He enters the living room with a smile, and is greeted by hurrahs and warm hugs.
“You’ve been away for a long time, Posmeester,” says Skoonma. “We’ve missed you!”
The rest nod in agreement. Posmeester smiles: “Believe me, it was worth the wait. I’ve got a special delivery for the family.”
“Ooh, I smaak a lekker surprise!” shouts Kleinboet. “Who’s it from?”
Posmeester shrugs. “That’s the thing – it was delivered anonymously. But as it was addressed to us all, I took the liberty of opening it.”
A short pause from Posmeester, while he gestures to the meticulously, expertly opened envelope. Kat frowns: “Are you gonna tell us, or must we pry the envelope from your hands?”
“I’m building antisipasie, Kat!” Then he announces: “Tickets for the Springboks versus Ireland at Loftus Versfeld next weekend! Good seats, for all of us!”
The rest gasp – excited, whooping and cheering. Everyone, that is, except for Bloos – who suddenly goes pale, trying to hide her disappointment.
“Woah, Posmeester, that is mos awesome!” Kleinboet says, while clapping his hands together. “I can’t wait!”
“Neither can I,” replies Posmeester, with a chuckle. “Anyway, I’ll leave the tickets here for you guys to check out.” He heads out, patting his sachet: “I’ve just got a last delivery or two to make.”
With this, he leaves the house. Bloos can no longer contain her sadness, moves to a corner, and swallows a sob. Kaalvoet Meisie notices this and approaches Bloos – concerned.
“What’s wrong, Bloos? I thought you loved the Bokke?”
“I do!” replies Bloos – frustrated. “That’s why I’ve been researching and preparing all kinds of lekker and quirky treats for our watching party here on the farm, for next weekend’s game. Irish stew, Boxty, Dublin coddle, you name it!”
Kaalvoet Meisie takes this in. “Ai, Bloos, I hate it when you lose your bubbly spirit … I’ll tell you what. We just need to find out who sent us those tickets, and then we can convince them we should take the snacks along somehow.”
Bloos is somewhat cheered up, but worries – this won’t be easy …