by Jaden Skye
“Look at this, Ann,” Cindy started reading aloud, “look what is required of me -.”
Ann jumped up from the edge of the bed then, as well. “Please, Cindy, stop it,” she begged. “I understand you want to do good. I appreciate that, really. But, please just go for this interview tomorrow. All it is is an interview. Give it a try.”
Cindy saw how upset she was making her sister. She put the Bible down.
“Alright,” she relented. “Don’t worry about me, Ann, please. I’ll go for the interview, I’ll talk to the guy.”
“You’d be a fool not to go,” said Ann, “there’s lots of ways of bringing justice. You could do more to help with a column, for all you know.”
*
Before Cindy went to bed that night, she sat on her bed and thumbed through the pages of the Bible. It was good to be here and difficult, too. She couldn’t stop thinking of Mattheus and what he was going through. During this time they’d become real partners, always covering for each other, seeing something the other overlooked, guarding each other from danger. Of course there was no danger Mattheus was up against now, just an emotional reunion with a long lost child that he’d abandoned years ago and wanted to make things right with now. There was something noble about that, Cindy mused, as her eyes grew heavy with sleep. Even though his departure had hurt terribly, there was something about it that she could respect.
Enough, she finally said to herself as she closed her eyes, lay down, turned out the lights, and wondered why she was really here and what the next day would bring.
Chapter 4
The flight to Anguilla was easier and quicker than Mattheus expected. It was strange being down here alone, without Cindy, though. As he boarded the plane he had a moment of remorse, wondering if he should have left so quickly, chasing after his daughter. He’d been so overwrought after seeing her again that he hadn’t even stopped to consider whether he should have talked things over with Cindy first. But Andrea was the daughter he’d abandoned at birth, and the shock of seeing her suddenly when she was fifteen, had really rattled him. And what did this have to do with Cindy? Nothing. Besides, Andrea had made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that she already had a mother. She didn’t want anything to do with Cindy, thank you. One mother was enough.
As Mattheus took his seat on the plane and popped his suitcase into the overhead compartment, he wondered where Cindy was at that moment. She’d told him that things between them were finished, she was going back to New York. Mattheus shook his head. Things had been finished between them before and they’d worked it out somehow. He had no doubt that Cindy would calm down and come to her senses. She’d realize what a strange and shocking situation he’d been thrust into. And it was all because of Cindy, anyhow. She was the one who’d insisted that Mattheus look up his long, lost daughter. When Cindy had found out about Andrea, she was the one who was afraid the situation could come between her and Mattheus later on.
Mattheus settled in his seat and rubbed his face with his hands. If truth be told, it wasn’t bad being alone for a while, either. Cindy wasn’t exactly the easiest person to be with all the time. She could be difficult, moody at times, even suspicious of him. Mattheus closed his eyes. The flight would only take about half an hour. He couldn’t wait to get there. At their meeting, Andrea had said that she’d always wondered about him. She wanted to get to know her father, she needed to. And, to his great surprise, Mattheus had been filled with longing to know her as well. This beautiful young woman was part of him, his flesh and blood. How could he say no? And beyond that, from what Andrea had told him about her life, Mattheus sensed trouble. Did Cindy expect that a father would leave his daughter in a dangerous situation to fend for herself? If Cindy was dumping him because of that, let her. She couldn’t be the woman he’d thought she was then, after all.
*
As soon as Mattheus landed, he had a taxi take him to the East End of the Island. Andrea lived in a local village with her mother and new stepfather, Cain, an ex con. That didn’t sit well with Mattheus. And, what about Andrea’s mother, Petra? To be completely truthful, Mattheus hardly knew her at all, just remembered her as a young, sexy, excitable woman. It had been a quick encounter between them years ago, meant nothing. He hadn’t seen her for about fifteen years. Mattheus now wondered how he could have so successfully put this all out of his mind for so long. Perhaps Cindy had been right after all. Perhaps it would have eventually come back to haunt him. Better to handle it now than later, for sure.
