ewouldsitin thebluetwo-door
Mazdaandgazeatthehousemy
motherhadbought.Shewasyoung
then,around33.I would’vebeen
13,mybrother10,andmysister3.
For all our excitement, there
wasn’tthatmuchtosee.ThehouseonChesterRoad
wassetsquareandslightlybelowstreetlevel,anover-
growngardenreachingupandoverthechicken-wire
fence.Wehadtostraintoseethefrontdoor.Therewas
a tirednesstothesingle-storey,a fadednessthatwas
morethananoverduepaintjob.Itwasnot a house
you’dthinkcouldenthralthreechildren.
Butthenyoudidn’tknowmymother.
“Lookatthatbaywindow. See the frangipani tree?
We’llhavespacefora cat.
“Wecansanddownthewooden floors.
Onedaywecouldhavea pool.
“You’llbeclosetodaddy.”
Mymotherwasa dreamer.Shehadus
cheeringtheminuteweroundedthecor-
ner,beforewehadevencaughtsightofthe
house.Andnearlyeveryweekdayforhow-
everlongit tookhertogetthetransfer,she
wouldparkusacrossthestreetfora minute
or10.Welaughedandsquealedwithhap-
pinessinthosemomentsbeforeschool.
Thehousewastobea newstart.Aftermyparents’
divorcewe’dstayedoninourhomeinWalmerEstate
until,wantingtobeclosetoherfamily,we’dmovedto
Athlone.Ayearofcommutingthreechildrentoschool
intownconvincedhertomoveback.Itwasn’teasyto
findahouse.WalmerEstate,onthewindyslopesof
Devil’sPeak,wasandstillisanareawherefamilieslive
fora longtime.Itwasalsothelateeighties,whenthe
GroupAreasActwasinforce.Mymothereventually
foundthefadedhouse,buttherewasa catch:Chester
RoadwassplicedbyRoodebloemRoadintotwoareas.
We’dlived– andmydadlived– onthesideofChester
Roadinthedemarcated“coloured”areaofWalmer
Estate.The house mymother wanted? OnChester
Road,hardlyoneblockfromRoodebloemRoad.In the
demarcated“white”areaofUniversityEstate.
Butmymotherwasmorethana dreamer;shewas
alsoa doeranda risk-taker.She’dfoundoutaboutan
arrangement to circumvent the Group Areas Act. The
A HOUSE IS JUST A HOUSE
TheirChesterRoadhomewasfull of hermother’sdreams,saysQarnita Loxton,
but her mother’s legacy was about so much more than a house.
W
PORTRAITGABRIELA GATYENEpropertycouldbeboughtinthenameofa closedcorporation,or
CC,anunlistedlegalentitywithsharesheldbyprivateindivid-
uals.(It’sbeenphasedoutinSouthAfrica.)Apersonofcolour
wouldpaythefullpurchasepricebuthe/shewouldholdonly49%,
whereasa whitepartnerwouldhold51%.Thepropertywouldbe
registeredinthenameofthewhite-ownedCC,butthenon-white
shareholderwouldliveinthehouse.Itwasn’tfoolproof.There
werestoriesofneighbourscomplainingandfallouts,forcinghous-
estobesold,orworse. My mother was not put off. She went ahead
withthedeal.
Onedayshetookusandourgrandfathertovisittheneighbours
ofthefadedhouse.I heardheraskournewwhiteneighbour,the
localwardcouncillor,if heandhiswifewereokaywithuslivingnext
door.I couldn’thearwhatmygrandfathersaidbutheaddressed
theman,decadeshisjunior,as“Sir”.Sirlookedusover. “Yes, it will
be fine,” he said, “butwedon’tlikea lotofnoise.”
My motherandherfather laughedabout
thatlater,buttherealisationmusthavestung
that a white ex-Rhodesian had more rights
thanthey,bornSouthAfricans,didintheirown
country.I’mnotsureiftheCCarrangement
wasa riskI would’vetaken.Butshedidit.My
mothertookfulltransferofthehousewhenthe
GroupAreasActwasabolished,andshe loved
thathouseuntilherdeathin2016.
Beingsentimental,I crieda littlewhenthe
housewasnolongerhers.I rememberedthe
risksshetookinherlifeandhowtheydidn’tallpayoff.I remem-
beredhowshemadeuslaughanddreaminthatMazda,andhow
sheshowedusthathardworkcouldmakedreams come true. Not
always,butyouhadtogiveit yourbestshot.
WhenthetearshadpassedI realisedthatmymother’slegacyis
notthatChesterRoadhouse.Herlegacyisknowingaboutdream-
inganddoing,takingrisksandworkinghard.Sometimesfailing.
Nevergivingup.And that will stay with us, her children, no matter
wherewealllive.
A house is just a house.QarnitaLoxtonlivesin Melkbosstrand,Cape
Town.Sheworkedas an attorneybefore
hersonswereborn,andnowsplitshertime
betweenparentingandwriting.Hermost
recentbook,BeingLily(KwelaBooks,2018),
is thesecondin aseries–BeingKariwas
publishedin 2017,andBeingShelleyis due
out soon. Qarnita blogs at qwerky.co.za.MY MOTHER
WASMORETHAN
ADREAMER;
SHEWASALSO
ADOERAND
ARISK-TAKER.visi.co.zaAUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019 42
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