The Bet (Persaud Girl)

by Mott, Teisha

  “I’m not promiscuous!” Andie said. “Nathan is the only one I’ve ever felt this way about. You should understand what I mean, Bianca. I mean, you have Tevin.”

  “Tevin and I have an agreement,” Bianca said. “When we started going out, we were both too young to even consider sex. As we got older, and our feelings became a serious issue, we decided that if we couldn’t wait until we got married, then clearly we aren’t as in love as we thought. We’ve had some really close calls, but one of us has to be strong enough to say stop before it goes too far.” She smiled. “Usually, that person is me. Boys have no self-control.”

  “So how do you control yourselves?” Andie was curious.

  Bianca thought about it for a moment. “Well, first you have to control your thoughts.”

  “Yes,” Klao agreed. “If you sit up all hours of the night, imagining what it would be like having your legs wrapped around his neck, when you see him the next day, of course you are going to want to try it!”

  Bianca and Andie looked at her.

  “I’m just saying….” Klao said, defending her point. “That these kinds of things begin in the mind, and usually they don’t stay there. Stop looking at me like that!”

  “Anyway,” Bianca looked away from her, and turned back to Andie, “what we also try to do is seek privacy in public places. I mean, all that locking up in Nathan’s room by Preston cannot augur well for your self-control. Go out more. Go to the park, or the movies, or Chapel Gardens – well, Chapel Gardens isn’t such a good idea. If you guys ever pass through there lunch time one day…” She shook her head. “And Tevin and I also think about the consequences of us going all the way. I could get pregnant, and I don’t want to have a baby now, or for a very long time. I at least have to finish UWI and get a job and be able to support myself without Daddy and Julie’s help. Besides if I got pregnant before I got married, Daddy would kill me!”

  Klao nodded. “He’d kill Tevin, too!”

  “I don’t think he’d do that!” Andie said with a laugh. “Besides, Aunt Beth got pregnant before she got married, and that turned out alright.”

  “Aunt Beth was lucky,” Klao said. “Uncle William was exceptional. I don’t know if there is his second anywhere in this world! And, she didn’t turn out to alright after all. Alex will be eighteen soon, and Aunt Beth still hasn’t finished College. She is the only one in the entire family who does not have a degree. You know how different her life would be if she had chosen to wait?”

  “Yeah,” Andie said wryly. “We wouldn’t have Alex. Probably wouldn’t have Margaux either. The Persaud lot would be two kids short. If you ask me, I think she made a good decision not to wait.”

  “You are a very bright and sensible girl, Andie,” Bianca said. She put on her sunglasses once more. “You know that this is your personal choice. But I’ll give you some advice. You can take it or leave it. Your virginity is a very special thing. Once it’s gone, that’s it. It won’t grow back like a yam. If I were you, I’d try my hardest not to waste it.”

  ***

  It was 9:45 when Nathan pulled into the driveway of his grandparents’ house in Albion, St. James – a few miles out of Montego Bay. He was surprised that he had gotten there in one piece. He could hardly concentrate during the four-hour trek from Kingston. Despite the fact that Fern had flapped her lips non-stop from they left Preston Hall at 5:30 that morning, until he dropped her at her house in Discovery Bay three hours later, and during the fifteen minutes he had stopped to have the glass of orange juice that Fern’s mother insisted upon, all his thoughts were on Andie. He had not been able to sleep since Thursday night. Every time he closed his eyes, he felt Andie’s soft, sweet body next to his. He had been so close! So close to winning the bet, and so close to making the biggest mistake of his life. Nathan thought Christopher’s refusal to knock before entering a room was a blessing in disguise. It had to be some sort of sign that he was not to make love to Andie. Even if it meant letting Jeremy think that he was a virgin and incapable of seducing any girl his heart desired. Nathan knew neither of those statements was true. He hated the thought of giving Jeremy the victory. He had one more week. He was sure there would be another opportunity before Jeremy’s deadline, but Nathan wasn’t sure whether he would, in good conscience, take advantage of it.

