Raileen was helping Stewart to celebrate his birthday. They were at the Eagles nightclub on Old Hope Road.
“I sometimes wonder why men hate to have birthday celebrations,” Raileen said to him above the beat of the music.
“We hate to be reminded that we’re getting older. Don’t forget that you said I was too old for you.”
“I was only joking. Anyway, you don’t have a big belly or gray hairs and you don’t look your age.”
Stewart laughed and drank some more of his stout. She drank some more of her light beer.
“What did your fiancés do for your birthday?”
“Morgana, that was my first fiancé, she was the homely type. She would cook a big dinner and bake a cake and we’d cut it together.”
“How long were you together?”
“We were engaged for a little more than a year.”
“If she was so homely, why did she leave you for your friend?”
“That’s what I can’t understand. But they worked at the same place. I should have suspected that something was wrong because she went out with him the first week after she met him. Anyway, my second fiancé, Bobbette, was the more outgoing type, so we’d go to a nightclub and just about party the night away.”
“How long were you and she together?”
“About two years.”
“It doesn’t add up. You’re twenty seven. It means that you’ve only started having a girlfriend when you were twenty four.”
“Shows you how shy I am and it was the girls who had to make the first move.”
Raileen burst out laughing.
“You’re twenty seven and you’re not married and you’ve only been with two girls. That’s quite unlike most of the Jamaican men I know. You’re quite older than I by some years but quite inexperienced based on what you’ve told me. If I’m to be with a man older than I am, I want one who can teach me things I don’t know.”
“Women don’t necessarily marry men who are older than they. They marry because they’re in love. I’ve known women who have married men who are younger than they. If they didn’t know anything about lovemaking there’s always time to learn. There’re dozens of books on the subject.”
“I won’t be buying one though, and I’m joking when I say that I believe you’re inexperienced. You want me to believe that you are by telling me that you’ve only had two girlfriends, but as I told you before I believe you’ve had dozens of girls and maybe one day you’ll have to tell me about all of them.”
Stewart laughed and Raileen joined him.
“Let’s go to Corners and finish our celebrations there. I have some friends there who’ll buy me a drink.”
“Sure, they aren’t waiting to flour you.”
“In a nightclub, that’s hardly likely,” he said as they left.
***
Stewart was lunching with Meesha at Simpson’s Waterhole on Hope Road. Simpson’s Waterhole was a restaurant, sports bar and nightclub all rolled into one.
“Yesterday some of my colleagues treated me to lunch and then last night I was at Corners and they wanted to flour me but they couldn’t find any flour.”
Both of them burst out laughing.
Stewart liked how his relationship with Raileen and Meesha was going. Now that April and Treena were gone, he would take his time with both women. He was glad that April had given him back his keys. He and Haydee were now phoning each other, but she was in the Cayman Islands and had told him that she wouldn’t be returning to Jamaica until late September and for only one week. She had promised to come and look for him so he was looking forward to that. Actually Haydee was one of the tallest women he had ever been with, almost as tall as he was. She had a bottle shaped figure and was good looking.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t make it yesterday. We had this meeting in Ocho Rios that I had to attend.”
“I say better late than never.”
“Did you get the basket I sent you?”
“Sure I did and thanks.”
“Did you take it home?”
“I did.”
Stewart had gotten a basket from Raileen too. He had taken home Raileen’s basket, but had shared Meesha’s basket with some of the girls in the
office. They were halfway through their lunch now.
“I should get you a cake and a bottle of champagne too. I don’t know if it’s too late now.”
“The champagne would be okay, but not the cake. I can’t take much of that sweet stuff.”
“I’ll ask one of our bearers to drop it off for you.”
“So when is your birthday, Meesha?”
“It’s already gone in April.”
They continued eating in silence. When they had finished, Stewart said.
“You promised to go to Ruddys with me tonight. Is that still on?”
“Of course it is.”
“What I like about you is that you’re so quiet and shy.”
