Selwyn wanted to take Jenna out to dinner at the Academic Hotel in Papine but she had been reluctant to leave Kailen and Jaimie on their own. It wasn’t any break-ins she was concerned about since the whole complex was patrolled by armed security guards. Recently, however a lot of fires had occurred after grownups had left the kids at home, to run one errand or another. She decided to cook a sumptuous supper for them both. She had replied to both Kailen’s and Jaimie’s querries that her guest was a long time friend of hers from abroad. Even when she and Brad went out she had come home before Kailen fell asleep except of course when she went to Brad’s house to sleep with him but she had always returned before they got up.
Jenna met Selwyn on her doorstep and had to resist the temptation not to fall into his arms. Instead, they shook hands and she had to turn down his request there and then for him to be introduced to Jaimie as his father.
They were on the back porch when both Jaimie and Kailen came out.
“I want to know your name, sir?” Jaimie requested.
“His name’s Selwyn and he’s a good friend of mine as I’ve told you before. Run along now and watch television, mummy is busy.”
“I want to know where Brad is, mummy?” the boy also requested.
“Brad’s around, Jaimie and he’ll soon come to look for you. Take him back inside and give him something to drink, Kailen,” Jenna directed her niece.
The little boy was dragging his feet as he left his mother and went inside with his young cousin.
Both his mother and father watched him go with their heads bowed. They were both wondering how he would react when told who his real father was.
“The boy seems to have developed a liking for this Brad but what about you, Jenna? Up to now you haven’t told me about your feelings for him.”
Jenna drank some of her grape juice. Their fare consisted of chicken wings, shrimps, potato chips and small patties.
“We’ve been together for more than three months now, Selly. I like him a lot but I get this feeling that I don’t belong. There’s this girl, Morgana, whom I feel he’s in love with.”
“So why did you continue the relationship if you know all that?” he asked as he ate some more shrimps.
“I tried to tell him several times that I didn’t see any future in the relationship but he wouldn’t listen.”
“I don’t blame him. I know that girl, Morgana, can’t hold a candle to you. You look even more fabulous than six years ago,” he said, putting his arms around her waist. Jenna didn’t try to remove his hands from around her waist after all this man was her husband and her first lover and feelings from the past were returning.
“Here I’m the one doing all the talking. What about you, Selly and that woman you said you had over there?”
“I ain’t going to lie to you. I have a woman friend, Darnley Booker. She’s nice, but since lately things haven’t been going well between us. For one thing she was in a previous relationship where she had a child for this man. They had a disagreement and broke up and that’s where I went in but now based on the feeling I’m getting she wants to return to the guy.”
“So are you going to let her go? Maybe she has returned already and you remembered that I was out here and so you came calling?”
They had been consuming the food while talking. Selwyn looked at her while taking another sip of his champagne. He didn’t want to become angry with Jenna.
“Listen, as far as I’m concerned, I’m a free man and I’m not going to encourage you to break up with Brad. But one thing I can tell you is that I’ll try to win you back. As for that old enmity between our families, it can go to hell. Jenna, I have a house in Connecticut and a good job. If my family wants to hate me because of you they are free to do so, but I came to Jamaica to be your man again and to claim my son,” he said. He had removed his hands from around her waist.
Jenna took some more sips of her grape juice. She had a lot of things to think over. She didn’t want to hurt Brad but should she be content in a relationship that was going nowhere. She had to consider how he would react on learning that she was married and that her husband was now in Jamaica and that she had in fact been deceiving Robert. The question of Morgana also lingered on her mind. The girl had broken up with Stewart but wasn’t dating any other man and that had made her suspicious that the she had Brad as her next quarry.
“Selly, I have to tell Brad everything. I hate to admit to anybody that I’ve deceived them. He’ll probably hate me for it, but that’s a chance I’ve got to take.”
“All of us have to be brave. A lot of people have been hurt and are going to be hurt, but this is something that has to be done in order not to hurt a lot more persons in the future.”
Jenna came into his arms and started to cry. She felt she wanted some peace in her life. She wanted a man of her own. She didn’t want to keep on worrying about some other woman coming to take her man away or him being in love with some other woman. Most of all she wanted Jaimie, her heartbeat, her one and only son to be happy. If it could be achieved in this man’s arms, then so be it. Her mind was made up. Her relationship with Brad was over. She hoped he would understand.