  Nathan did not see his mother’s car or his grandparents’ car when he pulled in, and he was glad. His grandparents and Joie had probably gone to church, and his mother was probably at the hospital. The house would be peaceful and quiet, and he needed that at the moment. He unlocked the front door and stepped into the living room of the one storey brick and stone cottage. It was nothing even remotely close to the Persaud’s house, in elegance or in size, but it was home. It was comfortable, and immediately he felt a sense of relief from all the pressures he had been facing. It was his second trip home since the school year started, and the familiar feeling of being home made him wonder why. He wandered into the empty kitchen. Grandma had left breakfast for him. She had made saltfish and callaloo. It wasn’t Theresa’s gourmet cooking, but there was nothing like his grandmother’s breakfast. Nathan fixed himself a plate. He wondered whether he would ever have Andie at his home. He smiled to himself. Grandma and Grandpa and his mother would like her. Joie would consider her the big sister she never had. Andie. His sweet, darling Andie. Nathan ate his breakfast, with the thought on his mind that he truly had it bad.

  After breakfast, he dutifully washed his plate then went to his bedroom. It smelled as though it had been freshly cleaned. It was always ready for him whenever he came home. Nathan realised then how tired he truly was. He flopped into bed without changing his clothes, and almost immediately fell into a deep, restful sleep.

  231

  The Bet

  chapter ten

  Nathan slowly opened his eyes. It took him a while to remember where he was. He was home in Montego Bay, in his own room. There was whispering coming from outside his door – pretty loud whispering.

  “I can go and wake him up now, Grandma?” Came Joie’s voice.

  “No!” His grandmother returned. “Leave him alone.”

  “But he has been sleeping for an awfully long time!” Joie argued.

  “That’s because he’s tired Joie!” Grandma replied. “Go into your room and read your morning watch verse for AY this evening.”

  “I already read it!”

  “Well read it again.”

  There was silence for a while, and Nathan thought his grandmother had won. He was wrong.

  “Suppose he has died in his sleep?”

  “Lawd, Joie! How you nagging and digging so!” Grandma was beginning to get impatient. “Nathan has not died in his sleep.”

  “He could have.” Joie persisted. “No one sleeps so long. Not even someone who’s as tired as you claim Nathan is!”

  Grandma sighed. “You looked in there ten minutes ago. Was he dead?”

  “No.”

  “Then what makes you think he’s dead now?”

  “It can happen in a second!” Joie said. “Sleep anapea is very sudden!”

  “It’s sleep apnea, not anapea!” Grandma corrected. “And I tired to tell you that must come out of your mother’s medical books!”

  “Well whatever it is, if my brother has it, you will be sorry!”

  Nathan decided to rescue his grandmother from his little sister’s provocation. He pulled himself out of bed, noting that someone had covered him while he was asleep. He yawned and pulled his fingers through his sleep-tousled hair. He pulled the door open and spotted his grandmother holding on to Joie. It was apparent grandma had grabbed her just before she could sneak into his room.

  “What’s going on?” He asked.

  “Nathan!” Joie screamed in delight. She pulled away from her grandmother, and jumped into her big brother’s arms, wrapping her arms and legs around him.
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  “Tek time with him Joie!” Grandma said. “You going to break him back?”

  “Good thing I’m a rock, Gran!” Nathan laughed, as Joie kissed him all over his face. He tried to set her down. “But, gosh, you’re heavy, Joie!”

  “I’m so happy you’re home!” Joie gushed, as she stood. “Hurry up and finish University and move back home, please, please, please!”

  Nathan ruffled her head. “When I’m done with UWI, you will not be too interested in having me home!” He turned to his grandmother. “Hey, Gran! How are you?”

  “I’m good, darling,” she replied, accepting the kiss that Nathan planted on her cheek. “I’m happy you’re home, too, but I won’t jump on you like Joie.” She draped her arm around Nathan’s shoulder. “You wake up just in time for lunch. Come.”

  Nathan walked with his grandmother and Joie to the dining room. His grandfather was there setting the table. He was still wearing his church pants and shirt. Nathan glanced at the kitchen clock. It was almost two thirty in the afternoon, which meant they had been home from church for a while.

