Mangled Shoes

CHAPTER 2

The doctors had just returned with a hazy report, so the afternoon was tense.

"We had to perform a sonar scan while you were away, and we noticed Deborah Mahultze had either a miscarriage or the termination of a pregnancy. We advise that she gets the necessary emotional support and counseling; there is nothing more we can do at this point. Excuse us."

Their entire world had been turned on its head. Mrs. Malhultze has a sad side, which is evident in her sobs.

"If our daughter has been going through all of this while living with us, we must have been unaware of it." Mr. Malhultze cut her off before she could even proceed.

"Shut up! This behavior is unacceptable and shameful. This is not why I labor long hours at Boers to feed you and the children and pay for expensive white schools! I'm deeply disappointed. You! You have failed as a mother and a wife! You are a complete failure! All you do is mind my business." He yelled obnoxiously loudly.

The ambulances were lined up outside as he raced out of the wide entrance with the automatic sliding doors, and the paramedics were wheeling patients in on trollies. Mrs. Mahultze blew her nose and made an effort to compose herself. She entered Deborah's hospital room and said, "I'll just put a gloss over it. Mind over matter, heart over mind."

*winks at Deborah*

"Hey Debbie, how's it going today?"
"Afternoon mama, it's better where's pops?"
"Don't ask me about him, Debbie; he is no good for us. Now, how are you doing?"
"Mmama I asked where's pops?"

She erupted in such rage that you could almost feel the hospital trembling.

"Deborah Maltutze don't you ever question me or my authority, I Said, in My house we speak no more of Dad! Dammit!!"
"Bad day huh?...," Deborah responded.
"I just lost it; I guess we need to talk. I found the hospital bill today, and the doctors performed a sonar scan. Is there anything you need to tell me?"

Deborah didn't say anything.

"Where do I begin? How do you explain to your parents that you ate the forbidden fruit and gave evidence?", Deborah wondered.

"In that case, when you get out of the hospital, you'll be heading to the village; it's nonnegotiable; in fact, I am not asking you, I am telling you; I need to have peace of mind."

Deborah turned her head to the window. Could this be doomsday? Questions pondering her head, she'd turn out to be an able but diffident student with excruciating mental pain. Did her mother not see that her ethnocentric assumptions and lack of time and physical attention were breaking her down?

"Deborah, all of this is your own fault. If you should blame anyone, it's yourself. I've told you not to go to two schools at once. Once you get discharged, you are going to school to catch up on your schoolwork; thereafter, you'll leave until further notice. Understood?"

Thoughts and emotions clouded her judgment, and she remained silent while tears trickled down her cheeks. Being a financially responsible parent is one thing, but being emotionally available is quite another, she reasoned.

"I have to go now; your younger sister is waiting to be picked up from school. I love you; here take, your favorite."

She smiled assuredly and gave Deborah a packet of Smarties necklaces. Debbie gave an awkward glance. In elementary school, she favored Smarties necklaces.

"I'm too grown for this; how could Mom even get me this? She should have given it to Warda instead, ugh!" She thought to herself...

She placed her head on her pillow; her lips trembled, and her eyes welled up with tears as she tried to keep the sound of wailing and suffering from echoing down the hospital hall.