by Teisha Mott
“No,” Matt said sadly. “It is not my decision to make. Plus, unfortunately, it is public sin, so disciplinary action has to be taken – to preserve the integrity of the church.”
“What are you going to do? Stone them?” Klao chuckled.
“Not quite! We’ll just withdraw the right hand of fellowship.”
“So how does that work exactly?” Klao asked, being serious. “I mean, I always hear my cousin, Andie, talking about people being disfellowshipped. She goes to a Seventh-day Adventist Church…”
“She does?” Matt asked, surprised. “Which one?”
“The one by the High School. She said when someone is disfellowshipped, the person still comes to church, but can’t really participate in anything, and six months later, has to be baptised again. Is it the same at your church?”
“Pretty much,” Matt said. “Your cousin is Seventh-day Adventist?”
“Yes!” Klao finished washing the glass and rejoined Matt on the couch. Minx was sitting next to Matt, staring at him. “I’m not, though.”
“Why not?”
Klao wrinkled her nose. “Because it’s weird!”
“What’s weird about it?”
“I don’t know really… It just does not seem natural to go to church on Saturday.”
“Maybe Seventh-day Adventists think it is weird that other people go to church on Sunday!”
“That’s the same thing Andie said!”
Matt did not respond. He looked at Minx, who was sitting between him and Klao. “Klao Melissa, is there any reason in particular that your dog is looking at me like that?”
Klao smiled and looked at Minx. Sure enough, he was staring his puppy stare at Matt.
“That’s his MO! He loves staring at people. Sometimes, he and I stare at each other for hours on end.”
“With all due respect to your dog; I mean, he’s cute and everything, but I think you need to find someone else’s eyes to stare into for hours on end!”
Klao blushed again. What was it about this man that made her blush so much? “How do you know I don’t have anyone else whose eyes I can stare into?”
“I don’t, but one can live in hope!”
Klao looked at her French pedicured toes, too embarrassed to even look at Matt, or to speak.
“Well?” Matt asked. She could tell he was staring at her as intensely as Minx was staring at him.
“Well, what?” Klao asked, finally looking up. She was right. He was staring at her.
“Is there someone, apart from Minx, whose eyes you stare into for hours on end?”
Klao paused for a moment. She knew how pathetic a ‘no’ would sound, but how could she lie to this honey-voiced man, who was looking at her so intensely? She wondered whether she could stare into his eyes for hours – contact lenses and all. She did not think so. His eyes were nice, but not that nice. She thought about Ricard Shalkowski’s eyes. Now those were some baby browns she could be mesmerised by!
She picked up Minx and sat him in her lap. She stared into his slanted brown eyes, which were almost covered by fluffy brown and white fur. She did not care what Bianca and her brothers said about him. He was as cute as a button, and she did not imagine that she could ever love one dumb animal so much.
“Well, for now, these darling eyes are all I need to stare into!” She said finally. “Isn’t that right, my precious?” She rubbed Minx’s face, and was rewarded with a series of sloppy licks all over her mouth.
Matt only smiled. “You say that now. But one of these days, you’ll be changing your mind. I can guarantee it!”
***
The ding of her BlackBerry caused Klao to jump. She was sitting on her favourite bench by the court, waiting on her matter to be called. Although she adored being centre stage in court, those few moments before going inside, Klao found to be unbearably nerve wracking. The worst possible thing in life, she thought, was going in front of the judge and messing up, particularly when the matter was extremely important to her.
Klao quickly put the BlackBerry on silent, wondering who it was that could be texting her at that most auspicious moment. She felt her shoulders relax involuntarily when she saw the message in the screen. ‘One new message. Matt’. She opened it.
‘The greatest sweetener of human life is friendship’, the message read.‘Have a gr8 day!’
Klao smiled and punched the reply button.
‘Way 2 profound for a Monday morning. But have a gr8 day urself!’
‘2 profound?’ Was Matt’s almost instantaneous reply. ‘For big shot litigator like u?’
