“No. No coffee thanks.”
A prolonged silence ensued, neither party eager to launch into a c nversation that promised to be tricky at the very least. Eventually Beth’s curiosity got the better of her.
“I suppose this is about Mark, is it?”
“Well yes,” responded Helen. “I have a question to ask you.”
Beth quailed internally. Her plans to increase Helen’s insecurity now seemed foolish and cruel. She searched desperately for something to say that would not be misleading, but might still serve her purpose. She failed, and instead sat there in silence.
Eventually it was Helen who spoke.
“Do you want Mark or not? I suppose you know that he thinks that he’s in love with you again.”
Still silence.
“I’m actually trying to do you a favour,” said Helen, annoyed by Beth’s silence.
This comment irritated Beth and she was finally motivated to respond.
“Doing me a favour? Exactly what do you want from me?”
“I told you. I want to know if you still want Mark. If the answer is no then I’ll go and leave you alone. If the answer is yes, then I think I need to warn you about something.”
There it was. Now Beth was really angry. Did Helen think that she could come and threaten her in her own home?
“Look Helen, if you and Mark are having difficulties then that’s your problem. Coming here and making threats won’t do you any good. If you want to save your relationship so much, go and talk to him.”
“Oh, but I don’t,” answered Helen, with such wide-eyed earnestness that Beth, although amazed, didn’t doubt her for a second.
“But didn’t you come here to warn me away? You are not making any sense.”
“I asked you if you wanted Mark. I never said that I wanted him.”
Confusion swept over Beth. She had mistaken Helen’s purpose and was now firmly on the back foot. On the one hand, if Helen were telling the truth, then all Beth’s fears for her children were unfounded. Mark had no de facto relationship to take them to and the Courts would hardly prefer him as a custodial parent under those circumstances. This was truly wonderful news. Still the question remained. If Helen was genuine, why her sudden interest in Beth’s relationship with her husband?
“You don’t get it, do you?” said Helen, regarding Beth’s astonished expression.
Beth shook her head. Helen tried to explain.
“I know Mark doesn’t love me any more. He doesn’t even seem to love Chance. He’s made me so miserable over these last months. He’s made me feel completely alone. Like I don’t have a friend in the world and that this beautiful baby I gave him is worthless. His family treat me like dirt. He barely even talks to me. Oh. Unless he’s yelling at me for spending too much of HIS money. Hell, we don’t even screw anymore! Well, I can tell you one thing. He’s going to pay for what he’s done to me. Why should he just get you back and live happily ever after? Like me and Chance never existed? I don’t want him to get away with it. So I need to know if you want him back. I hope you don’t. That would be perfect. But if you do, I’ve got something to tell you that might change your mind.”
Beth had heard enough. She felt uncomfortable with both the intimacy and intensity of Helen’s outburst. The girl was clearly a little unhinged. Anyway, Beth knew all that she needed to know. As she suspected, Mark’s threatened custody bid was merely a ploy to pressure Beth into a reconciliation. It was a relief that there was now no need to deal with Helen dishonestly. Actually Beth felt a great deal of sympathy for her. Mark had obviously treated her with callous indifference.
Now, as far as Beth was concerned, the visit was over. She was a private person and although she had received some very welcome information, it did not seem appropriate to discuss things any further.
“I’m sorry. It sounds like you truly have had a terrible time. But it really is between you and Mark. I’m just not prepared to continue this discussion. Again, I’m sorry, but you are going to have to go now.”
To emphasise her decision, Beth stood up and walked to the door. Helen followed her, stopping only to scoop up the baby’s toys and pick up Chance who had happily wiggled his way half way under the couch. She was clearly still very agitated.
“You stuck-up bitch!” Helen screamed. “If you think that you and Mark can just take-up where you left off and play Happy Families, then think again. Mark won’t have his fancy job, or his money by the time I finish with him.”
Beth went outside and walked past Helen’s car, trying to ignore her. Helen followed, shouting.
