Scarlett Bride (The Scarletts

by Brenda Barrett

  On Tuesday she went sightseeing with Lola, Reuben's wife, who was quite happy for the company. She was fairly new to Jamaica. And they spent a jolly good time going to a place called Negril. Lola drove like a maniac on steroids and she found herself praying like never before for God to allow them to get back safely.

  God answered prayers, because she was whole and in one piece when they arrived back at Treasure Beach after a well-spent day together in Negril.

  On Wednesday she met Faith, Reuben's sister. She went into the town to remove her braids. Faith's parlor was quite close to the practice where Oliver worked.

  "When you are done, come on over," Oliver said after introducing her to Faith, who had no clue about the arrangement between her and Oliver.

  "Your story is so romantic," Faith gushed. "He couldn't leave you behind when he saw you in the wilds of Africa, could he? I can't blame him; you look a lot like Yasmin Warsame. I think she is of Somalian origin. I have a picture of her right here on a Revlon ad."

  She whipped it out of a side drawer. "I was trying to recreate this molten metal eye shadow on another client. See?"

  Faith pushed the magazine at her. "Gorg, isn't she? And look at the makeup. Nice, huh?"

  "Yes." Ashaki looked at the model. "The makeup is very nice and she is quite pretty."

  Faith looked at her contemplatively. "When I am done with you, you'll look better."

  Ashaki was not quite sure about that but after three hours of braid removal, a burgundy shade highlight added to her hair, and a process called a wash-and-go on her shoulder-length, thick natural hair, she was sure that Faith was a miracle worker. The makeup tutorial she gave Ashaki was confirmation.

  "Now you look like a movie star," Faith breathed. "And the thing is, you can look this way every day if you so desire. On you it was easy. I can just sell you the relevant products."

  When she looked at herself in the mirror she couldn't quite believe that it was herself.

  "Oliver is going to be wowed," Faith said proudly. "I am sure that he'll be unable to keep his hands off you before you reach home! I know how honeymooners are. Reuben and Lola make me slightly nauseated with their constant lovey-dovey madness."

  Faith and her assistant laughed heartily at that remark. Ashaki only managed a smile.

  "We have dinner this evening with our neighbors."

  "Ricky Mills!" Faith squealed. "Why didn't you say?"

  "I didn't know it was important." Ashaki was glad for the change of subject from honeymoons and touchy-feely stuff.

  "I like him," Faith said wistfully, "but he thinks I am too young."

  "How old are you?" Ashaki asked curiously.

  "Twenty-one." Faith snorted. "Put in a good word for me at dinner tonight, okay. In the middle of one of the courses, slap the table and say, Ricardo Mills you need to date Faith!"

  Ashaki shook her head. "I won't do that."

  "I know, it was a joke," Faith said forlornly, "but if he asks you who on earth did your hair; it is so lush and glorious and curly, remember to mention my name and say my 'single' hairdresser Faith did it."

  Ashaki laughed. "That I may be able to do."

  ****

  She was anxious to see the inside of Oliver's new workplace, to see where he spent most of the day. She also wanted to see his reaction when he saw her new look.

  The paractice was spacious. When she walked through the front door the waiting room was almost empty. It was close to closing time anyway, and the receptionist told her that they were not taking anymore appointments today when she said she was there to see the doctor.

  "No, you misunderstand," Ashaki said, resting her numerous bags of makeup and hair products on the wide desk. "I am Dr. Oliver's wife."

  "Oh." The receptionist smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Mrs. Scarlett. He's with his last patient for the day. If you would like to sit in the doctor's lounge, I'll show you the way."

  Ashaki nodded and walked into the inner sanctum of the building. She passed doors with the doctors' names on them. One of them had Oliver's name. She smiled when she walked past it. There were several doors with operating room a, b and c, and then at the back of the building, surrounded by glass, was an area with sofas, magazines on a center table and a kitchenette.

  "Make yourself comfortable," the receptionist said with a smile, "I'll tell Dr. Oliver that you are here when he is done."

