Refined By His Fire

by Cathy Conradie

  Chapter Five

  The OR Tambo International airport is a beehive of activity. Hundreds of supporters came to the airport to bid farewell to the cricket squad who came from the press conference and photo shoots. All the squad members weighed in their baggage and everyone was trying to spend the last minutes with their families and friends.

  For Adrian, it wasn’t easy at all. Cameras flash non a stop and another camera is pushed centimeters from his face, the flash blinding his sight.

  “I’ve never felt so proud of you in my entire life than now.” Henry says.

  “This is such a big moment.”

  “No way, it’s not big, it is overwhelming. It feels like I’m caught up in this huge dream. I’m so scared I’m going to wake up and it’s gone.”

  Adrian fidgets with his passport and plane ticket and his family and Barry knew these tell tale signs. Adrian is indeed overwhelmed and past nervous for everything that was lying ahead.

  “Attention, all passengers for flight SAA 744 to Sydney, Australia, please report at gate eight, thank you.”

  Adrian takes a deep breath.

  “Well, I guess that’s that then.”

  Adrian hugs Henry first.

  “Bye, Dad. I’ll miss you. Please, don’t let anyone else except Okkie work with Barry. Look out for him.”

  “Don’t worry. Just go out there and enjoy it. Remember what I said. Remember why you play cricket. Have fun, okay?”

  Henry takes Adrian’s face in his hands and kisses him on the forehead.

  “I am so proud of you, okay? I love you.”

  “I love you too, Dad.”

  Adrian embraces Chrissie next, who couldn’t fight back the tears any longer.

  “This will be the longest that you won’t be at home. To round it off, you’ll be thousands of miles away.”

  “Oh, Mom. It will be okay. I did set up an e-mail for you at home and I will borrow Robert’s laptop to e-mail you every day. I’ll send you photos of all the places where I go.”

  But inwardly, Adrian felt his heart cringes and the tears sting his eyes. Chrissie also takes his face in her hands, gently wipes the tears from his eyes.

  “Enjoy it, my son. You are not even 21 yet and you have such a big responsibility on your shoulders. I am so proud of you and I love you.”

  Chrissie kisses Adrian and hugs him close for one last time.

  “I love you just as much, Mom. Please take care of yourselves back at home.”

  “This is the final boarding call for passengers of SAA 744 to Sydney, Australia. All passengers for this flight are requested to please board at gate eight.”

  “Hey, old man, they’re waiting for ye. You must go.”

  Adrian and Barry embrace each other and silent tears flow. For Barry, it felt as if he had to work through yet another loss in just over a year’s time. Adrian has always been there for him since College to listen whenever Barry felt grief stricken about his late parents. Adrian was always there helping him with the dockets, if something didn’t make sense in the police work, but also in life. Barry wasn’t sure how he was going to cope without Adrian’s company and friendship, the security it offered.

  Adrian feels very apprehensive of leaving Barry to fend for himself. Barry was only now starting to become more emotionally strong and mature, especially in the police environment. Adrian was going to miss Barry’s silly jokes and razor sharp sense of humor.

  “Hey, Engelsman, take care and be careful out there, you hear me?”

  “Don’t worry about it. Everything will be okay. I can’t wait to watch ye taking the bowling attacks apart. You are going to give them hell. But, hey, they’re waiting for ye. You must go.”

  Adrian manages a rueful smile and looks at his parents and Barry.

  “I love you all, guys.”

  With that, Adrian turns around and proceeds to the gate where the team is waiting and like a year before when he went to College, he suddenly feels very scared and very alone.

  Adrian looks at his team mates, a little smile playing on his face as the passenger bus made its way to the aircraft. Everyone looks extremely keen for the tour to start. They all had a great time at the training camp in the Drakensberg and became a very close knit unit. They shared a huge load of laughs in the three weeks of the training camp. No cricket was played. Management decided to deviate from the usual training camp ritual. Christo objected strongly in the beginning, but was outnumbered by Robert and the rest of the team management and the fitness specialist. A lot of running took place, but that didn’t work well with Adrian’s asthma. They took Adrian away from all the running and Adrian had to do a lot of swimming instead. A tremendous amounts of squash was also played, golf and then the ultimate to Adrian’s opinion, the horse riding. Christo took a while to realize the skill involved and the great work out it offered. The horse riding itself cared for a lot of laughs, because for many of the cricketers, it was their first ride and most of them were apprehensive and scared of the idea. But they also loved watching Adrian galloping his horse with tremendous speed and also his display in showjumping. It was strange to some to see this tiny policeman jumping 1.2m fences with ease and they insisted that it too high for anyone to jump.

