by S M Mala
‘Mermaid. It’s best I’m at your side because she’s probably going to go crazy.’ He noticed Hatty gulped hard. ‘Then I’ll go to work. Dad’s not around for a couple of days so I’ll speak to him later. But I expect Delores will tell him first.’
‘If Murray doesn’t want us to be together for whatever reason, and he’s told you this, he’s going to be pretty mad.’ She turned to face him as he parked outside the gates to the estate. ‘I don’t want you falling out with your father.’
‘He’s your adopted father, you know.’
‘It already sounds messy. We have sort of the same dad,’ Hatty said, looking over at the house.
‘Come here.’ Jake grabbed her face and kissed her lips gently before she pounced back. He was smiling as they kissed passionately then she pulled away, grinning. ‘Are you preparing yourself?’
‘I need to know why this is worth it. Drive on.’
Hatty jumped out of the car and looked around the grounds, knowing some of Murray’s staff had already arrived. She spotted the orange sports car and nudged Jake, who went a little pale.
‘Looks like I’m not the only person afraid here,’ laughed Hatty, knowing Gina would give him hell whereas she had no idea what Delores would do. ‘I think she might be in the kitchen.’
They walked through the house and both did a double take when they saw Delores sitting on the balcony, looking out at the sea.
‘Do you want to start it or shall I?’ he whispered.
‘I’ll do it gently and subtly, build up to the situation slowly,’ she replied and already her heart was pounding fast as they walked up to her. ‘Happy Valentines!’ Hatty waved at her aunt who seemed surprised. ‘Mister Murray hasn’t sent me his secret valentine card so I’ve come to find out where he’s put it.’
‘Hello,’ she said wistfully and stood up. Hatty wondered if something was wrong. ‘I was just thinking about Murray. And Jake? Your father’s not here until-.’
‘I know,’ he said. Hatty noticed the tone of his voice change when he spoke to Delores, it sounded cold. ‘We came to see you.’
‘I see. Do you want a coffee or-.’
‘Auntie I’m in love with Jake!’ Hatty blurted out as he burst out laughing. Delores frowned. ‘Seriously I’m in love with Jake.’
‘He doesn’t seem impressed,’ said Delores with a half-smile.
‘This isn’t a joke. We’re in love,’ she said, flashing him a dirty look as he stopped laughing.
‘I’m in love with Hatty, it’s true,’ he said seriously. Hatty could see he was suppressing a smile. ‘We wanted to tell you first.’
For a moment Hatty saw Delores’s face darken as she slowly shook her head from side to side.
‘What’s wrong?’ Hatty asked gently, stepping forward and knowing her aunt wasn’t happy. ‘I know he’s a bit of a slut but I love him.’
‘Oh Hatty!’ she said angrily, her fists clenched. ‘This is awful!’
‘I’m not that bad!’ said Jake earnestly. ‘And I’m not a slut.’
‘I love him so much,’ Hatty said quietly and felt Jake slip his hand in hers. ‘I want to tell you the truth.’ Delores shook her head from side to side, her face scrunched up in bewilderment. ‘I know it’s not a perfect situation and-.’
‘Not perfect!’ Delores said, quite loudly, as Hatty felt Jake step forward. ‘It’s absolutely ridiculous!’
‘How comes?’ Jake asked. Hatty looked up to see he was glaring at Delores. ‘There’s nothing ridiculous about how we feel about one another.’
‘Says you, who has probably felt up most of the women on the island! What is Hatty now to you? Another girl to fall for your bullshit!’
‘It’s not bullshit!’ he snapped back.
Hatty noticed Ethel walk onto the balcony.
‘What dis noise?’ the woman gruffly asked.
‘They think they’re in love!’ Delores said, taking her hand and pointing to the pair. ‘Can you tell Hatty he’s only going to make a fool out of her?’
‘No I’m not!’ barked Jake angrily as Hatty held onto his hand tightly. ‘I’ve made a few mistakes with Hatty and there’s been a couple of misunderstandings but I love her and-.’
‘Like canoodling with Gina knowing Hatty liked you? Upsetting her on the day you were going back to New York after summer, so much so, she cried for weeks? Then only a fortnight ago she ends up in the sea because you tell her about her father? Yes Jacob, you certainly know how to love a woman!’ Delores glared at him and Hatty felt her breathing getting heavy as she knew her aunt was right.
