by S M Mala
‘What about you and Eloise?’
‘We fell in love, very simple.’
‘Then why couldn’t you be together?’
‘Because it doesn’t matter how cosmopolitan a city is, it’s how the people closest to you feel about it. I knew my father was livid and then there was Eloise’s background to deal with. She wasn’t ashamed of how she was created but it’s very hard to explain to people why a black child is living with white people. She didn’t really have contact with people similar to herself, it was very confusing. The only friend she had was Delores, whose parents are actually African Americans.’
‘She speaks with an English accent,’ grimaced Jake for a moment as his father caught his eye. ‘How did she end up in London?’
‘Her parents worked for a large pharmaceutical company and they moved to London when she was a child, hence the voice. Eloise and Delores met at school then went to study at the same college.’ Murray looked at his son for a moment. ‘You see, I knew after I finished my degree I’d work with my father or try and do better than he did. I’d have chosen Eloise over it all but she didn’t think the same. She knew I loved her but there was a barrier between us. Not only was there her background there was the fact she didn’t think she could give me a family, due to the heart defect. Eloise wanted me to be happy, that’s all she cared about.’ He took a sharp intake of air before continuing. ‘The next thing I knew, she’d left her teaching job and no one knew where she’d gone. I searched high and low. Not even Delores knew.’
‘Or she wasn’t saying?’ added Jake as his father smiled.
‘You never know,’ he shrugged. ‘But I tracked her down to the island where she was teaching so the next step was to get there. I researched the potential for tourism and how businesses could thrive. Demonstrating to my father building hotels and property would be beneficial and make us money. He agreed. I said I wanted to oversee the whole project. Until my parent’s dying breath, they had no idea Eloise ever lived on the island.’
‘So why not get married? They’d be none the wiser.’
‘Eloise knew it would cause all amount of problems but, in the meantime, she met a man who worked as a carpenter and thought to help him with immigration. The agreement was purely platonic.’ Murray’s face darkened for a moment. ‘They wed but on her wedding night, he beat and raped her, stealing whatever money she had and ran.’
‘Where were you?’
‘I was on the other side of the island at the time. It was Frederick Isaacs who told me about it, as he knew I knew Eloise. As soon as I found out, I rushed to her side. She wasn’t that battered and bruised but she was confused why someone she had been kind to could be so cruel. From that moment, she wanted to be with me and I was so happy. Then a few weeks later she found out she was pregnant, and with her heart and everything, she didn’t want to get rid of the baby. What could I do? I loved her so much and she’d come round to my way of thinking but now there was this almighty bombshell. I tried so hard to convince her to not go through with it, abort his child.’
‘Why wouldn’t she listen if she knew it would affect her health? Jake saw the haunted expression on his father’s face before he smiled at his son.
‘Because it would be killing part of her and she wanted the baby so badly. When she was pregnant, it was the happiest time of my life… until the day she died. I saw Hatty being born. I held her in my arms and after she prettied up, I realised she looked exactly like her mother. How could I not fall in love with that baby and want to look after her as my own?’ Murray took a deep breath, his eyes filling with tears. ‘The hospital tried their hardest to keep Eloise alive, really hard and god did that woman try to fight for her life. Eventually, her heart gave up and there was nothing we could have done. Not all the technology in the world can save people, you know.’
‘Dad I’m so sorry,’ Jake said, holding his father’s hand. ‘That’s an awful thing.’
‘So here I was, a white American man with this little multi ethnic baby girl and Ethel.’ He laughed out loudly. ‘Ethel would have taken her in immediately but I needed to protect Hatty. Her father was still out there and anything could have happened. When she was a year old, after the first anniversary of Eloise’s death, I took her to London after Delores agreed to look after her, to keep her safe.’
‘Was Delores happy to do this?’
