15
Forest held up one of the large shells from his sack. “You sure you eat these?” he asked.
“Ha ha!” laughed Agwe. “Can you eat these?”
Agwe grabbed his knife and cracked the back of the shell. He stuck it in, twisted the blade, and pulled out a large fist sized piece of white meat.
“Wow,” I whispered.
He cut off a strip of dark meat from the conch.
“We save this for fish bait. Snapper and Grouper.”
He sliced off another dark piece across the top. “This is the head, for the chickens. They will turn it into an egg.”
He tossed the meat on the ground and the chickens flocked to it like a school of piranhas.
“We are left with this.” He held up a nice piece of meat the size of a small chicken breast.
“Please tell me at least one of you has had conch and eggs for breakfast before?” asked Agwe. We shrugged.
“Ah, well then get ready. This will change your life.”
Forest started putting sticks in the firepit like he had done it before. He grabbed what looked like a cotton ball with dead grass and twigs and put it under the sticks. He quickly scraped a piece of flint and steel together to light the cotton.
“I’ll get the salt,” said Becca.
“And crushed red pepper,” said Agwe. “Also an onion on the counter.”
“Okay.”
I watched her walk through the back doorway into the kitchen. If I could just be alone with her, I could get a sense if it was a dream. But it must have been. She would have held my hand or something. I watched Forest slowly add sticks to the lit flame. They all seemed to be in a natural rhythm, and I felt like the odd guy out.
“Joey,” said Agwe. “Let me teach you to clean conch.”
I walked over with my slight limp. The table under the metal roof was old and stained with blood. Old fish scales were worn into the wood like tattoos. There were so many cut marks that I couldn’t identify them individually.
“See.” Agwe took one of the conch and cracked the back of the shell. He handed me another one.
“Now you,” he said. I pounded the shell with the butt of the knife in the same place he did.
Agwe took his knife and stuck in in the hole with a twisting motion. He handed me his knife. “Now you.” I did the same.
He reached his hand in the front. “Now pull.”
I followed his movement, and out came the conch.
“I can do the other two,” I said.
“Good,” said Agwe.
Agwe cooked ten eggs and the conch together in a large pan over the fire. He mixed in the onions, red pepper, and salt. It smelled pretty damn awesome.
“There’s no electricity in the house,” I said.
“That’s right,” replied Agwe.
“So you always cook over fire?” I asked.
“No. The fire for cooking fast, the sun for cooking slow. You can also cook the fish with salt. Brining I think you call it.”
“That’s cool,” I said.
Agwe smiled, “I like it. More flavor.”
We were each given a wooden plate with a large portion of conch and eggs, some sort of plums, and coconut milk. He didn’t have a table inside or outside. Just these seven tree stumps of different shape and size around the fire pit. That was where we ate. The food was delicious. I felt my strength coming back, and quickly.
“Good?” asked Agwe. “The only sound I hear is chewing. Must be good,” he said with a bright smile.
“Awesome,” said Forest.
“So. Now that Joey is awake,” said Agwe. “I understand you did not want to discuss it before. But I have taken you into my home. So, how is it you find yourself on this island?”
With mouths full of conch, the three of us awkwardly looked at each other. No one wanted to say a damn thing. He saw us in the cave where I almost died from a machete wound. We obviously weren’t on vacation with our mom and dad.
“Where are your parents? Your families?” asked Agwe.
Forest wiped his mouth and spoke up.
“Don’t have them. We’re orphans. We went to the same school in Miami. We took a boat and sailed here on our own.”
Agwe’s eyes grew wide. “Thank you for your honesty, Forest.”
“Now what about that?” Agwe pointed to my ribs.
“I know that cut,” said Agwe. “Know it very well. It was a Machete.”
Becca and I both turned our attention to Forest.
“Think we’d rather keep that to ourselves,” replied Forest.
“You are in my home. I need to know,” said Agwe.
“It would be better if we left. What I say will incriminate you.”
“You are welcome here, but I need to know.”
I knew Forest was about to tell him, because Forest wasn’t a bullshitter. It just wasn’t his style. Agwe was shooting him straight, and he was about to do the same. I knew it. Shit.
Forest put his plate down and looked up at the sky.
“Hiking through those flats on the other side of the island.”
“Along Hawk Creek?” Agwe interrupted.
“Does it open up into a big lake?” asked Forest.
“Yes.”
“That’s it. Two guys walked up while I was gone. They tried to rape my sister. Joey fought. I heard the screaming, ran to them, and helped fight ‘em off. Joey took a bad cut.”
“I’m so sorry, Becca,” said Agwe with a painful expression. She nodded and looked away.
“What happened to the other two?” he asked.
“They’re dead,” replied Forest.
Forest kept his face steady toward the horizon, stone-faced.
