Pauline recovered quickly, hidden away in the private hospital. Mara-Joy came to visit often, harassing the staff to no end. She always seemed to have something to complain about to the nurses who took care of Pauline.
Mara-Joy’s behavior embarrassed Pauline, but she felt she had no right to judge her sister after Mara-Joy had helped save Pauline’s life.
With her pregnancy no longer an issue and Pascal far behind her, Pauline began to wonder about her own life and what she would do with it. She voiced these questions late one afternoon, two weeks into her stay at the hospital.
“What do you mean what are you going to do?” Mara-Joy asked, startled, lighting her usual smoke.
She sat down in a chair beside Pauline’s bed. Her eyes were almost normal again, the traces of the black bruises finally fading.
Pauline held her heavily plastered arm to her chest.
“I feel like I’ve been given a new start in life,” Pauline said, wrinkling her nose at the smoke. “I want to do something special with my life.”
“Well, sister, you can do as I told the folks and go to school.” Mara-Joy said, not bothering to fan the smoke away from Pauline, who seemed to attract it like a magnet.
“Hmm. That is a good idea but I think I have something else in mind,” Pauline said, looking out the window and smiling to herself.
What Mara-Joy didn’t know was Pauline had met a woman about seven years her senior shortly after her arrival at the hospital.
It had been right after the abortion.
Pauline had rested in her room a couple of days after the procedure and couldn’t seem to stop crying. She knew she made the right choice in not going through with the pregnancy, but she couldn’t stop herself from crying. Tears fell freely from her eyes like a leaky faucet. She blew her nose roughly into a tissue and decided to go for a walk around the hospital corridor. Anything was better than lying in bed feeling sorry for herself.
She walked aimlessly through the sterile halls, not paying much attention to the occupants that filled it. Her mind was a million miles away. Pauline’s eyes focused on nothing and no one, so she didn’t see the tall, slim woman coming toward her. Not, that is, until she collided headlong into her.
Both women fell back from each other, but didn’t fall. Pauline grasped her chest with her one good arm, her cast raised in self-defence.
“Hold on there, stranger, no need to strike,” the woman said in a deep voice.
Pauline looked at her assailant. She seemed none the worse for their collision.
The woman was a bit taller than Pauline, who was tall herself at nearly five feet seven inches. She had sandy blonde hair that hung in a bob, casually in loose curls around her ears. Freckles sprinkled the bridge of her nose and her fair skin had an unusual shade of soft brown, achieved by spending much of her time outdoors.
“You seem to be lost in thought,” she declared, raising her hand in offering to Pauline. “Name’s Eleanor Wimsbey.”
Pauline stood still staring at the freckled hand jutting toward her. She must look a mess. Her bruises were out in full, decorating her face with a multitude of black and blue. She walked stiffly, still aching in every part of her body.
“Pauline . . . Benson,” she said slowly, offering Eleanor her good hand.
Eleanor grasped it warmly and pumped Pauline’s cool hand up and down.
Her grip was firm and friendly.
“Pleased to meet you, Pauline.” She let go of Pauline’s hand and looked into the blackened eyes.
“Sorry I didn’t see you coming, I was deep in thought.”
Eleanor shook her head in disgust, causing her bob to bounce to and fro.
“You must forgive me. I am not use to being inside, watching my every step.”
“Oh,” Pauline whispered, noticing Eleanor was dressed in tan slacks and a matching button-up top. Pauline had never really seen a woman wear pants before, except for herself. She had read about it in one of her magazines, but she had never met anyone brave enough to actually wear them. Pauline couldn’t help but wonder what kind of woman Eleanor was.
“Well, sorry to have startled you,” Eleanor said, taking leave. “Good to have met you, Pauline Benson.”
Pauline watched Eleanor begin to leave. Her shoulders were hunched protectively around her broken body. Something inside her was compelled to call out to the slim older woman.
“Why is that?” Pauline blurted out. She jumped a little, startled by her outburst. Her voice didn’t sound like her own.
Eleanor pivoted back to the battered figure.
“I beg your pardon?” Eleanor asked, confused.
“I mean . . . that is,” Pauline cast her eyes to the floor. “Why are you not used to the indoors and watching your step?”
Eleanor began to laugh to herself.
“That’s because I am an anthropologist. I study different primitive cultures. I am used to wide open spaces,” she said, raising her hands up high. “I prefer the
sky above me rather than these roofs.” She laughed.
“That sounds terribly interesting,” Pauline said shyly, looking up into Eleanor’s light gray eyes. She had to admit to herself she wasn’t sure what an anthropologist was.
“Oh, but it is,” Eleanor said, her mind already far away from her current position. “It is fascinating work. The different places and people. Whenever I come back, I am heartsick to return to the wilds.” She looked at Pauline, somewhat embarrassed.
