Chapter 25
The sun threw its prisms through the trees. It was the dawning of a new day. Drenched with sweat, Pamela writhed under blankets that helped to pull the water and poison from her system.
The herb packs were removed from her forehead and her feet. Her lips were chapped, but her body was cool.
Seven adults and four children stood at her bedside. “Thank Jah, her fever has broken,” Rita said. “But she’s still not out of the woods.” They replaced the herb packs with fresh ones.
Tim and James removed the shutters, allowing the sun’s pale light to push its way into the room. The smell of fresh baked bread floated on a gentle breeze into the room, reminding everyone that they had not eaten in a while. No one had even had supper except for some of the children. Gracie had not eaten.
Pamela groaned and everyone bent over the bed to look at her. Her face was moist with beads of sweat, and Esther used a cool cloth to gently pat around her forehead and cheeks. Pamela still didn’t open her eyes.
Saul went down to the hotel bar. He couldn’t sit and look at Raquel’s face and listen to her plans anymore. She wanted to go to the United States and start life over, to try and make a go of a marriage that had ended years ago.
He sat at the bar drinking mineral water. He wanted a drink. It wasn’t forbidden in his culture to drink alcohol, and, today, he wanted to get stinking drunk. But not with Raquel in close proximity. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He took a sip of his water and began formulating the details of his plan then squeezed his eyes shut with deep regret as he thought of Pamela’s deathlike stillness when he’d looked at her. He opened his eyes and smiled tiredly, she was so beautiful. She was the only woman who truly challenged him mentally, physically and emotionally.
He couldn’t think of a time he’d seen her when he didn’t want to sweep her off her feet and carry her off somewhere. He prayed to Jah that she was all right and really understood the words he’d put on paper. He hadn’t spelled anything out, but the clues were there.
He spotted Raquel coming out of the elevator and quickly left the bar. He just didn’t want to see her. It was enough that he’d come this far with her. She wore dark glasses and a hat pulled down low to hide the bandage on her nose.
Pamela opened her eyes and looked around the room. She saw everyone except the one person she really wanted to see. “Where’s Saul?” she asked.
“He ran away, the coward,” Tim said.
Angel and Mary shot him a warning look.
“What? He did,” he said as anger and hatred flickered across his face. Deep down he wished that Saul would never come back.
“Go away, Tim,” Pamela said tiredly.
“I never left your side, Pam...”
“Go away.” She glanced at him. “You must be tired.”
Rita came into the room and smiled when she heard Pamela talking. “Welcome back to the land of the living. How do you feel?” She held Pamela’s hand and took her pulse.
“I don’t know. Hungry, I think.”
“That’s a very good sign,” Rita said.
James came in, kissed her cheek and smiled. “It’s good to look into those beautiful eyes of yours.”
“Where’s Saul?” she asked.
“He had to run an errand in order to save your life.”
Rita took the letter out of her pocket and handed it to Pamela. Everyone saw the question in her eyes and excused themselves to give her privacy to read the letter. “I’ll get you something to eat,” Rita said. She fluffed Pamela’s pillows and helped her to sit upright, then left the room.
Afraid to read the letter in her hand, Pamela stared at the paper. What had he written that he couldn’t tell her in person? She slowly opened the folded paper and read:
My darling Pam,
As I write this letter there is a big gaping hole developing in my heart knowing that I have to be away from you when you need me the most. But please believe that I am doing this to save your life and I will be with you again. Knowing that we’re not together makes me weak and split. But know that wherever I am, I’m never far from you and you’re never out of my thoughts. You are always in my heart. You are my soul, a beacon to light my way back to you.
I love you forever and ever,
Saul
Tears welled up in her eyes and slid down her cheek. She didn’t understand the letter. Why did he have to go away? He didn’t say anything about work. Why did he have to go?
Angel walked into the room and held her hand. Pamela wiped her eyes and blew her nose. “Do you know anything about this?” she asked Angel and handed her the letter.
She nodded and told her the entire story.
“Okay.” She took the letter back from Angel and reread it. Now she understood. She wanted to think she knew Saul enough to trust what he’d said in the letter.
“Okay? Is that all you’re going to say?”
She blew her nose again and nodded. “Yes.” She slowly swung her legs off the bed. “I need to get out of bed. I think I’ve slept too much already.”
Angel held her hand. “Pamela, you haven’t been just lying around. You were deathly ill.”
“And now I’m fine.” Unsteadily, she realized she needed Angel to hold onto. “Okay, so maybe I need to take it slow for a while. But I won’t stay in bed any longer.”
“Do you want to talk about the letter?” Angel asked.
“No.” Leaning on Angel, she walked slowly to the living room to see all her furniture gone except for the cushions. “What happened?”
