To celebrate her new job as a TV Presenter, Tenneh had a party in the restaurant she used to be a manager of. She knew so many people that the place was jam-packed, but she made me a guest of honour. She said if I hadn’t agreed to come on Rhythm and Praise, none of this would have happened. That night, in the restaurant, holding my hand, Tenneh made an announcement. “Lisa, I want to thank God for Athletes Against Exploitation, The Red Light Prayer…and for you!”
All these people I had never met before were all applauding me. I had never felt so embarrassed in all my life, especially standing next to Tenneh. She was dressed in a gold lame evening gown and looked amazing. I was wearing the standard black velvet dress I wore to functions, but I felt invisible. The TV Station had sent photographers, who were dutifully capturing me cowering red-faced next to the stunning Amazon that was Tenneh. I had asked Tenneh if it was all right for me to invite Cara, Kate and Niamh, but I couldn’t find them in the crowd that was in the restaurant. To make things even worse, Tenneh started singing “for she’s a jolly good fellow” in her booming voice. Everyone joined in and flashbulbs went off non-stop in my face, blinding me. I held on to Tenneh for dear life, truly terrified.
“OK, that’s enough!” A male voice shouted. I felt a sudden rush of air as she cameras and people moved away. Tenneh and someone else helped me walk into the kitchen. “Tenneh, it’s too hot in here!” the same voice said, and I was helped through the kitchen and out a door, into the cool night air. Lights were still dancing in my eyes and I couldn’t see a thing. I covered my eyes with my hands, hoping the afterglow would fade away.
“I’m a nurse!” I heard Niamh shout. “Where is she?”
“Back here, in the alley!” Tenneh called. “Lisa, I’m so sorry! Are you all right?”
“Can someone get a chair?” Niamh asked. I felt her come over and take my arm. I heard the scrape of a chair, and Niamh helped into a sitting position.
“Lisa, you’ve been temporarily blinded by all the flash photography,” Niamh told me. “Just keep your eyes closed and it will fade away.”
“Good thing I’m not the one going into show business,” I joked. I wasn’t sure where Tenneh was, so I swivelled my head around, keeping my eyes shut.
“She’s gone in to get you a glass of water,” the male voice said. A hand took mine in a firm grasp. “I’m Andy, and I own this place, The Beirut Café.”
I started to say pleased to meet you but was interrupted by Tenneh bringing the water. Niamh helped me take the glass, and as I sipped, I peered out through my eyelashes. I could make out shapes and colours, but the lights of the flash still burned.
“Just take your time,” Niamh commanded.
“I’d better never become famous,” I said, and everyone laughed politely.
“It’s a bit late for that!” Tenneh said with a hearty laugh.
“I hope someone threw those stupid photographers out,” I heard Andy say. “They were more like paparazzi! Are you sure they were with the station?”
“The guy from publicity took care of it,” Tenneh assured Andy. “We won’t let Lisa back into the café unless they’re gone!”
My eyes were adjusting. “I’m fine,” I told everyone, still blinking a lot. Niamh took the glass of water from me. I couldn’t look at Tenneh’s dress for too long, but I could make out what Andy looked like. He was an olive-skinned older man, with longish greying hair. He took my hand again, and I could feel he was wearing a wedding ring. I tried to stifle my sigh of disappointment – he had sounded so nice! I heard Tenneh giggle.
“Take it slowly,” Niamh advised. “Sit out here for a few minutes – don’t go rushing back in.”
“There are no photographers anymore,” Tenneh promised. “Andy, let everyone know Lisa is okay. Her sister is here, and must be worried.”
Andy let go of my hand and went back into the café. Tenneh took the hand he had let go.
“Don’t worry, Girl; he has a brother!” she whispered to me. I’m sure I must have turned bright red again. I hadn’t thought about dating in ages – I was starting to think I had dried up inside! Tenneh chucked me under the chin, and we both laughed like conspirators. Niamh wanted to know what was going on, but Tenneh waved a hand at her. “It’s nothing; we’re just being silly!”
I was able to open my eyes fully when Cara came out. I hadn’t seen her in a dress in ages, and she looked nice. I was happy that Andy had managed to find her. She took my hand. “What happened? Are you okay?”
“Too much flash photography,” I explained, squeezing her hand.
“She had better get used to it!” Tenneh said, helping me to my feet. “Are the cameras gone?”
“Yeah – the owner kicked them all out. Some apparently actually were paparazzi!” We were heading into the kitchen, but at the sound of that, we all froze and stayed in the alley. “They’re all gone,” Cara assured us. We made towards the kitchen again.
“Wow, Lisa – you’ve been papped! I wonder what trashy tabloid you’ll be appearing in?” Niamh mused.
