My Sisters Keeper

63

MY SISTERS KEEPER

SIXTY THREE

Oh the joy of Christmas. It's like the sun, the birds and every form of nature is celebrating this day too. The sun isnt too hot today and the birds are chirping. This is bliss.

We woke up this morning and started cooking Christmas lunch. Even Princess woke up to help. The kids seem to be adjusting to being here. Prince asks too many questions and Princess, even though is overprotective other brother is slowly warming up to us. The last time I saw my mother this happy was the day I came back from prison, and now she has more reason to celebrate this Christmas. I know in the back of her mind she wishes Amanda was here too but maybe having her children here is somewhat a consolation.

Bontle and Princess were chatting up a storm while helping me cook. Mum was in her room, and if I had to guess I'd say she was praying, Prince was in the lounge watching cartoons. He kept coming into the kitchen to get some cookies then go back to his cartoons. He came in again for his twentieth cookie since he woke up.

"If you keep eating those cookies like that you wont have an appetite later." He just giggled and went back to his cartoons.
"Dont worry about it, he eats like he has a never ending hole in his stomach, so trust me he'll eat." Princess said.
"You seem overprotective of him, why?" I asked much to Bontle's shock judging by the look she gave me.
"Mum, you shouldn't be asking her that?" In a way I understood why she wouldn't want me to ask her that but I want to know. Princess just chuckled and peeled her potatoes.
"Its okay sis." Look at that, she called her sis. I swear I could have jumped for joy at that moment, but I had to control myself. "We are all we have so I have to look out for him."
"What do you mean? You have your parents."
"On paper yes, but in reality we dont. When we were little we had a nanny who was literally like our mother, she died and we were shipped off to boarding school. The only time we saw them was during school holidays, even then we were lucky if we spent time with them, so we learned to be with each other."
"I'm sorry." I probably should give some comforting words but I didnt know what to say.
"What about your aunts and uncles, your grandmother?" Bontle asked.
"They are Okay, uncle Malcolm was the only one who ever cared. The rest of them didnt seem to care. Even though we would spend time at grandma's place it was still lonely."
"I'm sorry you had to go through that."
"Its okay. I'm just waiting until I finish high school, go to varsity and forget that any of them even exist." The pain in her voice broke my heart. No child should ever feel like that, especially about family.

On one hand I felt like maybe I shouldn't have asked her that, but at the same time i felt like maybe she needed to talk about it.
"I'm sorry for prying."
"Its okay, no one's ever asked me that before."

I decided to stop asking too many sombre questions, its Christmas afterall and we should be happy. We finished cooking and set up the food on the table. We dished up and ate before opening up our presents. Lucky for us the gifts that Lungelo delivered yesterday included gifts for Princess and Prince. He seriously needs to tell me how he knew they would be here.

After opening the gifts Bontle and Princess cleaned up. We could hear their laughter from the kitchen. My Christmas was complete. I called Lungelo to wish him a merry Christmas and he didnt pick up. I called him again but he still wouldnt pick up, instead his phone would ring and then go to voicemail. I figured it would be better to send him a message instead. I sent the message then we all sat down and watched a Christmas movie.

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NARRATED

In Houghton, Portia and her family, well some of her family are sitted in the lounge drinks in hand, waiting for the food to be done.

"This feels weird. Our Christmas lunches have never been this quiet. Where's everyone." Lesego asked as he wheeled himself into the lounge.
"No one wanted to be home for Christmas. No matter how much I begged." Portia said and sipped her red wine. "Bonolo went on a girls trip with her friends. Lesedi went to her in-laws. Malcolm is dead, his wife took the kids and never turned back, Lebo is in jail, Paul decided to ship my grandbabies off to the Bundus."
"Ma, I had no choice." Paul defended himself.
"You always have a choice Paul, always." She said staring at him with cold angry eyes. "And you, where are your kids?" She asked Lesego.
"They wanted to see their grandparents and I figured since their mother is not here it would be better for them not to be here."
"So all that food is for the three of us? Why did you let me waste time and money hiring caterers? I should have just got takeaways." She got up from the couch and refilled her drink, oblivious to the storm that was about to rain hard on her.