The Heart of Revenge (7 page)

“Who you calling stupid? You go church more
than mi, don’t you know it’s a sin? Thou shall not kill! And if
there was an eleventh commandment it would be, ‘Thou shall not dash
away belly.’ Cause it wrong.”

“Well, if you get pregnant again. Now. In
this hard stage of your life and carry the baby you not stupid, you
is a frigging IDIOT! .... What you want in life? Better? Or Bitter?
Pick.”

Silence. Pinky’s mouth came to a rare
standstill and desisted from speaking, briefly. She fell back into
deep thoughts, reflecting perhaps, or absorbing what I had said,
finally getting it through to her tough skull. Pinky choose her
words carefully as she spoke unusually slow and weak,

“Aubrea did have it hard.” She paused for a
breath, her voice soft as a lover’s voice across from you on the
next pillow, she looked into my eyes, her eyes filled with genuine
emotions and asked,

“What if Aubrea did abort you?”

We both went silent. I could hear Pinky’s
breathing. The dripping of the water from the pipe sounded like
God’s clock ticking. Drip ... drip ... drip.

Pinky slowly took the tail of my gown and
softly brushed away the rolly remains of the wet tissue off the
gown. Drip ... drip ... drip.

“Lee! Lee!” the shout was coming from the
living room. I felt like I lost control of my bodily functions
because I am sure as tax, Pinky gonna make this extra when she’s
informing to Mom.

Drip … drip … drip.

by: Qwan Douglas

“A Limo at the gate Mr. Douglas.” Our
security, Mr. Willie, said over the inter-com. Dad replied.

“Let him in Willie.”

Willie did, and my best-man, Carl, walked
from beside me, heading out of the downstairs’ hall we were in and
to the Limo driver outside. I was in full white with a pink tie,
nervous but ready, my pants the exact length it should be. I never
thought I would ever have a woman propose to me, but Leelia loved
me so much that she did. She knelt on one knee and proposed to me
in front of everyone in the crowd. Dad stood at one end of the
elongated-shaped table and I stood at the other end. He had to lift
his voice in order to reach my ears because of the distance that we
stood apart from each other.

“Qwan, you sure you want to go through with
this, huh?”

"How many times you gonna ask mi the same
question Dad?”

It took Carl two hefty pulls to open the
entry door. It was a heavy Honduran custom-made door carved from
mahogany wood. It was stained in cherry to compliment the emerald
tinted, decorative glass panels in the center, accented with gold
strips all the way around. Carl pulled with too much strength the
second try and the door swung wide open. The white stretch Limo was
just pulling up by our semi-circular layered steps. The white
marble column to the left blocked my view of the driver’s door, I
could only see the middle portion. The windows were tinted jet
black and even the tyres were glistening. I walked off from the
table to the door, after about twenty steps I had reached the other
end of the table where Dad was standing. He grabbed my hand and
pulled it, shifting my jacket sleeve out of place and squeezing my
watch. He had a dead serious stare and he kept his stare dead into
my eyes.

“Put it this way then Qwan, you must NOT
marry that girl.”

I yanked my hand out of his.

“If you don't have anything good to say then
just don’t. Why you not happy for me?”

"You just think about what you doing before
you make this big mistake, I’m telling you. What about Shamelle
huh? She’s a nice girl. She loves ya.” I began straightening the
sleeve of my Jacket,

“Made up my mind, love it or hate it, I’m
marrying Lee. She’s the one for me.”

“Shamelle is a better girl, listen to your
father, mi know things.”

Carl came back through the door to ask
me,

"You ready Q?”

“Not yet, just give mi a minute.” Carl pulled
out the white rag he has been pat-drying my sweat with, he flagged
it out and looked as if he wanted to come over to see if I needed
it. He budged forward but stopped, stared, recognised an unpleasant
tension between father and son and said,

“Cool, cool, hurry though, is soon time and
you suppose to reach before the bride remember.” Carl went back
out, glanced over his shoulder with a doubtful expression.

“I can't understand what’s the big deal. Why
you acting so strange since I told you I’m marrying Lee? Look, it
doesn’t change anything. We basically married anyway, look how long
we living together, why it’s a problem all of a sudden if we get
married?”

