On Time (Persaud Girl)

by Teisha Mott

  “Yes I know. Her name is Mary. Get into bed.”

  “Auntie Klao?”

  “Yes dear?”

  “Do I have a twin sister?”

  Klao smiled. “No, you don’t.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Positive,” Klao told her, tucking the thin cotton sheets up under her arms. “I was there when they took you out of your mommy’s tummy, and there was only one of you.”

  “Why come?” Caitlin looked like a bug in a rug.

  “How come,” Klao corrected.

  “How come?” Caitlin repeated dutifully.

  “Because only one of you got put in your mommy, so only one came out! Do you want me to sit with you until you fall asleep?

  “Yes, please.” Caitlin closed her eyes, and then opened them again. “How did I end up in my mommy’s tummy in the first place?”

  “Ahm, Daddy put you there…” Klao replied absently. She hoped it would not take Caitlin long to fall asleep.

  Caitlin’s eyes widened, and Klao immediately wished she had given a different answer than ‘daddy put you there’. “Really? My daddy put me there? How did he do that?”

  Klao was not comfortable with where the conversation was heading. She did not want to explain the birds and bees to Samantha’s four year old daughter. That was an honour that should be reserved for Samantha and Jeremy – perhaps years later when Caitie was at least ten! But she was expecting an answer immediately, so Klao thought really hard.

  “Well, when a daddy loves a mommy, he usually gives her a baby as proof that he loves her.”

  “I see!” Caitlin nodded wisely.

  Klao breathed a sigh of relief. She hoped there would be no more questions. She looked at Caitlin, who was gazing around the room. She wondered whether she was feeling sleepy yet.

  “So, Auntie Klao, why did Daddy choose to put me in her tummy. Why didn’t he put me somewhere else?”

  “Oh good Lord!” Klao thought. What was this? Twenty questions? “Well, that is how God designed mommies – with a special place in their tummies for babies!”

  “I see. God is smart.”

  “Yes He is. I am going to turn off the lights, okay. That will probably help you fall asleep faster.” She was glad that Caitlin was not afraid of the dark.

  There was silence for a while, and Klao was positive Caitie had fallen asleep. She almost jumped out of her skin when a little voice said, “Auntie Klao?”

  “Yes, munchkin?”

  “Do you have a daddy?”

  “Of course I have a daddy! You know Grand Uncle Michael…”

  “No,” Caitlin shook her head. “He is your Daddy, daddy. I mean, do you have a daddy – a daddy who loves you and will put a baby in your tummy.”

  Klao’s mind instantly conjured up Matt’s smiling face, and the memory of his lips on hers. “No…”

  “Why not? Don’t you want a daddy and a baby?”

  “Very much,” Klao said sadly.

  “So why don’t you have one?” Caitlin persisted.

  “Because… I don’t know, Caitie…” Klao felt tears start in her eyes. Even the baby realised she needed someone.

  “You know what I think?” Caitie asked through a huge yawn. “I think Matt can be your daddy.”

  Klao did a double take. “Really?”

  “Yes. I like Matt! He plays the guitar and sings and knows lots of songs… He will be a good daddy.”

  Klao had to smile in the darkness of the room. This was really Samantha and Jeremy Malcolm’s child. She was as smart as a whip. “I think so, too.”

  Caitlin rubbed her eyes. “Do you want him to be your daddy?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Does he want to be your daddy?”

  “I don’t know that either!”

  “I’m going to ask him for you, okay?”

  “Okay, munchkin!”

  “Yes, but I will have to ask him tomorrow, because I think I am going to fall asleep now.” Caitlin promptly turned on to her side and assumed the foetal position. “Goodnight, Auntie Klao!”

  “Goodnight, sweet girl…”

  Klao sat with her for a few more minutes, until her deep, even breathing proved that she had indeed fallen asleep. Then she left the room, leaving the door slightly ajar, and went to her office to put the final touches on the June Charles case.

  231

  On Time

  chapter thirteen

  “Reee – laxxx! Reee – laxxx…” Klao chanted to herself, breathing deeply in on the ‘re’ and exhaling on the ‘lax’.

