TAKE MY HAND
EPISODE 09
THE PERSONAL CASE OF OC MUTAASA
SFX: NURSE MILDRED SIGNATURE TUNE
MILDRED: (NARRATION) They say, ‘the rich also cry.’ Today I say, ‘the powerful also feel powerless.’ And so, I share with you the story of OC Mutaasa and his wife, Beatrice. OC Mutaasa is of course the OC of police and his wife Beatrice owns a food stall in the market. This is their story.
SFX: FADE INTO
SCENE I
LOCATION: INT-OC MUTAASA AND BEATRICE’S HOME-MORNING
B/G SFX: BIRDS SINGING OUTSIDE
CHARACTERS: OC MUTAASA, BEATRICE
SFX: CHILDREN PLAYING OUTSIDE
SFX: MUTAASA OPENS THE BEDROOM DOOR AND THE SOUND OF THE CHILDREN GROWS LOUDER
MUTAASA: Beatrice, what’s the meaning of all this?
BEATRICE: Meaning of all what, Mutaasa?
MUTAASA: Why are the children not at school?
BEATRICE: Oh that.
MUTAASA: I wake up to go to work and the first thing I see is all four of them in the living room playing about, why aren’t they at school?
BEATRICE: They are unable to go because somebody didn’t complete paying the debt for their school necessities.
MUTAASA: And you are just telling me of this now – on a school morning? You’re not serious, Beatrice. You shouldn’t have let it get to this point.
BEATRICE: Then what should I have done, mister “serious”?
MUTAASA: You should have told me sooner.
BEATRICE: And what would you have done, Mutaasa?
MUTAASA: I don’t know… anything!
BEATRICE: Nothing! (SHOUTS) Kids, dress up and go to school, okay.
CHILDREN: (OFF MIC) Yes, mummy.
BEATRICE: You’re the one who’s been complaining about how broke you are the last few days. So had I told you, what were you really going to do about it? This is not the first warning from the school…
MUTAASA: (SIGHS) Am sorry dear. But I am busy… How am I supposed to take care of every little detail… but look at them! This is so embarrassing! The chief of police and his children are running around on the street.
BEATRICE: I am sorry but what was I supposed to do? I can’t keep going back to the school and making excuses.
MUTAASA: (SIGHS) This is terrible. I love my children and am willing to do anything to make sure they get a decent upbringing.
BEATRICE: I know that. But the school just looks at the bill… is it paid or not? If it is not paid, then the kids don’t go to school.
MUTAASA: (IRRITATED) I know the situation, Beatrice. But it’s becoming increasingly hard. There are so many demands and my meager police income doesn’t account for much.
BEATRICE: I know that too. Am also trying very hard to make extra money at my restaurant but…
MUTAASA: People are not buying the food?
BEATRICE: They are, it’s just that so many people have eaten food on credit and have not paid me yet.
MUTAASA: Why do you give food to people on credit?
BEATRICE: They are my customers.
MUTAASA: No, no, no, no business is business. You can’t just go around giving people free things.
BEATRICE: It’s not free, it’s on credit. Besides I tried the no credit policy already.
MUTAASA: Why did you stop?
BEATRICE: People avoided my joint. Food would remain and go to waste so I made big losses.
MUTAASA: Damn. This is ridiculous. Which way am I supposed to turn? Nobody pays for anything any more! What happened to hard cash as currency? What happened to the days when a coin was worth something…not just worthless paper?
BEATRICE: Well the reality is, Mutaasa my dear, in this community, you can’t survive in business without giving people credit. Some of my best customers eat on credit and eventually pay.
MUTAASA: I see.
BEATRICE: And some just never pay of course…so it is my loss, but that’s business.
MUTAASA: What? No, tell me who they are and I will arrest them.
BEATRICE: You can’t do that!
MUTAASA: I most certainly can and will. Need I remind you…/
BEATRICE: OC, I know who and what you are. I am your wife! But you can’t arrest my customers.
MUTAASA: Why not if they are being stubborn?
BEATRICE: Because that will freak out my regular customers and they’ll stop eating at my joint.
MUTAASA: Well…I…
BEATRICE: It’s okay, dear. I can handle.
MUTAASA: I know, dear. You try hard to make ends meet and you contribute a lot towards the up keep of this homestead. Am grateful.
BEATRICE: Thank you, dear.
MUTAASA: But we have still failed to make ends meet. I wish I could be posted to some other police post with the prospects of a promotion.
