The Lace Tablecloth

by Anastasia Gessa-Liveriadis

  As John was nowhere to be seen Tasia left the luggage and ran to the cabin to tell him to hurry up. She found the two of them, sullen and pale like ghosts, standing in the middle of the room, holding each other tight as they rocked gently to and fro, staring into each other’s swollen eyes.

  ‘You must be going.’

  Tasia shook John’s shoulder.

  ‘Yes, I know. I must go now, my love. I must leave you, my life. But I’ll be back. In no time at all I’ll be back to take care of you and our baby. Whatever you do, whatever may happen, please, please, my love, keep our child, the fruit of our love.’

  With great effort he took his arms from around Olga’s shoulders. He put his hands around her head and squeezed at it as if he wanted to break it to pieces and with great passion kissed her eyes, her cheeks, her lips. He then gradually moved away. He kissed Tasia quickly on the cheek and left, running, without looking back. Olga remained standing like a statue in the same spot.

  ‘Come and sit down.’

  Tasia pushed her gently towards the bunk. But Olga lifted her hands to the left side of her chest, groaned and fell to the floor. Alarmed, Tasia knelt by her side, calling her name as she tried to revive her. She saw her face turn from pale to grey, ash-like, as her breath became laboured and irregular. It was obvious Olga needed urgent medical care. She got up and ran out the empty corridor calling for help, first in Greek and then in English.

  ‘Help, help, I need a doctor, please, a doctor quick!’

  She ran on deck hoping to catch John, but he wasn’t there. Looking down at the pier she saw the small bus move.

  ‘Tasia,’ she heard John call her name from an open window, and saw him move his hands to attract her attention. He called again but the bus continued to move away and his voice was lost in the crowd. She kept running around and calling for help.

  ‘A doctor please, a doctor.’

  ‘For God’s sake, what’s happened?’

  Tomas pulled her by the arm and stopped her.

  ‘Olga is very sick. She is unconscious. Please find a doctor and come as quickly as you can. I’m going back to the cabin.’

  She left him and ran back to Olga who still lay senseless on the floor. But before Tasia had time to check if she was still breathing, Tomas and the doctor arrived. The tall, middle-aged man with grey hair, squeezed himself between the bunks and knelt close to Olga. He lifted her eyelids one by one and shone a torch into each eye. Finally, he took her pulse and studied her colour before announcing in a husky voice that she needed oxygen urgently. He signalled to his two assistants to transfer her to the sickbay immediately.

  With the oxygen mask over her face Olga’s colour returned to normal. Covered snugly in a hospital blanket she seemed peacefully asleep. But the doctor didn’t seem satisfied. In fact he was deep in thought.

  ‘I’m not quite sure but I’m afraid she has something wrong with her heart,’ he said as if talking to himself.

  ‘She told me that under extreme stress she had fainted one time and the doctor had suspected she had a heart condition,’ Tasia offered.

  ‘That’s what I think. I’m not sure if she should continue to Melbourne or stay here for further tests. Is she a relative of yours?’

  Tasia’s head was spinning. How stupid she was to open her mouth and talk about Olga’s condition. There was no way she could leave Olga behind. She had to come with her to Melbourne since the only point of contact between her and John was the address of her ‘fiance’ in Melbourne.

  ‘No, Doctor. We are not related but we are close friends and I’m going to my fiance in Melbourne,’ she said. ‘Please Doctor, let her come to Melbourne where there are people to take care of her.’

  Olga let out a weak sigh and her eyelids trembled as she opened her eyes. She closed them again immediately as if drifting back to sleep. Then, fully awake, she opened her eyes again and looked anxiously at Tasia.

  ‘Has he left?’ she asked, lifting the mask from over her mouth.

  ‘Yes, but he’ll be back soon,’ Tasia reassured her.

  ‘He’ll be back soon,’ Olga repeated. ‘He’ll be back.’

  Her breathing was normal now, her lips had regained their colour and she looked very calm.

  ‘I feel tired,’ she said, and turned her head slightly to one side.

