GRACE OVER CHAOS

The following day it was Friday. The day of an event where local musicians entertained their fans. It was also the day of Dinny and Max's date. As usual she did her chores and prepared herself for the date. This time she went all out. She wanted a sexy look that will leave Max breathless. She went to a local hair salon for a new hairstyle. As she waited on the queue for her turn she kept herself busy by scrolling through her phone gallery for older photos.

An old of Lebo appeared on the screen and something caught her attention. It was a photo of him wearing an orange golfer with a flat cap. He sat on the edge of the bed. On the far left behind him, there was a handbag next to the bedside lamp. Memories of this day came flashing to her mind. Even though she couldn't remember the exact date, she remembered that this photo was taken when Lebo had claimed to visit one of his cousins in Bloemfontein two months back.

She could recall that he had come to see her when he came back from Bloem. She shook with anger when she further noticed how well Lebo had managed to make a fool out of her. Suddenly her mouth ran dry. Her eyes were filled with tears and she tried in vain to stop them from spilling. It wasn't the right place for her to be shedding tears. As she secretly wiped the tears streaming on her cheeks, her ears caught some juicy gossip.

She pretended to be glued to her phone yet her focus was on the salon gossip. One of the girls bragged about dating a guy named Lebo. At first, Dinny thought it may be some guy whose name also happened to be Lebo. As the girl continued bragging, Dinny figured out that it was her Lebo she was talking about. This girl went on about how they hooked up frequently with Lebo and how she was disappointed when she heard he was getting married to some girl.

As the girl talked, she paused, remembering that she was in a public space. Before continuing, she looked around to see if anyone listened to her conversation with the hairdresser. When she noticed that everyone else was focused on their phone she continued. She vowed to remain in Lebo's life whether he was married or not. She continued bragging that she had to be the wife because she knew what pleased him better than any other woman.

"Lebo always tells me I'm the best." She continued bragging.

Dinny felt weaker as the girl continued chatting with the hairdresser. Her hands were shaky when she searched for Lebo's name on her w******p chats. Her vision had turned blurry. As a result, she fiddled through the chats without finding Lebo's name on the chat list. She clenched her fists and bit her lips. In a few minutes time she came back to her senses. She couldn't lose her mind everytime she discovered new information about Lebo.

She sat up straight, stood up then walked away from the hair salon. She boarded a taxi and went to another hair salon in town. The hairdresser was her friend. She saw how quiet Dinny was as she worked magic on her hair. "Are you okay? It's unusual of you to be this quiet." Dinny sat in front of a large mirror as her hair was being plaited. The hairdresser noticed through the mirror reflection that Dinny was crying instead of answering her.

She stopped and rushed to get Dinny a glass of water. When Dinny had calmed down, she shared with her friend what had happened earlier at the other salon. The hairdresser consoled her and soon Dinny was back to her jolly self. When her hair was done she went home to prepare for the date. On the way to the taxi rank she saw Lebo with a lady younger than her. It seemed as if the girl knew her because as soon as she saw Dinny, she whispered something to Lebo who suddenly froze when he saw her.

The girl who was with Lebo posed in a silly manner showing she was ready to face any confrontation that may come from Dinny. This time Dinny acted mature. Her blood boiled from underneath her skin but she wasn't going to let her emotions get the best of her. She smiled and walked over to greet Lebo and the girl he was with. Her heart pounded with anger but she made a choice of grace over chaos. She hugged them both and excused herself - "I have to rush home. I will be available on w******p if you need to communicate with me."

She walked away and left them both surprised. Lebo's mouth ran dry as he processed what had just happened. He watched Dinny walk away without causing a scene. He looked around him in search of somewhere he could sit because his legs couldn't carry him any longer. Unfortunately there wasn't a chair or anything for him to seat on. The girl was clearly bored by what had just happened she was also not impressed by Lebo's reaction. She could tell that his left with Dinny, he was only with her physically.

"I hope you don't change your mind about going to the event with me. If you do, I will expose you on every ..." Before she could complete her sentence, her eyes met with his. She had to stop talking. He was looking at her in an annoyed manner. They proceeded to where they were headed before they met with Dinny. This girl was going to spend the night with Lebo at the event. In return she demanded him to buy her an outfit and a weave. He had never in his life bought anything for Dinny but he went an extra mile for the girls who entertained him.

On her way home, Dinny's heart was shattered into pieces. The tiny bit of hope she had for her and Lebo was all gone. The truth is, deep down she still cared about him. She found herself sobbing. It was because she regretted not confronting him when they met earlier. She remembered how ealier she wanted to confront him about the girl from the hair salon and the handbag on his photo. She wasn't going to let go of everything without questioning him.

She sent him the photo and circled the handbag behind him . Her message to him was simple and straight forward. It read -"CARE TO EXPLAIN?"

Sooner than she thought, Lebo typed back. "I will explain later. It's not what you think it is." She knew he was going to lie and she was ready to play along. It was now time to get ready for her date with Max. She had to work her magic to his heart. She took out her dress from her closet , ironed it then wore it. She was impressed by how it perfectly fit. She looked at herself in the mirror on her closet and nodded in approval. She kept asking herself how Max had known what size will fit perfectly on her body. She just shrugged and smiled to herself.

As soon as she was done preparing herself, she heard someone knock on the front door of her home. She rushed to the door. She smiled as soon as she opened. It was Max. She blushed and remained silent for a few minutes. She wasn't expecting him to pick her. Normally, he sent someone to pick her. He smelled yummy. She couldn't stop herself from hugging him. Max was hesitant. He didn't want Dinny's mother to catch him giving hugs to her daughter at her house. He gave in and hugged her back.

"I will be waiting for you in the car." He walked away to the car that was packed outside Dinny's home. She watched him in admiration. He wore a light khaki chino pant with a sky blue long sleeve shirt. The shirt was neatly tugged in his pants. He wore a brownish belt that matched with his shoes. His head was bald. It took her some minutes watching him before she could go back in to do some finishing touches on her face.

She was dressed to impressed. She had a red lipstick on and back glittery heels that matched with her handbag. As she was sneaking out of the house her mother saw her walkout. She rushed to peek through the window. Outside, she saw Max coming out from the driver's seat and rushing to open the door for Dinny to ride. She saw how they both locked eyes before Dinny went in the car. He closed the door and returned to the driver's seat then they drove away. The car was a black c-class Mercedes. She walked away from the window back to her bedroom. She knew that there was nothing she could do to stop Dinny and Max's relationship. She had to let them be.