PHYLLIS OWEN

THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY

Sue beamed at Karen.  Then she blurted out, “Karen, I’m going to have a baby!”

  Karen stared at them, stunned.  Then a smile spread across her face.

  “I’ll need your help with the knitting and crocheting, Karen,” Sue continued. “You know how hopeless I am.   Will…..will you help me?”

  “Oh, yes, yes, I will with pleasure,” Karen said excitedly.  “I’ll start immediately…if you’ll get me wool, needles, and a crochet hook.”

  Sue laughed heartily.  “Hold on, love.  There are seven months before he or she is due to arrive.”

  When Sue and Philip left, Karen was too excited with the news of the baby to feel any sadness over their departure.  The next evening, as she lay in bed, her brain still whirling with thoughts of the baby, the ring of the telephone shattered the quietness of the ward.  The call was for her. 

  Who could it be from, she wondered?

  “Hello!” she said.

  “Karen, it’s Mom.  How are you, my sweet?”

  “Mom!” Karen shouted, excitedly.  “It’s lovely to hear from you.  How’s Dad?  Did Sue and Philip arrive safely?”

  “Hold on!” laughed Mom.  “Sue and Philip are back and are about to leave for home.  We are thrilled to hear of your progress.  In fact Dad, after he had heard how much you had improved, went about the farm singing to himself, something he hasn’t done for longer than I can remember.”

    Karen felt a tightening of her throat as she realised how much her illness had affected them.

  “I’m going to celebrate tomorrow,” continued Mom, “by having my hair permed.  Isn’t it wonderful news about the baby?”

  “Yes!”exclaimed Karen.  “How do you and Dad like the idea of being grandparents?”

  “Marvellous,” Mom replied, “and how do you feel about being an aunt?”  Mom’s tinkling laugh echoed in Karen’s ear.

  She was silent for a moment.  Then a smile lit up her face.  Of course, she would be an aunt.  She hadn’t realised it before.  “I love the idea.”  After talking to her father, she replaced the receiver and with a light heart, went to bed and slept soundly.

  Very early the following Saturday she was aroused from a deep sleep by someone shaking her.  Karen opened her eyes in alarm and then smiled when she saw Petra  bending over her.

  “It’s Bazaar Day!” she exclaimed excitedly.  “Come, lazy-bones, we’re supposed to help get the tables ready.”

  “What’s the weather like?” Karen asked.  She had been awakened by the sound of rain pounding on the window in the early hours of the morning.

  “It was overcast earlier on but the sun is fighting to get through.  I’m sure it’ll be a magnificient afternoon.  At least it’s not going to be a roasting hot day!”  Petra’s face was aglow with excitement.  “I haven’t been to a bazaar for a long time.  Our school doesn’t have bazaars, neither does our church.  Everyone pledges a certain amount of money in order to do away with them.”

  “What a shame,” Karen told her, remembering how regularly she had attended bazaars.  The small Kimberley community thrived on them, as they were the social events of the year.  “You miss out on so much fun.  My mother’s always working for bazaars.  She begins to work on the following bazaar straight after the previous one.   It’s never ending.  We have meetings on the farm where they plan and organise fund raising for this and that.”

  “Wheeee…..aaaaa…….ooooooo!” came Gertie’s voice.  “My parents will be arriving this morning for family therapy and will be staying for the bazaar.”

  “What’s all the noise about?” moaned a sleepy Cheryl.  “Have you girls gone mad?  You’ll have to be transferred to the looney bin.”  She put her head under the bedclothes.

  A pillow went flying from Lee-Ann’s bed and struck a sleepy Tarryn full in the face.

  “A perfect shot!” shouted Lee-Ann, triumphantly.

    An astonished Tarryn sat up in bed. “What?  Why?”  Then seeing the good-natured grins, she groaned, “Oh, no!  I suppose we’ve had all the sleep we’re going to have today.”

  “It’s a beautiful day,” called Lee-Ann.  “The sun is coming out from behind the clouds.”  Jumping from the bed she added, happily, “My parents are also coming for family therapy and will stay for the bazaar.  I’m so excited.  I feel sure I’ll be going home soon.”

  It did not take them long to wash and dress as they were keen to get going with the preparations for the bazaar.  After a hurried breakfast they all gathered in the quadrangle, the venue chosen for the stalls.

  Tarryn and Cheryl were detailed to put up posters and direction pointers round the buildings while Petra and Karen were asked to go to Ward Sixteen to hand Sister Helene Jones a couple of packets of biscuits that she had ordered.

  They hurried along a maze of corridors, running up one flight of stairs and down another, giggling together and enjoying a glorious sense of freedom.

  “Do you know that Mrs. Denise Benjamin, the woman who killed her husband, is in one of these wards?” Petra hissed.

  “No!” gasped Karen.  “Which one?”

  “Don’t you remember that woman in the purple dress at the pool who was accompanied by a very large nurse?” asked Petra.