Selwyn spent some more time with her. They recounted the past, and talked of their first meetings and what they had done to make them possible. They also talked about the many friends who had made it possible. They also recounted the
history of their family quarrel. Selwyn took out his ring and showed her and Jenna went for her two rings and put them on. He had given her a fourteen carat white gold diamond bridal ring set while she had also given him a fourteen carat white gold band. Both of them sat there admiring the rings and laughing. Selwyn left for home near midnight convinced that he had won back some amount of love from Jenna but he knew he still had a lot of work to do.
Jenna’s grandmother had died leaving some money for her. She had used some of it to buy the ring for Selwyn. Later on she was able to put back the money from what she was getting from Robert for Jaimie. Selwyn told her that he got the money to buy her rings by working in his college bookshop and also in their cafeteria.
***
The Academic Hotel or Hotel Academia as it was more popularly known, where Selwyn wanted to take Jenna, was a two hundred and fifty room hostel in Papine. It served as a boarding facility for students attending colleges and universities. It had been built in September 2000. When school was out it catered to tourists, especially academics. One of the several restaurants it operated, catered to members of the public.
***
Dania’s boyfriend, Leo Barnes, dropped her home from
Corners nightclub and she was getting ready for bed when her telephone rang. Celia was on the line.
“What’s up, Celia? Fancy hearing from you at this time.”
“Dania, Teddy came to fight Rick. I don’t even know what happened. Rick told me about the fight.”
“You can’t be serious. Teddy really fought Rick. Oh my God, what’s the matter with that guy? You’ve got to do something about him, Celia.”
“What can I do? Everything was going on so wonderfully between me and Rick. He was supposed to spend the weekend down here with me. Now this guy has just about ruined everything between us,” Celia almost screamed.
“Does he know where you’re working now, or where you live?”
“Since I’ve been down here I haven’t heard anything from him. I thought that he had forgotten about me.”
“He’s obsessed with you and even if they find him, they’re just going to fine him for assault. He’ll just pay the money and be back out there to mess around you and Rick. Maybe you and Rick will have to get a restraining order put on him.”
“I’m so cut up that I feel like paying somebody to get rid of him.”
“I think even Teddy will respect a restraining order.”
“I’ll ask Rick to try that although I’ve never heard of one being put
on anybody out here. It’s mostly an American thing. I’ll talk to Corporal Bayliss about it. Thanks for talking to me, Dania.”
“For an old friend, it was no problem.”
Celia realized that she had forgotten to tell Dania that she had always been denying that she knew anybody named Teddy. From he phoned Rick that first time she should have opened up to him and let him take it from there. At least he could have seen that she was being honest with him. Now it appeared that she was hiding something from him. Rick was no fool and he would realize that Teddy wouldn’t have come to fight him over her unless he was keeping away her love from him. She would tell Rick everything. She would go up there in the morning. She would also take Dania’s advice and put a restraining order on Teddy although as she told Dania she had her doubts about them being used out here.
There was another problem Celia realized. Teddy could very well report that it was Rick, who had attacked him. She doubted if Rick had any witnesses. She would have to talk to Corporal Bayliss. She decided that she would give him a call tomorrow. Celia spread out on her bed almost a nervous wreck. She had to get some sleep. Tomorrow would be another day.
***
Morgana was alone at home. Darren had barely beaten his curfew time and was asleep in his room. Her mother was at a party with Val in Swain Spring. Bev and Glen were at Reasons.
She took out the ring, Stewart had given her. It was an eighteen carat white gold ring with round diamonds. Stewart had dropped her out of his life. She couldn’t tell when last she heard from him. She suspected that he and April could very well be living together. She wanted to purge him out of her system, forget about him and start her life afresh with a new man.
She decided that this night, at minutes past midnight she would end her engagement to Stewart Brown by throwing his ring back at him. She knew of the dangers. She could very well find him in bed with April or another woman, but that was a chance she had to take.
She dressed carefully putting on a long-sleeve pullover and a cap to protect herself from the night chill. She was nervous as hell and wondered if she would be able to handle the car on the road. She took up her bag and car keys and put the ring on her finger for the last time.
***
Stewart thought that they were leaving Corners a little too early at almost midnight, but April said she wanted to sleep. They had one more dance before they bade their friends good-bye.
***
Morgana saw them come in as she was parked in another apartment block. Actually she had gone to Stewart’s parking area and realized that it was empty. She had then driven over to the other apartment court. She prayed that the owner of the parking space she was now occupying wouldn’t arrive before Stewart did as all the others were already taken.
