Say Hello to the Broken-Hearted (13 page)

“Let me get my stuff that I left in the box under your bed. I
can’t stay here.”

“I
...I thought you were staying the night. So that we could talk and catch up a bit.”

“Talk about what mother!” Karla exclaimed, “I have nothing to discuss, really!”

“Karla, you need to end this nonsense! Abort the pregnancy.” Louise reiterated in a higher pitch, “You are ruining your life, your cousin has nothing to offer you, and you’re making the biggest mistake of your life! Kill the child before it’s too late…please I beg of you.”

Karla looked at her from the corner of her eyes. The bottled up hatred had just exploded inside of her.

“You just couldn’t manage but to go there huh…you couldn’t help yourself?” Karla replied, “You make me sick! You are not my mother, as a matter of fact how could you call yourself a woman? By the way, I’ll have you know, whatever I do and whoever I decide to be with is none of your fucking business!”

“How could you say that to me? You are my daughter Karla!” Louise replied.

“Oh! I am your daughter, so that makes it your business!” Karla exclaimed in heightened furiousness at her provocative utterances, “So tell me this, was I your daughter when my stepfather, your man, raped me! Raped me!! On this very couch! You covered for him. You chose him over me and called me a liar! Was I your daughter then?”

“Karla
don’t go there!” Louise pleaded.

“No! No! You listen to me and listen to me carefully.

I have been alone for years. Facing the struggles by myself. I had no father and no mother, no one to run to for comfort! I was abandoned.” Her hard loud proclamation descended into a sympathetic cry. Tears fell from her cheeks. “But I…I faced my fears, my fears…and pulled through the dirt on my own. And now that I am starting to see a little light, now that I am learning to be happy again, no one and I mean no one will take that away from me!” She clinched her left fist and hardened her face as she stared right into her mother’s eyes, “I will stand, stand for what I believe in! Whether if it’s right or wrong. I am ready to be forsaken.”

“Karla, sometimes love is not enough!”

“You are wrong…His love is all I need.”

Louise star
ed at her with scornful disapproval. There isn’t much sense in arguing further with her. She was ardent about pursuing a life with John. It was already sealed before she walked through that door. It was already decided when they kissed and said hello.

“Good
bye…You may never see me again. Take care.” Karla proclaimed and walked to the door.”

“Karla!” Louise uttered.

“What!” She replied bluntly without looking behind her.

“I am sorry.” Her mother uttered in a fragile genuine voice.

Without responding or even having a thought that her apology was sincere she slammed the d
oor behind her and walked away…

Chapter 19

        Two
days until summer ended. There had been more rain the past week than there was since the start of the year. The chill weather had certainly dampened the fire sensation. Where did all the excitement go? Maybe it’s time for a change. This small village is no place for big hearts.

As the raindrops splattered against the shingles, the hard cold dilemma of his forbidden love affair preoccupied his thoughts as he lay flat against the white furry carpet lining his bedroom floor.

“Is thi
s a test…hmmmm,” John sighed, “Why me…why not my brother…Is it possible that there is someone else out there going through this? So many questions yet so few answers. There I was on a sure path in life. I had everything figured out for my own life. In pursuit of a good education, wonderful friends, and a great family. Everything down to the last detail was orchestrated. Then I met her, and now my entire life is taking on a whole new direction. It’s no longer about me, it’s about us. I have to take in consideration her future, mines and the baby’s. This is where I become a man…I swear I will always love and care for her, nothing less…I swear.”

The cell phone on the floor next to him vibrated, and in the instance he realized that the rain had stopped, for now.

“Hey what are you doing? I need to talk to you. I am about to come see you. The text read.

“Is it urgent? I mean, outside is wet and it looks like
it’s going to rain again.” John replied.

“Yes
it’s urgent. I am leaving out now. Meet me at the bottom of the hill, by the road.”

“Ok then,
I’ll see you in a little while, be safe Karla.”

“Maybe i
t’s the baby or things didn’t go well with her mother yesterday. Whatever it was, it sounds serious.” John thought.

Thirty minutes later.

“Hi, you must be freezing.” John noticed. She was shivering in her cotton brown boots. “Here, put my jacket on, it will make you comfortable.”

“Thanks, John,” Karla responded with a smile, “You are a great guy, you know that.”

“I care about you girl, you already know.”

“I care about you too, and that’s why I am here.” Karla proclaimed.

“Is something wrong babe?”

“No, no, nothing is wrong John,” Karla assured, “Everything is almost perfect.”

“Almost!”
John stressed.

“…John, I am growing weary of this place. I am sick of people
gossiping about us and staring with a scornful eye. The hypocrites can’t even lie. Let’s get out of here for good.”

“Karla wait…Did something happened between you and your mother yesterday?” John questioned, “Where is all of this coming from?”

“Well it didn’t go so well, we got in an argument about my relationship with you. She rejected the baby. I slammed the door and left.”