“You don’t remember when Raquel broke her nose...”
“Oh, yes. I have my work cut out for me in making more furniture.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll replace your furniture for you,” Tim said, coming through the open door. “You must feel much better, you’re up and walking.”
She nodded. “You know how much I hate to lie about.”
“I don’t know if I’d call what you were doing lying about.”
“You’re sweet.”
That was a switch. She’d just flung him out of her room, now she thought he was sweet. “You mean I’m not banned from your home?”
“Only from my bedroom and when you get on my nerves.” She sat on the cushion and took the tray Rita had just brought her from the kitchen. “Why don’t you guys sit and eat with me.”
“I have to go and see to my husband,” Rita said. “But I’ll be back later on to check on you. Edith will bring you some more herbs in a little while. You still need to drink the healing herb for a few days. We want to make sure all that stuff is completely out of your system. Meanwhile, please drink the herbal tea.”
“Okay.” She looked over at Angel.
“I’ll stay, but I’ll go and get my own breakfast.”
Pamela looked at Tim and rolled her eyes. He laughed and sat beside her. “Together again.”
She burst out crying. He made an attempt to reach for her. She shook her head while holding up one finger. “No, don’t do that. I’ll be fine. I’m fine.” She took a deep breath, smiled and drank the entire cup of herbal tea.
“Don’t worry about the furniture, really. I’ll make some for you.”
“You’ve forgotten that I’m good at this kind of stuff. It takes me longer than a man, but all I need is the wood.”
“Have you forgotten that you teach?”
“No. I’ll do it one piece at a time.”
Her mother and father walked in and sat down.
“Can I get you some tea?” Pamela asked.
“I’ll get it,” Tim said before anyone could answer.
She nodded. “Thanks, Tim.”
Her mother looked at her and touched her hand. “Why aren’t you in bed?”
“Mama, I feel strong enough not to be in bed.”
“I can’t say I’m all that fond of Saul, but I understand he had to leave to get the medicine for you.” She kept looking into her daughter’s face.
Pamela nodded.
Her father nodded. “He’s a noble man.” He kept nodding.
Esther sighed deeply. “Yes, but he did bring that woman to the island.” On one hand, she admired Saul for going to Jamaica with Raquel in order to save Pamela’s life, but deep down, she blamed him for bringing Raquel to the island in the first place.
“I know these things, woman. He took the woman from the island, didn’t he? And I bet you anything she’ll never come back.”
Both parents looked at Pamela.
“I’m still here,” Pamela said, smiling.
They both laughed. “You haven’t lost your sense of humor. That’s a good sign,” Ishmael said. “But I’m sad for you that he’s gone.”
“Don’t be,” she said. “I have a lot to do.”
Both parents looked at each other. “I thought you loved him?” Ishmael said.
“With all my heart and soul,” she replied.
“Then...” Ishmael shook his head. “I don’t understand you women at all.”
Pamela smiled. “It’s all right, Dad.”
Tim came back with the tea and Esther poured a cup for herself and her husband.
The door stood ajar and Pamela realized that as bad as it was, it could have been worse. Thanks to Saul and the other men the damage was minimal. Two homes had been lost but no lives.
As long as it took to rebuild, no one would leave the village. Crops had to be replanted.
Myah came in and sat down. She hugged Pamela. “I am so glad you’re feeling better.” Then the smile vanished from her face. “I’ve decided to go back to my village.”
“Oh, Myah,” Pamela lamented. “I’ll miss you a lot.”
Myah leaned against her. “I’m just going to Twin Mountain. I’m not leaving the island. Furthermore, I’ll visit so often you’ll get tired of seeing me, and I know you’ll visit me, too.”
“Of course.” Her smile was crooked but genuine. “You’re right. It will give me a chance to ride more.”
“Thank you for understanding,” Myah said.
“What’s there to understand? You lost your home and you’re reuniting with your parents. That’s big. As you said, you’ll only be a mountain away.”
Myah poured herself a cup of tea.
Pamela couldn’t help noticing that Myah didn’t say anything about her brother. She didn’t know if Saul had spoken to Myah before he’d left. She knew he’d spoken with James and Angel. And Angel had not kept anything from her.
Both James and Angel came in and joined the group. The conversation was all about Pamela’s health until she got tired of answering questions and turned it to the rebuilding of the village. “Does anyone know the extent of the damage on Twin Mountain?”
James had come straight from Jamaica to the village. He shook his head. “When we left last night what I saw was minimal. Of course, it was very dark.” He looked at Angel. “Angel and I will stay for awhile to help with the rebuilding. I spoke with Hildie and she’s fine, so we don’t have to worry about her.”
