A Guy Named Available Episode 29 – 31

A Guy Named Available Episode 29 – 31

I was speechless, for a moment I wondered what it is that I could say. How do you react to such a
situation? I was in the kitchen standing and wondering what to respond to this 22year old girl. She
confidently continued cooking while I silently sat on the kitchen counter and swung my legs left to
right. From the look of things she was preparing a meal for two people and I was hoping the
second plate was for Ndaweni, I really wanted to look at him and just hear what he had to say to
exculpate himself. When the young lady finished plating the food she handed me one plate. I must
say she could cook really well. The girl had prepared fried rice with some peppers that went with
beef gravy and a coleslaw. The kitchen smelt heavenly. All this while I had kept my cool and did
not say a word. My dignity was insulted, how could I honestly at 30 years old be competing with a
22yr old?
“Look if you have told him that you are here he probably won’t come” she said before settling by
the kitchen table.
I still looked at her wonderingly until I finally gathered the courage to ask what she was talking
about.

“What do you mean?” I asked.
“oh so you have a voice” she responded confidently as she scooped some rice into her mouth.
“who are you to him?” I asked her.
“I am his Natasha” she said confidently as she continued eating her food.
“His Natasha? what do you mean by that?” I asked calmly all the while hoping they would be no
need for me to jump from the kitchen counter and stage some drama.
“I am his girlfriend of 5years… and you?” she asked bluntly as she looked at me. This time she
had put her cutlery down and she was staring at me.

I felt something twist in my stomach and I was speechless. Girlfriend of 5 üyears and I had known
Ndaweni for only 9 months. I felt like a fool for loving him so much.
“how old are you?” I asked her.
“22 going on 23 in two months” she said.
“and what do you do for a living?” I asked her.
“I am a student at unza, I am studying economics. I am in my final year” she said.

In my head I was thinking she probably thought she was old enough seeing that she was in a
graduating class, what baffled me however is how confidently she responded to my questions
without even wondering why I was asking. At her age I expected her to be throwing a bigger
tantrum or worrying about why I was in that house. Foolishly and desperately, a part of me started
being ok with her being in Ndaweni’s life, I was in so much denial that for a second I justified
Ndaweni’s idea of having her as someone he could lean on and probably satisfy himself. In my
own crazy and foolish mind I was convinced she might have just been one of those girls a single
guy calls just to have fun. He was single for a long time I understood he would need to help
himself and she was that girl. What would he obviously want from a 22yr old and what would they
possibly be discussing?
I think she read all my thoughts and she smiled
“I’ve seen them come and go” she said.
I had a confused look on my face and she cleared my confusion by making her statement more
clear.

“Many women like you have come by, some looking your age or older. For some reason and after
five years I have no more fight left in me. The first few encounters were dramatic. But it gets better
with time. At least I have come to be comforted. They are all just passing phases”

So wait a minute, this young girl was actually looking me in the face and telling me that I was just
being used. I had a career and I was pretty much well settled, she had the audacity to think I was
the one being used when she had nothing to her name, she was just a student.
“He will tell you I am his cousin or his close relative, so let me save you the trouble of trying to
connect one and two together. I am the one who has been there when many like you came around
thinking he was going to marry them” she said.

My heart ached; I knew however, she was in no better position than me. She was a long call; she
was the one who could be there when everybody else had given up. So she pretty much knew her
place. She was just an understanding third wheel that he called when nobody else was there. To
think I was still there listening to all that rubbish. Interestingly I finally had the courage to eat her
food. I needed the strength.

A GUY NAMED AVAILABLE 30

There was a weird silence as I ate my food and Natasha equally ate her food silently. The maid
was busy cleaning the kitchen window outside and I am sure she was just surprised that we were
so civil with each other. I couldn’t believe I had sat there and entertained everything she had said
to me without saying any word. I knew I had some class, no matter how stupid I felt I still gave
myself a pat on the back, he may have kept her for five years but the truth is he didn’t value her. If
he did by any chance then he wouldn’t have let her see all his women, rather she wouldn’t have
stayed after seeing all his women if she had any self-respect.
“So he did not travel to Ch¡pata?” I asked.