“I’m not leaving until you answer my question.” Beth increased her walking pace and headed through a gate that led to the stables. Dell, the Collie, bounced eagerly along the path ahead. Behind her Beth could still hear Helen calling out for her to stop. A flurry of excited barking distracted Beth. In the paddock, just past the woodpile, Dell had ambushed an Echidna going quietly about his business of ant eating. Having discovered a large meat ant mound, he was proceeding to excavate it with his strong front digging claws, enthusiastically harvesting the agitated insects with his long, sticky tongue as they swarmed around. The furious ants were unable to penetrate his spiny hide with their vicious stings.
Momentarily Beth forgot about Helen and climbed through the fence to rescue Dell who, unlike the Echidna, was in danger of being badly bitten. By now the Echidna had half dug himself into the ground, his vulnerable face and underbelly tucked safely away. Only his formidable spines, swarming with ants, were exposed.
Beth called to Dell, trying to encourage her away from the danger. A bloodcurdling scream startled them both and they swung around to face the direction of the noise. A sickening sight greeted them. Helen, down on her hands and knees, was scrabbling around, reaching for something in the woodpile. To Beth’s horror she realised that she was reaching for Chance. Helen had impulsively climbed through the fence while carrying the baby, to follow Beth. As she hurried over the uneven ground in her strappy high heeled sandals, she tripped over a piece of firewood at the edge of the wood pile, falling heavily and triggering a defence attack from the wasps within.
The mother’s screams were joined by those of her child, as the helpless infant, lying almost directly on top of the entrance to the hive, bore the full brunt of the attack. Defying the angry insects and enduring many painful stings, Helen grabbed her baby and ran in pain and panic towards the fence, followed for a hundred metres by the angry swarm.
Beth sprinted over to the injured pair. Their screams were deafening. Helen stood at the fence, frozen to the spot, staring aghast at her child who lay crying and rigid in her arms. A tiger-striped wasp emerged from behind Chance’s ear and crawled over his face. For a moment the two women stood speechless, too horrified to move. Then Beth sprang into action, flicking the wasp carefully away and taking the baby gingerly from his mother’s grasp.
“Get through the fence. Quickly. We need to get Chance to a doctor.”
The terrified girl gratefully met Beth’s gaze, then obeyed. At a stumbling run they made their way back up the path to where the cars were parked. Beth opened the passenger door of Helen’s car.
“Put him in his car seat and go and get your keys. I’ll drive you to the hospital. Now!” ordered Beth. She paused to look at Chance. He was clearly still in intense pain, but she noted with relief that his breathing didn’t seem to be affected – if one could judge by the volume of his cries. His exposed limbs and his face were covered in dozens of white weals with central red spots. It seemed that every inch of his skin was inflamed and local swellings were puffing up rapidly around the sting sites. Even the top of his head was affected, ugly welts showing through his fine blonde hair.
Beth was only too well aware of the danger the child was in. Her preoccupation with wasps over the summer led her to read widely on the subject. If the baby suffered a systemic reaction, his circulatory system would be affected. This could lead to possible dizziness, fainting and unconsc
iousness caused by a massive drop in blood pressure. Equally, he could suffer a respiratory reaction and have trouble breathing. Beth’s thoughts became increasingly panicked when she considered the seriousness of such a reaction upon one of such tender years. With a massive effort she composed herself and turned her attention to Helen. The girl was sobbing with pain and fear, her own body and face covered in multiple, painful looking stings. With her eyes red from crying and her hair damp with sweat and tears, she suddenly looked about fifteen years old.
It occurred to Beth that Helen’s ridiculously skimpy outfit had afforded her almost no protection from the attack. Beth repeated her instructions.
“Helen. Put him in the car. Are your keys in your bag? We need to hurry.”
This time Helen responded, nodding miserably and placing the screaming child in his car seat. Beth ran to the house, grabbed Helen’s tote bag and then took several packs of frozen peas from the fridge. Grabbing some tea towels to wrap them in, Beth ran back to the car, urging Helen to apply the cold compresses to the baby’s inflamed skin. With a grim face, she began the thirty minute drive to the local hospital emergency room. During the interminable trip, Beth tried to fight back her tears. If only she had exterminated the nest! Guilt welled-up in Beth and settled like a terrible weight on her chest. But deep down, so deep that she barely acknowledged it herself, she grieved for the queen and the fate that now inevitably awaited her.
