21 Playing Detective

In my heart, even though I trusted my friend. I had these questions piling up, I deserved answers, I actually needed to know. I decided to invite my friend over for lunch. Since I wanted to clear the mist on my mind and heart, I really believed that, since I'll be taking a new direction in my life, I should perhaps start on a clean slate.

We both had our lunch. Mercy wasn't really comfortable with the gesture I gave towards her.

"Girl is there anything on my lip or teeth?" she asked as she opened her mouth. I smiled and turned my head to the side, as my lips curved up.

"There's nothing on my mouth…" I said smiling at her. She then lifted her brows.

"And why are you looking at me like that?" she asked.

"I'm looking at my transformed friend" I said. She then stopped eating; she placed her fork on the side. She took a sip of her juice, placed the glass on the table and sighed.

"You have something to say, actually, you've got some unanswered questions… come on, keep them rolling…" she then leaned back on her chair.

"How did you figure that out?"

"How long have we been friends? Lindy, I know you, I actually know what's even good for you!" she pointed at me.

"Are you also implying to the fact that… uhm it was good for me to be miserable all of those years without J.R?" Mercy's smile immediately got wiped out of her face. Her expression changed. Tears swelled up to her eyes. She reached for the serviette; she then wiped the tears on the corners of her eyes. I then stretched my hand reaching to touch her. At first, she looked directly into my eyes and she later reached out.

She took a deep breath and grabbed my hand. She seemed unsure to share what she wanted to say. She then started to open up.

"You are my friend and I love you"

"I know that, but the love that you claim to have for me seems to be hazy" I said. Just when I said that tears rolled out of her eyes. "Mercy did something happen while I was away? What really happened to us not having secrets?"

"Ok, I… uhm, I'll start from scratch, I'll cut it short though" she then stared at me. "See some things aren't supposed to be revealed, because at the end of the day a lot of people get hurt"

"Whom are you trying to protect? You have spoken sense since we engaged into this topic" that really got me agitated.

"The person am trying to protect is you and… a whole lot of people"

"My dear you just said, you were going to cut this short but here you are beating about the bush…" she then cut my line before I could finish.

"J.R was saved by the Man called Mr Ngozi that happen a couple of minutes you left the hospital. The Doctor walked in to ward with Mr Ngozi holding J.R's file in his hand. He was dismayed, he too had lost hope for J.R, he wasn't sure if he were to wake up again. He said to Mr Ngozi 'after this bill has elapsed and this young man doesn't wake up, what are you going to do? Won't you sue the hospital or me for that matter?' Mr Ngozi said 'no I won't sue the hospital or you but I'll pay up, up until this young man open's his eyes' Mr Radebe was surprised he didn't know what to say or do, your mother in law collapsed. Mr Ngozi said 'this young man has so much potential and I do believe that he will get up, all I ask is, please do not disturb him, he's in a world of his own, give me a call when he gets back"

"So you saying, if it wasn't for Mr Ngozi there wouldn't be no J.R?"

"Everyone had given up, I still do remember the way you looked at him when you kissed him goodbye"

"Please don't remind me" a waiter came by to check if we still needed to order something. Both Mercy and I nodded in denial.

"May I have the bill please… are you still going to stay or rather take a walk around the mall?"

"Girl I won't be walking down the mall without getting myself something"

"Geez Mercy, you still love shopping?"

"Show me a girl who doesn't?"

We both giggled and left the restaurant. We walked around did some shopping for our wedding. We both decided to sit down and rest for a couple of minutes. Even so, I was still eager, I wanted to know, and why I wasn't contacted after J.R woke up from his coma.

"After a week J.R woke up" Mercy continued from where she left off "We struggled with him, he had a bad temper, attitude, you name it, he was angry at the world, and he wanted one thing in his life, one thing that impossible to give him"

"Which is…?" I stared at Mercy in awe, she looked at me as if I knew the answer and there I sat down bleak"

"He only wanted to see you, he only wanted his Lindy, that was the name that woke him up from his sleep" Mercy tried to contain the tears falling from her eyes. I stood up, I held my waist, I bent over. I felt like my head was spinning. Mercy quickly grabbed hold of me.

"Lindy, please compose yourself, we are at the mall, you'll course a stare please…"

"I'm sorry… after that, why wasn't I contacted, emailed or anything… I was drowning in misery, I thought that he had died and yet he wanted me and I also wanted to be held in his arms… why wasn't I told?"

"Seeing J.R's temper, his daily injection were sedatives… that made him numb, each and every day he was becoming the J.R we knew and loved by all"

"So since, everyone cared about J.R's temper no one cared to get hold of me?"

Mercy then stood up from the bench we sat upon on at the mall. Her voice had hardened.

"I rang the house landline, but I was shut down before I could explain J.R's nature… I was told to leave you out of the Radebe's family problems… that broke my heart it tore me into pieces… when I got back from the hospitals landline, I couldn't stomach the pain I felt… Ncane also gave in a try but all in vain".

"All in vain you say… all in vain and there it was out of the blue, my twin sister decided to come back to South Africa, isn't that a coincidence?" my voice had hardened. I couldn't play detective. Somehow it felt like I was the one who had amnesia and on top of that I couldn't put the pieces together. During that course of action J.R was working at the studio. I couldn't just sit back and relax, perhaps he knows something. I decided to give him a surprise visit.