"Bwoy Missa Joseph, yuh know weh yuh a talk bout man!" Mr Brown said speaking to the building contractor supervising work on his house. "This new 'prentice weh yuh cyarry fi werk pon di house a gwaan man! Him finish paint one side a di outside wall aready!"
Both Mr. Brown and Mr. Joseph Black, affectionately called Mas Joe, watched as Jason quickly but efficiently used the paint roller to neatly deposit the fuchsia colored paint onto the wall. He was finished with the front and was now doing the wall closest to a side gate that led to the backyard. He smiled to himself, at least he could thank his dad for passing on the trade to him.
Ever since he was twelve years old, to get extra money out of his dad, he would follow him to private homes and help his dad paint folks' houses. It was hard but rewarding work and his dad made sure to teach him the skills he needed to do a good job, for if he didn't, his dad couldn't charge the home owner a wage fitting for his labour. His dad made sure that every work done was top tier and his son had to meet up to and maintain the same standard on any work site he went on.
From ages twelve to sixteen his dad would take him to work on private residences, but after sixteen his dad took him to newly constructed apartment complexes, and he and two other men along with his dad would paint the units assigned to their team.
Jason wasn't afraid of hard work so he would even walk through with his dad, helping him to inspect and correct anything the other men did wrong. He knew about drywall, he knew how to apply primer to concrete surfaces and he was also taught how to spot a paint bubble and how to fix it quickly. He was thankful for the lessons learned. He respected his dad for being an excellent professional at his trade. He just never liked him as a man. He was a delinquent father and Jason vowed to himself that he would never be like him in that respect. Hard worker yes. Deadbeat dad, hell no!
At about 7:00 p.m. he finished a whole section and promised Mas Joe that he would come back tomorrow to help him finish the rest of the painting. Mr Brown had also asked him if he knew anything about selecting paint for some wooden furniture he had custom built that he was planning to install on his patio. He told him that as a matter of fact he did. His dad had taught him well. Mr Brown asked him what he would charge, but not wanting to 'bruk Mas Joe's foot', Jason told Mr Brown that it was best he consulted with Mas Joe about a price. Mr Brown looked at him silently for a minute then nodded his agreement.
It was the peak of final exams period in December and Jason wanted to get as much money as possible. He studied at night after he came home from work. He would go to bed at twelve midnight and wake up at 3 a.m. to do his studying.
He worked part-time at a supermarket, a job his dad begrudgingly sought for him from one of his family friends. Jason had threatened to stop working with him if he didn't help him get something more stable. Even Mas Joe was an old associate of his dad, but a much nicer guy to be around. Joseph treated him more like a son than his own father did.
When Belvedere Singh was told in no uncertain terms that he, Jason, would no longer help him to do the odd job here or there, if he didn't help him get something more stable, he laughed at first, then he hurled expletives at his son. Then, when he saw that Jason's jaw was clenched shut and his fists closed, he knew he was serious. It had been awhile since he and his son had settled their differences in a brawl. The last time Jason had beaten him and promised that never again he would wrestle, tackle, fight, 'trash out' or whatever his dad called their physical conflicts. He was done! But with his fists in position he wondered if Jason had forgotten what he said.
"Arite mi son," Bello said, " mi will ask a fren mi know if him can help yuh out."
Jason's shoulders dropped, he released his hands and his body relaxed. Getting things out of his dad was like a constant battle. He would claim it was to make him into a man. Yes, he was self-sufficient in a lot of things. For awhile he went to live with his dad and two other of his siblings. He was the second child in terms of age that lived at the house.
At twelve years old, Jason's mom couldn't manage him. He would talk back and would tell her off if he felt like it. She pleaded with Bello to take him and at first it seemed like he wouldn't. When his mother Bridget first asked him to take him, he had hung up the phone on her. He didn't even say a word. He just hung up. But then a month later in August, Jason could remember it clearly, he came for him and took him to his main baby momma's house. She was fairly nice to him but Jason just didn't like her at first.
Antonia was her name and she was a great cook. She knew how to make roti and dahl. Her curry dishes were always delicious. You see, she was very close to Bello's mom, Jason's grandmother, before she died, who had taught her all her cooking secrets, that she in turn learned from her own mother. It was ironic to Jason that a total stranger would now be the one to teach something from his own heritage. It made him sad but also angry.
