My 'Role Model' Husband! The agony of a Mother, Wife, and Friend.

Themba Khumalo is a handsome well-accomplished man; he is married to a beautiful woman called Fezile. Themba and Fezile were blessed by three beautiful children; their firstborn, Bongani and Babalwa who are twins plus the young one, Thando. Bongani and Babalwa just turned eighteen years old while Thando is eleven years.

The Khumalos are a very rich family, their house is a beautiful mansion on a hill and they lived in an expensive suburb. Their children went to the best private schools around their suburb. Themba and Fezile are the envy of the town, the perfect couple. They are well known in their church and the community at large; they donate so much to their church and helped all those who asked for help from them.

Fezile works as a Lawyer in one of the best Law Firms in the country, that's how she met Themba and they fell in love. Themba is a businessman. He was a lawyer by profession but after practicing for about ten years, he decided to start his own business. His business grew at a rapid speed and he opened up other branches in different provinces of the country.

Themba rarely spent time with his family; he is always away on business trips outside the country or at his other business branches in other provinces. Because of this; Themba compensated for his absence from his family with expensive gifts to his children and wife; his family had everything money can buy. Whatever his family asked for, he provided it for them.

Themba had tenders from government and from private sectors; his business was well known to many. He employed lots of people and also helped unemployed youths in his neighborhood by providing internships and placing them in his company as employees.

Themba's wife, Fezile, is doing well too, she is a prominent lawyer and she does some of her work pro bono; she is a human rights lawyer, who is always ready to fight for those who have been oppressed by others.

Themba and Fezile's children are high achievers in school just like their parents. Bongani aka Bongz is the head-boy in his school while Babalwa aka Babz leads the debating team; she is an eloquent and very knowledgeable young lady. Thando is still in Primary School and he plays soccer in his school's first team. When you visit Themba and Fezile's home, all you see are certificates, medals and awards won by their children.

Though the Khumalos have all that money can buy, they remained a humble family. Only those who know them can call them rich but a stranger won't call them that; they are down to earth and very good with people. Their children are well-behaved and loved by their peers.

Themba uses his free time with his family well; though it is rare for him to spend time with his family when he gets that chance, he will make it count.

Sometimes you will find him with his children riding bicycles on the streets or playing soccer in their compound. He will take his family out for dinners or for short vacations. His children and wife adore him.

Though Bongz was loved by his peers at school; things changed when one student joined the High School. His name is Mandla. Mandla is a talented bully, he joined the school in his final year of High School but he managed to make an impact in the school as a bully.

Many of his fellow students are scared of him. He tried so hard to bully Bongz but since Bongz is the head-boy, Mandla cannot get away with it, he ends up being punished by the principal for disrespecting the head-boy.

One day Mandla hid some drugs inside Bongz's bag, he then alerted the teachers that Bongz is using drugs at school. It was chaotic at the school, the police were called in and Bongz was suspended from school; even his post as a head-boy was taken away from him.

Bongz pleaded his innocence but with no luck, he was suspended for two weeks. He told his mother the entire story and the bad things Mandla has been doing to him.

Fezile tried to reason with teachers but it was like talking to a wall. This incident hurt Bongz's family a lot; especially his twin sister, Babz. Babz couldn't believe that her well-behaved brother was suspended because of the newbie, Mandla.

Babz decided to go underground; with the help of her friends, they managed to prove Bongz's innocence. One of the students took a video of Mandla hiding drugs into Bongz's bag; this helped in proving Bongz's innocence.

Bongz's suspension was stopped and he was reinstated as the head-boy. Mandla was suspended from the school for a full month and also the police got on his case, they wanted to know where he got the drugs from. This angered Mandla's family.

Mandla stays with his mother, Amanda, and his fifteen-year-old sister, Akhona. Mandla's mother was a stay-at-home mother. She is the only surviving child of her rich father. She is living large; this is because she is getting monetary support from the father of her children and from her own father who spoils her. She just wakes up in the morning, beautifies herself, and goes for breakfasts, lunches, massages, shopping sprees, etc with her friends.

Amanda has never been married but she has a man who fathered her children. Amanda is living alone with her two children in a big house without the father of her children; no one knows who he is because she has never introduced him to anyone, not even her loving father.

Amanda and her children used to stay in a different province where her father is, but she moved to this side where the Khumalos are just a few months back. Her father was getting on her nerve by asking who the father of her children was and also trying to discipline her children. She didn't want anyone to interfere with her children.

Many people think that she moved here after her divorce but all that are rumors, no one knows her truth. Her children too don't talk about their father that much; all they say is that he abandoned them and went abroad.

Amanda, Mandla's mother, went to school and made a scene there; she called the teachers all sorts of names. As if that was not enough, she made a lot of allegations about Bongz and the teachers; she abused whoever she met at the school that day.

The students came out of their classrooms and watched Amanda throwing insults to teachers and to the twins; the students took videos of Amanda and shared them on social media.

