In all the years me and Gloria been together we never had more than one night at a time. I was always running to go do something whether it was to make the next delivery or go sort out some problem or just get back to Matthews Lane in case Zhang and Ma getting vex with me for spending too much time with Gloria.
But these few days with her was like nothing I ever imagine. We just there in the house making tea and cooking up anything that grab our fancy, like we got all the time in the world, because although Esther still live there she out running the bank all day and busy ’bout her business at night. But Gloria want me and Esther come look with her for something nice to wear to Esther’s wedding. So one day that is what we do. Esther marrying a Indian call Rajinder that she meet playing volleyball on the beach.
When we leaving the house Gloria put on the jade necklace and ring. Is the first time I ever see her out in them and she look good. Her dark skin just set off the gold. It really make it sparkle and I think to myself the jewellery look better on her than it would have look on Fay.
Another day we go take a picnic to the beach, which me and Gloria never done before, never. We never actually go anywhere in public together before.
It make me start think that maybe this is how it suppose to be with a man and a woman. Ordinary, just calm and regular. That maybe this is what it would have been like all these years if I just go marry Gloria in the first place. If I never let myself get distracted by what she was, and what everybody else think ’bout it. If I never set my sights on being married to Henry Wong’s daughter like that was going lift me outta being a second-class citizen from Matthews Lane.
And then I start have a fancy ’bout what it would be like to be with Gloria like this all the time. What it would be like to live with her, permanent. The picture in my mind make me feel settled and content, but it not a picture of Matthews Lane. And it not a picture of this here house of Gloria’s neither, because although the house nice, it small and quiet, and it all closed in with walls and doors and windows. And even though Matthews Lane little bit more than a concrete yard it got life. It got space and room to breathe. It feel more like it connected to the world, not this silent, cut-off feeling of Gloria’s house.
When I get back to Matthews Lane Finley is waiting for me. I take one look at him and I know it was trouble. I sit down at the table opposite him and I say, ‘OK, tell me what it is.’
‘The two constables.’ And right as soon as him say it I knew I was expecting it all along. I knew that this thing was never going go away. I knew it even that same night after them arrest Xiuquan and was sitting there and smiling at me and drinking my beer. All I was doing was hoping and holding my breath this long time.
‘Yu mean Mutt and Jeff?’
‘Them same two. They get kick outta the police force for drug dealing.’
‘Drug dealing! Yu joking? Isn’t every single one of them doing that same thing?’
‘Well maybe not all of them. The thing with these two constables is they start take the drug business so serious they edging into the territory of some big police captain and this is what cause them the trouble.’
‘So it a police turf war?’
‘Something like that, and the upshot is the two constables outta work and looking to further their career as fully fledge drug dealers because they not even got no police pension now.’
I start to laugh. I can’t believe Finley even bothering to tell me all of this like it have anything to do with us.
‘Is only the two of them and without the uniform they need more muscle so they want to know if we want to go into business with them.’
And that is when I really laugh. I bust my gut.
‘Into business with them! They mad? What on earth make them think I would go into business with them after what they do to me? I would sooner go marry Fay all over again and take all the grief she give me.’
‘We not their first port of call. They been to DeFreitas but it seem them ruffle some feathers over there when they policemen and was busy ripping into DeFreitas’s profit and him none too please with them. So now them think maybe yu will let bygones be bygones because yu recognise that them making yu a good business offer. After all them take the punishment way back when and never say nothing ’bout it. They put it behind them because they know them do yu wrong so maybe yu can just see yu way to say alright.’
‘No, man. They may be desperate but we not reach that stage yet.’
‘Yu want me fix up a meeting so yu can tell them?’
I think on it and I think what do I want to go meet them for? The two of them just a pair of good-for-nothing scoundrel who cross me once before and will do it again. And besides, what do I want to go get mix up in drug dealing for? That is some serious business, especially now that it not just a case of ganja, because this cocaine is bad and I still not forget yet what the British do to China over the opium.
I still sitting there thinking when Finley look at me and say, ‘Yu not going meet with them?’
‘Yu think I should go meet them?’
‘Yu know you should. If yu no do it they will think yu disrespect them.’
So I go meet them and tell them my decision. But just like that night when they bring Xiuquan back to Matthews Lane and apologise for arresting him I can see that they angry inside. And even though I show the respect like Finley say, I don’t think it wash no way with them and I can see that this thing still not done with yet.
