Pao (22 page)

When I go talk to him ’bout what him doing he say he not interested in politics.

‘But you running with one of the biggest political gang of rude boys in West Kingston!’

‘Louis is my friend.’

‘Louis DeFreitas is not your friend. Him not nobody friend. DeFreitas only DeFreitas’s friend. You get thick with a man like that and yu heading for trouble. DeFreitas busy talking politics now but him only a punk. Him don’t care ’bout unemployment and education, him only interested in what advantage or money he can get outta a situation. And right now everybody say is the CIA backing him to be causing all this violence so they can destabilise the country.’

‘I tell you I not interested in politics. Louis been good to me. He let me work and him pay me.’

‘Yu can’t trust him. Louis DeFreitas will just as soon put you out front to take a bullet in your chest as shoot you in the back himself if that work out better for him.’

But Kenneth not listening to me. I start thinking it all my fault anyway, because there is no way a boy like Kenneth Wong was going meet a man like DeFreitas unless he was on the street running errands for me.

Finley say to me, ‘Maybe you shouldn’t take it so hard. After all, Kenneth was bugging you anyway. That was the way he was heading. He would have got himself involved somehow whether or not it had anything to do with you.’

A part of me know Finley right, but another part of me still feel responsible. I got no idea what to do with Kenneth. Sun Tzu say, ‘
Too frequent rewards indicate that the general is at the end of his resources; too frequent punishments that he is in acute distress
.’

So I decide to go talk to Henry Wong ’bout it. But it turn out Henry don’t know nothing ’bout what Kenneth doing. Him say the boy just come in and outta the house and eat his meals and leave his dirty laundry behind. Kenneth don’t talk to nobody, and when he in the house he lock himself in his bedroom, which he put a big padlock on the door so nobody can go in there when him out.

All Henry know is Kenneth got a lot a money. He buy a lot of fancy clothes and a record player and a whole heap of records him busy playing in there. And he buy a car and driving it ’round even though he got no driving licence.

Henry say the boy been off the rails a long time. Even before he legal to leave school him stop going while Henry still paying the school fees. And Henry say him think the boy smoking ganja in the house because the maids say they can smell it. Henry dunno what to do with him and all Miss Cicely say is she praying for him, but Henry not counting on that doing much good.

‘I not know what to say to you, Pao. If you got a idea I happy to listen. But is Cicely that really deal with children.’

Three days after that, on a hot Thursday afternoon, Henry Wong collapse in the street. They take him to the public hospital because they dunno who he is and that he rich. And down there they decide it was a stroke that cut him down. When I hear ’bout it I ring George Morrison and tell him to take a ambulance downtown and bring Henry back up to Old Hope Road. Later when I go see him he paralysed down one side and he in a bad way.

After a few days Morrison say Henry not going get any better and he may be more comfortable at the Chinese Sanatorium, so that where we move him to. This is a nice place. It clean and calm and the nurses really seem like they care for him. Like they mean it, they not just doing their job. But when I go see him all him say to me is how he want me to bring him some rice and peas and chicken and saltfish fritters and bammy.

I want make sure that somebody go up there with food every day so I make out a rota for Finley and Hampton and Milton. And then Zhang surprise me when him say he going go as well, because I can’t remember the last time Zhang leave the house to go any further than Barry Street for the Chinese newspaper. How him going make it up to North Street I dunno. But then it turn out that Tartan Socks McKenzie say he going drive him so that work out fine.

The last time I go visit Henry him reach out him shaky good hand and grab my sleeve and pull me to him, and whisper to me, ‘I done tell Cicely already, I want you to have the business.’

When Henry die, Cicely decide to have the funeral in Holy Trinity Cathedral, which was the second time I go there that year. The first time was when I go watch Michael get consecrated Roman Catholic Bishop of Kingston, which was what the archbishop telephone him ’bout the day we was in the garden at Bishop’s Lodge. Michael look proud and serene that day the same way he look now, because Fay insist that is him conduct the funeral and although Ethyl tell me Cicely muttering ’bout it, somehow Fay and her come to some agreement because is Michael standing up there saying, ‘
In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti
.’

I surprise myself when they start recite because I never think I had any emotion ’bout all this church thing. After all, I already go to church and become John Morrison godfather and I didn’t feel nothing at all. But just now I can feel a little something in my chest when all the voices start ring out: ‘I confess to Almighty God, to blessed Mary ever Virgin, to blessed Michael the Archangel, to blessed John the Baptist, to the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, to all the saints and to you, Father, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word and deed.’ And then for no reason at all I just start pound my chest, three times like the rest of them: ‘
Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa
.’

I look down and I see Mui just stand there gawking at me and suddenly I come over like I suffocating, and I realise it the smell of burning frankincense, and I think I going start cry. But this not got nothing to do with Henry Wong, it just the smell of incense, and the jangle of the little bells, and the purple and white and gold of Michael’s get-up, and the candle burning by the coffin, and the sprinkling of holy water.

When Michael begin sing the Preface, I gather myself together, and Mui turn ’round and start look forward like she should have been doing all this time instead a staring at me.

Michael do the commemoration: ‘Remember also, O Lord, Thy servant Henry who has gone before us with the sign of faith, and rests in the sleep of peace.’ And after a while it over. And the soprano start sing Ave Maria in Latin.

When I see Fay outside in the cathedral garden I realise it the first time I come face to face with her since the fight we have that night at Matthews Lane. She look good. She look better than how I picture her when I was sitting in the cathedral staring at the back of her head with the black mantilla hanging down. She look like how she used to look before we get married, fresh and alive. She don’t seem like she that bothered Henry dead. Is like she take it in her stride, which surprise me because I thought the two of them was close. When she come over to me I make sure I hang on tight to the children, one on each side. She bend down and she try talk to the two of them but they not got nothing to say to her so she straighten up again. I say to her, ‘The children quiet right now but it don’t mean they don’t miss you. Anytime you want to come home is alright with us.’ And she just look at me and walk off.

