by Inia Jardine
Bella nods & stands up, then Howie stands up too, smiles at us and Bella blurts out ‘I am going to be a mommy too.’
‘This lovely lady has decided to make an honest man out of this old goat. Isn’t that wonderful? And I am going to be a daddy’ Howie beams.
‘Bella! For real? My word, this is amazing news! Why didn’t you tell us before’ I blurt out and then realise as they are all looking at me with perplexed faces. I guess there might not have been a suitable opportunity for good news during the past few weeks. All four of us hug each other in turn and this sad, sad day has suddenly turned into a happy one. I cannot believe that I am going to have a little baby girl to love and care for. Even better, my best friend is getting married and she is going to have a tiny mini-me. I can just imagine this little Bella look-alike. I hope it’s a girl.
Jonah and I are on our way to Lyon yet again, this time to go and fetch our grandchild, soon to be our legally adopted daughter. Little dark skinned, jewel eyed Desiree. We have decided to give her a second name, Hyacinth, in honour of Jonah’s mom. The Hibbert gene will live on, in all its dark azure eyed glory.
I can’t wait to hold little Dezzi in my arms and give her all the love she deserves. She is not to blame for the horrible events perpetrated by her parents. I will never tell her though, or blame her for her biological parents plot to kill her grandpa. That information is better buried in a deep dark hole, sealed with a great big chunk of concrete.
Jonah has struggled with the realization that the rifles and explosives on board the doomed plane were meant to exterminate him. Well, most probably me and everyone with him at that given moment as well, all just for the sake of greed. Greed of a daughter indoctrinated with hatred and envy towards her absentee biological father.
So much so, that the hatred turned her into a devious, evil murderer. She almost cost Jonah his leg, the love of his life (me), his land and even his life. And she was the cause of Kiki being hurt, my beloved dog could have died.
Hate can make you evil, poison you beyond reason…The words of the old song comes back to me. ‘You have to be taught to hate and fear…’ I wonder if her mother badmouthed Jonah and made him into a monster in Solange’s mind?
The police investigators concluded that Solange and Armand had tracked Jonah from Jamaica and kept an eye on him, on us - all these years. They got involved with V, L & F, and were as such instrumental to the spying on our land, the theft, the original threat, and Jonah’s eventual kidnapping and torture.
They must have known everything about us and I go cold all over thinking of what might have happened had fate taken a different turn during any of these incidents.
∞∞∞
A few weeks later
Bella, my best friend, the gorgeous goddess, floats down the aisle at the Arumvale Castle ballroom a few weeks later. She is absolutely stunning in an ivory coloured long, strapless dress with gold trim. Large golden hoop earrings and a broad gold choker round off this special bridal outfit. Her veil is gold silk and is held back with a jewel encrusted golden headband. She looks every inch the Mayan goddess, straight out of Eldorado.
Some of her family have came over from the States for the wedding, and her estranged sister who lives a few hours away, is also there with her two naughty little boys. I am happy for Bella that she came, but doubly glad that Desiree is such a good, quiet baby. I would never have been able to stand naughty children like those around me all the time.
In her hand Bella holds a bouquet containing one single central stem with five perfect blooms, that of the imperial Inca Lily, surrounded by a cloud of gypsophila, otherwise known as baby’s breath. Very apt for the occasion as her little three-month old bump has started to show.
Desiree, or Cynthe as we call her now, and I are her attendants, dressed in burgundy with cream accented crushed velvet. I am carrying her as she is not very steady on her feet yet. We both have crowns of Inca lilies and baby's breath in our hair. Jonah is the most handsome best man ever in his dark tux with burgundy tie, now walking only with a cane, and Howie looks suave in a dark tux with a golden coloured tie. He sports a single Inca lily bloom pinned to his button hole. Standing at the altar Bella and Howie make a stunning couple.
As they say their vows Jonah and I smile adoringly at each other. We have grown even closer after the second tragedy and we are committed to raising Cynthe as our own. Nobody enquires about her sudden appearance in our lives, as she so obviously resembles Jonah.
Sometimes I am thankful for the British reserve. No uncomfortable questions have been asked. The police have closed all their dockets and we have been exonerated of all wrongdoing. We even got our guns back.
As they say I do and kiss each other I dab at my eyes to stop the happy tears. Cynthe breaks the emotional moment by calling out to Jonah and squirming out of my embrace. We all share a laugh together.
All is well.
Life is good again.
21
Rocky Point St Thomas Jamaica
Christmas
Jonah, Cynthe and I have just arrived to spend Christmas in Jamaica. Everywhere we go people remark on our beautiful baby girl. They do not add that we are surely too old to have a small baby as we are so obviously in love. They may suspect something is off, but are too well mannered to remark on it. Some people ask whether she is our granddaughter and we just smile and say ‘no, our daughter.'
Jonah turns fifty-three tomorrow, and I have just had my forty-eighth birthday. Cynthe is almost a year old now and a very busy baby. But good.
