by Teisha Mott
“Hey!” Came the smooth, deep voice. Klao wondered if he could indeed sing ‘Ole Man River’. “Isn’t this better than texting?”
“Much!” Klao agreed. She marked her page in her Law Review, gathered Minx into her arms, and moved to the living room. She picked up the remote control and turned on the television.
“So how are you?” Matt asked.
“Fine. You?”
“Hanging in there.”
“What time is your meeting?”
“Five. It’s a short one. Should be done by six.”
“What’s it about?”
“Top secret! I would tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.”
“You are so cryptic!” Klao said, a bit annoyed.
“I prefer mysterious!”
“So, how does one get to be a part of a church board?” Klao asked.
“First, one has to go to church, and go more often than on ‘Special Days’, Klao Melissa Persaud.”
“Hey, it’s not my fault my family isn’t religious, Matthew Levi St. James.” Klao pulled her legs under her butt, and turned to the TV guide channel.
“I thought you were, though!” Matt said. “Should have known better when you wanted to start eating without saying grace!”
“Hah!” Klao blushed, remembering how she had dove into her salmon last night before saying grace. “Why did you think I was religious?”
“Well, your car radio was on TBC, then, I saw your CDs – Brooklyn Tab, Kirk Franklin… Then you got my name reference…”
“I like gospel music, and although I don’t go to church often, I read my Bible! Anyone who has ever read the Bible knows about the Apostles. And I like listening to Focus on the Family on TBC. I also like ‘Free Indeed’.”
“I find ‘Free Indeed’ a bit ‘fromage’!” Matt declared.
“Fromage?” Klao tittered. “Oh, so someone knows a word!”
“I looked up that one specially to use on you.” Matt retorted. “Can’t have you giving me a vocabulary lesson every time we talk.”
Klao smiled. She was enjoying their friendly banter. “So why do you think ‘Free Indeed’ is ‘fromage’?”
“Too much melodrama! I’ve been in church from before I was born, and trust me, I’ve seen it and heard it all. But those stories…”
“So you are on the church board and you don’t believe that Jesus can work in wonderful ways on even the stoniest of hearts? You don’t believe He can intervene in the life of one who is on the brink of disaster and take them back to safety?” Klao said with mock incredulity in her voice, while she tried to sound as melodramatic as possible. “You don’t think it is possible for one to have a Damascus Road experience? You don’t believe that ‘if the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed’? I am going to report you to the Minister when I come to church with you!”
“Now that, my friend, would be interesting!” Matt commented. “Melodrama at its highest!” Klao heard the sound of his ‘call waiting’. “Gimme a sec!”
Klao waited for Matt to come back on the line. She looked at Minx, who was staring at her curiously. She could almost read his thoughts.
“We are just friends, Minx!” She told him.
Minx made a funny, groany noise, which she was sure meant, “So you say!”
She pushed him off her lap. “I don’t know why you and Bianca don’t get on! You are exactly alike!”
Matt came back on the line. “It’s not that I don’t think God can bring people back from the edge, or that the Damascus Road experience is impossible. I just think you are supposed to be able to testify without all that bad acting!”
Matt was not wrong, Klao thought. The stories were deep, but the acting sucked. It was worse than another of her favourites, ‘Adventures in Odyssey’! She said just that to Matt.
“Wait!” He declared. “For someone who is not religious, you certainly have all the programmes down, my girl!”
“Perhaps I was religious in another life!” Klao joked.
“Or perhaps you need to get serious in this one.”
A chill ran up Klao’s spine. She could tell Matt was not kidding around, and he certainly touched a nerve. It was something she thought about a lot, but always pushed to the back of her mind when the feeling got too intense. One Sunday, she had been driving home from brunch at her grandparents, and a sermon was playing on the radio. She had only been listening with one ear, but heard very clearly when the preacher started talking about the worth of her soul. That message had made her uncomfortable. She quickly switched stations to FAME FM, which was playing love songs. The preacher’s words had nagged her for weeks. Now, Matt was saying pretty much the same thing.
