Chapter 23
Saul had gotten out of bed while they’d been having breakfast. He had to see James. He hobbled to the stables, got on his horse and rode home.
He breathed deeply and smiled as he walked into his very clean home and saw James and Angel in his living room. After Raquel left, his mother and aunt had cleaned the place until it smelled like the outdoors. Saul gingerly took a seat on a cushion and stretched his legs.
“Fell hard, I see,” James said with a chuckle, motioning to his leg. “Angel told me all about it.”
“One way or the other they cause pain.” He glanced at Angel. “I mean that in the most loving way.”
“Of course,” Angel replied.
He looked at James, and before he could say anything, Angel spoke.
“Raquel,” Angel said.
“Right,” Saul said.
She shook her head. “No, I mean Raquel is coming up the walk.”
All three looked towards the walkway. Raquel’s clothes had been packed by Saul’s mother and placed in the guest room. All she had to do was pick up her bags and head for the open sea back to Jamaica.
Raquel stopped in the doorway and looked at the three people. She zoomed in on Saul. “I thought you’d still be in Pamela’s bed.” She gave him a hostile glare.
Saul didn’t answer.
She walked to Saul’s room, stood in the doorway, took one look around and turned back to him. “Where are my clothes?”
“Your suitcases are packed and in the guest room.”
“Hmmm.” She walked to the guest room and closed the door behind her.
Saul looked at Angel questioningly.
She shrugged.
Raquel came out dressed in loose-fitting pants and a silk shirt. She had her hands in her pockets as she walked to the kitchen.
The wind picked up and blew the leaves off the nearby trees as the rain began falling.
“What was the forecast?” Saul asked James.
“It’s a small storm with a mighty punch coming straight for the island. It could veer off course and miss us completely, but I doubt it and it’s too late to evacuate. The seas are too rough. I barely made it with my boat.” He shook his head. “It’s pretty brutal out there. If it hits the island it will also hit Jamaica, but they’re prepared.”
Saul got to his feet with James’s help. His foot was starting to hurt, but he ignored the pain. “Well, the only thing to do now is what we always do this time of year. Lots of sand bags. The crops are in. Our only problem would be water. They had to stop laying the pipes because of the rain. The women are cooking enough food to last for a while.” He motioned to James. “You can’t go back to the Blue Mountain until after the storm.”
“What about Pam?” Angel asked.
“I’m going back,” Saul said.
James shook his head. “It’s looking pretty nasty out there. If you’re going, now is the best time or you’ll lose this window. Angi and I will stay on the island and help in any way we can.”
Saul nodded and motioned toward the kitchen. “Watch her. Don’t eat or drink anything she touches,” he whispered.
“We know,” Angel said.
The sweet smell of brownies permeated the cottage and the three people looked at each other.
The wind had picked up even more and the rain was coming harder as Saul chewed on the herb he took from his pocket on leaving the cottage. He whistled for his horse and mounted. With ferocious winds and stinging rain pushing at him, he held his head low and nudged the horse into a full gallop.
Pamela got the children inside as Tim came into the house to help her put in the shutters.
“Where’s Saul?” he asked in a rough voice.
“You do know your resentment for Saul is making you into an ugly person? Where’s my friend?” She scowled and shook her head.
He ignored her and continued. “He left you to fend for yourself in the middle of a storm.” His face was stony.
“Tim, I’ve been doing this by myself for years...”
“With my help.”
“Okay, yes, with your help. Maybe he went to his village to see to things there. It’s all right.”
“No, it’s not. His children are here. This home should have been his number one priority.”
She stopped what she was doing and put her arms akimbo. “You know what? If you’re here to make me unhappy you can just turn around and leave. We each have to do our part, and if his part is to go to his village I can live with it.” The water began blowing into the cottage, making it difficult for the shutters to fit into their openings.
Tim had to brace hard against the wind to get the shutters in. Pamela raced to the windows in her bedroom, but Saul had already begun placing the shutters in their place.
