??Love and betrayal ??
?? ???????
??Episode 09??
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From U.S Bah ❤✌?
Effe is amazed.
The JAMAICA RESORT is bigger
than she originally envisaged.
There are supermarkets,
restaurants, a spa, beautiful
gardens, bars, sports complex
and recreation sp-ots.
There is even a little zoo where
she spends some time admiring
a dancing flamingo and some
proud peaco-cks.
She sees that most of the lodgers
are Rastafarians and foreigners.
In the afternoon, she eats some
delicious Jamaican dishes, and
then she takes a stroll near a
beautiful pond where geese and
ducks float gracefully on the
serene water.
On the edge of the pond is a big
green field with benches shaded
by cute little slate structures. She
sits un-der one and watches Chris
feeding the ducks and geese
from a pouch he has taken from
one of the keepers.
Soon some pigeons and doves
also float down from the sky and
settle around him, also eating the
crumbs he throws on the gras-s.
She watches him, and she smiles
and laughs as the birds settle all
over him.
Twice or more he calls her to
come and join, but she shakes
her head and just watches him.
Finally, the pouch is empty, and
Chris hands it to the Keeper and
chats with him for a while, and
then Chris approaches her.
He sits down beside her,
stretches his long legs, and then
he takes out a cigarette pack
from his top pocket and sticks
one in his mouth.
Effe leans across and removes
the cigarette from his mouth,
and then she picks the pack and
puts it into her bag. He looks at
her.
CHRIS
w£tin dat?
EFFE
You’re going to stop smoking.
He shakes his head, and his eyes
looks confused.
CHRIS
I can’t.
EFFE
Yes, you can. I’m a doctor, a very
good one at that. I’ll help you.
CHRIS
E be my life, abi. Why you wan do
these things to me, la?
EFFE
(She turns to him halfway, and
stares at him.)
Smoking is bad for you, Chris.
And yes, one other thing. Why do
you speak this pidgin English like
that? Surely you can speak good
English?
CHRIS
The way I speak too be matter
now? Aaaba, Madam.
EFFE
(looking serious)
Are we friends, Chris?
CHRIS
(He smiles and chuckles.)
You be my customer, abi?
EFFE
Okay, good. And whilst I’m
paying you, I don’t want you to
smoke, and I don’t want us to
speak in that pidgin thing. It is
kind of irritating, unless that’s
the only language you can speak,
then fine. But I’m pretty sure you
can string together a cohesive
piece of English.
CHRIS
You dey go too far, Madam. w£tin
too dat?
She touches his arm, and looks at
him
EFFE
You went to JSS, SHS, maybe?
His face clouds for a moment. He
turns from her, and looks down.
When he speaks his voice is low,
and the pidgin English is gone,
and his voice is so well-
modulated that for a moment
she feels like she is listening to
someone else, and the
amazement registers on her face.
CHRIS
Yes. I completed Senior High.
Wanted to continue to the
University, to do something in
Computer Technology. Didn’t get
any help, and here I am.
She smiles and leans back, still
looking at him in amazement.
EFFE
(gently)
That’s better. You can speak
good English. I like that. This
w£tin w£tin thing was beginning
to drive me mad.
They laugh together, and their
eyes lock. He is the first to look
away.
CHRIS
You know this period is
dangerous for you, right?
She raises her eyebrows.
EFFE
Dangerous. How?
CHRIS
You’re hurt. Badly hurt. You nee-d
to deal with it properly.
Otherwise if you allow the pain
to control you, you might do
something you’ll regret later.
She leans towards him, teasingly.
EFFE
Like what, Chris? Like throw
myself at you? Beg you to make
love to me? Something like that?
He turns towards her. She can
see he is getting angry.
CHRIS
Well, yes. It is possible, isn’t it?
Women do a whole lot of strange
stuff when they’re hurt.
EFFE
(mockingly)
Oh, an expert in women
emotional affairs, huh!
He leans towards her, and his
face is definitely angry now.
CHRIS
(almost hissing)
Yes, an EXPERT in women! A very
good expert, Madam! I started
sleeping with women when I
was just fifteen years old! And
I’ve slept with a lot of women, at
very high places in society! I was
a gigolo, Madam. A male
prostitute! And most of the
women I was with had marriage
problems like you’re having now!
So, believe me when I tell you I
know stuff like that!