Klao did not know how to comment. Fortunately, she did not have to, as Matt’s ‘call waiting once more interrupted their conversation.
“Hold on, Klao…”
Klao was glad to hold. She looked at the muted TV screen. The TV was on ABC Family, and ‘A Cinderella Story’ starring Hillary Duff and Chad Michael Murray was on. She wondered whether Hillary or Chad Michael ever considered the need to be religious, or the worth of their souls.
Matt was back. “Sorry about that,” he said.
“No prob!”
“I have to take this one,” Matt continued. “Then I have to finish working on my notes for my meeting. We can talk later?”
“Sure!” Klao tried to sound upbeat. Anyway, it was not like she had anything else to do or anyone else to talk to that evening. She wondered for a brief moment whether she should call Ricard Shalkowski.
“Bye then!”
“Bye, Matt. Have a good meeting!”
Klao hung up and threw the cordless phone on to the coffee table. She looked at Minx, who was looking at her.
“I’m telling you, Minx, we’re just friends!” Klao insisted. “I don’t like him like that.”
Minx continued to stare at her.
“I don’t – I swear…”
Minx did not even blink.
“You know what?” Klao rolled her eyes and got off the couch. “I don’t know why I am even arguing with you. What the hell do you know? You are a shih poo. You chase your ass when you’re bored!”
She went to the kitchen to see whether there was anything to eat. She was kind of sorry she had rejected Grandma’s offer to stay for dinner, but Bianca was working Sunday night, and she did not want to be alone with her grandparents while they grilled her on ‘Megamart Matt’. She smiled to herself as she pulled a box of Homestyle curry goat out of the freezer. She wondered whether that is what they would call Matt when they met. She wondered how Matt would react to being called ‘Megamart Matt’. He would probably find it funny. Nothing bothered Matt. He would probably be the only one who would not be disturbed by Grandpa’s constant references to death. Knowing Matt, he would probably get Grandpa to stop… Klao caught herself. Wait one bloody minute. Was she actually thinking about Matt meeting her grandparents? Her family? “Back this mother up!” She thought, shaking her head. She glanced at Minx. He was staring up at her, and Klao could almost swear that he was reading her mind.
“Shut up!” She warned, pointing at him with the Homestyle box.
Minx offered three tiny yaps, which Klao translated as ‘Whatever, dude!” before exiting the kitchen and curling up in his box.
Klao rolled her eyes. “Damn dog!” She muttered as she turned the stove on. “He and his damn attitude!”
She left her Homestyle curry goat bubbling on the stove and returned to her office to continue making notes for her case.
***
‘Cerebral Palsy in children can arise from events early in a child’s life such as failure to diagnose or treat jaundice (hyperbilirubinanaemia and kernicterus)’… Klao made a note in the corner of her file to remind herself to call her mother for more information about hyperbilirubinanaemia. She should have done so weeks ago, but she kept forgetting. She had remembered at Bianca’s party, but when she raised the subject, Kimberly DeLis
ser had waved her off.
“Oh Klao, don’t perplex me about hyperbilirubinanaemia now!” She had said, then proceeded to tell Klao how cute she looked in her little maroon frock, and reminded one of the guests about a time when Klao, only 5 years old, insisted on wearing her pink ballet tutu with a pair of red leggings and a green tank top to her Prep School Christmas party. Klao had wanted to accessorise with a blue hand bag and Punky Brewster sneakers, thinking that was high fashion, and she looked as smashing as an Izzy model. Mortified, Klao had excused herself and went to talk to Margaux and Evan.
Klao glanced at the clock on the wall. It was eight thirty. She sighed and adjusted the temperature of the air conditioning unit. It was insanely hot, even for the middle of July. Klao had just taken a shower, and put on her blue and white cotton Winnie the Pooh short pyjamas and settled into her office. She was feeling tired, but it was still early, and she had work to do. She had to be prepared for court Monday morning.
Klao glanced down at Minx who was slobbering all over his chewable bone, and making weird sounds.