At the hospital the women waited in Triage, taking turns to nurse the inconsolable child. Beth began to feel reassured that Chance might have not have sustained any lasting damage. Although still acutely aware of the danger of massive systemic breakdown, to Beth’s untrained eye the baby seemed to be suffering nothing more than acute pain and swelling. His loud, constant crying, although gut wrenching, was probably a good sign. Beth now observed Helen with a new compassion. The young mother’s deep distress for her child was etched all over her swollen features.
Helen looked up at Beth. Her eyes were filled with an expression of desperate helplessness instantly recognisable by another mother. It was the expression of someone who finds themselves totally powerless to comfort their child. Chance’s red, bloated face was distorted into a mask of pain. His howls were quieter now, coming in long tired wails, which were for some reason more disturbing than his earlier full-blown screaming. Logic told Beth that Helen must also be suffering a great deal from her own numerous, painful stings. Yet she seemed oblivious to them, fixing all her attention on Chance. Her thoughts turned to Helen’s surprising revelation. Mark denied his new partner affection and intimacy, isolating her and her baby at a time when a woman needs an excess of love and support. What had she said again? ‘He’s made me feel completely alone.’
Beth’s heart went out to the girl. Then she remembered Helen’s wild threats to ruin Mark and she felt a little chill run through her.
“Where the hell is the doctor?” cried Helen, just as a young intern and a nurse approached. The nurse took a short history as the doctor, grim faced, examined the baby.
“We’re going to admit him,” he said after a minute or two. In a quiet, reassuring tone he attempted to calm the anxious mother, explaining that the admission was precautionary but advisable considering the multiple nature of the baby’s stings. Still crying, Chance was placed in a cot and wheeled away from his protesting mother by the nurse. Another nurse came to them with some hospital forms.
“We just need you to fill these out for us and then we’ll show you straight up to the ward. He’s in the best of hands.” Beth began to feel that it was not her place to stay. She turned to speak to Helen.
“Let me ring Mark for you. He really should be here.”
“No!” said Helen with a startled expression.
“But you shouldn’t be alone and I really have to go soon. My kids, you know. They’ll be home soon from school.”
For the first time today, Beth saw Helen smile. It was quite charming.
“Yeah. Actually I do know your kids. They’re terrific.”
It was now Beth’s turn to smile. Helen continued.
“Actually I have already rung somebody. They won’t be long.”
Beth felt relieved. She presumed that Helen had called her mother or some other relative. A nurse arrived and encouraged Helen to hurry up with the forms as she was needed in the ward. Yes, the baby was stable. As Helen turned to go, she gave Beth a grateful smile. Suddenly Beth remembered the original purpose of Helen’s ill fated visit to her that day.
“The answer is no,” said Beth.
“No, What?” asked Helen.
“You know that question you asked me before? About Mark? No, I don’t want him.”
Helen dissolved into tears and impetuously moved forward to hug Beth tightly. Tears trickled down her cheeks, moistening Beth’s collar. After an extended moment they separated, both feeling a little awkward.
“Thank you,” said Helen and then she disappeared into the lift.
Beth sat a while, processing the awful events of the afternoon. She glanced at her watch and got a shock when she realised how late it was. Rick and Sarah would soon be home. She used her mobile phone to leave them a message about being late. Remembering that she didn’t have her car, she rang Irene who agreed to pick her up within the hour. There was nothing to do but wait for her lift home. Now that the immediate crisis was past, Beth actually felt worse. If only she had destroyed the nest! The image of Chance’s tiny, swollen face and terrified eyes constantly hijacked her mind’s eye. To her dismay, she disintegrated into soft sobbing and when she rose to change her seat to one less conspicuous, her legs almost buckled under her. It was all she could do to keep from falling.
