SEASON 2: Chaper 3- It was never going to be easy
It is the Saturday before schools open for the last term. Tanya is sitting, carefully, on the corner of a precariously rickety couch waiting for Kupakwashe to finish fitting her uniform. She is tired and hungry, probably a bit irritable too. It has been a long day with a lot of firsts for her. Tanya can almost swear on her life there is no emergency document her husband suddenly had to work on. He ditched her so she could be alone with the kids.
‘The dress is waaaay to big mhama. I look like I’m drowning in a green sea,’ Kupa does not look amused by the uniform, even though its barely past her knees. Her mother is trying to look composed while having a panic attack. She’s not sure if this is the rebellious comment of a teenager that needs a no nonsense approach or the genuine concern of a young girl about a uniform she will wear everyday. Tanya feels an unjustified anger for Dylan, he should be helping her with the children.
‘Umm Kupa, it’s the right size, ask her even. Am I lying? Don’t you think it fits her?’
Tanya looks frantically at the shop assistant, pleading with her eyes.
The assistant seems to pick the message, smiling before she goes on to give Kupa clearly rehearsed and over used convincing compliments about how she looks.
The teenager frowns, well aware she is being manipulated but not sure how to get out of the situation. She is always wary of pushing Tanya too far, sometimes its like walking on eggshells. She says nothing and goes back into the changing room.
When Kupakwashe comes out, they pay for the uniforms and leave the shop. Tadiwa is holding Kupakwashe’s hand , the other is in his pocket where he keeps turning the coin he got for ice cream.
Tanyaradzwa feels like superwoman when she successfully gets her brood to where they are parked. There is so much traffic that the short walk felt like a boot camp activity.
‘Who’s ready for lunch?’
‘Me me me’, Tadiwa jumps up and down, an arm stuck in the air.
‘Ah Tadiwa! You’re stepping on me! Stop it!’, Kupakwashe sounds way too loud than she intended, her nudge might also have been a bit too forceful. Tadiwa is still for a minute, deciding on how to react, before Tanya can speak out, he starts crying.
Tanya is not sure who to address first, Kupa or Tadiwa .
In the end, she puts the handbrake back on and reaches for Tadiwa.
‘It’s okay baby, shhhhh. Mummy is going to get you icecream.’
The toddler wipes his tears after a few more seconds in his mothers hands. Tanya decides not to say anything to Kupakwashe, not wanting to make her feel any more bad, judging from the look of guilt on her face.
From the back seat, however, Kupakwashe’s thoughts are troubling her.
Tanya not being able to even look at or speak with her means she is very angry. Kupa sits, back straight, trying to make sure not a single hair is out of place.
She is uncomfortably waiting for her mother to go off at her.
The drive to their grandparents place is long. Tadiwa goes on being a toddler, oblivious of any tension. Kupa keeps looking at the rear view mirror, wondering when Tanya plans to yell at her about the incident earlier. Their eyes play freeze tag for a moment before she looks down.
Tanya pretends to be preoccupied by the music she is playing, she is however, sensing a withdrawal in Kupa . Her guess is that she is still sulking about the uniform. As she hums to the Oliver Mtukudzi song playing, she is praying for the patience to deal with her children.
~~~
Its the third time her parents are meeting her adopted kids. She has purposely done all she can to keep them apart, knowing how judgmental her mother is. She stops in front of their gate and kills the engine before the urge to drive away proves stronger.
From inside the gate, she can hear her mother instructing her father to check who it is that has just parked outside. She takes in a lungful of air, preparing herself.