  The bus comes to a halt and the passengers disembark the bus. Adrian stands on the tarmac and stares at the giant Airbus. He has had the privilege of air travel a lot in his young life, but has never flown in an Airbus before.

  Adrian ascends the stairs and greets the hostess.

  “Good evening, sir. You will be seated at 4A, next to the window. First class.”

  “Thank you—”

  Adrian freezes in his steps, turns around.

  “Pardon, did you say first class? It must be a mistake.”

  The air hostess takes the ticket, looks at it and smiles.

  “No, no sir. No mistake.”

  Adrian stares, wide eyed.

  “Okay, thanks.”

  Adrian makes his way up the spiral staircase and stares at the first class seats. It looks like loungers, huge leg space, the chairs barely touching one another, making space for the fellow passenger next to you. He feels a big hand on his shoulder, turns around.

  “Hi, buddy. It’s okay. Would you mind stepping aside so that your team can pass?” Ryan asks with a smile.

  Adrian blushes.

  “I’m sorry. I . . . it’s just . . . my goodness, do you always travel like this?”

  “Oh, yes. Especially in the last two years. Wait until you see in which hotels we stay. We are professional celebrities and work very hard on the field. Besides—”

  Ryan puts his hand baggage in the overhead cabin.

  “Flying to Australia is a very long flight. We’ll be traveling for the next twenty hours.”

  “Whoa! Will it take that long? I thought it will be twelve hours, nothing more.”

  “No, buddy. Transit in Singapore. Remember that we are going halfway around the world.”

  Ryan takes his seat, next to Adrian.

  “How does it feel to be famous?” he asks with a smile.

  “It’s scary. Sorry to say, annoying. I couldn’t really spend time with my family. The media just didn’t leave me alone with their cameras.”

  “Sorry, buddy, you will have to get used to it. If this tour will be a dream debut for you, your privacy will only be a distant memory.”

  The noise of the crowds in the SCG is overwhelming, even in the back of the dressing rooms at the lockers where the lonely figure of the vice-captain of the Proteas appears. Adrian sits by himself on the bench, and all padded up, his heart racing.

  This is crazy. He just doesn’t feel ready for this. It felt unreal and unfair. This is what he has wanted since he can remember, but it is totally overwhelming and he feels sick to his stomach. Ryan enters the dressing room, looks at Adrian. He steps closer.

  “Hey, buddy. Why are you sitting on your own like this? Everyone asks for you.”

  Adrian takes a deep breath, clos
es his eyes and sighs.

  “It’s too intense, I guess. I guess I’m trying to hide my fears from everyone else. I don’t want them to see that I’m scared. It won’t make sense.”

  Ryan sits down next to Adrian.

  “Listen to me. Every single one of us went through the same fear and everyone had stage fright if you want to call it like that.”

  Ryan starts to laugh.

  “I want to tell you something. I can’t ask you not to laugh, because it is hysterically funny. When we once played against Australia on this very same ground, we were to field first. Christo lost the toss. I decided to try some longer spikes in my boots and when we walked out onto the field, the spikes kind of got stuck too deep into the grass. I wasn’t used to that and I fell right on my face in front of a full capacity crowd and for the whole world to see on TV.”

  Adrian cracks up in a fit of laughter.

  “Oh, my goodness! That should have been so embarrassing. I don’t have an idea how I would have felt like, but that is so not to be seen on TV!”

  Tom Smith enters the dressing room.

  “Looks like fun.” he smiles.

  “What did you tell him, Ryan?”

  “About my big blunder here at the SCG.”

  Smitty giggles.

  “Yes, that was probably one of the funniest moments I have experienced on the field. Um, Adrian, a wicket has fallen and Christo signaled from the pitch for you to go in next.”

  Adrian becomes very quiet.

  “Guys, I can’t do this . . .”

  Smitty puts his arm around Adrian’s shoulders.

  “It’s okay. You’ll be fine. I promise you. I used to be like you, exactly the same. Just go out there, enjoy your game. Remember why you play cricket and play your heart out. Have fun!”

  If this wasn’t confirmation, then nothing will sink in, Adrian realizes.

  Ryan hands Adrian his helmet.

  “Put his on, buddy. You can always give it to the twelve man when you feel you have played your eye in.”

