To Sammy With Love - 15. Chapter 15

“Well, what’s so important we have to meet at your place before 4:30? I have to get the kids dinner ready and all the other chores that become necessary with two young’uns. What’s up girl, you look terrible? What’s Karl done now?”

Maria approached Brenda at morning tea to meet her at her home after work. Brenda picked up the kids from school, and they were now sitting in Marias lounge watching ‘Dora’.

For a little while Maria just looked into her coffee and didn’t answer. Sensing that something wasn’t right, Brenda just waited for Maria to compose herself. She looked distraught.

Eventually,

“Oh Brenda - It’s not what Karl’s done. It’s me - It’s what I’ve done.”

“For god’s sake Maria, stop going in circles - Spit it out. Just say what’s on your mind.”

Taking a deep breath Maria looked straight at Brenda and said - “My periods are late.”

“Well, so what. Is that all. Mine aren’t terribly regular - I’ve got two kids as a result. So what, I don’t see what the fuss . . .”

Brenda stopped in mid-sentence and in a hushed voice said, “Maria - Is there any reason why you’re periods might not be on time?”

“Yes.” Said Maria in a voice just short of tears. “I had sex with Ron the barman at Karl’s party - after Karl left.”

The full enormity of what Maria was saying suddenly hit Brenda. She just stared stupidly at Maria. Incredible. Shocked, she said “Shit.” And then,

“Geeze - you’d better tell me everything. No wonder you look so crook. You’re saying you might be pregnant to Ronald ‘what’s-his- name’. How can you be sure? Have you done a pregnancy test? How did it happen?”

“Well, after Sammy took Karl home I felt real miserable. The bastard didn’t thank me for all the work I put in to his bloody party. I began to knock a few down and - well, I felt like a fuck. But see, neither Ron nor I took precautions. I didn’t even think about it. For the last six months Karl and I never had any protection - we just wanted to conceive. It just slipped my mind, and well, the booze didn’t help. I took a home pregnancy test this morning. It turned positive.” Then she broke down sobbing “Oh Brenda, what am I gonna do?”

There was a long silence only broken by Marias quiet sobbing. This was a very big problem. Brenda started thinking of all the ramifications, any one of which was extreme.

“You know you’ve got to tell Karl. Oh - is that why we had to meet before 4:30. I take it Karl’s coming here at that time? My god Maria - that’s only an hour away.”

“Yeah,” Maria answered sadly. “I just wanted you to know first. It’s going to be the end of Karl and me.”

“Well”, sighed Brenda. “I wouldn’t be too hasty, but - yes; I don’t think Karl’s going to be very pleased. Have you told Gwen? For that matter, who else knows?”

“No one - you’re the first. I’ll tell mum later. But I knew something as bad as this can’t be kept secret. It wouldn’t be fair to Karl to learn on the ‘grape-vine’. I have to face the music, as awful as it’s gonna get.”

“Oh Maria, Maria. You poor girl. I just can’t begin to imagine how you must be feeling.” With a sigh Brenda lapsed into silence with a “What a mess”.

“Yep, I’ve certainly screwed up my life - and Karl’s. What’s he gonna do Brenda when I tell him it’s Ron the barman? Uummm, his name is Holland - I think.”

“You know what - You need a stiff drink. Have you got any scotch in the house? You’ll need a blast to face Karl. I’m getting goosies just thinking about his reaction.”

“I’ve got Brandy - and your right. I need some ‘dutch’ courage. Been thinking about the best way to tell him.”

“Best way? Just say it. There’s no velvet glove or pretty words for this type of bad news. Just say it and then tune into Karl’s reaction. But remember sweetie, you’re only human. We all make mistakes in our lives.” And then Brenda changed the conversation to,

“Tell me about Ron. Ron Holland, if that’s his name. When are you gonna tell him? You don’t know how Karl’s going to react. Remember how he ‘ironed’ Rick out for just mouthing off.”

Fixing herself a very large brandy, Maria responded with “Rang him as soon as I had the ‘preggo’ test result. He’s terrified of Karl, but told me he’ll support me all the way. He’s taking a few days off till the furor dies down.”

“A wise move. Karl has got to be allowed the full gambit of his emotions. He’s going to want to lash out initially. He’ll cool down in time.” I don’t believe that for one second, she thought. Then looking at the time Brenda continued - “Bloody hell, look at the time. Its 4:15. Karl will be here soon. I’d better get the girls and vamoose. I shouldn’t be here when Karl arrives.”

“Yeah - That’s right. But Brenda thanks for coming round. I feel more composed now - and the brandy helps.”

“And talking helps too. I mean this seriously, I want you to call me at 7:00 tonight. I need to know you’re all right.” As Brenda organized the girls to go home she thought -

Oh, Maria, Maria - I sincerely hope your fuck with Ron was worth the trouble.

What was once a home was now, just a house. A silent house. An empty house, save for the two people who sat across from each other in the kitchen. Just sitting there. You could almost feel the misery that pervaded all around.

Karl had not moved nor uttered a sound since Maria told him she was pregnant. He just sat there like a statue, a cold, rigid and mute statue. Maria was awfully glad she had fortified herself for the encounter. His silence was completely unnerving, so she made the first move to open a dialogue.

“Please say something Karl. Shout if you want to. I’m just really, really sorry.” Ultimately, Karl moved his shoulders that seemed set in stone and in a small, hushed voice offered -

“Say something Maria? You want me to say something. What would you like me to say? That I’m angry. Or hurt. Then, I could offer my congratulations - to you and your boyfriend. That I’m devastated, or I want to kill you both. Or I could say ‘good riddance’. How about ‘Get Fucked’. Or maybe I just hate you. I’m not even interested in how this happened. I’m sure you’ve thought of many valid excuses.”