“When did you get here? How did you get in?” she asked, startled to find him there.
“I came through the window. Help me with this.” She ran over to him and they both braced against the howling wind. “How is the new room holding up?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I walked through but didn’t take notice. The children have already covered their windows.”
He moved past her with huge, limping steps and didn’t even notice Tim putting the last shutter in. The new room was all secured and David was sitting on the bed. Saul looked up at the roof, praying that it would hold through the storm. He smiled at his son. “You’re all right?”
“Yes, Dada.”
“Good.” He went to the girls’ room. They were sitting on the bed playing board games. He nodded.
There was a commotion outside. Pam rushed to the door. Mary’s roof had begun leaking. She turned to Saul, who was already out the door. Although Judiah was trying his best to repair the leak, he wasn’t fast enough. Trying hard to ignore the pain in his foot, Saul ran back into Pamela’s house for supplies he’d left in the new room and was back to Mary’s house in a flash.
Tim was still fitting the last shutter in the living room for Pamela. She looked over at him. “I can do that. You go and help Saul and Judiah with Mary’s roof.”
He hesitated.
“Are you joking?” she shouted.
“Saul’s helping.”
“So will you,” she shouted. “Get over there and help. This is no time for jealousy or selfishness. I can handle this myself.”
Judiah called out his name. “Tim, we need you over here.”
Pamela shook her head at his back, took a deep breath and sealed her shutter into its opening.
Mary rushed in. “I need two more buckets. It’s really bad. We thought the roof was all right.” She grabbed a bucket from the kitchen.
“Didn’t Judiah check this year?” She ran to get another bucket.
“I guess not. He was helping Saul with your room and forgot to check ours.”
In Mary’s cottage Saul and Judiah were on ladders trying to fight against the wind and rain. Both women placed buckets under the leaks and watched as the men hammered planks of wood and thatch. This was clearly a job to be done on top of the roof, but that was impossible.
“What can we do?” Pamela asked.
“We’re almost done,” Judiah said, putting zinc in place, then the thatch under it. Saul hammered and Tim held the ladders. The roofs would be properly mended after the storm.
The women dried up the water from the floor, giving the men a chance to catch their breath.
The heavy water began pushing the softened earth down from the Elders’ village, but the sandbags were holding. They had placed the bags in a formation to force the water to run off over the mountainside.
At some places the river rose and overflowed its banks. Those who lived close to the river had to abandon their homes and pray that they would not be flooded.
Mary, Judiah and Saul sat in Pamela’s living room talking. Pamela got up and asked if anyone needed anything. Saul looked at her and said, “Make brownies.”
“Make brownies. What for?”
“Raquel is bringing you brownies that she baked herself.” He stared at her.
She stared at him for a moment, and then caught her breath as she understood. “Oh, Jah, I’ll bake brownies.” She touched Mary’s arm. “Help me, I’m not good at this.”
Saul rose to his feet. “Sorry, I thought you could. The only thing I can make is chocolate and brownies. I do it quite well, if I may say so.” He grinned and walked toward the kitchen.
“Does she make good brownies?” Pamela asked, following him into the kitchen.
He turned. “I don’t know, she never cooks.”
“Do you still need my help?” Mary asked from her sitting position.
“No, I’ve got it,” Saul replied with a backward glance and a smile.
“If your brownies are better than hers, won’t she know the difference?” Pamela asked Saul.
“At this point I don’t think it matters because I don’t think she’ll eat any. She’s bringing them for you.”
Judiah leaned back on the cushion. “I’ll just wait right here for you guys. One thing I can honestly admit is that I don’t know anything about baking.”
Saul gathered all the ingredients except the main one: cocoa. “Don’t tell me you don’t have any cocoa?” He turned and looked at her.
“The children might have had the last batch. I can go to the main kitchen for some.”
