The Cost of Sugar(46)

Coming home from the office one afternoon, Rutger asked Elza while they were eating, “Who do you think came by the office today?”

When Elza asked who that was, he answered, “Sarith.”

“Sarith? What did she want at your office?”

“She came to apologize for her behaviour recently and to ask whether she could come to stay with us again.”

“And what did you tell her?” asked Elza.

“That it was all right, of course,” replied Rutger, and, looking at his wife, “There was nothing else I could do!”

Elza said nothing, but thought to herself how stupid she had been to have imagined that they were now rid of Sarith. She would return and everything would just start up again.

Early that evening, around six, when Elza and Rutger were sitting in the front room, Sarith indeed appeared. She behaved as if nothing had ever happened, greeting Elza and Rutger sweetly and telling Mini-mini to take her things upstairs and unpack. In the days that followed she was exceptionally friendly towards both Rutger and Elza, though she hardly glanced at the baby.

Once when she saw Rutger alone in the dining room sitting on a rocking-chair with his son, she sneered, “So, you’re playing the role of devoted father very well.”

“I’m not playing a role: I am a devoted father,” said Rutger, and he continued talking to his child and paid no further attention to Sarith, who realized that if she was to win Rutger over again she would have to try different tactics. She decided that from now on she would pay all the more attention to the child and take every opportunity to say how handsome and sweet he was.

When she came downstairs the next afternoon, she saw Afanaisa standing on the back step with the baby on her arm. She went to the child and tickled his chin, and when he began to laugh she wanted to take him from Afanaisa, but Maisa’s stern tones rang out from the stairs, “Afanaisa, bring the young masra here: his nappy needs changing.”101

At the top of the stairs Maisa took the baby from Afanaisa and disappeared into the room with him. There she said to Elza, “If you don’t want your child to get fyo-fyo102, don’t let that woman touch him.”103

Elza started. Fyo-fyo! She didn’t know what it was precisely, but it was in any case something really terrible. Babies and small children could die from it. She thought of Maisa’s words when Gideon was born. She would have to fight for him. Well, she was prepared to fight for him. With everything, if necessary.

Sarith continued being sweet and affectionate towards Rutger. She tried everything: laughed with him, even wanted to pour coffee for him when they sat eating. Elza saw all this and also noted how Sarith was becoming increasingly unfriendly towards her, often saying nothing to her the whole day long, or perhaps just making a snide remark.

One afternoon, around the time that Rutger usually arrived home, the baby lay on a mat on the dining room floor, while Afanaisa sat next to him on the ground. Sarith came into the room, looked at the child, bent down, picked him up and went with him in her arms to stand on the porch in front of the house. Elza came into the dining room, saw that the child wasn’t there, and asked Afanaisa, “Where is Masra Gideon?”104

“Misi Sarith has taken him with her, to the front veranda,”105 came the answer.

Elza flew outside onto the veranda, grabbed the child from Sarith’s arms and snarled, “Keep away from him; he’s my child.” Once indoors, she passed the child to Afanaisa, saying, “Take him upstairs.”106

Sarith could say nothing. She had wanted to set a tender little scene for Rutger when he came home, but hadn’t reckoned with Elza’s reaction.

After lunch, when they had already retired to their room for the afternoon nap, there came a gentle knock on the door. It was Mini-mini: “Misi Sarith is asking whether Masra Rutger can come to hear something.”107

Rutger left the room. Elza was furious. On edge, she waited to see whether Rutger would return or whether he would stay with Sarith in her room as on the previous occasion. In Sarith’s room, Rutger stood in the doorway. “What’s up, Sarith?” he asked.

“Oh, Rutger, could you just look at my back? I think some insect or other has bitten me there.” Rutger gazed at the pretty young woman standing there with her hair hanging carelessly over her shoulders, dressed in only a very thin batiste shirt. He knew what her intentions were and said calmly, “I think it would be better for Mini-mini to take a look at you. Will that be all?” and made to turn around. This was something Sarith had not expected. With one leap she was upon him, grabbed him by the arm and pushed the door closed. “Oh Rutger, what is it? Don’t you love me any more; don’t you want me?” She put her arms round him and lay her head on his chest.