I am currently writing a second novel, "Amelia's Inheritance". It is another suspense novel situated in 1960's to 70's Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). It is about a young white, woman Amelia Gruber who falls in love with a young, black lawyer Peter Mudondo. Amelia Gruber's life has turned for the worst when her family's fortune disappears - they lose their land and become a part of the growing population of Rhodesia's 'poor whites'. Take a look at an excerpt below:
Sample Chapter:
Chapter Nine – The Team
We went to a part of town that I had never been to before. We had quite a few people staring at us and this unnerved me. Peter helped to calm my nerves. “Don’t pay them any mind. They obviously have nothing better to do.” He smiled and in response I had no choice but to smile. I felt safe with Peter. He had an aura of kindness about him. I was in the middle of somewhere, with a man I hardly knew and surrounded by people that were suspicious of me because of the colour of my skin. However, I felt safe. Very safe indeed.
Peter ushered me through the door of a bar called ‘Scotchys’. The smell of beer and the cigarette smoke embraced us. There was music in the background and a lot of chatting going on. Peter grabbed me by the arm and guided me to the back of the pub. We walked down two steps to a more spacious area. There were booths lined all around the perimeter of the room. People would walk up to the bar, get their drinks, and walk back to the booths to sit with their friends. The air was fresh, even though it was lined with the strong smell of alcohol.
In the distance, I could see some disco lights and people dancing on a marble floor. That was obviously where the music was coming from. I patiently followed Peter as he eagerly looked through each booth. He was probably looking for his friends. As we walked across the room, with people staring at us, a very round woman with short hair and dangly earrings came and tapped Peter on the shoulder. Peter swiftly turned around. The woman had a bright smile, milk chocolate coloured skin and very striking brown eyes.
“Peter where have you been?” she bellowed. Her voice was very deep.
“Hesi Chipo (Peter gave her a hug). I’ve been working hard.” Hesi when translated means hello how are you.
Chipo brushed something off his shoulder. “Well all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”
Peter Chuckled. “I know, I know.” Chipo looked at me with an inquisitive look on her face. It was obvious that I was with Peter but she chose to look away, continue talking to Peter without saying hello to me. I was embarrassed. I don’t know why but I was.
Peter noticed that Chipo had looked at me and so he turned around and brought me forward by grabbing my arm.
“Chipo this is a friend of mine. Her name is Amelia.”
Chipo looked at me from head to toe then back to eye level. She gave me half a smile. “Pleased to meet you.”
I smiled. “Pleased to meet you too.” I held out my hand for a shake. Her hand was soft and meaty to the touch. That was no surprise as Chipo was a very big woman.
She shook my hand whilst looking at Peter. “Where is Portia?”
Peter looked a bit embarrassed. “Chipo, let’s not start ok. Only God knows where Portia is.”
She chuckled. “Ok, Ok …loosen up. No pressure.”
“Are the guys here?” asked Peter.
“Yes, they are in the Blue Room.”
Peter raised his eyebrows. “How did they manage that?”
“Don’t worry it’s on me. They told me that you were coming and I decided that Peter deserves only the best!”
Peter laughed. “Thanks Chipo.” Peter then looked at me and was startled as if he had forgotten that I was standing behind him. “Sorry for making you stand behind me.”
I frowned. “Don’t worry. It’s not a problem at all.”
Chipo was studying our interaction. When I caught her eye she quickly looked away.
Peter distracted me. “Amelia, Chipo owns this place with her boyfriend Konza. She and Konza have been good friends of mine for years… I went to school with Konza.”
I stood and listened thoughtfully. He was such a polite man, well spoken.
Suddenly, he grabbed my hand and said, “Let’s go and meet the rest of my friends. Maybe then, we can have a few drinks. (He looked at me softly). You must be hungry.”
“Just a little,” I said. He charged forward and I followed behind, ignoring all the probing stares from the people sitting in the booths.
