I woke up early and took a shower. Linda and Owethu were still asleep. I sat on a balcony chair and watched the sun as it rose from the ocean. It was a beautiful sight: pink and orange hues. At some point the sun took on a silvery colour. This made the ocean glimmer … and flood my mind with optimistic possibilities.

Owethu woke up right at that moment. I bathed her, got her dressed and fed her the apple Purity I had bought the previous day. I found the cartoon channel and sat her on cushions in front of the television.

Next, I counted out a quick R10 000 from the money in the bag, and placed it on a table in the room. Linda looked so at peace, so rested. I opened the window. A breeze wafted into the room, and she woke up.

“Good morning, babe. It’s a beautiful day,” I said.

She looked at the bed where Owethu had slept. The skin on her forehead folded in confusion.

“Where is Owethu?” she asked.

She sat straight up on the bed and looked around. I swear, from across the room I felt her heart melt when she saw Owethu totally taken by the cartoons on television.

“You bathed her already? What time is it?” Linda stretched and yawned.

“7.15,” I said.

“She ate the Purity?”

“She finished the whole bottle.”

“Wow! My baby eats Purity now!”

“Yeah, she likes the taste of the finer things in life, this one.”

We both laughed. Linda came to sit on my lap. We sat in silence, watching the ocean for a while, and taking in the sea breeze.

I said, “Listen, babe. I was thinking about what you said.”

“What did I say?”

“About God working in mysterious ways. This is the situation we find ourselves in so we might as well make the best of it.”

“Yes, Spha. What else can we do?”

“So, I was thinking that today we forget about fears and worries. Let’s just have a good day.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“We are going out to see more of this beautiful place called Port Edward. We’ll have breakfast, then we’ll buy clothes.”

I picked up Owethu as we were about to leave. “The money is on the table. Put it in your bag,” I said.

Linda’s smile disappeared as she counted the money.

“This is too much,” she said. “The money must last us for a long time, Spha. R5 000 is enough for what we need to do today.”

“But we don’t have good clothes, babe,” I protested.

“No, Spha. We have to be careful about how we spend money. This money was gifted to us so that we change our lives.”

She counted R5 000 from the money on the table, and returned the remaining half to the bag, with the rest of the loot.

“Okay, babe. You are right,” I said.

Tell us: Are you like Linda? Would you be able to be disciplined about spending, after suddenly getting lots of ‘free money’?