‘Delores,’ said Ethel as Hatty squeezed Jake’s palm. ‘It up to dem what dey do.’
‘Keep out of it!’ she snapped.
Hatty gulped really hard and was about to open her mouth in defence of Aunt Ethel.
‘Ya not speak to me in dat manner!’ barked the old lady in the loudest voice Hatty had ever heard her produce. ‘Ya are not better dan me! An’ dat chil’ is like me own, so me ‘ave a say in ‘er ‘appiness. Not all about you!’
‘Ethel this is not the time,’ said Delores, shocked by Ethel who was standing firm with her hands on hips.
‘It time!’ the woman growled back, turning to Hatty and Jake. ‘Ya live for now, not tomorrow. Ya love each oder den ya ‘ave ya fun but Master Jake, me not want to ‘ear ya leave Hatty carryin’ a child, ya hear me?’
‘Good grief Auntie Ethel, we’re very safe on that front,’ Hatty said, looking down as her face glowed with embarrassment.
‘You’re having sex with him?’ Delores asked bluntly. Hatty looked up and saw the look of disgust on her aunt’s face. ‘That’s fantastic! You’re cheapening yourself in the process.’
‘How dare you!’ shouted Jake and Hatty felt him release her hand then step towards Delores as she then stepped forward to stop him.
‘I love Jake, he loves me,’ she said quickly. ‘Whatever you think is up to you. I want you to know the truth so we don’t have to lie. I’m sick of lies and if you don’t like it then, I’m sorry, I’m not going to stop being with him.’
‘You’re making a complete fool of yourself, do you know that?’ said Delores angrily to the pair.
‘Leave it Delores,’ said Ethel, walking towards the three of them. ‘When Mister Murray return ‘e will ‘ave sumtin to say. Master Jake, ya be late for work an’ Hatty ya come in da kitchen wid me den walk Barney.’
‘I’ve not finished with her yet!’ snapped Delores.
Hatty could see the rage in her aunt’s eyes and she knew she was in for it.
‘Don’t you dare upset her,’ Jake said quietly. ‘Don’t feed her with bullshit about us. I love her and I’ll make sure nothing comes between us.’
‘Not even your job at ‘The ‘New York Times’’?’ she said sarcastically.
‘I’m prepared for him to go but we have up until the end of May together and I want to be happy,’ Hatty earnestly said. ‘I deserve to be happy for once in my life, don’t I?’
‘She’s such a bitch!’ said Jake, calling Hatty for the umpteenth time on the mobile only to find she wasn’t answering. ‘And why won’t Hatty answer the phone?’
He flung the handset onto the desk as Louisa scowled.
‘You made up?’ smiled Louisa sweetly, while biting into a cheese roll. ‘When?’
‘Yesterday,’ he said furiously and glared at the mobile. ‘I think we should let everyone know. Then when we do, the first person is so negative it makes me mad!’
‘Jacob, it’s not for me to say but Delores isn’t really fond of you. She has a point about your behaviour since you arrived here last year,’ Louisa said, swallowing hard then taking a sip of tea before giggling. ‘And Hatty calling you a ‘slut’ is funny.’
Jake tried not to smile as he was still angry with Delores.
‘Hatty said she was going to do it subtly but blurted it all out,’ he half laughed. ‘I don’t know who was more surprised, Delores or Hatty.’ Jake let out a little sigh. ‘I do love her
and I know no-one believes me but I really do.’
‘Don’t play games, just tell her straight how you feel and what your intentions are then Delores will leave you alone,’ she said sympathetically. ‘Or not, depending on her mood.’
‘My aunt told me some interesting things about her relationship with my father. You know she was apparently sleeping with him when he was chasing Eloise?’ he said, staring at his phone. ‘And then, after all this time, she ends up with him and they keep it under wraps. Shit, if he marries her I’ll disown him.’
‘That’s a little harsh,’ said Louisa, raising her eyebrows. ‘And your father isn’t actually the committed kind is he? Ever wonder she might worry for Hatty due to your genetically link of liking dark skinned girls?’ She smirked. ‘But if Murray Logan look me way, me not say no!’ Louisa laughed as Jake looked at her jovial expression and feigned disgust. ‘Come on, he a handsome man.’
