The waitress turn out to be him little sister, a girl of just sixteen. She lock herself in the bathroom she so ’fraid, but when her brother tell her to come out she do it. And just as she pass him by, him reach out and box her, like a slap in the back of her head. But the slap seem to get weaker from when it leave him hand to when it reach her head. Then him sit her down and tell her to tell me what happen. So it seem like him vex with her, but him still care for her and worried for her as well.
‘The white girl been coming down the club all week. And every night she talk to me a little. And I talk back. Then tonight she ask me if I want go sit out in her car with her, where it a bit more quiet and we can talk. And I say alright.’ She stop and she look at me like she wondering if she want to go on. And I look at Clifton because he the one that need encourage her now she on his territory. He the one that need set her mind at ease.
So he say to her, ‘I think we know where you going with this and it alright. Believe me, you in fine company with this.’ Both she and me look at him sorta quizzical, but then she carry on.
‘When my break come, I go out there and one thing and another, and then she say to me if I want get in the back seat of the car with her. She say we can get more comfortable. I don’t know what come over me, I just say yes. We was in there for a while and then the next thing I know there was this banging on the car window and a lot of laughing and hooting. And when I look ’round there was two boys. Just children really. But they acting like they gone mad, screaming and running ’round and banging on the car. I just panic in case all their carry-on attract someone attention. Anyway, before I know what was happening she jump outta the car with this carving knife and was slashing at one of these boys. She was in a frenzy. I never seen nothing like it in my life. It was like she just become a completely different person. And while all this was going on the other boy just stand there staring at her. So I was shouting, ‘Run, run,’ but he didn’t move. It was as if he was glued to the spot and then she swing ’round with the knife and catch him throat. And that was when I run, and come home because I didn’t know where else to go.’
So now me and Clifton both know we got a situation. After all, the perversions of white people is one thing, but Jamaicans doing that sort of nastiness, no. And definitely not a young girl like this. Not in Jamaica. Once she set foot inside that car she become guilty. And judge and jury wouldn’t be too fussy ’bout what them punishing her for.
I say to Clifton, ‘We have to get this girl off the island tonight. Yu going have to take her to Cuba.’
‘Cuba! How me going do that?’
‘Yu have to take a launch, man.’
‘I can’t take out a police launch at four o’clock in the morning for no good reason and take it to Cuba. Yu mad?’
‘Well you of all people, Clifton Brown, I would have thought would understand a situation like this. If this girl stay here tonight she going end up in jail for sure, while her little white girlfriend flying free back to England on the morning breeze. Is that what yu want to happen to her? Look at her, she nothing but a child.’
When I look at him I can see that I got him convinced, so I say, ‘Alright then, but yu going have to keep her somewhere safe tonight and then yu can put her on the morning flight to Miami. All yu need for that is some US identification and a ticket.’
‘What identification? What the hell you talking ’bout?’
‘Passport, man. Driving licence.’
‘And where yu think I going get that?’
‘Is independence weekend! Yu know how many Americans out there right now drinking liquor and living it up. Go arrest somebody and let them cool off in jail while yu take them papers. How come yu can’t ever think nothing for yourself, Clifton?’
Just before him go I tell him to try keep the thing outta the newspapers at least till after the holiday weekend done.
When I go back to Matthews Lane I put the knife in the safe and try get a couple hours sleep before daybreak.
The next morning Meacham come see me on him way to the airport. He park the nasty grey Rover car outside the shop across the street, and I see the girl sitting there like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth.
Him come in the shop and I say to him, ‘The car clean enough for you?’
And him say, ‘Yes.’ Then him just hand me a envelope and when I look inside it I see it full of US dollars. I half begin to wonder where him get so much money from so fast overnight, especially on a holiday weekend, but then I realise I don’t care. At least he have the good manners this time to put it in a envelope, not like how he just hand me the naked bills when he pay me to get rid of Merleen’s baby.
I think him see himself as paying for a service. And I think him expect me to go give him the knife. But then I start think ’bout how this man going fly outta here and leave me with all his responsibility. I got Merleen Chin and baby John Morrison, and I got Marguerite Lopez, which is what the waitress call after Clifton done sort out the business with the driving licence.
I got all these people to look out for and put through school and everything. So I look at Meacham and I say to him, ‘I was thinking of something regular.’
Clifton do the business with the newspaper thing as well because the story didn’t reach the Gleaner till the Wednesday morning, 7 August. It make page four, squeeze between the Coral Gardens murder case and a hit and run in Savanna-la-Mar. There it was. ‘No clues in stabbing of youths.’
On Friday 2nd August two youths were found stabbed to death in the car park of Club Havana on the Windward Road in Kingston. The youths, Winston Morgan and Aubrey Williams, both aged 13 years old, were from Kingston in the parish of St Andrew. Police have no clues and have yet to arrest anyone in connection with these fatal woundings.
19
A week or so after that I go visit Margaret Morrison and the baby. I take some peanut brittle for her and a little shirt and pants thing for the baby that far too big for him but Margaret say is OK he will grow into it.
Well, Mrs Morrison right. You can’t tell from looking at him that his mother Chinese. Baby John look just like a regular big-frame baby white boy. Funny thing is he even got a full head of ginger hair just like George. If you didn’t know no better you would even think that George Morrison him papa.
Margaret entertain me royal with tea and shortbread biscuits. She so happy with the baby she can’t thank me enough. She say it change her whole life. She say it give her life meaning. She say every day she thank the Lord that He bring baby John to her. She say she and George happier than they ever been their whole lives. I never hear anybody carry on so much over a pickney. I feel like I want to say to her, ‘Is just a baby, you know, Margaret,’ but I don’t say nothing because it would hurt her feelings, and I don’t mean to do that.
Then she turn to face me, and she turn her whole body right ’round so she looking at me square and direct.
And she say to me, ‘I would like to ask something of you. You don’t have to give me your answer straight away, but I would like it if you would at least consider it. I beg you, just think about it before you respond.’
I can’t imagine what she going say to me.
But then she say, ‘George and I would like to ask you to be John’s godfather.’
Well, you could have knock me down with a feather. ‘Margaret, I honoured that you ask me, but ’
She put her finger to her lip like to say shhh, and then she say, ‘Take some time to think about it. Please. It would mean such a lot to us and I don’t want the decision to be hasty. Please just think about it.’
Next time I see George I tell him he got to talk Margaret out of it.