The Heart of Revenge (20 page)

I lay down, turned on my side, staring
blankly at the white door, my two hands clasped under my cheek. I
closed my eyes and tried to sleep.

It was impossible. I couldn’t sleep. My mind
won’t stop talking with itself. Disturbance. There was someone at
the door,

‘Knock-knock’ ... “Lee.”

The call wasn’t loud. It was as if she really
didn't want to disturb me grieving. I rolled and turned on my side,
away from the door, facing the blue wall, lap my gown between my
knees.

‘Knock-knock.’

“Leee.”

I looked back at the door, then turned my
head back and around to the wall, reached for the flimsy pillow,
covered my ears with it. It smelt of a stale body odour, kind of
dingy or something. I closed my eyes.

‘Knock! Knock!” It was louder,

“Leee!”

I didn’t budge. I wish I could close my ears
too.

“Leee!”

I grabbed the useless discoloured pillow from
over my ear and answered,

“What?”

‘Knock!-knock!’

“LEEE!”

“WHAT GLOE?”

Gloe eased the door open, pushing it with
caution, peeped her head of natural hair that was braided to the
back, between the door and the jamb. She reluctantly crawled into
the room. She had on a black merina and the waist of her plaid
underpants could be seen above her football shorts.

“Yow, sorry Lee, mi never want disturb you,
you see mi, but ... but ... she said it’s very important.”

“Who?”

“Your sister.”

“Pinky?”

“Yeah, she said you must shout her
immediately, it’s a life or death thing.”

“Hsstt ... I’ll call her tomorrow”

“But ..but ... she sound —-”

“Gloe, that’s how Pinky stay, after no one’s
dying, she just always full of excitement, it’s just about what
happened at the wedding today. Tomorrow when I clear my head I tell
you all about it.”

“But what if it’s something really —-”

“Gloe just let me clear my head nuh, please.
You have no idea what I’ve been through today, trust me. Talk to ya
in the morning.”

“Sure you don't want to at least call her
back? Just to find out?”

“Believe me, things can’t be worse than what
I’m going through. So anything happen I’m sure it can wait till
tomorrow.”

Gloe paused for a thought, turned the door
knob in her grip, turned it the other way, then back the other way,
stared wordlessly at me, turned the knob again and it made a click
sound, she made a single step back and spoke,

“Zeen, a true that still.”

I didn't look back as I heard the door close,
wondering what if it were Vance that got an attack on my wedding
day? What if Vance was actually dying? I should call. I turned on
my phone to call back Pinky. As the phone screen came on, I
thought, but Vance had left the wedding, he wasn’t at the church,
it couldn’t be him. I turned off back my phone. Why on God’s green
earth was Pinky pestering me then?

by: Pinky & Leelia

’bout ten minutes passed and all now my phone
didn’t ring.

“She don’t call back yet?” I don’t know if
Daddy really expected me to answer that question and he was right
beside me all the time and witnessed that my phone hadn’t even
vibrate much less ring. So I sarcastically replied,

“Yes Daddy. She call back and we speak in a
silent language to each other that’s why you didn’t hear the whole
time mi stand up right beside you.” I kissed my teeth. Daddy shook
his head and managed a small smile. It quickly disappeared.

Mi know anything we doing it must happen
fast, real fast.

One nurse pushed an iron trolley by me with a
yellow medicine in a clear glass jar. The jar had measurements
running up its side in red print. Beside it were balls of cotton,
syringes, a pack of drip, and other hospital stuff that mi never
like see, were on the top of the trolley. But it was the bag of
drip, identical to the one sending fluid into Vance that sunk my
heart.

Almost nobody spoke, everybody whispered and
you could hear the low murmurs all about. You couldn’t hear a
conversation only murmurs and it was interrupted by splices of
complete silence. It makes me think hospitals are one of the
eeriest place on earth. I was staring at the TV above the
receptionist who was sitting close to the main entrance. My mind
was thinking hard on how mi can get through to Leelia since mi
wasn’t getting back any call. Blank. Not a single idea hit my
brain. I was getting pissed again. The medicines were here. What
kind of blood ran through these doctors’ veins? They were really
heartless creatures. Vance lay coma-stiff and these doc.... Dad
interrupted my thought,

“Here’s what, call the friend and tell her to
tell Leelia that her mother is trying to reach her urgently.” Daddy
spoke with urgency as he knew the time was going and Vance was
going with it. Why didn’t I think of that? Leelia will definitely
call back Aubrea. I dipped into my handbag, redialled Gloe,

“Gloe look here, don’t bother with the
sadamite thing. Serious things going on here so. Just listen. You
tell Leelia to call her mother right right now. It urgent bad, do
it now and don't tell her that is me call you. You hear? Tell her
is her mother call you. You understand Gloe?” Gloe’s voice came
through the phone confused,

“But... Bu... Mi just did —-”

“Stop you ‘but-but’, mi have less than one
minute left on mi phone.”

