Say Hello to the Broken-Hearted (14 page)

“How can a son ask a mother for her blessings to pursue a God forbidden relationship with his cousin of blood, and to add insult to injury, have a child out of the bonds of wedlock with the said Delilah?” The pain staking frustration and disappointment was real and vivid in her tone.

“I am sorry mother. In this, I have renounced the bible. We love each other dearly, and I pray to God, it is more than enough.”

“My blessings have escaped like the tears that have been shed from these eyes. I have none to be bestowed onto you.”
Jennifer
replied. Her song was a rendition of heavy waters streaming a narrow river, cold and unforgiving.

John held his face to the ground. A sense of indifference short lived in
his head.

“I have made a commitment. I
can’t turn against her now. Besides she is having my child. She needs me and I need her. Life without her is unimaginable.” John ascertained himself.

“That’s unfortunate, but it
won’t dissuade us. It will only serve as a motivation to prove you and everyone else wrong.” John proclaimed, and started to walk away.

“John!” John’s mother called for a last grip of his attention.

“What!” John replied furiously, “I had enough of your poison!”

John’s mother stood and walk
ed to his face, stared hard into his eyes and in a stern unrepentant high pitched voice declared. “When you leave, stay away. Don’t ever come back, not even to visit. You are no longer welcome here.”

John
Steelburg walked off without responding. He heard the words and he would heed them well.

John Steelburg had just gotten off the phone with David about meeting at the Le Papillion in Runaway Bay when an email message registered. Before he could access the inbox, Karla was on line one.

“Hey
sweetie!” John answered.

“Hey baby!” Karla excited. “I have booked the tickets
, you saw the email right?”

“I was just about to read it when you called. So when are we leaving?”

“This Saturday, we have a Ten AM flight from Montego Bay Airport.”

“Wow! That’s sooner than I thought.”

“Why is something wrong?” She baffled.

“
No, not at all. Actually, I spoke to my friend Calvin in Trinidad earlier. He had let me know that there is a one bedroom studio available five miles from where he lives. It’s in a good condition. Furnished and all. We just need to have first and last month’s rent. This is twelve fifty in total.

“Well that’s sounds reasonable…I guess whatever it is it will have to do, at least for now. Tell him we will take it.”

“I already did babe.” John replied.

“Great! I told you everything would work out” Karla asserted.

“Yeah, I knew it would. I never doubted it one bit baby.” John reassured.

“I know…I love you, John.”

“I love you too Karla.”

“Are you coming to see me
today?” Karla asked.

“You know, I was supposed to meet
David at the Le Papillion in Runaway Bay today. So I won’t be there until the evening hours.”

“Ok
baby, no problem, call me…bye.”

“Bye.” John closed.

John
Steelburg approached the door of the Le Papillion restaurant. It silhouetted a dark brown incandescence, which refracted from the surfaces of the Blue Mahoe furniture. John recognized David seated at the rear right corner of the restaurant indulging in the seclusion behind the trimmed bamboo tree as he devoured the free black coffee.

“David Barrett
.” John greeted from behind.

“Hey John!
You sneaking son of a bitch!” David joked as he stood to greet him, “Lover boy! You finally made it!”

“Yeah, but don’t worry
. This won’t take long.” John declared as he ushered into the opposite seat of the table.

“Hey John
… I haven’t seen you since--Lighten up man!” David encouraged.

John sighed in a bid
to take his advice and forget how the last encounter went. “So how have you been David, still running around, having fun?”

“Well you know me John.” David
replied, “Young, free and full of exuberance!”

“Yeah, nothing has change huh
?” John shrugged.

“No, nothing really, how about you?”

“Well nothing has changed since the last time we met, except for the fact that I am falling deeper in love with her.”

“Oh--ok,
hmmmm….” That’s all he murmured.

John saw the same disapproval in his
eyes, it was a mistake to think that David would have garnered some sort of maturity and understanding.

“David
, Karla and I are leaving the country in a matter of days. We are going to make a fresh start--Leaving everything behind us.”

“John! W
hat are you talking about?” David baffled.

“I am drop
ping out of school David.” John protruded with a steady voice, “I have a family. I am a man now. There is no time for me to run around and make a fool of myself anymore. As a friend, I would expect you to understand that.”

“John, you are throwing your life
away!” David exclaimed effortlessly, “How can I understand that!”

“Make up your mind David
. You will stand behind me on this as a friend or leave, leave now!”

David
overwhelmed with disbelief, held steady eyes with John. Searching for an unreal gesture to convince him that everything was a mere joke. Unfortunately not even a light smirk was observed. He had a dead man’s face with dilated eyes.

“Good
bye John.” David got up and started to leave, “Take care.”

“
Take care friend. You will never see me again.”

David
paused at the thought of not having his friend around anymore, but to each his own. He left without looking over his shoulder.

Chapter 21

Life
itself had endured many seasons. There was a story to tell behind every aged face. It might be a story of cold unfulfilling struggles, a story of seemingly never ending sufferance, with overbearing hardship. It might just be a story of a man with a heart larger than life who found love in the most slurred places of them all. As well it might be a story of a man who was rejected and exiled for holding on for dear life to the sole belief that the sensation, the reality, the dreams and fantasies are substances of real, nothing less than the genuine, sincere love, that all the big hearted people of this world yearns deeply for.

