Annie and the Seven Sacraments - Chapter One

Annie and the Seven Sacraments

Chapter One

Annie and her family

Annie Duncan was sitting high up in her favourite hiding place, the old mulberry tree in the back garden.
Perched on a strong branch, her back resting comfortably against the massive tree trunk and completely hidden from view by the leaves, she attained a cosy, snug privacy here which was seldom to be found inside her own house.

Annie loved her home and her parents.
She also loved her little brothers, Jerry and Jimmy.
It was not always the easiest thing in the world to love Mrs Benson, their crusty old housekeeper, but Annie was working on it.
The dogs, cats and other pets Dad and her brothers were forever bringing home after picking them up abandoned in the streets and in need of care, made their own contribution to the noise and din inside.
Although she was only eight, Annie sometimes felt the need of a little peace, a quiet place where she might collect her thoughts and get them into order.

Today was one such day for today more than ever everything was topsy-turvy.
As she was on holiday from school, Annie had been able to escape from the noise and bother.
Chances were that her absence had gone unnoticed so far.
And so she sat, able to see the bigger part of her small hometown from her perch.

In the distance, the tower of the Church was clearly visible.
To the left of the church stood the convent, where Annie attended the third grade.
On the other side was the Brothers' school where Jimmy and Jerry were to go once they became old enough.
It had been Dad's school once, as the convent had been Mother's.
Her name, Monica Eckton, was painted high up on the board of honour.
Eckton had been Mother's surname until she had married Dad and become Mrs Monica Duncan.

Thinking about her mother, Annie yearningly turned her head into the direction of the Provincial Hospital.
It was that very hospital which was causing her so much heartache today.
Early in the morning she and her brothers had been roused from sleep by Mrs Benson.
"Up you get, lazybones," the housekeeper had grimly called as she pulled off Annie's blankets.
"Where's Mother?" Annie had asked, shocked out of sleep.
"She is in hospital."
"But why, Mrs Benson? Is she sick?"
"No, she is having a baby. And you'd better get up quickly.
If I've got to do all the work around here alone today, I'd better make an early start.
You use the bathroom first, then go and fetch your brothers."

It had been a miserable way to wake up.
Annie had called her brothers and explained the situation to them.
Dad was nowhere in sight.
He was with Mother, Mrs Benson had grimly said, adding: "Though what he wants there is more than I can understand."
Mrs Benson didn't like men, not even Dad, who was popular with most people.
She said that men were selfish, inconsiderate creatures.

"I was married for six years," she had once told Mother in Annie's hearing.
"Six years of plain, unadulterated hell.
As far as I'm concerned, no man in the world is worth worrying over."

Mother had lifted her eyebrows meaningly into Annie's direction and Mrs Benson had moved off, muttering dark things about men in general and her own husband in particular.
Mother had bitten her lip and returned to her cooking.
The house was too old and inconvenient for her to manage without assistance and so she had to put up with Mrs Benson as a result, but Annie could see it wasn't always easy for her.

Mrs Benson's dislike of Dad was cordially reciprocated.
On one occasion Annie had heard him plead with her mother to dismiss the housekeeper.
"How can I, Pat?" Mother had pleaded.
"I need Mrs Benson and she needs the money I pay her.
All she has is her old age pension and her subsidised municipal flat.
She has a son somewhere but he never comes next or near."
"I don't blame him," Dad replied.
"The question is: Is she so rude because he doesn't visit her or doesn't he visit her because she is so rude?"

Mother had sighed.
"Try as I may, I simply cannot keep this huge barracks clean without help," she said.
"Even when I clean day and night, the place still stays in a mess.
No sooner have I finished tidying one part of the house than Jimmy and Jerry start pulling it apart.
Yet one look from Mrs Benson's eyes and they behave impeccably.
And Pat, you must admit she really is a marvellous cleaner.
Your own mother says so and she's a stickler for perfection.
Besides, she isn't such a bad old soul really.
Underneath that grim exterior she hides a heart of gold."

"And a great job she does of it," Dad observed sourly.
Then he had gone into his bedroom to emerge a few minutes later, dressed in shorts, jogging shoes, T-shirt and peaked cap.
Dad was a marathon runner who practised daily, whatever the state of the weather.
Annie could foresee a good deal of energetic practising on his part for as long as Mrs Benson would sway the sceptre in the house.

The main trouble with Mrs Benson was that she did not seem to believe in God.
She never seemed to go to church or pray.
For Annie, this seemed very strange indeed.

Annie didn't like it when Mrs Benson spoke against her belief in God, neither did she believe her words.
She had only to compare her mother's serene face to Mrs Benson's grim one to realise that faith in God often brings happiness and joy, while criticism and contempt in matters of belief in God often bring unhappiness, anger and bitterness.

She only became worried that Mrs Benson said things that appeared to make sense, as she had done that morning.
It had been while the children were at breakfast.
The boys had been giggling and noisy.
Then Jerry had knocked a plate of porridge all over the table.

Mrs Benson had been furious.
"As soon as your mother has her baby, she will want to have it baptised," she said.
"But what harm has that little one ever done to anyone?
Every new baby has to be baptised, so that the child can grow in relationship with God, or so your mother has told me.
I just have to look at the two of you to know that it does no good.
All this baptising is for the birds.
I'm glad my son was never baptised."

The opening of the neighbour's back door roused Annie from her reverie.
Old Mrs Smith was one of her dearest friends.
A childless, elderly widow, she had instead a big family of animals.
Recently she had become ill and spent much time in hopsital.
One by one her animals had been given away to friends.
There were only a few left now.
Mrs Smith spent a lot of time each day feeding them and caring for them.

She was hanging the cage with the two budgies on one of the eaves as she did each morning when Annie, acting on impulse, lowered herself from the tree and climbed over the fence.

"Mrs Smith, Mother's gone into hospital to have the baby," she called out.
Her neighbour turned around a smile of delight on her kind and wrinkled face.
"That's wonderful! Come inside and let's say a prayer together for all to go off well.
Afterwards we can have tea.
I've been baking for the church bazaar and saved you some fairy cakes."

Story will be continued in Chapter Two