‘My father? Yeah he’s alright and-.’
‘He is more than alright! Let me tell you, he has many women flinging themselves at him and he’s very discreet.’ She leaned closer. ‘Delores would go mad as hell if she found out.’
‘Then maybe she should,’ he smiled, knowing it would cause grief for everyone but he was so pissed off with her reaction that morning, he didn’t care.
‘Don’t go causing trouble,’ she warned, sitting back. ‘No matter what we think, she’s still Hatty’s aunt who looked after her when no one else could.’
‘Or wanted to,’ Jake mumbled, remembering what his father told him about his mother’s reaction. ‘I love Hatty.’
‘So you keep saying,’ replied Louisa, sighing with boredom, looking at her computer screen.
‘I’m writing a book about her.’
‘That’s nice.’
‘A fairy tale.’
‘Hatty would like that.’
‘And she wants me to find out about her father.’ Jake glanced at Louisa and saw her staring at him. ‘I said I would.’ He couldn’t gauge her expression. ‘She knows about him and wants to find out more so she can confirm he was a bastard.’
‘Raping and beating a woman doesn’t need confirmation,’ she said gravely, taking a deep breath. ‘I think you shouldn’t look into it. Just tell Hatty what everyone knows and be done. She asked my father on New Year’s Eve and said she’d heard he died in the house, not in a police cell. Daddy was really upset the next day and wanted to speak to her over lunch but she was preoccupied with someone else.’
‘Me?’
‘Who else? He told both Philip and I not to say anything to her because, I don’t know why, it’s complicated.’
‘He raped her mother, should’ve been charged then turns up dead in a police cell a year later. What’s complicated about that? Hatty said someone told her she’d heard different so it’s just gossip.’ Jake shrugged before smiling. ‘I’ll look in the newspaper archives, get a copy of the story and show her then-.’
‘There’s no story,’ Louisa said quietly, glancing around to see who was listening. ‘I came here on work experience eight years ago. I went to look, there was nothing there.’
‘Why?’
He noticed Louisa looked shiftily at him.
‘Hatty’s not the only one interested in her past. I wanted to know the truth so one day I could tell her. When I tried to find out about him there was no report, nothing, as if it never happened. And what was odd, they usually mention when someone gets married and they never did about Eloise and him. It was as if it was forgotten about.’
‘What about Eloise’s attack? Someone would have known the story and-.’
‘Our fathers might have stopped it from getting out. It’s like they’re hiding it, so no one will remember.’
‘Where’s Carlos’s death certificate? Surely you can’t get rid of that?’ Jake noticed Louisa bite her lip really hard. ‘Are you telling me there isn’t one?’
‘It’s as if the man didn’t exist. The only thing he’s registered on is Hatty’s birth certificate and that could be anyone.’ Louisa stood up and walked around her desk and stood over him. ‘To me it’s saying ‘leave well alone’.’
‘To me it’s saying ‘find out more’.’ He looked up at her and smiled. ‘Will you help me?’
‘I’m not sure. What good is it raking this all up? Hatty feels ashamed,’ she said quietly.
‘She’s nothing to be ashamed of. She didn’t do anything wrong, did she?’
Delores’s head was spinning with rage and hurt. She stood at Murray’s bedroom window and watched Hatty do a cart wheel while playing with Barney.
‘Stupid, stupid girl,’ she said, through gritted teeth as she glared at her.
There was a knock on the door and she noticed Ethel walk in with some clean towels for the bathroom.
‘If ya tell me anytin’ Delores, me not listenin’ to ya,’ said Ethel firmly, putting the towels on the end of the bed. ‘Dey in love.’
‘He’s only out for what he can get,’ she snapped back, angry with the way Ethel spoke to her earlier on.
‘Why so down on da boy? Any fool can see ‘e adore ‘er. Me saw it de first time dey set eyes on each oder an’ me know ya warn her off ‘im.’
‘She’s setting herself up for an almighty fall. He’s going to break her heart and then everyone will expect me to pick up the pieces. This time she’ll have to learn the hard way,’ retorted Delores, shaking her head furiously. ‘I mean, does she expect he’s going to marry her?’
‘When ‘e break ‘er ‘eart, me will look after ‘er,’ said Ethel quietly. ‘An’ when she break ‘is ‘eart, Mister Murray will look after Jake. Delores, why ya object so?’