  “Yes, I remember her.  She walked up to Cheryl, who was laughing about something, and glared at her.  Frightened the living daylights out of poor Cheryl,” Karen replied.

  “That’s the one.  We wondered who she was and what was the matter with her.”

  At last they climbed a narrow flight of stairs which led to Ward Sixteen.  Something was obviously amis.  Nurses were hurrying hither and thither.  A doctor in a white coat entered and disappeared into a small room leading off the ward.

  “Something funny’s going on in there,” whispered Petra.

  A frightful scream and the noise of breaking glass met their ears.  They stood petrified, waiting.

  A sister came running out of the room.  When she saw the two girls, she asked tartly, “What are you doing here?  This is no place for you.”

  “Sister Rose sent us with these biscuits for Sister Helene Jones.  It’s the bazaar,” began Karen.

  “Oh yes, thank you.  I’m Sister Jones.”  Taking the biscuits from them she looked at the frightened girls, and added, “This is the drug ward, and we’re having a particularly difficult time with a young girl.  This is no place for you.  I can’t understand why Sister Rose chose to send you up here.  You must leave immediately.”  Dismissing them, she hurried along the corridor and called to a nurse walking past.  “Ask Staff Nurse to bring an antitetanus injection, Nurse.  The patient has put her arm through the window.  Be quick now.”

  “Phew!  This place is weird,” hissed Petra, pulling at Karen’s arm.

  “That poor girl must be going through something gross, and we think we have problems,” said Karen sadly, as if to herself.

  “Let’s get out of here before Sister Jones, old Walrus-Face, gets back,” Petra exclaimed.

  They hurried from the ward and raced down the stairs, a couple at a time.

  They quickly made their escape from the building and almost collided with Sister Rose, who demanded, “What took you so long?”  Before waiting for a reply, she added, “Please help Sister van Niekerk with the tombola stall.  She needs help badly.”  With that she strode off.

  “What’s she all bitter and twisted about?” hissed Petra.  “After all, she did send us to that place.”

  The morning flew past as the girls wandered among the brightly decorated tables with their tempting wares.  Gaily coloured posters were stuck to the staircase walls and around the garden.  By two o’clock, the place was crowded.  Karen was flabbergasted. Never in her wildest dreams had she pictured the hubbub and excitement of a bazaar in Johannesburg.  It was as though the whole world was gathered there.  No sales were allowed until after the opening, so children and adults hung around the stalls waiting.  At exactly 2.30 p.m. the president of the hospital board, Mr. Andries Viljoen, opened the bazaar and said he was dazzled by all the wonderful stalls.  He ended his speech by saying that there was something for everyone to enjoy and that after the braai there would be a concert in the gymnasium and a dance for the teenagers in the dining room.  He hoped everyone would have an enjoyable time.

  There was a seemingly endless queue at the tombola stall during the whole afternoon.  Karen and Petra sighed with relief when the last ticket was sold.  All the other stalls by now had disposed of their wares.

  “Trust us to get the busiest and most popular stall,” groaned Petra, as she sat down on the grass.  “I’m exhausted.”

  “So am I,” Karen came in, “but I still won’t mind going to the dance tonight.”

  “Yes,” laughed Petra.  “Let me have a bath to freshen up and I’ll be fine.”

  The sun was sinking and a crowd had gathered around the braai area.

  “Let’s go back to the ward,” suggested Karen.  “I too would like to bath and change before this evening’s entertainment.”

  “Good idea,” agreed Petra.

  When they reached the ward they found Tarryn and Cheryl already bathed and dressed.

  “Phew!” exclaimed Cheryl.  “You two certainly had a hectic afternoon.  We were pleased to be on the cake stall.  It had sold out within an hour and a half.”

  “Why didn’t you come and help us?” asked Karen. “We were snowed under.”

  “We did think of it,” replied Tarryn, “but we couldn’t get near you.  Instead, we did the rounds and watched the karate demonstration.  They were good, those kids.  Also, we saw Aggie.  Do you remember the ballerina, Karen?  She left before Petra arrived.”

  Karen remembered only too well.

  “She’s engaged and will be getting married in three months time.  Isn’t that wonderful?”  Tarryn’s eyes were dancing with delight.

  “I’m glad for her,” broke in Cheryl.  “She’s a super kid.”

  “We’ve not been able to do or see anything this afternoon,” muttered Petra.  “Our stall should have been better organised.  We were so busy the whole afternoon and before we knew it the bazaar was over.”

  “It’s over now and no use complaining.  At least we can go to the dance tonight,” Karen said, cheerfully. 

  Gertie and Lee-Ann came bouncing into the ward.

  “You look exhausted, Karen,” Gertie told her.  “What a crowd!  We must have made a fortune today.  All the cakes, sweets and biscuits were sold out in no time.  Did you see Aggie?  Her fiance is quite a hunk!”

