was a lot of running around. We reached the clinic where the nurse told us to rush her to UTH as there was little they could do there and keeping her to wait for an ambulance might del@yher treatment.”
“Oh, so you went to UTH?”
“Yes. When we got there, we had to find a trolley first. Iye, the porters there are so rude. Imagine arguing with them just so they could help us take her out of the car. There was such a long que but luckily the nurse saw the situation and rushed to us.”
“Uhuh.” Naomi was now seated up in be-d.
“Turns out her appendix ruptured and she was bleeding internally. So they had to take her for an emergency operation. She c@m£ out of theater some thirty minutes ago and taken to ICU.”
“Eish. That’s terrible.”
“I know. Poor Tamara!”
“Why?”
“Well, she’s just alone with no one to support her while her mother fights for her life. She wanted to spend the night at UTH in the corridors, in this cold!” He exclaimed. “I literally had to pu-ll her to the car to get her home.”
“Yeah, you did well.” Naomi bit herl-ip.
“I tried calling you it was just ringing.”
“Oh cra-p, I left my phone outside on a rock.” He put his trou-sers back on and left the room. He returned minutes later phone in hand. “I hope it’s not damaged. It’s we-t from the cold temperatures outside.” He placed it by his be-dside then went into the bathroom.
Naomi looked at the place Mwamba placed his phone. Did he really forget it outside or he had just ignored her calls. She fought the urge to pick it up and go throu-gh it. Instead, she got back into the covers, turning to face the other side.
# ~Truths_of_the_Heart~
14
Naomi sat watching tv when a knock c@m£ throu-gh the door. It was a Sunday and she was home alone. Mwamba was at work and her sister had picked up the children on Friday for the weekend. Not expecting anyone, she lazily dragged herself to the door.
“Good morning.” Tamara smiled wi-dely.
Naomi rolled her eyes. “What do you want?”
“Eh, I c@m£ to thank you for all the help you gave to mum and I during the time of her crisis.” Tamara held out the lunch box she had been holding. “Mum s£nt me to bring this. It’s not much but just to show appreciation.”
Naomi opened up the lid and peeked inside. “Casava?”
“Yes. Mwamba usually buys cas-sava from mum. So she s£nt some for him.”
“Its Mr Chiti to you darling. Or bashi Milda.” Naomi snapped at her. “Mind how you speak to him.”
Tamara pushed back the hair that c@m£ to her face. “Have a good day.” She smiled and turned to leave.
“Hey, wait a minute.” Naomi c@m£ out of the house. “What is your relationsh!pwith my husband?”
Tamara turned to face her with the sweetest smile plastered on her face. “Mrs Chiti, I do not d@t£ married men. I’m too good for that. I may live with my mother, but I’m an independent woman and a professional, so I do not depend on anyone for me nee-ds. One thing I do is return kindness, which is what your husband has shown to my mother and I. Besides your husband doesn’t seem like the type who entertains such behaviour. Enjoy the rest of your day madam.”
Naomi tried to respond but Tamara was alre-ady out of earsh0t. Cl!çk!ng her ton-gue, she went back into the house, resuming her seat in front of the tv. Placing the lunch box furiously on the coffee table, Naomi thought of ways she could have cl@pped back at Tamara. Who hell was she to think herself so smart, high and mighty? If Mwamba was having an affair with her, then she had better watch out. Naomi would not be taken for a fool.
**************
Wezi sat in the back yard on a stool next to the tap. It was laundry day. She slowly went throu-gh all the pockets as the water slowly filled up in the dish un-der the tap. Washing clothes was one of her favourite past times. Everyone thought it weird that she enjoyed washing so much. She could do it every day if it were possible.
Humming a church song, Wezi picked up one of Lwipa’s trou-sers and went throu-gh the pockets. She re-moved the papers she found as well as some money folded into what looked like an atm sli-p. Unfolding the sl-ips he saw a receipt. Looking closely, it was a bank transfer receipt. Lwipa had deposited about twenty thousand kwacha to a named account. The name was not visible as it was fading out but the figure and signature were clear as day. As far as she knew, they were not ma-king any large payments for anything. Wezi put it aside and continued checking the pockets of his other clothes. She found a few more receipts of toys he bought which were also coming to a significant amount.
“I found this in your pocket.” Wezi waited until Lwipa c@m£ to the be-droom after his mother had gone to be-d.
Lwipa glanced at the receipt before crumbling it into a small ball and tossing it into the big. “Why are you going throu-gh my stuff?”
“I was washing and found that in your clothes. What’s the meaning of this? Where did you take all that money?”
“What’s the use of ma-king money if I cant spend it?”
“What did you spend it on? Who did you s£nd the money too?”
If you must know, I spent the money on My SON!”
Tears filled Wezi’s eyes. “What son? You have not told me anything about a son.”
“Why should I? Huh?”
“Lwipa I’m your wife. How could you keep something as big as this from me?”
Lwipa laughed out. “Wife my foot. A useless woman you are. Cant even ba-re me a single child. Let alone get pregnant.”
“Why do you find plea-sure in hurting me? You act like I’m responsible for not having a child yet.”
“Well aren’t you? If s simple grade 12 can give me a son, what more a grown woman such as yourself?”
“You made a girl in grade 12 pregnant?” Wezi asked in horror.
“You just stick to your role and dont bother me about this again. Get pregnant then you can question me about my children.” He went on to prepare for be-d as she stood watching him in tears.
“I cannot do this anymore. I’m tired. Let me go back to my family.”
Lwipa sneered at her. “So that you embarras-s me as the man who divorced his wife because she was barren? You just be mad.” He k!$$£d her cheek. “Till death do us p@rt baby.”
“Do you even love me?” She asked in a whisper.
“Love is only found in fairytales. This is real life. We are adults and not children so grow up. Now come to be-d ”
Tbc