Super Trouper

#18

The author and his mother, Durbin, 1980s. Photographer probably the author’s father

Johannesburg, South Africa, 1980. A five-year-old plays on the kitchen floor, fitting lids to their correct pots. ABBA’s “Super Trouper” plays on the radio. His mother picks him up after cooking lunch and places him on a dining room chair. 

‘Eat everything otherwise you won’t get dessert afterwards.’ 

Minas Gerais, Brazil, 2024. A forty-eight-year-old has finished laying out plates, cutlery and a steaming casserole on the kitchen table. His mother listens to “Super Trouper” in the living room, on a Spotify playlist that houses her memories. He leads her to the kitchen. 

‘Eat everything otherwise you won’t get dessert afterwards.’