“That’s how I am, always have been that way. Ask anybody and they won’t tell you anything different,” he said as they got up to leave.
***
Stewart felt himself getting a bit uneasy. He had just dropped Meesha home from Ruddys and was relaxing on his patio. No matter what he did Treena still refused to come and sleep with him. April kept telling him that he should continue sleeping with Treena as she had no intention of having anything more to do with him. He had to blame Morgana. She had messed up everything. From April returned to Jamaica and they started sleeping together again, he should have broken off with her. Now she had messed up his entire life and was now along with Brad based on the reports he had.
He didn’t know where Sadie was now. The last time she had told him that her man had gotten a big job in Mandeville so she was moving there to be with him. That was in early June and he hadn’t heard from her since. Yasmin had told him that her security guard boyfriend had reported for duty but wasn’t rostered and returned home to find her gone and her cell phone turned off. That night she had been down at his apartment. She had received some hard blows from him so she was scared to come by him again. He was taking his time with both Meesha and Raileen building up his relationship with both of them into something steady and maybe long lasting.
Bobbette had phoned him to say she was now pregnant and he had congratulated her. She also wanted to know why he and Morgana had broken up. She had encouraged him to leave April and return to Morgana. Maybe he should have married Morgana, at least when she found out that he had other women she wouldn’t be so quick to leave him, especially if they had children. He was sure that her mother and Sally would have encouraged her to try to make the marriage work. Then a thought struck him, why not phone one of them and let them talk to her. He could always tell them that he suspected that she was sleeping with Brad hence the reason for his behavior. He would also promise a quick marriage this time. Tomorrow he would drop by Sally’s business place and talk to her in an effort to get her to talk to Morgana for him.
Sally was feisty, sometimes, but he knew how to handle her. He would ask her to set up a meeting with Monique. Then, with both women on his side, it would be easy to coax Morgana that he was the real thing this time around. He could just see Brad’s face when he turned up to claim his woman. He knew how bitter the man would feel, after having lost one woman when her husband turned up to claim her and now to lose another woman to the claims of her former fiancé. It would serve him right for always pursuing other men’s women.
Stewart took out his cell phone and dialed April’s number. The phone kept ringing; then a voice sounding like April’s was telling him to leave a message. He ended the call and decided to go down to Randy Chin for a few games, some drinks and a chat with some of his friends and colleagues.
***
Stewart left Randy Chin minutes after one o’clock that morning and decided to go down to April’s apartment as he had tried to get her several times but was only getting her voicemail each time. He would try to explain that he was helping out a friend by giving the girl a drive home but she had come on strongly to him and when he took her home she had refused to come out of his car. He had thus taken her home, but refused to have sex with her. So when April came into the room it was a case of him trying to sleep despite having her in bed beside him. He hoped April would accept his explanation, although knowing her, he doubted it, but it was still worth a try.
He got into the car, but didn’t drive off immediately. Some of his friends were teasing him, saying that they were seeing him at Randy Chin for the first time in months. Even Randy Chin was asking him if he remembered how to play dominoes again. This all made Stewart laugh as he had never lost a domino game at Randy Chin.
He wondered what was happening in April’s life. Maybe she had found a new man.
He drove off, deciding to tell her that he was cutting off the allowance he was giving her. After all it allowed her to buy her groceries and do other things, although she was paying her rent with the money she had saved up while abroad. He would get another woman whom he didn’t have to support, along with Raileen and Meesha. He never used to support either Morgana, Bobbette or Treena.
Stewart was a few yards away from the entrance to April’s apartment court when he saw a car pulling into it. It was a blue Volkswagen Golf. The car pulled into the apartment court and from where he had stopped his car he saw it drive into April’s parking space and stop. They didn’t come out of the car immediately, but when they did, he realized that they were April and Jose! The two of them made for the apartment holding hands. He felt like his knees were full of water. If it had been any other man he might have confronted him, but Jose was one of his best friends. So maybe this was the payback he was getting from him for Sadie, Yasmin, Treena and the others. April was dishing it out to him because she had caught him with Treena. Stewart started the car and drove off. He had never felt lonelier than now.
