Uptown Lovers-Chapter Six

Uptown Lovers

Chapter Six

Stan Lubsy read the newspaper report on the prison riot in early December last year in which his brother, Talbert, had been killed. Talbert had robbed a woman and was escaping when a security guard accosted him. He had fired several shots, one of which killed the guard. He had been captured two weeks later by the police. The woman had pointed him out at the identification parade. Talbert had given him a good description of the woman that he had gotten from the day of the robbery. But before he could come to trial he had been killed in the riot. Three men had been killed and nine injured after prisoners attacked warders over the quality of the food they were being served and the generally bad conditions existing at the Remand Centre. He had done a sketch of the woman based on Talbert’s description. Had she not turned up at the identification parade, Talbert would have walked free so she was responsible for his death.

He fingered the Taurus revolver in his pocket. He would

ask around and find her. Stan bowed his head; Talbert had been

buried by the prison authorities when nobody showed up to claim

his body. He didn’t have the kind of money needed to give him a

decent funeral. To make matters worse, their parents were dead

and their relatives were few. Most of them were living below the

poverty line.

He would make that woman beg for mercy before he killed

her. Stan lit a cigarette as he thought over where to start looking.

Such a good looking woman as Talbert had described her would

hardly go unnoticed. He would start his search tonight. He would

cruise the nightclub circuit with Natalie as he had enough money

on him to buy their drinks.

Linton Marsh arrived in Kingston that Saturday morning

and took a taxi to his mother, Madeline’s home in Hughenden.

Actually, she had asked him why this sudden desire to return home. He had simply told her that he was beginning to miss home, friends and family members. He had applied for and gotten a job with a government owned loan agency. With a Master’s degree in finance, Linton had no problems in getting this job. But Linton was back in Jamaica for one reason and that was to get even with a woman he felt had dumped him.

He had been friendly with Morgana Simmonds for about

a year and she had left him, telling him that she had her

boyfriend in Jamaica to return to. Though he had kept other

women with her, he didn’t expect that from her. He could see the

smirks on the faces of some of his friends when he turned up at

one or two parties after that, not with the drop dead gorgeous

Morgan but with plain looking Wanda Edmonds. He LintonMarsh, was being made the butt of many jokes because Morgana had dumped him for some guy back home in Jamaica.

He would take his time to find out what he didn't

already know about her, her family and her boyfriend. He knew

where she lived as she had told him and he had spoken over the phone to her mother and sister a few times.

Monday morning when Linton arrived at his job, some of the girls were all too ready to swoop down on him. That evening when he turned up at the most popular hot spot in town, Corners nightclub, some of them were there already. He showed off his dancing skills and danced with a few of them and struck up a conversation with Flavia Mc Queen. She worked at a small insurance brokerage in New Kingston. They agreed to have lunch the following day.

Morgana didn’t sleep well that night. She kept twisting and turning and didn’t fall asleep until after midnight. When she reached her office that morning she felt sleepy and kept nodding off. She went to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee and some pastries.

She had just brought them back to her desk and had settled down to eat when the telephone rang, it was Stewart.

"Hi, Morgana, I hope I'm still in your good books."

"What have you done now, Stewie, not to be in my good books?" she asked, laughing.

"How about us having lunch this afternoon?"

"I have to go over to Portmore to work with one of our clients.”

"Okay, I'll come up and see you later, then."

"Yes, that will be okay."

As they hung up, Morgana was wondering about him. She had told him about her relationship with Linton and of why she had broken up with him. She had complained about the type of friends he kept.

They were the flashy type, they wore the latest clothes, drove the most expensive cars and had the most glamorous girls with the latest hairstyles. She loved ambitious men, but there was something unreal about his circle of friends and their value systems as most of the times they were always turning up with a different girl. She had complained that she didn't want to go out with them any longer.

Linton had asked what she wanted him to do and she told him the obvious. Since he wasn’t prepared to give up his circle of friends she had broken off with him. He had called and given her an ultimatum. Either she resumed their friendship or be prepared to get some parts of her broken up. She had told him that if he called her again, she would report his threats to the police.

She remembered two crew members in Omer Jordan and Steve Deans, calling her, looking dates, but she had turned both of them down.

One month later, Lister Pettigrew, another crew member, called, inviting her out for a drink but she had turned him down too. After that the calls ceased. Male crew members would simply greet her and move on. Female crew members wanted to know what had happened between her and Linton. She told them that it was just a case of them not being compatible anymore. A few of them had encouraged her to try and patch up things with him. But she told them that their relationship was beyond repair.