She would give them fifteen minutes. She had a mind to drive over and confront them in the parking lot. She realized that would almost certainly result in a fight with April and she didn’t want that, not at this time. She counted the time on her watch then drove over and parked in an empty parking area near where Stewart’s car was parked. She locked up her car and prayed that the householder didn’t come demanding his space before she had completed what she came to do.
She took the ring off her finger and took the keys out of her bag. She wondered if Stewart remembered that she still had his spare keys. Then a thought struck her, suppose he had changed the locks. If that was the case she would have to call him out and risk a confrontation with April. Since Stewart was her fiancé, who could blame her if she kicked up a storm after catching him in bed with another woman.
Morgana was glad that there was no grill to open. It would have made too much noise. She opened the door to his living and dining room and turned on the lights. The security guard saw her and realized that the man had already gone in with a woman about fifteen minutes earlier. But he had seen the car circling around and this wasn’t the first time he was seeing that car in the parking lot or the woman for that matter.
Morgana could hear sounds coming from Stewart’s bedroom. He and April were making love! She pushed open the door. Stewart uttered a shout and they were both trying to cover up themselves. Morgana threw the ring on the bed and bolted through the door.
She heard April screaming at her and Stewart shouting her name but she was too shocked to stop and consider what she had done.
She ran to her car, opened the door and got in. She was in there crying and trying to get back her composure when the guard came over to her.
“Miss, is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine,” Morgana told him and started the car. She backed out of the parking lot and started for home not sure if she could make it. Maybe she should stop and call her mother and sister and ask them to come and help her. Maybe she should return to the parking lot and ask the guard to get a taxi for her. She decided to soldier it alone. It was a lucky thing that the streets were so empty of vehicles at this time of night or she would surely have gotten into an accident.
***
Stan was driving on Barton Avenue near the Canrieves when he spotted a car in front of him. He wasn’t driving very fast. He was looking for any motorist who might be having difficulties with their vehicle and could prove an easy hold up target. That was why he loved driving late at nights because if he saw any expensive vehicles or taxi man he would drive dangerously close to them and if they didn’t stop he would use his car to ram their rear bumper and when they came out of their vehicle to confront him he would hold them up.
He saw the car turn into the Canrieves and wondered if it was Morgana Simmonds. Although the driver had on a cap, he knew that it was a woman and he turned into the Canrieves after her. He was glad that the Canrieves wasn’t one of those gated communities. He was going to hit her rear bumper forcing her to stop and then he’d hold her up and if it was the girl he would kill her.
Morgana turned on to Clifford Avenue when she saw the car behind her also turn and came after her. Was she being followed? She stepped on the accelerator when she saw the car behind her getting dangerously near. The car was going to ram her car! Morgana realized and braced herself for it.
Stan had only began to increase his speed when he saw another car behind him and he knew at once he’d better get out of there. Bishop’s people were on the job or it could be the security people for the area. He passed the woman’s car and made it out of the Canrieves. He stopped at Mary Brown’s Corner but there was no sign of pursuit. So he got back in the car and made his way home.
Morgana saw when the car pass her with another car in hot pursuit. The pursuing car didn’t go very far before it stopped, reversed into a side road and came back to where she was. Morgana had stopped her car to watch if the pursuing car was going to catch her would-be attacker.
The two men came out their car and Morgana could see that they were security guards.
“Mason’s Security here,” one of the men said. He showed Morgana his identification card. His name was Douglas Howard. The other guard was Pablo Reece.
“Where do you live, Miss?” Pablo Reece asked.
“On Hobbs Avenue. It’s okay, I can drive myself home.”
“Miss, we don’t know who that guy is or what he wanted. He could have circled back for another chance at you,” Howard said.
Reece nodded in agreement with Howard.
“Okay then,” Morgan said, accepting their invitation to see that she got home safely.
They all got back in their respective cars and drove off.
Morgana heaved a sigh of relief when she was finally on Hobbs Avenue.
She parked the car on the sidewalk, but didn’t get out at once. She felt emotionally drained. She heard her mother and sister shouting as they rushed to the car.
She finally opened the car door and got out. She was glad that none of the neighbors had come out.
“Is everything okay, Morgana?” Monique asked. “Who are these men?”
“A man was following me. He was going to ram my car when these guys turned up and he fled. I think they are from Mason’s Security.”
“Oh Jesus, I can’t believe it. I have to thank you gentlemen. I must call Burke and thank him too,” Monique said, shaking both men’s hands.
