by Honey
* * *
“Mr. Orville?” Zach glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand. It was 5:15 a.m. He never rose before eight o’clock on Saturdays unless it was a special occasion. With Jill still in Kingston after four months of fighting with the immigration department, nothing was special anymore.
“Yes, it is Orville, Zachary. I need to tell ya about Jillian.”
“What’s wrong with Jill?” Zach sat up and wiped his eyes. “I spoke with her last night. She told me she was fine.” He reached forward to pull Nahima from the foot of the bed and placed her under the covers. “She wasn’t very talkative, though. I assumed she was tired.”
“Jillian is very depressed. Roy drives her to the immigration services and consulate every other day. When she learns there have been no changes to her travel papers, she becomes upset. Jillian’s crying spells keep coming. She refuses to eat, and she only drinks a little. Her mother and I are fretful, Zachary. We are asking you to come to Jamaica for a visit. Even a short one could lift her spirits.”
“I’ll try to make arrangements at my job for an indefinite leave of absence. My friend Dex will continue the process with the immigration department here while I’m away. Hopefully, I can call you and Ms. Faye Monday afternoon with my travel agenda. But please don’t mention anything to Jill about my visit until you’ve spoken to me, sir. She would be devastated if my plans fell through for some reason.”
“I will do as you have asked, Zachary, but please make haste. I am very worried about my daughter.”
Chapter Twenty-seven
With a shortage of nurses experienced in neonatal care on staff, Zach had had to wait a week before he was cleared to leave for Jamaica. And in that short time span, Jill’s mental state had worsened. Zach’s had too. He had spoken to Oliver while he sat on the plane, waiting for his flight to take off. The boy had said Jill had not been out of her room all morning. She hadn’t eaten, drunk any liquids, or taken a shower. The only way they even knew she was still alive was by breaking into her small bedroom to check her pulse and heartbeat. Oliver had told Zach he wanted to tell Jill that he was on his way to Jamaica, but he couldn’t wake her.
Zach looked down at the crystal blue ocean as the plane began to make its descent to the island. He was anxious to be reunited with Jill but was more concerned than ever about her mental and physical health. He cursed under his breath when he thought about how Jay had so casually tampered with his and Jill’s lives, like she was playing a damn board game. Zach was convinced that his sister was demon possessed. The measures she had taken to have Jill detained in Jamaica was something you read about in a novel or watched play out in some horror movie on the big screen. Normal people didn’t do the kind of things Jay did. As soon as the passengers were given the go-ahead, Zach exited the plane and trotted down the steps, with those thoughts in mind.
“Zachary King! Zachary King!” Roy yelled and waved both hands in the air eagerly. He had singled Zach out the moment he entered the airport.
“My buddy Roy, how ya doin’, mon?” Zach teased and slapped him on the back.
“I am well. How was ya flight, eh?” Roy removed Zach’s carry-on bag from his shoulder and slid it onto his own.
“It was fine. I wanted to sleep, but I couldn’t. I guess I was too worked up.”
Roy led Zach in the direction of the baggage claim area. They weaved in and out of the heavy human traffic. It was very crowded and busy in the airport.
“Give it to me straight, Roy. No chaser. No bull. How is Jill?”
“Uh, she is not well. She’s much too thin, and she whines and frets all the time. I am glad you are here. You came to make her smile again, eh?”
“I hope I can, Roy.”
“If you cannot do it, my friend, no one can.”
Roy helped Zach retrieve his three pieces of luggage and a big cardboard box before they exited the airport and headed to the van. They stopped at a supermarket on the way to Kingston so Zach could buy juice, bottled water, meat, eggs, and snacks for Jill’s siblings.
Faye met Zach and Roy on the porch when they arrived. “Zachary, thank God you are here. Please come in.” She fell into Zach’s embrace. “Jill is sleeping. Go and wake her.”
Zach made his way through the house to Jill’s bedroom. As soon as he saw her rail-thin body lying across the bed, he knew something was terribly wrong. She appeared lifeless.