The Blue Room was the quiet, sophisticated room in the basement of the club. It was usually reserved for the wealthy (usually the Township crooks) who wanted a little ‘privacy’. However, on this day, Chipo had reserved it for Peter and his friends to come and have a good laugh, a few drinks, and some good food after a hard days work.
I was so excited about having some fun for a change. I hadn’t been out in a long time. Most of the people whom I had called my friends had moved either out of town or out of the country to progress their careers. Candice had married a wealthy investment banker. The other three girls had gone off to University in South Africa and Europe. Therefore, once again, I was left behind, as a complete failure and embarrassment to mankind. The world agreed with my mother that I was useless and now I was about to sink even further by having a few drinks in an all black club. Well, I didn’t care about what anyone thought – I was there to have some fun. I deserved it.
As I followed Peter through the door of the Blue Room, a roar of laughter welcomed us. “Hey Peter, what time do you call this?” said a man with leather trousers, way too much jewellery, a bright coloured shirt and a patchwork cap. He was chewing on a matchstick and standing just by the entrance with a mug of beer in his hand. He looked at me and then at Peter. Two others (a man and a woman) that were sitting in a round shaped booth greeted Peter, whilst looking at their watches.
“Come on man. We’ve been waiting for you,” said the man that was sitting down.
“I know, I know. Anyway, in case you all forgot, I did have a job to go to today,” said Peter.
“Hey we all got jobs ok. But 6 o’clock is 6 o’clock. We agreed,” said the man who was sitting down. The man in the patchwork cap followed us as we sat down at the table. He sat down next to me, still looking at me. Everyone went into a brief silence. I knew that I had upset the applecart. I had upset the status quo.
Peter took his suit jacket off and loosened his tie. He looked at everyone round the table, then at me.
“Amelia, you must excuse my friends – they were born rude.”
The lady spoke up. “What do you mean rude? Introduce us fool.”
Peter shook his head then. “Amelia this is the beautiful Letween.” Letween and I greeted each other and smiled. She held out her hand for a shake. She was an extremely attractive woman, about 5 foot 4 inches tall. She had short, very neat afro hair, stud earrings, and very slender, manicured hands.
“Nice hair,” said Letween.
I was embarrassed. My hair did not look nice. It looked like the edge of a matted broom. The man with a patchwork cap intervened with a smirk on his face.
“Well it’s white hair…easy to comb”
I saw Peter look sharply across at the man with the patchwork cap.
“What?” he said, looking at Peter who was clearly annoyed.
Courageously I decided to diffuse the tension. “I’m not sure about easy to comb, but thanks for the compliment.” I let off a smile but I was crying inside.
The man in the patchwork cap was of an athletic build. Peter introduced him as Trix. Letween was sitting quite close to the other man. This man was relatively good looking, slender and wore a very nice tailored blue suit. He put his arm around Letween.
“Amelia this man here is Thomas. He is Letween’s boyfriend and he happens to be my best friend.”
Thomas shook my hand. “Please forgive me Amelia. It’s just that we were a bit surprised when we saw you. We were expecting Peter to bring someone else. It’s a pleasure to meet you anyway.”
“Thanks.”
I was getting a bit uncomfortable at the way that Trix was still staring at me.
Peter stood up. “Ok I’ll get the first round of drinks. What are you having?” he asked me.
“Martini,” I said.
Whilst Peter was gone, I felt someone press against my arm. I turned to the side and noticed that Trix had placed an open box of cigarettes in front of me. It was a box of Madisons’ finest. At that moment I became the weakest link.
“Cigarette?” he asked.
I couldn’t resist. “Yeah thanks.” I took the cigarette and waited for him to light it for me. Trix was still making me nervous but the strong aroma of the Madison cigarette helped to calm my nerves. Madison never let me down. Peter came back with the drinks. He had ordered food for us – sadza (made from maize meal), chicken stew and green leafy vegetables. As I puffed the smoke out of my mouth, Peter looked at me surprised. He looked at the cigarette then looked back at me. I knew there was something wrong. He quickly brushed it aside and said, “I’ll get the food.”
