#Truths_of_the_Heart
20
*edit as you re-ad*
Naomi checked her phone for umpteenth time. Lwipa was supposed to call her so she could pick up Peter. The two had agreed that Peter would be returned by 15hours but it was now close to 18. She signalled for the waiter who immediately c@m£ to her side.
“Another glas-s plea-se.” She told him referring to the red wine she had been sipping since she arrived. As the waiter left her table Naomi dailed Lwipa’s number. The call went unanswered like all her previous attempts.
After a minute Naomi tried Lwipa again. Still no answer. She then dailed Mwamba’s number. He answered on first ring.
“Hi baby. I tried to call you earlier but couldn’t get throu-gh.”
“I’m sorry, my battery was flat and I had no where to charge.” Mwamba responded on his end.
“Oh, I see. I wanted to find out if you have started off.” Her heart pounded as she waited for him to respond.
“Ah, not yet. I’m doubting if I’ll manage to leave today. There are some issues we nee-d to check with the council before we leave. Since the burial was yesterday and today a sunday, we will only manage tomorrow. Aunty asked me to be pres£nt in the meeting.”
Naomi sighed relief. “Oh ok. Too bad, the kids were looking forward to your return.”
“Can I speak to them?” Mwamba asked.
“I’m not home right now. I’ll call once I get back.”
“Ok. Thanks. Talk later then.” He said before hanging up.
Naomi felt herself relax. She had made sure to time Peter’s visit to Lwipa with Mwamba attending his uncle’s burial in Kabwe. After her call to Mwamba she tried to call Lwipa.
“Pick up!” She murmured as the call rang until it cut. “Damn it!” She slammed her hand on the table.
**********
Lwipa took a sip of his beer as he cheered on his team. There was a championsh!pmatch on that evening which he decided to watch from a near by pub.
“Come on! That’s a clear sh0t!” He roared at the TV.
“Take it easy” Leah the bar lady laughed.
“He’s acting like an idiot. I mean just kick the ball straight into the net! Even a four year old can make that sh0t.”
“Well, clearly he failed.” Leah laughed. “I really do not un-derstand the hype about football.”
“Your b©yfri£nddoesn’t watch football? ”
“Nope.” Leah shook her head.
“What? A man that doesn’t drink, nor watch football? You have a problem on your hands there. Be careful.” Lwipa said taking another sip of his beer.
“He hast given me any problems yet. 3 years and counting.”
“He hasn’t married you yet. Once you are tied down with nowhere to go then you will come back and tell me.”
Leah laughed. “So that’s your secret you men, tie us down, finish our market then start abusing us?”
Lwipa laughed. “Its not abuse. It’s just nature. Men are hunters. Once you are married, the conquest is over. They start looking for the next one.”
“Oh, so then it’s better to not get married then right? So that they dont st©p hunting us.”
Lwipa shook his head. “If the hunt prolongs again they get bored and look for the thri-ll else where. ”
Leah laughed out loudly. “Men, I will never un-derstand you. It’s like you dont even know what you want.”
“I tell you a secret?” He whispered leaning closer to the bar. “We want it all.” The two broke out into a bout of laughter.
A couple walked into the pub, getting Leah’s attention. She walked over to them leaving Lwipa at the bar. He pu-ll-ed out his phone from his pocket and smiled. 28 missed calls from Naomi. Opening his WhatsApp he found 5 voice notes from her. He cli-cked to hear the most recently s£nt.
“Lwipa, this isn’t funny anymore. Where is my son! Bring him home immediately. And dont dare pl@ygames with me.” Her voice was high pitched and shaky. Clearly she was upset but Lwipa didnt care. Peter was his son and as far as he was concerned he was where he nee-ded to be.
Lwipa listened to all her voice notes before putting the phone back into his pocket. He had alre-ady put it on silent earlier in the afternoon knowing Naomi would try to call him.
*************
Naomi gulped her wine in frustration. She saw the WhatsApp ticks turn blue in Lwipa’s chat. Meaning he had re-ad her messages and listened to her voice notes. But her calls still went unanswered.
The sun outside had set, s£nding throu-gh a chilly breeze. It was past 19 when she decided to go home. Dorica and Milda were out on the veranda seated on a reed mat when she arrived. Milda was pla-ying with her dolls while Dorica was sorting beans on a tray.
“Mummy, where’s Peter?” Milda asked seeing her mother locking the car and walking towards them alone.
“He asked to spend another night. So he’s coming home tomorrow.” Naomi responded as she walked up the few stairs.
“Which friend is he staying with again?” Dorica asked.
“Tim.”
“But I thought Tim’s mother has been unwell. Is it a good idea to let him stay so long?”
“She seemed ok to me.” Naomi snapped at her sister.
“Bana Milda, what have I done wrong now? Eh?”
“Why are you asking too many questions? Just mind your own business.” Naomi went into the house and straight to her be-droom. There she tried Lwipa again. Getting no response, she threw her phone onto the be-d. Panick gr!pp£dher as realised she let Lwipa take Peter without her knowing where he lived.
#Truths_of_the_Heart
21
“Uncle..”