For the rest of her time in Florida, she didn’t keep a boyfriend. Then Stewart called her and asked if they could resume their friendship. She told him that she was three months away from completing her contract with Gordon’s firm and would be coming home at its conclusion. They agreed to wait and so she came home to be with him again. Were there any changes in him? She hadn’t noticed and her opinion hadn’t changed since returning home.

She thought about the incident that had happened to her. She had gone to Cross Roads to deliver some films for cleaning when she was accosted by a man, who grabbed her bag and ran. A nearby security guard, alerted to the struggle, had rushed to her aid and had accosted the gunman. The gunman had fired several shots one of which hit the guard in the left side of his chest. He had died on the way to hospital. She had to get tranquilizers from her doctor to calm her nerves.

Her mother and sister had to accompany her to the

identification parade after the alleged murderer had been caught. She had successfully pointed him out. She didn’t know how to react on hearing of the man’s death in that prison riot. She felt that she had been relieved of a lot of anxiety, knowing that she didn’t have to go to court to testify against him. She felt that the case was now closed.

Stan Lubsy was sitting in his car in the parking lot of the Corner’s nightclub in New Kingston when his cell phone rang. It was Eric Bishop, his heart began to beat faster.

"Who's that?"

"Stan, it’s me, Bishop, listen I have some work for you. I have your favorite stuff here too.”

"What kind of work do you have for me?"

Bishop laughed, you could trust Stan to behave like an innocent five year old kid.

"It’s your favorite kind of work. You don't want it? It’s ninety thousand dollars you’ll be getting plus I might take some money off the pile you owe me. You want me to send Mister Whylie to come and check you?”

Stan knew Whylie as a collector. The man must be some six feet six inches tall and weighed close to three hundred pounds. He normally beat his victims to a pulp. He collected

mostly gambling debts and any other that the creditor was afraid

to put through the courts or needed someone to persuade a reluctant debtor that he was serious.

"Okay, tell me what you want me to do."

"I want you to get rid of two men for me."

Stan considered for a moment.

"All right, where should I meet you?"

"Just relax, Stan, I’ll call and give you the full details when I’m ready.”

Wednesday evening Linton took Flavia to Corner’s nightclub. They danced, greeted their friends and colleagues. Linton had no doubt that some of the girls envied Flavia, the way they were looking at her.

“Where did you learn to dance like that, Linton?”

Linton laughed and drank some more of his light beer.

“Before I went away, I could hardly move my feet on the dance floor. Most of the girls I knew refused to dance with me. I kept losing girlfriends because of my lack of dancing skills. When I went to the States I took dancing lessons and watched my friends dance.”

“I’m not going to allow you to dance with anybody I don’t know.”

Linton considered for a moment. He had just met Flavia on Monday and here she was claiming him already.

“You don’t have to fear. You know how girls are. Some of them, if they come to the club they’ll only dance with guys they know, but sometimes a girl who’s not shy will spot a guy who’s a good dancer and will dance with him.”

“You must get a lot of offers.”

“I just dance with them. I like to make the first move.”

“I hear that American girls are quite forward. You must have had a lot of girlfriends over there.”

“Surprisingly, all of the girls I dated in the States were Jamaicans.”

They got up to dance again. When they returned to their table, he said.

“I’m glad I returned home. At least I wouldn’t have met a stunning girl like you.”

“I’m glad you think I’m good looking. But are you sure that you aren’t just flattering me?”

Linton knew he was at a disadvantage in not having a crew. Flavia was a good looking girl all right. He guessed her height to be about five feet six

inches and she had a good figure.

She was probably one of the most attractive women in the nightclub. In such a situation he could have compared her to crew member’s women. If she could get a passing grade, she would stay, if not he’d dump her. She had told him that one month ago, she had broken up with her boyfriend of two years. Linton told her that before returning to Jamaica he and his girlfriend of three years had broken up because she was pressuring him to marry her and he wasn’t ready to settle down. Of course he knew he was lying, but he wouldn’t disclose why he had returned to Jamaica to any of these girls until he met Morgana. In fact, he had dropped Wanda after the two times he had gone out with her. There were girls on the fringes of the crew and he had gone out with some of them before he came home.

He and Flavia left the nightclub at twelve o’clock that night as she said that she had a very important meeting to attend in the morning.

