Chapter Fifty Four

Three: Gossip

"Uphi unyana wakho MamXala?" Zwelinye asked suddenly after his dinner. He knew his son as a late comer in everything. Even at school he wouldn't be surprised if he came all the time late there. It was his long time habit. Even as a baby he came out two weeks late so it was normal for them to start eating dinner without him but it was a cause for worry if they actually finished eating without Xolo already munching his mouth full of food.

Zwelinye looked at his wife who was looking down at her plate that strangely she hadn't touched. "Uphi uXolo?" He asked again this time having effect. MamXala braved up her face. "He will be no longer living with us. Xolo is no longer part of us"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Did you and your son have a fight again?"

MamXala stood up. She started taking the plates. "Xolo is at the pastor's house. If you want to know about why I threw him out you'll have to ask him. He'll have to answer you himself. I won't. "

Zwelinye watched MamXala walked away to the kitchen. He placed a hand to his chin. "What is it this time? So serious that she threw him out.  I'd would have thought it would have been nice to actually have that brat away but look at it" he gestured at the room, "so quiet and peaceful. What I wanted but it is quite boring. His mother is even looking like she has cried ten times before I got here. So dramatic the both of them. This is just too much" he threw his hands to the air. So sure he was that this whole thing was just the normal mother and son drama. He'd go solve it before these two drama queens ended up causing even more drama for him.

He shook his head.

***

Maseko was walking around his bed room with only his shirt and underwear on.

"What are you doing walking around with only your shirt on Tata?" Mamfundisi asked not impressed one bit. "Put something on please"

Maseko was too busy looking for what he was looking for that he didn't even pay mind to his wife's words.

He went out of his room. Still searching for what he only knew himself. He was only knocked out of his trance when he heard the knock on the door. "Who is it?"

"Where is my son?" Zwelinye asked instead of answering Maseko's question. "I want my son Maseko!"

Maseko didn't need any name to define this voice he already knew who it was. Zwelinye Jacobs.  He opened the door.

"You should know that it's your son who came here not the other way around."

Zwelinye didn't get into the house. He stood on the doorstep. His hands folded. "I didn't come here's to look at your skinny legs Maseko go in there and get my son."

Maseko's lips formed a smirk. "Well you will stare at my 'skinny' legs because you're not getting your son back tonight. It's late and he's sleeping. Whatever you and your wife did to that boy will be discussed in tomorrow after they come back from school."

Zwelinye chuckled. "What do you want to achieve by saying that? Do you want to really cause me to straggle you right now?" 

"Straggle? Since when do you go around straggling pastors?"

Zwelinye didn't reply. Just turned to walk away. He knew his son would be safe at Maseko's house. Hum dragging things on wasn't going to help anything. It was just gonna make him want to fight with Maseko.

"I'll see  you tomorrow then Zwe" the pastor said closing his door.

***

Maseko had his eyes closed and his hands together he was praying. His prayers were vague and uninspired unlike the ones he is used to praying. He didn't like what was starting to happen now it would prove to be disastrous in the long run.

He opened his eyes only to see Zwelinye sitting on one of the church chairs. "Aren't you supposed to be at work or something like that?"

Zwelinye scratched his chin. "Why are you praying in such early hours? Don't you have a family or what?" He shot back his own question instead of answering Maseko's own. "I thought preachers like you took family very seriously. It is people like me who decide to work too much in order to keep their distance from their own families"

"Zwe why do you see the need to always be rude to me? I have nothing to say to you right now. You have caused me to lose my focus more than once now. Do you really want to ruin me?"

Zwelinye smirked, "I would have done so much more if I really wanted to ruin you don't you think?" His hawk like eyes started at Maseko's feet, legs, thighs, stomach, chest and then finally face. He licked his lips as if ready to devour the most delicious meal imaginable.

Maseko held his hands on his hips. His face in pretend annoyance. "Stop what you're doing. It's not right."

Zwelinye stood up from the chair he had been sitting on. "What should I stop? Hm? Explain to me." He went closer to Maseko who still stood on the same position. Like a thief he stole Maseko's waist wrapping it tightly with his arms.

"Stop" Maseko warned yet again breathing unevenly as Zwelinye started to sniff at his neck. His breathing started to be rapid when he felt lips on his throat and then his Adam's apple. He was starting to lose himself to the desire. His resistance was becoming nonexistent. He started to feel Zwelinye's hardened member against his own. "This isn't right Zwe—" he was cut off his speech when he heard voices coming towards the church's entrance. "Oh God!" He tried to push Zwelinye away but he wasn't able to. He was just kissed instead. A mind blowing and intense kiss that made Maseko's knees go weak. Before he could even attempt to respond Zwelinye was out of his reach. He almost yelped in need of the suddenly taken away physical embrace he was in only a few minutes ago.

Two women got in and Zwelinye took the opportunity to leave. Maseko's eyes stared longingly after him. He wished he could go after him. But alas. His work was here. Besides like he said him and Zwelinye were just wrong.

***

"Kutheni uzibopha nje ngoku?" Lindani questioned Xolo when he got out of the bathroom.

Xolo looked at him on the mirror which he had been using to make sure he had tied his dreadlocks correctly. "Don't I look nice?"

Lindani took his underwear from his drawer putting it on. "Hm. I don't know. How does it make you feel? Do you like it tied or loose? I think feeling nice yourself is far better than being told you look great by someone else. So do you like it like that?"

Xolo looked at himself in the mirror. He still saw someone who looked like a pretty girl than someone who should be socially acceptable.

Someone who looked like a man. A young man. He untied it again. But he still didn't like it. He didn't like himself in both ways. Tied or untied he hated it. Hated his face.

He felt hands on his dreads. He looked at the mirror seeing Lindani busying himself away. "What are you doing?" He asked interested to know. Lindani started to braid the dreadlocks. "My cousins are all girls. So being the youngest of them you know how girls can bully. I was forced to learn how to braid from a young age. Maybe you'll like it"

Xolo waited to see the outcome of it all. Which he saw in no time and it was beautiful. He touched at his dreads which were now intertwined in a braided creation by Lindani. He liked this. He liked it a lot. He couldn't stop smiling.

"Thank you"

Lindani went to wear his pants. Nodding at Xolo's gratitude. "Come wear something too. I can borrow you some of mine. "

" Thanks Lindani. You're being very good to me. It's overwhelming. Everything is just so... overwhelming. Can you do me a favour?"

Lindani shrugged. "What?"

Xolo put on the extra shirt Lindani had brought out for him. "We might have not been enemies. We might have not even been fighting. But everyone else thinks we do. They're all gonna start to gossip. I don't want that okay? So please when we get to school we'll separate."

Lindani smiled. "You think people will start to see a change? Let me explain things to you Xolo. Because you seem very confused. You and I are always together. Separating will only make them the people you're so concerned about talk. Where there is me there's you. It has been like that since a very long time now."

Xolo buttoned the shirt's buttons. "Then we deserve a change don't you think? We can't be tied up to each other's hip forever right? Distance is good."

Lindani finished getting dressed. "I can't" he confessed ever so quickly.

Xolo frowned. "What can't you do?"

Lindani started to shine his shoes. " I can't stay away from you. I won't. I almost went crazy yesterday. I can't go through that again. I won't!"

Xolo looked at Lindani. He didn't say anything in return. Just looked at him.