Here Karl paused, trying to gather some strength to shake off the feeling of devastation sitting painfully in his gut. Then continued in a stronger voice,

“Das Isht! The reality is that there’s nothing to say, except goodbye Karl and hello Ron”

And with that Karl got up from the table and looking down on Maria said, in a stony, hard voice -

“Hundin, Hure. Zur holle fahren - Goodbye Maria.” And left.

When the phone rang about 9:30 that night the caller announced himself as the night security guard at the Dava hotel in Mount Martha. It seems that Karl was drunk - very drunk and certainly could not drive home. Unfortunately, Sammy had had a few beers himself and didn’t want to risk driving. They settled on sending Karl home by cab, after Sammy assured the guard that he had enough to pay for the cab.

“You might want to have a little extra, just in case,” said the Guard. “He spewed all over our female toilet floor and we had to clean up. Also he keeps mumbling in some foreign language - we think it’s German. He’s all yours. Enjoy.”

What on earth has happened? This was not like Karl. The only time I’ve ever seen him legless was at his surprise party. Obviously, something happened with Maria. But what? If he sobers up tonight, I’ll force him to tell. He needs to talk - not drink.

Pulling into their driveway Karl woke up when the cab stopped. As Sammy paid off a very relieved cab driver, Karl managed, “Wo bin ich, sind wir nach Haus?” He slurred. “Ich brauche ein pissen schnell, schnell.”

Sammy recognized the words ‘pissen’ and ‘schnell’ and helped Karl straight away into the toilet, leaving him there while he went to make coffee. From the bathroom came sounds of urination as well as a very impressive throw up.

Eventually, Karl came and sat morosely down at the kitchen table. Avidly, he gulped coffee down.

He looks terrible, thought Sammy. Like a fighter who has just been hammered to the floor with a savage punch.

Sammy opted to let Karl start talking in his own time. To Sammy, Karl seemed to be on the verge of tears. Karl in tears was not something Sammy had seen before nor had he ever see Karl so emotionally distressed. Just to kick-start a dialogue Sammy offered,

“You’ve been lapsing into German, even at the Dava. No one could understand you.”

After another short pause, Karl ignored this to say - “Maria’s pregnant.”

“Pregnant? What do you mean, Marias pregnant? How can she be pregnant? I thought . . . Well, do I offer congratulations? No, I don’t understand. . .”

“It’s Ron’s - She fucked Ron at my birthday party”.

Sammy was stunned. Shocked more like. Maria and Ron the barman. In a soft voice he managed,

“Oh my god Karl - Oh Shit. Oh that’s terrible. Oh you poor bastard. That’s just awful. She just up and told you tonight? Oh fuck - that’s bad, bad, bad. Oh you poor bastard. Karl, I don’t know what to say except I feel ill - How you must feel I couldn’t begin to imagine. Talk to me Karl, please. Let me share you’re grief. Oh the bloody Bitch.”

That was enough for Karl, his shoulders started to shake and then he broke down into deep racking sobs. It was terrible to witness. He howled like an animal in pain. Deep personal pain. Sammy had never seen such anguish in another person. To make it worse, he also felt the pain, the betrayal that his own cousin had caused. But he held back his own tears. Karl needed strength now and Sammy venting his own emotions would not help.

Sammy just let Karl cry himself out. But when he eventually stopped he looked desolate. He appeared to be sober - the emotional outburst somehow had negated the alcohol. In a voice of utter despair Karl said,

“I feel real bad Sammy. I’ve never felt so bad before. I’m worthless. A worthless piece of shit. Not only that I can’t father children, but my own wife is screwing others behind my back. This is a very bad feeling. I’m in a black, desperate place. I wonder if it’s worth carrying on”.

“Hey - None of that talk. You’ve got me Karl - for what it’s worth. I’m here and I’m gonna stay here. I know I can’t replace Maria but you mean a lot to me. Let’s start by you telling me what happened. Leave nothing out. We’ve got to talk our way out of this. But I’m not gonna bullshit you - This is bad.”

“Hey Sammy I want you to know that you’re special to me. Very, very special. And just to know you’re in my corner means heaps. You are a beautiful young man. In fact,

Then Karl simply started to tell Sammy in detail about the events of the afternoon.

When Karl finished, Sammy stayed silent as he digested what Karl had said. Then,

“Oh fuck,” he sighed. “What a bitch. What’s wrong with that whole family? There’s something missing in their makeup. I’m ashamed of them. And I reckon that bitch of an aunt of mine will simply be ecstatic that she’s gonna be a grandmother. What a cunt. Shit, Shit, Shit. Not once will she admonish Maria for causing you this pain. It’s all about Them, Them, and Them.”

But putting his own emotions aside, he continued,

“Let’s talk about what we’re gonna do. Are you Ok to go to work tomorrow? If not, I’ll call the boys early. Or, if you trust me, I can supervise for a day. No sweat. It’s up to you. How do you feel?”

“Nah. I’ll go in. It’s not about you - You can supervise much better than me. In fact, work will probably be good for me. But I’ve got a big favor to ask. Would you stay with me tonight? I don’t want to be alone. Please Sammy, I just can’t be alone to-night.”

Bloody hell, thought Sammy A small part of me says ‘don’t’ but the larger and more persuasive part says ‘Yes’.

“Sure I will - If that’s what you want. Actually, I’d feel better just knowing you’re OK. You’re in a very bad place”.

And so they did. Karl snuggled into Sammy like a little boy desperately seeking security from his parents - and was asleep in a flash. But Sammy --?