By midday, Amanda was popular all over the town; people couldn't believe that she can insult teachers in front of students like that. People in her neighborhood realized that though she is rich and elegant, she just lacks manners, her children were exactly like her, and they were born bullies!

Mandla was furious for being suspended for a month, he warned Bongz to watch his back. At home, Amanda told his son to go register in another school; Mandla refused, he said that he won't leave the school where Bongz is. Days and weeks passed until Mandla's suspension was over. He went back to school.

Mandla decided to make peace with Bongz, in fact, they became friends. Those who knew the two boys wondered how they managed to become friends, but knowing how kind Bongz is, he easily forgave Mandla. Mandla spent most of the weekends at Bongz's house; they studied and played computer games together with other friends.

Mandla loved spending time with Bongz's family, he apologized to Bongz's family for the way he treated Bongz before. Babz pretended to accept Mandla's apology and also treated him well when he was in her house but deep inside she never believed in Mandla's apology. She believed that Mandla still hates her twin brother.

Bongz is a free-spirited young man who is kind and believes in love and forgiveness; he completely forgave Mandla and accepted his friendship with his whole heart. He enjoyed spending the weekend with Mandla and their other friends.

One weekend, while Mandla was busy telling the twins stories about his family, he mentioned the province he came from. He said that they moved into Bongz's suburb and school because their father lives around.

Why does your father doesn't stay with them? Babz asked Mandla.

My father is married to another woman and he has children with her, he abandoned us for his new family, Mandla answered.

Mandla said that they only moved here to be close to their father, though he doesn't know that they are here. He said that he last saw his father ages ago and his mother told him never to contact him.

Mandla told the twins that his father does send money to them through their mother for their school fees and upkeep.

This triggered something in Babz's brain but she ignored it, she convinced herself that she is overthinking issues.

From what Babz heard from rumors was that Mandla's mother was divorced and decided to move away from her older province, yet Akhona said that her father lives abroad; now Mandla is saying that their father lives close by; it was confusing!

There were some weekends when the Khumalo's home got filled up by children from other families; Bongz's friends will come, Babz's friends also came, so does Thando's friends.

Since Fezile got pregnant with her twins after a long time of trying; she devoted her life to spending weekends with her family; she stopped working on weekends, however important the case might be.

The twin and Thando's friends loved to spend weekends at the Khumalos because Fezile will cook for them, play with them and sometimes take them out for movies or dinners.

Fezile is a good mother who loves her children very much yet she does her best to teach them good manners and values. Her children never boasted around to their friends about their expensive gadgets or clothes; they preferred to share with those friends who had less.

On the twin's eighteenth birthday; Themba bought his children very expensive phones though the children wanted cars of their own since they had already passed their drivers' tests. Themba promised to buy them cars in their second year of university; he said that by then, they will be more responsible.

One of Bongz's friends, S'thembiso, also had rich parents. Mr. and Mrs. Booi; S'thembiso aka S'the's parents were very rich people, they have four children and S'the, is their firstborn. Mrs. Booi has a fashion shop that sells all known brands while Mr. Booi works in the government department.

S'the was always in competition with the twins; whatever he saw at the Khumalos home, he will also demand it from his parents. It was obvious that the Boois will do anything for their son; whatever he demanded, they bought it for him.

S'the also wanted to try his luck with Babz but Babz was not impressed with S'the's behaviors and she never gave him the time of the day.

S'the was a snobbish boy; he threw his parents' riches in other people's faces. As if that was not enough; he saw girls as an object of appetite, that after fulfilling his appetite, he cast them aside and move on to the next person

Bongz didn't like S'the's behaviors about girls and he warned him to stay away from Babz. S'the did not like Bongz's interference in his way of life but since they were friends; he forgave him and moved on.

Those girls who fell prey to S'the's kind of love; ended up fighting each other because he couldn't commit to one girl.

Fezile used mealtime to talk to those children who frequented her home; she would talk to them about life, she would share with them the cases she had witnessed concerning children who committed different crimes.

Fezile noticed that some of her children's friends were a bit odd than others; some were coming from caring families while others were coming from neglectful families with little or no discipline at all.

Fezile always tried to support and encourage the children; that's why many children loved to be in her home. Children were free to ask her whatever questions they wanted and she always listened to their thoughts and feelings. She is such a role model to many children and parents at large.

It was Friday and Themba was away for business as usual. Fezile dropped her children to school as she always does and continued to the Law Firm where she works.

Babz, Bongz, and Thando do walk back home in the afternoons; their schools are not that far away from their home. The Primary school which Thando goes to is opposite the high school which the twins attend. The Primary and High schools are sister schools and they have the same name, Lincoln Primary School and Lincoln High School.

Bongz and Babz always cross over after school, pick up Thando and they walk together back home since their mother, Fezile couldn't pick them up from school due to her work schedules.

