about Paper Man after he leave for the day: “What her-highness Mrs. Deoguardi think she doing sending that Abdul to us? He don’t even know how many mouths we got to feed here! Why she don’t hire a real manager to run this place proper?”
House Mother suck she teeth the way she do before she get vex with we. “How long I been telling Mrs. Deoguardi I been hired to run the school downstairs? How long that blackboard and chalk gathering dust and them desks fill-up with spiders? I got training to teach, you know, and all-of-it wasted on cleaning babies’ bottoms and spending the live-long day tracking down this person to come fry plantain or that person to scrub them toilets. And what going to become of them girls running wild like so?”
Then Miss Benedict say, “Not just school-time cut since Abdul come. He cut out we staff too. First we lose Elsa. Then Devon. If they not fired they quit because they can’t take it no more. And what this Abdul can do that volunteer girl Miss Aimsley can’t do! Stupps! She better than Deoguardi and Abdul and all them Ministry people put together! At least she manage to get some babies out. At least she push Miss Tousignant to open she precious filing cabinet and look into things. At least she clean up the place good.”
“What rubbish you talking, Leona? That one worse than Abdul!” House Mother raise she voice and then, after looking over she shoulder into the main hall, she lower it again. “I rather have Abdul. At least I know what he about and he know to keep out of we business. At least he don’t waltz in here for a day, turn we whole world upside-down and waltz back out, leaving we to put it all back together again. Them outsiders think they know everything but what they know about life here, eh? What they know? The money we get to feed fifty children in one month they spend on one meal in fancy hotel. What they know about life in this place, eh?” House Mother start wiping one of the tables in the baby room hard-hard. Then she start up again: “And what about the mess Miss Aimsley make before she leave? I never seen Miss Tousignant so irate! Now the Ministry don’t even send their officers here to check up on things no more. Okay, Aimsley get one-two child out while she here, but how many times Mrs. Deoguardi blame we because that girl gone and done something she not authorized to do? Like that day she send Tracy to St. Mary’s without knowing is a private hospital and the child get send back by taxi that I had to pay for from me own pocket! And then what she do? She take Tracy back to the hospital she own-high-and-mighty-self and make all kind of threat that if they don’t treat the child she going to shame the Director in foreign newspaper.”
“But Tracy could have died. Aimsley save she life!” Miss Benedict say.
“I not saying I not happy the child get attention. I just saying what good it do for the rest of them? What we got to show for it now? We been banished from St. Mary’s forever.
At least before Aimsley cause all that botheration they would send one of them doctors every few months for check-up and what-not as part of they charity work. But when the last time Dr. Romano come round?” House Mother stop and point the dirty cloth she using to clean the table at Miss Benedict. “Better Abdul than Aimsley! Better we take care of we own.”
“But Abdul take care of no one but he own-self. And he take all the credit when Mrs. Deoguardi and them Ministry people come. Like he own the place. Like he own all ah we and have to make we feel small-small when them big-shot sniffing ‘round.”
“Abdul not perfect,” House Mother straighten she-self up and look into the main hall. “But every rope got two ends. . . I just saying he got bigger problem than this place. Even change his name when he come back.”
“You mean his name not Abdul?”
“No girl! He look like he born a’ Abdul’ to you? His real name is Cartwright. He change it after he come out of hiding from the bush.”
“What he hiding from?” Miss Benedict eyes turn big and round.
“He run away from that gold mining project in the interior. He don’t like what he see there. Nor what he had to do for the Army.”
“What he have to do for the Army?”
“Ah, child, you more innocent than all them babies! What you think happen when Outside money get invested here and the Army part of the deal? Cartwright, I mean Abdul, say things get real bad up there. Amerindians been living on that land long, long before all ah we get here. Sitting on mountains and rivers of gold, they say. Abdul say women and children getting the worst of it. His own superior take one of them girls for he own pleasure. And that not even the half of it! Abdul see the company dumping all kind of poison into the rivers.”
“Why they need poison to get gold?”
“I look like scientist, child? What I know about these things! I just know the rivers getting poisoned and children being born with all kind of problem.” House Mother turn to look at the baby we call Paw-Paw because she head shape all funny. And she not like them other baby that make me ears fill-up with they tears. Paw-Paw never make no sound.
“You mean Clara one of them?” Miss Benedict look at Paw-Paw too, then at House Mother, then at Paw-Paw again.
House Mother say nothing and she and Miss Benedict go back to whatever work they doing till I hear Miss Benedict ask, “So why Abdul change his name? They is after him or what?”