Agwe took a deep breath. He had his elbows on his knees and his chin rested on his hands, clasped together in a single fist. He said nothing and watched the ants that crawled around the pit searching for crumbs. We did the same. It was eerily quiet. Several minutes passed by, and we could tell he was about to say something, so we turned our attention to him and waited.
“I’m an old man. My memory is not so good. What were we just talking about?” asked Agwe.
“I don’t remember either,” said Forest.
“No matter,” said Agwe. “As I said before, you are welcome here. In this place we don’t strive, we live. We hunt, we fish, we trade, tend the animals, pick fruit. We take long naps in the middle of the day.”
“I think I belong here,” said Forest.
“Perhaps you do. Joey, you need to go easy for a while,” said Agwe. I nodded.
Becca smiled. She grabbed her plate and mine.
“No, I’ve got it,” I said and followed her into the house. My eyes always trailed downward when I was behind her. I was trying to break that habit, afraid I looked like a creep. It was one thing to glance, but I kept staring. She put her plate down on the counter next to the sink.
“Where do you sleep?” I asked.
“Over there,” she pointed to one corner of the living room.
“Oh. You take the bedroom now. I’m good,” I replied.
She acted like she didn’t care, but I didn’t really pay attention to that, and I moved my things out of the bedroom and to the corner, across from Forest. I put her blanket and small bag of clothes in the bedroom. When I walked out Becca was standing in front of the kitchen window. She had her hands in her hair. She seemed frustrated,` and her eyes looked sad.
“You alright?” I asked.
She put her hands down.
“Yeah. It’s just my hair.”
“It looks good.”
She looked at me like I was full of shit. I remembered that look from the time I called that bait a quaza. Her eyes rolled and her left eyebrow shot straight up.
“But it does,” I said.
“Joey, it’s a damn freak show. Look.”
She put her fingers through her hair and tried to lift them out, but they got stuck.
“Oh what I would do for some shampoo and conditioner. I need a j
ob.”
“I’ll ask Agwe,” I said.
“Trust me, he doesn’t have any.”
“Is that all you need?” I asked.
“Yeah. Well,” she replied.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“What?”
“Ugh. Tampons.”
“Oh. I might be able to find out something.”
“No, just don’t worry about it.”
Around back Agwe was scratching Chico’s belly.
“Hey Agwe,” I said softly.
“Yes.”
“Becca needs some things.”
“What kind of things?” he asked.
“Shampoo.”
“Oh. I don’t have that.”
“Right, but how do we get it?” I asked making sure she wasn’t outside yet.
He patted the dog, looked up, and scratched his chin.
“A mile down the road on the left is Mrs. Phoebe’s home. She may know something or be willing to trade.”
“What’s her house look like?” I asked.
“She lives in an old white house with blue shutters. The color of the sky, not the ocean. There are chickens in the yard. She is probably there now, sitting on her porch drinking tea.”
“Thanks.”
I drank some water from one of the coconuts.
“Where you going?” asked Forest.
“I’m gonna go talk to this lady about making a trade. Becca needs shampoo and stuff.”
Forest looked around for a moment. “I guess I’ll come along.”
We left Agwe’s house in search of Mrs. Phoebe. The narrow road was a mixture of rocks, clay, and gravel that was laid ages ago. There were craters that held water from the recent rain. Tall pine and palm trees lined both sides of the road. Thick brush and sago palms that reached overhead made it feel like we were in a tunnel with no breeze. It felt good to walk, even if I was slow. Our pace probably drove Forest crazy, but he didn’t say anything. Still, I knew I would be sore as hell in the morning.
“Thanks for coming,” I said.
“Yeah. I’ve been wanting to scope out the island anyway,” replied Forest.
“So no one’s come asking around?”
“No,” said Forest. “Just a matter of time though. Someone will miss them.”
“Yeah.”
“We might be able to get another boat,” said Forest.
“I don’t know,” I replied. “I think it’s different here. Their boats mean more to them. They would notice if one went missing.”
“Oh yeah, reminds me,” said Forest. “If you’re on the boat with Agwe, don’t call the bow the front.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Yeah, it’s the only time I’ve seen him annoyed. Bad omen he said. I asked why the different words, and he said boats are different, they earned them. Something to do with respect. I think I understand that now.”
“Yeah. I get that. Man, I don’t want to steal a boat here,” I said.
“I don’t either. So do you feel like you’re back from the dead or what?” asked Forest.
“Yeah. I dreamed a lot, man.”
“About what?” asked Forest.
Shit. Don’t say it Joey.
“The fight. Becca.”
“Becca?” asked Forest.
Damn it.
“Yeah, don’t flip out. I can’t even come close to defending myself, and I can’t control my dreams. But I dreamed she was kissing me, and it helped me stay alive.”
