FISHING IN A WATERPOT

The Wedding

Chapter 5 

Time does not stop moving just because life is not going your way. In fact, it gallops on like horses on a racetrack. I knew that what remained for Nomatter and Peter was simply their wedding. That was when I made one last attempt to change Nomatter's mind.

She had sent me pictures of myself with Grace on my phone, and I despised myself for them. I despised my own weakness, my own lack of discipline and self-control.

One day, Mr. Gumedhe called me and asked me to accompany Peter to show his future wife, Nomatter, the house in Borrowdale. I respected him, so I had no way of refusing.

We met in town, with Peter driving the car. Nomatter sat beside him, while I took the back seat of his double cab.

"Come along, Officer," Peter said. "I'm taking Madam here to see her mansion. Unlike your place in Kuwadzana, where the houses look like they belong to gorillas."

At that moment, I realized Peter had arranged for his father to call me. This trip was designed to achieve his own purpose.

"But with the salary you government officers earn," he continued as we drove off, "would you ever be able to build a house among real people? Or were you only with Grace for love, or because you were hoping for money?"

Nomatter stared straight ahead. When she glanced at me through the rearview mirror, I saw her quickly avert her eyes. Peter kept looking at me and smirking while pretending to focus on driving. But his heart was full of malice.

"Grace is nothing," he said. "She can't compare to my beloved wife here, who knows how to choose a man. A gentleman with money, not someone who expects to live off a woman. Isn't that right, honey? Am I not a gentleman? Tell him, babe."

As he spoke, he caressed her polished cheek. My heart burned as if someone had placed hot coals inside it. Nomatter smiled and stole a glance at me through the mirror. Peter noticed and smirked again. A can of Castle Lite sat between them in the cup holder, and he lifted it to his lips.

"Darling," he continued, "you must have had boyfriends before me, right? Or did you start with me? Because your first choice says a lot about your future. Whether you'll struggle or become wealthy. I can't imagine someone as beautiful as you dating a government employee."

Peter was telling the truth in one respect. Since leaving the village, Nomatter had transformed. Her skin glowed beautifully. Even Grace could no longer compare with her. Her figure had become more refined, her waist slimmer, and her legs showed that she was eating well and living comfortably. Nomatter had become a woman who attracted admiration.

"Babe, I love only you," she told him. "Don't worry about what happened in the past."

As soon as she said that, Peter kissed her deeply. She didn't resist. He held her head while she surrendered herself to the moment. I realized then that Nomatter had fully committed herself to him. I tried not to show my pain, but inside, I was burning. Peter pulled her against his chest as he continued driving.

I was almost glad he was driving. Had I been behind the wheel, I might have crashed the car.

We passed Sam Levy's Village, turned off the Domboshava Road, passed Borrowdale Police Station, and headed toward the area near Blue Roof, President Mugabe's former residence. Then a security guard opened the gate to an impressive property.

"This is the lion's den, Nomatter," Peter announced proudly. "Your future home. This house will be registered in your name, my beloved. You made the right choice choosing me instead of some poor village boy."

Nomatter smiled.

Truthfully, if I had been a woman and someone had given me such a house, I would have been overjoyed too. I realized then that I had truly lost. Nomatter ran into Peter's arms, and they spun around together while showing each other the house. I followed behind them with my hands clasped behind my back, like a farmer inspecting his crops. Nomatter had clearly shut the door on our love.

The house was occupied only by a gardener and his family, since the owners were not using it. Yet it was fully furnished, and magnificently so. Even I had to admit it was the home of a wealthy man. The house in Hatfield had been beautiful, but it couldn't compare to this one. There was a staircase leading to an upper floor with a balcony overlooking the swimming pool. Beyond it stretched beautiful scenery and roads winding through the surrounding estates.

Nomatter was glowing. She knew she had entered a life of abundance.

I knew she might once have loved me, but I had pushed her out of the boundaries of my love and into Peter's golden hands. Wealth had triumphed. I finally understood the power of being born into privilege. The advantage of having parents who had already built wealth before you were born.

Who was I to compete?

My father had abandoned us. My mother had struggled alone to raise me. Poverty clings to a person like a tick. It denies you what you want and allows those who already have everything to take even the little you possess. Even that little gladly abandons the poor. Nomatter had simply exchanged a heavy burden for a lighter one. A person who had owned nothing could suddenly wake up owning a mansion.

Nomatter no longer saw me as a lover. In her mind, I had become nothing more than a brother-in-law.

Still, I wanted to test her one last time.

After they had finished touring the house, Peter went for a swim. Nomatter refused to swim at first, saying that there was "a brother-in-law" present. I found that ironic, considering they had been kissing and embracing in front of me all day. Life can change in the blink of an eye.

Eventually, she changed into a dress that still revealed enough to stir both desire and pain within me. Peter carried her playfully and squeezed her while watching my reaction. In that moment, I truly began to hate him. He became my enemy. If I had seen a lion devouring him, I thought bitterly, I would have seasoned him with salt and pepper to make sure nothing remained.

When Peter's phone rang and he walked away to answer it, I finally asked Nomatter:

"Nomatter, are you really saying our love is over? Just because I don't have money? Please forgive me, babe."

She looked at me calmly.

"Peter, you know very well that you destroyed our relationship yourself. You went to Harare and cheated with Grace. I have already forgiven you. You're just my favorite brother-in-law now."

"Come with me," I pleaded. "Let's run away together. We can marry and live happily ever after, even if we have to go to South Africa."

She laughed.

"Happily engaged," she replied, raising the finger with her engagement ring. "Why would I hurt the man I love for someone who never understood the value of love? You took my heart, turned it into a ball, and kicked it into the goalkeeper's hands. Peter is the goalkeeper now. Leave it alone."

"Peter isn't a good person," I insisted. "He's the one who will hurt you. Who do you think he's talking to on the phone right now?"

She laughed again, dimples appearing in her cheeks.

"Oh, Peter isn't the person I'm afraid of hurting. The person I fear hurting is Grace. I chose Peter partly because I didn't want to hurt Grace. I had two choices, and I weighed them carefully. I chose the option that pleased my parents, my friend Grace, and my own broken heart. Peter is my choice. A lover with benefits. What can you do?"

I looked at her beauty one last time.

She splashed in the water like a mermaid, then emerged and shook the water from her hair.

"Besides," she added, "I'll send you all those photos of you and Grace. You two are actually a perfect couple."

Peter returned and took Nomatter away. He gave me a look of triumph as we walked back to the car.

My head ached from thinking. I had lost Nomatter completely. When they kissed in front of me, I no longer cared. I had exhausted myself begging for a love that had already been denied to me.

Peter had won.

That evening, my phone filled with photographs sent by Nomatter through W******p. Grace had clearly told her everything.

Time passed, and the wedding of Nomatter and Peter finally took place. Her parents attended. My mother attended too, since Grace and I had already set our own wedding date. Grace clung to me constantly.

Ironically, Peter chose me as his best man, while Grace became Nomatter's maid of honor. Everyone celebrated, except me.

Mr. and Mrs. Gumedhe were there, happier than anyone else.

A chapter of my life had finally closed.