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Dotting Parents
Jailbirds
By Joey Matthew
Smashwords Edition
Copyright © 2012 Joey Matthew
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If you’re reading this eBook and did not purchase it, please purchase a copy. This eBook contains disturbing material and is intended for a tough audience. Spoiler alert: skip to chapter one, if you would rather enjoy the story from the very beginning!
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“We hereby sentence the couple to twenty years in prison!” The chief judge pronounced the verdict to the large crowd that had assembled to hear the final outcome of the popular case that was being debated both in court and in the British media. The case had brought in extra large crowds owing to the big curiosity the incident had aroused among the public. The trial was unprecedented and would be a guide to future cases that involve child neglect and endangerment.
Although no crime was actually committed by the perpetrators, their negligence had caused such a tragedy, and the whole of Great Britain was holding their breath, following the case on a daily basis. The television viewership covering the case was more than that of the last prime minister’s address to the nation and the wedding of Prince William combined.
The verdict was unanimous, with none of the judges opposing. The parents had failed in their fiduciary duty to supervise the young ones, thereby initiating the turn of events that led to the unthinkable tragedy, which could have been easily avoided with a little common sense!
“Let this be a lesson to all parents that contemplate leaving their little ones home alone to save a few bucks!” The chief judge had declared with such fervor, the courtroom audience had taken a deep sigh. At one time or another, most residents of the little town were guilty of taking the liberty to leave their little ones in the car for a quick trip inside a department store, or to run a swift errand!
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Chapter One
“Maryann, can I have a word with you, please?” Bill, an officer at the local branch of the Bank of India, finally decided to propose to Maryann and thought of an occasion to do so. He decided to accidentally bump into her at the local Catholic Church, where she attended holy mass every Sunday morning without fail. Bill didn’t have flowers or a diamond ring — just himself!
Maryann hailed from a traditional catholic family who were descendants of one of the seven Hindu Priests baptized by none other than St. Thomas himself, who had sailed to India to preach the gospel after the death of Jesus. She had picked up her religious habits listening to her mom and grandmother reciting the rosary early in the mornings before sunrise, everyday, all 365 days of the year.
The children in the family didn’t have to depend on an alarm clock as the regular recitals woke each one up in the early morning hours, irrespective of what day of the week it was. The two older ladies of the house beat the roosters to the punch, every morning, like clockwork — a ritual that was kept up until the old lady finally kicked the bucket at the golden age of one hundred and four!
Bill approached Maryann and blurted out what he had on his mind without any preamble. The man was nervous and Maryann had noticed it the first time she had laid eyes on his muscular figure that very morning, as he leisurely set foot into the male section of the church they were both attending regularly. The handsome dude with the bulging biceps and an easy smile looked like a bouncer, and could surely pass off as a spokesperson for an upscale gymnasium.
The light colored short-sleeve shirts he wore to church often with the two top buttons undone to keep his vital organs cool, was enough to drive the young maidens crazy. Everyone knew that he was the most eligible bachelor around and the women would glance in his direction as often as they could. Marriages were one hundred percent arranged by parents at the time, and hence all bachelors were unencumbered, unless they were engaged to be married already.
Engagements were often announced in the church for several weeks at a time so that if legitimate impediments exist, they may be made known by the public, as was the general custom. To break free of this rule, express permission from the Bishop was needed upon paying a hefty fee. This was necessary, especially for couples on leave from abroad who wanted to tie the knot and return back to their place of employment in a hurry.
Many Indians worked overseas, including the United States, the United Kingdom and the gulf countries; so this custom of bypassing marriage announcements in the church was very common and was eagerly embraced by the Catholic Church. Anything to boost the church coffer; that’s how they looked at this necessary evil!
Getting a man with a job was really like winning the lottery those days in India, as most men toiled to make both ends meet. Apart from the well-paid job he had at the bank, Bill also sported a very fair complexion, with curly hair, and good looks to go with his muscular body. He looked more like a white man on a much needed vacation in India.
“Maryann, can I have a word with you, please?” he repeated his question. Maryann treated him like a younger brother, and her friendship with him was nothing more than that. She had no clue what was on Bill’s mind. Although she flirted with him occasionally, she only did that just to pass time and she had no designs on him, otherwise!
“Sure Bill, what’s up? Are you looking for a girl to take care of your ailing parents back in Kerala?” She asked without batting an eye-lid. Both Maryann and Bill hailed from the southern state of Kerala and spoke the native tongue called Malayalam. Bill was twenty-seven years old, while Maryann was thirty-five, and a spinster, according to Indian standards. She normally wore a sari, a traditional Indian dress for adult women. Young girls wore a skirt and a blouse until they turned eighteen or when they needed their training brassier to hide whatever was sprouting underneath all that goodness.
Although Maryann looked above average, her dark complexion and plane-Jane-looks didn’t attract many suitors. The eligible bachelors preferred someone pretty with a fair complexion. It was a fact that society those days looked kindly upon the folks with fair complexions and they had better opportunities to endure the many ladders one had to climb to reach the top of the brutal world that was ahead of them.
Even the teachers including the nuns who taught in convent schools succumbed to such discriminatory behavior. The nuns at the St. Agnes Elementary School in Muttuchira where Maryann and her siblings received their schooling were not averse to this practice either. “If the holy sisters did it, then how could anyone blame the common man?”
