Later that evening after dinner, everyone is in the sitting room. The twins are awake. Tino is in his mother’s hands, Nyasha is with Kupa. Tadiwa is jumping from one sofa to the other to smile in each child’s face in turns, he is excited about the 2 little humans as if he just met them.
‘Tadi dzikama, you will hurt the baby.’ Kupa says, shielding Nyasha’s head from possible body collisions.
‘I want to play with baby,’ Tadi pants out the words as he continues his acrobatics.
Gogo matwins, as she has indicated she would like to be referred to as, looks on with a slight scowl on her face, her lips are in a straight line, her jaw clenched.
‘Okay, come give baby a kiss’, Kupakwashe offers Tadi.
Gogo matwins’ eyes widen in horror, she looks at Tanya and then at Dylan expecting a protest. Tanya catches her frantic facial reactions from the corner of her eye. She looks her mother in the eye, daring her to say something. The message is not lost on Gogo matwins, she sucks on her teeth and fixes her eyes, defiantly on the tv screen.
‘Baby, can you please have my navy suit dry cleaned? I just need it ready for Tapiwa’s lobola.’
Tanya, who hasn’t had time to tell Dylan about Tapiwa just nods. Her mother picks up the conversation.
‘Heyo those kids are getting married when?’
‘In 2 weeks amai, saka Tapiwa had asked me to be a part of his delegation.’
‘Ahh that’s nice, it’s good when young people take each other the right way, it’s an honor for parents.’
‘That is true,’ Dylan responds, not sure if he should be picking any hints from the said, he knows his mother inlaw at one time had demanded for more lobola, lamenting ‘inflation had eroded the initial amount they charged’. He smiles at the thought, his mother in law’s ridiculousness is another level.
‘But that only happens if the girl is brought up correctly, with the right values instilled. Look at Tanya, I was very careful to make sure she would be a good wife. You see how she even now has left her career to take care of the family? Now I bet you she’s not even tired at night mukwasha.’
She chuckles at her own inappropriate humor, then takes out a threadbare but clean hanky in which she loudly blows her nose into. Tanya is still amused by her mother’s unashamed reference to her private matters.
‘Ehh haaa Tanya is a good wife amai.’ Dylan says, his eyes twinkle with mischief.
Kupa who has been listening silently asks Tanya, ‘You’re not going back to work mum?’
Tanya is unprepared for the question, ‘Ummm well…,’ Dylan shifts to look at her, sensing her hesitation in response.
‘Well , I’ve just been thinking there’s no hurry, the twins will need a child minder because Rudo can’t do everything on her own. It’s just a lot to see.’
Kupa doesn’t understand this, she knows her mother’s love and dedication to her career, she had grown to admire the power she sensed the job gave her.
‘You probably will get bored staying at home’, she adds.
Gogo matwins snorts ‘Whoever ends up with this your Kupa is in trouble!’ She claps her hands once, as if to denounce her granddaughter’s thinking.
Kupa, who has been calling her grandmother’s bluff more often , doesn’t take a moment to respond.
‘I’m going to get married to a white man, less cultural stress. But this is after I have a good job and money of course’, there’s a tinge of pride in her voice.
Gogo matwins throws back her head and laughs in mockery until her eyes are tearing. Tanya nods at Kupa, smiling. Dylan who is also smiling, realizes Kupa has become bolder in expressing herself. The more she speaks out, the more he is taken aback by her thinking and perspective on life. Where he thought she was a timid and broken girl that didn’t demand too much from life, he sees a fierce character who is determined to collect every win. This makes him proud.