Selecting a less public position in the far corner of the waiting room, she tried to compose herself before Irene arrived. As she sat, quietly struggling with her feelings, she noticed a man enter the emergency room and approach the counter. Something about him seemed vaguely familiar. As he turned from the counter to face her she got a good look at him. It took her a little time before she realised that the handsome young man had something of the look of a young Mark. His confident walk and boyish good looks reminded her of her husband fifteen years ago. As she watched him, Helen appeared from the lift, eyes still red from crying, and looked briefly about as if searching for someone. Assuming that Helen was looking for her, Beth rose, a little unsteadily at first, to her feet. But to her surprise the young Mark look-alike bounded to Helen’s side and extended a muscular and well-tanned consoling arm around her shoulder.
“A brother, perhaps?” Beth thought. They seemed around the same age. Then the young man took Helen in his arms and began to tenderly kiss away the tears from her eyes. The situation became instantly clear to Beth. Helen had a lover. Confused, she edged her way to the door, reluctant to be noticed. However there seemed to be no fear of that. Helen’s attention was entirely focused on her male companion, allowing Beth to slip away unseen.
Outside the hospital she spotted Irene’s battered Land Rover and waved her down. Silently she climbed in, unable for some time to speak. Irene drove off slowly, glancing occasionally at her friend, reluctant to hurry her. As soon as they cleared the city limits and turned up the road leading to the mountains, Beth related the extraordinary events of the day. Irene was amazed and horrified.
“Actually, it all makes sense,” she mused. “Paul’s told me of some gossip at the sailing club, but I don’t normally take that sort of thing seriously.”
“What sort of gossip?” asked Beth curiously.
Paul and Mark had at one time been great friends and shared a passion for sailing. However Beth imagined that her estranged husband had little time for such pleasures these days, and said so.
You’re right,” continued Irene. “Mark hasn’t been there for a while. But the rumour mill grinds on. Seems there’s been talk of Helen running around right under Mark’s nose. Either he doesn’t know or doesn’t care. I’ve heard that he’s having big problems at work too.
One of the other partners told Paul that Mark’s concentration’s shot and that he’s mucked up some important deals. He’s been agro when anyone tries to talk to him. Seems even his job might be on the line, but for some reason he just doesn’t seem to get it.”
Beth was shocked and more than a little angry at her friend for keeping this to herself.
“Thanks for finally telling me this stuff. It’s always nice to be the last to know,” she said in a sarcastic tone.
“Hang on!” Irene protested. “Aren’t you the one who hates rumour mongers? It’s only hearsay after all. And anyway, I didn’t want to worry you. You’re having enough trouble with Mark as it is and I didn’t want to make it any worse.”
Beth considered Irene’s words and conceded that she’d often expressed a dislike for gossip. However this was different and could impact on her children. She had deserved to know.
“All the same, I would have liked to be told so that I can make up my own mind. Have you left anything out?”
“No, not really. Only that Mark’s behaviour has been pretty bizarre. That’s all Paul said.”
A defensive Irene drove on in silence. After a few minutes Beth relented and began a conversation to ease the tension. In the back of her mind however, she was going over everything her friend had told her. It seemed that Mark may be in serious trouble.
CHAPTER 22
From the wasp’s point of view, the attack on the baby was a terrific success. The nest always buzzed with pride when they repelled intruders. In truth however, the colony rarely felt threatened. Few dared to challenge them and those like Helen, who unwittingly came too close, would never repeat their folly. Zenandra and her kin now reigned over the garden as the apex predator. Even eagles and snakes acknowledged the wasp’s supremacy, affording them a wide berth and meekly relinquishing their prey to the hungry hordes if required to do so.
The pair of Wedge-Tailed Eagles that nested annually in the valley beyond Beth’s garden, feared the wasps from bitter personal experience. Earlier that season they’d looked on helplessly, as a swarm of wasps descended on their fledglings and devoured the eyes of the living chicks, until only gaping hollows remained. The eaglets did not immediately die, but lingered on for an agonising few days. The heart broken parent birds abandoned them, realising that there was no further point trying to raise their blind babies. After they died, the insects returned to strip their tiny frames bare of flesh. The skeletons remained in the nest as testimony to the wasp’s invincibility.
Wasp Season Page 17
