Lucy and Mopipi

I am very happy to announce that my former maid, Lucy, has returned to me through completely undevious means. She and Mopipi, my gardener, have neighboring farms across the river and have a very flirtatious and testy relationship. He stole her winter jacket and that caused a very tempestuous row for about a day and a half. She accused him of stealing. He accused her of lying. I was caught in the middle not really knowing my place in the whole thing and trying to broker peace. They finally came to the conclusion that "God knows what happened," and left it at that meaning God knows Lucy is a lier, and God knows Mopipi is a thief, and that one or the other will be severely punished in the afterlife. As soon as it erupted, it blew over, and even though the coat is still missing, everything is fine now.

Mopipi has taken to calling me his "mother." I dismissed it the first few times but after I bought him a gardener's uniform (the Batswana love few things more than a uniform, be it maid, gardener, nurse, or pilot, and they are cheap and well made here) he exclaimed, "You are my mother! You are my mother! You take care of me like a mother!" Now Mopipi is somewhere in his 50s or 60s. He's not sure. He is small, lean, and cheeky. I am 27. It makes me feel strange to have him call me "mother." I asked Lucy about this today and she laughed saying she doesn't know why he says it but when I pressed her she thought it was a token of respect. She says he likes me and it's meant to be respectful. I adore Mopipi endlessly but it's still jarring to be called "mother."