Chapter 12 - Chapter 11

"You're sure you're okay taking Zinhle, Hlengi?" I pull bottles of Energade out of the plastic rings and pack them down into a cooler box full of ice. "We drove all over this city yesterday and couldn't find this hair she wants anywhere."

"Ah, I already know the place has it. There's a shop off Rockey Street." Seated at my kitchen counter, Hlengiwe sips her coffee. "Half my clients get their hair there on the quiet. You watch them on Mzansi Magic and you'd never guess it came out of the back of a supermarket."

I stop, a bottle in each hand, and stare at her. "Ao. The shop is inside a supermarket?"

"The kind of one-stop you only find in town. Get your milk and eggs. Get your nails done. Get your eFiling done. Leave a watch at the cash-loan counter and grab four, five packs of hair on your way out."

She takes hold of the long fall of hair over her shoulder, lifts it and lets it drop. "That's where I got this silky silky."

"Well, thank you. I can't miss Sphe's match, and Siyabonga's speaking at this hospitality summit, so he couldn't step in." I hold up a bottle of Mixed Berry and a box of Yogi Sips. "Forgot I'm on the snack roster today, so now I'm scrambling to get it all together."

I pull a bottle of orange juice out of the fridge for Sphe.