"Immoral Relationship"

IMMORAL RELATIONSHIP
Short Story by Herman Thorbecke


Her name was Callie Du Plessis. She was referred to as a Cape Colored, which implies, she had descended from, both, black Africans and white Europeans; the least desirable ancestry one could have in South Africa. Coloreds were neither here nor there; treated by both whites and blacks as inferior and impure.
This was during the darkest days of “Apartheid”, the official government policy of “Separate Development”, according to which, sexual relationships, between the races were prohibited by law. The “Immorality Act” was passed by the Nationalist Afrikaner government, during the late forties, shortly after they had won the elections.
Apartheid, and the Immorality Act; ugly terms for an even uglier and small-minded, inhumane policy. A policy created out of fear for the black majority.

Callie was a stage actress and a colleague of Naomi Tager, an actress herself and my upstairs neighbor and close friend. They were both working for the same theatre group and socially involved, as far that was possible within the choking limits and restrictions of the Apartheid policies. I had seen Callie in some of Naomi’s plays. Her roles were restricted to those she would normally have played in real life; that of the maid servant, farm worker, or other socially inferior position. She was an amazing actress, strikingly beautiful and always a presence, both, on and of the stage.

Naomi lived in the penthouse apartment above my more modest abode. She loved to throw really wild parties and that is how we met. During one of these noisy events, I decided that in view of the fact that I could not beat them, I had no other choice, but to join them. I went upstairs, knocked on the door and was invited in by Callie. Presuming she was the maid, I asked her to please tell the “Missus” that I would like to speak to her.
Upon which, she turned around and shouted, not at all like a real maid; “Naomi, there is some guy to see you, shall I let him in”? “Sure, if you like him”, was Naomi’s retort.
Well, apparently Callie liked me, because she grabbed me by the arm and dragged me inside.

After that first occasion I was a regular guest at Naomi’s place and introduced to a section of the South African public, the existence of which I would never even have suspected, let alone become acquainted with. Her friends were from various walks of life, but all had one thing in common: they were very much opposed to the current regime and they hated Apartheid.
Apart from Callie, there were several other coloreds and blacks in the group. They really had a good reason for hating Apartheid….
Racially mixed gatherings like Naomi’s parties were illegal and officially required a permit. Although politics were often discussed, these were not political meetings, but innocent gatherings of good friends. However, there was always the risk of someone denouncing her to the police, and in the event of a raid during one of her mixed parties; the consequences would have been most unpleasant. I believed she was playing with fire and just by attending these gatherings, so was I. Were I to be caught on such an occasion, my visitors work permit would most likely be revoked and I deported. However, I was young and a little reckless. I also strongly believed that I should have the right to pick my friends where I found them.

One of these friends was a young South African colleague of mine. We both worked for a large Swiss chemical corporation. Dr. Jamie Van Heerden was a biologist and in charge of a research project that we had underway in that country. He was also a true Afrikaner, which means he was white and of European descent. He was open minded and liberal, but like most South Africans, had never really considered Africans to be his equals.

I do not know what made me do this, but on a whim I invited him over to one of Naomi’s parties. I suppose I was curious to see how he would deal with the black quests that were bound to be present. Jamie was about 30 years old and a big guy. He used to play full back for the Stellenbos University Rugby team and also, until he was injured, for the National team, the “Springboks”. In that role he was still well known; a sort of national hero…When I told Naomi I would like to bring him along to her upcoming birthday party, she was actually excited to get an opportunity to meet this famous rugby player. “Just make sure he is aware that there will be a mixed crowd”!

Jamie had no problems with meeting a mixed crowd. “I don’t have a problem with that; I was practically brought up by my Nanny”. I know these people very well”! Yah right! I had to remind him that these blacks were not exactly like his Nannies.
On the evening of the party we met at my apartment, had a couple of beers and trekked upstairs, where Naomi received us “graciously”, with compliments on his Rugby career and telling him what a stud he was… Linking her arm through Jamie’s, she then proceeded to introduce him to her other guests.

Jamie seemed to be totally at ease, chatting and joking effortlessly with everyone. His trips overseas, playing Rugby in France, England and Australia had taken some of the rough edges of this farmer’s son. Speaking English with his thick Afrikaans accent, I heard him exchange friendly barbs with a black college professor, who jokingly claimed that were they to permit blacks to play in the all white Springbucks rugby team, Jamie would have been the only white player, good enough to make the cut…
One of the last guests to which he was introduced was Callie. Suddenly, Jamie visibly lost his composure and then, after stammering a couple of polite remarks, attempted to excuse himself by announcing; “I really enjoyed talking to you Ms Callie, but let me go and refresh my drink and then I will perhaps see you a little later”.

But Callie was not quite done with him jet and offered to show him where he could find another beer. Holding him by his arm she steered him into the direction of the bar and out of the range of my immediate attention. It was a sight to see though; this little colored girl taking command of the big white man, as if she were used to commandeering them around on a regular basis.