  It had been the longest day of her life, Klao thought. Her day had started at six – one hour earlier than usual, because she had to be up to get Caitlin ready for school. That was surprisingly less difficult than Klao thought it would have been, because Caitlin seemed really psyched to go to school and did not create a fuss at all. Still, Klao was lethargic because she was so tired. She was tired because she had not slept for more than two hours Sunday night. She had not slept because she could not stop thinking about Matt. Finally, she got her kiss. Finally she had experienced what it felt like being ‘mashed' against him. Finally.

  She played the moment over and over in her head… She had been overwhelmed because he cooked her dinner… She moved to give him a hug… He took her face into his hands… He kissed her bottom lip … then the top… then he pulled her closer … then there was tongue… Every time she thought of it, the butterflies came alive. Then her subconscious had got into the mix, because when she had finally managed to doze off, she dreamed she was kissing Matt again. Only in her dream, he was not only kissing her, but he was undressing her. She had woken up in a sweat, with the sheets tied up around her. It was only 3:10 am, but that did it. She was wide awake and alert, not only playing over the actual kiss, but the dream kiss, too!

  A sleepless night before the start of a big case was usually a recipe for disaster, and Klao had struggled a bit in court, much to Mrs Reyes’ chagrin. Notwithstanding, Charles v Dawkins and Palmer was officially underway, and Klao would have been relieved if the case, and Mrs Reyes, were not such a pain in her rear.

  She rested her throbbing forehead on to the cool glass of her desk, and began to chant once more.

  “Reee – laxxx!” The trick Darrin had taught her for finding her centre - picked up from Synclaire on a trek to Malaysia, was not helping at all. “Re… Crap!”

  The shrill ring of the telephone ruined her Qi.

  “Klao Persaud!” She responded wearily, hoping the person on the other end would be so put off by her lack of desire to speak with them that they would just hang up. She was not lucky.

  “Hey Klao!”

  Despite her weariness, despite her anger, despite her frustration, she smiled.

  “Sam! Welcome home. How was your trip? How’s Jeremy? Is your baby still in one piece?” The questions came tumbling out all jumbled into one.

  “Oh it was fabulous!” Klao could almost hear Samantha smiling through the phone. “Jeremy was shocked out of his mind … and you know that ‘special infusion of grace’ that Andie goes on and on about…”

  Klao made a face. She recalled what Matt had said on Sunday morning about listening out for explosions in Manhattan.

  “Well, I experienced that this weekend, I tell you!” Samantha continued. “Over and over and over … sometimes even two at a time! I couldn’t even make it to work today!”

  “Oh my good Lord! Way too much information, Sam!” Klao shrieked, holding the phone from her ear. “I am properly traumatised!”

  Samantha laughed out loud. “Trust me! If you were a fly on the wall, you would have been even more traumatised!”

  Klao blushed from the root of her hair to the tip of her toes. Sam was over-sharing again.

  “Anyway, thanks again, Ko!” Samantha continued. “And Jeremy says thanks – and that he really owes you one. He thinks you’re awesome and is wondering why no one has scooped you up off the market yet...”

  “Oh reall
y?” Klao rolled her eyes. That seemed to be the million-dollar question these days.

  “Yup! I told him you had special interest in a man of the cloth. Speaking of whom…”

  Klao blushed again even deeper than before. She was glad her cousin could not see her. “Sam…”

  “My daughter has a new hero! I picked her up from school, and without even a ‘hello, Mommy’ or a ‘how are you, Mommy?’ she launched straight into a long epistle about her new friend Matt.”

  Klao did not know what to say. “Sam…”

  “Matt plays the guitar and sings, and Matt helped her draw and colour… and now she is asking me for peanut butter and celery!”

  “Well, Matt thought Cheetos would give her ADHD,” Klao explained lamely.

  “The most interesting thing was when she informed me that Matt was going to be her Auntie Klao’s daddy, and he would put a baby in her tummy, because that is what daddies do!” Klao could hear the laughter in Samantha’s voice. “Did you explain the miracle of life to my baby?”