After a while however, her kindness wore him down, and he would go into the kitchen to watch her cook, and later when he was about thirteen he asked her if she could teach him how to cook those delicious meals, to which she gladly agreed. He learned a lot from her about cooking Indian dishes and Jamaican fusion meals, but also about patience and kindness, something he needed at that critical point in his life. His dad was still a jerk to him, but was less of a jerk when Antonia aka Precious intervened. His big sister from Antonia, Kerry, was nice enough to him and her little brother, well, his little brother too, was a cool little dude. His name was Wayne. He grew to like them as well, but was still ambivalent towards his dad.
At fourteen, Jason was sent back to his mother's house. Bello stuffed Jason's clothes in a plastic bag and told him he had to go back home. He sent him back home to live with his mother empty handed. No food, no new shoes or clothes, not even some money to give to his mom. Antonia had begged him not to do it, but Bello didn't care. He complained that Jason didn't respect him because he didn't jump or flinch when he shouted at him like the other children did. But Jason wasn't afraid of him. He barely respected him. He went back to his mom's house and decided from that day forward he would do any job to help out. He didn't need his dad's help or sympathy.
Jason slid into Mas Joe's old Toyota Carolla and waited for him to finish speaking with Mr Brown. When Joseph got in the car, he handed Jason $20,000. "Here," he said, "for yesterday and today."
Jason nodded, took the folded up money and pulled a side zipper of the bag he had carried with him, tucked it into that small space and closed the zipper.
Joseph looked at his young charge for a minute and smiled. "Mr Brown told me what you did. I don't mind you doing side gigs besides working with me," he said.
Jason smiled. "Yeah, I know, but he's your customer so respect is due."
Joseph nodded. "Yah good yute."
Jason laughed.
Joseph turned the key in the ignition, shifted the car into drive and slowly moved the vehicle away from the sidewalk.
"Speaking of side hustle," Jason spoke, his eyes on the road. "A friend of mine told me about a family that needs their kitchen and living room repainted. It's up Pembrook Hall way."
"Oh?" Joseph glanced quickly at Jason, then returned his gaze to the road.
"Yeah." Jason smiled.
"Well make sure you do your measurements accurately before yuh staht di werk." Joseph maneuvered onto Half Way Tree Road.
"Yeh, I know how," Jason said confidently.
Joseph nodded. "Good."
Joseph stopped the car before Clock Tower Plaza. Jason got out of the vehicle. Carefully, he closed the door and told Joseph thank you. Hoisting the bag over his shoulder, Jason headed towards Devon House Bakery. It was his mom's birthday and he wanted to buy her "sumn nice". It was lucky for him that Mr Brown had given him permission to take a shower in a shed in the back of the yard.
The shed had a bathroom with shower, face basin and toilet. It was equipped with a mini fridge and a two burner hot plate for when Mr Brown felt peckish. Oftentimes he was doing some yard work and didn't want to bother his wife. Sometimes it was due to their explosive arguments. His wife was a temperamental woman.
Power ran from the main house to his little den, so he could install lights and electricity for a fan. It also had a small bed that Mr Brown used when he would come in late from work and didn't feel like going to the house. His wife was a light sleeper, and him trudging in at 3:00 in the morning would surely wake her up and make her grumpy for the whole day. He knew better, so he converted the shed into a mini flat. The shed was already there when he and his wife bought the property, but he made it comfortable for his convenience. While walking the distance to the bakery, Jason thought about the nice house he was painting and wondered if one day he could have something like that.
******
Carli was getting her hair retouched. She had asked her parents for money to deal with her weekly upkeep and her dad surprised her by depositing $50,000 into her bank account. He would usually send $30,000 to last for two weeks. This time however he warned her that the money would have to last her through the month. She understood things at home were a little difficult and agreed to do her best. She had to do her hair though, it had grown about two inches, and she was excited to see how long it would look after Andrea, her hair dresser was finished. She also asked that a rinse be applied to her hair. She was partial to burgundy with a hint of lavender at the ends. After having the relaxer fully applied to her hair roots, she waited an extra 10 minutes for the product to do its work. She was sitting on a plush, comfy couch with a shower cap over her head. She scrolled through her Instagram feed, then went to Whatsapp to see what her friends were up to.