  ‘What was she saying? Who’ll be back?’ the doctor wanted to know.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Tasia answered.

  She didn’t want the doctor to find out about John, and leave her in some hospital in Western Australia.

  ‘Let her sleep now. It’ll do her good. The nurse will take care of her,’ the doctor said. ‘Come back in about an hour or so.’

  The doctor silently closed the door behind them as they left. She stood there staring mindlessly at the shiny doorknob.

  That’s where Tomas found her. He took her by the hand and led her to the big hall. It was completely noiseless and empty, like a cold grave. She moved close to the window and pulled the curtain aside. The ship had started to move away from the pier. A large crowd still lingered down on the dock.

  Tasia could see many small cars stationed around the pier and others speeding down broad avenues. A row of large, colourless storehouses obscured her view to the right. As the ship continued to move slowly she noticed a green hill crowned with a white structure, a monument. It was foreign to her, strange and unfriendly, bringing a chill to her heart.

  She had left Greece for Australia, knowing that Olga would be by her side to support and guide her. Now everything was reversed: she would have to take care of the sick and pregnant Olga. She would have to protect and support her until John came back. What was she supposed to do? How would she cope till John arrived?

  She thought if needs be, she could marry the man who paid her fare to Australia, if he would have her. That man would be at the Melbourne port to collect them. He had also promised to help Olga and Tasia settle into their new environment.

  ‘He doesn’t demand anything from us. Nor does he expect you to marry him,’ Olga had said.

  While these thoughts were occupying Tasia’s mind, Tomas who was sitting by her side kept on talking, but his words sounded hollow and empty. He wrote something on a piece of paper and placed it in front of her.

  ‘That’s my address,’ he told her. ‘Keep it and don’t hesitate to come and see me whenever you need anything. I’ll always be there for you.’

  It took another seven stormy days to reach Melbourne. The grey and frothy waters of the sea split open like a huge mouth to swallow up the big liner. But the liner always managed to escape and emerge on the surface, unharmed.

  Like Tasia, some of the passengers got used to the pitch and toss and sat provocatively very close to the rails. Others were terrified, seasick and exhausted by the unending heavy swells. Now and then some people would run to the rails and hang dangerously over the waters and empty the contents of their stomach.

  The sky was crystal clear and the sun was warm, but sudden freezing southern gales caused people to stay indoors.

  As if her recent health scare was nothing serious, Olga left the sick bay the following day and returned to the cabin. Most of the day she sat covered with a blanket in a deckchair and looked at the sea, daydreaming.

  ‘With John, I’m going to have a life like a dream. We’ll work hard; we’ll get a house; and we’ll have many children: at least four.’

  Tasia listened dutifully, afraid to ask questions or express any doubts. During some quiet moments she would sit in a corner, thinking and tallying all the new things she had experienced during the long journey — about life and people, about herself, about the sea and the elements. No schooling, however extensive, would have presented her with so many challenges, or made her aware of the need to observe, to think and to reflect.

  A

  leaden, grey sky and a steady drizzle greeted their arrival in Melbourne. A cold, southerly wind penetrated deep into her bones. The overcast sky, the colour of a restles
s sea, and the dull and uninviting scenery in front of them brought a chill to Tasia’s spine. It was mid-November, a season corresponding to Greece’s mid-June and it ought to have been very hot. Where were the pristine and sun-drenched beaches full of carefree swimmers she had seen in the periodicals? What sort of country had she come to?

  Tasia carried the heavy luggage, most of it belonging to Olga, down the gangplank to an elevated part of the pier surrounded by railings. There she patiently waited her turn to go through customs. Next to her, Olga searched the large crowd down on the wharf as if expecting to spot someone she knew.

  ‘Here! Here!’ Tasia heard Olga shouting and waving her outstretched arms trying to attract someone’s attention.

  ‘I told you Chris would be here. He’s down there waiting for us,’ she said, turning to Tasia.

  Tasia’s heartbeat increased somewhat, realising her phantom fiance had materialised. What would he be like? she wondered, unsure if she should be scared or excited.