  “Well, she asked! I had to tell her something!”

  “So is she right? Is Matt going to be your ‘daddy’?”

  Klao rolled her eyes. The way Samantha said ‘daddy’ made the word sound pornographic. But she had asked the million dollar question. She wanted Matt to be her ‘daddy’ and nine times out of ten, she thought Matt would want the same thing too. But since their kiss – almost 24 hours since it happened, and it was still giving her chills -- she had not heard from him. He had left her house and he had not called to say he had got home. He had not called her all morning... Klao began to feel a little angry. He knew she had the June Charles case, and he did not even send her a text message to say good morning and good luck. And after he had promised that Sunday at the inn that he would call her every day even for a minute!

  “Klao, are you still there?”

  “Yes,” Klao answered shortly. “Look, I really don’t know what is happening with Matt. He blows hot and cold all the time… I really can’t be bothered…”

  “Has he kissed you yet?”

  “No,” Klao lied, blushing yet again.

  “You are such a liar!”

  “Sam…”

  “Are you taking him to the twins’ birthday party?”

  Klao did not answer. She wondered what excuse Matt would come up with at the last minute, why he could not drive down with her on the last Friday night in September to her brothers’ birthday party, and be her plus one. Matt did not like her anymore – all because of one stupid kiss. The kiss she was waiting for so long was now ruining her life. Angry tears burned her eyes.

  “You should take him along,” Samantha advised. “Let the twins sort him out for you. An evening with them will set him right!”

  “Sam, I have to go,” Klao wanted to hang up before the tears spilled and she found herself confessing everything in her heart to Samantha. In the first place, if she were confessing anything, it should be to Bianca. In the second place, she did not want to lose it in the office.

  “Okay,” Samantha said. “I have to go too. Munchkin is down for a nap and I should probably join her. Thanks again KoKo. See you at lunch Wednesday?”

  “Sure thing!” Klao replied, although she was sure that Mrs Reyes was not going to allow her to take a long lunch in the middle of the June Charles trial. She said goodbye to her cousin just before two big tears dropped from her eyes to the manila folder on her desk. She did not bother to wipe them off. She hoped Ms Lawrence would not burst in and see her crying. What did she have to do to find someone to love her? She wondered, as two more tears followed the first two. Vishal had slept with her once, and that was it. Now all it took for Matt to run to the hills was one kiss? Her melancholy turned to anger. She could not curse or kill Vishal. She had been just a child then. Now she was a grown woman, and she would not allow one more stupid man to walk her out. Klao instantly grabbed her BlackBerry and banged out a text message.

  ‘You are such a jerk!’

  Matt’s response was almost instantaneous. ‘Excuse me?’

  ‘You are a big jerky jerk, and I am never speaking to you again!’

  ‘Klao… are you okay? Where are you? I’ll give you a call in a minute…’

  ‘Don’t call me. I do not wish to speak to you now, or perhaps ever again in life!’

  ‘What’s the matter?’

  ‘The fact that you need to ask testifies of your selfishness and cluelessness.’

  ‘Okay, KoKo, I realise you are angry about something, but please do not allow your anger to blur your judgment or reasoning, causing you making comments that you cannot take back.’

  ‘To top it off, you are condescending and patronising!’

  A second after she hit the send button, her BlackBerry began to ring. Matt’s smiling face appeared on the screen.

  “What?” She shot.

  “What’s the matter?” Matt asked patiently.

  “What’s the matter?” Klao repeated. “What’s the matter?”

  “Yes, what’s the matter?” Matt repeated. Klao thought he sounded as though he was getting mad, but Matt never got mad. “Because, straight up, I do not know what the hell – and yes, I said hell – is your problem this Monday afternoon. So, if you would enlighten me, I would greatly appreciate it!”

  Klao drew back into herself a bit. Yup, he was mad. She had never seen or heard Matt mad before.

  “I…”

  “I don’t understand how you can be assaulting me like this and think it is okay!” Matt raged. “What is wrong with you?”