Glen Norman was a medium sized guy. He was twenty four years of age and finishing up a Master’s degree in accounting after which he hoped to complete his Certified Professional Accountancy examinations in the United States in another two years. His father was a director and major shareholder in several of Jamaica’s leading companies. Glen knew that he didn’t have much time after completing his examinations before taking over some aspects of the business. His father had spoken to him many times and that’s why he had chosen to do business rather than law or medicine. His mother, Verna, was a pharmacist and businesswoman owning a couple of pharmacies around town. His older brother, Vantry, suffered from polio and had to use crutches to help him get around although he drove his own car. His elder sister, Sanya, was married to Brett Burton, who owned two medium sized hotels on the North Coast. His younger brother, Daryl and sister, Debra-Lee, were at school in the United States.

Glen thought Beverly Simmonds and he had a compatible relationship. They had never really had any disagreements. She was a lovely girl. They had virtually grown up together. He had gone to parties and nightclubs and they had always danced together but that was all. He didn’t like encroaching on a friend or colleague and her boyfriend, Rory, had been his classmate. His own girlfriend, Leona, was also on campus majoring in computer science, but he felt they were drifting apart. They had been going together for more than three years now. Since recently, she had been asking him for a monthly allowance and he had told her that he wasn’t working. They didn’t speak to each other for a week but she had reversed her decision after she realized that he was serious and wasn’t going to back down. He knew that it was her friends who were encouraging her, probably hoping to help her spend whatever money she got. Several of his friends had encouraged him to just go wild and splurge his money on women willing to sleep with him. In his late teens and just out of high school he had worked at one of his father’s companies for a year. He had a fast car and was earning his own money so he had lived a fast life. But since he resumed studying, he realized that if he wanted to complete his courses he had to put those activities on hold. He had been warned by his father that he was being irresponsible. He remembered that he hadn’t seen Bev on campus for two days now and decided to call her to find out if everything was okay with her.

Bev was studying for an examination when Glen called. Thinking that it might be Rory she picked up her cell phone. The number wasn’t an overseas one but local with which she wasn’t familiar. She pressed the call button. It was Glen Norman.

“Bev, how’re you? I missed you on Wednesday and then today. I just called to find out if everything was okay with you.”

“Everything’s okay, Glen, thanks for calling. I appreciate your concern very much,” she told him. “Have you got a new cell phone?”

“I seem to have mislaid mine, so I just borrowed Vantry’s.”

“How’s he?”

“He’s okay, sometimes he goes around to some of the pharmacies and try to help out as best he can.”

“That’s good, I hope he keeps it up.”

“I’m sure he will.”

“I have a really important test on Monday.”

“So I’ll see you then, but will you be in Ocho Rios for the Easter weekend?”

“Sure I’ll be down there with my sister and her fiancé.”

“So can I dance with you?”

“You’ll have Leona with you. I don’t want her to feel that I’m intruding in your relationship. I don’t think she was all that pleased when we danced together at that party in Red Hills Heights.”

“She’ll be coming, but she can’t stop me from dancing with you.”

“I’ll see you on Monday and we’ll talk some more.”

“Okay then, and thanks for talking to me,” Glen said as they both ended the call.

Bev knew that several persons, including her mother and sister and even her aunt, Sally, felt that there was something going on between her and Glen. She knew his girlfriend, Leona, and although they weren’t friends, she didn’t want her to feel that way too.

Bobbette wasn’t in the welcoming party for Linton on

Monday evening. She had been introduced to the tall, good looking senior manager. Bobbette felt that she had her own problems with Robert and Stewart to be vying with those other girls for this new man’s attention. Friday morning she greeted Linton as he passed her desk.

“So how is the lovely Bobbette this morning?”

“I’m fine, thank you, Linton,” she replied. It had been customary at the Small Companies Loan Bank for everybody to be on a first name basis.

“I heard that all the girls at Corners were going crazy over you.”

“They liked the way I danced, that’s all.”

They were on the second floor of the company’s offices on Trinidad Terrace in New Kingston.

“When I first saw you I thought you were one of those shy guys, but the sophisticated type.”

“I don’t know if shyness and sophistication mix any at all. Of course I’m shy, but I like to be around glamorous women, and because of my dancing skills women think that I’m a real extrovert.”

“You must have a lot of girlfriends and maybe you left some of them in the States.”

Linton laughed.

“Actually, I lost my girlfriend before returning home and I’ve just returned so I don’t have a girlfriend as yet.”

“Don’t worry, I hear that quite a few of the hot girls have you in their sights. As for your girlfriend, was she afraid that you’d find a girl out here and dump her?”

“I don’t know about any hot girls having me in their sights. My last girlfriend, she just got up and left because I wouldn’t propose.”

“In other words you wanted to enjoy life as a single man.”

“I’m a very responsible person. I’m not one of those guys who goes around with a lot of women,” Linton said. “Hey, how about some lunch later on?"