Simone shared a picture of herself and the growing baby bump. She was wearing a cute royal blue jumper and a pair of flat sandals. She looked plumper, but also happy. The child's father, Matthew, stood beside her resting his hand possessively on her belly.
Matthew.
Everyone thought that Carli and Matthew were a couple. Not even close. She had always seen him as a brother, and thought he felt the same way, until one day everything changed between them. Yes, they kissed once, and what a kiss it was! But she only kissed him because she was a virgin and had never kissed a boy before. Now she was not sure how she felt about him. There was no turning back now though, he was apparently dating Simone. She looked at the picture of her two best friends, male and female, and recalled how she messed things up.
She was an 11th grader in high school at the time and all her classmates were talking about French kissing and what it was like. Matthew laughed at first when she asked him to kiss her. But after she convinced him that she needed the practice, he agreed.
On that fateful day, she remembered, she was over his house. It was a Friday afternoon, just like it was today. Matthew's parents had not yet returned home from work. He and Carli had left straight from school, took the bus together and chatted all the way to his place. They were glad to be done with the school week and happy for the weekend. Mathew took some rock buns and two ginger beer sodas from the refrigerator. He heated up the rock buns in the microwave, placed them on two plates and brought them up to his bedroom. He handed one of the plates to Carli and placed the sodas on the floor beside the bed. Carli was already sitting on his bed rocking to some music she was listening to on her phone.
"Thanks for agreeing to do this for me Matt," Carli said shyly.
They had agreed that it was going to be that day. No one was at home yet. They were alone. They had been alone numerous times before, Carli knew every detail of Matt's room. She felt nervous about the kiss but believed she was safe with him. She however did not want them to be caught by his parents. They were somewhat liberal, laid back people, but she kept thinking of how embarrassing it would be if she and Matthew were discovered.
"And why do you want me to do this again?", Matthew asked, a quizzical but amused look was on his face. "Wouldn't Andre be a better candidate?"
Matthew knew that Carli had a crush on Andre, so he was teasing her.
Carli carefully bit into the toasty, warm bun Matthew's mother had baked the night before. Mhmm! So nice! She thought. "You know why," she said licking a crumb off the corner of her mouth.
"Well remind me. I think I need further convincing. I said yes, but now I'm not sure." Matthew sat on the bed with Carli, he had already finished his first rock bun and had two more left. He only gave Carli two buns since she claimed she was watching her figure, and was still on the first one. He watched her eating and shook his head.
"Well?" He looked at her.
"I've never had a guy kiss me. I just want to know what it feels like. And yes Matthew, I know you know I like Andre. At least with you I can feel comfortable cause it won't really mean anything. It's just practice." She tried to make it sound like she was going in to do a routine doctor's appointment.
"Practice eh?" Matthew chuckled. "How yuh know seh afta wi kiss yuh nuh develup feelings fi mi?"
Carli rolled her eyes. "Matt please! Psshhh!..."
Matthew clutched his chest as if he was in pain. "Wow! You broke my heart right there." He laughed mockingly.
Carli took up Matt's pillow and threw it at him. Matthew dodged it with plate in hand. Swiftly, he placed his plate on the nightstand and lunged at her, knocking her back into the bed. The plate in her lap slid off the bed. Both plate and the half eaten and whole bun fell to the floor. In one quick, smooth move his upper body was on top of her. Matthew looked down at her.
With a cheeky look on his face, he asked, "Is this what you want?"
Carli thought of raising her elbow and hitting him across his face, lightly though, she didn't want to hurt him. They would usually romp but he was being a bit rough now.
"Carli?" His eyelids dropped. He was looking at her lips. "Is this what you want?" His voice lowered to a husky timbre that sent chills down her spine. She had never felt that before, but wasn't sure if she liked the feeling or not. She definitely knew she was a little fearful. She didn't feel very safe with Matt right now.
Maybe this wasn't a good idea.
Her heart was beating really fast. She wanted to push him away, but a part of her was curious to see what he would do. She left her hands at her sides.