  Klao could not say a word. She was literally shocked into silence.

  “Klao, I asked you a question!” Matt said sternly, and Klao felt like she was six. “What is the matter? Did something happen in court today to upset you? And what made you think it was okay to take out your anger on me?”

  “So you did remember I had court today!” Klao finally found her tongue.

  “Of course I remembered. I was trying to hurry and finish everything I had pending on my desk today, so I could come over later and hear all about it… Is that why you’re mad? Because I did not call to ask how court was?”

  Klao felt suddenly foolish. “Well yes. I wanted you to cheer me up!”

  “Oh, Klao…” Matt smiled. Klao pretended she was mighty mouse, but on the inside, she was just a frightened, weird little girl! He wished he could reach into the phone and give her a big hug. “Is that all you are angry about? I’m sorry I didn’t call earlier, but I’ve been swamped. I really was planning to come see you later, and to cheer you up... Can you forgive me? Are we good now?”

  “No! I’m still mad at you. This isn’t only about not calling today. It’s about... it’s about…” Klao could not bring herself to say it.

  “Is it about what happened yesterday? About our kiss?”

  Klao felt her neck getting hot. “You spent the day, you baby-sat Caitlin, you made me dinner, and you kissed me, then you just ate your dinner and left! What kind of a man does that? What kind of a man kisses a girl then eats his dinner and leaves?”

  “Well, you are the one who didn’t want to talk about it!” Matt reminded her.

  “Of course I didn’t want to talk about it!” Klao was getting upset again. “You think I wanted to hear what you had to say?”

  “Why do you presume you did not want to hear what I had to say?” Matt was more than amused. “What did you think I was going to say?”

  “You were probably going to spout some pastor crap about how important kisses are, and how they don’t end in fade outs!” Klao suggested. “Then you were going to talk about all the repercussions of one kiss – how they cause hearts to be broken and friendships to be ruined – and then you were going to apologise for kissing me, and promise never to do it again!”

  Matt laughed out loud and almost broke Klao’s eardrum, which did not help her anger one bit.

  “Are you laughing at me? Am I a joke to you?”

  “You know you w
atch too much Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill! And you know what they say about ‘assuming’?”

  Klao was not amused.

  “If you had given me the chance to say something, Klao M, I would have told you how much I had looked forward to kissing you and how much I enjoyed it!”

  Klao blushed yet again. She thought she would be permanently red. “You would?”

  “Yes,” Matt whispered. “And I was also going to say that I want to do it again, and again, and again…”

  This time, Klao was definitely shocked silent. A million thoughts were rushing through her head at the moment, and she could not focus on one. Matt enjoyed kissing her! He wanted to kiss her again, and again and again!

  “What time are you leaving work this evening?” He asked.

  “About six,” Klao managed to croak.

  “Well, I’ll come over to see you around seven. And I want to hear all about court today, and my arms will be wide open for any comforting you may require. Try to enjoy the rest of the day, okay?”

  “Okay!” Klao agreed humbly.

  She hung up her BlackBerry, and slid back into her chair. Matt was coming over at seven, and there was doubtlessly going to be more kissing. She wondered how far they would go. She wondered how far Matt, as a Minister, would allow himself to go. Klao smiled to herself. She did not care how far they went, as long as she could be with Matt tonight. She looked at her watch. It was 3:30.

  “Roll on 7:00!” She thought, and for the first time in her life was happy she had stocked up on Mac lip gloss in both raspberry and cherry.

  ***

  She had been a regular visitor to the Seventh-day Adventist Church of St. Andrew for over three months. She had witnessed a baptism, and a communion service that she could not participate in, but that had brought tears to her eyes, and a baby blessing. She had taken part in Sabbath School discussions, and had listened to a plethora of sermons – some boring and sleepy, some – usually those preached by Matt -- riveting and exciting. But Klao had never seen the church in the state it was in that Sabbath morning. There was a mini revival in the place, from the singing of the opening hymn, through the prayer, and now as Matt preached.