“But Pinky. Listen nuh, I just tell her and
she not —-”

“Gloe just do that right now and stop chat
off mi little credit.” I hung up the phone same time. Daddy
chuckled under his breath.

"Is what Daddy?” He shook his head. He
couldn’t hide the small smile that was growing on his face as he
spoke,

“Nothing man.”

“Must something why you smiling like
that.”

“No... Is like you always have less than one
minute on your phone. And you always sending ‘Please credit me’ or
begging credit. Is what so with you and credit?” And his smile got
wider.

“What happen to you? Have to try save back at
least four dollars on mi phone so mi can at least send a text.
Don’t? Nuh so?”

“Misses, you cold. All when it’s something
this serious you still thinking ’bout saving credit.”

“Then must. Suppose any emergency reach, at
least mi can call somebody phone and tell them to call mi back.
Don’t?

Something dawned on me. Something I hadn’t
think of before. The thought hit me so hard I blurted out a big
long,

“RASSS!”

Everybody started looking my way again. I
guessed they were not used to hearing mi talking loud or maybe they
thought that a little badword or even a big one gone kill them, or
send them to hell on Judgement day. Them lucky, mi not looking on
them. Mi sure every single one of them curse a badword before
somewhere or another. Daddy asked,

“Is what?” A horrible Dettol scent rose up in
the hospital ward and breast-stroked its way up into my nose. Mi
want spit. I replied to Daddy,

“Mi don’t have Aubrea phone and is it Leelia
calling back on.”

“Then run go get the phone before she call it
nuh, or you waiting on the phone to run come to you?”

A white bed on wheels exactly like the one
Vance was unconscious on which was identical to every other bed in
the ward, barged through the main entrance. Two nurses, uniformed
in white and wearing white stockings under them, were charging
alongside the chrome rails of the bed with their hands busy on the
patient. A third nurse was pushing urgently and shouting from the
foot of the bed,

“Clear the way! Clear the way! Emergency!”
The old man who they were wheeling in on the bed was frothing. Dad
and I looked at each other and the frail smile disappeared from our
lips.

Mi make a dash out of the ward for the phone,
immediately mi felt the burn on my skin from the parching 3’o’clock
sun. I slowed down, took some deep breaths. Mi not too fit at all.
The car was parked all the way at the front, and there was no cool
shade on the premise, just the wickedly hot tar. Mi get frazzle out
in less than two minutes, breathing shorter than usual. Mi run
little bit, stop, take breaths, walk briskly, run again, stop. Run
again. Boy, mi really need a little exercise.

My blood was seeping through the gauge
bandaged around my foot when I was stepping swiftly through the
iron gate into the parking lot. The security sat up straight and
observed me as I jogged to Daddy’s car or rather Aubrea’s car, a
1991 Nissan Sunny, with two different shades of gray and the
driver’s door was a half-white one. The only white on the gray car.
Micheal Douglas had given Aubrea the car to help her run his
errands on the road while she was working for him. He didn’t take
it back when he fired her. The back window wasn’t rolled right
up.

Mi reach the car just in the nick of time. As
I reached by the white door, I heard Aubrea’s phone ringing in the
car.

(((Rrring. Rrring.)))

I looked through the glass, her blackberry
was vibrating and ringing on the backseat. My hand went to opening
the door. Locked. Tried again, almost popping off the lock in my
hand. Locked. It was ringing like a house phone.

(((Rrring. Rrring.))) The same ringtone as
Leelia’s phone.

(((Rrring. Rrring.)))

Knock! Knock!

“Lee!”

“Knock! Knock!”

Holy Christ man! Them must set Gloe on me
today. Why she can’t just leave me alone to clear my head.
Gosh.

She entered the room with unconscionable
intentions to disrupt me. “No, Lee, it’s really serious. It’s your
mother, she said you should call her right now, right right
now.”

“Oh Jesus! Could be what now? I searched the
sheets for my phone, the damn BB take forever to turn on and load,
it’s up, I dialled Mom.

(((Rrring. Rrring.)))

(((Rrring. Rrring.)))

(((Rrring. Rrring.)))

(((Rrring. Rrring.)))

Aubrea’s phone ringing in the car on the back
seat. Leelia’s calling.

Mi squeeze mi heavy hand through the back
window that wasn’t wound up properly, desperate to reach the phone.
Mi wrist went inside the car, a little pass my wrist and no more,
my arm was too big; now I wished mi hands were fine like Leelia
own. Mi forced my big hand forward, it barely went any further. Mi
force and force and force it till it inched forward. Not even an
inch good, ’bout half inch. Mi forced it forward again with a large
portion of my strength, well desperate.

‘Creeeak!’

I heard the glass strained under pressure. Mi
will just push through and break it up this old piece of crosses
window and done enuh. I pushed again. Hard. It was impossible. Mi
fight to haul out back my hand. It’s stuck. Can’t get it out.

(((Rrring. Rrring.)))

Stopped.

One missed call.

Shit!

A security was walking over to me. Frisk and
brisk.

He drew out his baton.