  Adrian puts on his helmet and silently makes his way down the stairs toward the pitch under a thunderous applause from the crowds. Adrian gasps. The stadium was huge, much bigger than Newlands and there was also the knowledge that the world was watching him on TV. Also, the Proteas were three wickets down and at trouble at 140 in the 30th over . . .

  “Hi, mate. How’s the nerves?”

  “Don’t ask. I’d rather be in my squad car and on my way to an armed robbery in progress.”

  “Mate, listen to me very carefully. I know the Australians very well. They know that you are the newcomer and they know it is your debut. Keep your eye on the ball at all times. They are going to try to get you to lose your concentration by calling you bad names. They might even try to injure you on purpose. That’s the way they play.”

  “That’s not very sportive.”

  “Believe me, mate. They will do everything, anything at all cost to win. Just keep your head and stay calm. Now, go.”

  Adrian walks to his crease, gets his mark and anxiously awaits the first delivery which comes down the pitch with a frightening speed, bouncing up and missing his head by centimeters. If that is not enough, he gets glared at by the bowler.

  “Not much of a batter, are you, mate? Stop wasting my time and get back to your police work.”

  How the hell did he know Adrian is a policeman . . .

  Adrian takes a deep breath, closes his eyes. He forces himself to take an imaginary trip to the Elgin Cricket Club and focuses so hard that he can literally smell the braaivleis fires.

  The pace bowler comes in again, bowls another beauty of a delivery, but this time the leather connects with the willow and the ball missiles with an even more frightening speed into the crowds.

  The bowler stares in disbelief and becomes more annoyed when he stares at the mischievous sparkling eyes of Adrian.

  “Not much of a bowler. Mate.”

  “Oh, believe me, we are not done with you yet.”

  But by the end of the over, Australia didn’t have any answers of how to bowl to this new batsman. Adrian started off slowly, scoring his first 50 of 54 balls, but the second 50 came of only 15. When the thunderous applause breaks out and the crowds give him a standing ovation, Adrian dares to look at the scoreboard and he stares in disbelief. He has just scored a maiden century, off his debut, off only 69 deliveries.

  Adrian takes off his helmet and goes down on his knees, lying with his face down in his hands, the tears of joy flowing freely over his cheeks as he prays to his Almighty Savior, giving Him thanks and praise for this amazing achievement. After a minute or two, still very emotional, he gets up and humbly acknowledges the crowds.

  Adrian’s innings didn’t last long after that and after seventeen more deliveries, he offers a soft dismissal to the wicket keeper before making his way back to the dressing room. The security has their hands full keeping the crowds away from the tired batsman and the reaction in the Proteas’ dressing room is equally overwhelming.

  “What a brilliant innings!”

  “If you ever doubt again that you deserve to be here, we will make you drink a huge strafdop!”

  “What did you eat for breakfast, pal?”

  Adrian smiles shyly and cracks open an ice cold soda. He drinks deep. It felt as if he didn’t take enough liquid when he was in the middle.

  After lunch and taking a shower so he can dress in a clean set of cricket uniform, the fatigue and strain he had on the pitch unexpectedly take its toll.

  “Christo, I’ll join your guys as soon as I can. I just need some air. I’m all closed up.”

  Christo looks at Adrian. He felt very concerned because he could hear Adrian’s lungs wheezing.

  “Go. Go sort it out. I need you in the field.”

  Getting in the medical treatment area of the dressing room, the physiotherapist already waits for him. In the four weeks that Adrian has been part of the team, Terence Higgs has started to know how to recognize the signs of Adrian’s illness. Usually, Adrian’s asthma was just inconvenient, but all the excitement, tension, dust and exhaustion were due cause something to happen.

  Adrian lies down on the bed and Terence notices Adrian looks very anxious and scared.

  “It’s okay. We’ll fix you up in no time.”

  “It’s just . . . I’ve never had it this bad before. It feels like I can barely breathe . . .”

  “Okay, I understand, but it is imperative for you to stay calm and to breathe deeply and calmly.”

  Terence injects Adrian with cortisone and covers his face with an oxygen mask that contained medication to open up his lungs.

  “Best thing you can do now is to take a nap while we wait for this meds to get into your system. Come on, close your eyes. I’ll come and check you every five.”

  Unfortunately for everyone, Adrian’s condition does not clear up and after twenty minutes of the initial treatment, the paramedics enter the dressing room to take Adrian to a private hospital close to the hotel.

  On their way out, Terence approaches Robert.

  “Adrian is not coping well.” he says.