  “Hey Grandpa!” Nathan greeted his grandfather. “How was church?”

  “Good, good!” Grandpa lay down the last knife and fork, and turned to shake Nathan’s hand. “How you do, son?”

  “I’m fine,” Nathan answered.

  “You look fine,” Grandpa said, scrutinising him carefully. “But tell me something – you can’t cut your hair?”

  Nathan rolled his eyes. “I cut my hair, Grandpa. It grew back.”

  Grandpa took the platter of jerked fish from Grandma, and placed it on the table. “A see!” He said. “So in Kingston is only one haircut per person per lifetime?”

  “Harold, leave him alone, and take the potato salad from the fridge!” Grandma chastised.

  “Yes ‘Harold’, leave him alone!” Joie echoed.

  “And you be quiet and go and wash your hands!” Grandma told Joie.

  “Is Mom coming home for lunch?” Nathan asked. He helped his grandmother to serve up the rest of the meal.

  “She’s on call,” Grandma informed him. “But I called her and she said she was on her way. She should be here soon.”

  “Mommy’s here!” Joie announced returning from the powder room, where she had gone to wash her hands. “Her car just pulled in.”

  Sure enough five seconds later, Dr Gina Hansen entered the kitchen through the back door. She was still wearing her favourite scrubs – the colourful ones she normally wore whenever she was working Paediatrics. Her stethoscope was stuffed into the pocket of her baggy pink and blue pants, and her hair was falling out of its usual knot.

  Nathan looked at his mother. The person who said ‘fifty is the new thirty’ certainly knew what they were talking about, as did the one who declared that ‘black never cracks’. Gina Hansen was certainly a good-looking black woman, who showed no signs of her almost fifty years. Nathan was positive that the long hours in the hospital, and the strain of raising himself and Joie in the dark cloud that his father’s suicide had cast over the family, would have given her a lot more grey hairs and a few more wrinkles. But that was not the case. She was as fresh-faced and youthful as ever, and when she had deposited him on Preston for the first year, Omar Phillips had asked whether she was his older sister.

  She smiled brightly when she saw Nathan. “Who have we here?” She declared, giving him a huge hug. “This could never be my son! No child of mine could ever be so handsome!”

  “Hey Mom!” Nathan said, hugging her back.

  “Gina, don’t be hugging him with all the hospital germs all over you!” Grandma chastised. “Suppose he gets sick?”

  “Then good thing I’m a doctor!” Dr Hansen replied. She let go of Nathan. “Let me look at you, baby. You look healthy enough, but you need a haircut.” She sat next to Nathan at the table, and looked at Joie. “Did you behave at church today, munchkin?”

  “I did!” Joie confirmed. “Ask Grandma!”

  “I think she better not,” Grandma said, looking at Joie. “Did you forget that Grandpa had to remind you not to walk up and down during the service?”

  “I wasn’t walking up and down, Grandma!” Joie defended. “I went for a drink of water once, and after the water I had to go to the bathroom, then I went to hold on to the baby that was walking up and down during children’s story time.”

  “And that’s not walking up and down?” Dr Hansen asked, looking at Joie.

  “That was necessary walking up and down,” Joie qualified. “That aside, I was very good, so that means I can go to the movie that they are showing after vespers, right?”

  “Let her go, Gina,” Grandma begged. “Or we not going to hear the end of it.”

  Nathan smiled as he served himself his lunch. It was great to be home, and having a real Sabbath lunch with his family, and enjoying the usual family banter. He did not usually go to church with his grandparents and Joie, but that did not prevent him from enjoying lunch. The only thing he did not enjoy was when his grandparents hosted pot-luck lunches, and almost everybody from the church came over.

  “So, Nathan,” his mother said, looking at him. “I got your credit card bill yesterday.”

  “Don’t talk about bills on Sabbath, Gina!” Grandpa said, through a bite of jerked fish.

