When I left Hannah’s that evening, I went straight to Kate’s house. Normally, I would have rung her, but I was still reeling in shock from all Tenneh and Hannah had told me about their past. I do think it’s the height of rudeness to just turn up unannounced, but I was too numb from their revelations to remember my manners.
Don’t get me wrong; I’d had a fabulous evening at their house. I’d met Hannah’s Irish husband Miles, and their son Johnny was brought down to meet me after he’d had his nap. It was a wonderful family scene, with little Johnny being fussed over by his parents and aunt. He was a bright, lively child, a wonderful presence in Hannah’s life, which had been filled with such misery before. Little Johnny loved the attention, but it was obvious he wasn’t spoiled. His mother was very strict about his routine and behaviour; she insisted he call me “Miss Lisa”, and say goodbye to me when I left them to enjoy their family dinner. They welcomed me to stay and eat with them, but I needed to digest all I had learned.
When I need to talk things through, I usually go to my family. But since I’d become a Christian, I found my friends from church could provide more help. If I told my mother or older sisters what I’d been told, they would cry with me over the miserable things that happened to Tenneh and Hannah. I didn’t want to cry; I needed someone to point out the hope Tenneh and Hannah felt and rejoice that evil had been overcome. Kate would understand what I was feeling, where I was coming from, and most importantly, where we are headed in this life. She was the person I needed to talk this over with.
I parked outside her house and rushed to the door. I hoped she had finished eating; showing up unannounced and at dinner time was beyond rude, but I was desperate to talk to her. Her expression was confused and then worried when she opened the door to me. She must have figured it was an emergency that would bring me straight to her doorstep without calling first.
“It’s not Cara,” I said, anticipating her question. “Can I come in? I’ve just come from Hannah’s.” She stepped aside, her face even more perplexed. “Hannah, Tenneh’s sister,” I explained, and her facial expression became one of illumination as she shut the door behind me.
“Come in; I’m actually going out, but I have some time to talk.” She led me into the sitting room of the house she shared with a colleague. I sat down, not even bothering to take my jacket off. Kate had an idea of where talk of spending time with Tenneh and Hannah was going; she listened with a shocked face but was silent when I told her what all Hannah had revealed to me. When I was done, she stared at the floor. “So, not only was this poor girl a sex slave to some guerrilla warrior, she had an abortion at fifteen,” she concluded in a stiff voice. She had to sort through it all, like I had to.
“This was after her poor sister had her baby cut out of her body,” I added. I felt like speaking the words would take away the horror of the reality; if I wasn’t afraid of saying it, the atrocity wouldn’t have a hold over me.
“What’s Hannah’s phone number?” Kate asked suddenly. I pulled out my mobile and sent the number to Kate’s. She looked very authoritarian as she checked to make sure the number had arrived. Setting her mouth in a grim line, she fiddled with her mobile, obviously saving the number, and then hitting call. I squirmed - Kate looked too serious and scary to be calling Hannah – it looked like she was going to yell at her.
“Hello, Cara?” she spoke into the phone. I gasped, realising she was calling my sister, not Hannah.
She got up from the sofa and paced a little as she spoke. “It’s Kate. Stop the histrionics and call Hannah, Tenneh’s sister. Tell her you’re sorry for having run off like that.” There was a pause, and Kate stood still. I could imagine Cara was telling Kate off. Stern-faced, Kate was having none of that. She was in full disciplinarian mode, her accent suddenly having switched to her mother’s British one. “That poor woman had an abortion at fifteen to, to get rid of her rapist’s baby,” Kate interrupted told Cara in clipped tones, cutting off the protest Cara was making. “So whatever guilt you’re feeling is minor compared to what she went through. If there is one person who can relate to how you feel about having an abortion, it’s this woman. Call her!”
Not even in my dreams could I imagine talking to my sister like that. I watched open-mouthed as Kate listened to Cara on her phone, nodding. “Well, don’t me, tell her. I’ll text you her number. Okay, bye.”
She sighed as she handled her phone, obviously sending Cara Hannah’s number. She pressed her lips together as she put her phone in her pocket; I knew she did this when she was trying to keep from crying. I rose to hug her.
“It’s okay. You should see how happy Hannah is now,” I told her. “I met her husband, and her little boy.”
Kate’s eyes had tears in them, but she smiled. “She has a little boy?”
“Johnny.” I pictured his chubby little face. “He’s lovely!”
Kate looked happy about that, but then she thought of Tenneh. “But Tenneh! That poor woman!”
I nodded. “I know, but she says she’ll adopt. She wants a husband first!” I remembered what Tenneh, Hannah and I had talked about and blushed. Kate wiped her eyes, and then raised her eyebrows at me.
“What?” she asked.
“Tenneh and Hannah want to play match-maker for me.” I brushed my fringe from my forehead in embarrassment. “Remember Andy, from the Beirut Café? They want to set me up with his brother, Tony.”
Kate gave a short laugh. “Good for you! Do it!”
I wanted to make excuses as to why it was a silly idea, but what did I have to lose? It had been ages since I’d been on a date. Sure, I made a fool of myself in front of Andy, but Tenneh assured me it was no big deal. If anything, it proved I was looking for a man like Andy, and who would fit that bill better than his brother? His single brother, as Tenneh was sure to stress.
I remembered Kate was on her way out. I stole a glance at her outfit – it was a neat and proper pantsuit, not an outfit for a night of romance. “Off to have fun tonight?” I asked, hoping she would tell me she was going out on a date.
“Aoife, Sarah and I are going to the theatre,” she told me. Aoife was her housemate, and Sarah was the head teacher at the school. “We’re going to see Pygmalion, as Sarah wants to do that play with transition year.”
I thought about the play and Sugar and Spice campaign. “I like the way Eliza goes into business for herself in that one, taking over what Henry Higgins has taught her.”
“The student becomes the master,” Kate mused. “And this was a woman in Victorian times! George Bernard Shaw was a bit of a feminist.” She smiled. “I guess it’s the right play, to encourage girls to take on a man’s world. I guess Mrs Warren’s Profession is more to that theme, but I think we should avoid the subject of Mrs Warren being a madam!”
After having spent the afternoon with Tenneh and Hannah, I didn’t want to think about prostitution and exploitation. “I should go. You need to be off yourself!” I said to Kate.
She nodded. “We’re having dinner first, a pre-theatre menu.” She rubbed my arm affectionately. “Thanks for coming by.”
“I’ll call next time,” I promised.
“Hopefully next time you won’t have heard any horror stories!” She looked sad, but then smiled at me. “Just remember how Tenneh and Hannah have overcome such cruelty. I’ve heard Tenneh say how she’s not a slave to hate, and I believe her. I’ve never seen anyone shine with joy like she does!”
“She is truly amazing,” I agreed. “And she’s still so young!” In talking about her past, I concentrated on all she had survived, forgetting she was more than ten years younger than I was. She and Hannah were Cara’s age, which I found hard to believe. I guess Cara would always be a kid in my eyes.
“So now they have the rest of their lives to be happy,” Kate said. “We should all be like that.”
I nodded. You are not your past, I reminded myself. Let go of past hurts; don’t let them weigh you down! I sighed and headed for the door.
“Call me when you’ve gone out with Tony,” Kate said as she opened the front door for me. “I really want Tenneh to find a husband, but it’s high time we did first!” She gave me a wink and a thumb’s up as I left; I looked up to the heavens and sighed.
You hear that, Lord? It’s not just me asking now…!