THE SECOND PROPOSAL

Back at Lebo's home,he was busy making preparations with his mother's help here and there.The money he was loaned covered for most of the important things.What was now left was for Dinny to find a wedding gown,make-up artist,hairdresser and a nail technician.Lebo thought by now,she will have found the right person or people for her special day.Lebo wasn't bothered about Dinny's recent silence,he just assumed she was as busy with preparations as he was.

It's funny that at this point,he thought of her as his wife,so he had nothing to worry about.He was overdosed with confidence,thinking no man could be a threat in their relationship.It was only a matter of signing on a piece of paper to make her his official girl.The truth is,he loved Dinny but deep down he knew she was his way out of poverty.An independent beautiful woman with a beautiful face and body.Oh,what a combination!

Lately,women are named gold-diggers but with him,it was the other way round.He was going to be the one digging his wife's gold.

He had to play his cards perfectly.Just then,he thought of sending Dinny a text. "Hi Dee! I'm thinking of you my love.When do you think we can go for ring fittings?" The text was delivered and read instantly.She blue ticked him.He kept checking on his phone for a reply from Dinny.It frustrated him that she had ignored his sweet text but then he thought maybe she was busy running errands.Women love diamonds,who would say no to being offered to go and pick a wedding band of their choice?No one! He thought to himself.

At her home,Dinny had ealier been picked by the driver sent by the doctor.Currently she sat at a table in a classy restaurant somewhere in Maseru,downtown.It was the first time she had set foot here and somehow this made her feel like a lost sheep.On the opposite site to her table,there sat a beautiful younger lady who kept starring at her non stop.It was as if she could feel or see the discomfort in Dinny from the other side of the table.The doctor was a couple of minutes late.By now,Dinny was convinced that she had been played.

She stood up and straightened her dress which was folded when she sat.She didn't notice the doctor had just entered the door,he called out her name,thinking she stood up because she wanted to leave.He came rushing towards her.Dinny was in disbelief.What a handsome man this is.This man is perfection.She thought to herself.The attention in the room was drawn to them as he gave her a warm hug.He pulled away and looked her in the eyes "I'm sorry I arrived late,something happened at the hospital.Can we please sit?" He pulled out a chair for her to sit.

Girls will always be girls.Some starred in admiration while others thought the pair was just an attention seeking one.Anyway,it was now time for the pair to have a serious talk.After sitting down,the doctor sighed. "Where do I even start?" Dinny didn't respond,she only fiddled with her fingers shyly.This was very unusual,on normal cases she would be looking him straight on the face.

"I'm not here as your doctor Dinny,I'm here as someone who has fallen inlove with you.My name is Moeketsi,I'm am 38 years old.As you know,I'm a doctor by profession.I have no biological siblings that I know of.I was brought up by my grandparents.There's a lot to share with you but for now,this is how much I can share with you." Oh...there's something I forgot to tell you,I am from Mafeteng."

It was now her turn."I will call you Max.I think you already know more about me.Im engaged as you have heard.Why pursue me yet you know there's someone else in my life?"

"I'm never going to lie to you.Someone came over to my work place the day after you visited the hospital.She warned me to stay away from you.Im sorry to say,I find it hard to stay away from you.I guess you will have to marry us both.Whoever your man is,he should know I'm not gonna let you go.Not now,not ever."

You see,this is what Dinny hated about men sometimes.He will make you fall inlove with him today then the next day he will be somewhere else,declaring his undying love to another woman,leaving you drawning in tears.Memories of how Lebo had made her feel special when they first met,came back flashing.It was only now that she remembered she blue ticked him.It didn't matter anyway,she will respond when she had time.There was an awkward silence for some minutes.

"There are so many questions I'd love to ask you Max,isn't there someone you are seeing at the moment?" Dinny finally spoke.Just when Max was about to respond,the waitress interrupted.She gave them the menu and left to attend to others who needed to place their orders

"There isn't someone." He finally responded.It was true that he was single. Dinny was relieved. "Don't mind the person who told you I'm engaged.If you want me then you will have to do whatever it takes to win my heart.Im not promising you anything yet but let's just go with the flow.I hope you're going to love me the way I deserve to be loved."

These are exactly the type of words Max wanted to hear. Her engagement was the least of his worries.He was determined to make her forget about this man she was engaged to.He never even cared to ask Dinny much about this other guy.Or maybe he was going to find out more about him by himself.They ordered their meal and afterwards Max called his driver to come and drop Dinny at her home.They agreed to continue chatting on w******p then parted ways.

The driver dropped her safely at home after the sun had just set.It wasn't normal for her to arrive home after sunset.It was also not normal for her to leave home without informing her mother about her whereabouts.She sneaked in the house,walking barefoot,holding her heels in her hands.She tip toed,avoiding to make noise just incase her mother was in the nearby room.It was a funny sight.Imagine a tall woman sneaking into the house,only for her mother catch her tiptoeing.Instead of yelling at Dinny,her mother bust out laughing.

"That doctor is keeping you busy I see." Her mother said, folding at her arms as if she wanted to hear more about this doctor.Dinny felt embarrassed.In Sesotho its said "motho o ts'oaroa ka lipuo,khomo e ts'oaroa ka linaka" -meaning people can be caught through their their words.Dinny knew instantly that it was her that had paid Max a visit at the hospital.Warning him to stay away from her.As a mother she sensed that things weren't as good as they seemed between Lebo and Dinny.She saw how her daughter had no interest in preparing for her coming wedding.

On the other hand,she was afraid neighbours will start giving Dinny names if she continued seeing the doctor.That is often the problem with some elders,they like forcing matters.Mostly, encouraging one to stay in a loveless relationship.Dinny felt uncomfortable discussing love related matters with her mother.She ignored her mother and went straight to her bedroom.The tiptoeing had now stopped.This time she headed to her room limping,giving her mother the impression that the heels were uncomfortable.Her mother was aware of this stupid trick of hers.

As soon as she entered her bedroom,she unzipped her dress and placed it neatly folded back into the closet.She cleaned her face with wet wipes and slipped into a comfortable sweatpant and a baggy T-shirt. She checked her phone to see if Max had already sent her a text.When she saw no message from him, she decided to sent him one instead. "Hi handsome! I arrived home safely.Please let me know when you arrive home." She lay on the bed after sending the message and put the phone under her pillow.She reached out for phone again as soon as she remembered that she had earlier blue-ticked Lebo,her soon to be husband.

Feeling guilty of ignoring him,she decided to reply to his text. "Hey Lebo! I haven't been feeling well lately but I never told you because I didn't want you worrying over me.Just let me know when you are free so we can go for ring fittings as you suggested.See you then,bye." She put the phone back under the pillow and took a nap.