From Abuse to Kindness

Lucy sat lethargically at her desk in class. She and her siblings had not had much sleep that night and while she liked the teacher and tried her best to concentrate it was just too much for her as she fought off the desire to close her eyes and get some sleep. She knew teacher miss Clover who lived down the street from her in this small town was aware of her family situation and often supplemented Lucy’s meagre school lunch with fruit and other goodies secretly dropped into her bag when the rest of the class attention was diverted.

Lucy had seen miss Clover do this as her home situation had taught her to be observant to avoid signs in the home that would lead to abuse. Her father was on unemployment benefits and drank himself into either rage or oblivion every day and her mother worked in town cleaning local government buildings so was rarely at home, and when she was at home father would beat her mercilessly to extract the few dollars, she earned for his drinking habit. So, the children were undernourished and poorly clad.

Mother would leave money with friendly neighbors instructing them to use the money to buy clothes for her children and give them a good meal on their way home from school each day. She managed to keep this a secret from her husband all the way through to the children’s teen age years and it was only after Patrick Murphy’s death the children were made aware that afternoon meal supplied by neighbors was largely from their mother’s diverted earnings.

Lucy was used to police visiting their home whenever her father went on one of his drunken rages around the neighborhood and neighbors phoned for police protection. Patrick would spend the night in jail to cool off as the police described his detention. He’d been sent to an institution that dealt with this kind of addiction and over a period of weeks dried out and released with a warning. But eventually he was too far gone to have help and police were constantly locking him up and then releasing him as he caused so much trouble when locked up.

It was an era when there was little thought given to the plight of an innocent family caught up in that kind of predicament. Sympathetic people in town passed gift money to Mary Murphy as she cleaned buildings each day which she was grateful for. Many times, she was asked why she didn’t leave with her children so they could enjoy a semblance of normality, but Mary was a religious woman and quickly responded she’d been married in the presence of God before her husband had developed this destructive addiction and it would not be right for her to even think about that. Then there was the practical issue of where she’d go. The people of this town were not rich, they were mostly lower middle class and couldn’t afford to donate her a home or for that matter even prevent her husband from visiting their relocated premises. So, she prayed for strength each day to survive Patrick’s blows and support her children to the best of her ability.

Lucy was the youngest in the family and had seen her elder siblings disappear one by one as they reached their teen years. Sometimes her brothers and sisters would beg from sympathetic neighbors enough money to catch a bus out of town to the nearest city where they could melt into the population and try their luck. Sometimes Lucy had seen her mother pressing precious money into their hands when they confided in her they were leaving and with many tears and kisses the old lady sent them on their way to seek their fortune. They never returned. Memories of their upbringing were just too painful for them to visit their home again.

But despite the horrendous situation Lucy had no desire to leave her mother by herself to face this daily persecution. Alcoholic abuse had finally taken all the energy out of her father. He still raged but was unable to muster the energy to beat his wife or Lucy but shouting all through the night made sleeping almost impossible. The town doctor had given Patrick only six months to live because of the damage his body had undergone from years of abuse, yet he lingered on, and it was two years since that doctor’s prediction.

Lucy was suddenly transported out of these thoughts of her home situation as teacher Clover spoke and the class suddenly rushed to the window overlooking the main road to town. Lucy hadn’t been concentrating on the teacher’s words and looked up in surprise, A smiling teacher pointed to the window indicating Lucy should join them. Clover stood behind with her hand on Lucy’s shoulder as they all peered at the road where a collection of trucks and procession of animals made their way along the road. The children chorused in unison.

“Circus!”

Teacher allowed them to watch until the circus procession disappeared around a corner in the main road then ordered them back to their desks and proceeded with the lesson. Lucy was now totally focused after watching that happy event.

When the circus came to town and all tickets were sold for programs offered over the two weeks they’d be in town and owners allowed poor kids in town to stand behind seats occupied in the back seats high up around the tent where it was hot and uncomfortable free of charge at the last event. Lucy and her brothers and sisters had always attended that final showing and gone in as a privilege to the poor kids in town.

The first week of the circus in town Patrick Murphy died. There was no formal service to acknowledge Patrick’s life and only Mary, Lucy and a couple of sympathetic neighbors were there at the cemetery for a grave side committal to support the two. There was a sense of relief rather than grief that Patrick was no longer with them, and Mary set to work clearing out any memories of her husband. Neighbours came in to whitewash the outside of the home as it had been an eyesore in the street and seeing how good it looked those same neighbors found paint and painted the interior of the home too. There was a feeling of celebration in the street and teacher Clover suggested they have a community feast to celebrate the renewal of the house that now stood as a beauty spot in the street rather than the eyesore it had been all these years. So, each neighbor bought chairs to the front yard now neatly mowed and trash removed, and they celebrated eating and drinking together.

Mary’s hard-earned cash from cleaning in town was no longer confiscated and Mary and Lucy still living frugally had a new opportunity to buy decent clothing and eat a little better than they’d been able to with Patrick alive. There was no grieving only a daily basking in the freedom that had suddenly been thrust upon them.