  Olga pointed to a placard swaying above the heads of the crowd, with ‘Olga’ written on it in big letters. Several others had similar placards.

  When they had finished with the officials they went down and headed towards the placard. Tasia thought they could be wrong. Who knows how many Olgas were aboard? But she said nothing.

  Tomas followed not far behind, until a man and a woman broke away from the crowd and rushed towards him calling his name. He put his suitcases down and ran to meet them, falling into their arms, embracing and kissing. The man picked up Tomas’ luggage and walked on. Tomas turned to Olga and Tasia and waved good-bye before disappearing in the crowd.

  If I’m lucky not to need anybody’s help, only then will I make it a point to get in touch with him, she promised herself, ignoring the pain compressing her chest.

  They were now getting closer to the young man holding the placard. He was nice-looking, better than in the photo: tall, slim and well-groomed, the type of person who stands out in a crowd. Tasia felt a secret delight. If I must marry him, I will, she thought. Why not? He looks alright!

  With a newfound courage she got ready to introduce herself and to thank him profusely for his noble gesture. But she was dumbfounded to overhear what he was saying to Olga who had reached him first. He was thanking her for the great favour she had done him.

  ‘I’m forever indebted to you,’ he was saying, ‘for giving all that money to my sister.’

  ‘The pleasure is all mine,’ Olga replied. ‘Don’t forget you’ve been of great help to me too.’ She turned to introduce Tasia. ‘This is the girl you helped. Tasia, this is Chris. Chris this is Tasia.’

  They looked at each other, shook hands and then Chris turned again to Olga.

  ‘As promised I’ve arranged your accommodation and paid six weeks rent in advance,’ he continued.

  ‘You shouldn’t have done that! Trying to find a place for us to stay must have been difficult enough,’ Olga said.

  ‘Oh, not difficult at all. You’ll be staying in the same room I lived in the past two years,’ he reassured her.

  ‘And where will you stay?’ Olga asked concerned.

  ‘I got married last Sunday,’ Chris replied, ‘and now I’m living in my wife’s house. You see, when I realised my childhood love was not coming, I decided to make my life with somebody else,’ he said with some embarrassment, giving Tasia a quick glance.

  ‘That’s wonderful! Congratulations! Congratulations and all the best,’ both girls wished him in unison.

  A strange pain over her left eyebrow that had started earlier had now spread over the left side of her head which felt numb. She was carrying some of the suitcases whose weight seemed heavier every minute. Every muscle of her body was tense. Her feet and hands were icy cold as if in the middle of the coldest, winter day.

  Chris loaded the luggage into the boot of his car and they got in. From a leaden sky a light drizzle moistened everything. The car was moving very slowly through broad avenues full of trams and cars. Pedestrians hurried on wide footpaths. There was something ordinary and something extraordinary, something familiar and yet something strange in this new world unfolding in front of Tasia. Her body was still attuned to the sway of the ship.

  The car ran along several large streets with tall buildings on either side, stopping at red lights and continuing alongside huge green parks with very tall trees. Eventually, it came to smaller streets with single-storey houses with fenced gardens in front. Most of the gardens were like a picture card, neat and tidy and full of flowers, shrubs and trees. Soon after, the car stopped in front of a large, grey painted timber house built on a big corner block.

  ‘It’s a boarding house,’ Chris said, and explained it was a house, all its rooms being rented to different people.

  ‘Oh, what sort of people?’ asked Olga with concern.

  ‘They’re all foreigners with the exception of Nick, a good friend of mine. You’ll meet him soon.’

  ‘What about the others?’ Olga wanted to know.

  ‘Oh, if you keep your door shut nobody bothers you. It’s not an ideal place, I know, but people live here because it’s close to public transport and jobs.’

  Chris opened the front door and led the way through a semi-dark corridor. He entered the kitchen, a relatively large room to the right, and after giving Olga a handful of small coins, thruppences he called them, he showed them how to light the gas on the stove.

  Tasia followed like a zombie, not paying any attention to what was said. All she wanted to do was take an aspirin and lie down because her headache was unbearable. She was shaking all over. When Chris opened the door to their room she got an aspirin out of her handbag, swallowed it and got into one of the two beds, pulling the covers over her head.