He gets up quickly and begins to
walk away. Effe stares after him,
shocked. She sees that she has
tou-ched a very raw nerve, and as
he walks away she is aware that
she is feeling something alien
inside, an emotion of resentment
that both baffles and unsettles
her.
She stands up and follows him.
He walks from the pond area
throu-gha gate into a garden,
and finally he stops and slowly
sits down on a garden bench.
He lowers his head and regards
his sneakers bleakly.
She sits down very close to him,
and then she links her arm
throu-ghhis and puts her head
on his shoulder. She speaks
softly.
EFFE
I’m sorry, okay? Didn’t mean to
offend you.
CHRIS
It’s okay. I didn’t mean to get
angry. I guess I’m a little touchy,
and too defensive around you.
She is quiet for a while. She
realizes there is something going
on in his life that is giving him
pain, much like her situation.
EFFE
What you said. This gigolo part of
you. Is it true, Chris?
He nods slowly, and when he
speaks his voice is almost
muffled.
CHRIS
I grew up in an orphanage. I’ve
never known my parents, or
whether I have siblings
somewhere. Nothing! I have no
history. The woman that run the
Orphanage told me I was found
on a ru-bbish dump! Some
homeless people were
rummaging throu-ghru-bbish,
and heard a baby crying in a
dirty wrapper. They took the
wrapper, opened it, and there I
was! My mother, whoever she
was, threw me away like
ru-bbish!
EFFE
(totally shocked)
Oh my God! That’s cruel. Oh dear!
I’m sorry, Chris!
He leans back and closes his eyes.
There is de-ep pain on his face. It
is obvious that a very raw nerve
has been tou-ched within him.
CHRIS
Theytook me to the police
station, and a judge ordered that
I should be sent to the Hopelife
Orphanage. That’s where I grew
up. In hunger, and un-der a lot of
strife. The Governess of the
Orphanage was a very wicked
woman. She treated us badly,
whipped us. Tortured us. As I
grew up many couples came to
the orphanage, wanting to adopt
me, but she never let them. Later,
when couples came around she
would hide me, and wouldn’t let
me be a part of the parade of
children. NGOs sponsored our
education, and so I got a little
education. When I was fourteen
years a lady came to the
Orphanage. She was a very rich
lady. We all gathered around her
car, I remember. She had a
private chat with Miss Ida
Broohm for a long time.
EFFE
Ida Broohm?
CHRIS
Yes, the Governess of the
orphanage. Late in the night she
introduced me to the lady with
the car, whose name was Sweet
Ama Baby. That’s all I ever knew
about her. I was elated at first,
because I thought finally I was
going to be adopted by a rich
family, but Miss Ida told me that if
I were nice to this lady, I would
be given a lot of money, and
clothes, and food and would
even go the University.
He falls silent. Effe’s heart is
beating. She senses what is
coming, and she dreads it.
Somehow, she knows a gate has
been opened, and that he nee-ds
to pour out his soul.
She suspects it is something he
has kept bottled up for a long
time, and knows true healing will
only come when he pours out
the debris in his soul.
EFFE
(gently)
And? What happened, Chris?
CHRIS
Oh, nothing much. This woman,
Sweet Ama Baby, left. A week
later she came back. They made
me take a bath and dressed me
in good clothes, and then they
took me in the car to someplace.
I was left in a room with a
woman I didn’t know, a middle-
aged woman who was very
nak-ed. She did a lot of things to
me.
Effe is shocked. She feels him
trembling, and she sees the
sweat that is suddenly pouring
all over his face.
EFFE
Jesus. She se-duced you? s-×ually?
He nods, and sighs. He tries to
draw his arm away, but she
holds on ti-ghtly.
CHRIS
That was how it began. Sweet
Ama Baby took me to a lot of
women after that. It was…
horrible for me. At first, she gave
me some money, and I was
thrilled. Sometimes she took me
to places far from the orphanage
and I spent time having s-x with
strange older women. But soon I
began to get very depressed. I
wanted it to stop, but they told
me if I stopped they would hurt
my friends.
EFFE
Your friends? In the Orphanage?
CHRIS
Yes. There was a girl, a little girl.
Her name was Janet. They told
me if I stopped sleeping with the
older women they would send
Janet to horrible men who would
do horrible things to her. I was
scared for Janet, and so I
continued. One night, Sweet Ama
sent me to the city. I was alone
with her. You know, she used to
touch me sometimes, ki-ssing me,
fondling me all the time, but she
never tried to make love to me.