‘She said she was but now, it seems, it wasn’t of her own choice it was because she wanted to make me happy,’ he said quietly. ‘I owe a debt to Delores, no matter what you think. She looked after a child that wasn’t even hers and she did a good job. When Hatty was nine Delores said she wanted to move to the island with her. I wasn’t sure but I wanted her to be closer and, foolishly, thought Hatty might be happier there. I was so wrong. Mosquito, bullying by the kids, her accident! It was like something was telling me I should have left her in London but…’ There was a deathly silence. ‘She is like a daughter to me… and legally is.’
‘What?’ Jake did a double blink. ‘I thought Delores was her-.’
‘The day Eloise died she told me to protect her child as she had no one else. I’m Hatty’s adopted father.’
They walked silently back to Jake’s apartment as Murray kept looking at his son.
‘Are you alright?’ Murray asked gently.
‘Why didn’t you ever tell me?’
‘Because only a few people know and that’s how I wanted to keep it. Your mother knew about it but she told Caroline, who immediately thought I was the father. Delores obviously knows. Frederick, Elena, Ethel and now you. Hatty has no idea and that’s how I prefer it. She never calls me dad, father, uncle, always ‘Murray’ or if she’s making a point or sulking ‘Mister Murray’. I have also heard her call me a few other things when she doesn’t think I can hear.’
‘What happened to her father?’ Jake said, trying to get his head around it.
‘I think I’ve told you enough for today, haven’t I? Now let me see how you’ve ruined a perfectly good property.’
As they got to Jake’s home, which he’d tidied up knowing his father would scrutinise the place as he effectively owned it, Jake fixed them a drink.
‘What are your plans tonight?’ Murray asked. ‘Out with your friends?’
‘Planning to meet at eight for drinks, dinner then on to a club,’ he laughed before hesitating for a moment. ‘Thanks for telling me about Hatty’s mother.’
‘I knew you wanted to know about Hatty and-.’ Murray was immediately distracted and stood up, walking towards the other side of the room. ‘Where did you get this from?’
‘What?’ Jake turned and noticed his father was looking at the mirror. ‘Hatty made it as a parting gift.’
‘It’s truly beautiful. She’s very talented,’ smiled Murray, turning to Jake. ‘Both of you are. And for her it’s especially good as she has to earn a living now she hasn’t got a job.’
‘What do you think she’s going to do?’
‘You know what Jake?’ his father said, walking closer to Jake. ‘I think you should come back to the island and take a position at the local newspaper for a few months, get some basic experience.’
‘What?’
‘You could stay with me and why not work in the sunny Caribbean?’
‘Why do you want me to come back?’ he asked suspiciously, not sure if he actually wanted to return so soon.
‘I need to make up to you for being a shit father and this is as good a time as any,’ he said gently. ‘When you start working full time in New York you’ll never have the time to see your old man.’
‘But-.’
‘Think about it.’
‘These are my terms,’ Hatty said, sitting in Murray’s living room with her suitcase beside her and Delores standing, shaking furiously. ‘I think that’s fair don’t you?’
‘You’re in no position to dictate terms to me!’ shouted Delores, who stormed about. ‘When Murray turns up we’ll see what he says about this. You’ve been away
for six weeks, thanks to Murray Logan. You can’t expect to live here for free!’
‘I don’t want to live here and I’ll pay my own way,’ she said, noticing Ethel walk through the living room and stop.
‘Ya ‘ungry Hatty?’ the lady asked, smiling brightly at her. ‘It feel so empty widout ya.’
‘I’m back,’ Hatty smiled, standing up and walking to the old lady. ‘I’ve seen the world for long enough to know I wanted to come home.’
‘Ya not be able to teach,’ smiled Ethel as Hatty knew Delores was fuming silently. ‘Ya know ya aunt she be offered a part time job in dat same school.’
‘Really?’ grinned Hatty, turning around and receiving a fatal stare from Delores. ‘That’s brilliant. You’d be so good at-.’
‘Hatty!’ snapped Delores. ‘This is not a game. You need to do something with your life. You’re twenty three years old! You can’t go gallivanting around this island until you’re fifty.’