The season is about to sleep. The summer sun sets. Last chance to see its ever bright condescending twilight rays.

Wait! There is a ray of hope, the orchids smile and the rose blue petals dances with the charming zephyr. The romance shared under the summer sun was electrifying enough to keep the passion burning until next time around.

John and Karla
Steelburg arrived at the Donald Sangster’s international air-port in the back of a taxi cab. It was the last day of summer and despite all the rain that fell over the last couple of days, the sun was determined to make a lasting impression. Nevertheless life was beautiful. The excitement in their eyes was hidden by sunglasses but the radiant smiles spoke volumes of the contentment that warmed their hearts.

“T
oday is the day.” John thought as he gathered the rest of the luggage.

“Have a wonderful flight Mr. and Mrs.
Steelburg.” The taxi driver delighted. That instantly touched their hearts and the simple joy fizzed into giggles. Karla squeezed her cheeks and managed to hold back the tears.

“Thank you so much.” Karla praised the driver and tipped him heavily.

“Alright Baby let’s go!” John requested. We wouldn’t want to miss our flight now would we?”

Karla walked up to him held his collar and reduced herself to a comfortable fit within his arms.

“I am so excited John! Its making me nervous, I
can’t control myself!” Karla proclaimed.

John removed his sunglasses and tilted her forehead. He was beautiful. The sun light reflected in his brown eyes, the
smile of his pretty lips reached his cute dimples on his cheeks. For Karla Steelburg, that moment in eternity was different. It was extra terrestrially surreal. Love had found a whole new world, far beyond this galaxy in an entirely new dimension. A new discovery was made. Love was far more sophisticated than first thought. It was extraordinarily marvelous…

“Hello…” John whispered, realizing that Karla had swayed from his arms into a place far far away.

She heard his call.
Her eyes widen and her smile thickened as she answered.

“Hello…”

…”There is no turning back.” John said.

“I am ready.” Karla assured.

“Then let’s take off!”

“
Ladies and gentlemen please bring your seats to the upright position, turn off all electronic devices and fasten your seatbelts, we are ready for departure. This is a five hour flight to Trinidad and Tobago, please enjoy.”

The pilot made the final turn onto the stretched runway. The engines shifted into higher gear and the turbulence projected into a heavier pitch as the Boeing five forty-seven accelerated for takeoff.

“Thanks for letting me have the window seat,” Karla gratified.

“No problem, since this is your first time traveling, I wanted it to be an unforgettable experience.” John assured.

“A
ww…Everyday with you John is an unforgettable experience.”

John smiled at her charming charisma. He knew the words were genuine. The feeling he knew well. The ever deep infatuation was very mutual.

“This is the end of the runway. We have made it through the struggles, to the end of the tunnel. There were days when we thought that the rain would never cease, that the sun would never rise to give us a renewed sense of hope. But now we realize that it is true; there is indeed a silver lining behind every dark cloud. There is in fact a new beginning beyond every horizon. This is the end of the runway baby. Now we will fly. We shall fly into the sunset, leaving every shade of grey behind us. Where we are going, our days will be filled with bright forever glowing sensations of sky blue serenity, red rose carnations, pink and white feminine dresses, clear wine and ravishing cuisine. That was the end of the runway. Beyond this sky sets a whole new world. Let our un-quenching passion and our inseparable love for each other guide hearts and souls into this place where we seek true happiness and divine tranquility.

“Welcome to the Trinidad and Tobago International airport. We wish all first time and returning passengers a wonderful time here in Trinidad.”
Voice over intercom.

After clearing the checked baggage, John and Karla Steelburg hurried to see the site outside the airport.

“It’s beautiful John! Oh my God!”

“Yes it is…Just as anticipated.” John agreed.

“You know John, if I may, it feels somewhat like back in Jamaica. Just more developed-- more commercial. There is a revived high spirited mystical sensation that appeals to me so badly. I am totally ecstatic!”

“I am glad you like it.” John elated and shoveled her under his arms. “I love it too honey. Welcome to our new home Mrs.
Steelburg.”

“Right back at you Mr.” Karla replied with a light joyful tone, “Only if we were…”

“Only if we were what?” John’s curiosity surged.

“Never mind…
” Karla deflected, “Let’s find our guy and have him take us home.”

“Ok, well at least we don’t have to look too hard. He is right ahead of us.”

At a twelve feet distance in front of them was a five feet eight inches guy that had clearly defined Indian hair and complexion. He held a paper poster that read “John Steelburg” in capital letters. He wore a white T-Shirt, neatly tucked into a dark blue cotton pants, suffocating a black polished Lanvin Denim shoes. He could easily be mistaken for one of those catholic priest boys with a name tag and saintly demeanor. Nevertheless, John new that he was the devil in disguise. Calvin Peterson was an exchange student at the University of the West Indies Mona Campus for his first year of college. Calvin fell into the company of John and his friends, and within a matter of weeks he had went through a complete metamorphosis from the catholic cocoon to a promiscuous Casanova.