“Wake up, baby. It’s me, Zach. I came to take care of you.” He touched Jill’s back. It was warm and soaked with sweat. “Open your eyes, baby.”
Jill heard his voice, and the scent of his cologne that she loved so much filled her nostrils. She felt Zach’s hand stroking her cheek. She opened her eyes, but she couldn’t move. Her body was too weak for her even to lift her head from the pillow. Zach gently rolled her onto her back so she could see his face. Jill began to cry when she realized she wasn’t dreaming. Zach was there with her.
“I’m here now. You don’t have to worry about a thing. I’ve got you.” He pulled her into his arms, and she melted into his strength. “You’re gonna be okay.”
Zach bathed Jill, brushed her teeth, and combed her hair. Ms. Faye gave him a freshly washed nightgown and underwear to dress her in. He carried her into the kitchen and sat her at the table so he could feed her.
“I want you to eat. You’ve lost too much weight. Drink this,” Zach said and held a bottle of orange juice to her lips.
Jill drank the juice slowly and smiled at Zach. “I thought I would never see you again. I felt like I was dying. Don’t ever leave me again, Zachary. I wouldn’t survive.”
“I’m not going home anytime soon. I’m on extended leave. But whenever I decide to leave, you’ll be with me. We’re going to the immigration department tomorrow. I made the appointment earlier this week. I’m gonna fix the mess Jay made so we can go on with our life together.”
* * *
After refusing to eat for three days Jill was famished. She and Zach enjoyed Faye’s delicious meat pies and fruit salad at the small kitchen table while they listened to her brothers discuss soccer. Christian and Angelina were playing with wooden blocks in the middle of the floor. Zach loved the closeness of the Bessette family. The six children loved each other dearly. There had been a time when the King children were inseparable. Zach reflected on that time as he ate and watched Jill’s siblings interact. Strangely, he missed Jay and the bond they’d once shared. After all the evil things she’d done, Zach still loved her very much.
Jill slyly rubbed her bare foot up and down Zach’s leg under the table. Their eyes met and latched when she raised her foot and rested it on his lap. It had been four months since they’d made love, but they would have to wait. Zach had rented a villa at the Blue Lagoon Resort in Montego Bay for his extended stay on the island. But he wasn’t scheduled to check in until tomorrow. On his first night in Jamaica, he would share a room with Oliver and Edgar. He refused to touch Jill in her parents’ house. He respected Orville and Faye, and they were fond of him. It would be twenty-four hours before he and Jill could unleash all their pent-up passion on each other after a forced four-month stint of abstinence.
* * *
“What’s up, Dex?” Jay smiled and extended her hand. The other one was hooked around the waist of her attractive dinner date.
Dex reluctantly shook Jay’s hand after Ramona prompted him with a pinch on his back. “What’s going on Jay?”
“I felt like eating oysters and crab legs, so we ended up here.” Jay tilted her head. “This is Nina. Nina, meet Dexter Cruz and his wife.”
“This is my wife, Ramona. Ramona, this is Zach’s sister, Jay,” Dex said.
The two women shook hands. Ramona made a repulsive facial expression when Jay raped her with her eyes in the middle of the popular seafood restaurant. Dex had seen it too, and it pissed him off.
“How is my brother these days?” Jay asked Dex.
“Humph. He’s your brother. Shouldn’t you know how he’s doing?”
Dex held up his hand. “Zach didn’t mean for that to happen. It just did. He never meant to hurt you, but you retaliated, with the intention of destroying him. What you did to him and Jill is unforgivable, Jay!”
“Come on, Dex. Let’s go, baby.” Ramona tugged at his arm. “You’re getting upset, and people are beginning to stare.”
“As always, you’re gonna hold your boy down, even though we both know he was dead-ass wrong. You’re a good guy. You’ve settled down with your fine-ass wife and got a baby girl. That’s real love. Zach, on the other hand, has strung that beautiful doctor along for two years and took all her money. He forced that chick to abort babies—”
“What the hell are you talking about? Zach has never taken a dime from Ayla. And if he had ever been stupid enough to knock her up, she would’ve gladly had the baby. That helpless kid would’ve been her lucky charm.” Dex shook his head. “Is that why you slept with Ayla? You felt sorry for her after hearing a bunch of lies? She’s sick, and so are you. You two deserve each other.” Dex’s stormed off, with his arm around his wife’s shoulders. He could hear Jay and her date arguing.
