Ditta Sylvester, Contributor

When Cindy was born, her mother saw a halo around her head. Nobody else seemed to be aware of this phenomenon, so Miss Betty decided that the chief focus of her life would be to make everybody - chief of all, Cindy - fully aware of what was so obvious to only her.

That burden of perfection gave Cindy terrible headaches, which became even worse when Bishop Henderson came over for Sunday dinner. Miss Betty had hoped that cooking for the bishop would help to make him see how great a wife she would make him. But Bishop Henderson seemed never to get that point and, as Cindy grew, it was in her and not her mother that the man began to take interest. He warned the child of the dire consequences that would result, were she to tell her mother or anybody else about his inappropriate behaviour.

The headaches worsened and Miss Betty took Cindy to see the doctor, who advised her to ease up on the child a bit. Miss Betty ignored the doctor, his advice and his prescription and made her own diagnosis: The devil had taken possession of her daughter's mind. In the effort to detoxify her of evil, Cindy became familiar with quite a few balmyards in Jamaica. The headaches began to desist shortly after Cindy found the courage to inform Bishop Henderson that she would take the advice of her teacher and report him to the police, if he did not quit messing with her.

Cindy fell in love when she turned 19. Falling in love with somebody she had not instructed her to, was not a part of Miss Betty's plans for her daughter. She knew that Victor White considered himself the village ram and had no intention of settling down with any one ewe. But he had been intrigued by Cindy's innocence and the way she steadfastly refused to go to bed with him. In spite of himself, Victor grew to respect her. She never asked for money, but he felt obliged to give financial support to this shy, lonely girl, who wanted nothing more than a little attention.

Cindy's skirts became shorter as her hours with her new friend became longer, and she became very skilful at deluding her mother into thinking that she was still a docile, obedient girl. It was Sister Bennett - vibrant pillar of the church - who espied Cindy walking with Victor one night, made a beeline for Miss Betty's yard and enlightened her as to what she had seen in the dark.

"Is lick di gal want!" the portly pillar postulated.

Miss Betty nodded in agreement. "Watch me an' she tinight!" she warned.

So Miss Betty cut herself a sturdy 'rod of correction' from the tamarind tree in her backyard and waited. Cindy had left earlier that evening, telling her mother that she was going to minister to the elderly in that neighborhood. Miss Betty pounced just after Cindy had sneaked in and removed the long white skirt she had worn to hide her miniskirt from her mother.

"Easy noh Mama!" the girl pleaded as she dodged and jumped about the room, trying to escape the whip. But Miss Betty was beyond reasoning and relentlessly she kept up the pursuit.

"Dragging you naked backside all round di place wid dis dutty bway!" she muttered angrily.

"But why you cursing like dat, Mama?" Cindy objected, trying to appeal to her mother's religious side.

"I going buss you backside dis night!" Miss Betty responded as she landed a blow full across her daughter's soft, nubile thighs.

"Mama!"

Cindy paused in mid-leap, gazing in disbelief at the blood spurting from the gash left by the whip. Miss Betty saw it, but was unrepentant. She was poised to level another blow when Cindy caught the whip, wrested it from her mother, and turned on her. Every bit of the repressed rage and frustration of 19 years of trying and failing to please her mother was channelled into the blows she rained on the startled woman that night. When she finally came to her senses, Cindy realised that she had beaten up very badly on her own mother.

So grave was the stress of this confrontation that Miss Betty took to her bed. So great was Cindy's guilt that it could only be assuaged by doing her mother's every bidding. She tried to put Victor out of her mind as she nursed her mother back to health. The bishop had just left after visiting the sick one Sunday, when Miss Betty called her daughter to her bedside.

"Is me alone you have in dis world Cindy," she said. "And I not getting any younger. I woulda feel so much betta if you woulda settle down an married in di church."

"You mustn't worry, Mama," Cindy consoled. "You soon feel betta an I can take care o' myself now."

"I just know say as I close my eye you goin start up back wid dat Victor bway again," Miss Betty predicted gloomily.

"But why you worrin' bout him?" Cindy asked. "Me an him not friend again."

"Him just waiting fi my eye shut fi take up wid you again," Miss Betty continued. "An every time I tink bout dat is like it draw mi closer to mi grave."

"Mama!" Cindy exclaimed. "You can't make dat sorta foolishness kill you off!"

"You is mi one girl child," Miss Betty continued. "I want to see you settle down wid a decent man. Not up and down di place wid dat ..." She coughed and sputtered. "Dat ole careless bway!"

"Easy Mama," the girl said with concern. "Why you upsetting yourself like dis?"

Miss Betty did not calm down. Instead she started crying softly.

"You coulda meck mi las' days so happy," she moaned.

"How?" Cindy asked.

"Married to Bishop Henderson."

The wedding started out beautifully. Cindy wasn't sure that she could keep the vows but she said them for her mother's sake. It was only when the preacher told Bishop Henderson to 'kiss the bride' that things turned ugly: Eagerly the groom complied. Bravely, the virgin bride embraced. Long and lecherously he lingered in her mouth; until the painful memories of his molestations sprang to her mind and Cindy bit down hard on her husband's tongue.

The bishop's bald head jerked backwards as he struggled to hide his pain. Miss Betty whimpered. Sister Bennett swore softly. Most of the onlookers sat transfixed in shock. Others bit their lips to abort an inappropriate giggle. Their eyes followed helplessly as the bride turned and ran from the church.

Miss Betty did not have a relapse, as Cindy had feared. When her daughter explained why she was so revolted by the bishop, she was surprisingly understanding but very disillusioned by a man whom she had regarded as the epitome of righteousness. When Miss Betty told Sister Bennett about it, the latter reacted exactly how Cindy had feared that her own mother might have - with total disbelief.

Miss Betty was much more accommodating of Victor afterwards, and Sister Bennett has since come to the conclusion that the bishop desperately needs her as a wife to protect him from the 'abomination of lying lips' in his congregation. She is taking cooking lessons now and bought herself a case of night cream from the Avon lady. Nobody knows why she packed up her teenaged niece, who used to keep her company, and sent the girl back to St James.

- END