Slowly, he lowered his head and gently kissed her lips. At first, the kiss was playful, just tender brushes on her upper lip, but then he shifted gears and started kissing her more intensely. She felt her body respond in a way she didn't expect. This scared her, but it felt different, almost exciting. She started trying to kiss him back. Opening her mouth slightly, she tried that thing with her tongue she heard the girls talking about. She found herself lifting her arms to circle around his neck, pulling him closer.
He adjusted his weight over her, pressing himself more on top of her. She relaxed into his embrace, being carried away by emotions she didn't quite understand but was willing to explore. His right hand cupped her face while his left hand slowly swept over her shoulder, down her side and rested on her right hip. They were still in their school uniforms and Matthew thought to himself, what a hindrance the clothes they were wearing was to him.
He made a low guttural sound and nipped her lower lip passionately. Carli gasped. The sound made Matthew let out a soft breath as he kissed her. He moved his head, trailing a line of kisses from her lips to her neck.
She smells so good. I could breath her in all day. He thought.
His hand ventured beneath her skirt to touch her buttocks. She was wearing short, black tights that snugly fit her curves. Matthew gently squeezed her bottom. Carli felt a shock of sensations run through her. She remembered thinking to herself: Oh lort! What is this?! Should I stop him or should I let him continue? This is getting too intense! It feels so good but maybe we should stop.
Just then the door opened and Matthew's mom walked in on them. Melanie, did not expect what she saw in her son's room, she let out a shriek and went through the door, closed it and said, "Matthew ... um, if you and Carli are going to do things like that, you need to lock the door."
Matthew reluctantly rolled away from Carli. He looked at her. His eyes showed something hidden deep within that caused her to shiver. This side of him was in contrast to what she was used to. He was always a carefree guy, but now he looked at her with a gaze that she couldn't read.
He cleared his throat. "I think you better leave now." His voice was raspy, his eyes were boring into her. Carli nodded. She grabbed her school bag and fled out of his room. She rushed downstairs and ran past Melanie before she could say anything to her.
Ever since then, everyone said she and Matthew were together, because Melanie had called her parents and told them what happened. But, after that evening, Matthew never touched her. Sometimes she would catch him looking at her funny, but then a blank expression would take over his face and he would act like everything was fine. Things were never the same though. She used to visit him and they would sit up in his room and watch TV. She would watch him play video games, or they would listen to music. They would often do home work together but after that incident, he never asked if she wanted to come over, and instinctively she knew it was best not to ask about visiting his house.
When she found out that he had gotten Simone pregnant she was stunned, but she never said anything to him. It was Simone who told her that it was his baby. They had gone to a party during the summer. It was after they had finished sitting their CSEC exams. The 11th graders wanted to do a little 'after exams fete', to let loose and have some fun. They decided to do a beach trip first, which Carli went to, but she wasn't allowed to go to the house party. It was kept at a girl named Rachel's house, but her parents didn't think it was a great idea so she didn't go.
Simone and Nichelee went however, and after a few drinks Matthew got loose tongued and told Simone how he had always had a thing for Carli but never told her. He was despondent because he figured Carli would never see him in a romantic light. Simone, trying to console him, ended up comforting him too much and got pregnant, while Matthew was just trying to get an ego boost. When Matthew found out she was pregnant, he promised to be there for her and the baby, and so far he was. The family decided to keep the identity of the father a secret until a few weeks ago when he landed his first job after high school.
When she finally saw Matthew, she had decided to visit Simone, bringing donuts. Sim said she was craving donuts. So she did what a best friend would do. It was the summer and she had gotten a holiday job at a small bakery. When Simone wrote on her Whatsapp status that she was craving donuts, Carli thought this was a good opportunity to see her friend. She purchased the six pack at a discounted price from her supervisor at closing time, and took a bus then a taxi to her friend's house.
When she arrived Matthew was there sitting in Simone's room. Simone wasn't there. She had gone to a nearby corner shop. Simone's little sister had let her in and told her that Sim had another visitor but never told her who it was. She felt awkward seeing Matthew, so she placed the donuts on a table in Simone's room and nodded towards Matthew who nodded in return.
"Will you tell her these were from me?", Carli asked.