‘Big shot Litigator, my tail! I feel like a fraud right now’
‘Y? Where r u?’
‘Court. Waiting to be heard.’
‘Baby case?’
‘Yup!’
‘Best of luck 2 u. I’ll pray 4 u’.
‘Thanx... I need it!’
‘U’ll be fine. Call me when you get out of court? Want 2 ask u something.’
‘Ok! TTYL!’
Having heard from Matt, albeit a few text messages, made her feel a million times less nervous. She reread his initial text. The greatest sweetener of human life is friendship. Admittedly, she appreciated their blossoming friendship. He was a cool guy. How God moved in mysterious ways, she thought. She had met Matt under totally unnatural circumstances. How different that Monday morning could have been if she had not gone to the gym that night; if she had not stopped at Megamart; if she had bought Minx’s biscuits and left; if she had not forgotten her charge card. She sighed and glanced at her watch. It was five minutes before ten. In five minutes, she should be in court. She sent up a quick prayer for clarity of word and thought. She had to do her best for the handsome little four year old boy, who could only sit in his stroller and drool, and for his absolutely mortified parents, who had been excited for their first baby, and now, they were stuck with a child that would be a baby for the rest of his life. She felt a little bit of relief when she recalled that Matt was praying for her too. She could use as much prayer as possible.
***
It was a good thing that Matt had prayed for her, Klao thought, as she sat at her desk two hours later, her head in her hands. It had been a hard day at court. She had not done badly, but she did not get as far with the matter as she thought she would. Opposing counsel had years more experience than she did, and had pretty much taken her to school! He was a man in his late thirties, who obviously thought he was all of that. He had looked Klao up and down in the most condescending manner, and had spoken to her as though she were a small child. Like Matt, he had countered her claim that the hospital was at fault, and intimated that the mother was equally negligent. He had also brought up points that Klao had not thought of – like perhaps it was the Rh incompatibility of the mother and the baby that had led to the jaundice in the first place. Klao had argued that the point was moot, and that what caused the jaundice was not the matter at hand, but how the doctors had responded. The judge, thankfully, had agreed with her, and the burden had shifted back from the mother to the defendants. Klao hoped they would settle. She wanted this case to be over and done with as quickly as possible. She could not bear having to look at baby Michael when his parents brought him to her office. He just … sat there! Klao thought it was the worst thing in the world to have a sick baby.
Klao sighed and looked at the clock. She had mediation that afternoon, so she had to look over her notes for that one. It was going to be one of those Mondays. She needed something nice to happen to her. She wished Marlene was in office, so they could laugh and talk for a few minutes. But Marlene was again in court in Mandeville. She wondered whether Bianca had a moment to spare. It was pointless trying to call Samantha or Andie. Then she remembered that Matt had wanted to talk to her after court. She sent him a text.
‘Court sucks!’
‘R u out?’
‘Yes. Need cheering up. Tell me something nice!’
Klao waited a few moments for Matt’s reply. When it came in
, her face erupted into an ear to ear grin.
‘Whenever I see a text from you, my face breaks out into this really big, goofy grin.’
‘You are always wearing a big, goofy grin!’ Klao replied.
‘Well, it gets bigger and goofier.’ Came the response. ‘U make me !”
Klao’s smile grew wider. ‘I never knew I had that power!’
‘When u r a 4 threat, you have all sorts of power…’
‘Should I get a superhero costume and a mask, and use my powers for good?’
‘Thinking about it… Where r u?
‘At my desk.’
‘Let me call you there…’
Less than ten seconds later, her desk phone rang. Klao grabbed it. “Hey-ya!”
“Klao?” Came an unknown voice at the other end of the line. “Is that you?’
Klao made a face. “Ye-es…” she replied haltingly. She thanked her lucky stars it was not a client. Her clients would not call her ‘Klao’.
“Hi! It’s Ricard!”
Klao felt her heart drop to her feet. “Ricard?” She repeated stupidly.