I nodded. For the first time, I felt embarrassed about my bad habit.
Trix spoke up. “His last girlfriend was a smoker. Peter hates smoke.”
Everyone was looking at me now. “Oh,” I said and shyly tapped some ashes into the ashtray.
“Trix leave the girl alone. That shouldn’t be a problem for you as you’re not his girlfriend… are you?” said Letween. I was cornered and so embarrassed, hoping that my face had not gone for the red.
Trix had his hands up in half surrender. “Of course I’m sorry. I should not make assumptions. Should I? Go on finish your cigarette, after all you’re not attached to him are you?” he chuckled. I felt hot.
Thomas decided to intervene. “Shut up you two. Amelia ignore them. And Trix can you stop staring at the girl like she stole something.”
“Hey babes we were just teasing her,” said Letween.
Trix seemed to be fuming slightly. “I’m not teasing. I am testing. She could be a spy?”
At that moment, Peter returned with Chipo following behind with hot plates of food on trays. Peter looked over at Trix. “Don’t be stupid Trix.”
“Hey, you pay me to look after all of you ok. All I’m doing is my job.”
“Well stop working and have some food. It is your night off. Come on man. Amelia is my guest and I would like you to treat her with respect,” said Peter.
He made me feel so much better. With Peter, there I felt safe. Immediately I snuffed out my cigarette – I didn’t seem to need it anymore.
Trix picked up his plate of food. “Ok you are the boss.” Sorry for staring at you Miss,” he said to me.
“That’s ok.” I said.
I looked at Peter and he smiled at me. I smiled back. We dug into our meals and had a few drinks. I had a marvellous time. That evening I learnt that both Peter and Thomas were lawyers. They had both studied at the University of Fort Hare in South Africa. Letween had also studied at the University and was now teaching African History at a high school in the high density suburb called Highfields. However, during the school holidays she would help Peter and Thomas with the work that they were doing. Trix was a freelance, detective, bodyguard, go- between, and bouncer. He was a man that knew every trick of the trade going, on the streets. That’s why they called him Trix.
We went to a part of town that I had never been to before. We had quite a few people staring at us and this unnerved me. Peter helped to calm my nerves. “Don’t pay them any mind. They obviously have nothing better to do.” He smiled and in response I had no choice but to smile. I felt safe with Peter. He had an aura of kindness about him. I was in the middle of somewhere, with a man I hardly knew and surrounded by people that were suspicious of me because of the colour of my skin. However, I felt safe. Very safe indeed.
Peter ushered me through the door of a bar called ‘Scotchys’. The smell of beer and the cigarette smoke embraced us. There was music in the background and a lot of chatting going on. Peter grabbed me by the arm and guided me to the back of the pub. We walked down two steps to a more spacious area. There were booths lined all around the perimeter of the room. People would walk up to the bar, get their drinks, and walk back to the booths to sit with their friends. The air was fresh, even though it was lined with the strong smell of alcohol.
In the distance, I could see some disco lights and people dancing on a marble floor. That was obviously where the music was coming from. I patiently followed Peter as he eagerly looked through each booth. He was probably looking for his friends. As we walked across the room, with people staring at us, a very round woman with short hair and dangly earrings came and tapped Peter on the shoulder. Peter swiftly turned around. The woman had a bright smile, milk chocolate coloured skin and very striking brown eyes.
“Peter where have you been?” she bellowed. Her voice was very deep.
“Hesi Chipo (Peter gave her a hug). I’ve been working hard.” Hesi when translated means hello how are you.
Chipo brushed something off his shoulder. “Well all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”
Peter Chuckled. “I know, I know.” Chipo looked at me with an inquisitive look on her face. It was obvious that I was with Peter but she chose to look away, continue talking to Peter without saying hello to me. I was embarrassed. I don’t know why but I was.
Peter noticed that Chipo had looked at me and so he turned around and brought me forward by grabbing my arm.