‘I have no intention of doing so. I will find work and-.’
‘You know how people talk about you,’ she hissed. ‘How are you going to stand there and hear them whisper when you couldn’t even accept it from a group of six year olds!
‘I don’t have to accept anything,’ Hatty said firmly, getting annoyed with her aunt and walking out. ‘Where’s Murray?’
‘He’s not come back from the States,’ said Delores and Hatty stopped in mid stride.
‘What do you mean?’
‘As I said,’ Delores replied harshly, as Ethel scampered off to the kitchen. ‘Is this all about what happened with you falling off the bike? Are you trying to teach me a lesson?’
‘You slapped me hard aunt and I fell,’ Hatty said, gulping not wanting to talk about it. ‘Ethel saw it and never said a word and so did Jake. He-.’
‘Jake!’ Delores shook her head. ‘This is all about him not being interested, isn’t it? Don’t you think I know?’
‘What’s there to know?’ shrugged Hatty, still upset thinking about it as her cheeks burned.
‘He wasn’t interested. That’s why you’ve been acting in such an improper manner.’
‘And you never explained to me why Murray never married you or let you live in this house?’ she said, not looking at her aunt. ‘Until you explain why you were forced to bring me up and why I should be grateful, then there’s no point us talking, is there?’
‘What happened in Spain?’
‘I grew up!’
Without a moment’s hesitation, Hatty walked towards her bike, unlocked it and rode to her secret hiding place but was initially overcome by the heat. She waved to the people all saying, in a roundabout way,
‘Ha Ha Hatty, ya back!’
For the first time ever, she felt they missed her and she had a place. As she approached the house, she let herself in and immediately felt at home more than anywhere else in the world. After six weeks of not doing any carpentry, she rolled up her sleeves, inspired by what and who she met in Spain.
Two days later, after avoiding her aunt, she saw Murray sitting on the patio as she cycled directly towards him, flung down her bike, jumped into his arms and gave him a massive hug.
‘What the hell have you been up to?’ he said, pushing her back and looking at her up and down. ‘Delores is furious.’
‘I’ve kept out of her way so don’t go blaming me for upsetting her Mister Murray!’ snapped Hatty, sitting down next to him. ‘I’m not having anyone telling me what to do, ever again.’
‘I see,’ smiled Murray, taking a sip of his drink.
‘And where’ve you been? Aunt said when you flew out after me and you haven’t been back. That’s not like you. How would I have been able to contact you if something had gone wrong?’ She watched him return the glass to the table before quickly grabbing the glass and knocking back some of his scotch. She had her hand slapped and the drink taken away. ‘You’re not nice!’
‘Then we have something in common,’ he smirked. ‘Did Philip enjoy his holiday?’
‘I think it was an eye opener and we met someone,’ she said sheepishly, gauging the reaction.
‘Who?’
‘A man called Gabriel Sanchez,’ she smiled brightly. ‘You know he’s Spanish. Actually Brazilian born but his parents moved to Spain.’
‘Obviously.’ Murray rolled his eyes and she could see he wasn’t impressed.
‘It’s funny he’s Brazilian like my dad.’ She was met with a grunt. ‘And he’s so clever and talented. He studied psychology to become a therapist and he’s also an artist. Gabriel showed us around and he was-.’
‘I take it he’s a poor artist?’ frowned Murray. ‘All artists are poor.’
‘Well you’re wrong,’ Hatty said, lying back in the chair and stretching out her legs. examining her grubby hands. ‘He has money as he still practises and paints as a hobby, though he does sell pieces. I showed him my work and he said I could make a good living out of-.’
‘Oh no!’ he said, sitting up quickly and shaking his head from side to side. ‘You’re not going to make gifts for tourists.’
‘Murray you know I’m good. You yourself said I had talent. You either talk her into it or give me a job in one of the hotels.’
‘Doing what?’