"You don’t know the half, just take mi
foolish advice and don’t marry that girl if you know what’s good
for you.”

"I love her. She’s the one I love, she never
cheated and despite the games you played lastnight to have her not
marry me, she still wants to marry me. How many women would still
stick by their man’s side after lastnight? How many women would
turn around and still marry me the next day. How many?” My neck
began to perspire and I needed Carl with the rag.

“Get this straight Qwan, she don’t want you,
you hear mi?”

"She’s marrying me Dad, me. Are you jealous?
Is that it? I see the way you look at her, you think I don't know
what you are up to? You think everything’s a secret? It will never
happen, NEVER! Not while I still have breath.”

“Watch your fucking tongue boy. You think mi
and you’s size.”

“Watch your tongue old man.”

“So you think you’re a big shot now huh?
Can’t hear, then you must feel, remember mi did warn you.”

"Why now? Why you didn’t have a problem from
six years ago when you took her to the house? Why now?”

“Listen, I’m your father. You think I want
anything bad to happen to you? You don’t know what happened why
Leelia stayed at our house. You marrying her was not a part of the
plan.”

"Plan? What plan?”

“Her mother is a little ..., she ripped me
off, the deal was to —- ”

Carl barged through the door and
interrupted.

“Yow, wrap that up nuh, time going enuh, you
have to leave out now.”

I shot back at Carl.

"What's the damn problem? You deaf? You don't
hear mi say mi soon come?”

Carl held his head down like a shame puppy
and walked back through the door.

“Just listen to mi son. I know her mother
good, and she’s just like her mother. No different. She is nothing
but a whoring ghetto slut. She’s all about your money, not you.
They are thieves and they’ll do anything for money.”

What if ... Hold on, I have been giving
Leelia a lot of money recently, but ... then again, I am her man,
her fiancé right? Who else she should have turned to for help? And
if I can help her, why not? She’s my other half. It’s not like she
spending the money doing crap, she going school, even though I
suggested paying her school fee, so that don’t even count, but Dad
have a point that ... Hsst ... something’s in something.

“I’ll give her anything I damn well please,
anything she wants. That’s love. You wouldn’t understand that now,
would you? And just so you know, I know what you did with Shamelle,
and I know you must have tried it with Lee and it didn’t work why
you hate her so much and telling all manner of lies on my
wife.”

“I swear, I’ve never made a move at Lee and
just so YOU know, Shamelle’s the one who came on to me.”

“Either way, she is a bitch. And you want me
to marry her? You disgust mi.”

“If you marry that slut then you’ll see
disgust.”

“I’m marrying Leelia and nothing in this
world will change that.”

“Then you’ll have to get out my house.”

“I’ll pack tomorrow.”

I turned my back. Walked off.

“SON!” I stopped stepping, turned around.
“Listen, you can stay here, but I’m telling you, she’s real bad
news. Crosses ontop of crosses ontop of of crosses. Don’t marry
that little slut.”

"She’s no SLUT! She’s my woman, my wife, try
to understand that. She’ll be the mother of my kids, take it or
leave it, nothing’s going to change that. Now, you don't have to
come to my wedding now, do you?”

Silence.

"How’s it going to look if I don't go to my
son’s wedding ... It’s going to look too bad.”

"Don't worry about what people say, they
already saying much worse things about you.”

“Like what?”

“Whatever you gave them to say.”

“It’s Ok, it’s Ok, I’ll be there. Can’t say
mi never warn you. It’s her mother setting her up to run all kind
of game on you. For your money.”

“BYE!”

I didn't look back. The happiest day of my
life, worst morning ever. Dad just stood still, he was statued
because it’s my first time talking back at him so hard, not backing
down and disregarding blatantly what he ordered me to do. And it’s
all over one girl. Lee. I slammed the heavy door behind me. Carl
swung open the limousine’s back door. Can’t help but to think that
there’s something more to this puzzle, something I’m missing, what
if Dad’s right? What if I shouldn’t marry Lee? What if it’s a huge
mistake? But deep down in me, my gut feeling tells me it’s
something personal, some vendetta or something, maybe something
personal between him and Lee’s mother, or is it jealousy? I bent my
head down, put one hand down on the cushiony white leather seat as
I climbed into the limo. Sat. Tugged on the lapels of my jacket,
Carl stared at me but didn't ask any questions. It was obvious I
was furious and chit chat wasn’t particularly timely now. I looked
away from him. The limo drove by the fountain, I stared at the
running water sprouting up from the mouth of the fish statue in the
middle of the fountain and thought, a deal gone sour maybe?