“First time in Anguilla?” the taxi driver asked as they drove out of the airport onto the highway. “Most people go to the West End. Better hotels and shopping there.”
Mattheus grunted.
“But it’s all gorgeous,” the driver continued, “in fact, we’re known as one of the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean.”
Mattheus was definitely not in the mood for small talk. “Yeah, it’s gorgeous,” he agreed.
Encouraged, the driver kept talking. “Look out of the window and you’ll see that the island’s covered with dry bushes and plants. We’re sitting on a coral base and have coral reefs all around.”
“Great,” Mattheus mumbled incoherently, hoping to shut him up.
“The incredible, bright, white sand beaches are something,” the driver went on. “The tourists can’t get enough of it here.”
Mattheus wanted to tell the driver that he wasn’t a tourist, he was a father coming to claim a child he hadn’t known her entire life. The guy went on describing the beaches and restaurants, the fishing expeditions. Mattheus just closed his eyes, waiting to get to the small, nondescript hotel that was near his daughter’s home. He’d booked a room there so he could walk to Andrea’s place, and she could easily visit him.
When they drove up to the hotel, the driver looked at Mattheus surprised. “This is where you’re staying?” he said.
“I like it simple,” said Mattheus, as he paid the fare and gave the guy a generous tip.
*
Without wasting a minute, Mattheus quickly checked in and unpacked. Then he stopped to decide if he should call ahead first, or just arrive unannounced at Andrea’s home. It would be better, he decided, to just show up, walk right in, and see what life there was really like.
Mattheus hailed a cab which took him to the address she had given him. It was a small, thatched house in a local settlement about a mile away. Kids were playing in the street, dogs were barking and as they were at the edge of a bird sanctuary, big birds flew overhead.
Mattheus walked to the door and knocked on it hard.
“It’s open,” a voice called out. “Come in.”
Mattheus stiffened a moment and then pushed the door open and walked in. First he stepped into a narrow hallway that led to a living room with sloped ceilings, and a glass door leading out to a small garden in the rear.
“I’ll be there a minute,” the voice called again from down the hallway. It wasn’t Andrea’s voice either. Mattheus wondered if it were her mother, Petra. God, how she would handle seeing him again, all of a sudden, after fifteen years? Obviously, she’d been expecting someone, or she wouldn’t have said to just come in. Uneasy, Mattheus shifted back and forth and waited.
In a few minutes, a beautiful, sensuous Caribbean woman in her mid- thirties, dressed in a casual native, cotton dress, with her hair piled on top of her head, and big, hoop earrings, walked into the room. When she saw Mattheus standing there, she stopped cold and stared.
“Who the hell?” she said, frightened.
Mattheus took a few steps in her direction. “There’s nothing to be afraid of Petra,” he said, quietly.
“You know my name?” that scared her even more.
“Andrea told me your name.” Mattheus replied.
“Andrea? You’re lying,” she uttered.
“I’m not. I’m Mattheus, Andrea’s father. Did she tell you about me?”
The woman blanched. “It’s not possible,” she exclaimed.
“It’s true. I’m Mattheus.”
“Like hell you’re Mattheus,” Petra refused to believe it. “He disappeared, left me flat.”
“He didn’t mean to,” said Mattheus, despite himself. “He was a young kid, didn’t know what he was doing.”
“He knew exactly what he was doing,” now Petra grew angry. “It was a night of fun and then it was over. I was the one left with the baby, not him.”
“Didn’t Andrea tell you I was coming to see all of you again?” Mattheus asked quickly.
“What the hell do you mean, again?” the woman practically spit at him. “You haven’t seen her since she was born. You haven’t been here, ever. There’s no reason for us to meet now.”
Mattheus took a step away. Petra’s hatred for him was palpable. He’d had no idea she’d been harboring anger like this.
“I came to see my daughter,” Mattheus corrected himself.
“Oh really?” Petra came a step closer. “Just like that? What makes you think you can step back into her life all of a sudden, after all these years?”
“Because she wants to see me,” Mattheus haltingly replied.