We have come here to close the circle which was left open with all our tumultuous trials and tribulations, starting with my sudden departure two years ago from this lovely place. After the shortest holiday in the history of Jamaica!
We have driven up to Gorgoleta Estate but it is closed to the public with huge electronic gates and fences surrounding the estate. We have heard via the grapevine that the current owner, an eccentric Cuban billionaire, apparently left most of Jonah’s heritage intact. He has just added the latest technology and tall fences around the property to assist him in running his secret empire from here.
We drive past and then return to our holiday cottage at the hotel. We have booked the same bungalow as what I had the very first time we met, in 2012. It seems like it was just the other day but so much have happened in these few years.
Jonah walks very well now, he has gotten used to his slightly shorter leg, and we immediately go for a walk on the beach. Cynthe loves the sand and proceeds to eat great big mouthfuls of it.
‘Hey Mon, don’t do dat mon.’
Jonah is right back into Jamaican mode. Cynthe laughs at him and offers him a handful.
‘I am going to be handing out digestive tablets soon if you two insist on eating the beach! Let’s rather take a swim!’ I take Cynthe who is looking extra cute in her pink polka dotted bikini, and she happily plays and splashes together with us as we have fun in the waves. In the water Jonah is like a porpoise, but I can't swim properly so I just jump around in the shallow water with Cynthe and splash a lot.
Tired out but happy we stroll back slowly as the sun starts dipping down behind the hill and part of the ocean. ‘Jonah, look at that glorious sunset. Remember our first night at Pebbles on the Beach, I wonder if they will remember us, if the same people are still there. It has been more than two years. Let’s go and have a drink.’
‘If Cynthe is happy to sleep there in her little carry cot, I’m on. She does not seem to be too bothered by the sticky sand still left behind on her body after we towelled her off.’
‘Hey, Prof Hibbert! Nice to see you. Hi to your wife and little baby too!’
‘Hey Dean, good to see you are still around.'
‘Yes Prof, but the restaurant is mine now. I did get my degree though but I had to keep working to look after my family. My wife, well, girlfriend back then, Patricia, was pregnant and had twins! There they are, lovely little girls who are under my feet all the time when she brings the
m over, but I love them so much. They will turn two this year and I have to teach them to take over from me one day!’
‘Our baby here, Cynthe, is only a year old as we waited a bit longer than you...’
‘She is fine-looking Prof; she looks a lot like you.’
‘Thanks Dean. She is gorgeous hey. Just like my wife if she were to be dipped in the best Swiss dark chocolate.’
I smile and kiss him on his cheek.
‘Now I remember you Mrs Hibbert, it was a long time ago but you were just as in love. You are the South African lady aren’t you?’
‘How do you ever remember that Dean? Jonah Casanova here must have brought many girlfriends to your restaurant over the years.’
‘Yes but you are the only one he brought back...and back again...and back again...’
‘I see your leg Prof, bad luck hey. Heard about that. But you are still fortunate to have a wife and baby who love you.’
‘Can’t agree more Dean, can’t agree more.’
Hey guys, did you hear about that cool guy who owns Gorgoleta Estate now? He still calls it Gorgoleta. He is swamped in money; you should see his Ferrari!’
‘No Dean, we just heard that the person who bought it from me apparently is an eccentric Cuban or American billionaire but I never met him. It was all done through lawyers.’
‘Prof, it is actually a Cuban owner now. Well, he is very light but speaks like me! Like a real local. Maybe he was born here. Looks like he can be a drug lord...he has his own jet...and then that gorgeous Ferrari, the same colour as the ocean. But he is actually a good guy, I have talked to him a bit. He comes here sometimes.
Looks at the birds and stuff. He is apparently rehabilitating the land. But nobody ever hears about him much, he is a bit of an enigma.’
‘That is intriguing Dean, we might go and introduce ourselves to him. If he will see us. It would be interesting to get a glimpse of what he did with the place. And a glimpse of that Ferrari!’
Much later as we get into bed Jonah turns to me. ‘Lilia, Chameleon, I love you very much. Always will. Thanks for sticking up for me and sticking to me these past years, I have been an ogre at times. Thanks for helping me love Cynthe.’
‘Jonah, stop talking and start doing what you do best. She is eventually asleep in the other room and like all young parents we must make the most of our free time!’
Although it is not the ram against the wall and bonk your head off type of loving, it is fine. Very fine. Jonah can still make me feel enraptured at the drop of a hat. With one wonky leg and a long lost grandchild he is still the best, the very best a woman could ever want.
'Hey Jonah.'
'Hmm?'
'You know that all I ever wanted to do was dance, and how many times have you taken me dancing?'
'Not enough Lilia, and I am sorry about that. Now we can't ever dance again. Do you really want me and my gimpy leg to hobble along with you to a tune?'