The second week of the circus presence in town Lucy was surprised when she opened her bag to find not only a gifted apple from the teacher but also a ticket to the circus with printed seat number. After class she waited until the rest of the class departed and went to teacher Clover’s desk. Clover smiled as she watched the girl approach and marveled at the transformation in this child’s appearance. Her school uniform was now new, clean, and neatly pressed and she was now more attentive to her grooming. Her attention span in class was also improving and Clover saw possibilities of a career beyond her current situation if Lucy was willing to work hard at her studies. Lucy produced the ticket.

“Why are you so kind to me teacher?”

“I see a lot of possibilities for you to make a success of your life if you are willing to study and work hard Lucy, so this is my way to encourage you to do your best.”

Clover opened her purse and produced another ticket and showed her the seat number.

“You see I’ll be sitting next to you and as I’m by myself and being by yourself is lonely I thought you might join me, so I have someone to talk to and laugh with as the circus clowns do their silly tricks. I hope you don’t mind sitting with me. Shall we meet at the entrance and go in together?”

Lucy smiled broadly. She hated to think Miss. Clover ever felt lonely as she was such a nice woman.

“I’ll be glad to keep you company Miss. Clover, now I must run home and tell mom I have a ticket to the circus and someone to sit with. She was always worried when we went with the other kids on the last day as not all of them were nice.”

Clover watched from the class window as Lucy sped home and felt satisfied with her good deed. She would encourage this child to aim high in life as she could discern potential specially after the death of her father.

A year after the death of Patrick Murphy Mary returned home with a heavy heart. The doctor had told her she needed an operation as years of hard work and abuse with the stress accompanying that had done her heart damage. It was time to put her house in order and she sat down to think things through. If she didn’t make it through the operation as the doctor had indicated there were huge risks, she’d most likely die of a heart attack at some unpredictable time soon after.

That being the case what would happen to her remaining child. Mary’s parents had migrated from Ireland and lost touch with their family abroad and her parents were no more. She had no knowledge of Patrick’s ancestry as he’d appeared in town long ago and never mentioned his parents, so she had no idea where to find them in the event Lucy needed a home and protection on her death.

Next day she took a few hours off work to consult the town’s lawyer. The house belonged to her having recently been transferred to her ownership from her husband’s name. Patrick had been well off when they first got married and was a charming man of the world and it was only when they’d been married about ten years, he met some old friends passing through town and began to drink with them finding it was a latent addiction, he had no control over after that. At least she’d been able to pay the annual taxes to retain its ownership through her hard work. She needed to assure Lucy inherited the home but was still considered a minor, so the home had to be held in trust until she reached the age of maturity. How could this be accomplished. Then she thought of Miss. Clover who’d been such a support to her daughter through difficult years. As classes finished for the day Mary Murphy waited out of sight until her daughter had departed for home then knocked at the door of the classroom as Clover stayed behind to work on presentations for next day classes. Clover looked up in surprise beckoning Mary to take a seat.

Mary poured out her health concern and risks from the operation she had to give her consent to yet. Clover listened in silence. Finally, Mary got to the point where she was seeking someone to act as trustor and guardian for her child should the worst happen. Clover put her hand on the old woman’s shoulder and both women cried together. When they both had calmed down Clover spoke. She would be prepared to take on that responsibility. Mary made another appointment and legal documentation was prepared and signed by the respective parties giving trustee relationship to Clover in the event of Mary’s death until Lucy’s age of maturity. She then went and informed the doctor she was prepared to face this risky operation hoping it would give her more years to spend with her daughter as she negotiated her teenage years with all their perils.

However, that was not to be. Mary had acted wisely in taking all legal precautions as she died on the operating table and could not be bought back to life. This time there was a church funeral service and most of the towns people who’d watched her life were there to honor this respected woman Lucy clung to her teacher though it all and wept as they laid Mary Murphy to rest. Clover’s feelings toward the girl were complicated. She viewed herself more as an elder sister than foster mother and was careful in her interactions with the girl specially at school where their roles had been established over the years, she’d nurtured her classmates through their grades. She had to be careful that her sympathies were not viewed as favoritism by the rest of the school and explained this to Lucy who was now old enough to begin to understand the complications of human perceptions. Lucy got used to being treated at arm’s length at school and showered affection on after school was over and understood the need. Clover took particular interest in nurturing this child to develop good social skills and a love of learning and Lucy blossomed under her direction.

Immediately after taking over guardianship of the child Clover decided to move into the Murphy home to preserve some sense of family history and ensured photos of her mother and siblings were on display to preserve that pride in family despite their experience with their father. Someday Lucy may want to reconnect with her siblings if they ever returned to visit and Clover wanted to preserve this feeling of family belonging. A photo of Mary was enlarged and framed to feature in the living room to greet her child on her return from school.

On her eventual graduation with a pre-university diploma which Lucy had to be bussed to a close by larger town each day to complete when this small-town school grades were not offered at this school level. Clover sat down with Lucy to discuss her career. Lucy had taken an interest in science and particularly medicine. She remarked that had the medical profession been more advanced in their knowledge perhaps her mother could have been saved. She’d also been made aware of advances in health care management to prevent diseases that had previously not been given the attention they should have. Lucy realized there was no money to follow such a career but that would be her interest if opportunities were given.

To be continued.

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