Chapter 6 : Defending her sister's honour in a 'No holds barred match'

While Feggy was narrating to Gershom's young sister, everything that had was going on in her marriage, in another part of town, a lime green Vitz drove along a street. In the driver's seat was a young woman spotting shoulder length, blonde dread. She had a strong resemblance to Feggy. Just as she was about to drive into her yard, her eyes fell on a familiar figure.

Smiling, she rolled down the window and popped her head out.

'Ma!'

The elderly woman who had been walking slowing, on the pavement carrying her reed basket looked up at the familiar voice. She squinted her eyes toward the direction of the voice.

'Theodora?'

The skinny jean and tee shirt clad Theodora got out of the car, crossed the road, and went up to her.

'Ma, how have you been? Are you okay?'

The neatly dressed elderly woman reached out her hand and touched the young woman's face. 'I have been well my child. What are you doing home? Shouldn't you be at work?'

'I closed the shop early. I have a headache that will not leave me be. Are you going somewhere?'

'We have run out of some groceries. I thought I could go to the shops and get something. Your sister Kangwa will be living with us for now. '

'Oh. She told me. Ma, let me take you.'

'I thought you are not feeling well?'

'I have already taken a pain killer. I will be fine. Ma, Lupasha supermarket in town is having a mega promotion, should I take you there?'

'Okay. How is that sister of yours? It seems she’s too busy these days. She rarely calls and always has an excuse as to why she will not bring my grandchildren over. Is everything okay between her and my son?'

Taking the basket away from the elderly woman as she helped her cross the road to her car, Theodora wrestled with how best to answer her. She knew her sister did not want them to find out how bad the situation had gotten.

Feggy did not want history to repeat itself. The first time Mrs Chomba had found out about her son's affair with the college girl, she had collapsed from with shock and was admitted in the hospital for almost two weeks for high blood pressure and high sugar levels. It had taken a while to stabilize both.

'Ma, you worry too much. They are both fine.'

'Are you sure?'

'Yes, ma.'

'Okay. I think I should visit them this weekend. I will ask Kangwa to take me there.'

'I'm sure she will be happy to see you.'

Theo made a mental note to warn her sister. Her mother in law was very perceptive; it would not take more than ten minutes for her to realize something was off. She could only hope Feggy would come up with a good reason as to why she would not be home over the weekend.

Lucky for them, there was not much traffic. It took them a little over twenty minutes to get to the shopping mall in town. Theo helped the woman who had been a substitute mother to her and her sister after they had lost their parents when they were just teenagers, to pick on the best-discounted goods.

An hour later, Theo pushed the trolley to the car park and Mrs Chomba helped her load them in the back.

'We forgot to get spices,' Mrs Chomba said.

Theo offered to go back to the spice shop but the elderly woman told her she would do it herself. Theo took out her phone to listen to some music while she was packing the groceries. Before the first song could play, she heard giggling and a familiar voice talking sweetly to his companion and was soon followed by moans, groans and more giggling.

Closing the hood of the car, she looked up and found Gershom kissing his mistress three parking spaces from her. Yolanda was clad in a denim bum short that barely covered her butt cheeks, a crop top that left almost half of her tummy exposed and a pair of killer stilettoes.

Theo felt her heart twist with rage as she looked at the shameless pair.

Before she could open her mouth and confront them, they had already walked away with Gershom's hand placed lovingly around the twenty-one-year-olds bare waist.

Fuming, Theo paced beside her car cursing under her breath. She wanted to wring Gershom's neck and beat his mistress to a pulp.

After debating with herself for a good ten minutes, Theo locked the car and followed the pair. It took her another five minutes to find them. They were in a homeware store. The pair was at the counter with a trolley filled to the brim with kitchen utensils. She scoffed bitterly at the irony of the situation.

For a month, he had not been home and had not bothered to find out how his family was fairing yet; here he was shopping for household goods with his mistress. She did not doubt that they had not even bothered to check the price tag.

As the sales lady at the till was putting the items they had just purchased in the carrier bags, Theo walked in. She grabbed the twenty-piece dinner set and smashed it on the floor.

The sales lady stared at Theo horrified as other clients looked on both stunned and amused.

'What the hell?' Yolanda yelled.