  "Thank you." Ashaki sat down and kicked up her feet on a hassock. She was feeling quite sleepy and might be a little hungry. She closed her eyes. Maybe she wouldn't eat before dinner tonight; no need to spoil her appetite.

  She dozed off. She was in Kidogo, her father was alive, and he smiled at her. "Have you found the diamonds, beautiful one?"

  "No, Papa. Maybe you were confused about them."

  "No I wasn't." His voice got weaker. "Find them."

  "I am no longer here in Kidogo." She looked down at herself and then back at him.

  "Seek and you will find."

  It was the voices that woke her up from her nap. A female voice and Oliver's.

  She found herself faintly disappointed that it was just a dream. She struggled to open her eyes. They had just walked into the room but obviously they had not seen her yet.

  "You are not good for the female patients at this practice, Oliver." The lady chuckled. "One patient told me that after seeing you she had heart palpitations."

  And then Oliver's rejoinder: "You mean the old lady that keeps sending me roses?"

  The lady chuckled. "You should wear a wedding ring; keeps the respectful ones away."

  Oliver did not say anything. Ashaki forced her eyes open to see his expression. He was sipping tea at the kitchenette. And he was looking straight at her.

  "Hey," he said, "sleeping beauty is awake."

  "Yes, she is. "

  Ashaki swung her head around and then blinked. The lady wore a white coat. She was short and curvy. She had a medium brown complexion and long curly hair that was pulled back in a ponytail.

  "Hello Ashaki, I am Nellie Levy. I was just teasing Oliver. No worries."

  Ashaki blinked. Why hadn't she imagined that Nellie would look so young and pretty when Oliver mentioned her first?

  And why was she feeling this heavy weight of instant jealousy?

  She shook Nellie's outstretched hand and then straightened up from where she had sprawled out. "I have no idea how I fell asleep so quickly."

  "You deserve the rest," Oliver said gently. "You've been pretty busy lately."

  Nellie smiled at her but somehow the smile did not reach her eyes. "And if the doctor says it..."

  "Nellie is always teasing," Oliver said, smiling at Nellie and looking a little too much like he liked her teasing.

  "Not always." Nellie piped up. Ashaki looked between the two of them and at Nellie’s soft smile toward Oliver.

  "Oliver and I go way back. We did pre-med together and we've been friends forever," Nellie said, as if answering her silent query.

  Ashaki nodded at her, not saying anything to break up the lovefest. She got up from her relaxed position and stretched.

  She almost glared at Nellie. Almost. But oh, she wanted to. Now she knew why Oliver was fuming when Ricky flirted with her.

  Nellie stepped back from her, maybe sensing her hostility. "Well, I am off to spend the next couple of minutes moving into my new place."

  She turned to Oliver, ignoring Ashaki. "I cannot live with my parents; you know how Daddy is, and my stepmother. So I got myself a townhouse in Pedro. Swanky new place with a sea view. Maybe I'll have a housewarming party—listen out for your invite. Take care, Oliver."

  Said with an inflection of intimacy.

  "Nice to meet you, Ashaki," she said with a dismissive briskness.

  And just like that Ashaki developed insecurities she never knew she had.

  Chapter Eight

  Oliver was battling a severe case of desire for his temporary wife. This was not good, especially since it was mixed with jealousy. T
o make things worse, she was mad at him for something. All the way back to Treasure Beach she was silent and glaring at him—for what, he had no clue.

  He should be the one glaring at her for doing whatever it was she had done to her hair and face to impress Ricky Mills. The guy had already told her she was exquisite and gorgeous. What would he say when he saw her looking all sophisticated and modelesque?

  "Whatever it is I did, I am sorry," Oliver said after the long unbroken silence filled with thick tension.

  They reached their driveway and he stopped the car and turned to her.

  Ashaki shrugged. "It's not you, Oliver. It's me. I keep forgetting that this is not a real marriage!"

  She turned to the door, got out of the car and grabbed her things huffily.

  "I keep forgetting," she slammed the door and looked at him with venom, "that I am just the girl you helped because David begged you to."

  Oliver inhaled and got out of the car as well. That accusation rankled and he didn't know why. David begged him, yes, but he did it.

