The next morning Maria heard her Mama move around in the kitchen. She was getting the breakfast ready for her family. Maria went to help her. But before she got to the kitchen door she could hear Noni yelling, “I don’t want this porridge. It’s horrible! I want some toast with a boiled egg.”

“There’s no bread left, Noni. Eat up your porridge like a good girl.”

Maria looked at her Mama properly for the first time in ages and saw the huge amount of weight she had lost. As if sensing her daughter’s thoughts, Precious pulled her nightgown tighter around her.

“Eat your porridge, Noni or you’ll go to school hungry.”

“Okay,” Noni said, “but could I have more sugar on it?”

“Say please,” Maria said, as she took a small amount of sugar from the bowl and sprinkled it over her sister’s porridge.

Mama smiled at her eldest daughter. She could always rely on her to keep Noni under control. Noni might be the smallest child in the house but she had a very bad temper. When things didn’t go her way, she tended to yell and scream at everybody. Maria wouldn’t put up with her nonsense.

“I’ll dish you out a bowl, darling,” Mama said.

“It’s okay, Mama. Sit down and drink your tea. I’ll get my own porridge. It smells delicious.” She said this so Noni wouldn’t make any more of a fuss.

“Where’s Goodwin?” Maria asked.

“He’s gone to open up the tuck shop for me,” Mama said. “You know how people are always running out of tea, sugar and coffee early in the morning. We do a good trade then.”

“I hope he plans on going to school today,” Maria said.

Mama owned and ran a tuck shop in Walmer Township. The business had been doing well up to about six months ago. Mama worked extremely hard and always had the foodstuffs on offer that she knew the people needed daily.

Then one day she discovered her assistant, Cecilia, had been stealing from her. She fired her on the spot. Then a week later somebody had ransacked the tuck shop in the middle of the night. Mama knew it was Cecelia’s brother who had done it, but she couldn’t prove anything.

Oupa had built iron bars around the shop and since then there had been no more trouble.

Goodwin had started helping Mama more and more in the shop. Some days Mama had to go into town and stock up on supplies from the warehouse. Oupa helped out when he could, but his eyesight was poor so people would take advantage of him.

Maria suspected that Goodwin would rather help out in the tuck shop than go to school. He had completed his Grade 10 and didn’t seem keen on going on to do his Matric. This worried Maria a great deal, though she knew Mama needed his help in the tuck shop very much. Without it they would all starve.

“I’ve got to go to the clinic today, darling,” Mama said. “Will you fetch Noni from school, as I’m not sure what time I’ll be back.”

“Sure Mama,” Maria said. Mama had always suffered from headaches but after Dad left they became much worse. She had seen the doctor at Greenacres Hospital and he said they were migraines, probably brought on by stress. Mama had to visit the clinic on Fourteenth Avenue once a month, to pick up her headache pills.

“Can we go to the tuck shop after school and get some sweets. Please,” Noni added, as she looked imploringly at her sister.

“Only if you stop whining and when you get home do all your homework without making a fuss,” Maria said.

Noni’s whole face lit up with a huge grin. “I promise. I’ll even read my library book.”

Mama smiled. She had to give it to her eldest daughter. Maria could handle Noni far easier that she could.

These days Precious was always tired. She woke up tired every morning and fell, exhausted, into bed at night. She hadn’t told her family, but last month the sister at the clinic was worried and had given her a thorough examination.

Precious wasn’t going to the clinic today. The sister had later phoned her and said she was to go to Greenacres Hospital, where she would see a specialist.

***

Tell us: Do you think Goodwin should immediately help build the small family business, or complete matric?