“Ladies, we are going to leave, but we would encourage you to lock all your doors and grills. If I were you I would report it from tonight, although he probably had a bogus license plate on the car,” Howard advised, writing down the license plate numbers and giving it to Monique.
“I agree with Doug. It’s best for you to report it from tonight,” Pablo Reece said.
“We’ll certainly do that,” Monique said. All three women shook hands with the two men before they departed.
“We were so worried about you,” Monique said putting her arms around her shoulders as they walked into the house.
Bev took the car keys from her and drove the car into their three car garage.
Monique made sure that Morgana was seated in one of the couches before she asked her any more questions.
She put through a call to the police. They said that they couldn’t do anything as the other driver hadn’t hit Morgana’s car. They urged her to get Morgana as well as the two guards to come to the station to give a statement.
“Mummy, I don’t think I can bother. Those two guards gave me their names but I doubt if they are going to want to give any statements.”
“That’s the police for you. No wonder crime is so out of control in this country.”
“Mummy, do you think it’s the same man who’s been threatening me?”
“That’s how the police can help us. I am not going to let it rest even if I have to go to the top.”
Monique looked at Morgana again.
“We were trying to get you but your phone was turned off.”
Morgana took out her phone and realized that it needed re-charging. “I went to return Stewart’s engagement ring to him and caught him in bed with April,” Morgana sobbed.
Bev, who was just returning inside from having gone to park Morgana’s car heard the tail-end of the conversation but enough to understand why her sister was now in tears.
“You should have let one of us go with you. I know how awful it must have been for you,” Monique said to her elder daughter.
Deep down, she understood Morgana’s tears. But she knew that the girl wasn’t as hurt as she would have been if she and Stewart were still lovers and she thanked the heavens for that.
“You want anything to drink, Morgan?’ Bev asked, trying to be of some help.
“I’ll have some tea,” Morgana replied whereupon Bev departed for the kitchen.
“I’m so glad that I left him. I’m not crying because I’m sad or anything. My tears are of joy that I’ve at last proven to myself who Stewart really is. I know now that I was right all along. I’ve given him back his ring. I’ve now closed that chapter in my life and am ready to move on.”
Monique hugged her daughter. Bev came out with a cup of tea and gave it to Morgana.
“I never asked you how you wanted it,” she remarked.
Morgana took two sips of the tea.
“It tastes okay, thanks,” she said before taking some more sips of the tea.
“I know that to some people what I did might seem foolish since we had all but broken off the engagement but now I feel justified. At least I know now that I was right about him and all those women including Bobbette.”
“Dear, Stewart is one of those men who can’t help but play the field. April will get hers in due course because if she believes that she’s the only woman he’s seeing she’s in for a rude awakening. I can tell her that.”
Morgana started crying again. She was half-way through her cup of tea. Bev got up and made cups for herself and her mother and brought Morgana another cup.
“I don’t even want Sally to hear about this. Knowing her, she’s likely to go down there and collar him,” Monique said. Both Bev and Morgana couldn’t help but chuckle. They both knew how feisty their aunt was.
Bev finished her cup of tea and yawned sleepily.
“I’m okay now, Bev, so if you want to sleep go right ahead. Thanks for bringing in my car for me,” Morgana told her sister.
“That was no problem, Morgan. I guess I might need some exercise. I was nearly out on my feet dancing with Glen,” Bev said standing up.
“I’m going up so I’ll see both of you in the morning.”
After Bev went upstairs Monique said to Morgana.
“Although I know that tonight's encounter may not have affected you, darling. You might have to give it some time to pass.”
“I think you’re right, but I suppose every girl will wake up to realize the type of person he really is. Look how Bobbette left him and went to marry Robert.”
“He’s going to find himself alone sooner than he knows and he’ll be sorry when he realizes what he has done to you.”
“I always said that I’m glad I found out about him so early. Can you imagine if we had gotten married and had children and then I found out about his wild side? I would have been devastated.”
“Sometimes we have to give thanks for small mercies,” Monique remarked.
Morgana stood up.
“I’m going up, I feel so sleepy.”
“Okay, darling and I hope you sleep soundly. That Stewart isn’t worth missing a wink over. I’m staying down here. There’s a movie I was watching, I hope it hasn’t finished yet.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry, I made you miss your show,” Morgana apologized.
“No, it had just started when you came in,” Monique said, turning on the television as Morgana made her way upstairs.