  "Ashaki..."

  "No, it’s fine. It's facts." She let herself into the house and slammed the door. Then he heard her room door slam.

  Of course he did something wrong. He ran through his day and tried to pinpoint what but came up with nothing. He went to work a little after ten. He had dropped Ashaki off at Faith's when he came to get her at one o'clock and then she came over to the office.

  What could have gone wrong by then? Was it the fact that he hadn't complimented her on her new hair and makeup?

  She looked good as usual, a bit more mature and sophisticated, and it scared him, to be honest. His feelings for her scared him. He didn't want to have them and there was no way on earth he was going to entertain them.

  She was just a girl who for a long time did not have access to all of the things he took for granted. He wanted her to live her life, to experience everything other girls her age would do.

  His feelings for her clouded the issue, but they were there and got worse every day. He could not give in to them; he would get hurt. He had kept his distance so far and would continue to do so for the forseeable future.

  He ran his hands through his hair and scratched his head. He had promised David that he wouldn't get involved.

  Such a stupid promise to make. Ashaki was the kind of girl that wasn't hard to get attached to, wasn't hard at all to love.

  He closed his eyes. No...that word, love...no.

  He looked at his watch. He had twenty minutes to get ready and go meet the neighbors.

  ****

  He got ready in fifteen. Ashaki was sitting downstairs in the semi-dark, listening to one of Nate's CD's.

  Unfortunately as he stepped on the last step. Labyrinth's song "Jealous" started.

  "We have five minutes," he said to her.

  She sat up straighter on the settee. "No, wait a second. I like this song."

  And he stood there and watched her as the song washed over him. He would relate fully to this song one day where she was concerned. He was going to say like the song...”it’s hard for me to say I am jealous of the way you're happy without me.” That would be his fate.

  He inhaled shakily and after the last potent line, they looked at each other—their eyes held and locked. He couldn't look away even if he wanted to.

  She was the first one to drop her gaze. The clock struck seven, breaking their stare.

  "It would be a shame if we are late, since we live next door and all," Oliver said, his voice husky.

  "Yes." Ashaki got up. She was in a black dress with some sparkles near the v-neckline. It was a simple dress and she looked elegant in it.

  "You look wonderful," he said, opening the door for her.

  "So do you." She smiled at him shyly. "I am sorry if I yelled at you earlier."

  "You are forgiven." Oliver inclined his head to the door. "Let's go."

  They walked in companionable silence over to the Mills' villa and were greeted at the door by Ricky Mills, who was careful not to compliment Ashaki or stare at her too long.

  "Good to see you both," he said in his best host voice.

  Oliver, who had been prepared for war, was put at ease and was even more so after they joined Francine, a woman who looked too young to be Ricky's mother.

  They were both very interesting people, Oliver realized. Francine was a former model and she regaled them with tales of her modeling days.

  "You wouldn't like to model would you, Ashaki?" she said after a while.

  "I don't think so." Ashaki smiled. "I am thinking of going to school in a couple of weeks."

  "School and modeling are not mutually exclusive, you know." Francine clipped her fingers. "My agency would sign you in a heartbeat. Milan, Paris, and New York would be yours."

  Ashaki glanced at Oliver.

  "It's your choice." He said it lightly but he wasn't feeling as blasé as he acted. He wanted her to be independent and yet he liked the idea of her being tied to him somehow.

  "I think I'd like staying with Oliver a bit more." She cupped her hand under her chin. "I just got here."

  "Aw," Ricky teased, "Oliver Scarlett is a lucky, lucky man."

  Francine nodded. "I concur with Ricky. If you change your mind I'll give you my card before you leave. And you won't be really leaving Oliver. He can go with you. He can afford to."

  Francine looked at Oliver. "Isn't that so?"

  "Well," Oliver said diplomatically, "technically no. I can’t go with her to wherever. I started working at Dr. Levy's practice recently, mostly part-time hours."

  "Old Dr. Levy?" Ricky interjected. "He's finally taking a vacation? Good for the old fellow. He's been threatening to retire for years!"