“Are you okay under there sweet-pea?” She asked, and Minx took the opportunity to abandon his bone and leap into her lap.
“Who is a cute baby!” She murmured in an annoying baby voice. “You are, Minxy! Yes, you are!” She ruffled his fluffy face, and planted a kiss to his forehead. Minx licked her face. “But now you have to stay on the ground, because I have to finish this...”
The sound of her buzzer startled her. Who on earth could be at the gate? She was not expecting anyone over! She looked at Minx. Minx looked at her curiously, wondering as well who could be stopping by after eight in the evening.
Klao padded to the intercom, with Minx traipsing behind her, and pressed the talk button.
“Who is it?”
“Matt!” Came the reply and Klao gasped.
Matt? She looked at Minx. He was looking at her. What on earth was he doing at her house? “What’s he doing here?” She asked Minx.
Minx responded with a bark that meant, “Let him in and find out, dufus!”
“Come in, Matt!” Klao said, pressing the button to open the gate.
She picked up her puppy and went to the door. Sure enough, there was Matt, parking next to her CRV.
“Hey!” She called as he got out of the Tiida. “What are you doing here?”
“I just left church and thought I would just stop by…” Matt said. He strode over to her, a big grin on his face. “I should have called first... I hope it’s alright…”
Matt had got to the door. Klao looked at him, dressed in his dress shirt and pants and tie. He was wearing cuff links as usual. It was the first time Klao had ever stood before him barefoot, and she noticed that he was much taller than she was – and skinny like a bean pole. He was just looking down on her and smiling. He looked, she realised, like Nick Cannon.
“It’s fine! Come in! Welcome!”
Matt smiled as he stepped over the threshold, entering Klao’s apartment for the first time. “Nice apartment!”
“Thanks!” Klao smiled and pressed Minx closer.
Matt noticed the puppy. “Who’s this?”
“This is Minx Persaud!” Klao said. “Minx, this is my friend, Matthew Levi St. James. He should have become an Apostle, but he became a do-gooder instead.”
“It’s just Matt!” Matt corrected. He petted Minx. “Nice to meet you Minx. Aren’t you a pretty puppy! Can you shake hands?”
Klao smiled again, as Matt took Minx’s fluffy paw. Matt was the first person apart from Caitlin who was kind to Minx on first introduction. Bianca did not like him at all, and Andie insisted that he was not a dog. Her parents had asked her if she was sure she wanted that strange looking house dog, and had suggested she could wait until she had a real house, then she could have a yard, and a real dog – like a Labrador or a German Shepherd. Dylan and Darrin never referred to him as Minx, but as ‘Klao’s weird looking dog’. And she did not think Minx was weird looking. She thought he was adorable. Apparently, Matt agreed.
“He is a really nice dog. Can I hold him?”
Klao looked at him suspiciously. “Are you going to throw him?”
“Do I look like the sort of person who would through a puppy?” Matt responded, holding out his arms.
Much to Klao’s surprise, Minx went to him willingly. Minx was usually wary of new people, especially since he had received a baptism of fire from Klao’s brothers and cousins who abused him constantly. She looked at Minx looking comfortable in Matt’s arms.
“He likes you! And he doesn’t normally like people so quickly.”
“Because he is a good judge of character; aren’t you, Minx?” Matt patted Minx again, and Minx was just enjoying the attention. “You know good people when you meet them, unlike some other nameless people in this room, who take forever to warm up!”
“Hardy har!” Klao spat. “Shut up and have a seat. Can I get you something to drink? Juice? A soda? Water?”
“I’m fine, for now!” Matt said, sitting, and putting Minx on the couch next to him. “What were you doing?”
“Making notes for my court case tomorrow.” Klao sat next to him.
“What’s it about?”
“I’m suing a particular hospital for negligence. The doctor’s lack of care led a perfectly healthy five week old baby to develop cerebral palsy. He is four years old now, and he cannot even balance his head. His parents don’t have enough money to afford the hyperbaric treatments he is going to have to get, and his professional care for the rest of his life.”
“Yet, they can afford legal fees!” Matt said wisely.
