The
Order
-
Renu Singh -
“What do you
mean you can’t take him away?” Suman was
yelling at the Police Officer who stood there staring
at her with a concerned look. He arrived there in his
cruiser after someone placed a 911 call from this
address.
“Please take
him away…please.” She pleaded again.
“Calm down
Madam, and listen to me. Your husband isn’t home,
so you don’t have to worry about him for now.
Just calm down, O.K.?” The Officer repeated
himself again.
“He is not
going to disappear! He is just waiting for you to go
away. He is going to kill me and I want you to arrest
him.”
“Did he
threaten to kill you?”
“No, but I
know he’ll. I saw that in his eyes.”
“Why
don’t I call the shelter for you and you’ll
be safe there.”
“I am not
going to no shelter with my four children. Officer,
all I am asking you is to make him go away from me
and my children. That’s all I ask for.”
“Why
don’t you do one thing?” The Officer looked
at her sympathetically. There wasn’t much he
could do for her. There wasn’t anything to lay
charges and she admitted there were no utter threats.
She looked up at
him for answers she wanted but he didn’t have
for her.
“This is the
address for the Family Court. You go there tomorrow
and file for a Restraining Order. You’ll get it
right away and if he harass you after that, Police
will be able to assist you.” The Officer
scribbled the Court address down for her and with few
more instructions, he left the residence.
Suman spent the
entire night waiting for the morning. Paul
hadn’t come back. Maybe he was afraid of Police
returning that night. The next morning, after
dropping the six and eight year old off at the school,
Suman bundled the year old twin girls up and headed
towards the courthouse. She forgot to lock the car as
she pushed the stroller through the main entrance.
The next two hours, she spent filling the forms out.
The staff had been very helpful to her. For a while,
all her problems seemed under control, as she handed
her forms in.
“Sorry, your
forms aren’t filled out completely. You’ll
have to have the affidavit filled out and also, you
are missing out the rules.”
“I am not a
lawyer. I did what I could.” Suman said, trying
to ignore the crying babies in the stroller. It had
been a long morning and she hadn’t fed the
babies yet.
“I understand
Madam, and I suggest to you that you speak to the
Duty Counsel.”
“What the hell
is that?”
“Legal Aid
Lawyer that the government provides you to assist you
with any legal issues.” The girl felt sorry for
her, but the rules had to be followed and there
wasn’t much she could do for her at that point.
Forms needed to be filled out properly.
“Where do I
find the Duty Counsel?” Suman sighed. Maybe, she
will feed the twins before doing anything else.
“On the fourth
floor.”
“Can I file
the forms with the Duty Counsel?”
“I am sorry,
but you’ll have to come back here to file your
motion.”
“Do you
understand that this is an emergency?”
“I do Madam,
and that’s why it’s important that you fill
out the forms correctly.”
Suman shook her
head and spent the next hour feeding and changing the
girls. She had a pounding headache by then, but she
was determined to get the order before she returned
home. Paul was high on drugs lately and she
didn’t trust him a bit. The Duty Counsel was a
kind older gentleman who helped her fill out the
forms and even provided her with some emotional
support. She felt like a winner when she finally
submitted her forms. It felt as if she had won half
the battle already.
“When do I get
the order?”
“Your motion
will be dealt with in chambers and it could take up
to four days for an answer.” The clerk pointed
out to the notice posted on the wall.
“Four days!
You mean I have to wait for four days to breathe? Do
you realize what I have been through?”
“This is the
procedure Madam, but I can speak to my Supervisor and
she can try to have a Justice look at your motion
right away.”
“Could you do
that please!” Suman was in tears by now. There
was no way she could return home without an order.
She also knew that her parents would have a fit when
they find out. But at that moment, she didn’t
care. They weren’t her worry right then. She
will deal with them afterwards.
“I’ll try.”
“But the
Officer said I’ll get the order right away.”
“I’m
sorry but that’s not true. Let me see if we
could take this to a Justice right away. It’ll
still take some time though.”
“How long?
Because I have two children at school and I have to
be back before they finish school.” Suman looked
at her watch. It was almost 1:30 p.m.