"Sure," Matthew said, "but you could tell her yourself." He stood up.
Carli instinctively stepped back.
Matt cleared his throat. "About what happened couple months before..." Matthew started.
"It's okay," Carli interrupted him. "I suppose it's my fault. I asked you."
"You had to have known Carli." Matt sighed and rubbed his stubbly jaw. He was growing his beard out for the summer now that he was done with high school.
"Known what?" Carli felt an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"How I felt." Matt stepped closer to her.
Carli backed off to the door. Her back resting on the wooden frame.
"Ms James? Ms James?" Carli felt a touch on her shoulder that snapped her back to the present. She looked up. Andrea told her she was ready for her.
Carli lay back and let Andrea thoroughly rinse the perm relaxer from her scalp and hair. After using a special shampoo, Andrea instructed her to sit in her styling chair. She applied a moisturizer to the hair then started carefully applying the Wave Nouveau Booster solution to Carli's hair. Retrieving the perming rods from her hairdressers' table, Andrea parted Carli's hair into 1/4 inch strands to roll into the rods. In twenty minutes she was finished and told Carli it would be another twenty to twenty-five minutes wait so the booster could get ample time to curl her hair.
Carli sat back on the pink couch Andrea had in her salon for her clients' comfort. Meanwhile, Andrea started washing out and shampooing an older woman's relaxed hair.
Carli looked at the time on her phone. She was there from 12:30 p.m. and now it was 1:30 in the afternoon.
She leaned back into the cosy sofa. Matt had accused her of ignoring his feelings so she could get what she wanted. Carli remembered how offended she felt.
"You know what I mean Carli," he said. "The way I would look at you some times. The way I would ditch everybody just to spend time with you any time you asked me to. I allowed you to eat half my lunch at school sometimes." He came closer.
"The way I would touch your back just to let you know I'm near, when you're scared to do something." Closer he came, until his face was inches away from hers. She looked away from his stare. She felt his breath on her right cheek.
"Tell me you didn't know how I feel about you?" Matthew braced his arms on the door trapping her between them. She looked down. Matt took his finger and lifted her chin so he could look her squarely in the eyes.
"I have wanted you since we were in the 8th grade and you asked me if I had an extra pencil to lend you. We were in Mr Smith's Math class. You remember that?"
Carli nodded. She remembered their first interaction. "You never told me Matthew." A tiny voice of protest came from her lips. She noticed that Matthew was watching them move. He wanted to kiss her again. Mustering all her strength, she pushed him away from her. He was 5'10" with a solid frame. He played football for their school and was very strong. Matthew backed away allowing the push she gave him to propel him across the floor.
"I don't see you like that Matthew. You know that!" It was almost a shout. Her chest was heaving with effort and anger.
"The way you kissed me before I couldn't tell." His eyes bored into her.
"Were you just playing with me Carli? Feeding on my emotions? You must have known I would be willing to kiss you because of my feelings for you. You used me?" His accusatory tone stung like a wasp bite.
"That is not true Matthew. I always thought you saw me as a sister. You're like my brother!"
The look on his face pained her.
"Bullshit!' Matthew charged. "You knew Carli. If you didn't you wouldn't kiss me the way you did."
"I... Matthew we're just friends!" Carli felt her heart breaking. What had she done?
"No!" Matthew shook his head. "Too late for that sentiment after our kiss." He grabbed his bag from Simone's bed.
"Please tell Sim I will call her later tonight."
He brushed past her allowing his arm to slightly touch her through her blouse. She shuddered. His physical closeness was unnerving. He opened and closed the door behind him without a word.
Carli sighed and tried to relax. She pressed the power button on her phone to check the time. It was 2 p.m. Just then she heard Andrea calling her, pointing to the styling chair. Carli got up and sat in the chair. She hoped it wasn't much longer. She needed to get out of there. Her thoughts were holding her captive. She needed to leave, to do something, anything to occupy her mind with something productive.
*****
The phone rang five times before Carlos James picked up the call.
"Hello?" He answered.
"Cough! Cough!"
Carlos looked at his cellphone. Someone was coughing on the phone.
He put the phone to his ear again. "Hello," he said getting annoyed.
