The Perfect Copy
#3
Kgosi stared at his wife and swallowed, wetting his throat. He cut the call to Neelo and locked his phone.
Amo shook her head. “Who is she?”
“Babe-”
She raised her voice. “Who is she?!”
“I don’t know what you are talking about. I had borrowed a colleague my car during the day. Maybe that’s his girlfriend’s underwear.”
Amo laughed. “Are you being serious?”
“I don’t know what you want me to say-”
“I just heard you say that you love someone else! I just heard you! I heard you!”
“You didn’t hear properly-”
Amo lowered her voice. “Who is she Kgosi? Enough of whatever you are trying to do. I heard the entire conversation. Who is she?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“Let me see your phone then.”
“I am not giving you my phone.”
Kgosi’s phone rang in his hand and Amo reached over, snatching it from him. He grabbed her arm, trying to get a grip on the hand that held the phone, but Amo leaned over and bit hard into his arm. Pain shot through him and he pushed her hard. She staggered back, letting go. She spat out saliva breathing heavily and answered putting the phone to her ear.
“Kgosi o batlang? The abortion was a success, you and I have-”
Kgosi strode over, slapping the phone from her hand. It dropped to the ground. He quickly picked it up and rushed to the bathroom,where he threw it inside the toilet and flushed breathing heavily.
Amo picked up the vase with her fresh flowers from the side table and walked over to him. Kgosi turned just as she smashed it on his head.
“What the fuvk, Amo?!”
Amo grabbed the ceramic hand lotion container on the bathroom basin and struck him with it. Blood slowly dripped from Kgosi’s head.
“Ware what the fuvk? Ebile you can push me around? Nna papa if you use physical force with me, I will hit you because I take it you are fighting me. Who is she? Huh, Kgosi?”
He looked at her furious face. “Amogelang—”
“Wa nnyatsa! Wa nnyatsa, Kgosi! (You underestimate! You underestimate me Kgosi!”
She looked at his phone still in the toilet and he quickly flushed, but the phone remained inside.
Amo clicked her tongue and walked out.
Kgosi swallowed as his heart pounded harder and harder. He looked at himself in the bathroom mirror while blood continued to drip down and grabbed one of the decorative towels.
He slowly stepped out of the bathroom, holding the towel to his head and sat on the bed, his body physically shaking as thoughts ran through his mind about what she was thinking.
Minutes passed and he finally got up.
Amo walked back in holding a kettle of hot water.
“Ready to talk?”
Kgosi looked at the kettle, then at her.
“Babe-”
“I am going to ask you one last time.” She opened the kettle. “Lie to me.”
“If you burn me, you are going to jail.”
“No sweety, I am not, because I am going to tell them you punched me so I had to fight back.”
Kgosi’s heart raced even more. “Babe-“
“I am not going to ask you again.”
She took a step closer.
“Okay, okay. You don’t know her. I swear you don’t know her, but it’s over now. Babe, I promise you… I promise it’s over. I am sorry.”
“How long?”
“Four months. Just four months…”
Amo shook her head. “What is her name? Where did you meet her?”
“I met her on a work trip. Babe, can you please put the kettle away? Can we just talk? Kea go kopa. (I am begging you.) I know I wronged you.”
“Where does she work?”
“Amo-”
“Where does she work dammit?! Where does she work? What’s her full name as well?”
“She works at the bank and her name is Yame.”
“Surname and which bank?”
He blinked. “FNB. Babe-”
Amo took two steps closer, splashing the water at him. He jumped to the side screaming as some of the hot water touched his skin.
Amo walked out of the bedroom and headed back to the sitting room. She picked up her phone and called 999.
“SSK police, re ka go thusa jang? (How can we help you?”
“Please help. My husband was beating me. I splashed him with hot water. Help me. He is going to kil.l me. Please.”
“Eemma, can I get your full names?”
“Amogelang Otukile.”
“Okay, and where exactly do you stay?”