“I am working on contingency! They pay me when the hospital pays them, and the hospital will be paying!”
“How can you be so sure that the child was not predisposed to CP?” Matt asked. “It doesn’t have to be the hospital’s fault!”
“Well, in this case it is! The family has no history of CP, and besides, CP isn’t genetic. The baby was born perfectly healthy. He developed jaundice and the doctors told the mother to sun the child – this ridiculous old wives tale – but the Bilirubin just kept getting higher and higher. Now, I am not a doctor, but if the child is getting more and more jaundiced, I would think that the doctors should have picked up that something was awry…”
“The doctors should have picked up that something was awry? And not the mother? The person who is with him 24/7?”
“She was a new mother, Matt! It was her first baby. She wouldn’t know that something was wrong…”
“Exactly! New parents are usually more vigilant than long time parents. If it were my baby, I’d be at the hospital every second badgering the doctors, not frying him to a crisp in the sun every day!”
“Well, the doctors should have known better!” Klao stubbornly held to her point. “The baby did not have every day, run-of-the-mill jaundice. This was severe jaundice.”
“The mother is equally liable!” Matt was also holding to his viewpoint. “I will have that drink now, if you’re still offering – water please, and I don’t take ice!”
“Do you think this is the Ravi P?” Klao asked, getting out of the couch and heading towards the kitchen.
“It’s the Klao P – close enough!” Matt followed her. “Your apartment is really nice.”
“You said that already!” Klao reached into the cupboard for a bottle of water.
“And I really mean it!” Matt looked around. The apartment was as funky and colourful as her office. It was obvious that her personality was also colourful and zany. Matt liked it. “Do you mind me asking if you own or rent?”
“It’s mine!” She held out a bottle of Pellegrino and a bottle of Dasani. “Sparking or regular?”
“Regular will do!” He waited until she returned the bottle of Pellegrino to the cupboard and reached for a glass.
“One bedroom or two?”
“Two!”
“You own your own 24 hour secured, gated, two bedroom apartment in Millsboroug
h! Not bad for a poor suffering litigator!”
“Well, this is actually the fruits of being a Persaud snob!” Klao smiled. “My parents bought it for me!”
“Ah! You really are a trust fund brat!”
“Guilty!” Klao poured the water. “Only trust fund brats can, at 26, actually own this kind of real estate in Jamaica without mortgaging their soul, or getting it from their sugar daddy!” She handed Matt the glass and a coaster.
“Thank you!” Matt took his glass and followed Klao back to the living room.
“Your meeting ran long!” Klao noted.
“It was over at six,” Matt explained. “I stayed behind for Sunday evening services.”
“Wow! You are a dedicated church man!” Klao was impressed. “Getting dressed up in long sleeve shirt and tie with cuff links and the like for board meeting and then staying behind for Sunday night service? And what is up with the cuff links? I never knew men under eighty still wore cuff links!”
“Men with style wear cuff links!” He took a huge gulp of his water, and motioned to her. “By the way, nice outfit!”
Klao blushed. She had totally forgotten that she was wearing her Winnie the Pooh short pyjamas.
“I didn’t know women over seven still wore Winnie the Pooh!”
“Whatever dude!” Klao took the glass from his hands, and took it to the sink. She could feel him watching her, and hoped her bright pink Victoria’s Secret cheeky hipster underwear was not showing through the thin cotton shorts. “So how was your meeting?”
“Annoying. It was impromptu – deciding the fate of a young couple ‘caught in sin’!”
Klao looked at him. “Caught in sin? Are you kidding me?”
“My thoughts exactly!” Matt said. “He’s a deacon and she sings on the choir, but somehow they managed to get knocked up. Now they are going to be read out!”
“Isn’t there anything you can do to stop it?” Klao asked. She did not know those people, but she imagined how horrible they must feel, having succumbed to each other, and now the whole church knew. She recalled how horrible she felt after succumbing to Vishal and her family found out! She had not been able to look her father in the eye for a long, long time. And sometimes, even years later, she still felt weird about it.