If a student is light skinned, then the chances of getting away with rowdy behavior was very high those days. Coming from a rich family added to this advantage causing mayhem among the students hailing from the not so well-to-do families. Maryann’s younger brother, who was darker than her, was in fact caned one day for a crime he hadn’t committed. The boy was so mad, he refused to go to that school run by the catholic nuns and his father had to enroll him at a different school to placate the youngster’s pride!
The potential grooms that really came across as suitable matches for Maryann were in fact gold diggers looking for someone to support their large family with Maryann’s stable income. Maryann had a post-graduate degree and a much sought after government job, which involved overseeing an orphanage full of women, and other perks that came along with it, including a vehicle and driver to take her around the city. Jobseekers in India those days would kill for such a job, and her designation catapulted her to the position of a gazetted officer who is entitled to attest documents as original with her seal of approval.
“Not my parents; they’re okay!” Answered Bill responding to Maryann’s question about the state of health of his ailing parents back home, and whether they needed constant supervision by one of Maryann’s charges.
“You know, I can’t let you have any of my girls?”
“Seriously, Maryann, I would never think of asking a girl for myself; you know that, right?”
“I didn’t think so, but I decided to warn you anyway; so tell me, what is it that you want from me?”
“Promise me you won’t laugh at my suggestion,” added Bill with a sheepish grin. Looking at his predicament, Maryann laughed and tried to hide it by saying, “Go ahead; amuse me, will you?”
“Actually, I wanted to ask your hand in marriage!”
“My hand? You know my hands are tied to my girls forever, right?”
“Come on, Maryann, be serious. I’m dying out here, and it’s just a joke for you. I’m talking about life here, my life!”
“You better entrust your life to someone younger and prettier than me, Romeo!”
“I’m in love with you, Maryann; don’t you see? You have to marry me or I’m going to fall apart right here!”
“You want me to call the Priest?”
“To marry us? Now?” Bill couldn’t help himself!
“No dummy, for your last rites!” responded Maryann. She just couldn’t help it! Christians often requested a priest just before their death to receive the sacrament of last rite, which would smooth their entry into heaven upon their demise.
“Please, Maryann—”
She looked at Bill sternly and continued, “Me getting married? Not a chance, Bill. I had buried any thoughts of ever getting married a long time ago!”
With that Maryann walked towards her car. Her driver opened the door for her as he saw his memsahib — the name for the Bose, when it happens to be a woman in India — coming towards the automobile. The car and driver were part of her benefit-package of running probably the biggest government orphanage in the state in Ahmadabad, Gujarat State, in India. As the director of the facility, her rank enabled her to notarize documents and certify them. When the election season came around once every few years, government ministers and legislators made a beeline for her blessing. They knew that as the director of the facility, she wielded enormous power and they wanted to attach themselves to her coattails until the voting was over!
Over a hundred residents of varying age were given shelter at the facility, and if they all voted as a block, that would be a lot of votes for the politicians. Getting Maryann on their side would ensure their votes. Maryann was a smooth operator and she supported all the candidates, and assured them that when the time comes around, her girls would do the right thing. As far as Maryann was concerned, there was no harm in pleasing everyone and that would ensure a constant flow of funds for the daily running of the huge complex, which was strategically located in the capital city of the state of Gujarat.
Maryann had no other funds to support the facility and getting on the bad side of politicians could be dangerous to her job as well as the future of her institution as a whole. The lives of countless women and children were at stake. The residents depended on her to run the place smoothly, and get the required funds necessary for their survival!
From time to time, many of the young girls were adopted by willing residents, but the inflow of destitute women were in fact higher than that of the number of adoptions, causing the population to keep growing, resulting in tension among the inmates at the orphanage. The number of residents at the orphanage was always higher than what the facility could support with the meager resources they were allotted from the government of Gujarat State!
Maryann was forced to turn away many women abused by their husbands due to either a lack of space or funds. She had a graduate degree in social work and had several years of experience counseling residents. As a result of her many counseling sessions, she was able to give the women the tools to survive and send several of them back home. Most of these ladies had taken temporary shelter at the facility, owing to the constant abuse by their alcoholic husbands. There were a few orphans there as well, who waited for generous parents adopt them.
Women also sought help as a result of parent abuse, although it was not as common as abuse of women by their husbands. There were also women threatened by their husbands and in-laws as a result of arguments over inadequate dowry, promised by the woman’s father prior to marriage. Bride burnings that involved pouring kerosene over an unwanted bride and setting her on fire by the in-laws were also pretty common in that part of town!
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Chapter Two
Maryann was the first child born to the Puthen Purayil family and when she was born, her father Joseph had decided to give her the best education money could buy. After she turned five, Mr. Joseph enrolled her in St. Agnes Elementary School in Muttuchira, which was famous for turning out well-educated girls ready for college. The Carmelite nuns who ran the facility made sure of it. The principal of the school, Sr. Leonita was even awarded the best principal of the state by the then Chief Minister of Kerala. It was a proud moment for Sr. Leonita and the whole of Muttuchira celebrated the event in a special celebration organized by the public.
As Maryann got older, she would bring news to Mr. Joseph upon her return from school, “Dad, we are getting a new auditorium for the school,” Maryann was giving the day’s hot news to Mr. Joseph.
“Oh, yeah, what happened to the old one?” Mr. Joseph knew that the only place where the school had their functions held were either on school grounds, when it was not raining, or the church auditorium, which was only several hundred feet from the high school.
“The old auditorium? What are you talking about dad? There is no such thing!”
“I knew that; but where did your principal, Sr. Leonita get that kind of money? Has she got a rich boyfriend?”