"Cough! A me man Red Man. Cough... cough..."
"Red Man wah wrang wid yuh?" Carlos sat down and leaned back into his office chair.
" Ah juss a likkle sniffles mi hav man," Red Man said. His tone cheerful.
"So weh yuh want?" Carlos was growing impatient.
"Bredda! Yuh nuh affi ah behave suh enuh. A yuh fren dis from scheme days, wen we used to lock di scheme up a Hermitage."
Carlos grimaced. That time was like another life to him now. He was past that.
"Yeh man. Suh what yuh want me fi duh fi yuh?" Carlos asked sarcastically. Maybe Red Man was looking to ask for money. Carlos couldn't help him.
Red Man laughed. It was a harsh cackling sound that ended in coughs that rattled through the phone connection.
"No man," he said. 'A weh mi cyan duh fi youu!"
He sounded confident. Carlos wondered what this was about.
Carlos sighed. "Look I'm at work, so just tell me what's up."
Red Man chuckled. "Arite boss man. Mi know yah man weh always busy."
"Mi hear seh yuh need a cash top-up so mi have a proposition fi yuh."
"Who tell yuh dat?" Carlos was indignant. Delroy and Red Man were drinking buddies. It had to be Delroy who flapped his mouth off as usual.
"Nuh worry yuhself man. Mi an' yuh a bredrin from whappy kill phillup. Mi nuh muss cyan help mi fren," Red Man said.
"Wah kinda help yuh cyan give mi?" Carlos asked. He picked up his pen and started ticking off a list of actions he completed on a worksheet.
"Me have a deal fi yuh weh can give yuh $500,000 a month."
Carlos placed his pen back on the work desk.
"Go on."
"Yeh man, yuh can get up to $500,000 monthly."
Carlos did need the money. Red Man was always up to something but he wasn't a thief. Carlos' daughter was now at university and his wife's job hung in the balance. "Ah hope a nuh scamming foolishness enuh."
"No man." Red Man chuckled. "Nothing like dat bredda. Strictly legitimate. Legal all the way."
"Okay." Carlos glanced at his watch. It was 3:30 p.m. "Call me back at 5. We can talk then."
"Okay, arite. Yuh nah guh disappoint."
Carlos sighed. "Okay." He hoped not. He hung up and went back to work.
*****
Bridget was woken out of her sleep by a sharp knock on the door. She stretched, got out of bed, staggered to the door, and opened it to see her son facing her. Her tired faced cracked into a bright smile. She hugged her son and pulled him into the house.
"Happy birthday mommy!" Jason smiled broadly. He had a cake box in his hand. It held a generous slice of red velvet cake, her favorite. She hugged her son again. He pushed the box into her hand which she received with joy and brought into the little cramped space they called a kitchen. She placed the box on an old table she had that belonged to her grandfather years ago.
"Yuh staying for dinner?", she asked. Bridget had done a double shift at work. She was a security guard at an industrial complex and had only managed to get four hours of sleep before her son came home and woke her up.
"Yeh man," Jason said. He always had space for his mom's cooking.
Jason went into his bag, counted out some money and gave it to her. "That's $10,000. I know you just started this new job and figured you will need it. He was right, she hadn't gotten paid yet. She just started a week ago. Bridget felt it was time she did something that would elevate herself. The company that hired her advertised that they needed female as well as male guards.
Why not? She thought to herself. She did need the money.
She hadn't worked in awhile but the recruiter was understanding and said he would help her. A week from the day she did the interview, he called to tell her she passed the Math and writing test, so they would offer her a contract. She needed to come in with a clean police report. Bridget immediately asked her mom to send the money to get the police record, paid for it and brought it to them. Her first week was about to end on Sunday.
Jason sat on his mom's bed. "Where is Joel and Lisa?" he asked, looking around. He noted a crack on the wall. As soon as he got some more money, a good lump sum, he would buy some filler and cement to fix the wall.
"Oh," Bridget looked around at her son. "Joel is at training for basketball and Lisa has extra lessons with her English teacher."
"Do you need me to deal with that?" Jason asked.
"No. No man." His mother laughed. "The money your granny sent was able to deal with the police record and cover her lessons for this month. Besides, school soon give holiday. Don't worry about it."
