Disgrace Page #3

So I help out,

do what's left on a Sunday.

Oh, which reminds me,

check yourself for fleas tonight.

Are they all going to die?

If nobody wants them.

And you don't mind doing the job?

Hey, hey, hey, hey. Settle down.

I do mind. Hey!

I mind deeply.

And I wouldn't want someone doing it

for me who didn't mind. Would you?

Aren't they lovely?

They come back every year,

the same three.

I'm so lucky to be visited...

the one chosen.

Animals are creatures of habit.

Come on, Juzzi.

When you were small,

our next door neighbour had a dog,

a golden retriever, remember?

- Dimly.

- It was a male.

And whenever a b*tch went past,

it got excited, unmanageable.

And with Pavlovian regularity

its owner would beat it,

so that at the mere smell of a b*tch

the dog would run around the garden

with its ears flat

and its tail between its legs,

whining and trying to hide.

I don't see the point.

Well, you can punish a dog

for chewing a slipper,

the dog can accept that.

But desire is another story.

Is that the moral?

Males must be allowed to follow

their instincts unchecked?

No, that's not the moral.

What was ignoble about the spectacle

was that the poor dog had begun

to hate its own nature.

It no longer needed to be beaten,

it punished itself.

At that point, it would've been

better to shoot it.

Have you always felt this way?

No.

At times I've felt just the opposite.

That desire is a burden

we could well do without.

Hey, what've you got there?

Should we be nervous?

Stay.

Petrus!

Petrus!

Hamba!

Quiet!

What do you want?

We must telephone.

His sister accident.

- What kind of accident?

- A baby.

- Where are you from?

- Erasmuskraal.

Why aren't you ringing

from the forestry station?

Is no-one there.

Hold on.

Inside.

Quiet. Quiet!

You stay, you come in.

Lucy...

Lucy!

Lucy!

Vulani!

- Vulani!

- Get him!

Get him!

Lucy!

Ahh!

Lucy.

Lucy.

Lucy!

Lucy!

No.

Lucy.

Lucy.

Lucy.

What on earth did they do to you?

They've stolen your car.

And let down the tyres of the kombi

and they smashed the phone.

I'm walking over to Ettinger's.

You say what happened to you and

I'll say what happened to me, please.

I never go anywhere without my Beretta.

At least you can save yourself,

because the police won't...

not anymore, you can be sure.

I told Lucy to install bars like me,

and a security gate with a fence.

And to buy a pistol

and a two-way radio.

Mrs Rosenberg.

please report to the front desk

for your prescription.

- May I help you?

- My father's been severely burnt.

I was wondering

when he could see a doctor.

You'll have to wait in line.

Thanks.

Ettinger's going to take me

to the police station.

You stay here.

If they discharge you, just wait here.

Won't the police want to see me too?

I don't think there's anything

you can tell them that I can't.

Or is there?

Dr Mobara.

please come to w ard five immediately.

You 're lucky

that there's no damage to the eye itself.

If they'd used petrol

instead of methylated spirits,

now, that would've been

a different story.

The burns on your scalp

aren't serious.

You just need to keep an eye out

for infection.

David?

Shocking. Absolutely shocking.

- Lucy's at our place. It's alright.

- I'm alright.

It takes you back, you know.

It's like being in a war

all over again.

Has Lucy been to the police

and the doctor?

Yes, yes.

There's a bulletin out for your car.

All attended to.

Lucy...

Lucy... Lucy?

Lucy?

I have to speak to Lucy.

I want to see Lucy.

I had a dream. I'm sorry,

I thought you were calling me.

I wasn't. Go to bed.

Try and sleep now.

How is she?

This is not an easy thing to talk about,

but have you seen a doctor?

- There's a risk...

- I saw my doctor last night.

And is he taking care

of all eventualities?

She. She, not he.

How can a doctor take care of

all eventualities? Have some sense.

What are our plans for today?

To go back to the farm and clean up.

We can't just pick up

where we left off.

- Why not?

- Because it's not a good idea.

Because it's not safe.

It was never safe.

And it's not an idea, good or bad.

I'm not going back for the sake

of an idea, I'm just going back.

Lucy, things are changing.

Guns and gates don't save you.

Ettinger is wrong.

No, no.

We are not going back.

Petrus is back...

...with a load of building material

and a woman.

Oh, good.

That's his new wife.

Why didn't he tell you

he was going away?

His timing is a bit suspicious.

I can't order Petrus about.

He is his own master.

Lucy...

...there's no shame

in being the object of a crime.

Are you trying to remind me

of something?

Remind you of what?

Of what women undergo

at the hands of men?

Nothing could be further

from my thoughts.

As far as I'm concerned

what happened to me

is purely a private matter...

...this place being what it is.

- This place being what?

- This place being South Africa.

You must have heard

we had a big robbery on Wednesday

while you were away.

Yes. I heard.

Very bad. Very, very bad.

But you are alright now.

Oh, I'm alive.

As long as one is alive, one is alright.

Is that what you mean?

Will Lucy go to the market tomorrow?

She will lose her stall

if she does not go.

Like peasants everywhere.

Honest toil and honest cunning.

Petrus wants to know

if you 're going to the market,

otherwise, you might lose your stall.

Don't you think you could tie them

where they could graze?

They are for the party.

On Saturday I will slaughter them

for the party.

You and Lucy must come.

A big party.

Why is Petrus having a party?

Because of the land transfer, I guess.

It's a big day for him.

We should put in an appearance,

take him a present.

I don't like the way he does things,

bringing the beasts home

to acquaint them with the people

who are going to eat them.

Wake up, David.

This is the country.

You must open it.

It's a bedspread.

Lucy is our benefactor.

Wow.

When is the baby due?

October. We hope it is a boy.

- What have you got against a girl?

- A girl?

Very expensive.

Always money, money, money.

I'm going to dance.

Thank you.

- They're here!

- Who's here?

I saw one of them out the back.

I don't want to kick up a fuss

but can we just leave at once?

I know you!

Do you know who this is?!

What is the trouble?

He is one of them. Ask Lucy.

Ask him why the police

are looking for him.

It's not true!

Mm-mm.

He says he does not know

what you 're talking about.

He's lying.

I'm going to telephone the police.

If you call the police,

it will destroy the evening for Petrus!

Really?

Lucy, I fail to understand

why you did not lay real charges

against them in the first place.

And why are you protecting Petrus?

Petrus is with them!

Don't shout at me! This is my life!

I'm the one who has to live here!

Lucy, if you 're too scared

to call the police now,

we should never have involved them

in the first place.

We should've just kept quiet

and waited for the next attack,

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