56 |^15 AUGUST^2019 http://www.drum.co.za

R

ISE and shine,” Grace
said, as she put the mug
of coffee on the bedside
table beside her hus-
band.
Grace had decided
she’d try the cheerful,
positive approach first.
If that didn’t work, well, she had other
methods up her sleeve. One thing was
certain, she wasn’t putting up with Em-
manuel’s nonsense for one more day!
Emmanuel opened one bleary eye
and peered over the top of the duvet.
“What’s going on?” He sounded con-
fused. “It’s much too early! It’s still the
middle of the night!”
Grace pulled back the curtains. Bright
sunshine flooded the bedroom.
“Come on, up you get! This is the first
day of the rest of your life!” There was a
hard edge to her voice now.
“Have a heart, Gracie!” Emmanuel
whined. “For 40 years, I’ve got up at the
crack of dawn. Monday to Friday. Isn’t
that enough? Can’t I just have a lie-in in
peace? Please.”

He pulled the duvet over his head. But

Grace had no intention of leaving Em-

manuel in peace. It had been two

months since he’d stopped working, and

she was sick of his retirement lifestyle.

He lay in bed until all hours, calling

constantly for another cup of coffee or

some toast or a lemon drink. Then he

spent the rest of the day following close

behind her while she did the house-

work, talking non-stop, getting in her

way, wanting her attention.

Or he sat slumped in his favourite

chair watching the sports channels that

blared from the television at full volume

• soccer, rugby, cricket, golf. Even skate-
  boarding! What did he care about skate-
  boarding? This whole retirement thing
  was driving her around the bend.
  Grace had made up her mind. She
  wasn’t going to put up with her hubby’s
  lazing around and annoying her any
  longer. Enough was enough! It was time
  to put her foot down. She’d come to a
  decision and she was going to stick to it.
  “No, Mr Emmanuel Rebatho Matenge,”
  she spoke to the top of the duvet. “I’m

not letting you waste another day. If you

can’t find a way to spend your day doing

something worthwhile, then I’ll organ-

ise it for you. So here it is – I’ve written

down a list of chores that need doing.

“There are plenty of projects to keep

you busy. Have your coffee, get yourself

dressed and then you can get busy.”

Emmanuel’s face reappeared above

the duvet. Both eyes were wide open

now, in a little-boy look of horror. “List?

What do you mean by list?”

Grace produced a large piece of paper

from her pocket and slowly but pur-

posefully unfolded it. She’d sat up late

into the night before writing out this list.

It had needed a lot of careful thought.

“First, there’s the backyard shed. It

needs a good clean-out. There’s 20 years

of rubbish shoved away in there. I bet

strange creatures are living in the back

corners. And when you’ve finished that,

my old kitchen table needs a coat of

varnish – you’ve been promising to do

that for five years. That will keep you

busy until lunchtime, and then, after

lunch, I thought.. .”

Have a heart,

Gracie!

Emmanuel is settling into a lazy

life of retirement, but his wife has

other plans for him