On Time (Persaud Girl)

by Teisha Mott

  “But…” Klao began.

  “And, I maintain that her lack of organisational skills has deprived other litigants in the entire system of the opportunity to have their cases heard, and I can assure you that my time, if not yours, My Lord, a court registrar’s and the other officers’ that are present here today could have been better spent. I am unable to comprehend why we are even wasting the court's time defending vagrants! Rupert Bennett is, and remains nothing but a burden on the back of tax payers and a nuisance to the society!”

  Klao closed her eyes. That was the same thing Mrs Reyes had said, when she told her to drop the case. She lost the little of her temper that was left.

  “You know something?” She barked. “Just shut up! Shut up! Just shut the hell up!”

  Judge Malcolm was almost shocked out of his robe and wig. “Miss Persaud!”

  Klao glared at Dean Smith, who was as stunned by her sudden outburst as Judge Malcolm. “I am sick and tired of this. I’m sick and tired of you, you pompous, condescending… How can you stand there describing my client as a vagrant and a coke head? How dare you? And so what if he is a vagrant or a coke head? He is still a human being and he is still a citizen of this country, and he still deserves his day in court. If he is a coke head, his only crime was against himself, and he has already been punished by his homeless status.”

  “Miss Persaud…”

  Judge Malcolm was speaking to himself.

  “Mr Rupert Bennett is a victim!” Klao continued to rage. “Three times –three timeshe was beaten up and set on fire by the police. And he had not even done anything. And if,if he was guilty of some unspeakable crime, is that what Police Officers do? Beat people to a pulp and light them on fire? Huh? Is that what the police act says they should do?”

  “My Lord…” Dean Smith began.

  “Section 4 of the Constabulary Force Act lays out the oath that officers are supposed to take:‘I do swear that I will well and truly serve Our Sovereign Lady the Queen, without favour or affection, malice or ill-will and that I will see and cause Her Majesty’s Peace to be kept and preserved and that I will prevent, to the utmost of my power, all offences against the same; and that while I shall continue to hold the said office I will, to the best of my skill and knowledge, discharge all the duties thereof faithfully, according to law – so help me God.’ The crimes committed against my client expectorate on the face of not only the letter, but the spirit of the oath!”

  “Judge Malcolm, Counsel is highly out of order!” Dean Smith declared.

  “I’m out of order?” Klao shrieked. “I am out of order? You are out-of-order! The police is out-of-order! This entire judicial system is out-of-order!”

  “Judge Malcolm...”

  “Section 13 sets out the duties of the police, which are: ‘to keep watch by day and night, to preserve the peace, to detect crime, apprehend or summon before a Justice persons found committing any offence or whom they may reasonably suspect of having committed any offence, or who may be charged with having committed any offence, to serve and to execute all summonses, warrants, subpoenas, notices and criminal processes issued from any Court of Criminal Justice or by any Justice in a criminal matter and to do and perform all the duties appertaining to the office of a constable...’ Nowhere in the Act does it state that the police can go around beating, maiming and wounding as their hearts desire, and right now I have half a mind to make this into an attempted murder instead of a personal injury matter!”

  “Miss Persaud you will calm down!” Judge Malcolm was trying in vain to regain control of his courtroom.

  Klao would not calm down. She was not going to lose her job, lose Matt and lose Rupert’s ten million dollars all in one day.

  “We have discussed this matter in mediation and in case management ad nauseum and I am sick of it!” She fumed, pointing on her opposing attorney. “I am sick of it and I am sick of you. You are just a mean and egregious, sorry excuse for a human being. Rupert is a burden to tax payers? Rupert is a nuisance to the society? You want to know who is a nuisance to society, Dean Smith? You are! And more than that, you are a splinter in the crack of my….”

  “Counsellor! I strike out your claim and hold you in contempt of my courtroom!” Judge Malcolm was as angry as Klao. “What the hell do you think this is? Debating society in high school? This is a court of law, and you will conduct yourself in a manner befitting an officer of the court!”