“Chipo this is a friend of mine. Her name is Amelia.”
Chipo looked at me from head to toe then back to eye level. She gave me half a smile. “Pleased to meet you.”
I smiled. “Pleased to meet you too.” I held out my hand for a shake. Her hand was soft and meaty to the touch. That was no surprise as Chipo was a very big woman.
She shook my hand whilst looking at Peter. “Where is Portia?”
Peter looked a bit embarrassed. “Chipo, let’s not start ok. Only God knows where Portia is.”
She chuckled. “Ok, Ok …loosen up. No pressure.”
“Are the guys here?” asked Peter.
“Yes, they are in the Blue Room.”
Peter raised his eyebrows. “How did they manage that?”
“Don’t worry it’s on me. They told me that you were coming and I decided that Peter deserves only the best!”
Peter laughed. “Thanks Chipo.” Peter then looked at me and was startled as if he had forgotten that I was standing behind him. “Sorry for making you stand behind me.”
I frowned. “Don’t worry. It’s not a problem at all.”
Chipo was studying our interaction. When I caught her eye she quickly looked away.
Peter distracted me. “Amelia, Chipo owns this place with her boyfriend Konza. She and Konza have been good friends of mine for years… I went to school with Konza.”
I stood and listened thoughtfully. He was such a polite man, well spoken.
Suddenly, he grabbed my hand and said, “Let’s go and meet the rest of my friends. Maybe then, we can have a few drinks. (He looked at me softly). You must be hungry.”
“Just a little,” I said. He charged forward and I followed behind, ignoring all the probing stares from the people sitting in the booths.
The Blue Room was the quiet, sophisticated room in the basement of the club. It was usually reserved for the wealthy (usually the Township crooks) who wanted a little ‘privacy’. However, on this day, Chipo had reserved it for Peter and his friends to come and have a good laugh, a few drinks, and some good food after a hard days work.
I was so excited about having some fun for a change. I hadn’t been out in a long time. Most of the people whom I had called my friends had moved either out of town or out of the country to progress their careers. Candice had married a wealthy investment banker. The other three girls had gone off to University in South Africa and Europe. Therefore, once again, I was left behind, as a complete failure and embarrassment to mankind. The world agreed with my mother that I was useless and now I was about to sink even further by having a few drinks in an all black club. Well, I didn’t care about what anyone thought – I was there to have some fun. I deserved it.
As I followed Peter through the door of the Blue Room, a roar of laughter welcomed us. “Hey Peter, what time do you call this?” said a man with leather trousers, way too much jewellery, a bright coloured shirt and a patchwork cap. He was chewing on a matchstick and standing just by the entrance with a mug of beer in his hand. He looked at me and then at Peter. Two others (a man and a woman) that were sitting in a round shaped booth greeted Peter, whilst looking at their watches.
“Come on man. We’ve been waiting for you,” said the man that was sitting down.
“I know, I know. Anyway, in case you all forgot, I did have a job to go to today,” said Peter.
“Hey we all got jobs ok. But 6 o’clock is 6 o’clock. We agreed,” said the man who was sitting down. The man in the patchwork cap followed us as we sat down at the table. He sat down next to me, still looking at me. Everyone went into a brief silence. I knew that I had upset the applecart. I had upset the status quo.
Peter took his suit jacket off and loosened his tie. He looked at everyone round the table, then at me.
“Amelia, you must excuse my friends – they were born rude.”
The lady spoke up. “What do you mean rude? Introduce us fool.”
Peter shook his head then. “Amelia this is the beautiful Letween.” Letween and I greeted each other and smiled. She held out her hand for a shake. She was an extremely attractive woman, about 5 foot 4 inches tall. She had short, very neat afro hair, stud earrings, and very slender, manicured hands.
“Nice hair,” said Letween.
I was embarrassed. My hair did not look nice. It looked like the edge of a matted broom. The man with a patchwork cap intervened with a smirk on his face.
