Pie or Pi

By Sambulo Kunene

Welcome to Lindsay and her family in the town of Pi. Where life is wanted and mysterious. Ponder as Lindsay and her husband raise their twin boys amid chaos. Will everything go well in this town or it will just be as sleepy and slow as the trees look.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sambulo Simanga Kunene
• Release date: Mar 23, 2020

Book preview

Matiringe.

Chapter 1

Good Morning!

My family is not like yours! She screamed out loud as she moved aimlessly across the room. He slightly grinned and said; I don't care for your tone! He focused his energy on his wrist watch as he mocked her and he continued; Wait, what did you say your name was, who did you say you were to me? Your name I mean! He continued as he walked slowly across the room. I am your wife and my family does not live that way! She repeated as she motioned her hands carelessly in a gesture that the distraught sometimes made out of helplessness.

He walked towards her and said quietly; You are my wife and not my mom. And he hugged her as if to reassure her. This is the angriest that they have been to one another in years. They both could not fathom where it came from but it was there and they took notice.

Unsuspecting were the lawns, the gates and traffic in the town which was to unravel and share it’s identity with strangers and locals alike. If only there was a judge or some sort of order which would tell everyone what to do and when to do it. Anyway, the homes were large, imposing, impatient and elusive. There was ample room for the grass to grow. There were pools and barbecue pits, winding driveways which led to door steps. Trees lined the streets in an organized fashion, planned long ago by an ambitious town planner. The homes had hedges crawling with scented plants and trees. Stumps of buds that are yet to bloom into flowers dot, the neighborhood. Bushes separated the yards. Property lines were visible but unseen by the waking eye. Those who jog are observed daily, only if a voyeur watches them through distant windows. Mothers and fathers with strollers talk on cell phones or exchange daily rituals as they walk with no care in the world. There are passages, alleyways, gates, mailboxes, and the street of course. On any given day or night, a driver may enter a driveway, conduct business and drive away. Some drivers live in the neighborhood. They drive in, park and stay. Not everyone is familiar with the neighborhood or local foot traffic. It is an impersonal existence only comforting to those who found it that way.

On this day once again she woke up hopeful and optimistic. She was nervous as her husband had a tough time the previous night. Their emotions were raw and there was nothing familiar about their unexpected argument. As usual the boys woke up and suddenly sensed that something was wrong that morning. Their parents hesitated and moved tentatively and that rarely happened. Something must be amiss they were sure of it. Instead of running around they decided to be nice and started singing a song that they learnt from a summer excursion. Parts of the song involved the boys holding forks and knives in each hand and banging them on the table in some folklore rhythm. As they sang a song which sounded ancestral and primitive with strained faces, one had to hold back laughter. They were trying to reassure their parents! Their parents knew what it meant.

She looked up as her husband nervously entered the kitchen not wanting to disturb the music which was taking over the morning. He sat down and ate a muffin. As he realized that he was running late, he grabbed his jacket with the briefcase on one hand and the newspaper under his arm, he was armful. Before he ran out to his car, he hugged and kissed them and left for work. Quietly Lindsay packed their prepared lunches even though they paid for the lunch scheme at school. She asked the boys to rush to the car and they drove away to school. It was a tense morning and she was not sure how long their disagreement would last. Will the twins be affected or was that it? She was not particularly thrilled with what she had to endure that day. What a waste of time, to be worried over a senseless argument. Pfeww! She was not sure if she should call her husband and apologize for the quarrel or sit down with him and clarify how she felt. Her Analyst had cautioned her about jumping into conclusions. She thought to herself that maybe it was not so serious after all. She just did not want his sarcasm to turn into a full-blown war between the two of them. They had not had a serious disagreement in years. It was not an indicator of more to come. Or was it?

She had hoped that life would improve as they were trying very hard to assimilate to having growing children added to their methodical lives. Her parents had wanted to be a part of her life. She felt unsafe and uneasy including them to such a clean life, to what she thought was a safe life. To her marriage and child rearing were a clean slate for a new beginning. Rushing around with diaper changes and feeding rituals transported her away from the chaos of her past to a normalcy that she now desired. She was not about to change that! She had fumbled initially as she just could not get on with the program of raising children; twins at that! Was she not the mother who was once in the emergency room with twins burning with pneumonia? She was clumsy at minimum underestimating the effects of the weather on brand new infants, at maximum!

