Someone deadly beneath (Part...)

ACT 111

SCENE 6

SCORE: Happy (Michael Jackson), My Whole World Ended (David Ruffin), Brandy (4 Tops) Old Tige (Jim Reeves)

And five, six...five, six, seven, eight

Happy and her off springs were the first ones to welcomed Billy to Bibby's home in Reading. Some of Billy’s new cousins, uncles and aunt thought he was different, so they made fun of him and called him names like Chubby. To make matters worse, Doctor, a bigger boy who was a family friend scared the living daylights out of Billy with his constant threats and jeers.

Nonetheless, Billy was happy in his new home. Bibby was a great grand ma to him and he developed an everlasting bond with Happy. Happy followed him around like a puppy. He could never grow tired of sharing her company, looking out for her or stroking her light-brown furs.

Audrey, like her mother Bibby, was a vendor in Borough Market. So she was present when Bibby decided to take Billy, as customers hunted bargains. She promised that she would help raise Billy.

Audrey kept her promise. She lived miles away in Essex. One day, as Billy romped with Happy in a stick game, she turned up in a taxi.

Billy was about four or five years old so he did not understand how long he spent with Audrey. It was not long though. Neither could he understand then why she returned him to Bibby in such a short period of time. She had already enrolled him in elementary school. Mr. Kenneth, his teacher, liked him very much.

Re-uniting with Happy was undoubtedly the happiest moment in Billy's life. Everything else paled in significance. If Happy's species could talk, she would have vocally expressed the same sentiments. Billy did not have to wonder how she felt, her excited barks and vigorous tail wagging spoke volume.

At first, the thought of facing his tormentors again, drove trepidation inside Billy's heart. However, his re-kindled friendship with Happy not only assured him that everything would be okay, it also helped him endure it all.

Later, Bibby's family sold the house and moved to Birmingham. Billy was worried that Happy would be left behind. What he did not realize then, but was happy to discover, was that Happy and her off springs were important to the family.

The new home was on two acres of land which the adult members of the family gradually transformed into a farm. After school and on weekends, Billy, Bernard and Marcia helped out in their little ways too. In fact, Billy and Bernard started their own little farms.

Happy was getting older, yet she kept on having more puppies. Sadly, some of them always died during birth or afterwards. Those that survived were shared with neighbors.

Billy started a new game with Happy. Chasing. He tried to outrun her by getting a head start in the races. When he thought Happy was not paying attention or was asleep, he would sprint off to the distant part of the farm.

Happy, always aware of Billy's presence and movements, would bolt pass Billy at the speed of light. Sometimes, he could feel her body hit forcefully against his leg. He would just laugh and marvel at her speed despite her advance age. He dreamt of running half as fast as her.

Billy enjoyed the company of all the dogs, but he had a special fondness for Happy. He communicated to her as if she was a human being. For instance, he apologized to her when necessary and shared squirreled away food with her.

A disease which affected the genitals of female dogs broke out in Birmingham. Billy was crestfallen when Happy's off springs died of it. Inevitably, she was afflicted as well. Billy's daily prayers and her own will to survive helped her survive.

It seemed to be just business as usual for the others when Happy eventually lost the battle. But poor Billy world ended. It was the saddest day of his life. When his mum dumped him on Bibby in Borough Market, he was extremely sad. He cried uncontrollably for days. He did not cry as much for Happy, but he was much sadder and broken.

The following year Billy started year 4. Bibby saved and bought him his first Reading book. Reading was his favourite pastimes, so he was happy he was finally able to have his own book. It contained stories such as Ali Baba and the Forty thieves, Rumpelstiltskin and one about a dog.

In the latter story, a woman abandoned her man, their young baby and a dog that the man loved dearly.

While the man hunted for food, he left the baby at home in the dog's care. On his return one day, he found the dog at the door, covered in blood. He could not understand why it suddenly attacked his child. He angrily pulled out his sword and thrust it in its throat.

He rushed inside to see if the baby was still alive. The baby was fast asleep and unhurt. Beside its cot were the bodies of the wolves.....

Needless to say, the man was sorrowful, inconsolable and broken with guilt. He buried the dog like a human being with a headstone bearing its name.

It turned out to be the saddest story Billy had ever read. He could never forget it. It always brought tears to his eyes whenever it crossed his mind or whenever he spoke about it.

It was Billy's fondness for popular culture that helped him endure depression in his teens. "Happy" by Michael Jackson became his favorite song of all time. It reminded him of Happy and defined their relationship with absolute precision.

Just after Billy turned 13, his 'da' sent for him. It was the first time Billy was meeting him. The neighbor’s dogs were called Phantom and 50 cents. They were too ferocious for Billy to befriend so he got by on the memories of Happy. His 'da' abandoned him a year later.