‘You know why. People will talk then draw parallels with Eloise and Murray. They’ll say it’s history repeating itself,’ she replied, as angry tears shot into her eyes. ‘As if she was the one true love of his life.’
‘Ain’t she?’ the woman replied as Delores glared at her. ‘Me saw dem togeder before she die. De only time me see Murray look like dat is when he lookin’ at Jake or Hatty.’ The comment stabbed into Delores’s chest. ‘He love ‘is children.’
‘She’s not his! I’m the one who looked after her since she was a child. I’m the one who has had to sacrifice so much because-.’
‘Ya tought he’d marry ya?’ Ethel shook her head from side to side as Delores gulped back her pain. ‘Ya tink he want to marry now?’
‘I’m not talking about this!’ she angrily replied and walked across the room to the door.
‘Just because Murray Logan not make ya happy not mean Jake do de same ting to Hatty. If ya see dem togeder, ya know what me mean.’
She avoided going into either one of the houses and stayed on the grounds, playing or hanging outside the kitchen. Hatty knew Delores was still angry and she wanted to tell her aunt everything would be fine and she needn’t worry.
But there was more to it than that.
It was the look on her face she couldn’t gauge.
She hadn’t really seen it before, though it resembled the glances she got months ago Hatty thought was hate. Ethel walked out onto the porch as Hatty sat down on the floor and looked out over the grounds.
‘Ya tink Mister Murray gonna be happy when he ‘ear what ya two doin’ now?’ she said, sitting down on the chair as Hatty turned to face her. ‘One minute ya togeder, de next ya not speakin’.’
‘It was his fault,’ she said bluntly. ‘And I followed your advice and gave him yet another chance.’
‘Dat boy is gonna leave ya, ya know?’
‘I know,’ she smiled and looked at the grey clouds in the sky. ‘But I’ll take all the love I can now and then face that hurdle when I have to. We have three and a half months until then. Today is Valentine’s Day. What a perfect time for us to make up.’
‘Romantic, aye?’ grinned Ethel, letting out a massive sigh. ‘Ya satchel keep ringin’. Me tink ya lover boy been anxious to speak to ya.’
Immediately, Hatty got up and ran
into the kitchen, grabbing her satchel then rummaging for her phone on the bottom. He rang eight times and it wasn’t even lunch. She called him.
‘Don’t you ever answer your phone?’ he said sternly.
She smiled on hearing his voice then noticed Ethel was grinning at her so she turned around.
‘I was tending to the dog. He’s become very hyperactive,’ she said, seeing Barney fast asleep under the tree. ‘How are you?’
‘How are you?’ he whispered and she realised he was walking before she heard the echo of his footsteps.
‘Well, thank you.’
‘Has Delores said anything else?’
‘She’s not said a word since you left this morning and to be honest, I don’t know where she is.’ Hatty looked around the house. ‘And to put it bluntly, she’s not happy.’
‘She hates me.’
‘No one can hate you,’ she laughed. ‘You’re too lovely and she’s just being protective. You know, telling all and sundry isn’t going to get a positive reaction so we might as we get used to it.’
‘What time are you turning up?’
‘I thought you were joking,’ she said, remembering what he said in the morning.
‘It’s Valentine’s Day and I want to take you out to dinner,’ Jake gently replied. ‘Then take you home and make love all night.’
‘It’s a Monday and you have work tomorrow plus I have to clean the house,’ she said, letting out a hefty sigh. ‘Can’t you just come home and we can spend it alone?’
‘I want to do something nice.’
‘Jake.’ She bit her tongue, recalling what he said when they quarrelled about them being locked up and him feeling trapped. ‘Only if we can go to a place so I can eat a proper hamburger.’ Hatty smiled on hearing his laugh. ‘No herbs and all that rubbish.’
‘I love you,’ he said quietly and she smiled.
‘I love you. Now what do you want me to wear?’
Hatty diligently waited by the marina, as instructed by him, and smiled on seeing Jake walk over with Louisa.
‘Well this is a lovely Valentines!’ Hatty declared, standing up as she noticed Jake eye her up and down. ‘You said wear the same red dress you saw me in when I rescued the child from the swimming pool. Here it is but dry this time.’
