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Chapter 36
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Just for two weeks Chapter 37
She had said no the first time he asked her to marry him. But when he proposed again several months later, she managed to persuade herself that her initial reservations were foolish. He was, after all, her closest friend and it seemed only natural that they should marry. Eighteen years. She had grown to love him, but those things that she had not liked in the beginning never went away and what was, for a short time, the attraction of his older age soon disappeared as well. Now he was forgetful and prone to repeating stories. In his retirement he spent hours and hours in his men's clubs with his very English friends. He smoked and drank, and talked incessantly of holiday homes in the south of France. He no longer thirsted for Africa. And then there was something else, so small and trivial that it bothered Lola that she even noticed it, yet it was worse than all the other irritations, and always there. His smell. It cloaked the house and seeped into everything they owned: clothes, curta
Just for two weeks Chapter 38
For example, I'm no longer certain about the existence of a God. There are both fundamental elements in our culture that one is not supposed to question. I also find that I tire of social interaction in a way that is deemed unacceptable to most people here, and this is where Mphahele's essay seemed particularly insightful to me now. I refer to 'The Fabric of African cultures' which is an exposé of the so-called elements that make up the 'African personality.' These characteristics are obviously generalizations, but I believe they still ring true for much of the continent. Mphahele speaks of the importance attached to the extended family, communal responsibility and reverence for ancestral spirits, but it is his last observation that particularly struck me this time around. Mphahele speaks of the cultural tendency to gravitate toward other people rather than toward things and places. This is something I was only subliminally aware of until I read the essay. In a way, 'things' (such as
Just for two weeks Chapter 39
Lola stared at her computer thinking of Jason's most recent letters. She had remembered something that her mother once told her about love, and she tried to remember when the conversation had taken place, deciding that it must have been late in the summer. They had been sitting in the garden, she with a book on her lap and Mother could have been telling any story, the mere cadence of her voice was enough to soothe, but it wasn't just any old story. In retrospect, Lola wished she had asked more questions, but at that time she could only think of how things related to her and Jason. Now she wondered what the story might have meant to Mother, and who might have told her the story. Her mother had told her that there was a saying that a person never married their first love. A person always married someone else, but later in life that person would be reunited with their first love. They apparently has a phrase for it: they call it the Pick-up-your-stick-and-standals marriage, which
Just for two weeks Chapter 40
Rain fell lightly from all directions like fine sifted flour being shaken from the heavens. This was England, Sussex to be precise, in the middle of summer. Joy, the Zimbabwean care worker, opened the front door and nodded without speaking as she let Lola in. Not for the first time did Lola wonder how a person so dour-looking could be so named. The lack of communication with joyless Joy bothered Lola. Usually others warmed to her, and especially Africans who were always delighted by the mere fact that she knew something about their continent. But then perhaps it was not fair to blame Joy. Working in such a place was bound to squeeze out every last bit of joy from a person. The Garrison Home for the Elderly had a steamed up feel - warm and stuffy, like a Second-hand clothing shop with the added lingering smells of Sunday roast, disinfectant and urine. When Lola arrived, three people sat in the lounge: her grandfather; Mrs Bailey slouched in her chair, fast asleep; and dear old Mrs
Just for two weeks Chapter 41
Ivy lived in a one-bedroom apartment on Franklin Street - one of the few streets in San Francisco that never went to sleep. At all hours of the night, just like the day, cars accelerated down the hill, filling the air with exhaust fumes that rose to the level of her second floor apartment. The noise of engines, brakes and the occasional blaring of horns meant that the night was never silent and nor was it dark. There was always a steady stream of headlights and sometimes the whirling lights of emergency vehicles, their sirens piercing the night with their high-pitched wails. Sleep was hard, but then it always was these days. If Jason did fall asleep, he dreamt of a negative outcome of his visit and awake sweating.He had two recurring nightmares: one where he was drowning in a prison cell and the other where Charles floated away in the form of a sheet of paper that Jason could never catch. People said that after the accident, Charles appeared fine. When they pulled him from the
Just for two weeks Chapter 42
The kitchen table had become Lola's place to write. The clock said 3am and the house was silent except for the ticking of the old, and familiar clock. Tick tock, tick tock; she rocked her head from side to side in time. After a while she got up to make some tea. "Yes," she thought, this was what happened to her mothers later in life; they became nocturnal creatures. She would always go to bed early with Edward, but then get up at these quietest moments of the night - the perfect time to think. Edward would sometimes join her for a minute or two, but he would tell her that she worked too hard, and she would promise to stop. He knew she wouldn't, and she knew he knew, but this was their script and there was a certain comfort in sticking to it. Now, as she waited for the water to boil, she thought of Jason. It would still be daytime in California. What would he be doing? At least he was safe now. She sighed and returned to the table with her mug of rosehip tea. Everything was laid
Just for two weeks Chapter 43
A few days after her father arrived, Ivy introduced Jason to John Harris, professor of Economics at San Francisco State University and Grandfather to the children she nannied. Professor Harris was delighted to meet Jason and later offered him an opportunity to recruit the best and brightest to help keep the company at its feet. This offer came as a surprise and not a particularly welcome one. He had little desire to interact with people, and the recruitment would force him to do just that. "Mr Davis, I don't believe it!" "Yes?" Jason turned, expecting to see a student. "What!" Jason exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" "What are you doing here?" Robert laughed as they embraced.Robert had been at the university teaching theater arts for the past seven years and had only just heard Jason's arrival. The meeting felt like a homecoming to Jason and from that day on he had a friend to talk to about arts and as well as his experience so far. It was with Robert that he woul
Just for two weeks Chapter 44
Kittridge and Jason are both concerned. Their concern is that small businesses are dwindling and the rich are getting richer but America is getting poorer. Like the popular ice caps, the middle class is disappearing. America is becoming a two-class society. This phenomenon - the shrinking middle class - is a global problem, but predominantly in the rich Nations ( in countries such as England, France, Germany, Japan, etc.) With the threats to the stability of democratic capitalism itself within the country.Mr Kittridge and Jason placed the blame on lack of education. But they focused on a different type of education, financial education. Both men were concerned about the lack of quality financial education in America, at all levels. Both men blamed the lack of financial education for the government having gone from the richest government in the world to the biggest debtors in history. Both Kittridge and Jason are successful entrepreneurs and investors. Both men do business and are r
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