  “In the next over or drinks break, just inform Christo that Adrian needed to go for specialized treatment. I’m going with him. If anything else happens, please give me a call so that I can come back.”

  “How is Adrian doing?”

  “Not very well. He will be okay, but he needs a doctor to take care of him.”

  “Please keep us posted, okay?”

  The next day, very bored and feeling very much up to mischief, Adrian enters the room that their physiotherapist and the fitness specialist shared. The door stands slightly ajar and Adrian looks around in the room, but there is no one there. The policeman in him feels annoyed about it, because he knows that Terence and Paul Storm had very expensive equipment in their room.

  Adrian smiles to himself. That gave him even more reason to see his prank through. He picks up Paul’s medication
bottle and looks at it. It is exactly the same as the one Adrian has in his hand and the tablets were also the same. He makes a quick swop and disappears from the room without anyone noticing him.

  When the team gathers at the team bus to go to practice, Adrian notices that his plan works perfectly. Poor Paul can barely walk straight and is so sleepy that in the short journey to practice, he falls asleep in the bus, to everyone, including Adrian’s amusement.

  After some difficulty, Terence manages to wake Paul up and realizes that Paul’s cold tablets were swopped for sleeping tablets. The team also notices something is not right with their fitness instructor who normally loved chasing them around and everyone decides to make fun of it. They keep throwing the ball in Paul’s direction and he keeps fumbling and miscatching it, to everyone’s amusement. To take things even further, Robert decided to do a relaxation exercise with everyone.

  The outcome was inevitable when Paul slept through the exercise and the team management, excluding prankster Adrian, concurred to an ideal punishment for the prank that has caused this huge amusement.

  “I don’t know for who this “punishment” will be.” Adrian laughs as the team gathers in an upmarket night club.

  “Well, they say apparently that in the Police, you work hard, you play hard and you drink hard. Let’s see if you can take your punishment, your drink, like a man, seen that you are not 21 yet.”

  “That’s a very dangerous thing, to challenge a policeman. It’s not my pass time to drink myself into a frenzy. In fact, I hate it if people waste their lives and money on something so useless, but—” Adrian turns to the barman.

  “I’ll take my punishment due. Barman, please give me fifteen tequila glasses and a bottle tequila.”

  The barman shoots him a double take, but obliges when Adrian puts the money in his hand.

  “Okay, mates, let’s see who is up for the challenge.”

  Most of the cricketers call it quits after three tequilas and after a while, having six tequilas, Adrian puts the bottle down with an extra load of giggles.

  “Okay, who says a policeman can’t drink? I’m disappointed in your guys. You really let me down.”

  Christo just looks onto the youngsters with a smile. It’s a good thing the rest of the management isn’t present and that there wasn’t any match scheduled for the next day, otherwise there would be problems, he guesses.

  Arriving back at the hotel, more laughter was to follow. Ryan has passed out in front of the door in the corridor and the room’s key was in his pocket. Adrian tries his best to turn Ryan around to get the key out of his pocket, but it was a huge task to move a man who was weighing at least 40 kg more than Adrian did. Smitty comes across the funny picture, laughs.

  “What happened here?”

  “Well, let’s just say he didn’t make it to the room. So now, I’m challenged to get the key out of his pocket and more challenged to get him inside.”

  “Why didn’t you choose Springbokkies instead?” Smitty complains.

  “It feels like my head is going to explode.”

  “No, no. You guys challenged me.” Adrian teases.

  “I was just too happy to oblige. Man, I have a feeling I am going to be very sick tonight. I don’t usually drink this much.”

  Adrian and Smitty turn Ryan around with effort and Adrian manages to get the key. He opens the door and takes hold of Ryan’s feet to try to drag him inside. Ryan grumbles.

  “Ryan, wake up, pal. Sleeping time.”

  “Go away . . .”

  Adrian tries to lift him up under his arms, but Ryan is heavy and Adrian just gets a smack for his trouble. Adrian is overcome with laughing. He sits down on the floor.

  “Man, this is very funny.” he winks at Smitty.

  “Ryan! Wake up, pal! The hotel is on fire!”

  Ryan opens his eyes, gets up lightening fast but realizes he has been tricked and he glares at Adrian before collapsing on his bed.

  “Leave him like that.” Adrian laughs.

  “See you in the morning and thanks for your help.”

  “Remember to drink lots of water during the night and have a protein rich breakfast tomorrow morning. It will lessen the effects of a hangover somewhat.” Smitty says.

  “Thanks for the tip, Smitty. Hope you sleep well.”