by Mia Henry
After many weeks of trying to persuade him, William eventually agreed to allow Amber to come over to them for a barbeque. Monica sent her a message inviting her, but she did not respond.
Amber had sold the BMW that she had received in the divorce settlement, so she was not able to get to her brother and Monica for the barbeque, hence her ignoring the invite.
Life on the small farm was spiraling downward rapidly. Little could be done, as there was no proof. But family and many friends were hoping it would all come to the fore, sooner than later.
CHAPTER 15
FAMILY HOLIDAY
In the meantime, Richard had received a substantial settlement from his accident and as a token of his appreciation for all that the family had done for him during the time of his accident, he gave each one a generous portion of the settlement.
The family decided to use that money for a once in a lifetime family holiday. Ella put together a proposal and it didn’t take long before the holiday was booked. During the Easter holidays they would embark on their dream holiday, to Disney World and a Caribbean cruise. It would be, Eduardo, the patriarch, together with his three children, spouses and his grandchildren. There would be eleven of them in total. Eduardo, Ella, Rob, Tammy, Troy, Amy, Richard, Stella, Gina, Linda and Ken.
Amber did not object to Richard taking Stella and Gina to America.
Ken, Linda, Ella and her three children planned to go a week ahead in order to spend some time in New York before meeting up with the rest of the family in Orlando.
The children were beyond excited. They all had calendars with ‘mark down the days’ in their bedrooms. Amy had saved frantically. She wanted to enjoy her own little shopping spree in New York City.
The time had arrived. Two days before they were due to depart, Ella called at the travel agent to collect the tickets, documentations, passports and then stopped by at the bank to sort out the foreign exchange. That evening Ella sat in her lounge, separating each one’s passports, adding to each one their own air ticket, cruise ticket and all other travel vouchers, insurance and at the same time double checking the passports, and to her horror Amy’s passport had expired.
‘Noooo!’ Ella cried out loud, ‘Amy’s passport has expired!’
Amy heard her name and rushed downstairs.
‘What’s wrong?’ asked Amy.
When Ella tells her, Amy instantly bursts out crying, ‘What does that mean, mom?’
‘But why did the travel agent not pick that up?’ asked Rob.
The travel agent did their best to expedite a USA visa for Amy but they were not going to take responsibility for the expired passport. Amy was going to enter the USA on her EU passport, which did not require a visa. Her EU passport had expired. Fortunately she had dual passports and her South African passport was still valid but with that passport, she needed an American visa. It is normally a time consuming procedure, requiring appointments, interviews and flying to either, Cape Town, Pretoria or Durban, to the American embassy.
The following day, after a sleepless night, Ella established that there would be no way that her and Amy would be leaving the next day for New York City. Amy was devastated. Ken and Linda would still go ahead and take Tammy and Troy with them. Ella and Amy would join them once she got a visa.
Ella called the American Embassy and was given the worse case scenario. ‘It can take up to 10 days to process a visa’.
That would mean that besides missing their New York leg they would also miss half of their stay in Disney World.
Amy sobbed inconsolably.
The travel agent pulled out all the stops, managing to set up an appointment within three days at the embassy in Durban. Ella and Amy would need to fly there to get the visa. Then once they’ve been interviewed they were told it could take up to another three days before the embassy received the visa, which gets issued in the USA. Ella was feeling shattered for her daughter Amy, especially when seeing the others leave ahead of them.
The same day Ken, Linda and the two children left for New York, Ella and Amy flew to Durban. The following day they went to the embassy early in the morning in the hope that they could try speed the process of getting a visa. They were there over an hour ahead of their appointment time. All went well with the interview. Still with a very tearful Amy by her side, Ella after explaining the ordeal, asked the official how quick could they process the visa?
‘Time now in the US is the middle of the night. We can try to motivate it, once the office opens. Sometimes if we’re lucky, we can get it within twenty-four hours’, said the official.
Amy just broke down again. Ella also got teary eyed. A short while later their number was called to pay their visa fees at the cashier. Amy was still sobbing. Again at the cashier Ella explained her ordeal, asking if there was anyway that they could speed up the process. As sympathetic as they were to the situation there was not much more that they could do. She left her cell number so they could call her once the visa arrived.
The embassy was on the tenth floor of a high-rise building in the middle of downtown, Durban. Ella and Amy had just got down to ground level, when an official called out,
‘Mrs. Kennedy!’
Ella turned around, ‘Yes’.
‘By some miracle which has never happened before, Amy’s visa came through straight away. We don’t even know how that is possible, as it’s not office hours at the moment in Washington’, the official said with a wry smile.
Amy’s smile was even bigger. Ella immediately phoned the travel agent.
They had been instrumental in arranging for Washington to process the visa before the interview even took place. Once they had been interviewed and the embassy had submitted the necessary, the visa was automatically released. The travel agent managed to get them onto a flight that same night. Although it was a costly mistake they were thrilled to be on their way, and only two days behind the others.
The next day they arrived in a very cold and wet New York City. Within a few hours they had met up with the rest of the family. It was happy times and all smiles again.
