Love Survives: The BWWM Interracial Romance Collection (Volume 1)

by Dez Burke

  Chapter Three

  Brother Martin and his wife went to Kingston every Saturday. They would take their produce to the market, and Mrs. Martin would do her city shopping while Brother Thomas waited impatiently on his wife. They had a mule which they would use to take the produce to the nearest bus station, and from there they would catch the bus that carried people going to the market.

  She started feeling ill that Saturday evening, so her husband made some bush medicine for her. Within the next few days, her illness got worse; they knew something was wrong.

  Mrs. Martin had to be taken to the hospital in the city. There was a clinic near the primary school but no doctor was there. A doctor from the city came in once per month to tend to those who needed attention the most. In this case, Mrs. Martin had fallen severely ill with a fever and coughing. She was rushed to the city hospital in Robert’s taxi.

  Chevaine, Brother Martin, and John accompanied her to the hospital where she was admitted. They ran some tests and within a couple of hours were able to determine that it was bacterial pneumonia.

  She was in critical condition and the bacteria invaded her body very quickly. Her lungs had begun to collapse by the time the doctor figured out her condition. Maybe she could have been saved had she gone to the doctor earlier, but by the time she realized her symptoms were not going away it was too late. By the Thursday morning, Mrs. Martin passed away. As a precaution her husband was tested for any signs of having contracted the bacteria.

  Cotton Tree Hill mourned the loss of one of its citizens. This was the first funeral Pastor John McCrary conducted since he came to Jamaica and it was different from anything he’d ever experienced.

  Starting the night she died, there was a tent set up in her front yard. The Martin’s yard was huge and so was the house. The house sat on around one full acre of land and the front yard was filled with flowers and a huge open grassy patch. The community would come out and play dominoes and play music. Then, a few nights later, a different kind of music could he heard all over the hills of Cotton Tree. They were kumina drums.

  The drummers would sit on the drums which were placed in the center of the covered area under the tent while dancers made a circle around them. Men, women, and children would dance to the intoxicating sounds of the island rhythm.

  There was something about the music which was like an aphrodisiac. It penetrated the mind of the listener and one could not help but move one’s feet. John felt the music in his body. As he looked at Chevaine clapping to the music, she hadn’t joined the circle but stood a little away from the crowd, he felt fire shoot through his loins. It was potent and he could not bear being there much longer, so he departed to his lonely cottage. Never had he felt such sexual need for any human being.

  The following nights were a little more tolerable for him. He made a conscious effort not to let the music invade his mind and body as much as it did the first night. In addition to steeling himself against the music, he kept his distance from Chevaine.

  The night before the funeral was called the ‘ninth night or ‘nine night,’ which John knew as a wake. On this particular night there was a prayer meeting early in the evening before the drummers started playing. The drums would be played right back until morning. Food and refreshments were prepared for those in attendance. The experience amazed John, and he felt he never wanted to return to Canada.

  ***

  There was a rumor going around and it was not good. It cast a very bad light on the new Pastor, his secretary, and the church in general. A meeting was called and held at Mrs. Chambers’ house. The gathering consisted of the older folk. Neither the pastor nor secretary was invited to this meeting. The meeting was called to discuss the future of the pastor and whether or not he should return to his country.

  There was no order to the meeting and everyone wanted to talk at the same time. It was one of the board members who spoke up first. “Calm down everybody and let’s hear what each person has to say. Just raise your hand if you want to add something,” Brother Thomas stated. Several hands shot up and Brother Thomas point one out.

  “I don’t believe the rumor. That boy Gregory is trouble….,” a woman stated.

  “He tried to have sex with my daughter!” a man shouted.

  “Are we talking about Gregory or the Pastor? I’m confused,” Brother Thomas asked.

  “He’s the one who started these lies. Chevaine would never do something like that and I like Pastor McCray,” another person said.

  “They should get married,” Mrs. Chambers said.

  “No, we don’t know anything about this man,” Mrs. Cameron had had enough and finally took her turn to speak. She stood and walked to the head of the group. “My daughter is a virtuous girl and she would never commit fornication. She is saving herself for marriage to the right person.”

  “Who here believes Gregory that Pastor and Chevaine are having an affair?”

  “I don’t know, they look kind of like they like each other,” someone from the group pointed out.

  “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean they are doing anything!”

  “This meeting is pointless. All we have is a jealous boy wanting to make trouble,” Mrs. Cameron stood and walked out the door followed by the rest of the group.

  Chevaine had been looking for her mother and just happened to be coming by Sister Chamber’s house to see if she was there. She had about reached the gate when she saw a group of about thirty people coming from the porch. She met her mom amongst the crowd.

  “What happened, Mommy?”

  “Come, my baby. I’ll tell you at home.” They walked home, Chevaine anxious to hear what her mom had to say.

  They were seated on her bed when her mom asked, “Is something going on with you and the pastor?”

  “Mom, why do you ask that?” she asked her mom, puzzled at the question.

  “Are you having sex with him?”