Bridget washed two plastic plates and two cups and gave them to Jason to hold. With the cake box in one hand and a knife in the other, she cut up the cake slice into four smaller pieces. Taking out two of the pieces, she gingerly held each piece between thumb and knife and deposited them onto the plates that Jason was holding.
"Mommy," he said, "you know the cake is for you."
"I know baby. It's my birthday, but what is a birthday without people to share the birthday stuff with, especially a cake." She smiled.
Jason smiled back. He loved his mom. She was poor but always giving what she had. Sometimes she would take out of their meagre food supply and share with the children that lived across the street. Jason marveled at how she managed to stretch the food so well.
"So where did you work today?" Bridget bit into her birthday cake. She knew her son was always working somewhere.
Jason chewed, swallowed his piece of the cake and washed it down with some Tang juice she made for them. "I went with Mas Joe today." He took another sip of the juice.
"Okay. He paid you this money?" Bridget asked.
"Yeah."
Bridget smiled. Joseph was always kind to her and the children. Now that Jason was working with him, it made a big difference in what Jason could contribute to the family.
"You know, if I had been smart, your last name would have been Black not Singh."
Jason eyes widened. "What do you mean?", he asked.
Bridget placed her plate on the floor and looked at her son with a serious face. "Joseph was also interested in being with me. You know they were good friends, still are. I met your father first however, and he introduced me to Joseph. I liked both of them but I chose your father. He was a charmer, and I thought he cared for me. I knew Joseph liked me but he wasn't much of a talker, and I wasn't sure if he really wanted a relationship. He did tell me he fancied me." Bridget said as she remembered. "But I was already dealing with your dad and Joe didn't seem to want to pursue me the way I wanted him to. So I decided to put my energies into Bello."
Jason stopped eating and looked at his mom. Again he said to himself: I do not understand women.
"Maybe if I was more patient, things would have been different." Bridget bent her head and used her fingers to scratch her scalp, then smelled her hand. "Phew! Need fi wash mi hair now."
She looked up to see Jason's expression. She laughed. "I'll be home tomorrow. My day off. I'll wash it tomorrow no need to look like that."
Jason wasn't even thinking about that. He was thinking about this new revelation his mother just dropped on him. Mr Black, the man who he admired, who he saw as a father figure, could have been his dad? Jason sighed inwardly. This didn't make him feel any better. It would have been better if she never said anything.
When the two munchkins came home they all ate a dinner of corned beef and pumpkin rice, with some shredded vegetables which consisted of carrots, raw cabbage and lettuce drizzled with sugar, a little water and vinegar. They told him about their day at school and training. Jason rubbed his hand on Joel's head, his hair was like a cluster of beautiful, black curls more than Jason's was.
"Well make sure you do your best." Jason encouraged him after Joel told him his coach said he was the most improved player on the team.
"Yes I will." Joel smiled at his brother. He was the best role model to him. They bonded easily over sports.
Lisa and Jason were also close but in a different way. She always wanted him to check her homework and spent hours telling him about her friends at school. Jason didn't mind. He knew he was fulfilling a role his dad would never do. Since the time they were born, his younger siblings had only seen their dad on special occasions or an emergency, twice for each of them.
One time when Lisa was eight and sick in the Bustamante Hospital, he came to visit her. Another time she saw him when she was going into high school. He came to her primary school graduation.
For Joel, he came to one basketball game and when Joel got an award at his high school for earning first place overall in Science for his class --he was in the 8th grade at the time-- Bello came to the ceremony in a flashy, expensive suit and took pictures with the kids and Bridget. Not Jason though, he refused to be a hypocrite. His relationship with his dad was like a business transaction. They spoke when it was mutually beneficial to them. Bello bragged to everyone at the event that Joel was his son. Jason was so annoyed with him but held his peace. It was his little brother's day, so he kept his sarcasm to himself.
Thinking about it now, Jason wondered what his mother ever saw in him in the first place. Was it the angular jaw? Was it his piercing brown eyes or was it his dark Indian features? Maybe it was the hair? Curly tresses that glistened in the sunlight. Guess I'll never know. He thought. Jason looked at his family and smiled. This was what mattered to him anyway.
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