What do you suppose is going on here? Her husband had asked her after dinner, amid a discussion of what the Doctor had instructed her about what to do with the twins. How to medicate them and keep them safe from the elements.

I mean you barely noticed the seriousness of the twins' illnesses. What is going on here? Is there something that I should be aware of? Her husband kept asking, after her stunning silence. She shook her head in denial.

No! She said as she shook her head again and started to signal that she was about to cry. He knew the signal well. He had learnt about it many times in their relationship. He then backed off, and this is what kept their marriage in sink. She resumed her chores, putting the dishes away in the sink and rinsing them before stacking them to the dishwashing machine. To save himself from yet another argument he soaked himself in the bathtub, to atone for his fears.

Maybe I will run to the newspaper stand and buy a magazine. She shouted from the kitchen. She waited for him to respond and there was no response. He was busy running away from it all.

She drove his SUV, carefully because it was overpowering being such a big and accommodating car. She bought a magazine and hurried back home. The cop eyed her as she maneuvered her way to her home. She drove like all others on the road who wanted to conclude daily rituals which she occasionally was a part of. Most drivers drove returning from work or rushed to dine in local restaurants or clubs. She never regretted her home life. She was ready to call it a day and that is all that mattered to her. According to her values she had it all!

Chapter 2

Good Morning!

The following morning, she wore shorts and a tight knitted t-shirt. She looked fresh and worried. She prepared breakfast for the twins and asked them how they slept. I had a bad dream mom! I dreamt that we were on a plane crash and I was the only one who remained alive! I was so scared! I started crying. I did not know that I liked you guys. Said the twin.

Oh, come on, that was not a dream that was a movie that we saw about that vacationing family that was hosed away by a hurricane! You thought the hurricane was a plane crash. You are just sleepy and tired! Said the other twin.

No for real I dreamt it last night. See! Look! I was so frightened I bruised myself when I fell from the bed! He continued with a spoonful of cereal as he rushed eating his breakfast.

You are a doofus anyway, you probably dreamt it...Mom he had a nightmare! The other twin said rushing to grab his backpack.

Twins, let's go! Lindsay said to her sons. And they all rushed to the car and drove away to school.

As they arrived on campus, the boys like all other students said their goodbyes to their parents and proceeded to go to their individual classes. The morning ritual was over with. All parents drove to their respective homes. It was a strange morning for Lindsay and her sons. Unlike the buzzing daily noise that they were accustomed to. After school, the atmosphere was the same. They never said a word to one another. Even Lindsay briefly asked questions and one could tell that her mind was not at the moment. They remained silent until they all had to retire to bed, unsure of what had happened that week. It promised to be an awkward month to come. Only morning would tell if the couple survived the fight that they had previously. With egos bruised, it was a tough sell to act cavalier and unaffected. They had promised each other a long time ago that they would never ever raise their voices to one another again. The fight the other night resembled many of the discomfort caused by more than their share of unwelcome or unexpected fights or disagreements. For example, which Doctor to select for their health care, where to vacation, which was the best method of contraceptives to use. Those were mild disagreements compared to what they were faced with. It was different this time, they no longer had young kids. The twins were alert and knew when they were unhappy with one another.

Chapter 3

Good Morning!

This morning she wore a woolen crochet dress, which was more like a sweater dress, as if to state who the innocent lamb was in all the unexpected confusion. She was teary eyed as she tied her dress with a scarf which contrasted her large dangling earrings. Her legs had no stockings. She wore leather ankle boots which usually looked best with flare jeans. Lindsay was slightly worried and cared very much how her previous shouting match affected her husband and her sons. She descended to the lower floor of the house and found the boys busy packing their homework to their backpacks. They hastily rushed to drop their backpacks to the car. One grabbed a waffle and the other grabbed mom's hand. Both begged their mom to take it easy that morning and not make them breakfast. They both wanted to be early for school and needed a no-sit-down-talking breakfast. Why?

The school and the PTA had organized a large pancake buffet which was a fundraiser event for the school, the PTA and the students.