“Sure, but when you hear my story you’ll know that I’m so tied up it’s not funny.”

“Okay, see you at lunch.”

“Where will it be?”

“Make it Jenny’s Kitchen,” Linton said before leaving for his office.

Jenny’s Kitchen, upstairs the New Kingston Shopping Centre, was always full at breakfast and lunch time. It had

gobbled up two small restaurants nearby and was now the largest one operating in the plaza. Bobbette and Linton were halfway through their meals when Bobbette looked up to see Stewart ordering a take away meal. She waved to him and continued eating.

“Who’s that guy?”

“A friend of mine, actually he’s my insurance agent. I might get you to buy some insurance from him.”

“I have a lot of insurance in the States.”

“Are they valid in Jamaica though?”

“I’m sure they are. So where’s your main guy?”

“He’s right here in Jamaica.”

“I haven’t seen you out since I’ve been back,” Linton stated.

“I’m so busy helping Robert with his various businesses plus he has so many of them running. When we get time we do go out or sometimes if he’s too busy I go with friends,” she replied as they finished their meals.

Their dessert, which consisted of apple pie and ice cream, came. Linton declined to eat his but Bobbette dived into hers with relish.

“Are you afraid of putting on weight?”

“No, it’s you I should be worried about. Women are always afraid of gaining weight.”

“I have an exercise machine plus on weekends and some evenings I go for walks on the playing field of this high school near to my home.”

The waiter came and gave them the bill just as Bobbette finished her dessert. They paid the bill and went back to work.

Leona Marcus couldn’t help but let everybody know that she was Glen Norman’s girlfriend. She had seen the looks her girlfriends gave her and knew that they wouldn’t mind being in her place. Hershire Heights, where Glen’s family had their home was just above Coopers Hill. She had heard rumors that he and Beverly Simmonds were friends.

“Leona, be careful that Bev doesn’t take away Glen from you,” one of her batchmates, Shermaine Cooper, warned her.

“Why are you saying that, Shermaine?”

“Because every party I go and see them, they are always together. It’s like you are nowhere to be found.”

Leona thought over what Shermaine said.

“Her boyfriend lives abroad. I just hope that she doesn’t have her eyes on Glen.”

“I think she does. I’ve never attended a party where both of them are and they don’t dance together. I think you should watch her.”

That was a piece of advice she would heed, Leona thought. She had heard that since Rory returned to the States in February, Bev wasn’t hearing from him. She was keeping a close eye on Glen. She had searched his phone without his knowledge and had seen Bev’s number. She hadn’t seen her name in any of his emails, but was watching. She knew that before she met Glen he used to go around with a lot of girls. He and his previous girlfriend, Sammantha Eccleston had broken up when she decided to dedicate her life to the Lord. He had told her about how taken aback he was at her decision as she was usually the life of a party, nevertheless he had congratulated her and wished her the best.

She didn’t see what Bev had over her. Sure she was good

looking but so was she. She was probably an inch shorter than Bev and her body was curvaceous with all her curves in the right places. She knew how to fix up herself and wear trendy clothes and Bev couldn’t dress better than her. She had to have her nails done every other week and she changed her hairstyle every week. She was wearing a jeans skirt, a light blue blouse and slippers today.

Leona was due to meet Glen at Leta's hideout in Half Way Tree this evening. When she got there she saw his Honda

Prelude motor car parked in the customer’s parking lot. She parked her Mitsubishi Lancer in a space beside it, locked it up and went over to where he was seated under a guango tree on the spacious premises.

“Hello, Leona,” he greeted her with a hug and a kiss. “What can I get you?”

“I’ll just have some apple juice.”

Glen called a waiter over and ordered her drink and an energy drink for himself.

“Let’s go to Corners tonight.”

“I need some money to get my hair and nails done,” she said as their drinks arrived.

Glen took a sip of his drink before replying.

“Have you asked your parents?”

Leona took some more of her drink before replying.

“I’m asking you. You’re my man. They always tell me to ask you whenever I ask them for more money after I’ve used up my allowance.”

“I’m not working. I only get an allowance from my parents each month,” he replied.

“Why don’t you sell your car and let me take you around?”

“Sell my car! Are you crazy? So how would I get around? I don’t want to depend on anybody,” she scoffed. She knew he had money. She had only decided to talk to Glen because she knew he was rich.

“Your parents drive, I drive, your brother, Carvel, drives. So I don’t see why you can’t depend on us to take you around.”

“That’s just not on. I like to drive myself around. I’m sure you’ve seen a lot of female students up here, driving.”

