Chapter 11

Rudo—Love

In high school Priscilla was never the smartest person in her class, but everybody knew she worked hard. She studied all night if she had to, and won top prizes for her effort. She never allowed fun to come between her and her books. At work, she was the same. Priscilla had always been a focused and dedicated worker who hardly took breaks and preferred to work during her lunch while others shopped around town. Unashe was changing her, and she both liked it and feared it. The fire he’d ignited within her continued to burn even when he was out of sight.

Now she would sit at her computer for minutes at a time staring at the wall with a silly smile on her face, recalling how he had made her laugh until her sides hurt, or simple things like buying boiled corn from a street vendor and eating it in the car during her lunch time.

Later, when Chamu Tengani asked her to lunch, she’d told him she was seeing somebody else for lunch. He didn’t seem to mind and just said he would call her another day to discuss a client he could send their way. Priscilla was grateful for his kindness, but had little patience to talk to him about anything other than work.

She preferred to spend all her free time with Unashe. She met him at quiet places in town, and sometimes they would drive to a barbecue place outside of town to get sadza and meat freshly cooked in the open air.

Sometimes, though, she would lie in bed and decide that spending time with him was a terrible idea and that her family could never accept it. However, once he knocked on her door, her resolve would disappear, melting like frost at midday. She would fall into his arms and pull him into her flat.

Still, she remembered the day it all changed. A day that she decided that she never wanted to lose him, that she would give herself to him completely, no matter the consequences. It was the day she accepted that she was in love with him and there was nothing that could convince her to give him up.

The memory of that day filled her with intense pleasure that she had never felt in all her twenty-two years growing up in Glenview. It was the Saturday Unashe took her driving to the Mazoe Dam not far from the city. He told her that the trip was to make up for the club scene.

She enjoyed the meandering roads, the fields that went for kilometres planted with crops and cows grazing in the fields. It was a day with sunshine, and as they got to the water, she felt the breeze through the open car windows.

“I’ve never been here before,” she said as Unashe drove down a dirt road. “Where are we going?”

“Wait and see.” That was his response every time she asked. Finally, as he stopped the car close to a shed housing canoes, she got the idea.

“Are we going in there?”

“Yep. I hope you like it.”

“I’ve never done this before, Unashe. Are we really going in?”

“Of course. Stay with me and I’ll show you many things you’ve never done before,” he said, holding his chest out proudly.

She squeaked when he threatened to push her in the water.

“Hey. I’m not even dressed right.”

Unashe looked at her standing there in her long white dress. “You’ll be fine,” he said.

Unashe rented a canoe and then with the help of the man in charge he pushed it into the water.

“Come on.” He encouraged her to get in.

“I don’t know.”

“You’ll be fine. I promise.”

Unashe guided her in, and, once she had settled down, rowed slowly across the clear water. When they got to the middle, he stopped and leaned back. There was no one on the water with them, just the sound of birds and the majestic mountains surrounding them. Finally, she could relax and look around at the glistening water. She looked at Unashe, who sat facing her.

“Come here,” he said, a lopsided smile on his face. She shook her head.

“I’ll fall in the water.”

“No, you won’t. The canoe is quite steady. Come on, Cilla.”

“You come here,” she challenged him, looking into the water fearfully. “I can’t swim, and I don’t want to get my dress wet.”

“Do you trust me?” He held her gaze with his dark eyes, making her breath catch.

“I do,” she responded automatically.

“So come.” His voice was soft, but still demanded action. She couldn’t say no to Unashe, just as she could not stop the wind from blowing gently on their skin.

Priscilla looked at him for several heartbeats. His gaze was patient and inviting. After a while Priscilla inched closer to Unashe, her eyes on him. The way he looked at her made her heart beat faster, and she squealed when the boat rocked and the wind flapped her skirt.

“It’s fine. I’m here. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

His words filled her with boldness and she took the step to him. He reached out his arms. He had quiet confidence and strength that she responded to. And he was so sweet, making her feel valued, precious. Their fingers held and slowly she moved near him, giddy and pleased to be in his arms.

“This is where you belong,” he said as she lay on his broad chest. His words seemed to go deep, to the very center of her being. She nodded, tightening her hold around his waist and sinking closer to him while he rested his hand on her back. She could hear his heartbeat and it made her feel safe, in love. They stayed like that for a long time, the canoe gently rocking, saying very little but accepting that something strong and powerful was happening between them. That day on the water, they both seemed to realize that there was no going back. When they arrived back at her flat and Unashe was about to leave, Priscilla held his hand, her eyes pleading with him to stay with her.

Shyly she reached for his shirt and opened one button, tentatively kissing his chest. She felt him take in his breath and looked in his eyes.

“You don’t know what you are doing,” he said.

“Show me,” she said. Unashe hesitated for a long time. She took his hand and brought it the small of her back and leaned closer to him. If he had been fighting a battle, he lost it as he brought her close to him, kissing her gently until the dam broke loose and passion overtook them. When they lay on her new bed together, it seemed right and natural.

After that day at the dam and the night they gave in to the desire that had been building for months, they both decided to keep their relationship a secret. They didn’t have to say anything, it was a silent agreement. She still hoped he would decide to tell his mother about the two of them even though she dreaded it, too. It would be ugly, and even though Oliver was not her father biologically, culturally everyone would still think of Unashe and her to be blood relatives. They would have to bring up all the issues with her father, and then questions would come up about her real father.

Yes, it was better for all concerned to keep everything quiet, Priscilla decided.