Kgosi slowly walked over without his shirt. “I need to go to the hospital.”
Amo gave the police her plot number and directions to the house. She hung up and stared at him.
“The police are on the way.”
“I need to see a doctor. You burnt me.”
***
Neelo sat in the sitting room blocking Kgosi’s number. Her phone rang and she smiled picking up.
“Hello?”
Dan sighed. “Kgosi is not happy with that picture.”
She rolled her eyes. “He will handle himself. He is a man.”
“I hope you are not doing this to end up sleeping with him again.”
“Never. I may or may not have left my underwear in his car. I heard screaming and shouting. I think his wife found it.”
“Neelo weh!”
“She deserves to know the truth.”
“Do you realize what this can do to his marriage? Or to Amo herself? You knew he was a married man when you decided to sleep with him. You didn’t care about his wife then. Why involve her now?”
She kept quiet.
“That was a shitty move. I get you wanting to punish him, but you took it too far. Why involve his wife when you were more than happy to sleep with her husband in the first place?”
Neelo stared at the TV. “I was just angry.”
“And here I thought… mxm, sharp.”
He dropped the call.
Neelo defensively folded her arms then paused and walked outside. She looked over at Kgosi’s house and a minute later, Kgosi’s car sped off past her house.
Neelo quickly walked back inside while her heart raced.
***
Later that evening at the police station, the police officer handling the case sighed staring at Amo.
“Your story is flawed. You first said that after you hit him with the vase, you went to boil water, but now you are saying the water was already boiled. I am not sure which story to believe.”
“He punched me and-”
“There is no sign on you that you were punched. Not even swelling. But the police officer with your husband right now says there is bite marks on his arm where you bit him. There are cuts in his head where you smashed a vase in his head and then to top of it all, you burnt him.”
Amo stared at the police officer and shook her head. “This is why women don’t report abuse. It’s this!”
“Or maybe you caught him cheating and you attacked him. To save yourself, you called the police to make it sound as if he attacked you. We do take GBV seriously, even if it’s the woman who is the aggressor.”
Amo’s phone rang and she looked at the caller ID. She rolled her eyes and picked up.
“Daniel!”
“Hi. Kgosi says he is not going to press charges. The truth is that you caught him. He is cheating, but the relationship was now over.”
Amo glanced at the police officer and got up, walking outside.
“I know you are at the police trying to open a case against him, but should you manage to do that, please know it’s going to be your word against his, and with his injuries, your story won’t make it. There is a way to solve such issues and it’s not like that.”
“How long did it go on for?”
“A couple of months, but it’s over.”
“I am going back home and I am going to pack his belongings. Tell your friend that he is going to find them outside the gate tomorrow morning. If he delays, the waste collectors are going to take them thinking it’s trash!”
***
At the hospital, Kgosi sighed.
“O tsile go nyela Neelo.”
Dan shook his head. “Ng ng, you did this to yourself. Imagine if she finds out that it’s a student you are cheating with. What you have been doing is beyond sick. What will stop you from grabbing a thirteen-year-old next time? This is how pedophile tendencies start.”
“Neelo wasn’t a virgin when I started sleeping with her.”
“So it makes what you did right?”
Kgosi put on his shirt. “Do you want her?”
“She is a child that needs growing up to do. She took the picture in my car saying she wants to punish you. O akanya bo ngwana hela because she is a child after all. It’s actually disgusting to think you find a child attractive. How do we even trust you around our kids? God knows what goes on in your head!”
“I have learnt my lesson.”
“I hope so.”
***
In Maun the following morning, Neo finished cleaning her assigned office and stepped back to make sure it was spotless. She thoughtfully re-wiped the framed qualifications on the display units. Just staring at them, she wondered why people always felt the need to obtain so many degrees. She picked up the master’s degree frame and read through it.
“Hi.”
Neo quickly put the photo frame down and turned, looking at him.
“Hello.”
She picked up her equipment. “Bye.”
He smiled. “You didn’t get my name yesterday.”