Well I don’t want to be no drug dealer but the money situation bad, because the whole ganja thing really getting outta hand. I reckon pretty soon it going to be the only business on the island and the only export Jamaica got to give the world.
Plus, the rise in oil prices is adding to everybody’s troubles, including us, we using so much gas driving ’round from hotel to hotel with all the deliveries. Not that it going last much longer, because every week now the orders getting less and less what with the slump in the tourist trade that the American newspapers cause by telling them readers ’bout how bad the violence is in Jamaica.
Gloria think it good that Michael Manley got so much Cuban engineers here building schools and what not. But I say to her, ‘Yu nuh see how much people worried we going get communism in Jamaica? Every day I open the newspaper, or step outta the yard or look ’pon a fence, somebody been busy scribbling their message ’bout what they think ’bout it. The other day I even see wall where somebody go paint on it “Manley is a traitor”.’
‘What you want from him? He trying to make a better Jamaica while everybody just worrying ’bout themself. They going lose their freedom. They going lose their money. We going lose democracy. What good did democracy ever do for poor people?’
I dunno what Gloria talking ’bout. Is like she so happy with how friendly Manley is with Castro she can’t see how bad the situation is getting. Even just last week Milton take out a van full of groceries and have to leave it by the roadside and run for cover when him get caught in the middle of some big shootout. It costing me money. As well as now it seem like we risking life and limb just to go deliver some rice and flour ’cross town. Gloria don’t seem to understand that the longer this go on the more people is talking ’bout how the USA going invade us like what happen in Cuba.
But every time I talk to her ’bout what going on all Gloria can say is, ‘What you want from him?’ Even after he go back up Castro for taking troops to Angola.
‘The Angolan government ask Castro for Cuba’s help to defend their country from the South African army invasion. Yu think he should have said no?’
‘No. They ask for his help.’
‘So yu think Manley should have go along with it when Henry Kissinger ask him to condemn the Cuban action?’
‘No, Gloria. I think Manley do the right thing. A man got to stand up for what he believe in and stand by his friends.’
‘So what yu want from him?’
‘I don’t know, Gloria, but now they cut off our US aid we practically bankrupt overnight, and now we going have to go borrow a whole ton of money. And paying that back with the interest them want is going kill us.’
Gloria don’t say nothing because I think deep down inside, even though she so smitten with Cuba, she know Jamaica is in trouble.
When Manley go to the International Monetary Fund for help they agree to give us the money but in return they want a devaluation of the Jamaican dollar; a reduction in government spending; a increase in taxes; and tight wage controls.
What we get from all of that was unemployment and poverty, and no social welfare. And a bunch of people that think they got nothing left to lose except the miserable few streets in the neighbourhood they think is their territory. So if we think we see violence before we had no idea just how bad it could get. It was outright warfare. Right out there in the street. Shootouts, fires, bombings, rape, murder, everything. And all the time there was rumours that all of this was part of a CIA operation to destabilise the country because America didn’t want another Cuba right there in their back yard.
So finally on 19 June 1976 they declare a State of Emergency, the second one since Independence.
Sun Tzu say, ‘ To win battles and take your objectives, but to fail to exploit these achievements is ominous and may be described as “wasteful delay” .’
I write to Mui:
I know you finish your law degree now but things very bad down here in Jamaica. It so bad the government even introduce a new law to make illegal possession of a firearm a crime punishable by mandatory life sentence. They have set up a Gun Court to provide quick trials for those charged with gun offences. They have amnesties and they even using shock treatment on the gunmen. But life sentences and amnesties don’t make jobs or put food on the table, so there is open gang warfare in the street. This is not the Jamaica you have in your mind. Not the Jamaica I want you to be coming home to. So you carry on studying for your barrister bar exam. Things will get better down here.
In December 1976 Michael Manley win a second term of office, but as time go on him social reforms was gradually grinding to a halt because we owe so much money in foreign debt and we had to concentrate on paying it off. Plus, we still losing skilled people. And it wasn’t just the Chinese and it wasn’t all over money. All sort of people was leaving, and for a lot of them it was because they just couldn’t take the violence no more.
With all of this going on I never get to see Michael, he so busy trying to do something ’bout poor relief. And then I get a note from him.
Pao,
Please see the attached. It would mean such a lot to me if you decided to come.
Michael.
The attached was a official invitation to attend at Holy Trinity Cathedral when the Right Reverend Bishop Kealey is to be installed as His Grace the Most Reverend Michael Kealey, Archbishop of Kingston.