  “The bill itself doesn’t worry me, Daddy,” Dr Hansen pointed out. “What I’m concerned about is the contents of the bill.” She looked at her son, who was beginning to turn red. “If I remember correctly, three thousand dollars at Bella Mia, another three thousand from ‘That Blooming Florist’ and something from The Guilt Trip that cost fifteen hundred…That is almost eight thousand dollars in one weekend, and it wasn’t anyone in this house’s birthday!”

  “Uh–oh!” Joie said. “Nathan has another girlfriend!”

  Everyone was looking at Nathan. He could not be redder if he tried.

  “Dare I ask her name?” Dr Hansen asked.

  Nathan fidgeted. “Mom…”

  “You might as well tell me, baby, for I’m the one footing the bill. I have the right to know.”

  “Anne Dru,” Nathan whispered.

  Grandpa Harold almost choked on his fish. “Andrew?” He exclaimed. “Nathan don’t tell me you go Town and turn…”

  “No, Grandpa!” Nathan exclaimed. “Of course not. Anne Dru is a girl. She’s called Andie for short.”

  “What kind of idiots name their daughter Andrew?” Grandpa asked, still flabbergasted.

  “Anne Dru – as in Anne Dru Persaud; Kimberly Delisser and Michael Persaud’s niece?” Dr Hansen asked.

  Nathan nodded sadly.

  Dr Hansen shook her head. “And all this time I was hoping you’d have gone for their daughter…”

  “I only hope I won’t have to answer the phone and tell this one you’re not home,” Joie said, mashing out the potatoes in her plate. “I don’t mind the chocolates and things, but a girl has limits!”

  “Shut up and stop playing with your food,” Nathan said, looking darkly at Joie. “Besides, it’s not like that with Andie!”

  “Then how is it?” His mother asked. “Is it serious? I don’t think my pocket book can manage another of your fly-by-nights, especially one with a Persaud!”

  Nathan sighed and put down his fork. He was not comfortable discussing ‘how it was’ with his mother, especially not with his grandparents and sister present. His mother was not a prude. She knew that he had a reputation for being a player. He was not sure exactly how much she knew, but she always advised him that if he could not be good, he should at least be careful, and always treat girls as he would want Joie to be treated. It went without saying that he could not tell her that Andie was a bet to begin with. He did not know how to tell her that Andie had become so much more.

  “Andie’s sweet, Mom,” he said, when he finally spoke. “She’s a f
resher, and shy and very pretty…I – I like her.”

  “Just as long as you like her and you are not in love with her,” Grandpa said firmly.

  “What’s wrong with him being in love with her?” Dr Hansen asked.

  “Because twenty year old boys should not fall in love with anybody,” Grandpa said. “All they do is mess up everything.”

  “We fell in love before we were twenty, Harold,” Grandma pointed out. “Did we mess up everything?”

  “Our time was different, Rita,” Grandpa returned. “Young people nowadays don’t know anything about anything. Look at Nathan. He can’t even remember to cut his hair when it needs to be cut. You think he knows anything about being in love?”

  “Grandpa…” Nathan began.

  “I think it is a good thing for the boy to find a girl that he likes and settle down,” Grandma Rita insisted. “I don’t like the idea of him playing the field and being girly-girly. It doesn’t look good, and if he doesn’t look good, Harold, we don’t look good.”

  “I agree, Mom,” Dr Hansen nodded. “I have been telling Nate from time immemorial that he needs to settle down.”

  “Could you not talk about me as though I’m not right here?” Nathan demanded, beginning to get cross. “Look, I met Andie at school. I thought she was a nice girl, so I asked her out, and we have been hanging out since. I really, really like her, but I’m not confessing or purporting to be in love with her or with anyone else. I’m sorry that I ran up such a big balance on the credit card, Mom. I’ll work Christmas and pay you back – with interest if you want. But please can we discuss something else – anything else other than my love life. ”

  “We’re sorry, honey,” Dr Hansen said. She leaned over and ruffled his hair. “We didn’t mean to embarrass you. It’s just so exciting to think that you have a girlfriend, and one that you actually like. I remember when you were only two years old and thought girls had cooties…”