Petra was having a hard time getting her mind around this. “Were you here for her ever? Did you do one damn thing to help me out all these years?” she spluttered.
Mattheus felt his gut twisting. He had no answer.
Petra took his silence as confession. Her voice grew louder and more shrill. “You think you’re coming to take my honey away from me now? You’re gonna bribe her with money or something?”
“Nothing like that,” Mattheus started to say, when Andrea herself, suddenly appeared in the doorway. She was dressed in shorts and a long sleeve T shirt, with a beach cover over it.
Her eyes were wide with amazement as she watched Mattheus and her mother arguing.
“Mom, I heard you shouting, and came down to see why,” Andrea finally interrupted, walking into the room.
Petra turned to her daughter in a frenzy. “Did you invite this bastard down here to see us?”
“Hold on a minute,” said Mattheus then, his anger beginning to build.
“I did invite him,” Andrea replied, “but I never thought he’d come.” Andrea’s eyes fastened onto Mattheus and stayed glued to him, then. There was shock and disbelief in them, but also happiness.
“Well, I did come,” Mattheus responded quickly.
But Petra was having none of it. “What the hell do you mean you invited him?” her voice grew raspy as she turned to Andrea full force. “How dare you invite him without asking me?”
“I have a right to invite anyone I like,” said Andrea, turning into the sassy self she’d been with Mattheus. “After all, he’s my dad, isn’t he? You told me about him for years.”
Mattheus’s heart clenched. He could only imagine what Petra had told Andrea about him.
“Yeah, you told me he was coming,” Petra breathed, “but I never thought the idiot would turn up.”
“Why not? He tracked me down on his own. I told you I saw him up in St. Martin.” Andrea was good at calming her mother down.
“But why did he track you down? Why now?” Petra became more and more nervous.
“Who cares why?” Andrea was standing firm. “He found me, didn’t he? And I told you that he did. I told you I met him.”
“Baby, I thought you were dreaming or something,” Petra’s voice got softer. “I know you always wanted to see your real dad and I thought you were making up a story so you’d feel better about your life.”
“That’s a huge insult,” Andrea burst out. “What do you take me for, some kind of nut?”
Mattheus wanted to get closer to Andrea, but stood fixed to the spot. Then he suddenly heard footsteps coming down the hallway closer to them.
“Oh God,” that’s got to be Cain,” Petra looked nervous.
The footsteps stopped at the doorway and a big, heavy, rough looking Caribbean guy, dressed in baggy jeans and a dirty red shirt, entered the room.
“What’s this, a cat fight?” the guy demanded. “I heard the yelling all the way back in the yard.”
“It’s nothing, Cain, nothing at all,” Petra’s voice became trembly as she tried to make light of it.
Cain then suddenly spotted Mattheus. “Who the hell is this?” he growled.
“Never mind,” Petra spun around towards Cain, giving Mattheus a frightened look over her shoulder.
Cain held out his hands, stopping Petra from getting any closer.
“Hold on, you didn’t answer me. I asked you a question,” he said in a menacing tone.
Alerted, Andrea quickly stepped in between them. “Mattheus came to see me, I invited him here,” she informed Cain sharply.
“Mattheus, who?” Cain smirked, looking Andrea up and down slowly. “Looks like you got all ready to see this dude, too.”
“No I didn’t. He surprised me,” Andrea snapped.
“Oh really? You’re telling me this old guy came here just to see you?” asked Cain.
Mattheus wanted to lunge at the guy and knock him around, but he forced himself to stay steady. To his great relief Andrea held her ground.
“I told you, I invited him here,” she repeated to Cain.
“Shut up, you’re making it worse,” Petra exclaimed to Andrea.
“Making what worse?” Cain grabbed Andrea’s elbow then, shoving her roughly to the side.
“Ow,” Andrea called out as he thrust her to the side.
That did it. Mattheus flew over and put his arm around Andrea’s shoulders to steady her. Then he turned to Cain and grabbed him by the collar.
