Witi Ihimaera - Uncle's Story

‘Oh, Jeez,’ George said. ‘Tell me, Sarge, tell me what I should do —’

Not Sam. Sarge.

It was too late. Sam was watching the door and, outside the church, Emma had arrived. She was radiant. When she stepped out of the car, on the arm of Arapeta, who was giving her away on behalf of the family, even those who had known her as Big Emma were made speechless by her beauty. Moved by the occasion, some of the old women began to call Emma into the church.

‘Haramai, e hine, haramai, haramai, haramai —’

Emma’s mother, Lilly, who had once seen her son Turei go off to war, replied on her daughter’s behalf. She who had taken the axe to her son’s coffin lifted her face to the sun and cried out:

‘Karanga mai ra koutou ki a matou —’

Call us in, you who wait, call my daughter and let it be the call of love, oh let it be the call of man to woman.

Sam stole a quick glance at Cliff to see that he was all right. Cliff’s face was like a pale star, and Sam knew he was feeling the emotion of the moment. He saw Patty come to the rescue and take Cliff’s hand in hers. Throughout the church wedding guests were sighing, remembering Turei.

All of a sudden, Sam heard George moan. Sam looked at him questioningly, and George recovered.

‘It’s all right, Sarge. I know I’m doing the right thing —’

Sam pressed George’s shoulders reassuringly. Yes, something was being put right today. Some attempt was being made to close the gap where once a laughing soldier had been. Out of this marriage would come a son — not Turei’s own, but he would be of Turei’s spirit, coming out of his proxy, his good friend, George.

‘She’s almost here,’ Sam said.

He saw a blur of white and the scent of a bridal bouquet as Emma moved down the aisle on Arapeta’s arm. A gleam as sun glowed on Arapeta’s medals. The organ was playing and the old women were still calling, calling, calling.

‘Come forth, come forward, beloved, and come to your husband.’

Then Arapeta and Emma were beside George. Arapeta was so splendid and handsome in his military regalia, and everybody knew what a father he had been to Emma after her own Dad had died. Sam, watching it all, felt again the formidable nature of his father’s charisma, and the force of his authority. You think that the guests had come just for George and Emma? No, they had also come because Arapeta, their leader, had called them. Godlike, he was, in all respects, invincible, and Sam remembered Mum’s words:

‘If anything happens, Son, I will not be able to intervene. You will be on your own.’

Arapeta snapped a salute at George, and there was a murmur of laughter as he whispered in George’s ear, no doubt to give him manly advice. Then Arapeta turned to the audience. His eyes skimmed above General Collinson and the Army brass, as if they weren’t there.

‘Cheeky old bastard,’ General Collinson muttered.

Instead, Arapeta sought the faces of his old Battalion mates, Claude, Kepa and Hemi among them. With great dignity he saluted them before taking his place beside Emma’s mother. Florence, watching, felt herself trembling as she remembered her own wedding day. Something strong and good had died in her that day, and later, that night, when Arapeta had abusively thrust his penis into her every opening as if she was made of dirt.

Sam smiled at Emma. George was trembling so violently that Sam thought he would crack apart. Emma slipped her right hand into George’s. For a moment, George’s hand remained open. Hesitantly, as if unsure, it closed on Emma’s. Then George stopped shivering and his fingers interlocked with hers.

‘Haramai ki te kai.’

The call came from the dining room for the guests to come and eat. Sam was relaxed now that he’d managed to get George through the ceremony. On his part, once he’d said ‘Yes’, George had seemed happier. Sam tried to persuade himself that his friend’s whole problem had been simply last-minute nerves. He made a silent prayer that the marriage would be happy. He set about looking for Cliff.

‘I wouldn’t worry too much about your mate,’ Arapeta said, amused. ‘Ever since he got here he’s been surrounded!’

Indeed, Sam saw that Cliff’s presence was causing a sensation among the teenage girls — not to mention some of the older women, unattached and attached. He was American, he was drop-dead gorgeous and he’d been a heroic chopper pilot to boot. Not only that, but Anita and Kara had been gossiping about the manly attributes they had glimpsed down at the waterhole. The consequence was that girls were bumping into Cliff accidentally on purpose from all directions.

‘I think you need rescuing,’ Sam said. ‘What is this power you have over women?’

He pointed to yet another group of starstruck girls who were hanging out with Patty, quizzing her on Cliff.

‘I’ve never understood it,’ Cliff answered, pretending wide-eyed innocence. ‘Sometimes it gets so bad that girls all over the place are walking into lamp posts.’

Laughing, Sam shepherded Cliff to the back of the cookhouse. There, Jake, Jimbo and Bully were drinking beer with other local boys while waiting for the hangi to cook.

‘You’d better watch out,’ Bully winked at Cliff. ‘Maori women are sweet loving women. If they want you they’ll get you. Before you know it you’ll have a kid on the way and you won’t be needing that airline ticket back to the States.’

‘Gee, guys,’ Cliff responded. ‘I better radio a chopper team to pull me out.’

‘You think you’ll get away that easily?’ Jimbo asked. ‘If there’s any blond kids born here nine months from now, there’ll be a war party coming over to the States to bring you back.’

‘Er,’ Cliff said. ‘Is that dead or alive?’

The boys roared with laughter and slapped Cliff on the back. He was like one of them, all right, a real good bloke.

‘Hey, Cliff! Come and sit by us!’

As soon as Cliff walked into the dining room girls were calling him.

‘You’re on your own, Illinois boy,’ Sam said. ‘I’m compére as well as George’s best man. I have to sit at the top table with the wedding party.’

‘Can’t I come with you?’

‘Tell you what,’ Sam said. ‘I’ll sit you next to the prettiest girl here.’ He plonked Cliff in the seat beside Grand-Auntie Annie, eighty if she was a day, and browned to perfection by the sun.

‘Yeth,’ Auntie Annie said because she hadn’t any teeth, ‘you thit right nextht to me and I’ll look after you.’

Sam made his way towards the top table. Mum, Dad, Lilly and General Collinson were already at their seats. Sam got a nod from the boy at the door. He took the microphone.

‘Ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the bride and groom.’

George and Emma entered with Emma’s son. The boy’s presence caused one wag to whisper in a loud voice: ‘Boy, that was quick.’

Sam signed to the vicar, who stood up and began to intone the prayer for grace: ‘Whakapaingia enei kai —’

Before the pastor could draw another breath —

‘Amen,’ someone said.

The serious business of eating began. The kitchen doors burst open and in came the servers with bowls of seafood — crayfish, paua, mussels, oysters, all the bounty of the sea. At Arapeta’s command, the boys of the village had been diving for two days to bring such a rich harvest to the wedding. General Collinson’s mouth dropped open in amazement.

Sam couldn’t stop himself. He took the microphone again.

‘Hey! All you people, send your oysters over here! George will need all he can get. I understand that Emma has certain plans about what to do with his manly body tonight.’

George fixed Sam with a steely grin. Emma pretended to be virginal.