“I’ll do it. I would hate for the wind to push you up the mountain. Just mix these together.” He showed her what to mix and hobbled through the door.
As soon as Saul left the cottage, Mary went into the kitchen to help Pamela. “I don’t think she’ll be able to make it back here in this weather. I hear the bridge is washed out.”
“She can swim.”
“Oh, come on, Pammy. Do you think she’s so determined to kill you that she’ll brave this storm to get back here?”
Pamela looked at her friend and sighed. “I have no idea what the strength of her hatred is. I have been nothing if not kind to her. Jah only knows why she’d want to harm me.”
“Armed with all that we know, why would we let her back into the house?” Mary asked.
“We really aren’t sure of her intentions.”
Mary shook her head. “Why on earth do you see only the good in people? ”
“That’s not true. I can see both good and bad. I just choose to dig for the good rather than harp on the evil.”
They’d just about mixed the wet ingredients when Saul came back with a bag of cocoa. Both women stepped aside and watched as he quickly made the brownies. The only time they interrupted him was to ask if he needed their help. The answer was always “no.” He poured the mixture in an earthenware baking dish and pushed it into the small Dutch oven.
Pamela and Mary checked on the three children to find out if they wanted anything to eat and saw that they had a basket of dumplings on the bed beside them. Gracie’s favorite rabbit was sitting on a folded blanket at the foot of the bed. Pamela smiled, nodded, and went back to join the men in the living room.
No sooner had they sat down when there was another commotion. The men jumped to their feet. Saul turned to Pamela, grabbed the timer and put it before her on the center table. “When the sand runs completely out, the brownies are done. Take them out to cool.”
Pamela nodded and got to her feet. A gust of wind almost knocked Judiah down as he opened the door. Looking outside, they could tell that although the men had worked on Esther’s roof, it was no match for the gale force, howling wind.
“I told Esther that more work was needed,” Judiah said and shook his head. “Ishmael should have listened.”
“It might have been if the wind wasn’t so forceful,” Saul shouted as he hobbled onto the verandah. He looked back at Pamela and touched her hand. The rain was blowing straight into the cottage. He smiled and wiped the water from Pamela’s face. “You look beautiful, even as a wet rat.” He laughed, held her chin and kissed her pouting lips. “I’ll be back as soon as we get things settled with your mother’s roof.”
The rain was coming so hard, they couldn’t tell how many men had actually gone to help. Pamela turned her eyes to the upper mountain where the Elders lived to see mud rushing down against the sand bags. If the men had not made a run-off, no telling how many cottages would have been filled with mud. Just in case they needed help with anything, two young men were sent to each Elder’s cottage to stay until the storm subsided.
Pamela turned and went back into the cottage. With Mary’s help, they both pushed against the wind to close the door, then wiped the floors of the water. As the smell of brownies filled the room, Pamela inhaled. She sat on a cushion and was just about to say something to Mary when Gracie came out.
“I’ve been elected to ask if we can have some of whatever that is, Mama.”
Pamela laughed. “Who elected you?”
“Everyone. We drew straws. I got the shortest one.”
The women laughed.
Pamela glanced at the timer. “They’re not quite ready.” She pulled Gracie to sit by her side. “I’m surprised you don’t have all the animals in your room with you.”
“We put them in the barn. Rabbit wanted to stay with us, so we let her.”
Pamela gave Mary a quick glance. “She still talks to you?”
“Now and again.”
“But not as much as before Ruth and David got here?”
“Right.”
Pamela nodded.
Pamela looked over at Mary. “How come Shaela doesn’t talk to animals?”
Mary shrugged. “She’s always had Gracie.”
Pamela made a face. “But...never mind.”
“They’re done,” Gracie said.
“What, baby?” Pamela asked.
“The brownies are done. The timer ran out.”
“Oh.” Pamela got to her feet and went to the kitchen. She pulled the brownies out of the oven and put them on the counter to cool. “You can’t have any until they’re cooled.” She ushered Gracie out of the kitchen.