“Yes. I left you a message this weekend. I don’t blame you for not calling me back. I’ve been a prick…”
“Oh no!” Klao finally began regaining feeling in her brain. “I was going to call you back, but I was caught up with a matter I had for court today. How are you?”
“I can’t complain. How ‘bout you.”
“Good! No complaints here either.”
“So, it was great catching up with you the other night!” Klao could almost close her eyes and imagine Ricard Shalkowski in his office in Ocho Rios, wearing an Izzy Man suit (sans cuff links), and relaxing in a broad backed leather chair. He wore glasses as a teenager, Klao recalled. But he was not wearing any that night at Bianca’s engagement party. He wore contacts, too – like Matt.
“It was!” Klao replied. “How long has it been?”
“About ten years. I was a bit shocked when I saw you. You were not Bianca’s little dizzy cousin anymore. You grew – and grew well, I might add!”
“Thanks! So did you!” She recalled Ricard looking a little girly back in the day. She would never have considered dating him back when he was dating Bianca’s best friend Macy. She had only around that time begun to understand what ‘gay’ meant, and she almost thought Ricard was gay. But now… Now he was all man. He had certainly matured well. Maybe it was Business School in London that had given him some hair on his chest.
“I guess you’re right!” Ricard told her. “Time has a way of sorting us out!” He chuckled. “Anyway I won’t keep you, Miss Big Shot Attorney-at-Law. I know you must have a million and one things to do… But I am going to be in Kingston a week from Saturday. I’d love if we could get together – have a drink or something – and continue catching up…”
“That sounds great!” Klao said, reaching for her planner. “When are you coming up?”
“I have a meeting on the 22nd, so I think I’ll just hang around for the entire weekend…”
“Sounds great!” Klao repeated, highlighting the weekend of the 22nd on her calendar. She used a black gel roller pen to write RS next to those dates. “We’ll talk before then…”
“Definitely! Have a great day, Klao. Talk to you soon!”
He hung up. Klao sighed and leaned back into her chair. She smiled dreamily, thinking about the words of her favourite song. God might have been late, but he was still on time!
Ricard Shalkowski had finally called her. They were going out together. In two weeks’ time! Yay! Suddenly, everything was once more alright with the world. Suddenly, baby Michael and his cerebral palsy did not matter anymore. Suddenly, the mediation she was dreading did not matter anymore. All that mattered was that she had a date with a hot, hot man…
Her office phone rang. Was it Ricard calling back?
“Klao Persaud!” She said, her sexiest voice.
“Klao M. Persaud!” The caller greeted her, and Klao’s heart dipped as suddenly as it had soared.
Matt!
125
On Time
chapter eight
“Hey Matt!” Klao felt strangely guilty, as though she had been caught cheating. That is a stupid thought, she chastised herself. Matt was just her friend. She could talk to and/or make dates with Ricard if she felt like.
“Whatcha doin’?” Matt asked in a weird, sing song voice.
“Talking to you!” Klao returned in the same voice.
“Whhyy?”
“A question I ask myself every time we talk!”
“Touché, Klao Melissa!” Matt said with a laugh. “I was going to drag this on and on, but I can see you are ahead of the game.”
“I have two brothers!” Klao reminded him. “I have to be ahead of the game. Are you at work?”
“No,” Matt said. “I took the day-off.”
“You get to take a day off on Monday?”
“Well, you see, I got it like that!” Matt bragged.
Klao rolled her eyes to the tiled ceiling of her office. “You’re an idiot! You wanted to ask me something?”
“Yes!” Matt said, remembering. “First, are you on Facebook?”
“Yes. Why?”
“I’m just getting started and I need friends. I’m sure more people would be willing to add me if they saw I was friends with Klao Persaud.”
“You are using me to bait friends?”
“I’m shameless like that! What’s your email address?”
Klao thought, as she gave Matt her email address, how infuriating he must have been as a child. No wonder he never got along with Mary!
“Now, I have ‘friend-ed’ you, friend!” Matt said. “It’s official now. We’re friends, and that will not change.”