“No, we came back last night though… we were at Tiphanny’s canyon for a few days” Natasha
responded
She later asked “are you the one who had been calling continuously? He said it was a work deal. I
figured there was another woman again”
“How long has it been since the last?” I asked inquisitively
“Oh… it’s been a while. I believe I don’t get to hear about all of the them unless he meetd a
desperate one who is always chasing after him..”
“I beg your pardon?” I asked with a mocking smile.

“No I don’t mean it that way… sometimes ladies just don’t get it. When a man is into you he makes
as much effort but most of them that I came across the story was similar. They all just discovered
he wasn’t putting in effort and now they had to show up unannounced or they just started stalking
him and found my number” she said.
I smiled. I really just couldn’t believe my ears.
“so how much is enough? How much can you take?” I asked her.
She was quiet and just continued eating her food.

“you know I came here thinking I was treated like a fool but you my dear. You have endured so
much for five wh0le years. Honestly how much more can you take? Where is your dignity? I mean
how much more can you take? What excuses does he actually give you? How do you let a man
disrespect you like that?” I asked.
Natasha didn’t seem moved by my speech and she got up and headed to the sink to wash her
plate. I must say my heart bled. It bled so badly, not for me but for her, I saw my younger self in
her. I remember how I would always shed tears in school when I met guys like Ndaweni, I had met
a number but I always had the courage to move on. However, why would such a beautiful young
lady stay through all that? Why? I couldn’t get my mind to fathom all that. This is the reason why
guys like Ndaweni still existed if we had ladies like Natasha who just took it all. I felt like I wouldn’t
just leave without putting up a fight, a fight for her and not for me. I was going to leave Ndaweni
but she too had to leave. She deserved better.
I jumped from the kitchen counter and picked my bag.
“Are you leaving? She asked.
“Yes… I have to go” I said calmly.
“Why didn’t you wait for him? At least wait until you listen to what he has to say”

“There’s nothing to listen to. I have heard all you have said and you are clearly the chosen one
that’s why you are still here. I have been with him for 9 months. Those nine months have been
both amazing and humiliating. When I look at Ndaweni I see a man who is not able to stick to a
long term commitment but to think that you have been with him for 5years… maybe you are the
one who will eventually get him to take the plunge. You might just be his wife” I said.
Natasha still didn’t seem moved by what I said and she waved me goodbye.
The drive back home wasn’t only humiliating but I just couldn’t believe how somebody could be so
good at lying. Just how could someone lie so bad? How could he even be able to create a bond
like the one we had, look me in the face and lie to me? Just how could somebody in their rightful
mind be able to be so sneaky? God knows I just couldn’t believe my ears. All that Natasha said to
me couldn’t have been a lie no wonder she actually wanted me to meet him in her presence.
When I got home and narrated everything to Khetiwe she shook her head in disbelief. She too felt
pity for the Natasha girl. However, she also felt my pain.

“I’m so sorry…” Khetiwe said as she stared at me in the living room.
“Boyi I’m at that point where even tears have failed me. Just how does someone tell such lies?
how? He is a pathological liar. He is one of those who just don’t get it. I think he lies so bad that he
actually believes his lies. I just want to look him in the face and just ask him why he would lie to
me… just why?”

Unfortunately at my age, bonds are easily created. You no longer date for fun. You know exactly
what you are getting into and when you meet a guy you go all in. I had gathered enough courage
to just ignore Ndaweni, I decided not to try and call him again but best believe everyday was
h-rder than the day before and my prayer was that he never calls me so I never have to go
through his lies again. I was weak and I needed closure. I just wanted to hear him explain why.
Why he would do that to me or any woman. When the time he said he would be in Ch¡pata came
to an end, Ndaweni finally called me and he told me he was heading my direction. I told him I was
home. Khetiwe had left for her home as she was prepping for an exam and she needed some
space. I was home alone and when Ndaweni informed me of his coming, I chose not to tell
Khetiwe. If this guy thought he was clever then he was going to meet the devil in me that only a
few people were allowed to see. Only a few people like Ndaweni had pushed me to the edge so
much that they had to see the demon everyone hides in,side.