‘I can work behind the bar.’
‘You’d drink it dry.’
‘In the kitchen.’
‘You’d either poison someone or start a fire.’
‘Joinery. I could learn a trade and-.’
‘Hatty, you are not qualified and we all know how much you love studying.’ Murray sat back in his chair and stared at her.
‘I can study.’
‘Do you think I want you to work with a team of men?’
‘I need to earn money, so aunt says, and I want to do something I like and I know I can do well.’
‘And does she have any idea about your secret hobby?’
‘If she did then it wouldn’t be a secret?’ said Hatty confidently, though she was quaking inside.
‘I saw the mirror you gave Jake.’
‘Really,’ she said, instantly riled by his name as her heart sunk. She’d thought about him every day since he went. ‘I thought he’d have thrown it away.’
‘It’s hanging in his living room.’
‘Is it covering a damp patch?’
‘Aren’t you going to ask me how he is?’
‘No,’ she said and got up looking down at the slightly amused man who was stroking his beard. ‘I can’t live with Delores anymore. I too need to be independent.’
‘‘Too’ being like Jake?’
‘I’m nothing like him.’
‘What did he do to upset you so much?’ smiled Murray.
‘We had a minor misunderstanding.’
‘Okay, so where are you proposing to live?’ he said. ‘As if I didn’t know!’
‘I’ll pay you rent.’
‘Hatty.’
‘It’s the only place where I feel happy and it’s such a waste no one’s living in it,’ she said, sitting back down. ‘I know I had an accident, I know we don’t talk about it but what happened, happened. I was ten and I am now twenty three. Let me go back to my home, even though I know it’s yours, and I’ll look after it, care for it. Make it into a beautiful place. It’d be an investment for you.’ She looked pleadingly at him and could see his face was etched with concern. ‘There won’t be another accident, I promise. You’ve effectively cordoned it off. Not even Barney could get to the edge.’
‘You can hear the sea more clearly there than anywhere else,’ he said gently. ‘What happens when there’s thunder and lightning and the sea’s raging? You’ll be all on your own.’
‘I have to face my demons,’ Hatty smiled for a moment as he grimaced. ‘Though I think the biggest demon lives in the bungalow right over there.’
‘No!’ shouted Delores as they stood on the back patio, overlooking the calm sea a few hours later. ‘I will not allow her to go back there!’ Hatty sat perf
ectly still as Murray stood with his hands behind his back. ‘It’s not safe.’
‘That depends on how you define ‘safe’,’ Hatty said, receiving a disapproving look from Murray. ‘It’s a very solid building and a strong house. It’s been empty since the day I was washed up on the beach but that’s not the house’s fault, that’s my own.’ Something dug deep in her gut as she said that, knowing she still couldn’t remember it all. ‘Aunt Delores, I have visited that house every day since I got better and as beautiful as it is here, I prefer it there. Away from people, away from things and I want to live there as an adult, on my own.’
‘You’re always saying you want her to stand on her own two feet,’ added Murray, turning his back to them. ‘Here’s the perfect opportunity for Hatty to prove it. She’s not a child.’
‘Why are you agreeing?’ said Delores, walking up to Murray. ‘You know it’s ridiculous.’
‘Why is it ridiculous?’ Hatty asked quietly. ‘Let’s be honest, you’ve not been happy with me for ages.’
‘What are you implying?’ Delores said aghast.
‘Things have changed and I can’t be the teacher you want so it’s best I do something I can do.’
‘Which is what?’
‘I’m very good at crafts and I can make things to sell on market-.’
‘You want to sell on a stall?’ Delores said, choking on a laugh coming to her throat. ‘My god Hatty you really are sinking to new depths.’
‘What do you mean?’ Hatty replied, seeing the disdain in Delores expression. ‘There’s nothing wrong with earning an honest living.’
‘And you’d know about that, would you? You’ve never had to earn anything to date. When I was twenty three I was teaching and looking after you.’