“Will you come get me when they’re cool then?”
“I’ll do better than that. I’ll bring some to you. Are you guys having fun?”
“Yes, but we’d rather be outside.”
“Yeah. Me, too, but that won’t happen until the storm eases up.” She patted her daughter’s bottom. “Go.”
“Are you sure we should give them the brownies?” Mary asked, pulling yarn and hooks out of a bag she’d brought over.
“Why not? Saul made plenty. The children can have their brownies with plenty left over to switch with Raquel.” She shook her head. “I don’t believe she wants to kill me, though. I don’t think she’s that evil.”
Mary shook her head and began making her blanket.
Pamela opened a footlocker in the corner of her living room and got out pieces of fabric to add to her quilt.
After allowing half an hour for the brownies to cool, Pamela went back into the kitchen to cut them into squares. She arranged six pieces on a plate and took them to the children.
“What about us?” Mary asked when she came back.
“I’m not hungry, but if you want a piece, I will get it for you.”
“I do,” Mary said.
There was an impatient knocking on the door. The women looked at each other. Pamela took a deep breath and walked to the door, Mary ran behind her. If both women didn’t hold the door, there was a good chance the wind would push more rain into the cottage.
“It’s me.”
Myah’s voice sounded like a breath of fresh air to the women on the other side of the door. They quickly opened the door to let her in.
“Why are you out in this weather?” Pamela asked, noticing that Isha was with her. “Come in, come in.”
Myah was almost out of breath. “We got out with just the essentials when the house toppled down the mountain. It was knocked off the foundation.”
“Oh, Jah. I was afraid of that. Your home was one of those perched precariously on the side of the mountain.”
They pushed the door close.
Myah took off Isha’s raincoat, ushered her into Gracie’s room and then took off her own coat. “I’ll wipe up the water,” she said, going towards the kitchen for a rag.
“You’ll do no such thing. Sit. I’ll get you some tea. I’ll wipe up the water,” Pamela said.
But Mary was way ahead of her with the rag.
No sooner had they wiped the floor when there was another knock at the door. Without thinking, Mary flung the door open to see Raquel standing there with a covered pan in her hand. She stood looking at her with her mouth open. “How... Why... Sorry. Why are you here in this storm?” She moved hesitantly away from the door. “Come in.”
Raquel stepped in, placed the pan on the center table and immediately took off her raincoat.
“I heard the bridge was washed out. How did you get here?” Mary asked again.
“Oh, it’s not so bad.”
Pamela walked back into her living room and almost dropped the pot of tea. “Raquel!”
Myah just stood with her mouth agape.
Then all three women looked down at her full-length boots. It seemed Raquel was prepared for all contingencies.
“Oh, come on, guys, don’t look so shocked. I got tired of talking with Angel and James. Plus, they left to help people with their problems. You know, flying roofs and stuff like that.” She shrugged and laughed. She turned as she saw Pamela, then took the pan off the table. “I brought these for you. I made them myself.”
That’s what I’m afraid of. “Thank you,” she said, almost pushing the words out of her mouth. “I’ll take it into the kitchen.” She placed the tea on the table and was about to take the pan from Raquel.
“No,” Raquel said forcefully, pulling the pan into her.
Everyone looked at her.
“I mean, there’s no need. They’re brownies. I made them for you. We can eat them here.” She placed the pan on the table. “Do you have enough tea for one more? I could use a cup.” She sat on the cushion. She had not expected to see Mary and Myah.
“Yes. I’ll just get another cup. Oh, do you have enough brownies for everyone?”
“I’m not sure.” She uncovered the pan. “I don’t think so.”
“No problem.” Pamela glanced at Mary who was still standing. Mary followed her into the kitchen. “I’ll take these out. She can eat hers and we’ll eat ours,” she whispered.
“I think she’ll be insulted. She did say she made them for you.”