Jealousy, deal, vendetta? I pondered them all
as I signalled back a hail to Mr. Willie. We drove through the wide
iron gate. Which one could it be, One? Or two? All?

Jealousy? A deal? Vendetta?

What plan was dad talking about by the
way?

by: Leelia Lexings

Breakfast. Mommy was through frying up some
saltfish frittas with the eskellion and blackpepper in it,
alongside some frankfurters, some boiled green bananas and liver
and she also made some peppermint tea.

“Who’s going to take the pictures?” Mommy was
waving the silver camera in the air, anticipating a stampede from
us to snatch the camera out her slim feminine fingers. No one
budged. No one did as much as even shift the black of their eyes to
the camera.

She looked both sides, turned, her eyes
searched behind her, not seeing who she wanted she gave out,

“Vance .... Vance .... Where’s Vance?”

Ms. Merl full-eyed little baby girl, Loriel,
zoomed by me. I could’ve swore I saw a pink wind tailing off her
little white dress at the speed she ran by. The pink high-waistband
was untied and blowing behind the bubbly little doll as she
zig-zagged between everyone and around the furniture in the
livingroom. She was giggling at the playful Lassy chasing right
behind her. Lassy’s fluffy black tail and long-furred ears was
blowing and his tongue out to the side as he chased her. Jason,
Qwan’s little cousin, was the third in line, chasing behind Lassy.
Loriel would be the flowers girl, she was like family. We told
everyone she was our little cousin because she spent most of her
time over by our house, mostly with Vance.

Pinky answered Mommy.

“Him must still be over the old woman
yard.”

“Ms. Merl still? But everybody ready, what’s
wrong with that boy, him not getting ready?”

“Mi you asking?” Pinky sounded dry and
rhetorical. Mommy turned her mouth towards the window,
bellowed,

“Vaaance! Vaaance!”

“Yes Mom! Coming.” came sounding from the
distance next door.

“ Come get ready now.”

“Coming Mom.”

“Stop the coming and come.”

Vance jogged through the door within the next
blink, no shirt, broad flat chest, sweat running over his dark
nipples onto his light brown skin. His hands so big, they looked
like two claws detached from plough tractors and attached to his
shoulders. Both his hands caked with mud up to his wrist, looking
like the ugliest pair of gloves, something only Mr. Death would
wear when taking your life too early. Death was on his hands.

Pinky burst out laughing,

“Is farm work you doing now Pops?”

“No, mi just helping Ms. Merl with her
flowers.”

‘Again? That can’t wait?” Mommy interrupted,
“You forget today is your sister wedding?”

“Yeah mi remember but mi just helping her
with the new garden fence, since mi done did promise her
already.”

Mommy’s phone rang and the vibration made a
humming ‘bbbbrrr’ sound on the wooden table top as it danced.

(((Rrring. Rrring.)))

(((Rrring. Rrring.)))

She quickly snatched up her phone to catch
the call, in too much haste, shifting and crumpling the burgundy
tablecloth. She looked at the caller ID, thought twice. With her
eyes fixed on the phone screen, her thumb crept slowly to rejecting
the call. She carefully placed the phone back on the table, looked
up, switching looks at me, Daddy and then Pinky without moving her
head, only shifted her eyes side to side then looked away from
everyone, avoiding eye contact, lowered back her head down to the
table, kept it there, her face looked lost, her thoughts way out of
this time-zone. Worried perhaps.

Loriel zoomed from around the corner,
giggling, one of her dolly-like hand holding the tail of her dress.
She heard Vance’s voice and made an instant U-turn in the middle of
the livingroom, she is slightly tilted forward while running
towards Vance, looking as if she’s about to stumble forward on her
face. She was chuckling, Lassy chasing close behind her, Jason
behind Lassy. In her baby talk she said ‘Uncle Vance’ but it came
out as,