BEATRICE: Dear, you vowed to fight and improve the situation here in your native place.
MUTAASA: Its hopeless, I have given up all hope of changing this community. It’s like nobody wants the change.
BEATRICE: How can you say that?
MUTAASA: It’s true. The other day I handled a case of a certain philandering old married man who had impregnated a young teenage girl.
BEATRICE: Oh my God!
MUTAASA: But the parents were willing to let him off after he had paid them off. Can you imagine?
BEATRICE: That’s so sad. How can anyone be that careless?
MUTAASA: I ask myself that every day.
BEATRICE: Anyway I will go ask the school to extend the grace period until we have enough money to pay their debt.
MUTAASA: Okay dear, am off to work too.
SCENE II
LOCATION: EXT-BEATRICE’S MARKET FOOD STALL-AFTERNOON
B/G SFX: MARKET CHATTER; SOUNDS OF PEOPLE EATING
CHARACTERS: BUGEMBE, BEATRICE
BUGEMBE: Careful there, Mrs. OC. Are you okay?
BEATRICE: Am fine, Bugembe, just a little dizziness. What can I get you?
BUGEMBE: Are you sure? Looks serious... As a matter of fact, you don’t look okay at all.
BEATRICE: What are you? A doctor! I said am fine. Now are you eating or not?
BUGEMBE: Of course… am eating… why else would I be here? Now make that rice, posho, 3 pieces of meat and some salads.
BEATRICE: Order with cash, please.
BUGEMBE: Mrs. OC, my day has not yet brightened up. Let’s do the usual. I’ll pay later.
BEATRICE: Am sorry, but no cash, no food. I badly need the money.
BUGEMBE: Come on now, you don’t mean that.
BEATRICE: We’ll see about that.
BUGEMBE: This is ridiculous… am a regular customer, treat me like one!
BEATRICE: Bugembe, you are already heavily in debt to me. I cannot continue giving you food without pay.
BUGEMBE: What’s gotten into you, Beatrice? Just give me the damn food. I will pay when I get the money.
BEATRICE: No, what’s gotten into you? Thinking you will continue eating free food. My children are not going to school because am in debt to the school.
BUGEMBE: How is that my problem? Am I the one who told you to have so many?
BEATRICE: They are my children all the same, all four of them. And I take care of them… unlike the ones you have scattered here there and everywhere whose names you scarcely even know!
BUGEMBE: Are you going to give me the damn food or not?
BEATRICE: NO! How do you expect me to meet my own domestic needs if you don’t pay me?
BUGEMBE: (MOVING FROM MIC) Fine, keep your damn food. It wasn’t tasty anyway, just like its cook.
BEATRICE: (CALLING AFTER HIM) And don’t bother to come back!
SFX: BANGS SOME POTS ANGRILY
BEATRICE: (TO HERSELF) Oh, that ingrate. Now what am I going to do? I need the money even if it was from Bugembe!
SCENE III
LOCATION: INT-HEADMISTRESS BAKULU’S OFFICE-AFTERNOON
B/G SFX: CHILDREN PLAYING
CHARACTERS: HEADMISTRESS BAKULU, BEATRICE
BAKULU: Mrs. Mutaasa, you’re welcome. Please come in.
BEATRICE: Thank you, Headmistress.
BAKULU: Please have a seat. You don’t look okay! Could it be the heat?
BEATRICE: I don’t know. Of late I’ve been having dizzy spells and it is hot out there. The market is like hell.
BAKULU: Trust me I know, if I could make it rain, I would.
BEATRICE: Actually you can.
BAKULU: Pardon me!
BEATRICE: I was hoping you could consider giving us some more time to pay our debt.
BAKULU: What debt might that be?
BEATRICE: Brian, Sarah, Mary and little Tim’s debt for their scholastic materials. You had sent them home yesterday because we hadn’t yet paid.
BAKULU: Oh yes… I have them here on my list. I really can’t say am in position to help. These extensions affect the entire school.
BEATRICE: Surely you can afford a little extension. I normally make some extra money from the restaurant but…
BAKULU: Times are hard everywhere.
BEATRICE: Indeed, I have gone into debt, people owe me money but aren’t paying and now I can’t pay my debt to the school.
BAKULU: From one mother to another, I understand. I will give you an extension.
BEATRICE: Thank you very much, Mrs. Bakulu.
BAKULU: But only until the end of next week. It’s the best I can do.
BEATRICE: I understand and am grateful all the same. Let me run back to my stall… business awaits.