After six days exploring New York City, although only four for Ella and Amy, they headed for Orlando. They were coordinated to arrive in Orlando simultaneously with the rest of the family who were flying from South Africa.
The South African flight was horribly delayed, the rest of the family arrived late into the night. They were red-eyed and totally worn-out. But the next day they were hitting Disney World and nothing was going to stop that. Despite the very late night, change in time zone and with only a couple of hours sleep, everyone was awake early, abuzz with excitement. They were about to embark on a journey and make some of their happiest memories as a family.
Nancy would have been in her element had she been alive. She loved travelling and was always ready for a new adventure. She was often thought of and sorely missed during the trip.
Stella and Gina were looking terribly thin but Ella was delighted that they were there and that the family were together. The past few years had been tumultuous for them so spending time with their dad and the rest of the family was stirring and very special.
The family, were at the Disney World gates, as they opened. The decibels in the children’s giggles were peaking from sheer excitement. Five days of pure magic and wonder. As soon as they stepped onto the grounds they knew they were on holiday and they needed no time to unwind. At the end of each day everyone would be exhausted, body aching, sore bones and aching feet, but they couldn’t wait for the next day to do it all over again. The oldest in the family was in the mid seventies and the youngest seven years old, but every ride was tackled, no one stayed behind to watch. They were a family, a team and together they were making the most joyful and unforgettable memories.
Five days were spent in Disney World, and one day at Sea World and another at Universal Studios, before they headed to Miami to embark on a s
even day cruise around the Caribbean. After the first hectic seven days the fast pace would change to a more leisurely one on a cruise liner. Everyone was just as excited for the next phase of the trip.
They flew into Miami and headed straight to the harbor. Finding the right cab to transport eleven people and probably close on twenty two pieces of luggage, proved challenging but they came upon a very animated taxi driver with the right size cab who wasn’t at all fazed by the size of the entourage and all their luggage. They were entertained with all his lively banter and stories about Miami. It was obvious that the trip from the airport to the harbor was a road well travelled for him. He knew exactly at which quay they would be embarking from.
They soon boarded the gigantic vessel that would take them to Cozumel in Mexico, the Cayman Islands and Jamaica. As they set sail just before sunset they glided past the famous bayside areas of Port of Miami and Millionaire’s Row, admiring the opulent celebratory mansions. They delighted on the setting sun glistening on the aquamarine waters as a backdrop to the beautiful Miami skyline.
It was time to sit back, relax and enjoy a cocktail or two, before getting ready for dinner.
They had the eight o’clock slot at the dining room so there was still plenty of time to chill. The children were nowhere to be seen, they were off exploring. Being inside this gigantic vessel was some experience, a confluence of adventure, entertainment and fun for both young and old.
Just after seven thirty they all met in the cocktail bar before making their way to the main dining room. The dining room was a banquet hall, elegant with dazzling chandeliers. They were shown to their assigned table and looked forward to an array of gourmet food.
They had all just finished with their delicious starters and were waiting for their next course to arrive, when Tammy turned to Ella and said, ‘I’m not feeling too well, mom. I’m feeling very dizzy.’
Although Ella thought it was probably motion sickness, she did look very flushed.
‘I’ll take her up to the cabin and give her some medicine,’ said Rob.
Rob and Tammy left.
The rest of the family finished their dinner, including dessert, yet Rob and Tammy hadn’t returned. They thought they would stay a little while longer and wait for Rob to come back. Ella wondered why Rob was taking so long. She thought maybe he lay on the bed for a while to make sure Tammy was going to be alright and then had fallen asleep. After a little while longer, Ella asked Troy to go up to the cabin to tell Rob that they were heading to the auditorium to watch the cabaret.
As they got to the auditorium, Troy came running back to say that Tammy had gotten very ill so Rob had to take her to emergency. Unbeknownst to Ella and the rest of the family, Tammy had gone into cardiac arrest and the ship had already changed course to get her to land. Once Rob together with the emergency staff stabilized her, she recovered very quickly. Rob was quite adamant that there wouldn’t be a need to get her to land. She stayed on oxygen for the rest of the night, but very much against her wishes.
It was not the first time this had happened. Every time she got any infection of any sort it would put strain on her heart and lungs. A sudden rise or even drop in temperature would always pose a risk. Her oxygen saturation would drop rapidly which was acutely life threatening and dangerous. Administering timeous oxygen in time would quickly reverse the situation.
By the time Ella got to the infirmary, Tammy was already looking much better with a good pink skin tone.
‘I think she must have picked up an ear infection’, said Rob.
Her ears were very red so he immediately started her on an antibiotic.
She didn’t want to stay in the infirmary overnight so Rob asked if they could take the oxygen to their cabin and she would stay with Rob and Ella for the night.
Later Rob told Ella that they had nearly lost her. The thought sent shivers down her spine.
Rob felt the familiar foreboding intensify - his daughter was in big trouble. Her long-term outcome was deteriorating but he wanted to shield Ella from his assessment. Inwardly he agonized, as he would gaze at his plucky daughter, sensing she didn’t have a future, but thinking that she did not know that.