I couldn’t picture it. “Where’s Kate?” I asked. Cara laughed.
“She acted like a bouncer and threw one of those guys with a camera out on to the street!”
I paused in the middle of the kitchen and looked at my sister in disbelief. Kate? I mouthed at her. I always knew she was good in a crisis, but I never thought of her as crowd-control!
“I think you should make her your official bodyguard,” Tenneh suggested, as we came out into the café again. “Okay, we are back! Is everyone here an invited guest?” There was a big cheer, and Tenneh threw her arms around me. “Well, be warned! Lisa here has her own bodyguard who will take care of any more gate crashers!”
I could hear Kate groaning in protest, and the crowd parted to let her through to me. She gave me a quick hug, before being grabbed into an embrace by Tenneh. “This lovely lady is our bodyguard!” she announced, making Kate blush wildly. “So be warned: behave yourself or you will end up on the pavement outside too!”
I had imagined the party would be an intimate one, with only a few friends from Christian Soul and Tenneh’s church, but it seemed there wasn’t a person she didn’t know in Dublin. I even spotted the estate agent who had brought me to church in the crowd. I had hoped Kate, Niamh, Cara and I would get a chance to talk with Tenneh, but she was the belle of the ball. There was music playing softly somewhere in the café, and Tenneh seemed to be dancing as she flitted from friendly face to friendly face like a golden hummingbird.
“She’s even more amazing in person,” Niamh said to me as we watched her admiringly. Cara seemed entranced; she had an awed smile as she looked at Tenneh.
“She is incredible,” Kate told me. “I met her sister here tonight, and she says Tenneh was the one who got them out of Sierra Leone.” We all gaped at Kate, who nodded. “They took advantage of an ambush to get out of the camp where they were being held captive. They crawled through miles of bush for days before they were found by British paratroopers. The paratroopers wanted to move them to a refugee camp for displaced persons, but Tenneh insisted on getting to the Red Cross, saying they were wounded. It was at the Red Cross station where Tenneh got to work, acting as an interpreter and medic. She told the Red Cross their story – no one knew about the sexual slavery at that time. The Red Cross put Tenneh in contact with foreign reporters, who got the sisters asylum in Europe after hearing the story.”
We were all awed and silent for a moment, taking the story in. “How old was she at the time?” I asked, remembering how she said she was nine when she was first raped.
“About thirteen,” Kate replied. She cleared her throat as she stole a glance at Cara. “Her sister was fifteen and pregnant.”
Niamh leapt and pounced on Cara, who was desperately trying to run away. “Let me go! I can’t meet her! I can’t face them!” Cara punched at Niamh to let her go, and I grabbed her arm.
“Calm down!” I ordered. “People are starting to look!”
My sister turned to look at me, her face a bloodless white mask of terror. “Don’t make me meet her! I can’t look at her! She’ll hate me!”
“She won’t hate you,” Kate told Cara gently. She stroked the arm I was holding down, the one with the fist that punched Niamh on the end of it. “She knows what an unwanted pregnancy is like.”
Cara shrieked at those words, and broke free. She vaulted over Kate and ran for the door, crashing into a whole bunch of people. She shoved them all aside, and managed to escape out into the night. Some of the people she had pushed were on the ground, while others leaned against the tables, murmuring in angry confusion. They turned to Kate, Niamh and me, and we just shook our heads.
“I’ll get her,” I said, making to go after her, but Kate blocked my way.
“There’s no point. She doesn’t want to talk to you, or anyone.”
“She needs me!” Kate caught a hold of my arms and stopped me from running out after Cara.
“Kate’s right,” Niamh said, putting her hands on my arms too. “She doesn’t want to see or talk to anyone. We need to give her time.”
Everyone was still looking at us. Tenneh came over, her expressive face a giant question mark. I looked away, embarrassed, and then saw an African woman who looked a lot like Tenneh standing behind her. I glanced at Kate, who nodded. I suddenly found I couldn’t look face Tenneh or her sister, and pushed my way through the crowd into the kitchen.
A million thoughts were racing through my head. First, there was my little sister, out there alone somewhere, ashamed and frightened. Then there were all those strangers who had witnessed the scene Cara had caused; the same strangers who applauded me and my stupid little campaign against trafficking. Then there was Tenneh and her sister, who had survived an unbelievable hell. I felt I could never complain about anything in my life ever again. I put my hands to my face, crying from mortification and thinking about the atrocity Tenneh and her sister had gone through.
Andy came over to me, putting his arms around me. His face was lined with concern. “Lisa, what’s wrong?” he asked.
I pushed his arms away. “You’re married!” I howled, and ran out into the back alley.