Snapshot 23

Grand Pa has decided to go overseas, to London, to visit his eldest son for two months. Grand Ma wants to go too but Grand Pa thinks she should not travel because of her diabetes. She is upset because she thinks this is just an excuse and he is being selfish. But she must do as her husband says.

A few days after Grand Pa flies out, various household bills start to come in. Grand Pa usually handles these and Grand Ma is completely lost over household finances. Grand Pa keeps a fairly tight rein on his finances and Grand Ma thought he had dealt with these before he left. It is lucky that Mummy is more educated than Grand Ma and shows Grand Ma how to write cheques to pay the bills. The bank manager knows Grand Pa and Grand Ma well and there are no problems. This is the first time that Grand Ma has ever written a cheque. She feels a great sense of pride and worldly achievement.

Grand Ma was married off to Grand Pa when she was just 15 years old. Their history is that Grand Ma was about to be married to someone else when Grand Pa marched up to her father and said that he loved her and would kill her and himself, if he was not allowed marry her. Grand Ma’s father already knew Grand Pa and was fond of him. As a result, Grand Ma’s first engagement was broken and she was married off to Grand Pa instead. Afterall, he was an accountant and had good prospects. Grand Pa always tells this story to show what a great romantic he is and was. Grand Ma says that he should have killed himself back then and left her alone. She says this with a bitter laugh.

In Grand Ma’s life, first her father had taken care of all the household financial matters, and then Grand Pa did it after she was married to him. Grand Ma is financially quite helpless without her men. She is a respectable, if helpless, woman.