“Oh, man.” Pamela shrugged. She picked up the plate of brownies and another cup.
She placed the plate of brownies on the center table. “We must be on the same wavelength. I made brownies, too.”
The look on Raquel’s face was pure disappointment. “You have to taste one of mine. I made them specially for you.”
Pamela pursed her lips and nodded.
Without hesitation, Myah and Mary took a piece of Pamela’s brownie. That didn’t bother Raquel at all as she carefully watched Pamela, and then took a piece of one of her own brownies and began eating it. Pamela’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “It won’t kill you,” Raquel said, laughing. She got to her feet and went into the kitchen before anyone could stop her. She came back with a small plate, placed a piece of brownie on the plate for Pamela and pushed it in front of her.
Pamela didn’t look at the brownie, but took a sip of her tea. “How did you cross the bridge?” she asked Raquel.
“Very carefully. It’s flooded but not washed out. The water isn’t muddy. At least it wasn’t when I crossed, so I could actually see the bridge. I came on horseback.” Speaking to the other two women in the room, she had looked away from Pamela. She looked back to see Pamela eating a brownie. She smiled. “Good, no?”
Pamela nodded. “Very good.”
Raquel kept looking at Pamela as she chewed and swallowed. “I have to smoke,” she said to no one in particular. Then she looked at Pamela. “Do you mind?”
“Not at all, but you’ll have to go outside. I don’t want the children to even smell that stuff in my house. In this little corner,” she made a gesture with her hand, “no one smokes ganja.”
Raquel picked up a bag she’d brought in under her arm and walked to the door.
“Can’t you wait a while? It’s very windy out there, and there’s no way you can light that thing,” Mary said.
“I’ll manage,” she replied, heading for the door.
“We have to keep the door closed,” Pamela said, but that didn’t deter Raquel from reaching for the doorknob.
Locked inside, they could hear the howling of the wind and the rain beating on the roof and windows. As soon as Raquel opened the door, the force of the wind pushed it straight into her face. Blood gushed from her nostrils as the door slammed her against the wall. The rain blew in full force as furniture and cushions flew towards the wall. The other three women were almost blown against the wall. Pamela pushed herself to the door, but she couldn’t move it without Mary and Myah’s help. The heavy rain and wind had forced itself into the small cottage and had already done unimaginable damage.
Finally, they got the door off Raquel. When they got the door closed, Raquel fell to the floor crying, her face and hands covered in blood. Her nose was broken.
“Jah takes care of his children,” Myah muttered, going to the kitchen to get cold compresses and a basin of water.
“I’m sorry I destroyed your house,” Raquel said, still crying and holding her nose. She tried to lie down but Pamela stopped her.
“You have to sit up for a while,” Pam told her. She looked over at Mary. “How do we get Rita here? None of us are equipped to handle this.” With Raquel screaming in her ears, Pamela ran to the kitchen to get some herbs to help with the pain. She came back and slipped a pinch under Raquel’s tongue while Myah tried to wash the blood from her enemy’s face and hold a cool compress on her nose. The two women seemed to have their work cut out for them, so Pamela volunteered to go and find Rita.
“You can’t go out there,” Mary said. “You just saw what the force of the wind can do. You cannot go out there,” she stressed.
Myah removed the compress from Raquel’s nose. It was still bleeding pretty bad.
“I have to,” Pamela replied, getting her raincoat from the closet and slipping her feet into water boots that came up to her knees. “I’ll be fine. Help me to open this door, Mary.” She looked back at Myah. “Prop her up on the pillows and place her hand on the compress, this won’t take long.”
“I can’t believe I have to take care of the one person that I hate,” Myah muttered.
