"Jerrr-ry..." Cheryl says.
"It is Ghana," Vuyo shrugs.
"So what can we do?"
Vuyo considers it and then allows illumination to spread across his face. "I have it. The bank has bearer bonds. I will give you bearer bonds to the value of your cash deposit. These will take a month to clear, but they are not subject to the restrictions of the government's reconciliation period. So you will be safe. And we can go ahead with the final transaction."
"I don't know, that sounds awfully complicated. Maybe we should wait."
"The waiting was the worst," I say, absently.
"What was that, dear?" Cheryl squeezes my hand.
"Not knowing if they were going to kill us. They would play games with us. Sometimes taking girls at random. Other times they made us choose, made us decide who it was going to be. And then they would take someone else instead. But you had to live with it, live with the betrayal of what you'd done."
"Oh, sweetheart. Oh, sweetheart," Cheryl chokes, her palm clamped over her mouth. "Oh baby, if that was our Mandy. Can you imagine? Oh."
"I just want to say thank you," I say, looking down at my hands clasped together in my lap.
"Oh," says Cheryl. "Oh, baby."
"Okay," Jerry says, defeated. "Bearer bonds, huh?"
"Only for 72 hours. And then the 2.5 will be cleared," Vuyo says.
While the menfolk sort out the matter of exchanging a tog-bag full of cash for phony bearer bonds from a nonexistent bank, I order tea for both of us.
"May I ask what you are going to do with the money?" I say to Cheryl.
"Buy a house. For us and the kids. Amanda and Simon and their families. I mean, two-and-a-half million bucks, you could buy a place in Malibu. But we're going to stay in Aurora, get Mandy to move back from Chicago, so we can spend more time with the grandkids. Wait a minute, here's a photo." Cheryl pulls out her phone to show me a snapshot of an unfortunate-looking baby covered in slobber and a smiley girl with pigtails and a strawberry birthmark over her cheek. "That's Archie, and this is Becky Mandy's little ones. And Simon, well, Simon and his partner are planning to adopt."
"So cute." I hand the phone back.
"What about you, dear?"
"I will try to make a new life as best I can. It is better here in this country."
"And the orphanage?"
"Oh yes, the orphanage. Um. We have been looking at buildings. There is an old retirement home that we could convert. It's lovely. Big garden with a mulberry tree, swimming pool. Near the botanical gardens. It will be lovely." I am thinking of a version of the house I grew up in.
"It's nice to feel like suddenly you have possibilities, isn"t it?"
"Yes."
We lapse into silence.
"Did you have much trouble getting out of the camp?"
"Please, Cheryl, it is too painful to talk about." I bury my face in my hands for emphasis. Through the gaps between my fingers, I can see my bag start to squirm again. I prod Sloth with my shoe to make him cut it out.
"Oh. Of course." She puts her arm around my shoulders and pulls me into an awkward embrace, stroking my back. "There, there," she says, "There, there."
"All taken care of." Jerry is grinning broadly, like a man who has had an incredible burden lifted from his back. Doubt weighs a lot. "Can I give you a hand with this, Frances?" He hefts the rattan bag before I can stop him. "Whoof, what do you got in here, all your earthly goods?"
"Jerry!" Cheryl says, scandalised.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean ..." and then Sloth pokes his head out and bleats grumpily.
Jerry drops the bag. Luckily, it's only five inches to the floor, but Sloth yelps like he's gone over the Victoria Falls.
"Mary, Mother of God! What is that thing?"
"Jerry Barber! You know perfectly well what that is! Oh Frances, honey, you should have told us." Over her shoulder, Vuyo is giving me a stare that says "you better fix this".
"I was ashamed," I mutter.
"Now, baby, there's nothing to be ashamed of. It doesn't mean you're a bad person. It just means you've done bad things once upon a time." She shoots Jerry a fierce look. "You're a good girl, honey, a good girl." Her eyes brim with tears all over again.
We watch Cheryl and Jerry pull out of the parking lot packed with X5s and A4s in their white VW Polo rental, and wave cheerily until they pull around the corner.
"You are are a good girl," Vuyo says, imitating Cheryl. a good girl," Vuyo says, imitating Cheryl.
"Shut up, Vuyo."
"We should do this again."
"I want twenty per cent."
"Next time, maybe."
"This was a one-time-only event. I'm not doing a re peat performance."
"I have R94,235.82 that says different."
"I'll write more formats."
"I'll double your interest rate."
"I don't care."
"What was your brother's name again?" he says slyly. "The dead one?"
"Fuck you."
"And your lover? That handsome mkwerekwere? mkwerekwere? Benoit, is it? Be careful, Zinzi. You know what happened last time you fucked with gangsters." Benoit, is it? Be careful, Zinzi. You know what happened last time you fucked with gangsters."
Vuyo gets into one of the X5s. I memorise the licence plate. It's undoubtedly fake, but I'm a packrat for information. I rap on the window. He slides it down. "What is it?"
"Give me a ride."
"Get a car," he says and pulls away, wheels spinning.
Makhaza's Place is already vibey at three in the afternoon. This is a reflection of the lack of recreational facilities in the area. Although Mak's popularity in a neighbourhood packed with bars and churches can be ascribed to two things: the Lagos-style chicken, and the view. The bar is situated on the second floor of what used to be a shopping arcade back when this part of town was cosmopolitan central, with its glitzy hotels and restaurants and outdoor cafes and malls packed to the skylights with premium luxury goods. Even Zoo City had a Former Life.