'Getting justice for my sister!' she hissed at her at the same time reaching for the set of Pyrex dishes. The sales lady tried to reach for them first but she was faster. Before security could get to her, she had already smashed the dishes to the floor.

'Theodora!!' Gershom thundered. 'What 's the meaning of this?'

'You have gone too far Gershom. You think my sister is defenceless such that you can treat her like this?'

Gershom stalked towards her and gripped her upper arms.

'Hun, who is this bitch? What is her problem? Babe, look at what she did to my dishes.'

'Bitch? Who the hell are you calling bitch, You shameless, blood-sucking leech! What right do you have to call me a bitch when you are the home-wrecking and husband snatching slut!” Theo yelled at her while struggling to free herself from Gershom's grip.

'Get the hell away from here while am still being nice,' Gershom hissed at her through his teeth while roughly pushing her out. ' And you are paying for all that.'

Theo scoffed at him. 'In your dreams. If you have money to waste on this whore, am sure you can afford to cover the cost.'

Hearing her call his lover a whore for the second time, he lost his cool and landed a powerful slap on her face. Theo's head turned to one side.

A collective gasp from the spectators filled the air. For a second, they feared the slap might have snapped her neck. Theo slowly turned to face him.

'What is that a lie? Go on hit me it won't change that fact that she is a slut. Listen up everybody, this man here, he is no worse than an animal. He hasn't been home for over a month. His children were chased from school owing thousands of money and his wife has to sell household goods to put food on the table while he is here wasting money on this slut!'

Gershom raised his hand to smack her again when a voice yelled out his name.

'Gershom!' Mrs Chomba's authoritative voice yelled from the doorway. By now, a large crowd had gathered in the shop. Security had already called for backup. Mrs Chomba pushed her way to the front glaring at her son. She had been coming from the spice shop when she saw Theo walk into the shop.

Gershom's hand froze in the air. He stared, lost for words at his mother. At this distraction, Theo shoved Gershom off her and ran towards Yolanda. She grabbed the woman's weave however, she found herself holding onto a wig as Yolanda shrieked.

Throwing the wig away, Theo pounced on the younger woman and they both tumbled to the floor. As the WWE 'no holds barred' match went on behind him, Gershom swallowed hard, unable to find his voice. By then, Mrs Chomba with tears following down her face was already standing in front of her third-born child.

'Is it true?'

'Ma...'

'Is there any truth to what Theodora just said?'

'Ma, she is exaggerating...'

A loud slap rang out in the room where the spectators watched the unfolding drama with bated breathes.

Gershom held the cheek his mother's hand had just smacked. 'I will ask you again. Is what Theodora said true?'

'Ma..it's not like that...ma, let me take you home.'

'Is it?!' Mrs Chomba yelled the veins on her neck protruding.

Gershom stared at the tiled floor shamefaced and gave a slight nod of his head. But no sooner had he nodded his head, he heard his mistress yell out his name-calling for him to help her.

'Don't you dare take one step!' Mrs Chomba warned her.

'Ma, she is hurting her.'

Another slap landed on his other cheek, then another and another. It wasn't hard to deduce that she had used all her might to land the powerful slaps. 'So what? What about your wife and kids at home? Do you ever worry about them as much as you are worried about that- that- that whore?'

'Ma, don't call her that. She is the woman I love....'

Another slap landed on his face before he could finish his sentence.

Meanwhile, Theo who was sitting on top of Yolanda calling her all types of derogatory names landed powerful slaps and punches on her. Yolanda was bleeding, wailing and yelling out for help pitifully.

Two security men came to her rescue and pulled the vengeful elder sister off the slay queen. Around them, lay broken ceramic ware.

As soon as Theo was pulled off her, a topless Yolanda ran into Gershom's arms and pleaded with him take her home. Gershom took off his shirt and covered her while glaring at a panting Theo.

Gershom turned to leave.

'Don't you dare leave this place with that woman, Gershom."

Conflicted, he looked at his mother in the plea.

Caught between his mother's warning glare and his mistress's pitiful sniffs, he chose the latter.

'Gershom!'

'Sorry, ma. Ma, I will come home later let me take her home first okay?'

Mrs Chomba closed her eyes pained with her son's actions. She opened her mouth to say something but no words came out. Mrs Chomba felt all the energy in her body leave her and before she could call out to Theo, she collapsed to the floor.