  The sound of the door woke her up. She opened her eyes, wondering where she was. Someone turned on the light and she could now see the room.

  ‘Come on! Wake up! You’ve had enough sleep! Nick and I have prepared a delicious meal. Come and let’s eat before it gets cold.’

  Olga’s loud voice had completely woken her.

  Nick? Who is Nick? Where does this woman find men so quickly? Tasia thought with resentment. She lifted herself up and saw a young man standing beside Olga with a folded kitchen towel over his arm like a waiter. There was a table some distance away from the foot of the two beds which had a narrow space between them.

  The table was all set up with cutlery, glasses and serviettes. A steaming saucepan stood in the middle of the table. She shook her head trying to comprehend. Where had they found the time to prepare all this without her noticing? But that’s not the only thing, she thought. Yes, there were numerous other things popping up, surprising her, making her feel as if she didn’t belong to this world. It was as if her experiences had no relevance to reality. She felt as if people around her were conspiring to mislead her, to hide the truth from her, to drive her crazy. What sort of a game was Olga playing and what was its aim? Why had she kept her in the dark about the arrangements she had made regarding the repayment of her ticket?

  ‘Silly girl!’ Olga teased her. ‘What was I supposed to do with the money I had saved in Greece? There was nobody I could give it.’

  ‘But it was your money!’ Tasia protested.

  ‘And it’s still my money. Instead of paying off Chris, you’ll pay me,’ Olga reassured her. ‘Besides, I’m doubly pleased because I’ve helped Chris’ sister too.’

  ‘How did you do that?’ Tasia asked, mystified.

  ‘Paying the money to her enabled her to marry her sweet-heart. After all, what’s the value of money if not to be spent for something worthwhile?’

  Tasia was looking at her in amazement.

  ‘You are unbelievable. Your brain works in ways that are very difficult for me to follow,’ she said.

  ‘To be truthful I’m a bit disappointed Chris rushed into marriage before having a chance to see you. But let us hope he and his bride will be happy for the rest of their lives,’ Olga finally
said.

  ‘I wish them the same. After all he has been very helpful to us in more ways that one.’

  Tasia was very impressed by the city of Melbourne, more specifically Richmond. She didn’t know any other suburbs. The asphalt streets were spacious, divided down the middle by lawns with rows of tall trees with wide, well-kept footpaths either side. The gardens in front of the houses were full of trees, shrubs and flowers, even though some appeared to be neglected.

  In the tram on their way to the city, the two girls were surprised to see a number of mature and haughty-looking ladies with heavy make-up, dressed in colourful printed dresses with white collars, white lace gloves, strange little hats: a sight new to them.

  The ladies were looking at the girls with a degree of suspicion, making them aware of their own strangeness. At one stop three men dressed in black suits got in and dropped like lifeless sacks onto empty seats, their faces grim and empty. At the next stop a few more men got in. They were greasy-looking and unshaven, wearing singlets, their arms and necks full of tattoos. They looked as if they knew each other, talking loudly, maybe teasing each other as they laughed boisterously. A slovenly-looking fat lady with a grubby little girl came and sat close to Tasia, touching her and forcing her to move a bit to the side.

  ‘What sort of country is this? What sort of people are they?’

  She expressed her surprise and disappointment to Olga. But before Olga had time to respond the fat lady sneered at her, shouting,

  ‘Bloody wogs, if you can’t speak English go back to your own bloody country.’

  While Tasia didn’t fully understand the words, the woman’s expression and the fear on the child’s face left no doubts about the woman’s feelings.

  On their way back to the tram stop, they passed a corner building with its walls covered up to two metres by shiny green tiles. At that particular moment many people were coming out of the building, staggering, tottering and having great difficulty standing up. It was a rather frightening sight, and the two girls tried to move away as quickly as they could. But a staggering, middle-aged man close by lost his balance and fell flat in front of them. Automatically, Olga bent over to see what the matter was and offer help, while another man looking rather amused tried to stop her.