But I began to hate her, you
know, very fiercely. But the night
she took me to the city, she told
me she loved me, and wanted to
be only with me. She said she
would do good things for me. I
was eighteen years old then. She
was nak-ed, and she started
touching me. I fled from the
room. I ran and ran and ran! I
stayed in the city to hustle. I hid
from her. Later I learnt the
orphanage burnt down. Janet
died in the fire.
Effe ru-bs his hand gently.
EFFE
And you never forgave yourself.
He looks at her. His face is
haunted. She can see tears
glistening in his eyes.
CHRIS
Maybe, if I had not fled, Janet
wouldn’t have died. She might’ve
lived!
EFFE
No, Chris. Maybe it would’ve been
worse for her. We can never
explain what happens in our
lives, and we can’t live in regrets.
You had a terrible teenage
period! These women exploited
you, and you reacted in the only
way you could. You have done
well to make it this far. You have
to live free. You never met Ida
and this terrible woman again?
He shakes his head.
CHRIS
No, never saw either of them
again. I had saved some of the
money Sweet Ama Baby used to
give me. I always carried it with
me just in case I had a chance to
escape. I went back to school,
completed, and started hustling. I
did all kind of jobs. Later I
enrolled as an Auto Mechanic,
learnt how to drive. When I
pas-sed out from the mechanic’s
shop I started driving, and five
months ago I was lucky to meet
an old customer from the fitting
shop who introduced me to the
owner of this taxi, and now I’m
working for her. When I finish
paying it off it would be mine,
and life would be a bit better
from there, I guess. So, believe
me, Madam, I know a lot about
women.
She stares at him for a long time,
and when a tear rolls down his
right cheek she reaches out and
brushes it away.
EFFE
(gently)
You might know a lot about
depressed women who sleep
with teenagers, Chris, but you
don’t know a lot about women,
believe me.
He smiles and shakes his head.
CHRIS
I believe I do. It’s because of
these depressed women that I’ve
never been able to fall in love and
have any meaningful
relationship. It’s because of those
women that I feel so dirty, and I
know that no woman would ever
love me if she found out what I
did in the past.
EFFE
Love doesn’t care about the past,
Chris. It’s only concerned with
the present, and the future. You
don’t have to feel dirty. Any
woman who genuinely falls for
you wouldn’t hold that against
you, believe me.
CHRIS
(softly)
I hope so. I pray so.
She stands up and holds out her
hand. He puts his hand in hers,
and she pulls him to his feet.
EFFE
Call me Effe.
He smiles. His expression is sad,
but she can see relief on his face.
CHRIS
I’m Chris.
EFFE
People know about your story,
Chris? You told others?
He shakes his head.
CHRIS
Nope. It makes me feel dirty and
repulsive. I told you, I’ve always
been afraid that if people knew
they would shun my company.
Emotionally and psychologically, it
has scarred me for life. You’re the
only person I’ve told ever since I
fled from Sweet Ama Baby.
EFFE
Why? Why me, Chris?
Their hands are still linked. He
looks down at their hands, and
he looks at her. At that moment,
all the ha-rdness leaves him, and
the look on his face is that of a
boy. It is sweet, and innocent,
and vulnerable.
CHRIS
I don’t know, Effe. All I know is
that a certain woman entered my
car one night without invitation…
and I feel like I’ve known her all
my life!
She smiles up at him. He smiles
down at her.
She thinks his smile is probably
the best she has ever seen, and
she thinks she un-derstands why
frustrated women have paid to
be with him, and that no man
has the right to look so
handsome.
She thinks that if he shaves off
his mas-sive dreadlocks and gets
properly pruned he would be a
most irresistible man.
He thinks that he has never seen
a lovelier woman like her. He
thinks that she looks just like an
angel.
The tone of her skin, her
incredible figure, her smile, her
eyes, her legs, her li-ps… she is so
fabulous, so perfect, so beautiful.
He thinks that for an obviously
rich and well-educated girl, she is
yet so humble and chaste. He
thinks that not many women in
the world, with that level of
education, will ever come near a
man who came from an
orphanage, has basically no
education and drives a taxi.
He thinks that she is indeed a
most amazing woman.
And as the sun casts its last
glows in the horizon and
silhouettes them in the
background, neither of them
knows just how beautiful they
look as a couple as they stand
there gazing and smiling into
each other’s eyes.
To be continued..