SFX: STUMBLING
BAKULU: Are you okay? Here, let me give you a hand.
BEATRACE: I haven’t been feeling well lately, I keep feeling nauseated. Am afraid I might be pregnant.
BAKULU: What! Here sit down.
SFX: CHAIR SQUEAKING
BEATRICE: (SIGHS) I can’t cope with another pregnancy. Not now, the last one was difficult enough and now with this heat and the financial difficulty, having to work to support Mutaasa’s income, where will it all end?
BAKULU: But don’t just jump to conclusions just yet. Maybe you’re not pregnant.
BEATRICE: I see no other explanation. I must be pregnant.
BAKULU: Have you been to the health center?
BEATRICE: I can neither afford the time or the money for medicines.
BAKULU: Maybe it’s a flu. There has been one going around. Just go to the clinic…you just might be lucky and not be pregnant.
BEATRICE: Lucky?
BAKULU: Well yes, but of course luck would have nothing to do with it if you were on modern family planning.
BEATRICE: What do you mean?
BAKULU: Am talking about spacing a family. Truth is I couldn’t have succeeded as a teacher to become Headmistress had I not planned my family.
BEATRICE: REALLY?
BAKULU: Yes, and there is a very good family planning clinic here.
BEATRICE: But Mutaasa and I normally count the days between my periods and avoid “office duty” as he calls it when I can get pregnant.
BAKULU: That is “hit and miss”…get one day wrong and you’ll make a mistake, I assure you. You should really try modern family planning. It’s much easier to use and more reliable.
BEATRICE: But I’ve heard that those “things” might cause infertility or make one deliver a…strange baby.
BAKULU: The modern family planning “things!” No way.
BEATRICE: Are you sure?
BAKULU: That’s the value of education, yes, we learn science, math, history and biology but we also learn that you can use safe, effective family planning.
BEATRICE: So what are you saying? That I should go to school.
BAKULU: (LAUGHS) No. I am saying that just as you can get a little pill these days that will take your headache away, there are also modern family planning methods that really do help you if you want to delay having another child or stop having children. That’s what family planning is there for. It’s not a big mystery. But, really, you should go see Nurse Mildred. Find out first if you are pregnant or not and if not…/
BEATRICE: I can start modern family planning?
BAKULU: Of course you can. I personally don’t see why it’s such a big deal for so many women. The service is available. And as far as I know, all government health services are free of charge so it shouldn’t cost a thing.
BEATRICE: Free treatment! Are you serious?
BAKULU: Yes, now go. I’ll see you at the end of the week.
BEATRICE: Oh, yes, sure.
SFX: MUSICAL TRANSITION FADE UNDER NARRATION
MILDRED: (NARRATION) But Beatrice didn’t come straight to see me. Instead she went back to open up her food stall to see if she could make a sale. She was desperate to raise cash so that she could pay the school and keep her kids educated.
SCENE IV
LOCATION: EXT- BEATRICE’S MARKET STALL-EVENING
B/G SFX: MARKET CHATTER
CHARACTERS: SSENGA DORA, BEATRICE
SFX: CLATTERING OF A PADLOCK AGAINST METAL AS BEATRICE OPENS UP
S.DORA: Young girl, are you serious?
BEATRICE: Ssenga Dora, what is it?
S. DORA: How dare you abandon your stall like this, Beatrice? I come here to eat food and am greeted by chairs and a closed stall.
BEATRICE: Am sorry, Ssenga.
SFX: THE METAL DOOR OPENS IN A CLATTER AND GRINDING SQUEAK.
BEATRICE: Please come in and have a seat. I’ll attend to you right away.
S.DORA: So what is the excuse for closing up in broad day light like this?
BEATRICE: I had to run to school to try and arrange a delay in paying some school debts.
S. DORA: And what on earth is the matter with you? You look like a ghost.
BEATRICE: Trust me, Ssenga, you are not the first to notice. I am pregnant.
S. DORA: That’s wonderful news.
BEATRICE: No, it’s not. It’s horrible news. This pregnancy couldn’t have come at a worse time.
S.DORA: What’s wrong with this time?
BEATRICE: Plenty, there’re debts to pay, a struggling business and clients who refuse to honor their debts.
S. DORA: That’s rubbish. You, the wife to the chief of police! You shouldn’t even be slaving in the market. This is surprising.
BEATRICE: Yes, but life is hard. May be I should abort this pregnancy before it takes over my life.