***
That Friday evening Brad and Morgana went to Doyin’s complex. They had agreed at work that he would come and pick her up. Monique was going out later with Val to a dinner and ball put on by his old school at the Hotel Academia. Bev was getting ready for Glen to come for her, for them to attend a party in Belvedere Heights. Darren was staying home as he was being punished by his mother for breaking up with Bianca and not telling her. Actually, he had broken up with another girl, Kay-Ann, before he and his current girl, Sheree, started going out. He was being quarantined at home for one month and could only talk to Sheree on the phone.
Monique explained to Brad that he was banned from going to any parties or to Sheree’s home or her coming there to look for him. Morgana came down and appealed against Darren’s sentence, but her mother wouldn’t relent, whereupon she and Brad left for Doyins.
Robert took pregnant Bobbette up to Brenton Walker’s place. Although things were still chilly between them, Celia after getting one of her mother’s sisters, to stay with her, drove up to cook for Rick and look after his clothes. Dania and her boyfriend, Leo, went to Solid Mix. Sally and Vernon were due to join Val and Monique at the Hotel Academia.
Brad and Morgana had danced and chatted with friends. Alex and Jessica were there as were Maria and Ron.
They were now back at their table having drinks and a snack.
“Has Jenna called you again?”
Brad shook his head.
“I can say that look how the tables have turned. I remember the first night I took her out and Dania came to fight you and ended up fighting her and then I had to be begging her not to press charges against her. Now, it’s she who is calling me and apologizing. I suppose they will be renewing their vows and he will probably be filing for her or she might get a temporary visa for her and Jaimie as Kailen’s papers have come through. I just can’t understand how Robert got involved.”
They ate some more food and did some more drinking.
“I saw Bobbette one day this week and she was simply glowing.”
“I hope you weren’t a bit jealous.”
“Me, Brad, I can wait for children. I’m in no hurry.”
“I want four children.”
“May I ask who are you planning to have them with?”
“I see a stunning young woman before me, who else could I be thinking of?”
“I wonder if you know how much it costs to bring up one child, nursery, pre-school and all the other costs. Maybe if I want so many kids I’d better seek out a multi-millionaire but then I don’t want so many.”
“How many do you want? Maybe we should settle that
question here and now.”
Morgana didn’t reply at once but continued to look at him.
“Aren’t we getting a bit ahead of things? We haven’t committed ourselves to each other yet.”
Brad took both of her hands in his hands.
“Will you be my girlfriend?”
“I don’t know what to say, I never expected this. Sure, I’ll be your girlfriend.”
“What do you mean by you never expected me to ask you?”
“I thought we would just drift along until we became you know what I mean.”
She took Brad’s hands in hers and asked.
“Will you be my boyfriend?”
“I thought if you were my girlfriend then I would be your boyfriend.”
“It means I want a commitment from you.”
“You know I’m not a womanizer.”
“There are so many great looking women out there, just ready to snare you away. After all, you’re one of the most eligible bachelors around.”
“You are one of the most attractive girls around.”
“From we’ve met you’ve always been saying that. I don’t believe it, not when I look in my mirror.”
“Maybe I should help you look,” Brad said and took her hand.
“Let’s do some more dancing,” he told her and they got up out of their seats and headed for the dance floor. `
***
Stewart and his new girlfriend, Meesha, were enjoying the atmosphere. Raileen had classes as she was doing a computer course. They were at Edith Chin’s Bar and Grill in Manor Park. They had gone there right after work on Saturday. Meesha had to come to work that Saturday and Stewart had some work doing at his office.
“I hate coming to work on Saturdays,” she stated.
“You can say that again. Weekends are for relaxation. I don’t know how people can be working,” Stewart commented.
“Anyway, people in Jamaica seem to work every day, even on the holiest days in the year,” Meesha said.
“Did you enjoy yourself the other night?”
“Sure I did and did you get the champagne I sent you?”