“You better back off or I’m gonna knock you to pieces and throw you through the window,” Mattheus growled.
Cain’s jaw fell opened. “You know who you’re dealing with Mister?”
“I know all I need to know,” Mattheus growled back.
Cain pushed Mattheus away from him. “Who the hell you think you are?”
“Oh good Lord, why are you letting this happen?” Petra called out. “Tell me why?”
“You better back down,” Mattheus said to Cain, furious, “or I’m taking you in.”
“Taking me where?” Cain grinned strangely, showing a row of small, broken teeth.
“This is Andrea’s dad,” Petra piped up loudly, trying to ease the situation. “He’s a private detective.”
That stopped Cain for a second. “Private detective? Ha, well, I’m clean as can be.”
“He’s Andrea’s dad,” Petra’s voice grew more strident.
“Like hell he is. I’m Andrea’s dad,” Cain exclaimed. “Remember, you married me!”
“Mattheus is Andrea’s natural father,” Petra insisted.
“He’s the guy who left you in the lurch?” Cain’s face grew contorted as he glared at Mattheus through swollen eyes.
“I wanted him here, I invited him,” Andrea spoke right in Cain’s face.
“Listen, slut, I heard enough from you,” Cain barked, sullenly.
Mattheus felt the rage rise through him. “Who the hell do you think you are, calling my daughter a slut?”
“I’ll call the bitch whatever I like,” Cain sauntered closer to Mattheus. “What the hell do you know about her, anyway? When’d you last see her? She’s a bitch and a slut and everyone knows it.”
At that Andrea spun around, fled to the door, opened it briskly and disappeared into the dark night.
Horrified, Mattheus ran after. He couldn’t let her fly away like that, shamed and humiliated. He’d find her easily, he thought, as he fled on her trail.
But, to Mattheus’s surprise, the heavy darkness and thick trees created a blanket he could not penetrate. Where was she? Where had she turned? He didn’t know where he was either, but he’d track her down, he wouldn’t give up. In his painstaking way, Mattheus waded slowly through the hill and brush searching for his daughter.”
*
When Mattheus finally found Andrea, she was crumpled up under a huge tree
down at the base of a hill, in a tangled part of town, crying. By then it had grown dark and all he had was the light of the moon.
“Andrea,” Mattheus called as soon as he spotted her.
She didn’t look up.
“Honey, I’m here.” The terrain was so rocky, Mattheus got down on his knees and crawled to where she was laying. He wanted to put his arms on her shoulders to comfort her, but didn’t want to scare her. “I’m here,” he repeated softly.
“Too little, too late,” she muttered and slowly raised her head, looking at him out of the corner of her eyes.
“What’s going on here? Tell me,” Mattheus begged her.
Andrea gathered herself together and sat up. “What do you think, we got a bed of roses to live in?”
“I don’t know what to think,” Mattheus said. “But I came down to find out and help you. You’ve got to tell me.”
“Cain’s an ex con,” Andrea started.
“You told me that already. “He’s your stepfather?” Mattheus wanted to be sure he got the details straight.
“He beats us regularly,” Andrea breathed.
“Beats us?” Mattheus wanted to be certain he heard right.
“Me and my mother,” Andrea mumbled, “it’s his favorite past time.” Then she pulled up the sleeves of her shirt and showed Mattheus the marks all over her arm. In the moonlight they looked eerie, as if strong arms had grabbed her from behind and pummeled her, leaving dark, ugly bruises all over her skin.
“My God, have you told the police?” Mattheus breathed, horrified.
“Don’t make me laugh,” said Andrea. “You think they care about guys who beat women down here? It happens all the time.”
Mattheus’s head swirled as he pulled his daughter to him. He took her arms into his hands and looked at the bruises more closely.
“There have got to be laws,” Mattheus insisted.
“Give me a break,” Andrea looked at him as if he were a fool. “There’s nothing we can do. Mom’s been through this before and so have I. I grew up all my life watching her husband’s give her a thrashing. When I let them beat me too, she doesn’t get it so bad.”