“Psh,” said Forest. “You didn’t dream that. She was kissing you all the time.”
I didn’t say a thing as the gravity of what he just said slowly sunk into my brain. Oh hell yes. I made myself keep a poker face, but I wanted to raise my hands and scream.
In the distance we could see what looked like a clearing. As we neared, another chicken ran by. I really didn’t expect to encounter so many chickens. There were several shack-like houses on both sides of the road. It was laid back, very laid back. To our right we noticed an elderly dark skinned man without a shirt sitting on his front porch and smoke rising from the wooden pipe in his mouth.
“Where you boys coming from?” he asked.
I pointed behind us. “Agwe’s house.”
“How you know Agwe?” he asked.
“He’s been friends with my grandpa since they were kids,” I replied. The old man nodded, satisfied with my answer. “Headed to town?” he asked.
“No sir, trying to find Mrs. Phoebe's house.”
“Right there. Go around back,” he said pointing a few houses over.
“Thanks.”
Forest and I walked up to the old house, which seemed a bit nicer than the other shacks nearby. A ratty looking dog that looked way too furry to live in the Bahamas came from behind the house. He let out one lazy bark and then sat and scratched the back of his head. Forest knocked on the side of the house before we went further.
“Excuse me, Mrs. Phoebe?” I said loudly.
“Who’s dat?” she asked.
“Forest and Joey. We’re staying at Agwe’s house down the road.”
“Come on back,” she replied.
We walked around and saw a large woman in a rocking chair with a colorful bandana on her head. She had a coffee mug in one hand and an old book in the other. Her backyard was very well kept and had a number of vegetable gardens and fruit trees. There was a large chicken coop, and two big goats were chewing on the brush at the edge of her yard.
“So how can I help you boys?” she asked.
I spoke up. “It’s a little strange.” Forest looked at me funny.
“Won’t bother me,” she said.
“We’re new here. His sister needs some things like shampoo and tampons, and we don’t know where to get them.”
“Ah. Hard to come by on this island. They not in Queens Bluff, two towns over, fifteen miles. You need a car. They also more expensive than where you from.”
“Do you have any?” I asked.
“I sure do, new box. You looking to buy or trade?”
“Trade,” said Forest.
“Do you fish?” she asked.
“Yes ma’am,” Forest replied.
“Good. In town I got a shop. I sell bread and jewelry. The tourists pay good money for the jewelry. I need to make more necklaces, but I’ve run out of the shark teeth. Big sharks swim the edge of the reef at night. Bring me the head of a five or six footer, and I will give you the box and some shampoo.”
“Deal,” I said.
“Good. When will you have it by?” she asked.
“We’ll go out tonight. Hopefully, tomorrow morning,” I answered.
She nodded, and we made our way back down the road toward Agwe’s house. I waved at the old man on the porch, and he gave me a nod while he blew out smoke from his pipe.
“Alright,” said Forest. “So, we have to take that old rowboat out tonight. Catch a big shark, cut of its head, and bring it to this lady for some shampoo and tampons?”
“Yeah,” I answered.
“This is some bullshit,” said Forest.
“I have to do it for her, man. She’s done a lot for me. I can’t do it on my own right now.”
“Oh I’m going with you. But remember that crazy ass fish we caught that tried to kill us? Andros was way bigger than that little wood boat. If we catch a shark, we put it in there with us? How does that work?”
“I have no idea, man,” I said. “I guess we just figure it out on the fly like everything else.”
We made it back to Agwe’s house and walked around back. Becca heard us coming and came outside. When I saw her my face lit up way too much. It was obvious and awkward.
“Where did you guys go?” she asked.
“Down the road. We wanted to check out the area,” said Forest.
“Did you see any cop cars?” she asked.
“No,” said Forest. He grabbed the wooden spear he had made that was leaning up against the side of the house. He left for
the trail that led to the rocks.
She looked at me. It was like her green eyes could look into my soul. I could never keep up a stare with her. It was too much, and I always looked away.
“How are you feeling?”
“Not bad. But I think I’ll chill out for a little while. We’re going fishing tonight.”
“That’s probably not a good idea, Joey.”
“Oh, we’ll be fine.”
“Okay, but remember that last fish we caught?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I smiled. “We were just talking about that. We’ll be careful.”
She turned to go back inside.
“Becca.”
She stopped and looked back. “What?” she asked.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Keeping me alive.”
She put her fingers to her mouth and slowly blew me a kiss. I wanted to ask her why she kissed me before. Was it just to keep me alive? That would be very noble. Was that all? Could it be that she was actually attracted to me? I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the window. Since the escape, I was leaner. That was the only good thing. My hair was hellish, and I noticed dirt under my eyes. I made a note to jump into the ocean more often.
The Less Fortunates Page 15
