Sixteen

The Reverend Brand Bawa enters the luxurious sitting-room of the Mission House.

His wife and his two children are already present. Also present is a distinguished-looking elderly man in a three-piece corduroy suit standing by one of the windows. He is a tall, lean man with close-cropped steel-grey hair, and bears a striking resemblance to Mrs. Lois Bawa. His name is Ruben Essel, sixty-seven years old, and Lois Bawa's older brother. Tiny transparent spectacles are perched on his long aquiline nose. He is chatting to Stan when Brand Bawa enters.

Diana is sitting with her mother in the beautiful U-shaped leather seats.

They all look at Brand as he puts his black attaché briefcase down. He takes off his coat and drapes it over the back of a chair and then he takes off his clerical slowly. He sits down gingerly and a little frown puckers his brow.

"Diana, could you please fetch me a glass of water?" he requests gravely.

Diana leaves the room and enters the kitchen and comes back with a silver tray bearing a jug of cold water and a drinking glass. She pours a glassful of water for her father. The man of God takes the glass, murmurs his thanks and gulps down the water until the glass is empty.

Diana pours another glass for him. This time he drinks half a glass slowly and then sits back, absentmindedly twirling the glass in his hand. Ruben and Stan move from the window and sit down gingerly on the seat.

"Heard things didn't go so well in church today, Brand," Ruben says softly.

Brand smiles humorlessly and makes a grinding sound with his teeth with obvious displeasure.

"Yes, Rube," he says in a strangely meek voice. "Chris decided to show up and cause a little unpleasant scene."

"Little scene, Father?" Stan asks angrily. "It was a storm, more like! That thing he did could have exploded and caused a major scandal if Mom hadn't handled it well! You should've allowed me to kick him out, Father!"

The man of God turns cold eyes on his son, and he raises his eyebrows quizzically.

"Kick him out? You forget, dear son, that your brother –"

"He's not my brother!" Stan cuts in angrily.

"Stan! Stop that this instant!" his mother says stridently. "What's gotten into you?"

"You know Chris ceased to be our brother the moment Roland died, Mama," Diana says gravely as she looks at her mother somberly.

"Now stop that nonsense, both of you!" Brand interjects sharply. "You may not like him, but that does not make him a stranger. He's still my son, and his weaknesses are my failure as a father."

Silence reigns for a moment.

"Do you think he'll come here?" Ruben asks at length.

"No, no, I don't think Chris will come here. He came to the church just to cause a scene." Reverend Bawa says as he drains his glass and puts it down on the tray.

"He has changed a lot," Lois says in an uncharacteristically subdued voice. "All the fat is gone. He is all muscle now. These five years have been terrible on him. It just dawned on me that none of us visited him in prison."

"Visit him? Visit C. B? Come on, Mama!" Stan utters angrily. "Have you forgotten who Chris is? Should I enumerate? Have you forgotten his heinous crimes so fast, including how he assaulted Uncle Ruben to the point of death without any provocation? And you expected us to visit him?"

"And I hope you haven't forgotten that Chris was responsible for the death of Roland, our beloved brother!" Diana adds calmly.

"Don't say he attacked me without any provocation, Stan," Ruben chips in with a condescending smile around his lips. "I tried to take his drugs away from him, and he went berserk."

"Yes, I forgot that!" Stan says, disgusted. "Chris, our superhero! He was a famous GojuFist executive, and he had money, and so he didn't respect anybody! Dear Lord, how I hate that boy!"

"And those words of yours certainly does not befit a Christian, young man!" Lois says sternly. "Chris committed hideous crimes, but he's paid for his crimes in prison. His wife is going to marry his best friend. We sold his house and dumped his possessions outside. He's homeless and penniless now! We may not like his ways, but as Christians don't you think it is required of us to extend a hand of welcome to him, our flesh and blood?"

Stan stands up angrily and directs a fierce stare at his mother. When he speaks, his words eject like bullets, and his body shakes with barely-controlled rage.

"He will receive no welcoming arms from me, Mom! Chris is rotten, and from the moment Roland died I've never stopped hating him. He will never be my brother, never. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll call it a day!"

He storms out of the room angrily.

Diana gazes after him and also gets to her feet.

"I'm sorry, Mom," she says calmly. "I know just how much you love Chris. But he has done too many evil things. He has hurt this family so much. Please don't expect us to forget that easily simply because he has been to prison and we never visited him. Please, it will take some time to forgive him fully."

She kisses her mother's cheek quickly, murmurs her goodbyes to her father and Uncle, and then she leaves the room quickly too.

Tears glisten in Lois' eyes.

"I believe I've failed as a mother," she murmurs in a heavy voice.

"You've been the best mother, wife and brother to us, my dear," Brand Bawa says gently. "We're all at our very low because none of us was expecting Chris to come out of prison at this time. Let's get down to our knees in supplications to God. He will certainly make a way."

Ruben Essel gets to his feet slowly and looks at them with sad eyes.

"Am I safe from Chris, Brand?" he asks, and his voice trembles with trepidation. "Should I seek a legal restraining order against him?"

"Come on, Rube!" Lois says, a little agitated. "I don't think Chris is coming to attack you again. He was drunk and high on drugs that unfortunate day he attacked you. Please, don't make a beast out of him."

The man of God pointed a stern finger at his wife, and there is the beginning of anger in the depths of his eyes.

"There, right there, Lois, is how Chris turned out so rotten!" he says in a hard voice. "You made him into a favorite with your over-protectiveness. The day he attacked Rube, we were lucky I came in just in time otherwise he would probably have beaten your brother to death!"

"Love him, Brand!" she shoots at him with an equal measure of coldness. "Maybe if your love has also been a little visible he might have turned out differently! He is your son too! Ever since we lost Roland you've never been able to forgive Chris!"

The man of God gets to his feet, and his face is enraged. Veins stand out on his neck and on his forehead, and his voice is harsh and unsteady.

"Yes, yes, yes! I've tried, but I've never been able to forgive him for Roland's death, so God help me! You love Chris more, I loved Roland more! Chris cut short a very promising future for Roland! You will deny this, I know, but Chris has always been irresponsible, spoilt, violent and evil, and I'm always appalled to call him my son!"

Lois Bawa gives a strangled groan as tears fall down her face. She stands up and quickly leaves the living-room. The man of God is trembling with bitterness aimed at his last son. He is also filled with remorse for shouting at his wife. He bows his head sadly and heaves a very troubled sigh.

Ruben Essel wordlessly leaves the room too.