“I have to friend you back first!” Klao pointed out. She opened up Safari on her computer and logged into her Facebook account.
“You will! I know you will! Anyway, next – what are you doing Saturday?”
“Next Saturday?” Klao opened her planner. “Nothing yet…”
“I want to take you somewhere with me!”
“Where?”
“It’s a surprise!”
“What you mean ‘surprise’?”
“Was there any ambiguity in my statement?” Matt teased, and Klao actually laughed out loud. “I meant I don’t want you to know where I am taking you.”
“I’m not going on any secret trips with you. Suppose you kill me and dump my body?”
“How well do you know me?”
“Not very!” Klao deadpanned.
“Well, be that as it may, from the very little you do know, have I ever done anything to hurt you? Have I ever killed you?”
“Well, there is a first time for everything!”
“Well, this time isn’t it!” Matt promised. “Will you come with me?”
“Tell me where we’re going!”
“Klao, I’m not telling you! I said it is a surprise. I’m picking you up at quarter to eight Saturday morning.”
“Quarter to eight Saturday morning?” Klao spluttered. “You mad? I am not getting up to go anywhere for quarter to eight…”
“Just chill, nuh! Don’t you wake up to get to work for quarter to eight?”
“No! I can barely rouse myself to be at work for nine!”
“If you go to bed early, you can wake up! So should I pick you up?”
“Quarter to eight? I don’t know if my clock has a quarter to eight am on it!”
“You are not getting up at quarter to eight! You are to be ready when I pick you up at quarter to eight!”
“Are we going out of town?”
“No!”
“So why so early?”
“Because where we are going, we have to get there by eight,” Matt said patiently. “So are you coming?”
Klao’s curiosity got the better of her. She could not imagine where they would be going so early. “Okay, whatever!”
“Good!” Matt sounded gen
uinely pleased. “Wear a dress; one with sleeves!”
“Matt… where are we going?”
“You’ll know on Saturday, so you have four whole days to fret about it!”
“What. Ever. Matt!” Klao could not help smiling.
“So I’ll see you Saturday then? If not before?”
“Whatever, Matt.” Klao accepted his friend request on Facebook, and promptly clicked on the info button. Matt was right. He had very little up – just his birthday, and his university. Those she already knew. His only other friend was his twin sister, Mary, and she did not have a picture up.
“Okay then. Take care, Klao Melissa Persaud.”
“Bye, Matthew Levi St. James!”
Klao hung up and looked on her planner. There was not even a space for a quarter to eight a.m. appointment! She wroteMATT in big letters across the entire day. Where on earth could he be taking her on a Saturday morning at eight o’clock? And she had to wear a dress with sleeves? She was not even sure she owned a dress with sleeves!
Her office extension rang, and Klao frowned when she saw Betty Ann Reyes on the caller ID.
“Klao, can you come and talk to me about the mediation this afternoon?”
“I’ll be right there, Mrs Reyes!”
She gathered her file and trusty notebook and went to Mrs Reyes’ office, immediately forgetting about Matt and dresses with sleeves and Saturday morning, quarter to eight.
***
That had been the fastest week of Klao’s life. She was sure she had missed a day, because Friday had come far too quickly, and Saturday was on its tail. Between court in the day and marathon telephone/text/Facebook conversations with Matt at night, she did not have time to count the days and hours that week. Even her book, Table for One, had lain forgotten on her bedside table.
Then it was Saturday. It was seven fifteen in the morning. Klao stood in front of her closet, confused. Why was she up so early again? Oh yes! Matt was taking her on some clandestine mission. In fact, he would be picking her up in half hour, and she still had no idea what she was going to wear, or even where she was going. She had to give Matt his props, though. He did not even give her a tiny clue. All he kept saying, as they chatted on the phone Friday night for four hours (four hours? Klao wondered. Who talks on the phone for four straight hours? Not even when she was dating Vishal did she stay on the phone for four hours!) about ‘nothing’ was that she should wear a dress with sleeves.