That Friday afternoon, Bongz told Babz that he was going to stay behind with his girlfriend, Phindile, aka Phindie; he said that he will walk home with Phindie later on.

Phindie, Bongz's girlfriend was a very beautiful young lady. She and Bongz started dating when they were in Grade 10; now they are both in Grade 12, their final year of high school. Their families knew each other and they believed that they will be in-laws in the near future. Bongz and Phindie love each other very much and they always spend most of their break time together when Bongz is not busy with his head-boy duties.

Things between Phindie and Bongz changed when Mandla joined Lincoln High School. Mandla also wanted to date Phindie; although she told him that she was dating Bongz.

Mandla refused to give up, he insisted on trying his luck with Phindie. He would give her very expensive gifts. I think, because of such gifts, Phindile gave in. This does not mean that Bongz was not giving her gifts; he always did, his mother, Fezile, always bought something special for Bongz to give to Phindie.

Phindie decided to date Mandla secretly. Both Mandla and Phindie agreed to keep their relationship a secret and they only met without Bongz or their friends' knowledge.

Rumors about Mandla and Phindie were buzzing at Lincoln High school but they both denied it and Bongz being a kind-hearted person; believed in his girlfriend Phindie and his friend Mandla.

Babz on the other hand; didn't believe in Phindie, she was hearing so many rumors about Phindie and Mandla. Babz is a curious and investigative young lady; she advised her twin brother to stay away from Phindie but he refused, he accused Babz of being judgmental.

On that Friday when Bongz told Babz that he is going to stay behind with Phindie, Babz felt something weird inside her body, it was like something bad was going to happen. She tried to convince her brother to go back home with her and Thando but he refused; he had already made plans with Phindie.

After school, Babz crossed over to Lincoln Primary School to pick up her young brother, Thando; they both walked back home. At home, their maid, Gugu, had already prepared lunch for them. After lunch, Babz went to her room to do some studying and also do her homework while Thando sat in the lounge and watched TV, it was his favorite hobby!

At around 5:30 pm, Fezile came back home, she was too tired, she had had a long day in court. Fezile sat in the lounge, took off her shoes, and relaxed on the couch.

Fezile conversed with Thando about how his day at school went and afterward, she asked him where the twins are. Thando told her that Babz is in her room while Bongz stayed at school with his friend Phindie. Gugu served Fezile some tea and snacks.

Fezile called Babz to come from her room. Babz greeted her mother and explained to her that Bongz stayed behind with Phindie. She continued to say that she wasn't comfortable to live him behind but he insisted to stay.

Fezile also felt something weird within her soul after talking to Babz; Bongz rarely stays behind without telling his mother beforehand. She immediately decided to call Bongz on his cellphone but Bongz was not answering his phone.

Fezile frantically called and called Bongz but with no luck. Babz also called many times until the phone was no longer goes through. This worried the family. Now the time was coming to 7:00 pm.

Since Bongz's phone was no longer going through; Babz decided to call Phindie. Phindie immediately answered her phone.

Where is Bongz, it is getting late? Babz asked.

I don't know where he is, Phindie responded.

He told me that he was meeting with you after school; you mean you did not meet? Babz asked.

No. We did not meet and we had no such plans; I walked home immediately after school because I was not feeling well. Phindie responded.

Fezile and Babz called all Bongz's friends including Mandla, but they all said that they last saw Bongz in the afternoon at school. Fezile got really scared, she immediately told Babz to go with her; they got into the car and drove to Lincoln High School.

The school gate was closed and the gateman was seated inside the gateman room which is near the gate. The gateman knew Babz and Fezile; he immediately came and met them at the gate.

Babz asked the gateman if he saw Bongz at school. The security guard said that he can't recall when he last saw him. He said that almost all students left after school apart from a few who were standing at the gate waiting for their transport to come.

The security guard said that by around 4:00 pm, all students were gone. Fezile, being an intuitive lawyer, her intuition tells her that the security guard might be lying, he was not confident in the answers he was giving.

Fezile told the security guard to open the gate for her, she wanted to check inside and make sure that her son is not locked there. The security guard refused, that the principal told him never to open for anyone when the school ended.

Being that Fezile and Themba are well-known parents at Lincoln High School and good funders of the school; she immediately called the principal. She explained the situation to the principal and the principal asked her to give the phone to the security guard. The principal asked the security guard to open for the Khumalos.

Fezile and Babz drove into the school, they started calling and searching for Bongz. They checked all corners of the school; they checked inside the classes too, the security guard had all keys of the classes; he was opening them one by one.

Now it was almost 08:00 PM. Fezile called Gugu to check if Bongz has arrived home, but it was all in vain. Babz remembered that there is a place on the rooftop where boys always go to enjoy some sun. That place was always locked, only prefects have access to it.

Fezile asked the security guard to go open the door to the rooftop. Babz and Fezile went up and they looked around the rooftop, but what they saw, they will never forget!