Neo nodded, then pointed at his framed qualifications. “It’s Quinton.”
Quinton nodded smiling. “Damn, there goes my introduction. I practiced in front of the mirror before I came in today.”
Neo giggled. “Sorry.”
Quinton smiled even more as her face softened. “It’s okay. I hope I didn’t scare you today.”
She relaxed even more smiling back. “Ng ng…”
“Tsona is your real aunt?”
“Yes. She is my mother’s younger sister.”
“And you are visiting her?”
“Yes. Till I rewrite.”
“Rewrite what?”
“My Form 5.”
He nodded. “That is smart. Not a lot of people believe in trying again. If I tell you I failed Form 5 twice would you believe me?”
Neo looked at his degrees. “No. You have a lot of degrees.”
“Yeah, I worked super hard for them but I failed Form 5 twice. Which subjects did you fail?”
“All of the important ones.”
“What do you want to study?”
“Software engineering.”
“I can help you study.”
She blinked. “Uh… no… I don’t want to disturb you and your work.”
He reached for his business card on his desk and handed it to her. “You wouldn’t. Give me a call when you are ready.”
She shook her head. “Also, I don’t think I will ever pass enough to study that. It’s just a dream and-“
“Dreams are plans that haven’t happened yet.”
Neo looked at him. “You talk like a motivational speaker.”
He chuckled. “I don’t bite. I can help you.”
She looked down and cleared her throat. “I have to go.”
“Ok.”
Someone knocked on the door and opened it. Neo looked at her aunt then moved a bit away from him.
Tsona smiled. “Good morning, sir. Neo? Done?”
“Eemma.”
She walked out and Quinton flashed a smile at Tsona, who nodded and closed the door behind her niece.
They both walked down the corridor in silence. Tsona glanced at Neo.
“Men like that don’t value women like you, Neo.”
“Ma?”
“You need to know your place. I saw how he was looking at you. Don’t think he actually wants you. You are just a cleaner. And if you do anything with him outside what I pay you for, I will fire you. This is not what I took you in for.”
Neo remained silent shoving the business card he had given her deep into her uniform’s pocket.
***
In Gaborone that same morning, Neelo walked out of the bathroom after showering. She stepped into her bedroom and jumped startled looking at Kgosi inside.
She frowned. “How did you get in?”
“You didn’t lock the front door. I walked in.”
Her heart pounded as she stared at him.
“If you don’t leave, I am going to scream.”
“And you think anyone will hear you?” He grabbed her hand. “Your parents left long ago. It’s only you and me. You really thought you would get away with leaving underwear in my car?”
Neelo looked at his angry face and quickly summoned her tears.
“What did you want me to do? After everything, you drop me like I am nothing. You didn’t even call to check on me. You are so evil, Kgosi! And to think I am still in love with you. You hurt me and I wanted to hurt you back! I put the underwear there to hurt you!”
He shook his head as tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Neelo-”
“Since the day I told you I was pregnant, you started acting funny just to show that you never liked me.”
He sighed. “You know that is not true. You have put my marriage on the line with that stunt.”
She looked away emotionally. Kgosi moved closer and hugged her.
“I am sorry.”
Neelo sniffed in his arms. Kgosi pulled back.
“I will handle Amo. I know you have Dan’s number in your phone. I want you to block it and delete it. I don’t want you ever talking to him.”
“I long deleted it.”
“Are you ok?”
She shrugged.
Kgosi kissed her and breathed out.
“I have to deal with my mess at home. Amo reported our fight to her uncles and there is going to be a family meeting.”
“I am sorry.”
“It’s okay. I love you. That hasn’t changed. But for now I need to focus on getting my marriage back on track. I am not saying we are breaking up. I am just saying I need time to focus on my marriage. Once everything is back to normal, we will also get back to normal.”
“Okay.”
Kgosi kissed her one last time, then walked out. She followed seconds later, locked the front door, and breathed out, shaking.
Three Months Later…
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