“Maybe an hour
or two.”
“O.K.
I’ll wait here. And…thanks. It’s just
that I’m very stressed out.” She tried to
smile and sat down on one of the chairs. The twins
finally fell asleep. She was hungry but didn’t
want to leave the area in case the order was ready.
The next two hours felt like two lifetimes when the
clerk finally motioned her to come to the counter and
gave her the typed order.
“Please read
the order and let me know if all the names are
correct.” She asked her politely.
Suman glanced at
the order and then looked up at the clerk, “Is
this everything I need?”
“I don’t
know. But this is the order that has been granted. I
guess if that’s what you asked for in your
motion! There is a restraining order against your
husband, so he can’t harass you or come near you.
Call the Police if he still bothers you. A copy of
this order will be sent to he Police too.” The
clerk assured her.
“Oh, thanks so
much. I guess I can sleep tonight.” She took a
deep breath and secured the order in her bag. With
another grateful smile, Suman pushed the stroller
away.
There was still
time for the older ones to finish school. She decided
to go home and change the babies and get a cup of tea
for herself. She was completely exhausted. She was
just walking away from the counter after putting the
kettle on, the doorbell rang. She was surprised to
see her older brother.
“Suman, What
the hell you’ve been up to?”
“What are you
talking about?”
“You very well
know what I am talking about. Sue, you are forgetting
our cultural values. How can you call Police on Paul?
He is your husband and it’s a family matter that
you’ve dragged into the courts.”
“Bali, you
don’t know what he’s been doing. I’ve
taken enough and now…”
“Now what? So,
you are going to disgrace all of us by leaving him?
No girl in our family has ever left her husband and
we are not going to let it happen now.”
“But
Bali…”
“Either you
stop this nonsense or I swear to God, I will kill you.”
“You…you
don’t care about me Bali? Why don’t you
understand that Paul will kill me and he is on drugs
lately? He is going to kill me Bali.” Sue was
opening crying now.
“I think you
are losing your mind. Paul came to see me today and
he is fine. It’s you who needs help not him. You
are the one trying to disgrace us all. What has
gotten into you? Even though you are in Canada,
you’re still Indian. Living here doesn’t
mean that you act like one of these Canadian women.
Their culture is different than ours. And under no
circumstances, I’ll let you get away with this
nonsense.”
“I can’t
live with him anymore Bali. He beats me every day.”
“Tomorrow, I
want you to go back to Court and cancel everything
you’ve been doing over there. Do you understand?”
His eyes were blazing.
“But…”
“Look at your
children and think about their lives. How can you
even think about taking their father away from them?
And how can we let you do such a thing? I would
rather kill you first before you let all of us down.”
Bali looked at his sister with a look that almost
killed her.
“I’ll be
back with Paul as he is afraid to come near you now
since you have placed that stupid Court Order against
him. Gosh Suman! I wish you weren’t my sister.”
He turned around and left.
Suman got the twins
ready, picked up the older ones from school and
headed towards the courthouse. Few moments later, she
was standing at the counter, feeling as shattered as
she looked.
“I would like
to cancel the order I got this morning and cancel my
application.” She didn’t feel the words
coming out of her mouth.
“And why do
you want to cancel it?” The clerk looked at her
suspiciously. This woman was here earlier this
morning, begging for protection and now she wants to
cancel the order.
“If there is
an order that can restrain my culture from harassing
me, I would like to have it. Otherwise, this one
order against one person isn’t going to do
anything for me. There are too many elements to fight
with.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I want
to cancel it.”
That night she
looked at her children as they slept peacefully.
Suman’s mother just called a few minutes ago and
praised her for being a good wife, a good mother and
an obedient daughter, who didn’t let her parents
down in the society. She sighed and walked upstairs
where her husband was snoring after beating her up
for being such a bitch and filing papers against him
in the court. Few moments later, Suman cried softly
as her husband pulled her into the bed, and she could
feel her body and her soul being shredded into
pieces… just like the order in a quiet corner of
the courthouse.