He was feeling good, with new girlfriends and was glad that he had gotten Morgana, Bobbette and April out of his system. He told her that he had gotten the champagne and had enjoyed drinking it.
“So what do you want us to do tonight?” he asked.
“We could go to Mass Camp. There’s bound to be lots of parties going on all over the place,” she said.
“Tell you what I’ll do. I’ll drop you home and then pick you
up around eleven o’clock. We can cruise around the party circuit and see what’s going on,” he told her.
“Okay then, Stewie, you have a date,” she said and they finished drinking and left to go to their respective homes to get ready to go out.
***
Stewart was planning to call Treena to put out some feelers about their relationship. He was in his bedroom getting ready to go for Meesha when his cell phone rang. It was Treena on the line.
“Hi, sweety-pie, I was just going to give you a call.”
“Stewart, I don’t want to see or hear from you again.”
“What do you mean, you don’t want to see or hear from me again? Are you still holding what April did against me?”
“How many fiancés do you have?”
“It’s only April I know about.”
“April isn’t your real fiancé. Because if she is then who it was that caught the two of you in bed two weeks before she barged in on me and you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re getting mixed up, honey. I’ll come for you and we’ll straighten things out.”
She was crying and getting hysterical.
“I’ve done a lot of things for you. My mother always curses me, saying that you were just using me. I couldn’t tell her that I waited at your apartment until you finished dancing with your fiancé. Then when you returned, I let you make love to me. I don’t even know if you had sex with her before you came home.”
“April wanted to stab me with her scissors and she isn’t even your real fiancé. Suppose you had let her cut me up? My father is a policeman. I know guys that I could have gone to and let them beat her up, but I’m not like that. I don’t like violence and I’m not going to fight a girl over a man. That’s why I think you’re wasting your time trying to get me back.”
“Listen, I’m coming up there to see you and we can talk.”
She was screaming at him and telling him not to come to her home. Stewart ended the call and got into his car. He would try to calm her down. Her mother worked as a night auditor at one of those hotels in New Kingston. That was why Treena could spend nights with him. She was afraid of taking any man into her house. Stewart felt he would drive up there and talk to her. She must have gotten the incident with Morgana from somebody and he suspected it to be one of the guards. He wasn’t sure who was on duty that night but suspected that it might be Kelvin. Stewart had heard persons claiming that he couldn’t keep a secret. He went down to his car, got in, started it and drove off.
***
Morgana was at home Saturday evening. Brad wouldn’t be coming for her as tomorrow afternoon they would be boarding a boat in Kingston Harbor to go party boating.
Monique had gone to her hairdresser in Manor Park. Bev was at Glen’s home for a family dinner and party. Actually she and Brad had been invited, but they had excused themselves because of the party boat. She was watching television when Darren came to tell her that a man was at the gate to see her.
Morgana went out to the gate to find Linton.
“Linton, what are you doing here?” she asked as she opened the gate for him.
They embraced each other before pulling apart.
“I came to say good-bye.”
They were now seated on her front patio.
“You’ve come to tell me that you’re returning to the States, but Jamaica is your home so why are you leaving?”
“I don’t think I’ve gotten used to living here again, plus I miss my friends and life in the States.”
“I heard about what happened at Corners last month. I’m really sorry that it had to happen to you, Morgana. I knew the guy and he held me up one night too.”
“He was after me for pointing out his brother in an identification parade.”
“That guy and his brother started going bad since they were very young, but I’m glad you weren’t hurt or anything.”
“No, I’m glad that Brad and some of my colleagues were there and they helped me out.”
“He took some jewelry off me and I was wired up to the man who he killed, firm.”
“That’s Bishop, so his firm was guarding you.”
“I hired him, but based on reports, Stan was actually working for him. When I asked the police about my jewelry they said that when they went to where he was living, people had broken into his room and stolen everything.”
“I’m glad it’s all over.”
Linton nodded in agreement with her.
They lapsed into silence.
“You want something to drink?”