“Oh…
ahh, I am sorry it went that way.” John remorsed, “Is there anything I can do?”

“Yes! Let us leave, get out of this hateful town, away from all the resentment. They
don’t want us here, and we don’t need to be here.” Karla pursued, “Think about it, your mother hasn’t talked to you in God knows when. Your brother despises both you and me. My brother doesn’t even look my way anymore, and my mother-- Well she is not important, but I am sure you understand. Who would want to raise a family around people such as these? Nobody will miss us John!”

“Karla I do understand all that you have said, but where are we going to go?” John emphasized, “
Cuz, I am tired of hiding. I am tired of not being able to hold your hand because of fear of what on-lookers might say. I do not want to watch you dance with someone else anymore.”

“That’s exactly what I am asking of you baby!” Karla persist, “
Let’s go to a place, where we can dare to be ourselves, where we can love in due audacity!”

“Karla, wherever we go, how long you think it will take them to find
out that we are cousins?” John asked.

“I don’t know…” She
replied in doubt.

“Karla it
won’t be long until the ridicule and the out-casting starts all over again. Wherever we go, it won’t be any different.”

“But John, who gives a rat’s
ass what strangers have to say!” Karla stressed, “John, I am concerned about the relationships with our family and friends here. To be honest it has taken an over bearing toll on me, and I am not contented with the recent break downs in our families. It’s not becoming John!”

“Ok, o
k…I understand where you are coming from…what exactly do you want us to do?”

“Well, I was thinking that we could move to another country.
Another small island maybe. Make a fresh start you know. Find an ample neighborhood to raise our child in. After a while you and I could go back to school part time. Work our way up, anything is possible baby. In addition, absence makes the heart grows founder, you will never know, our family and friends may come around to accept us, someday.”

John took a deep breath and smiled. He saw the passion in her expression. She was alive. It made him happy. He couldn’t disagree that the entire idea was captivating. The man follows where the heart goes.

“Ok, I agree. Let’s do it, let’s get out of here.” John excited.

“Yes! Thank you so much.” She braced him with hands rapped tight around his neck, “I love you John.”

“I love you too baby.”

“So where are we going?” John asked.

“I am not
certain, I was thinking Trinidad or Barbados. I heard Grenada is wonderful.”

“I say we go to Trinidad. I heard
it’s beautiful there and it has a nice economy. I’ll be able to find a job with ease.” John replied.

“Ok Trinidad it is.” Karla excited.

“Great…When do we leave?”

“ASAP, Ill
book the tickets out of the savings I have.” Karla said.

“Ok sure. I have a friend in Trinidad that I met in college.
I’ll get him to arrange accommodations for us there.”

“Wonderful!” Karla supported, “Everything is going to be grand. This is so surreal.”

“I actually have a good feeling about this. I am delighted.” John expressed.

“Super! So now we just have to
inform our families and friends.” Karla softly mentioned.

“Yeah,
let’s ask for their blessings. It’s the appropriate thing to do.” John affirmed.

“Right…”

“So how is my baby today? You haven’t
thrown up or anything, have you?” John inquired.

“No, today have been s
mooth but yesterday, My Lord! I felt like I was about to vomit my entire intestine.”

“Aww
, I am sorry for causing you all that pain.”

“She laughed, “
I’ll manage, and don’t worry.”

“Yeah, you bet!”

Chapter 20

Jennifer
Williams sat blankly with her legs crossed at the kitchen table absorbing the mystic serenity of the blossoming sun shiny day over a cup of tea that filled the atmosphere with a vivid scent of cinnamon and ginger. Despite the heavy concentration of the morning regular, it did an acute job of relaxing her nerves and distracting her thoughts from the repugnant ordeal that John had found himself enslaved by.

“Jesus please deliver my son, deliver him now Lord.”
Jennifer incited out loud. Loud enough to reach John’s ears as he strolled into the kitchen still dressed in his pajamas.

“The smell of cinnamon woke me up. May I have
a cup?” John opened. Jennifer shrugged. Efforts for a verbal conversation were only futile endeavors. John fixed his focus on her as he stirred the sugar to dissolution. He watched her gazed into the window without blink or twitch. His presence in the quarter was less relevant than the space he occupied.

“Tell her that
I’m leaving, I bet that will grab her attention…right.”

John took a sip of the lukewarm tea, placed the cup on to the counter, mustered his voice and with due bluntness caressed with an unapologetic tone
, blurted, “Karla and I have decided to leave the country together. We are making a fresh start. We leave in a couple of days.”

Jennifer
said nothing. She didn’t even budge or turn to look at him to see if he was serious or insane. Or maybe it had gotten to the point where if the patient doesn’t care, then why should the doctor?

“I thought you should know. We are kindly asking for your blessings.” John declared and made his way to the
exit door of the kitchen.