  Klao felt her chest rising and falling rapidly. Hot, angry tears burned her eyes and threatened to spill over. She stared straight down at her files, unblinking. Her hands and her knees were trembling. Don’t blink, she pleaded with herself. If she blinked, she thought, it would be all over. Please don’t blink, Klao, please… She blinked. One big tear fell to her file. It was followed by its twin and all their little cousins. Judge Malcolm saw them. So did Dean Smith. She was all over.

  “Just calm down!” Judge Malcolm told her. “Breathe!”

  “Huh!” Klao exhaled sharply.

  “No, Counsellor,” the Judge instructed. “Breathe. Slowly. In and out.”

  Klao took in a breath. It sounded rugged, and even more so as she let it out. She tried to think of Synclaire’s ‘ree-laxxx’ formula, but it did not work that day in her office, and it was not working now. Her shoulders were shaking.

  “Breathe again…” Judge Malcolm told her.

  “My Lord…” Dean Smith began, quite put out by the turn of events.

  “You be quiet!” Judge Malcolm advised, giving him the evil eye. He looked at Klao. “Are you okay?”

  Klao nodded. She did not trust herself to speak.

  “Would you like a drink of water?”

  She shook head, still unable to find her voice.

  Judge Malcolm was not convinced she was okay. She was shaking so hard that he was sure she would probably need a shot of valium. He cleared his throat. “I will adjourn this matter for today and give you some time, Ms Persaud, to get your act together and make sure your client does the same, okay.”

  Klao nodded again

  “Good. Case adjourned until…” he checked his calendar, “December 12. Three weeks from today.”

  Klao gathered her files, ripped off her robe and made a hurried escape from the court. Tears were blurring her vision. She had to get back to Duke Street and clean out her desk. She swiped at her eyes. This was without a doubt the most awful day of her life. She had nothing – no client, no in-court credibility, having lost her temper andcried in front of Judge Malcolm and Dean Smith; no job, and most importantly, no Matt.

  “Lady, watch it!”

  Klao jumped back on to the side walk, after she narrowly missed being hit by a ‘robot’ taxi. She sighed. She almost, also, literally did not have a life!

  “I’m not going to cry anymore! I am not going to cry!” She told herself. She wandered off Tower Street and on to Church Street. The stores were open, and every window showed off the skankiest looking outfits that Klao had ever seen, and shoes that definitely needed a pole. She wandered around for a while, in no hurry to get back to the office to clean out her desk. She looked at the women, going about their regular business and some idle men, playing dominoes and drinking beer on the street side. She could join them, she realised, if she drank beer, or knew how to play dominoes apart from matching. Like them, she was unemployed.

  An hour later, after wandering as far as to the Parliament, she made her way back to the office, feeling morose, but calm. She entered the front door of Reyes Green and Associates for what would be the last time. She looked at her name plate on the wall – Klao M. Persaud, Attorney At Law. Right now, she felt like Klao M. Persaud, loser beyond recognition, and big fat baby. Everything seemed so surreal when she entered her office. There were three packing boxes left for her to put her things in. She started by removing her degrees from the wall and chucking them into the closest box.

  “Klao what the dickens is going on?” Marlene asked bursting into her office.

  “I
quit – or I was fired. I’m not quite sure which…” Her stuffed owl followed the degrees.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Marlene had come in late as usual – around nine forty-five, and had heard from Anella that the proverbial crap had hit the proverbial fan. “What do you mean you quit or you were fired?”

  “Mrs Reyes found out that I had not quit Rupert’s case as she had instructed, so I told her I would give her my notice and she said don’t bother because I am fired!” Klao gave her friend the cliff notes version while she dumped the contents of her desk drawer into the box.

  “You are not serious! Klao…”

  “It’s okay, Marlene!” Klao told her, blinking back her tears. “I’ll be fine…”

  “Sure you’ll be fine!” Marlene retorted. “But what about me? I can’t manage here without you, Klao! Who is going to go with me to the gym? Who is going to adjourn my matters at court? Who am I going to moan to when Mrs Green gets on my nerves?”

  Klao managed to smile. She looked at her friend. “I am going to miss you, Marlene!”

