Chapter 4
Reed
“You’ll find the food here far more superior than what you can find at the buffet at the resort. The local cuisine can only be truly favored with home cooking to stick to your ribs.” This place was off the grid and wasn’t even mentioned in any of the brochures and literature on the Jamaican culture.
“I’m slightly regretting not bringing my friends along. They were a little disappointed when I declined their dinner invitation at the Japanese restaurant at the resort. They actually make it to order right in front of you. I hope I do get a chance to see that for myself.” This wasn’t a bar and more like a home where the place was alive with local music and drinks flowing freely from inside.
“I’m sure I’ve already said this once, but what you did at the pool took my breath away. I find myself wanting to kiss you all the time. Come to think of it, I don’t think we did anything resembling a kiss. It’s probably best that we rectify that miscarriage of justice before we go in.” I followed up my statement by trapping her between two cars with our bodies pressed together.
“I was debating on whether or not to broach the topic. It seems that we are on the same wavelength. There’s nothing more exciting than a spontaneous act of public display of affection.” I kissed her and it was like sampling a rare bottle of wine that had me hungry for more.
I couldn’t get enough of how her tongue innocently darted in and out of my mouth. The temperature was nothing compared to the heat generated by the both of us. Kissing her made me feel that I had found my female counterpart. She was unencumbered by the restrictions of conventional society. We mauled each other like animals in the wild.
The Jamaican music was giving my hips a license to grind against her body in more than a platonic friendship. I had my hand on the back of her neck and ran it down her spine to the small of her back. I wanted to hear her roar like a lion during mating season. Her eyelids were fluttering and I used both hands to hold her very welcoming cheeks.
She yelped, but she didn’t try to run away into the night. She sank into my warm embrace with my hands squeezing the ample evidence of her bubble butt. This was the kind of big-time fun I required to lose myself in. The medley of different dishes coming from inside had my appetite ready to dig in.
I finally came up for a fresh breath of air and she breathed deeply doing the same thing. I was an American freak with a very high sex drive that made most women look at me incredulously. There was no point in waiting for a second chance to impress her. I didn’t doubt my abilities and I knew how far to go before making it seem like I was a creep looking for one thing only.
“I can’t speak for you, but that was worth the wait.” I knew my sincerity was hard to digest.
I wasn’t comfortable being open and honest with my feelings.
“I need a few moments before we go in. I have this craving for jerk chicken. I have a feeling no menu is complete without that certain dish. I want to see the real Jamaica through your eyes.” The silence was broken by someone calling my name and motioning us to come closer.
The dishes found inside were authentically made by an accomplished chef in her own right. Mabel was the mother I was missing and she had this funny way of playing matchmaker. Each of her three sons was hard pressed to deny their good fortune at finding a good woman to settle down with. The home was filled with the laughter of children and grandchildren running around without a care in the world.
“She has been watching you from the window with this little grin on her face. You remember how you scoffed at her knowing that one day you would find someone to see through all of your bullshit. I was skeptical, but I now owe her breakfast in bed.” Redmond was the last of her children still living at home, but I had a feeling his time underneath her roof was coming to an end.
“We’re not setting any dates for a wedding in the near future. I do find myself smitten. It does feel like cupid’s arrow has found its target. I always thought it was a myth about love at first sight. I want to know about her hopes and wishes for the future. I’ve never said that in the past about any of the women I have brought here to meet her.” Mallory was being quiet and my fervent wish was that I didn’t say anything to scare her off.
“She has some of your favorites cooking on the stove. We are enjoying the magic of the night and the live music out back. Don’t make a sound. We don’t want to disturb them when they have the crowd jumping.” He had his Hawaiian shirt open and I could see the scar of the bullet over his left pectoral.
The doctors didn’t give him much hope to live through the night, but Mabel was right by his side with the entire family praying for a miracle. He came out of it with the doctor’s stymied by his quick recovery from the brink of death. He was mentioned in a medical textbook which Mabel had on her coffee table.
“I’m not going to fit in. I don’t have dark skin or dreadlocks.” She was speaking to the choir.
I was the adopted white man in the group.
“I felt the very same way you did the first time Brody introduced me. I was swimming with the sharks and hoping that they didn’t smell the blood in the water. I had to earn their trust and show them that I was a man of honor. I only wish I could live up to their high expectations.” I felt like I was walking in somebody else’s shoes.
It was an awkward fit. Five years later and they still weren’t exactly perfect. His name was a painful reminder every time I heard it. I didn’t deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as him.
“I’m going to depend on you to help me get rid of this nervous energy around me. I’m not comfortable around a crowd of people I don’t know. It was hard enough to strip down to my birthday suit in front of strangers at the resort. You made it more comfortable. I felt it was my duty to intervene on your behalf at the bar. I never expected to be going down on you a few minutes after that.” The more pleasant memories were made during spontaneous acts.
The band was in full swing playing for the family and their wide circle of friends. Everybody was welcoming. They came for one taste of Mabel’s jerk chicken. I was free, but I felt the chains of indecision around my wrists. I was in a prison of my own making and the key around my neck felt 1,000,000 miles away.
“Stick with me and I will make you feel like part of the family. Have a drink to loosen up. They make some very strong moonshine. I would sip it very slowly. It has the kick of a Missouri mule.” I ladled a cup full of their latest concoction.
Mabel’s family was known the island over to dabble in the kind of hard liquor to knock you on your ass. They were family recipes passed down from generation to generation. I actually saw the weathered pages of those recipes. They were in the dozens and they constantly changed what was on the menu after every party. The jerk chicken was highly regarded and there was no reason to mess with a good thing.
“It really does hit hard and fast. It is quite delicious, but I can already feel its effects. Be careful, and I have been known in the past to be the kind of girl to dance on the tabletop with a lampshade on my head.” It would’ve been something to see, but I didn’t want to make her feel embarrassed by her actions in the cold light of reality.
We entered the kitchen and Mabel was right there to give me one of her bear hugs. She didn’t speak much, but what she did say made a lasting impression on everybody she met. She gave us two plates piled high with the latest creations from her kitchen including the jerk chicken.
She took me aside and whispered. “She is the one you have been looking for. Don’t let your secret drive her away. It’s time for you to wipe the slate clean. We both know what I’m talking about and don’t pretend that you don’t. I might be old, but I still see the pain you carry. You thought you were doing the right thing. It’s not fair to you or those who suffer in silence.” I stood and stared at her blinking with the realization that she could see through me.
“I should’ve known that there was nothing that I could hide from you. Do you really know the extent of my betrayal? My nightmares are plagued by their faces begging me for help. I’m choking on the very words coming out of my mouth. I don’t think I’m strong enough.” I knew that some people won and others lost, but I was balancing between the two.
“You are stronger than you give yourself credit for. There’s nothing on this island that I don’t know about. You can’t break free of these bonds holding you down until you give it a voice. She can be your lifeline. There is compassion in her eyes. You can finally have the closure you have been looking for.” She was a big girl, but she moved like a ballet dancer in the kitchen.
I ravenously consumed the jerk chicken, but I picked at everything else. My mind was made up. It was going to kill me to say the words, but it was killing me softly not to. I didn’t understand how I could do such a thing. Being frozen and unable to move made me feel inadequate as a man. I substituted the female flesh to confirm my masculinity.
“Mallory, I need you to come with me back to the resort. We need to talk. It’s a long story and the only way that I can tell it is at the beginning.” We finished our meal and stuck around long enough to hear the band play a few songs.
She could tell that my heart wasn’t into the evening and we left early with my confession on the tip of my tongue.