It turn out that Henry die without making a will and so Cicely get everything. The next week after the funeral she call me and ask me to come up Lady Musgrave Road because she got something she want talk to me about. When I get up there she have Ethyl lay out afternoon tea on the veranda just like we used to take it together in the early days. Tin salmon and cucumber sandwiches, cut into little triangles, Earl Grey tea, and Victoria sponge cake.

She spread a little white napkin ’cross her knees and she pour the tea, steadying the teapot lid with her left hand. She even got little cubes of processed white sugar and a pair of tweezer things to lift them up, which make me smile to myself when I think of how much good raw cane sugar we got on this island.

After she stir the tea, she put a piece of quarter sandwich on her little plate and she say to me, ‘I have always liked you, Philip, you know that. I sincerely hope so anyway. It is my belief that a man would have to have the patience of Job to make a lasting marriage with Fay, because even though she is my own flesh and blood, I know what a trial she can be. So even though things have not worked out between you, I do not see that as a slight on you in any way. And I hope that you will extend to me the same courtesy in understanding that a mother does what she can even if the children do not turn out as she hopes.’

I sit there balancing this cup and saucer trying to make sure I don’t rattle it too much when I reaching over to take the plate and sandwich she passing to me. And I want rest something down, but the little table just a bit too far away for me to do it without standing up and I don’t want interrupt Miss Cicely’s flow. So I just sit there holding on to everything, which mean I not got nuh hand free to drink the tea or eat the sandwich.

‘Which brings me to the reason I asked you here today. As you know, Henry had it in mind that you should have his businesses.’

This is when my ears start prick up.

‘I understand that. After all, you are his only son-in-law, and mine, and the two of you are partners in supplying groceries and suchlike to the hotels. And I know you have been doing that together for some good time. But this is my problem: Kenneth. What will Kenneth inherit if I grant this wish of Henry’s?’

And she stop. I don’t know if she expect me to give a answer. So I just look at her hoping she going carry on.

‘Kenneth is not an easy boy. I am sure you have noticed. And even though I have prayed for many long hours, it seems that my prayers are in vain. This is the thing.’

So now I waiting for it.

‘If you could see your way to helping Kenneth to learn about the supermarket business then perhaps in a few years’ time, when he has mastered his trade so to speak, we could divide the business so that you could have, for instance, the wine merchants and wholesalers, and Kenneth could have the supermarkets. How does that sound to you?’

‘Well, Miss Cicely, I think it is very fine of you to be thinking about Kenneth’s future. It is what a good mother would do. But I am not sure if Kenneth is that interested in the supermarket business.’

‘Let’s just give it a try, shall we? And in the meantime let us say that you have control of Henry’s business concerns. You are the general manager if you like. Carte blanche. And Kenneth is your apprentice. And as for income, let us just split that fifty-fifty between the two of us, and you can pay Kenneth a salary out of your share. How is that? More tea, Philip?’

When I drive outta Lady Musgrave Road I reckon I feel like how Bill musta feel the first time I meet him. Miss Cicely some shrewd businesswoman. And all this time I think all she doing is making embroidery and shouting at the help and answering all them letters Ethyl tell me she get every week. But she fix me alright, because sorting out Kenneth was the only way I was going to get my hands on Henry Wong’s business.

24

Employing Troops

Kenneth not too impressed when I tell him ’bout Miss Cicely’s plan. Seem she already explain it all to him and he already done tell her he not doing it, but she not listening to him.

‘I ain’t no shopkeeper! What you people trying to do to me?’

‘Is not me, Kenneth, believe me. I only doing it because it what Miss Cicely ask me to do to try put you on some decent path. She worried ’bout you, that’s all.’

‘She not worried ’bout me. Since when she worried ’bout anything apart from the good Lord? I dunno what she doing with you, man, but I don’t need nobody come put me on any path. I got my own path already.’

Well, I think to myself, Kenneth on the path to hell that is for sure. Not that I got any room to talk.

After a couple of week him show up down the shop and say him going give the supermarket thing a go. Turn out Miss Cicely threaten to throw him outta the house, so Ethyl tell me anyway. And even though Louis DeFreitas him big buddy, Kenneth not so keen to go live in West Kingston without him tennis court and swimming pool and maids. So him make a deal with his mother and he turn up to me.

But even though I try and try, I can’t do nothing with Kenneth. Him show up at eight o’clock in the morning but then him gone by ten. Sometime him no come till four o’clock in the afternoon, and when I ask him where he been he just tell me it none of my business. Every job I give him to do he leave half done, or later I find out that he get Milton or Desmond to finish it for him. Then it start happen regular that I get a telephone call from this hotel or another say they nuh get no delivery, and it turn out that Kenneth just leave the van somewhere when him take off to go do something for DeFreitas. Even if I give him a job in the office he can’t do it properly. He make mistakes, and he do things untidy, and he talk bad to the customers, but he don’t care. I talk to him and talk to him but it nuh make no difference.

All this time I am putting my back into this because I can see it a way for us to get outta the other business, which we need to because just like Zhang say, people feel different these days ’bout the protection. They still paying it, but they got some feeling ’bout it. Plus with all the violence and trouble, the pai-ke-p’iao is slowing because people nuh feel like gambling away their money when the future so uncertain. Then the chicken thing just stop because the Chinaman go get himself arrested. And the business with the girls never pay so good anyway because I always feel bad ’bout taking away them hard-earned living.