When Billy heard that Bibby's aunt, Ida, had died and that Bibby was there with the rest of the family, he went there immediately. Billy had met the Ida once before.

After the funeral, when everyone was getting ready to return to their respective homes in other parts of England and America, Billy asked Ida's children if he could stay at the house with their da who was in his 90s. Billy had dropped out of school and was homeless then, so he was quite happy when they said yes.

Billy felt comfortable calling the old man 'Papa.' He had never used any such words to anyone before. Billy did the cooking and cleaning. With the exception of a nameless dog, it was just the two of them in the big house.

Unfortunately, the dog died shortly afterwards. He suspected the neighbors poisoned it. Billy asked his new 'aunt' Daphne for another dog. Billy named it Flora, possibly after Florence, a 'cousin', Papa's grand daughter, that Billy was particularly fond of.

For a few years the household consisted of Papa, Billy and Flora. Billy tried very hard to avoid a repeat, but Flora died of poison also.

Billy was very upset with the neighbors. Again, he suspected that they were responsible. "I am not in the mood to socialize because my dog has been poisoned', he said to one of them who came over for favors.

Billy gave Flora a proper burial. He was the only mourner present, but he did not care. He inscribed 'Flora' on the back of Flora's plate and used it as her headstone. He even wrote an opera song for her. It had the following line:

I know Flora was loathe by everybody
Because she watched fearlessly and faithfully

Daphne brought Billy a very young puppy. Billy named him Poison. He vowed not to make it possible for anyone to poison Poison. He kept a close eye on him and ensured that he could not leave the home when Billy was out.

Poison had a tendency to spring on Billy from the front as Billy opened the gate. Sometimes he tried to turn his body so Poison legs could land on his side, but Poison was having none of it. He always found a way to greet Billy from the front.

Sometimes Billy found Poison's habit a little annoying. But he was too happy that he got the chance to grow into a fully grown dog without being poisoned and he loved Poison too much to mind.

At 14, his school report had stated 'Billy is a good student. He will do well in education. If he is given the chance to do so, his attendance would have to be improved.'

On this reflection, it was with great pain that Billy decide to leave Papa and Poison to resumed his education in London. He was 20 then. It was about time he get his GCSEs to further his education.

Billy wished he did not have to leave them and he was particularly worried about Poison’s safety and wellbeing. Papa's new carer did not seem too keen on dogs. He visited them every holiday.

To his delight, Poison was always alive and well on his returns. One Christmas, Poison did not meet him at the gate as usual.

Billy met his real dad, Barker, when he was about 23 years old. They shared a similar passion for music. Barker introduced Old Tige, the B side of a Jim Reeve's classic, to Billy. Jim narrates the story of a man who left his dog, Tige, and his mother to fight in the war.

The war went on for years. When he finally returned, he was astonished at the scale of developments that had taken place in his town.

'Mom, the town has changed so much', he said, when he finally reached home, 'if it was not for Tige, I would have gotten lost.'

'Tige died many years ago.'

At the end Jim Reeves said Tige was faithful till the end. Billy fought back tears. He recounted the story to friends on a number of occasions since then, but his struggle to keep back the tears grew stronger and stronger each time.

Billy was doing well in his A Levels at college but no one knew that he slept in community centers at nights and ate Tesco's value bread for dinner.

An aristocratic lady gave him lodging in Primrose Hill. He had to get home by 9pm each evening and he could not bring anyone to the house. Very rarely was he allowed in the family house; only when she came across a spider and she screamed for him to get rid of it.

Instead, Billy shared the garage area with the Helper and last, but not least, Mr. Chips, the family dog. Even though Mr. Chips was ranked much higher than him in the household, Billy loved him very much and was happy to share his company.

When it was time for Billy to leave Primrose Hill, he missed Mr. Chips the most.

Billy could not afford to have a dog when he moved to Ottawa for university. He was struggling to put food on the table for himself, and he did not have the heart to watch his beloved dog suffer like him.

Years later, still without a dog, he promised his new girlfriend that he would lend her his old radio that he was no longer using.

When he brought it to her he explained that he had a new one but he kept the old one because he loved it, he had a special bond with it and it was still faithful to him.

He had promised himself not to tell the story of Old Tige to anyone again because he found it too moving. But he instantly recognized similar themes in the story of his radio and Old Tige: love, devotion and faithfulness. So he told her. Of course, his eyes were flooded with tears as he narrated.

From time to time Billy reflected with fondness, on all the dogs that came into his life, especially Happy. She was first and even though everyone might have forgotten her, she, like the others, would always be in the most special part of his heart.

Unconditional love, devotion and faithfulness were important to my grand da. Sometimes when the source was human beings, he found it hard not to question it. However, he had no doubts about his Tiges.