'Only if you don't want me to find another guy to dance with.'
A few moments later we are slow dancing, naked as the day we were born, to the sounds of night birds and frogs outside our open windows. It smells like rain and I can see lightning in the far distance. Jonah sings softly to me 'Visions of Blue, remind me of you...' He smirks at my old faux pas. Are you happy, really happy Lilia?'
‘Yes. Thoroughly.’ I give him a stupid grin. And a glimpse of happy tears. 'Kiss me Jonah. Like only you can. Soft and long and deep that I can feel the earth move.'
As we drift off to a peaceful sleep I hold Jonah tight and think of the words of our song Magic.
I do believe that we are magic, that we have a dream that came through a million years, one which lived on through all our tears and became our Xanadu. It came to me in the shape of Jonah, my life, my love and my heart. Wish I can tell Italiano that.
After showing our little girl her ancestral country, we will be home at Xanadu in two weeks time to start the rest of our lives. Jonah, Cynthe, Willow, Rainbow, Flower, Kiki and I.
While talking to Dean today I was reminded of my childhood dream of having a big domestic and wildlife sanctuary. I have always dreamed of a place where all unwanted animals would be welcome to live out their natural lives. I must breathe life into that idea when we get home. We have the land and the means, it would be so fulfilling. I wonder if that will be possible. It could be the dream - the dream that came to Xanadu after the tears were wiped away.
The next morning, I wake up to find Jonah paging in the local phone directory.
'What you doing my darling? Did Cynthe wake you up?’
‘No, she is still sleeping, I am looking for the number of the realtors who originally sold my land. I want to ask them to organise an appointment with the current owner of Gorgoleta Estate for us. If he is willing.’
‘That would be great, I would love to go with you. What we have to do today as well, is go on one of those submarine tours. I have decided to give my claustrophobia a direct challenge, immersion therapy, because I just have to see the undersea world up close. I have always shied away from it but now is the time. You have to go with me to hold my hand though. Will you?’
‘Of course my love. Just wait before you book a time, let’s just see what happens with the appointment first. Oh, hallo. Is this Gilbert Estate Agency? I would like to speak to Laurelle Gilbert. Thank you. He whispers to me ‘She is still there Lilia, after all these years! She was an elderly lady before, she must be ancient now...’
‘Prof Hibbert’, the voice comes loud and clear. 'Nice to hear from you. How can this ancient lady assist you, looking for land in St Thomas again?’
‘What’s happening Laurelle! Great to hear you have not retired yet’ and he laughs that special laugh of his and wakes little Cynthe up in the process.
‘Jonah, pipe down my love. We are not on the farm now.’
He shrugs his shoulders like he is a duck with irritating droplets on his wings. ‘Laurelle, I need your help. The guy who owns Gorgoleta Estate, ...yes...and he listens
...yes. Oh, a company? We found out that his name is Henri someone or other. Coelho? Oh not another French guy,’ he sighs theatrically. 'No, no don’t worry - it’s just a personal thing. He is Cuban? Can you put me in touch with him please Laurelle?’
‘OK, I will wait to hear from you. Yes, Room 36, outside bungalow not in the hotel. Hear from you soon. Bye.’ As Jonah hangs up he takes Cynthe from me and tickles her. ‘Who is a pretty little butterfly then? Smile for Daddy.'
I love to dress her in pastel colours with birds and butterflies and creatures on, I want to teach her to love animals and nature like we do. The world needs more caring, considerate and kind people.
She looks at him adoringly, crinkle up her huge Hibbert eyes and lets out a yell of pleasure. He would have made a great dad if he had the opportunity to with Solange, she may have turned into a better person. If only she was blessed to have him in her life during her formative years.
‘The noise level must be another indestructible Hibbert trait Jonah, and another very adorable one’ with one hand I pull Jonah closer and with the other I caress my little girl's face. She is such a good kid, not stuck-up and evil like her mom and dad were. But noisy, phew!
He lowers Cynthe into the camping cot slowly, fumbles to find her favourite stuffed toy, a multi coloured sea horse, switches on her little starfish mobile and crawls back under the sheets with me.
‘You multi-task pretty well.’
I am so glad that he did not lose his loving & playful nature like in Lyon that awful time, this easy-going beautiful stud of mine. ‘Jonah, I have something for you if you meet me deep down under the covers...’
Stars of ecstasy twinkle all around us both pretty soon and I feel the glow of pleasure. As Jonah shudders hot and thick inside me the phone rings.
'Oh no, I have to get that, it will be Laurelle. But you got your rocks off hey my darling.’
‘If you pull out now I'm going to kill you. Just stretch for the ph
one old man.'
It is too far and he slips out of me. While he talks to Laurelle I get Cynthe from her cot.
‘Cynthe, come and snuggle with your mom, I will get you breakfast now-now.' The little soft brown body feels so tiny against me after Jonah’s massive one. I love them both to bits though.