As I had my own diversion, in the person of visiting Dutch actress, I sort of lost track of Jamie for several hours, until Naomi remarked: “Those two young kids from Stellenbos seem to be hitting it of pretty well. They have been sitting on the roof garden for several hours, practically holding hands”!
I told Naomi to stop exaggerating and being such a romantic. There was no way square Dr. James van Heerden was going to fall for Callie. Other than it being against the law, it was also against all the principals of his Afrikaner people and their religious believes.
I decided to go and investigate all the same and found them, if not actually holding hands, certainly in very deep conversation. They were sitting opposite of each other at a patio table, with their hands almost touching on top of the table and when they heard me approach he hurriedly sat back, placing his hands in his lap. Callie did however just look up and said; “Herman, I like your Rugby player, he is different. Make him visit us again please”. All Jamie did was laugh a little nervously while he blushed like a schoolboy.

We sat around for a little longer and as it was getting very late and Jamie more then just a little under the influence, and not just from all the beers he had consumed, we decided to retreat to my place. Jamie wisely agreed to accept my offer to overnight on the couch. During breakfast he assured me that he had enjoyed the party tremendously and confided that Callie had asked him to come and see the play that she and Naomi were in at the time.
Could I make the arrangements and we would then go together. My protestations that I had already seen the play were countered with the assertion that seeing it a second time would not do me any harm and he did not feel comfortable going alone.

And so we arrived at the next stage of this relationship that nearly ended in the disgrace and destruction of these two young people. A couple of weeks later we went to see the play. Every time Callie, who acted in one of her comical maidservant roles, came on the stage, poor Jamie’s face glowed with admiration, while he laughed louder then anyone else in the theatre. It was pretty clear that he was smitten badly and for obvious reasons I was a little concerned.
After the performance we were invited backstage, where, of course in accordance with the strict apartheid laws, we could only enter the dressing rooms of the white actors.
Naomi assured Jamie not to worry and that he would see Callie later at her apartment, where we were invited for drinks and a midnight supper.

The three of us would go together and Callie and some others would come over on their own steam. There was only a small group and after a supper of asparagus, prosciutto and excellent French Champagne, we all ended up dancing by candle light to music that seemed to become slower as time progressed. I do not remember too much of that particular evening, but can still see Jamie and Callie clinging to each other, as if their lives depended on it. And in a way it did…

Sometime during the early morning hours I must have gone home and to bed. Waking up at about eleven, I was curious how the evening had ended for everyone, and called Naomi on the phone, to be informed that the young couple had not yet emerged from her spare bedroom. She thought it was a big joke, but I believed that there was going to be need for some damage control, and I asked Naomi to make sure they left separately and to tell Jamie to come by my place on the way out.
A little later he showed up and suggested sheepishly that this whole thing was sort of out of his control. I told him to stop thinking with his dick and that he should understand that this could only be a onetime fling, unless he had no objection to ending up with a 6-month jail sentence and the termination of his career…As a South African he was very aware of the consequences and in fact told me about a good friend of his who had suffered exactly the fate I had described. Fired from his job and shunned by friends and even his family, the fellow had blown his brains out with a shotgun. I believed him as there were almost daily stories in the press about similar cases.

On that note we parted that day, me thinking that he had probably come to his senses. I felt really sorry for Callie who, according to Naomi had fallen deeply for James and kept asking Naomi to invite him to her next party.
It never came to that however. About three months later they were both arrested in Jamie’s apartment under the immoral, Immorality Act. I found out from his attorney, who called me with a request to appear as a character witness.
Apparently, Jamie had contacted Callie at the theatre and after a brief rendezvous, following one of her performances, had agreed to meet at Jamie’s place. They might have gotten away with that once or twice, but it became a regular thing. Other occupants of the building must have noticed and someone informed the police. They were caught, “flagrantly in the act”.

The next day the whole story was all over the newspapers; “Famous Rugby star arrested under the immorality act for having sex with colored actress”. This followed by lots of sordid details and mean-spirited conjecture about this actress probably luring this upstanding young Afrikaner into an “immoral” relationship.
He was bailed out of prison and I told him to come to work as if nothing had happened. Naomi attempted to do the same for Callie, but this game was not played on an even playing field…Callie was considered a risk and bail was denied. There was nothing we could do and had Naomi not threatened to quit right in the middle of the current season, her employers would have fired Callie on the spot.

Apartheid laws did not allow for a joined court case; God forbid that blacks would appear on an equal footing with white people…Their cases were held separately and as both were defended by top lawyers they would have gotten away with short sentences, if Jamie had not decided to turn his day in court into an opportunity to accuse his government of the cruel suppression of his basic human right to choose a mate. Having his say cost him four months in prison, while Callie received the maximum sentence of six months. Their affair received national and international attention and in a way that later worked in their favor.

As soon as Callie came out of prison, she and Jamie applied for exit visas, which were promptly refused. They loved each other and were determined to be together legally. That could only become reality outside the borders of South Africa. In the meantime I made sure he got his job back with our Swiss employer. They stayed in touch with each other, but were more careful this time, awaiting an opportunity to leave. The possibility of slipping over the border was discussed and seriously considered, when the Theatre Company announced they were going on tour in England and Europe. That organization had enough cloud to get Callie an exit visa.

At the same time I suggested to Jamie that he apply for a post in Australia, which I had seen advertised by CIBA, another Swiss conglomerate. They invited him for an interview in Switzerland and this time, with that written invitation in hand, he did get a permit to leave. By the time he arrived in Switzerland, Callie was already on tour in Europe and you can guess the end. They got married in London. Jamie was offered the job in Australia and last I heard they still live there and have 14 grand children. Who says, integrated marriages don’t work?