Carmen Schaefer
"The winning move"
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I recently moved to Cape Town, the first of my family ever to venture South. My worried parents came to visit me, to see how my new life was working out. The visit wasn’t going well. The weather was treacherous, the roads too narrow, the beachfront too crowded. There was one night left to sell them on my move. I took them to the Waterfront. At first they were grumpy. I think they were expecting just another shopping mall. We walked outside, to the quay. When we saw the first glimpse of the navy ships everything changed. In his youth my father was in the navy, and as he quietly walked along, I could see the memories come flooding back. My mother slipped her arms through his, I’m sure she was remembering him in his dashing white uniform. We went for dinner at near-by restaurant, the waiter especially placed us at a table with a view of the ships. After the hearty meal, my father said: “I think you’re going to be happy here.” I agreed.