“I apologize for my enthusiasm. I just love my job.”
Pauline couldn’t help but smile. She’d never met a woman like Eleanor before and wanted to get to know her more.
“I would love to hear about it,” Pauline said, summoning all her courage. For the first time in days, she wasn’t thinking about what Pascal had done to her.
“You would?” Eleanor said, startled. “That would be lovely.” She pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil from a rumpled tan bag she had slung over her shoulder. Pauline marveled on how she was capable of finding anything in the jumble of papers that looked ready to burst from the satchel.
“I have to go and meet with a friend,” she looked up, smiling warmly. “He’s a doctor I work with. He gets his funding from an uncle who works here as a doctor.” She looked up from the paper she had begun to write on.
“I’ve just thought of a great idea. Why don’t you join us for lunch in the cafeteria? Frederick loves to discuss our work and he is such a dear.”
“Oh . . . I don’t know…” Pauline said, shaking her head. A strand of her gold-highlighted hair fell into her bruised face. She brushed it away. “I’m such a fright.”
“Nonsense. You look fine,” Eleanor said, gently squeezing Pauline’s good arm.
“Besides, what is there better to do around this place than to eat and converse?” she asked, smiling. There was something about the beaten young woman that attracted Eleanor. She could tell she had been terribly abused by someone and she seemed as shy as a mouse. The fact that she had spoken out to Eleanor made her want to know Pauline more.
“I insist,” Eleanor said softly.
“All right then,” Pauline said, encouraged. “I’ll be there.”
Eleanor gave Pauline a time to meet her and her colleague, Frederick. Pauline promised to meet them and went back to her room to change.
Later that afternoon, after showering and freshening up as much as was possible, she pulled back her hair from her face into her comfortable ponytail. She could do nothing about the bruises that littered her body, so she chose to pretend they were not there. Eleanor had not seemed to pay much attention to the obvious marks. Why should Pauline?
Eleanor spotted Pauline coming into the cafeteria and waved her over.
Pauline walked slowly toward her, forcing one foot in front of the other, her heart racing a little in her thin chest.
“Pauline, I am so glad you made it,” Eleanor said, standing up and pulling out a chair for her. Pauline sat down and looked bashfully
at the gentleman already sitting at the table.
“Pauline Benson, I would like to introduce you to Dr. Frederick Jefferson Kane,” Eleanor said, palm out toward the young man seated between them.
“Pleased to meet you,” Pauline said, just above a whisper. She liked the way Frederick looked. He had auburn hair that hung a little too long over his forehead and into his chocolate brown eyes that were soft and friendly. He smiled timidly at the frail girl.
“The pleasure is mine,” he said in a gentle voice, picking up a pair of spectacles beside his plate. He polished them quickly and placed the round, wire-rimmed glasses onto his straight long nose.
“I was just telling Frederick how you are interested in learning about our work,” Eleanor said, lifting her napkin up and unfolding it on her lap. She had taken the liberty of ordering Pauline some lunch. “Wasn’t I, Frederick?”
“Yes,” he said, then sipped some water. “It is quite an interesting life we lead,” he said, coming out of his shell. Frederick was a shy man, but would open up with ease when talking about his work. “We travel all around the world. Eleanor does her studies and I dole out my medical skills to people who would otherwise not have the luxury of modern medicine.”
Pauline smiled to herself as Eleanor and Frederick continued to talk about their work. It was easy to see that the two worked wonderfully together and were good friends. Pauline could not help but be pulled into their warm circle and slowly she began to ask questions that were quickly answered, often in unison, by Eleanor and Frederick.
By the end of their lunch, everyone seemed to be sorry that it had come to an end.
“Pauline, I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed our lunch together,” Eleanor said, sad to see it end.
“I have to agree with Elle,” Frederick responded. “We have work here at the hospital for the next couple of weeks. Would you do us the honor and join us again?”
Pauline swallowed, unable to believe what she was hearing. Could she join them? All she wanted to do was sit and talk with these new friends she had met.
They were fascinating and wonderful. She’d never met people so interesting with such adventurous lives. She nodded eagerly, her shyness fading quickly away.
The three met every other day or so. Pauline was transfixed by the way
Eleanor and Frederick lived their lives: traveling around the world, living in huts with half-naked people whose lives were so different from her own. She listened to how Frederick had turned a breech baby around in its mother’s stomach to free it from certain death, all the while the entire female population of the community stood by watching. It seemed unreal to the inexperienced Pauline.
The more she listened to Eleanor and Frederick, the more she wanted to lead their type of life. She eventually opened up to her new friends and explained how she had ended up at the private hospital. She held nothing back, knowing that Eleanor and Frederick were not the type of individuals to judge.