  It was time for Marlene’s eyes to fill with tears. “You stubborn little idiot!” She declared, throwing her arms around Klao. “Why didn’t you just drop the case like Mrs Reyes told you? You see what your affair with Pastor St. James has caused? All this because of the love of man!”

  All because of love of man…. Marlene’s words played over and over in her head, as she lay in bed that afternoon. She had come home with all her office junk, and a nice fat cheque – all her salary cheques that she had never collected, and her pension – and had gone straight into bed, taking Minx with her. Marlene was right, Klao thought. She had taken this case and stuck with it because of Matt – because she loved Matt. If it had not been for him, she probably would have dropped it or passed it to another of her colleagues at Legal Aid. But she wanted to do this for Matt, but he had ‘let her off the hook’. He had let her off the hook when she so badly wanted to remain on the hook. She wanted to be with him. She could not help but think about him as she lay in bed in the quiet apartment.

  She remembered the first time he had come there, and saw her in her Winnie the Pooh pyjamas. They had argued about Baby Michael’s case that evening. She recalled the best day of all – the one when he had baby sat Caitlin and he had kissed her for the first time. She recalled subsequent nights following that when he had held her and cuddled her and told her gentle words. Matt was all over her apartment. He was in the walls and the ceiling and the floors. The tears that were so close all day came back in torrents, as she hugged Minx close. Minx did not know what to do except lick his mistress’s salty face. Klao felt like the most miserable person in the world. Not even after Vishal Chadeesingh did she feel so bad. She was totally alone in the world, and it was the worst feeling, ever.

  She knew what she had to do. She had to get out of that apartment. She knew exactly where she would go… She pulled on a pair of jeans and a shirt, and haphazardly threw a few items into her suitcase -- clean underwear, night clothes, a few jeans, tops and shoes. Finally, she grabbed Minx’s suitcase that she had not bothered to unpack after the twins’ party and shoved it along with her suitcase, into the back of her CRV.

  A few hours later, Dr Michael Persaud and his wife came home from a long day at the hospital and were surprised to see their daughter’s green CRV parked in the driveway. They were even more surprised to see that she was still sitting in it, her puppy on her lap, and her face wet with tears.

  “Klao what the dickens…” Dr DeLisser began.

  Klao opened the car door and flung herself into her mother’s waiting arms.

  “My life is over!” She wept dramatically. “It is totally over, Mommy! I’ve lost everything!”

  303

  On Time

  chapter sixteen

  “Here you are, you son of a cutter!” Matt declared, pulling his cell phone from between the overstuffed cushions of his couch. He had just about given up on the instrument, and was about to fall to Mary’s wishes that he buy a BlackBerry to replace his missing cell phone. It must have fallen in between the cushions on Tuesday evening when Mary, Sheena and Marvin had come over. Mary and Sheena had enlisted his and Marvin’s help to organise the gift bags for Bianca’s wedding. Matt wondered whether he was still invited. New Years was only six weeks away. He wondered whether Tevin and Bianca were nervous or excited. What a wonderful way to start a new year, Matt thought. He frowned to himself, as he scrolled through the scores of missed calls that he had. He did not think he would get married. There was no way he would risk falling in love again. He would not tell his father that though, because one thing Leonard St. James wanted more than anything else in the world was grandchildren – at least two from each of his children. He was already seventy years old, he declared. He may not have much time left, and he wanted to bounce one on his knee before he died.

  Matt paused when he saw missed calls from Klao. It had come in the day before. He wondered why she was calling him. He did not think she would after reading his e-mail. He was sorry he had responded to her that way. He just wanted her to be happy, and to press on with her life without him. He was happy to learn that although she had stopped coming to St. Andrew’s, that she had been spotted at Kingsway with Andie and Nathan. Matt prayed she would stop “kicking against the pricks” and give her life to the Lord. That was why, he decided, he had met her. He had allowed his heart to overrule his head. He was not to date her, and certainly he was not to have a relationship with her. He was supposed to help her find her way to Jesus. So why, he wondered, as he dialled 123 to retrieve his voicemail, did he feel so darn wretched and empty inside?