Lwipa looked up from his seat where he was slumped back. He had just arrived from the pub. He always wanted nshima with grilled meat after a heavy drink.
“What have I told you about calling me uncle? ” he gr-unted. “I’m not your uncle!”
Peter hesitated. The word failed to come out from his mouth. He ba-rely knew the man and now he was expected to call him dad? Peter pla-yed with his f!ngersnot knowing how to proceed. Wezi walked into the room carrying a jar of water and a dish which she set on the floor next to him.
“Lwipa, what time is Peter being picked?” She asked as she pu-ll-ed the coffee take closer to him.
Peter sighed relief for Wezi coming to his rescue. He had been waiting all day in anticipation of being taken home. With the setting of the sun Lwipa was still nowhere to be seen until now when it was close to 21hours.
“Picked and taken where?”
“Home! The child has been waiting for you all day. You had promised to take him back this afternoon.”
“He is alre-ady home.”
“plea-se I want to go home.” Peter cried in a shaky voice.
“St©p whining!” Lwipa snapped at him. “My god, are you sure you have been raised by a man? Grow a pair and st©p this childish behaviour.”
Peter run out of the living room to the room he sle-pt in. He felt afraid and ~confused. Why would his mother s£nd him away? Why didnt Mwamba st©p her from s£nding him away? He didnt to live with Lwipa. If his parents didnt want him she should have s£nt him back to his grandp~ arents.
Wezi brou-ght out Lwipa’s food the sat down watching him eat. “When are you taking Peter back to his mother?”
“Its my turn to keep him.”
“And his mother agreed to this?”
“Why do you care? Just know that he is here for good.”
Wezi shook her head. “Come on Lwipa. You cant keep a child here when he doesn’t want to stay. Let him first get to know us better so that the transition can be done smoothly.”
Lwipa laughed at her. “What do you know about children? It’s easy for you to say because he is not your child. I want him here and so he shall stay. You just have to accept the fact that I have a child.”
“Why do you always have to ru-b kn the fact that I haven’t gotten pregnant yet?”
“Its not ru-bbing in, but merely the truth. Now let me eat in peace.” He dismissed his wife.
**********
Naomi frantically dailed Lwipa’s number but kept getting a busy tone on the other side. She had a feeling that he had blocked her number. She kept trying to call him anyway. The night had been long, tossing and turning, thinking about Peter.
“I’m home” she heard Mwamba call out somewhere in the house.
“Peter! Milda!”
“Daddy!” Milda screamed.
Naomi walked into the corridor in time to see an excited Milda being twirled up in the air.
“Daddy I missed you!”
“I missed you too baby girl.” Mwamba grinned wi-dely. “Where’s your brother? Still slee-ping?”
“Hi, welcome home.” Naomi said quic-kly before Milda could respond. “Milda, go back to be-d. It’s cold.”
“But I want to stat with daddy!” She protested.
“He has to rest a bit first ok. Go sleep just for a bit. When you wake up you find him waiting for you.”
“Go on Milda. Listen to your mum. I’m home all day. We can go to the mall later for some cocoa and waffles ok.”
Disappointed, Milda walked back to her be-droom. Mwamba picked up his bag from the floor. Naomi rushed to him taking the bag from him, a gesture that surprised Mwamba.
“I didnt think you would be in so early. I thought you had to go to the council or something?”
“Yeah I was but one of my cousins has a connection there so he said he would take it up. I got a lift from uncle’s friend.”
“Oh, I see.”
Once in the be-droom, Mwamba went straight to take a bath. He took his time as he had not taken a proper bath in the three days he was at the funeral house. Naomi was seated in be-d when he walked out. She got out of be-d to where he stood applying lotion.
“Let me help you with that.” Naomi smiled as she took the bottle from his hand. She poured a generous amount on her hands. ru-bbing them together, she them ru-bbe-d the lotion on Mwamba’s back applying pressure on his shoulders down to his w@!st.
Mwamba let out a small m0@n as her hands worked his back. He could not remember when last he had felt her hands on his skin. Naomi took his hand and led him to the be-d where she sat him down. She took his lotion and begun applying it on the rest of his b©dy, ma-king sure to mas-sage him as she did. Lastly she applied the lotion on his groin, her stro-kes s£nding ripples throu-ghout his b©dy. He looked de-ep into her eyes with de-sire and confusion not knowing what would come next. Naomi had a knack of arousing him them leaving him hanging. The two had not had S-x in close to 6 months.
As if re-ading his mind, Naomi re-moved the go-wn she wore to reveal her n-kedness. She then sat on his l@ps and planted a de-ep k!ssonto hisl-ips. Mwamba savoured herl-ips for a while enjoying their clos£ness. It felt like it had before. The pas-sion burned throu-gh them both but Mwamba was determined to take his time with her. To enjoy every single moment of their intimacy. The fatigue he had felt when he arrived home disappeared as Mwamba stood up with Naomi still on his l@ps. He l@yher down on the be-d where he explored, k!$$£d and ca-ressed every inch of her before she begged him to have her..
Tbc