“Jah has a special place for you in heaven,” Pamela replied. She hugged her and headed for the door. It took all three women to open the door. While the other two stood behind it holding it secure, Pamela slipped out and leaned against the wall, panting as the rain pelted her face. She pushed herself from the wall and crouched low, trying to move against the wind. She heard the crack as a palm tree broke and fell a few feet from her, missing her cottage by inches. She continued battling the wind, blinded by the rain, and pushed forward in the direction of Rita’s cottage. I am a madwoman. No one else in their right mind would be out in this storm. Holding on to the wall, she moved slowly around the community kitchen, clutching the flimsy plastic she wore in order not to get soaking wet. As she let go of the wall, the wind pushed her back and she fell over. No one, I say, no one would be mad enough to do this. Not looking at the mess she’d made of her clothing, she got to her feet and continued with her quest.
She got to Rita’s cottage and held onto the railing to pull herself onto the verandah. Then she pounded on the door. It took a while before Rita’s husband Adam opened the door. He was more than shocked to see Pamela. He pulled her in and quickly closed the door.
“I know it must be an emergency for you to come here,” he said. His dark sympathetic eyes seemed to bore into her as he scratched his bearded chin.
She was tired. “It is.” Pamela stood panting with her back pressed up against door. “I need Rita. Raquel broke her nose on my door and it won’t stop bleeding.” She bent to catch her breath.
Rita stood listening to every word she said, then muttered, “Stupid woman. No matter what she does, it’s always trouble. I’m sorry that she chose your home, Pammy.” She went into her room for her medicine bag. She threw it on the floor and got dressed in her raincoat and water boots. “It’s really bad out there, isn’t it, Pam?”
Pamela nodded. “Yes, but we have to hurry. I don’t want this woman to go into shock in my home.”
“Me, neither.” She kissed her husband.
With his strong arms, Adam braced against the door as he opened it. “Be very careful out there. Hold onto each other,” he said as the women pushed through.
Pamela found out that holding onto each other wasn’t as bad as being alone. And although they had to push through and bend low, they made it back to her cottage and pounded on the door for Mary and Myah to open it.
“How is she?” Rita asked.
“The herb that Pammy gave her seems to have worked. She’s not in any pain. I don’t think she gave her enough to knock her out, though, because she’s still awake and crying about her broken nose.”
As soon as Raquel saw Rita, she asked, “Are you the doctor? Is my nose really broken?”
“Stop talking,” Rita said, her piercing brown eyes taking in the contours of the woman’s face to discern the damage even before she touched her. She bent and touched the area around Raquel’s nose. “It’s broken, all right.” Apparently no one had noticed the fine bone protruding through the skin, but Rita did. “Actually, it looks as if you splintered it. I can’t reset it here. I have to go in and rebuild it.” She looked up at the three women and sat on the floor. “She has to go to the caves. I need assistance to do this.”
“Are you a plastic surgeon? I don’t want my nose messed up.”
The women looked at her and shook their heads. “If only she knew how bulbous her nose was right now,” Mary said.
“I’m the closest thing to one you’ll find on this island,” Rita said, looking directly at Raquel.
She nodded.
In this storm, the cave was more than ten minutes away.
“I can’t have her walk because of the fragments.” Rita shook her head. “There’s a lot of water on the path, if most of it isn’t washed out.”
“We have to get her there,” Pamela said. “I can go on the verandah and call for any man within the sound of my voice.” And before anyone could stop her, she headed for the door once more. They all opened the door and stood braced against it as Pamela went out again and braced herself against the wall, not minding the pelting of the rain against her face. As loudly as she could, she called for help again and again. She saw Tim, then Adam, and wondered where Saul and Judiah were.
The two men came running and she went back into the cottage and held the door for them. They took one look at Raquel and knew why they were summoned. The only thing that could get her to the cave was the horse and buggy. The men went back through the door.
Pamela stood looking at her dirty clothes and her destroyed furniture. The broken center table had been made by her late husband. Half the paintings on her wall were now on the floor with broken frames. She went to her room to change and came back as the buggy pulled up outside. The men brought in a makeshift gurney, lifted Raquel onto it and walked out with Rita by their side, holding a cover over Raquel.