Next morning Tammy was full of the joys of life again. Before dinner the night before they had discussed what activities everyone was keen to do in Cozumel. Tammy had said she wanted to swim with the dolphins, which was a long life dream of hers. The enclosure was huge and part of the ocean so to swim with them in their own natural habitat was for her a dream come true.
‘I don’t think you should swim Tammy,’ Ella urged. ‘You have an ear infection and it will just make it worse.’
Tammy now in her typical fighting mood, was not going to hear any of it. Nothing was going to stop her from swimming with the dolphins.
Very reluctantly Ella conceded. She couldn’t deny the fact that she looked and seemed her jolly self with no signs of any ailment. Ella would make sure that she completed her course of antibiotics.
The rest of the trip was uneventful as far as Tammy’s health went. She kept up with everyone and enjoyed the various activities both on board and on land wherever they docked. Rob watched her like a hawk and was relieved at the stability of her situation.
In the Cayman Islands they did a treasure hunt for real gemstones. It was a fun activity and between them all, they managed to collect quite a few gems, from opals to topaz. After the treasure hunt, they boarded a catamaran and went snorkeling amongst the stingrays.
In Jamaica after a little walk about the town in Ocho Rios, they ventured on a catamaran out to sea. They were amused as to how many catamarans there were called ‘Cool Runnings’. A lot of rum and orange juice was consumed on that little outing. The children sat on the deck sniggering as they watched the adults swaying from side to side. The drinkers had no idea of its potency.
Besides the medical emergency on the first day, cruising the equatorial paradise was a delightful experience. The unique blend of enjoying the luxury commodities of a cruise liner and at the same time exploring islands, experiencing some of the sultry Latin culture, swimming and snorkeling the warm clear blue waters, conjured up some magical moments that will forever be stored in a suitcase full of life long happy memories.
It was an amazing opportunity to reconnect. A family holiday they would never forget.
CHAPTER 16
DRUGS & DESPERATION
Pedro had moved back to live with Amber, but during a visit, which he had with Monica, William and Richard, he told them he felt like a prisoner.
He proceeded to pour his heart out.
‘I have a motorcycle but its broken and my mom won’t give me money to fix it. I also don’t have a license. I have asked my mom so many times to book an appointment and take me but she doesn’t. There is always one excuse or another. She doesn’t have a car, or she hasn’t got money. She just doesn’t seem to care!’
Pedro looked distraught as he conveyed the deep heartfelt pain.
Glancing away, avoiding eye contact, he continued,
‘Nobody wants to employ me. So I drive the tractor on the farm. I pick up horse manure and work like a farm laborer. If I’m lucky my mom will give me some money for that’.
‘What are you planning to do,’ Monica asked.
‘I feel like I am between a rock and hard place. Wherever I turn, the door gets slammed in my face. I’m screwed. Even if I wanted to do more studies, I can’t get anywhere. I’m stuck on that farm!’ He lamented.
‘O, and by the way,’ Pedro now turned to Richard and rapidly continued, ‘you know the 4 wheeler you recently bought Stella for twenty-three thousand Rand? Well mom has just sold it for five thousand!’
Richard was aghast.
He continued still addressing Richard.
‘The computer you bought Stella? It’s broken. Stella has a terrible temper. When the computer doesn’t do what she want
s it to do, she slaps it and kicks it. So now it’s not working. Stella gets into a rage then starts throwing things at me wanting to hurt me.’
Pedro’s confessing was a distress signal. He was desperate. His speech was rushed, and he was fidgety and would keep cracking his knuckles. He was crying for help.
He continued.
‘The other day my mom hit me across the back so hard with a golf club, that it broke.’
‘What?’ Monica was horrified, ‘a golf club? It must have been bloody hard. A golf club has a steel shaft!’
Monica unhesitatingly asked him if he was smoking weed. Pedro admitted that he did.
‘I do because I am so bored and it helps me cope!’
Monica and William were by now growing seriously concerned about the well being of the girls. They kept getting thinner and thinner.
Richard was reluctant to get involved. For now his access to the children had been the best it had ever been. Him raising any issues could well jeopardize that.
Monica tried to talk to Betty but she brushed it off.
She would keep hearing reports that the girls were being neglected and would often miss school and that they looked unkempt.
Amber would stay in bed for days on end. She looked nothing like her former self. Her and Chad were constantly fighting, screaming and swearing in front of the children.
These reports were haunting Monica so she called Ella.
‘There is big shit happening with Amber and if something is not done about it, she is going to destroy not only her own life but that of all her children too,’ said Monica.
Ella was utterly astounded. Something needed to be done about it and urgently.
‘I will call Richard,’ she suggested.
‘Don’t bother. He wants to be an ostrich with his head buried in the sand. He says what proof is there that Amber is on drugs?’ replied Monica.
‘I will call the school where the girls are at. I will speak to their teachers and ask them if they have any reason to be concerned,’ suggested Ella.