Pamela gave a wan smile. Everyone except her parents were so careful not to mention Saul’s name that she wanted to shout at the top of her lungs, “He’ll be back, and I’ll wait for him if it takes the rest of my life.” Actually, as she rolled the thought around in her head, it sounded pretty pathetic even if it was truly how she felt.
While everyone spoke, Angel whispered in James’s ear. “When will you tell Saul that Pam is all right?”
He took a deep breath. “In a couple days. No flights are leaving Jamaica now anyway.”
“You’re giving him time?”
He nodded.
“For what?”
“I don’t know, but I want to make sure Pammy is quite out of danger before I go telling him anything.”
“You know Devin could easily fly them to where Saul wants to take her.”
“No, that would be too easy.”
“Why do you say that?” Angel asked.
He shook his head. “I don’t know. There’s something about the way Saul’s handling this thing that makes me think he has something up his sleeve.” He looked at her.
Angel gave him a knowing look, but he just shrugged.
The children joined the group and, as Pamela finished eating, Gracie sat beside her. “Are you well now, Mama?”
Pamela nodded. “Yes, and tomorrow I’ll be even better. You and I have a lot to do, young lady.”
“Like what?” Gracie held her mother’s arm and laid her head on her shoulder.
“Replanting the flowers.” From where she sat, she could see that most of her rose bushes had been uprooted. She didn’t want to look any farther because she knew that even though Saul had ripped out a lot of the plants and put them in pots, the work was still there to be done. She was looking forward to it.
Edith brought her a few bottles of herbal mixture and told her to drink it twice per day without fail until it was all gone. She thanked her. “I’ll put them in the kitchen on the counter,” Edith said.
Pamela got to her feet, excused herself and went back to her room. She wanted to take a bath, but already knew everyone would think her mad if she even suggested going to the waterfall. Besides, she had no idea how damaged the path was or how high the river. She called Gracie into her room and asked her to bring in the bath pan.
Gracie left the room, but it was James and Angel who came back with the bath pan and water.
She sat on her bed and smiled sheepishly. “I thought I was being discreet.”
“It would have worked if I hadn’t asked questions,” James said.
“You’re not thinking of going outside today, are you?” Angel said.
Pamela looked at her and wrinkled her nose. “I thought I’d go out and see...”
Angel shook her head. “No. You will stay inside all day today. You will drink the tea and a lot of water, then tomorrow, maybe, you’ll go out. Because I know that if you leave this house you’ll find something to do.”
“Did Rita tell you to keep an eye on me?”
“Yes,” Angel said.
James laughed and they both left the room to give Pamela privacy.
After a long walk, Saul returned to the hotel. He had not eaten breakfast and now he was hungry. He took the elevator to his room and saw Raquel watching television. “Would you like to go down for supper, or would you like to have room service?” he asked, smiling, hoping she wouldn’t realize his detachment.
She looked at his face and returned his smile. “I would prefer to eat up here. I hate going around like this.” She touched her nose.
He nodded and took up the room service menu. “Does it hurt?” he asked without looking at her.
“Yes, and I don’t have anything to take.”
He put down the menu and pulled out an envelope from a small overnight case. He pushed the envelope toward her. “Just wet your finger and dip it in the herb, then place your finger under your tongue.”
She looked at him suspiciously. “You’re not trying to kill me, are you?”
He smiled. “If I wanted to kill you I’d have pushed you overboard last night.” He shook his head. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”
“You wouldn’t have done that because she would have died, too.”
He nodded.
“I knew you’d come to your senses and realize that you still love me,” she said, doing as he’d instructed.
She lay down and closed her eyes, not seeing his mouth twisted in a grimace. He replaced the envelope in his bag. “What would you like to eat?”
She opened her eyes, took the menu from him and told him she wanted steak.
He nodded, picked up the phone and ordered for both of them. He lay back on the bed and closed his eyes. Again, he hoped that the herb Raquel had given him was the antidote to whatever she’d used to poison Pamela. On the other hand, if she were any worse, James would have sent word. The one thing that rested on his mind was the hope that Pamela understood his letter. Holding onto that thought, he didn’t even move when he felt Raquel’s head against his arm.
In bed that night, Pamela’s thoughts turned to Saul. She was holding onto the words in the letter that she’d read repeatedly. I will be with you again. Those words meant more to her than anything else anyone could have said to her. She believed them and she knew he did, too. He didn’t say when, but again, whatever he had to do before he came back to her, maybe he didn’t know when.
She picked up a book and tried to read, but the herbs she’d been drinking made her sleepy. She closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Angel, Myah and Mary had decided to take turns in looking in on her. Angel slowly took the book from her arm, blew out the lamp and went to sleep in the new room.