“You told me you never slept with that doctor!” Nina shouted.
* * *
“Jill, come on.” Zach knocked on the bathroom door. “Your breakfast is getting cold.”
“I’m too nervous to eat, Zachary. What if something goes wrong in our meeting?”
“We have to show up first. If you don’t hurry, we’ll be late. Roy’s friend will be here soon.”
“Go ahead and eat. I’ll join you in five minutes.”
Zach returned to the kitchen to finish eating his breakfast. Faye had been kind enough to prepare ackee and saltfish for him and Jill. The Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee had a wonderful flavor, like none other Zach had ever tasted.
Faye sat next to him at the table. “I’m so glad you came. Jillian is so much better now.” She looked toward the bathroom door and then leaned closer to Zach. “Can you take her to see a doctor at the medical clinic?”
“Sure, I can, but why?” Zach placed his coffee mug on the table and waited for Faye’s explanation.
“Jillian is feeling good now, but as her mother, I feel something is not right. Have a doctor check her over please. It would make me happy.”
“I’ll take her today, Ms. Faye. As soon as our meeting is over, we’ll go straight to the Johnson Medical Center.”
“Thank you, Zachary. You are a very good man.”
Chapter Twenty-eight
The meeting with the immigration officials in Jamaica was very productive. A kind woman named Esther Barrington returned Jill’s passport and updated her and Zach on her status with the United States government. An investigation had proven that Jill hadn’t committed any crimes while she lived in Atlanta, and she had not violated the terms of her temporary visa. Clive had informed Mrs. Barrington that more than likely, Jill would receive clearance to travel to the United States in thirty days.
Pembrick, Zach and Jill’s driver for the day, drove directly to the Johnson Medical Center after they’d eaten lunch at an oceanfront restaurant. He’d been given the instructions to do so while Jill was in the ladies’ room. Zach kept a straight face when the old-model Toyota 4Runner pulled in front of the gray stucco building.
Jill pressed the back of her hand to Zach’s head. “Are you sick, Zachary? What is wrong? Are you in pain?”
“I’m not sick, but your mother thinks you are.”
“Me, eh?” Jill laughed. “I was sick before you came and made me feel better. I will be even better tonight. You will see when we’re alone.”
“Um . . . Jill,” Zach said, pointing to the back of Pembrick’s head.
Jill blushed and lowered her eyes. “Oh, please forgive me. But really, Zachary, I am fine. I was too depressed to eat, and sometimes my tummy griped and rolled because I was hungry.”
“I promised your mother I would bring you here to be examined by a doctor, and I’m gonna keep my word. Let’s go.”
The cool air from a row of ceiling fans greeted Zach and Jill when they entered the clinic. Crying babies and pregnant women made up more than half of the crowd of patients waiting to be cared for. The clerk, an older woman with a funky attitude, told Zach it would be three hours before Jill could see a doctor. He executed a move from Jay’s playbook by pulling out a crisp green bill with Benjamin Franklin’s face on it. Within five minutes, Jill was sitting on an examination table, having her blood pressure taken by a young nurse. Next, Dr. Harry Johnson ordered a series of standard tests to rule out any health problems. He also gave Jill a thorough examination. Then he left the room to read the results of the tests. Twenty minutes later, he returned to give her a summary of his findings. Leaning his tall, slender frame against the wall, he smiled at Jill.
“You’re healthy, my dear. I don’t like your weight. You need to eat more in your condition.”
“What condition is that?” Jill asked.
“Where is your husband?”
“He is in the waiting area. His name is Zachary King.”
Dr. Johnson turned to his nurse. “Get Mr. King for me.”
Jill began to panic. “If it is a bad condition, it came about because I could not eat or drink. I was so depressed. You see—”
Zach rushed into the room. “I’m Zachary King.” He wrapped his arm around Jill’s shoulders. “What’s wrong with her?”
