Chapter 9-The story gets deeper

Kupa blinks ,not sure if she should voice the response in her head. Her first reaction is that of judgment, why did her mother pretend to be a perfect human being when she had all these sins? An alcoholic! She goes on ‘It was a stupid phase in my life, I will tell you all some day. My point is, I have probably done the most terrible of things. Still, I deserve love. I may not know how best to communicate my love Kupa, but know that I will always love you, no matter what.’

Tanya can almost hear the wall between them tumble to rabble . She sees the mistrust lift off Kupa’s face, the wariness leave her eyes. Instinctively they reach out for each other, Kupa’s whisper of ‘Thank you’ floats into the still air. An acceptance of the white flag, of the silent love offered. Tanya hugs tighter and sees no need to say anything.

~~

Sunday mornings are always loud and fast paced in the Tembo Moyo house. Everyone is trying to bathe and eat in the shortest time possible. Church starts at 9 am (30 minutes earlier when one is serving) and being late is not an option. Tadiwa is only too happy to go for the children’s church where he can run around and cartwheel to his heart’s content . Kupakwashe sometimes has to sit alone when her parents are serving that Sunday, this also means waiting alone in the car park while they catch up on a weeks worth of news.

She is sitting in the car, door opened and feet planted on the ground when Elder Taruvinga, whose car is parked in the next bay says hello to her. She, respectfully, asks after his family, thinking of the smoothest way of ending the niceties and closing her door. Instead, the elder walks around the car to the other side of his car, he proceeds to open the passenger door and, with his back to the car, tries to open his glove compartment. All this is done while he asks Kupakwashe questions that are increasingly becoming personal, his eyes set on hers.

‘How old are you again?’, as if she had previously discussed her age with him.
‘So are you close to your new mother?’ , coming from his black and wart infested lips, it sounds like a challenge.
‘Yea, ‘she response quickly ‘, I tell her everything.’ She hopes he can read the message in her reply.

His smile is sickening, it looks like a smooth crack on a rock.
‘That cannot be true, you are a young girl who is obviously starting to experiment.’ He holds her gaze for a moment before turning to place his worn out but shiny huge Bible in the glove compartment.

Before she can respond, Tinashe, the drummer for the church band, stops by to say hi. Elder Taruvinga looks on disapprovingly as the 2 chat away. He gets into his car and drives off. Kupa sighs in relief.

‘He was making you uncomfortable?’ Tinashe asks, gesturing towards the old model Mercedes benz as it exits the church grounds.

‘He just talks too much.’ She does not want to admit how the man made her uneasy.
‘Be careful, I have heard stories about Elder Taruvinga. Just take care of yourself.’ Tinashe has a certain charm, all church band members always seem to have a certain presence.

Kupa takes him in, his jeans that are slightly hanging off his hips, making a pool of cloths at the top of his shoes, the folded shirt sleeves, the fake gold chain resting on his exposed chest and his fading haircut all tie together to make Tinashe a pleasant sight.

‘Anyway, why haven’t I ever seen you at the youth meetings?’ he moves on, not caring for Kupa’s response.
‘It’s fun, you should hit me up and we can come together so that it’s easier for you, I know it can be intimidating the first time’.

Kupa does not miss the note of self importance that clings to Tinashe’s every word. She figures he is used to being wanted and shrugs it off.
‘I will let you know when I decide to join, thanks hey!’
‘No problem, let me head on home. See you next week?’

Long after he is gone, Kupa’s parents get to the car, a sleeping Tadiwa on his fathers chest. Her mother fumbles with her shoe clasps and takes off the heels as soon as she sits in the car. She lets out a long sigh .

‘I don’t see myself cooking today’, she announces.
‘Pizza?’ Dylan asks them both.
Kupakwashe smiles, Tanya nods and they drive off.

They get to the pizzeria within 12 minutes. There is the usual slow traffic of after church diners, Kupakwashe goes in to order for them. While she waits for her order, she notices a group of girls stealing glances at her.

She recognizes 2 from school. Concluding that they are simply gossiping about some non issue, she ignores them. Her order comes out . With the 3 large boxes obscuring most of her view, Kupa is careful as she walks out. One of the girls walks up to her abd stops her in her tracks, ‘What did you do with that weed?’ The demand confuses Kupa, she looks at the top of the boxes, wondering if someone has placed an illegal drug there.

‘The packet in your bag, girl. There was a packet in your bag!’ The girls face is not close to hers at all, yet she can’t help but recoil at the wave of bad breath that hits her the same time she remembers about the marijuana her mother found in her bag a few weeks bag.