***
“You had better take me home, Stewart. I didn’t even know that she had a key to your apartment. Imagine the nerve of that girl, bursting in on us like that. She’s lucky that I didn’t have any clothes on or else she would have found out something tonight,” April threatened as she finished putting on her clothes after their short-lived sexual interlude that Morgana had so rudely interrupted.
“I don’t know what’s the matter with Morgana? I haven’t talked to her in months. I’m sorry I didn’t ask her back for my ring.”
He was still a bit peeved that April had refused to continue after Morgana burst in on them. Damn Morgana anyway, why the hell didn’t she leave him alone?
“Yeah, why didn’t you just tell her that everything was finished between the both of you? But I suppose like every other man you weren’t willing to give her up.”
Stewart kept thinking over what Morgana had done. It had been a couple of weeks now since he had last seen her. He was expecting a polite letter along with the engagement ring delivered by bearer. In the letter she would have announced that she was breaking off the engagement with him.
She must have known or suspected that he was sleeping with several women. He had made it his duty for Bev to see him out with April. So what was Morgana playing at? She couldn’t be foolish enough to believe that he was sleeping alone. Even when he used to sleep with her there were other women in his life. So why would he stop now when they had all but broken up?
“I don’t know what she wanted to prove,” Stewart said. “All this time that she was no longer seeing me, I thought she would have looked another guy.”
“I don’t know what her problem is. She gave you up so what does she expect you to do?” April asked as she got ready to leave.
“I’m sort of glad she’s given me back my ring. You’re saying that I never asked her back for it. I did, but she was always coming up with this thing that if I behaved myself she would be willing to come back to me.”
“I suppose if she had come and found you alone, she might have drawn the covers and get under it with you,” April said and laughed.
“All I can say is that you wait until I see her I’m going to give her a piece of my mind,” she said as Stewart began locking up the apartment.
When he returned from dropping April home, he took off his shoes and lay on the couch. It was the first time anything like this had ever happened to him. But he wasn’t thinking about either April or Morgana. He was thinking about two new girls he had met. Meesha Durrant was a medium sized girl with great legs, Stewart thought and was good looking. She was a few months younger than Morgana and had just left her boyfriend of two years.
He had met Meesha the last Friday in May at Jenny’s Kitchen. Half way through his lunch he had found her staring at him and they had struck up a conversation. They had exchanged phone numbers, but somehow Meesha was under the impression that he was shy for not asking her for a date to one of those nightclubs in New Kingston.
Raileen Garth was probably on the short side and was in her early twenties. She had a good figure and had great legs too.
He and Raileen had met two weeks ago when she started working with a real estate agency that was next door to his workplace. So far he had been taking things easy with both girls; talking on the phone to them and having lunch with whichever one of them who was available. He turned over on his side and got more comfortable on the couch. Maybe it was time to bring both girls in from out of the cold, he thought before dropping off to sleep.
***
After Melanie broke up with Linton, she resumed her friendship with Derwin.
She was at home that Sunday afternoon when Wilks drove up to her gate and stopped.
She knew that it was him because he had phoned to tell her that he was returning that day.
Wilks hugged her as he came on to the patio.
“What’s going on, girl? How’s everything and how are you?”
Wilks tried to kiss her, but Melanie moved away.
“Why are you behaving like that?”
“Wilks, it’s like I told you over the phone, we have to talk. Things have changed. It’s more than two years now since you went away. You know how I am. I’m not going to pretend but I have a man. If I know you, you’ll have several women. So let’s not fool ourselves. Do we want to resume the relationship? I don’t know, maybe after we have both lay our cards on the table, we’ll see how it goes, but I’m not promising you anything.”
“All the while I was over there studying, I was thinking about coming home to be with you. I might have met other women, and I won’t deny that, but all my plans are centered around you, Melanie.”
“Let’s talk and we’ll see where it goes.”
He tried to persuade her that everything would be all right between them. He did admit that he had a child with an American woman, but they had broken up and the woman had returned to the States with the child. Wilks said he knew where they were living, and planned to send them money every month.
He said that he had gotten a job with a government agency. Melanie told him that she was glad for him.
Wilks left, his head bowed. He had tried to convince Melanie that after Verline, his ex-American girlfriend there had been no other women but she wasn’t buying that. He had hoped to be with her until his Nigerian girlfriend, relocated to Jamaica. Maybe he would hit the nightclub scene and see whether he could sell another line to a gullible beauty.