  "He took one just last week," Oliver smiled. "It was supposed to be for six weeks. He said he hated it and was back in practice a week later. The good news is his daughter, Nellie, is there now though. Maybe she will convince him to take some time off."

  "Nellie Levy?" Ricky raised an eyebrow. "Petite, curvy, pretty, very nice smile? I met her in the town recently; she introduced herself as the female Dr. Levy."

  "That's Nellie," Oliver nodded.

  "I feel quite warm," Ricky joked. "Francine, do you think I should go to the doctor?"

  Francine chuckled. "And I am guessing that Oliver here won't do?"

  "No. Wrong gender." Ricky grinned. "I want Nellie to look me over."

  Ashaki looked at Oliver while he laughed at Ricky's silly joke. Her stony expression was back.

  What did he do now? Oliver fidgeted with the glass. Shouldn't he have laughed politely with Ricky?

  They went for dinner in the formal dining room. It was catered food from the Mills' hotel Villa Ingles and there was a lot of food, and a wide variety.

  Some of it was African cuisine, Francine admitted, in an attempt to impress Ashaki with knowledge of her cuisine.

  Ashaki ate the food and she was very complimentary. Her regular sparkle was muted somewhat but she still managed to captivate Francine and Ricky, especially when she told them about what her life was like in Kidogo.

  After dinner the talk turned to his family, more specifically Lisa Scarlett.

  "I am very happy she is my niece," Francine said, “and that we found each other. I am still in the smothering stage and Lisa, who is quite independent, thinks I am going to turn out to be her crazy aunty."

  "Wait, a minute, I knew there was something I had to tell you relating to your family, Oliver. I called Lisa to tell her today but I forgot completely," Ricky grimaced, "maybe because I couldn't get in a word about anything without hearing about Nate this and Nate that."

  Oliver grinned. "What is it?"

  "I heard that you guys had a family meeting and you were all updated on the infamous Spot. The mystical place I can't remember but where I am supposed to meet Peter Scarlett?"

  Oliver nodded.

  "Well," Ricky tapped his fingers on the table, "I think I know where the Spot is. Unfortunately I haven't
gotten my memory back in relation to the mysterious Spot, but I was rummaging through my computer files and I came upon a picture of a place in Montego Bay called Southern Pottery."

  "Southern Pottery?" Oliver raised a brow. "As in S from Southern and Pot from pottery?"

  "Yep." Ricky nodded. "I had several pictures of the place on my computer for no apparent reason. They sell pots and to my knowledge, I have never been interested in pottery and the pictures focused on the building. So I was thinking that it’s worth a shot to find out if that's the Spot I had written down in my book."

  "Interesting." Ashaki leaned forward. "This is like a mystery book, like Nancy Drew."

  "Nancy Drew? I didn't know they had Nancy Drew books in the Congo."

  Ashaki chuckled. "Yes, we had them, and many more people from all over the world would send books to the mission. Because I loved to read, I would spend hours in the library. It helped me with my English."

  "Oh," Francine looked pensive and then turned to Oliver, "I need to get in touch with that mission place of yours. It just occurred to me that I can donate stuff too. I am not a major reader but would clothes do? I have tons."

  Oliver nodded. "Sure."

  "Oh yes," Ashaki nodded. "I only had two dresses before I got here, and that was a luxury."

  "Really? Two dresses? In your entire life? Just two?” Francine asked in disbelief.

  Ashaki nodded. "It wasn't really a bad thing. The less you had, the less there was to steal."

  "Good Lord." Francine leaned back in her chair with a faraway look in her eyes. It seemed as if she was going to take the whole night to digest the fact that a woman could only have two dresses and find it a blessing.

  Oliver brought the subject around to the Spot again. "Ricky, your meeting with Peter was supposed to be on August 15th. That's in six weeks."

  "I know." Ricky nodded, "but this picture is the best I could come up with. I am not even sure whether it's the place or not."

  "I'll tell Zack," Oliver said, "Maybe I'll personally go and check it out. Everybody else has met my brother in Montego Bay except me. I could kill two birds with one stone and do a Mobay trip."