Students buzzed like bees when Lindsay and the twins arrived on campus. Pancakes and syrup were everywhere on lined tables which commanded the entrance of the school. They walked in and out of tables picking different flavors of homemade pancakes while mothers stood and looked as they were outdone by the school social. It became a gothic slumber morning wake up party. When the bell rang, the students quickly dashed to their classes amused and high on sugar. The Servers looked bemused having succeeded to coup a group of unyielding parents. Lindsay stood around bewildered unsure if she had lost that round to the school social or if she could outdo such an organized fun rush hour pancake event to her family`s morning ritual. She did not even see her husband that morning. As she drove away she wondered if the boys will remember to wash their hands or maybe they will need a change of clothes. She felt outdone as though she had been tricked into joining a club that she wanted no part of: A club of parents who took care of other people's children.

As she parked her car at her home, she noticed that the windows were open. Her husband must have remembered to feed the dogs. He also had managed to start the dishwashing machine as it was mid cycle when she arrived at home. With that, half of the morning routine was done. She checked her voicemail. Hey Lindsay, thought you would enjoy an early morning with the kids, cleaned the kitchen for you. Her husband`s voice bellowed on the voicemail. I might bring dinner from the Greek restaurant across the street from us. Keep up the good work. I will talk to you soon love!!! She looked at the watch on the wall and was surprised.... Keep up the good work!!! she chuckled, what does that mean! She thought to herself. She then checked other messages. It was the usual, the vet calling about an appointment, the cable company reminding her of an outstanding bill, and something about winning a sweepstakes and a gift card that...; she did not pause long enough to hear the rest of the message. She returned all the calls and erased all other messages. She called her husband and slowly went over the events of the pancake fun that morning. She was happy she made it to school on time. It would have been a disaster had she made the boys miss the pancake social. She confirmed the dinner order and gave him air kisses through the phone.

As she finished making the beds and emptying the closets she heard a knock on the door and she rushed to check who it was. It turned out to be a uniformed Salesman from a security company eager to sell a security system to anyone with money and worry. S

he declined and he persisted. She declined once again. He persisted and this time not only did he promise her a golden key ring as a bonus if she purchased the security system, he also put his black polished shoe to wedge the door, in order to prevent her from closing the door, while he excitedly explained the new technology that his security system provided. Alarmed! She stepped back and touched her face mindlessly. He stepped back and apologized, suddenly aware that he was tired and hungry. He told her that he was not having any luck that morning. None of her neighbors were buying or even looking at his product. Just as he was about to open his briefcase and further distress her, she shut the door and locked it immediately. She rushed throughout the house and locked all windows and set her own outdated alarm and turned on the air conditioning system. The house was armed and dangerous, yet solemn and forgiving. She resumed what she was doing and felt brave to have withstood that near death experience.

Well, he did have a company logo laminated on his belongings he probably was a Salesman, Lindsay thought to herself. She still felt uneasy, uneasy enough to have slammed the door to his face. She feared something and she was not sure what it was. That required a long bubble bath, painkillers and an appointment with her Analyst whom she relied upon for just about anything in life which seemed unfamiliar to her.

As she drove to pick up her sons from school she found her husband waiting for them on the lawn with other parents who also were there to pick up their kids from school. She missed his message after the encounter with the security Salesman and they both showed up at the same time. The school still seemed somewhat disturbed as a site where an event had occurred, and got cleaned up very quickly. They greeted the twins. The twins were happy that their father showed up early to pick them up from school that day. He normally would be at work during that hour and he rarely visited them at school. He wore a suit and was happy to see them all. Of course, that was a treat for the twins to be seen with their dad in public, at school with their classmates, in broad daylight! Wow, what a treat! Each chose one parent to ride home with. Dinner was served and all had fun and the home was once again warm and nostalgic and the same as it always was.

As usual their dad stayed on the phone after dinner or as in any other time when he had an opportunity to tend to business. He was making bicoastal phone calls. Facetime updates, he used to call them. Lindsay was halfway bent over the oven as she pulled and pushed trays of grilled or baked entrees. The boys shirtless, kept running around the house making silly noises and making faces at one another, while television sets blasted loudly in every room. They held onto their toy airplanes which they flew around the house as they ran after each other. Dogs kept running around in the kitchen chasing their tails. The boys talked about which pancakes they liked the most. Who bought how many, and who finished which flavor. They climbed the stairs two at a time excited to see their parents happy again.

Mom and dad stood side by side in the kitchen as they emptied clean plates and dishes out of the dishwashing machine. He poured two glasses of wine, a rarity in this family as a peace offering. She felt shy and sat on his lap and they both drank in silence. The kitchen was cleaned and cleared of all toys. The boys emerged in mint condition from taking baths with fresh pajamas and ready for bed.