  “MOMMY! NO!” Chevaine exclaimed. A sigh of relief escaped Mrs. Cameron’s lips.

  “I knew you wouldn’t do anything like that but you young people are so unpredictable!” Chevaine was itching to tell her mom that she was indeed in love with the man, though not sleeping with him. Somehow she didn’t think this was the right time.

  “Mommy, why are you asking these questions?” she asked her mother, her English a little broken because of her upset.

  “Gregory told some folks you and the pastor are sleeping together,” her mom replied. “That boy is just jealous and causing trouble.”

  “That’s what the meeting was about?” Chevaine asked.

  “Uh-huh, some people say you and the pastor like each other, so they kind of believed it,” Mrs. Cameron sounded calmer than she did before she spoke with Chevaine.

  “I am going to give him a piece of my mind!” She was getting quite upset that Gregory would start such trouble.

  “If you can find him. He packed up and went back to the city after spreading the news,” her mother told her. “You know that the old mule down by Brother Thomas chased that boy the other night? He has some bad luck, that boy!”

  “Mommy, Susan wants you to make her wedding cake, you know,” Chevaine changed the subject.

  “She getting married?” Mrs. Cameron was clearly surprised.

  “Robert asked her to marry him. He is coming to live up in Cotton Tree Hill,” she told her mother.

  Robert the taxi driver and Susan had been together for nearly a year. He was a welcome addition to the community as he provided the needed transport to the nearby town and city. This wedding would be the first one John performed as pastor of Cotton Tree Hill.

  “So when you going give me a chance to make your wedding cake, girl?” Chevaine was not surprised that her mother would find a way to let her know she was getting impatient about her finding a husband. “How about that nice young man, what’s his name, Brother Thomas’ grand boy?”

  “Mommy, please. I’ll get married when I fall in love.”

  “You are going let me
die before I get any grandkids?” Mrs. Cameron asked.

  “Mommy, you have grandkids. You forget your son and his children?”

  “They live in America and I was talking about you and the grandchildren you should give me.” Her mother was exasperating sometimes. The conversation was getting quite tedious for Chevaine so she told her mother she was tired.

  As soon as Mrs. Cameron left the room she took her cellular phone out and dialed a number. The answer came after four rings.

  “Did I wake you?” she asked the man.

  “Chevaine? What’s wrong?” John asked. He looked at the digital clock beside the bed and saw it was nearly eleven thirty. She had never called this late before, so he was a bit alarmed.

  “John. There was a town meeting about us,” she told him.

  “What about? You don’t think they know, do they?” he asked, becoming quite awake.

  “No, not really. Gregory told them we were having an affair,” she informed him.

  “What?” John was shocked at the announcement.

  “I think we shouldn’t pursue this, you know, what we feel,” she informed him.

  “Why?” he asked.

  “I sense trouble for us, John. What if the town doesn’t approve? Plus, they would think that Gregory was telling the truth all along.”

  ***

  Gregory came back a week later pretending that he did nothing. John and Chevaine resumed a strict work relationship but that didn’t mean they felt nothing. Each time they were near each other, a magnetic field would open up and pull them in.

  Whenever their hands brushed against each other’s, their breaths would catch as they tried to still the intensity of electric waves that would wash over them. It was getting harder trying to suppress what they knew was real, but for the sake of the church and their reputations, they had to.

  It was coming to that time when the community would have its annual fun day activities which included a bake sale, sporting activities, a farmers market, and live music. All the residents of Cotton Tree Hill were involved in making the fun day happen. This year, they were also getting ready for Robert and Susan’s wedding.

  People from the city would attend the fair and the newspaper would be there as well. Usually, produce and animals would be on show and bidders would buy the animals in an auction. It was a wonderful affair and everyone looked forward to it.

  On Saturday morning, the community got up early to get the finishing touches done. John and Chevaine were among them, and so was Gregory. He had some nerve looking over at Chevaine and smiling as if he didn’t do anything wrong.

  The day started off really well with children activities. The women played cards and others sat around and talked. The men organized domino games and cricket. John had never played cricket and some of the men offered to teach him. Gregory hurriedly took a bat and planted himself at the crease, showing off how great he was at batting. When that didn’t get Chevaine’s attention, he proceeded to bowl, but a returning ball hit him in the balls. That cramped his competitive reign, at least for a while.

  When Gregory’s attempts at attention failed, he approached John. “I’m going to marry her someday, she just doesn’t know it yet,” he announced for John’s ears only.

  “I think you’ve lost that chance my boy,” John replied, patting him on his shoulder as he walked passed him.

  “What do you mean? Her parents like me and they won’t let a foreigner marry her,” he retorted.

  John stopped, turned, and looked straight into Gregory’s eyes. “Whether or not she marries me is not the point. The minute you tried to ruin her reputation was the minute you lost any glimmer of hope there might have been.” This time John walked away, leaving Gregory to stew in his own anger.