He told her that he would drink a beer and she called Darren and told him to bring it for him plus some orange juice for her.
“That’s my little brother, he wasn’t behaving himself around the girls so my mother grounded him,” she explained to Linton and he laughed.
“I suppose he was keeping one girlfriend too many. But say, are you and Brad together now?”
Morgana laughed and Linton couldn’t help but sigh with regret that he had lost her love. He should have heeded her advice and toned down his contacts with the crew. But the crew came first and to them there was always another woman waiting in the wings.
“I didn’t know that you knew Brad. Things didn’t work out with my fiancé and so we parted and I’m now seeing Brad. We’re colleagues, but he’s a great guy. So what about you? I thought you would have married Melanie and go back up with her.”
“No such luck, she just couldn’t understand why I returned to Jamaica, if not to pursue you. When I told her no, she accused me of being on an ego trip.”
“So why did you return to Jamaica?”
Linton took some more gulps of his beer and seemed to be in deep thoughts.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“It’s okay. I have nothing to hide. There are two reasons why I returned to Jamaica. First, I was being batted around by my crew for losing you so I had to come out here to see the guy, you had left me for.
“Then I wanted to show you that I could get younger and more beautiful girls than you.”
Morgana felt herself getting angry at Linton’s insensitivity and heartless behavior. He had been using all those girls simply to get back at her. It was no wonder that Melanie had walked away. She felt sorry for him, but decided not to show how she was feeling.
“I’m sorry for what happened, but I know that you had a girlfriend after we broke up. Whatever happened to her?”
“Actually, it’s because of her why I’m going back. Wanda’s changed a lot. You know me, Morgana, I always went for the glamorous women. I was the party animal, the guy, who could go to half a dozen parties the same night. I was the guy, who didn’t feel alive away from a party. Wanda was showing me the other side and then being with Melanie that short time has made me realize a lot of things. I think the time I’ve spent in Jamaica had matured me a great deal. Jamaica maybe the party capital of the world, but it also gives you a daily reality check. I’ve woken up and realize that there are other things in life and I want them. Like having a family, seeing your children grow up and stuff like that.”
“So you’re going up to Wanda, I wish you luck, Linton,” Morgana said and came into his arms.
“Thanks, and I wish you and Brad the best. Say hello to your mum and your sister for me and thank your kid brother for the beer.”
Morgana accompanied him to the gate. She watched him drive off before coming back inside. She decided to go to bed early as they would be partying the whole day and she didn’t want to fall asleep on her man. She had put whatever trepidations she had about going on a boat again behind her as she prepared to enjoy the day out with Brad.
***
Glen and Bev were naked in the room as they made love. They had gone to a guest house in Portland, where they rented a room for the day.
“I shouldn’t be doing this with you, Glen.”
Glen tried to cut off her protests by kissing her and increased the intensity of their lovemaking. Glen’s kissing
silenced her as was the force of his thrusts and their lovemaking continued in silence except for the sweet noise of flesh on flesh and Bev’s shouts as her pleasure increased and when finally they could stand it no longer both of them cried out at the zenith of their pleasure. Finally, Glen fell on top of her as Bev came down from the heights she had reached. She sought his mouth as the aftershocks of her pleasure shook her.
After a while Bev said.
“I don’t want you to get the impression that I didn’t want to do it with you. It’s just that all the while I was thinking that I wanted us to do it together for the first time after we get married.”
“We did it and you know what you’re getting,” Glen told her and Bev hit him in his chest.
“I didn’t mean it quite like that. Hey, maybe I should have had a chaperone. So each time I meet you I could only discuss what she wanted me to talk with you about.”
“So what do we have planned for today? I suppose we could go swimming and rafting and enjoy ourselves. I want to be out of here before dark as these roads are too treacherous to drive on at nights.”
“I am satisfied for the day, but since we’ve found this place we can always use it when we want to get away,” Bev told him as she got out of the bed.
Soon they began preparing to enjoy the rest of the day after enjoying a short nap.