John has been working flat out, renovating someone's servants' quarters. 'Servants' quarters' sounds like such a colonial description. In Zimbabwe, they are colloquially referred to as the khaya. The majority of houses have a khaya in which the maid or gardener, or sometimes both, live. Traditionally, they are cramped, squat, gloomy places with small, high windows and poor ventilation. Working on his own, John has scrubbed the place clean, removing years of dirt, grease and grime, painted it and installed a modern toilet and sink. At the end of every day, he is really exhausted.
Sian and I come home late, 7pm, as we were at the inter-house gala at school and find that someone had made a last-minute booking, came to the house, rang the bell, hooted and then gave up and drove away. They have sent us a biting message through booking.com, saying they are hoping they won't be charged. This is the first time this has happened. John can't understand why he didn't hear the hooting, especially as it usually sends the dogs nuts and they race down to the gate in a mad frenzy. I check my phone and see three missed calls.
We apologise, but secretly we are quite glad we did not have to deal with a guest tonight, we are both so tired.
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