  Just about that time, the sky started getting a bit dark as the clouds obscured the sun. Thunder could be heard in the distance but no one paid it much mind as this was regular in these parts. It was when the first drops of huge rain pellets stung some of the children, who screamed and ran inside the community center, that people started taking the weather seriously.

  Somehow, Chevaine and John ended up being crushed together in a corner of the small building as the rain started coming in torrents. People rushed inside the building, some carrying stuff from outside.

  She was facing one of the young women from the community high school who was busy playing games on her phone. She felt his firm frame against her back. The warmth from his body seeped through her clothing and into her spine, sending sparks of electricity through her.

  Chevaine’s heart started beating a bit wildly in her chest. She was afraid the girl would notice, but luckily she was distracted. As more people came from outside and the room got really packed, Chevaine found herself pressed up really closely against John. It was so close that she could feel his heart beat on her back and his manhood pressed into her lower back.

  She could not help but wonder what it looked like. A huge part of her longed to touch it and the thought shocked her for she had never touched a man’s cock before. Chevaine wasn’t naïve, she knew what happened between men and women, but this was her first taste of desire.

  Closing her eyes, she savored the feeling of pleasure which washed over her as John pressed into her even more. No one noticed her, for everyone was scrunched up against the other. If anyone did take note they would have only thought she was suffering from discomfort.

  John wasn’t at all immune to what was happening either and try as he might, he could not control his body from responding to Chevaine’s closeness. He felt a sensation in his groin as he grew hard against her. He, too, closed his eyes and tried to block out the picture of their naked bodies together lying somewhere on a lonely beach. His eyes flew open as he realized that closing them was a bad idea.

  Trying to find a song, he started humming to nothing in particular but this did not help at all as all he could think of was running his lips along her neckline and down to her breast. John could feel her ass pressing into his lower groin area and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

  For two hours, John and Chevaine was pressed up against each other as the rain fell heavily outside. Not word was spoken between the two but they each knew what each other was feeling.

  The day’s event had to be postponed as the ground outside was too soggy to do anything and the community center was too small to hold all the people who were there. After the rain paused for a while, people started leaving for home, taking whatever they had brought with them. The food was given away to whoever wanted.

  Not wanting to go home just yet, Chevaine returned to the church office. The rain had started again so she wanted to make sure everything was secure and there were no leaks since the cottage was quite old. She had just secured the windows and checked the main office when she noticed a puddle of water near the filing cabinet. It was coming from a drip in the ceiling. The rain was falling very heavily by now and there were gusts of wind as well. She pondered her next move when the door flew open and John rushed in soaking wet.

  He trembled from the chill of the rain soaked garments. He seemed surprised to see Chevaine and wasn’t sure what to do. He just stood there and stared at her.

  “What are you doing, John? Come in out of the rain before you catch a cold.” By the time she uttered those words, John sneezed.

  “I came to check to make sure everything was secure. Is this normal for this time of year?” he asked.

  “There are usually a lot of rains in October and it being the end of the hurricane season, it’s usually a little unpredictable,” she answered.

  There was a sudden flash of lightning, followed by blackness as the lights went out. The lightning lit up the room and thunder shook the cottage. Chevaine took her cellular phone from her pocket and checked the signal which was down to one bar. She quickly called her mother, who could barely hear her for the line was breaking up. Her mom told her not to try and venture out for it seemed there was a storm brewing and it might be dangerous
out.

  Though not quite night fall, everything looked really dark. The howling of the wind shook the windows and rattled at the door. The storm had come so suddenly that there had been no preparation to bar windows and place the usual sand bags on the roofs, though some houses still had their sandbags in place from the last storms.

  “You need to get out of those wet clothes,” Chevaine urged. He had stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Where he stood there was now a puddle of water.

  “I have nothing here. Maybe I should try getting home,” he responded. But as if the elements were replying to him, he heard something fall outside. Looking through the window in the looming darkness, he could make out a large branch in the yard. “On second thought, I’ll just borrow one of the robes in the closet.”

  There were some old choir robes in the closet which were donated by a church from the city. They were kept at the cottage because the members thought they were too old and they decided to get new ones instead.

  While John changed, Chevaine lit the stove and some candles to get some light and heat as the temperature had dropped considerably. John came out with his wet clothing in hand and Chevaine knew in an instant that he wore nothing beneath the navy blue robe. The thought of him wearing no underwear made her flush hotly. All of a sudden, the room became too warm so she shut the stove off.

  Outside was a thunder and wind storm, not quite a hurricane but strong enough to cause real damage should anyone venture out. Neither of them knew when it would blow over, so they decided to make the most of the situation. There were snacks in the fridge and the old robes could be used for blankets.

  “So what do we do to pass the time?” John inquired. They had to do something to distract them, he thought.

  “I-I-don’t know.” She found herself stuttering and nervous. “Maybe we could just talk?”

  John wasn’t sure about that. He needed something less intimate than talking, maybe a card game or something. “Okay then.”

  By this time, night had fallen and Mrs. Cameron was worried about her daughter being all alone in the church office. She hoped that Pastor McCrary was there as well to keep her company.