“Well it’s white hair…easy to comb”
I saw Peter look sharply across at the man with the patchwork cap.
“What?” he said, looking at Peter who was clearly annoyed.
Courageously I decided to diffuse the tension. “I’m not sure about easy to comb, but thanks for the compliment.” I let off a smile but I was crying inside.
The man in the patchwork cap was of an athletic build. Peter introduced him as Trix. Letween was sitting quite close to the other man. This man was relatively good looking, slender and wore a very nice tailored blue suit. He put his arm around Letween.
“Amelia this man here is Thomas. He is Letween’s boyfriend and he happens to be my best friend.”
Thomas shook my hand. “Please forgive me Amelia. It’s just that we were a bit surprised when we saw you. We were expecting Peter to bring someone else. It’s a pleasure to meet you anyway.”
“Thanks.”
I was getting a bit uncomfortable at the way that Trix was still staring at me.
Peter stood up. “Ok I’ll get the first round of drinks. What are you having?” he asked me.
“Martini,” I said.
Whilst Peter was gone, I felt someone press against my arm. I turned to the side and noticed that Trix had placed an open box of cigarettes in front of me. It was a box of Madisons’ finest. At that moment I became the weakest link.
“Cigarette?” he asked.
I couldn’t resist. “Yeah thanks.” I took the cigarette and waited for him to light it for me. Trix was still making me nervous but the strong aroma of the Madison cigarette helped to calm my nerves. Madison never let me down. Peter came back with the drinks. He had ordered food for us – sadza (made from maize meal), chicken stew and green leafy vegetables. As I puffed the smoke out of my mouth, Peter looked at me surprised. He looked at the cigarette then looked back at me. I knew there was something wrong. He quickly brushed it aside and said, “I’ll get the food.”
I nodded. For the first time, I felt embarrassed about my bad habit.
Trix spoke up. “His last girlfriend was a smoker. Peter hates smoke.”
Everyone was looking at me now. “Oh,” I said and shyly tapped some ashes into the ashtray.
“Trix leave the girl alone. That shouldn’t be a problem for you as you’re not his girlfriend… are you?” said Letween. I was cornered and so embarrassed, hoping that my face had not gone for the red.
Trix had his hands up in half surrender. “Of course I’m sorry. I should not make assumptions. Should I? Go on finish your cigarette, after all you’re not attached to him are you?” he chuckled. I felt hot.
Thomas decided to intervene. “Shut up you two. Amelia ignore them. And Trix can you stop staring at the girl like she stole something.”
“Hey babes we were just teasing her,” said Letween.
Trix seemed to be fuming slightly. “I’m not teasing. I am testing. She could be a spy?”
At that moment, Peter returned with Chipo following behind with hot plates of food on trays. Peter looked over at Trix. “Don’t be stupid Trix.”
“Hey, you pay me to look after all of you ok. All I’m doing is my job.”
“Well stop working and have some food. It is your night off. Come on man. Amelia is my guest and I would like you to treat her with respect,” said Peter.
He made me feel so much better. With Peter, there I felt safe. Immediately I snuffed out my cigarette – I didn’t seem to need it anymore.
Trix picked up his plate of food. “Ok you are the boss.” Sorry for staring at you Miss,” he said to me.
“That’s ok.” I said.
I looked at Peter and he smiled at me. I smiled back. We dug into our meals and had a few drinks. I had a marvellous time. That evening I learnt that both Peter and Thomas were lawyers. They had both studied at the University of Fort Hare in South Africa. Letween had also studied at the University and was now teaching African History at a high school in the high density suburb called Highfields. However, during the school holidays she would help Peter and Thomas with the work that they were doing. Trix was a freelance, detective, bodyguard, go- between, and bouncer. He was a man that knew every trick of the trade going, on the streets. That’s why they called him Trix.
Hi.....
ReplyDeleteSeems too much interesting. Your novel is going to be hit definitely. I am waiting for it. hesi practice test