  He almost pissed himself when he heard Klao’s frantic message, left for him at 9:45 on Wednesday morning. Crap! He had totally forgotten that Wednesday was the day Rupert was supposed to be in court. He had been tied up in vestry all day, and had not even gone to the Inn! Crap, crap, crap! He wondered whether Rupert had shown up at all. He dialled Klao’s cell. It went straight to voicemail. Perhaps she had turned it off for court or a meeting and had forgotten to turn it on again. He dialled her private line, and braced himself to hear her voice.

  “Reyes Green and Associates!” A voice that was definitely not Klao’s responded.

  “Klao Persaud, please?” He asked.

  “Miss Persaud is no longer employed by the firm!” The person told him. “Can anyone else assist you?

  Matt thought he was hearing things. “Excuse me? What?”

  “Miss Persaud is no longer an Associate of Reyes Green!” The person repeated.

  Klao was no longer an Associate of Reyes Green? When did that happen? And where was she an Associate of?

  “Is Marlene Smith Stewart in?” Matt asked. Marlene would be able to explain to him what was happening.

  “You have to hang up and dial Miss Smith Stewart’s straight line, or go through the switch board!”

  Matt hung up without even remembering to say thank you. He had one of Marlene’s business cards in his wallet. He quickly retrieved it and dialled her number.

  “Marlene Smith Stewart!”

  “Marlene, it's Matt!” He identified himself.

  “What can I do for you, Pastor St. James?”

  Marlene sounded remarkably formal, and Matt realised that the battle lines had been drawn – his side against Klao’s side.

  “I called to speak to Klao, but I was informed that she was no longer with the firm…”

  “That’s right!”

  “Since when?”

  “Since yesterday, when Mrs Reyes asked her to clean out her desk. Since she insisted on taking Rupert Bennett’s case to court although Mrs Reyes told her not to…”

  “What?” Matt was in shock. He had no idea Klao was pursuing Rupert’s case against the advice of her boss.

  “Mrs Reyes gave her an ultimatum, Pastor St. James. Her job or the case that she was doing for you. Guess which one she chose? And kindly be advised that she did not do it to
champion the cause of Rupert Bennett, who did not even bother showing up to court yesterday. She did it for you!”

  “But…”

  “I don’t have any time to deal with you right now, Pastor. I have a matter that needs attending to. Unlike Klao, I cannot afford to be out of a job on your account. Have a nice day!”

  Marlene hung up without a further word. Matt stared at the phone in his hand. Mrs Reyes had given Klao an ultimatum? She had lost her job because of him? And to think how badly he had treated her over the past few weeks. He dialled her cell number once more. Again, it went to voice mail. He dialled her home number. No response. Matt frowned. Where was she? Out shopping, perhaps? Or maybe, he thought guiltily, she was ignoring his calls as he had ignored hers… And he would not blame her. Being an Attorney meant everything to Klao, just as being a Minister meant everything to him. She had given it all up because of him! So he was not the only one who had got an ultimatum… He had to find Klao. He had to talk to her. He dialled Bianca’s cell phone. It, too, went to voicemail. Did all the Persauds disappear off the face of the earth? He wondered.

  “Bianca, it’s Matt,” he said, deciding to leave a message. “I am looking for Klao. If you hear from her, can you ask her to give me a call please?”

  Matt hung up and closed his eyes. He recalled that Klao had been having problems at work with Mrs Reyes for a while. He had no idea that any of it had to do with him and Rupert. He wondered why she never told him. He would have told her to refer the case to one of her colleagues at another firm. Now it was too late. She had lost her job.

  “Please let her be okay!” He prayed. “Please give her the strength to get through this… please…”

  ***

  “Can you please stop pacing?” Mary looked up at her brother, who was as cagey as a cat in a lightning storm. “I am sure she is fine. And your pacing is making me nervous!”

  “You don’t know that she is fine!” Matt ceased pacing for one full second before he resumed wearing a path in his rug. “She's nowhere, and Bianca has not called me back… neither has Andie or Samantha… I need to know where she is, and that she's okay.” He looked at his sister. “Are you sure you haven't spoken to Bianca?”