Pauline marveled on how fate had brought them all together feeling certain it was not just coincidence that brought Eleanor and Frederick to her.
The day Mara-Joy had come to visit with Pauline, bent on convincing Pauline to go to college, Pauline had sat with both Frederick and Eleanor for the entire morning in a conversation that would change her life.
“I want to go with you,” Pauline said. She was basically healed both mentally and physically, except for the cast on her arm.
Eleanor and Frederick looked at Pauline with little surprise. They had become quite fond of her as well and hoped she would want to join them. The two had discussed it together a few nights before, coming to the conclusion that, if Pauline wanted, Eleanor could use Pauline as an assistant.
They knew Pauline was not educated as an anthropologist, but she could learn through the guidance of both Eleanor and Frederick. It seemed like an easy conclusion. Pauline had already left her old life behind. She had no desire to return. She was a perfect candidate for the job.
“It is not always easy,” Eleanor warned. The three sat in one of the many ready rooms supplied by the hospital for its occupants. Eleanor sat with Pauline on the couch with Frederick sitting to their left in a plush chair. He sat quietly, letting Eleanor do the talking. She was better with words than he was.
“I am aware of that,” Pauline said, in her own defense.
“You won’t have the comforts of modern life,” Frederick said, motioning his hand around the expensive hospital.
“I have never been a slave to modern technology,” Pauline smiled, knowing they knew who had foot the bill for her stay at the pricey private hospital.
Frederick grinned. Pauline’s face was finally starting to reveal itself to the outside world, now that the bruises were nearly gone. He was surprised at what a lovely creature Pauline was, both inside and out.
“Pauline, are you sure this is the life you want to choose for yourself?” Eleanor asked, holding Pauline’s hand in hers. “You will be far away from the people you love and so removed from the way you are used to living. Life is different out there.”
“All my life I have been an outsider to those I love,” Pauline said without becoming emotional. It was just a fact. A fact she was capable of facing without any animosity toward anyone.
“For the first time I feel like I am doing something that feels right . . . that fits.” Pauline bent her head down and tucked a loose strand of her ponytail behind her ear. She sat up straight, courage running through her spine.
“You and Frederick are the first people I have ever felt truly comfortable around. I can be myself with you. I know this is what I am supposed to do. I want to do it with the two of you, but,” she looked to both her friends, “if I have to, I will find another way.”
Eleanor gazed at Frederick and blinked her eyes in acknowledgement. It was all they needed to hear. Pauline would join them.
So Pauline sat on her hospital bed swallowing hard as Mara-Joy blew smoke in her face, telling Pauline to go to college.
“Mara-Joy, I don’t know how I am going to ever thank you for what you have done for me. You don’t even know exactly how much you have done,” Pauline said, swinging her legs over the bed. She slipped into some hospital slippers and stood up, standing a few inches taller than her big sister.
“Well, you can thank me by doing something with your life, like going to school,” Mara-Joy said, fanning her cigarette-clad hand through the air.
Pauline couldn’t help but laugh at Mara-Joy’s antics. If anything, she was persistent.
“I do plan on doing something with my life, but it isn’t going to college.”
Pauline pulled out a chair for Mara-Joy. “Sit down and please put out that cigarette. It can’t possibly be good for the baby,” she said, steering Mara-Joy into the chair.
Mara-Joy sat open-mouthed.
“Since when did you become an expert in obstetrics? ...And I am not putting this out because you said so. If Dr. Avery doesn’t have a problem with my smoking, than neither should you.” Mara-Joy said as she stubbed out her cigarette and crossed her legs smugly.
“Mara-Joy, I need your help once more,” Pauline said, continuing to ignore her sister’s insults.
“Figures,” Mara-Joy steamed. “You help someone once and they keep coming back for more. Well, you might as well spill the beans. What is it?” she asked, wrapping her stole around her neck protectively.
Pauline took a deep breath and blurted her plans out to the flabbergasted Mara-Joy. She told Mara-Joy her plans to leave with Eleanor and Frederick for Africa in two days and how she planned on becoming Eleanor’s apprentice.
She explained how her life had been changed and that she knew this was her calling in life, ending the story with how if it weren’t for Mara-Joy, she would never have found herself.
Mara-Joy sat back, stunned and unable to speak. For the first time in a very long time, she was speechless. This was something she hadn’t been expecting.
Suddenly she began to laugh. A
t first, it was a choked laugh in the back of her throat, then a full-out, deep belly laugh that hurt her sides.
Pauline didn’t know what to make of Mara-Joy’s reaction to the news and just stood back from the cackling madwoman.
Mara-Joy’s laughing finally subsided and she wiped her wet eyes with a hanky from the pocket of her fur coat.
“This is just great,” she laughed anew. “How on earth am I going to break this to the family?”
And she began to laugh hysterically again.
Chapter 46 —