“Nothing is wrong. Your wife is pregnant, about sixteen weeks along.”
* * *
“She’s been cleared to come back to the States. I tried to delay it, but the computer kept rejecting my request. The orders came from the top. Mr. Dooley’s hands were all over this one.” Nina dropped the stack of documents on Jay’s desk.
Jay shoved the papers, and they fell to the carpet. “This city is big, but it ain’t big enough for Zach, Jill, and me. I ain’t leaving. I’m gonna torture them so much, they’ll relocate to the other side of the world.”
“Leave them alone, Jay. We’re together now, and we’re happy. I thought you said you were never in love with Jill. I’m starting to think you lied.” Nina rounded Jay’s desk and sat on the edge of it, facing her. “Forget about her.”
“I wasn’t in love with Jill, but that’s not the point! Zach is my brother. He slept with my woman behind my back while we were still together. He showed no remorse when he finally admitted it. He’s a cocky bastard.” Jay laughed. “He had the nerve to say he loves Jill. Zach has never been serious about a woman in his life. He’ll hit it and quit, like he’s always done. And Jill will come crawling back to me. It’ll serve her right. I took that bitch out of a four-room shack in the heart of Kingston. I taught her ass how to dress, speak proper English, and I introduced her to fine dining. She didn’t have a decent pair of shoes when I met her, but now she’s all about Prada and Gucci. I made that bitch, and I’m gonna break her!”
* * *
As soon as they entered the villa, Jill searched Zach’s eyes, trying to read his mood. They hadn’t been able to discuss her pregnancy since leaving the clinic. Pembrick had driven them to her parents’ house so they could pack their things, and then he had taken straight to Montego Bay. Now that they were alone, the air needed to be cleared. Jill took a seat next to Zach on the love seat.
“I’m so sorry. If you don’t want me to go through with the pregnancy, I won’t.”
“We’re not gonna kill our baby. That’s not an option.”
“I don’t have a job or an education. I’m not sure . . .”
Zach laced his fingers through Jill’s. “You have me. I’m gonna take care of you and our child. Don’t you know how much I love you?”
“I know, Zachary, but this was so unexpected. How could I have not known?”
“It was probably because of the stress of us
being separated. And you’ve never been pregnant before. You had no idea how it felt. That’s not so strange. Now that you know you’re carrying my baby, you’ve gotta eat and take better care of yourself. I want a healthy wife and child.”
Jill blushed and lowered her eyelids. “I only told the doctor you were my husband because he assumed I was married. It was just a little white lie.”
“If you’ll have me, Jill, it won’t have to be a lie.”
“I don’t want you to marry me because of the baby,” she cried. “You don’t have to do that, Zachary.”
“Jill, I wanna marry you because I love you. I’d been thinking about it anyway. I promised myself whenever I got you back to Atlanta, I would never let you visit Jamaica again until after you became Mrs. Zachary King.” Zach wiped Jill’s tears with the back of his hand.
Orville would be home from the merchant’s boat in three days. Therefore, Zach and Jill decided they would wait to tell him and Faye together about the baby. They agreed to have a small wedding on the island, at the tiny Baptist church the Bessette family had been members of since Jill was a little girl. April twenty-first, her birthday, seemed like the perfect day for a wedding. It gave them a little more than a month to plan the ceremony. Zach would send for Aunt Jackie and Nahima, and he would call Dex in the morning to see if he and Ramona could come also. He’d purchase their rings online and have them sent to his aunt. She would bring them with her for the ceremony.
“Where can you find a wedding dress here? I want you to have something special.”
“There is a fashion designer and seamstress in Port Maria. Her name is Gwendolyn Hayes. She travels all over Europe and brings back expensive fabrics, beads, and crystals. She can create anything, I tell you. But you may not like her, Zachary.”
“She sounds amazing. Why wouldn’t I like her?”
“Gwendolyn is a very good friend of Jay’s. She has sewn many suits and dress shirts for her.”