A GUY NAMED AVAILABLE 31

Ndaweni walked into my house with plastics of food. I was wondering what was in the plastics but I
was more interested in hearing what lies he had to tell. I calmly relaxed on my couch as he
dragged to the kitchen. My kitchen counter was filled with many food items, I was confused.
“You don’t look fine” he said to me as he brought in the remaining food stuff.
The last batch of plastics even had two live chickens that made a wh0le lot of noise in my
apartment. I looked at Ndaweni wondering what to say, honestly some men just finish your energy.

Even when you have something to say you just stand there staring at them like a fool. I joined him
in the kitchen and I started looking through the plastic bags. He had bought, mushroom, mangoes,
groundnuts, those small bananas from eastern province, dried cassava, sweet potatoes, vinkubala
and various vegetables as well as the two live chickens.
“thank you so much” I found myself saying.
“no problem honey… I missed you” he said as he got closer to me to give me a hug.
His phone immediately rang and he had to stop.
“where’s that phone?” he asked wonderingly.

The phone was under one of the plastics and he s₱0tted it. As he spoke on the phone I couldn’t
help but wonder how well he planned his lies. Where on earth did he buy this food from? if I didn’t
know better I would have actually believed he travelled, how good at lying can you be? He fed me
all these lies and expected me to believe him.

As I was thinking through all this Ndaweni became hysterical and he was panicking. His mum was
involved in a terrible car accident and we had to rush to UTH where she was admitted. Everything
happened so fast and I couldn’t even hear him clearly. I knew he was saying something but I had
no idea exactly what. He couldn’t drive and I rushed out immediately with him. I drove to UTH and
we were by the casualty the wh0le night. I had not told Khetiwe any of this but I felt I did what was
right in that situation. Ndaweni kept rubbing my hands as we sat in the waiting lobby not knowing
what to say. His brothers and sisters could only come the following day as they were all out of
town. I knew little about his family and I only came to learn that the man his mum was staying with
was actually their step dad and not their biological father. Their father died when they were quite
young but their step dad had been amazing.

“calm down honey… it is well” I assured him as I looked him in the eyes.
“I’m so worried” he said.
We were able to check on her after three hours but only from a window outside the ward. She was
in a pretty bad state and her eyes were closed the wh0le time. The doctor said nothing much as
tests were yet to be done. She had to be stable first. I had to leave Ndaweni at the hospital and i
had to rush home to prepare him something and I pick up a blanket to keep us warm at night. I
dropped my boss a message explaining I would miss the following day at work and he responded
immediately saying it was fine.
When I got to my apartment, I found Henry in my living room. I was so shocked that I nearly yelled
out of fear.
“You left the door wide open and i came calling for you and realised you were out. You got your
keys. I saw from the state of everything that an emergency must have rushed you out. I hope you
don’t feel invaded… I’m sorry” he said
“No at all… Thank you so much for your caring” I said.
“Are you ok though?” he asked.
“No… I have a patient in casualty. Road accident…”

“oh my Jesus.. I am so sorry.. do you need my help?” Henry asked he got up from my couch
where I initially found him dosing.
“no I don’t think so.. well I am here to cook and I really think I need a bath. I will carry some food
too” I said.
“But for the water to get hot..” I whined.
“Not to worry… just give me a bucket… my geyser is already hot. Let me bring you some water” he
said.

“You are a life saver…” I said before rushing to get a bucket.
I picked a bucket and handed it over to him while I remained trying to defrost some chicken. My
kitchen was a mess and the two live chickens made it worse.