Peeling Back the Top Layer 🇯🇲

7| Her worst fear

I quickly swing into the nearest available parking spot without care or regard for the markings on either side.  The car is parked diagonally, taking up two spots but my main concern is getting to the midst of the brawl unfolding in plain sight. Marsha up in a Ricky face a gwaan wid harself.

There's a security guard standing with his arms outstretched between Marsha and another woman as if trying to keep the two apart in the open space while a few people are looking on from the building entrance and a small crowd of curious onlookers gathers on the outside of the perimeter fence. My best friend has no qualms about giving them a show.

"Mi tell yuh seh if yuh hurt Gillian yuh ago answer to mi enuh!" she points threateningly at poor Ricardo, who looks like he could die of embarrassment. The young woman, who stands about three feet away, clutches her handbag tighter when Marsha glares at her menacingly. She seems about ready to disappear. Her disheveled hair and the presence of security are telltale signs that things had gotten physical earlier.

Dear God, what is this?

"Calm down nuh Marsha and lower yuh voice. Gimme a chance to explain," he pleads, his voice barely above a whisper as he notices me standing next to the guard. Both Marsha and I turn our attention to him, eager to hear what explanation he has to give for the predicament he's in.

"Nutten nuh happen. See mi phone deh. Mi jus message Gillian and tell her seh mi on mi way to her," he says.

"Weh yuh mean nutten 'neva happen'? What yuh doing here in the first place?" I ask, folding my arms across my chest.

"Mi siddung inna mi car and see him show up wid dis gal," Marsha says, pointing to the petite young woman dressed in light blue denim pants, a white button-down blouse, and a pair of strappy brown heels. She's scared out of her wits, occasionally glancing nervously at us.

"Anyways, mi follow dem go in, only fi see him collect room key and go upstairs. Dats why mi call yuh but den mi see him come back down here so mi step to him." Ricardo covers his face while she speaks loudly enough for all to hear. His body language screams guilt and embarrassment.

"Jus mek mi go home to mi wife," he begs, more me than Marsha.

I glare daggers at the timid young woman, who appears no older than about 21. "Raise yuh standards likkle girl. Nuh mek nuh man tek yuh tun grinding stick," I tell her. Turning to Ricardo, I inform him that I will see him at his home.

"Dat no necessary," he argues but I know Gillian is going to need a friend when he tells her this.

"Well... yuh out here a cheat mek everbody see so yuh better confess mek we see to. And mi a come fi support Gillian not you." I don't wait for a response.

"Mi a come to!" I hear Marsha yell as I move away. She's not in my good books right now either because she's no better than him. The only difference is that the politician she's seeing and his wife are only "married" in the public eye. In private, they both sleep with whomever they please. But it doesn't change the fact that she's still fucking another woman's husband.

Weh she a do a di hotel by the way? After she an Big Daddy nuh go hotel.

The drive from the hotel to Gillian's house in Barbican is about 15 minutes. Marsha arrives shortly after me but there is still no sign of Ricardo. We both agree that he should be the one to tell his wife of his infidelity so we park along the roadway and await his arrival.

I turn my eyes toward the four-bedroom house, which Ricardo inherited when his spinster aunt died six years ago. Since she didn't have any children, she willed most of her belongings to her favorite nephew. His ownership of the property couldn't have come at a more opportune time. He and Gillian were in their first year of marriage and renting a self-contained unit in a rundown house, occupied by a number of other tenants at the time.

While the property he inherited held significant value, it needed a lot of upgrading when Ricardo and Gillian moved in. They both poured their savings and every dollar they earned for about three years into this house, redoing the floor and roof, upgrading the kitchen and bathrooms, and smoothing out cracks that were a prominent feature on many of the walls. This house was effectively transformed into the modern dream home it is today although it maintains its quaint appearance on the outside.

A puff of air parts my lips when I see Ricardo's car drive up nearly 10 minutes after we arrive. The news we bear is quite disappointing and it won't be easy to deliver. It breaks my heart to think of their marriage crumbling bitterly after witnessing the toil and sacrifices they made to build a life together. This news will undoubtedly herald a change in their relationship but I hope that they'll emerge from this even stronger than before.

Marsha and I follow Ricardo into the house, doing our best to drape our faces with a placid look so we don't give too much away.

"What you guys doing here?" asks a confused Gillian when she sees us.

"A Ricardo we see and decide to come," Marsha tells her.

"He has something to tell you," I add, wanting to get straight to it.

He enquires about the whereabouts of the kids and Gillian tells him they're asleep in their room. She takes a seat on the sofa beside me and Marsha moves to her other side.

"What's this about? Yuh text have anything to do with it?" she asks him. He's facing us from a corner of the living room and takes a deep breath before answering.

"Mi mess up Gillian. Dis a go hurt yuh but please find it inna yuh heart to forgive me," he begins.

We all sit and listen attentively as Ricardo tells her that the young lady he was with began working in his office six months ago. At first, they had a polite co-worker relationship but over time they grew affectionate toward each other.

Soon, their friendly work interactions progressed to calls and texts outside of work. This distracted him, contributing to months of neglect for his duties to his wife and kids. "Gilly, yuh did hardly have time fi mi because a di wedding show and a so mi start get closer to har.

"It gwaan to di point weh we agree fi meet up today but mi couldn't do it," he says. Remorse and anguish are palpable in his voice while he makes his confession.  Gillian cries silently, her hands covering her mouth, stifling any sobs that might escape, as she stares down at the floor.

"That's why mi text yuh seh mi a come home and we need fi talk. Baby, mi couldn't cheat, mi couldn't go through with it."

"Nuh baby mi a baxide," Gillian snarls. "Yuh cheat di moment yuh encourage a next woman fi think she have a chance wid yuh," she snaps, storming out of the room. Ricardo sinks to the floor as Marsha and I move quickly to the bedroom after her.

"Mi try enuh. When mi see seh him naw gimme attention like before mi try," she splutters, tears streaming down her face.

I wrap my arms around her. Marsha does the same. It's the only thing we can do, for words right now cannot ease the pain nor fill the emptiness she must feel. Our hold on her body does little to inhibit the violent shaking between sobs. But eventually, she settles and asks for time and space to deal with the issue.

We oblige but not before Marsha threatens Ricardo and tells him to fix things fast. Dis is why mi fraid a commitment enuh. Yuh put yuh heart pon a platter give one man and him tun roun an drive a dagger inna it.

Outside, I prod Marsha to tell me what she was doing at the hotel, and all of a sudden she's acting shy.

"Mi never ready fi seh nutten yet but mi meet somebody. Him nuh live here in Jamaica but we meet up everytime him visit. A him mi did go fi see a di hotel."

"Then what happen to 'Big Daddy' and Mexico?" I ask.

" Afta 'Big Daddy' naw carry me go noweh," she scowls. "A good while now me and him stop deal. Is dis new guy mi a go Mexico wid. Dat was weh mi did have fi drop pon oonu at girl's night but mi never get a chance."

"So when we a guh meet dis new guy?"

"Hopefully soon. Mi waa be certain bout him before mi carry him roun my people."

"Okay, just be careful," I warn before we hug and go our separate ways. She also makes me promise not to mention her budding romance to Gillian yet. It wouldn't be the ideal time to bring it up with her marriage on rocky grounds.