  “Yes, we know,”  Petra said. “Remind me never to help at a tombola stall again.  It was non-stop traffic all afternoon.  Those kids must have had a fortune to spend.”   She collapsed on her bed.

  “Lee-Ann and I are going home, girls,” Gertie told them joyfully, waltzing around the ward.  

  “Do you mean going home for good, Gertie?” Petra asked.

  “Yes,” she replied.  “Dr. Scott said he was happy with my progress and that I could go home any time.  I said, “Why not today?” and he laughed and said, “Why not indeed!”

  “Oh, you lucky so-and-so’s,” Tarryn cried.  “Are you coming to the dance first?”

  “Not likely!  We’re going now, this minute,” Lee-Ann came in.  “We have come to say goodbye.”

  There was much hugging and kissing and promises to write.  The uncomfortable silence that fell over the ward after they had gone was broken by Cheryl suggesting, “Tarryn, let’s go to the dance.”

  Tarryn nodded and they left the ward.

  Karen sighed.  “I’m going to bath.”  She rose slowly to her feet.  Suddenly she felt very homesick and sad.  It would be strange without Gertie and Lee-Ann.  They were all such good friends.

  When they had bathed, Karen and Petra did each other’s hair.  Petra looked fresh and relaxed in a pale green blouse and cream-coloured slacks.  Karen had also decided to wear slacks and had chosen her comfortable brown ones topped with a cream and brown-striped shirt.

  “You look fantastic in that blouse, Petra.  It makes your eyes sparkle,” Karen said kindly.  “Will I do?”

  “And how!” Petra exclaimed.  “What a lovely, silky shirt.  Where did you buy it?”

  “My sister bought it for me on her honeymoon trip overseas,” Karen explained.

  “Gee!” gasped Petra. “Hope when I marry one day we’ll spend our honeymoon overseas.”

  Karen laughed.  “Marry an engineer or a doctor.  They make the most money.”

  They made their way to the large dining-room with its arched windows overlooking the gardens and fish-pond.  The music thumped into the night.

  “No need to ask where the dance is being held,” laughed Karen, “just follow the noise.”

  “Noise?” exclaimed Petra, wagging her finger at Karen.  “Don’t you appreciate good music?”

  The girls laughed. “Our dining-room is never going to be the same again after tonight.”

  One of the male nurses sat at the entrance.  He was large and looked more like a nightclub bouncer.  Karen had seen him before.  He worked in the building set among the trees.  The violent mental cases were housed there.

  They paid their entrance fee and were stamped on the wrist with an indelible date stamp.  “Just to prove that you’ve paid,” the nurse said, smiling.

  Except for a silver revolving light, the dining-room was in darkness.  They could just make out chairs around the walls.  The floor was crowded.  As they grew accustomed to the gloom, they saw someone wave to them.  It was Tarryn.  They waved back and smiled.   She was dancing with a very tall young man who appeared to be in a daze as he swayed with eyes closed to the music.

  “He looks as though he’s on a trip,” giggled Petra.  “and look at the one next to him.  I bet he has rubber legs.”

  “Dance?” asked someone at Karen’s side, and without knowing what was happening to her, she was propelled on to the dance floor.

  “Weird place, this,” said her partner.  “You don’t know whether you’re dancing with a normal person or a nut.”

  “What do you mean?” Karen demanded, angrily.

  “This is a nut-house, isn’t it?” he queried.

  “You mean this is the hospital where they treat mental illness,” Karen said, haughtily.  Then, as an afterthought, “Why did you come here if you feel this way?”

  “Curiosity,” he said.  Then, looking at her quizzically, asked, “Are you one of them?”

  “Yes, I’m one of them,” she said, turning up her nose in a very superior manner, “and I’m not a nut.  In fact, there are nuts walking around free who should be in here for treatment.”

  “What do you mean?  Do you think I’m one?” he asked, angrily.

  “Yes,” Karen replied as she walked off the floor.

  “Hey!  That’s bad manners,” he called and stormed after her.

  “Get lost!” she shouted.

  Tarryn came up to her as she stood against the wall.  “What’s up, Karen?”

  “That nut was rude about this place so I left him high and dry,” she replied, then laughed.  “I also gave him a flea in his ear.”

  “Karen!  Karen!” called Petra, as she ran up to her.  “Your therapist, Ross Manning, is playing the piano in the band and Dr. Pelser, the drums.

  She pulled Karen by the arm and they zigzagged their way through the mass of dancers.  As they drew near Karen could made out Ross Manning banging away happily at the piano.  He saw them, lifted a hand to wave, and gave them a beaming smile.  Karen went pink and waved back.  “Let’s go,” she whispered.

  “Isn’t Dr.Manning good-looking?” yelled Petra just as the music stopped.

  Karen was so embarrassed she wished the floor would open up and swallow her.  All she wanted to do was run and hide.