Glen ordered another drink for himself and one more for her.

“Have you tried finding out how they finance themselves?”

“Most of them have a man to support them if their parents can’t or won’t.”

“Listen, after I get my allowance from my parents I can’t go back to them asking for more money.”

“Okay, so I can’t go out with you then. I’ll see you around,” she said, finishing her drink and walking out.

Glen didn’t try to stop her from leaving. He was getting a bit tired of her depending on him for money because she knew that his parents were rich.

From the time he and Leona had started going around,

he had tried to help her as best he could. Her mother, Donnette, was a banker and her father, Wayne, operated several businesses. He knew that she got a generous allowance from them but spent it off on frivolities and was depending on him to help her out. He finished his drink and decided to go home. He would probably give Bev a call later on tonight.

The first social of the Newman and Graham Limited sports club for the year was on. The majority of the staff were there. A lot of table games including dominoes, ludo and cards were being played and people were also dancing to a large component set brought by Alex de Pass. It was scheduled to go on until midnight. Food and drinks were on sale at a concessionary rate to club members, but at full price to outsiders, many of whom turned up as friends of staff members of the firm.

Stewart's air conditioning unit was still going at full speed as he and Morgana relaxed in the afterglow of their lovemaking. They hugged each other repeatedly still savoring the joys of its aftermath.

"You love what I did to you, baby?"

She nodded and ran her fingers through the hairs on his chest.

"You’re a great lover, Stewie. Oh God, it was so wonderful. I feel as if my body has been remade, and you are the creator."

Stewart smiled to himself. That was why he was still angry with her for going for that drink with Brad, although he had told her that he didn’t mind, and for sleeping with that guy in

Florida. It seemed that the guy had taught her a few things. Before she went away she had allowed him to have his way with her. But now each time they made love she had been insistent on getting her pleasure.

"I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up at about two o’clock so that I can look after some lunch for you.”

"We can do it again after you wake up.”

Morgana looked at him and laughed.

"I don't know who you’re going to do it with. I am going to sleep now, maybe when I wake up if I’m in the mood.”

Stewart got up and went to the bathroom to dispose of the condom. When he returned, she was fast asleep.

As Stewart looked at the naked form of the woman on his bed, he wondered if he loved her. Her face looked so serene and there was a smile on her lips. Maybe she was daydreaming about what had just taken place, he thought.

Still, there would always be problems with Morgana.

She hadn’t said anything about how she was getting on with Rick and Brad. He was glad that she didn’t have to go to court to testify against the gunman, who had tried to rob her last year. Sometimes he wondered if he should stick to Bobbette alone. But she didn’t want to leave that rich guy, Robert and he certainly wasn’t going to leave Morgana. He had seen her having lunch with a guy. He had phoned her the next day and short of telling him to mind his own business; she told him that he was one of her colleagues. Stewart lay there thinking and didn’t even know when he dropped off to sleep.

When he woke up Morgana had fixed their lunch of chicken soup and had put pumpkin, carrots, turnips and yam plus kneading some flour to make dumplings. She had also taken a bath. As they ate, she said.

"See how I've fixed up your lunch."

"Why don't you do it more often?”

"Stewart, we need to talk about us. We aren't getting any younger.”

"Look who's talking. If it was I alone, we would have been married months ago.”

Morgana looked at him. She didn't want to share her husband with any other woman. They continued eating in silence.

Stewart in turn looked at her as they finished their lunch. How would Bobbette react if he told her that he was now planning to marry Morgana? After the engagement she had refused to sleep with him and had only changed her mind when he told her that the engagement meant nothing to him. He also told her they hadn’t set a date for marriage.

"You want me to propose?"

He burst out laughing.

"We should live together for a certain time, that way we’ll know if we can get along if we were married.”

"Any man I live with has to be my husband, darling."

He came up and hugged her.

"Why don't you spend the weekend? We could go clubbing tonight and tomorrow we could go to the beach.”

"You know I can't. What would mummy think? Remember that Bev and I’ll be going down for the holiday weekend and I’ll come to sleep with you most nights."

“Easter is almost three weeks away. Monique knows you can trust me. She knows that you have nothing to fear while you’re here with me.”

"The times I spend with you isn’t enough? Or is that why you have to be pursuing Bobbette?”

"Me pursuing that girl? You just believe that something happened between us after the party. If you had checked me that night you would have found me in my bed fast asleep.”

As if to divert her thoughts, he said.

"I understand she's going out with one of her co-workers. I saw them having lunch the other day.”

But Morgana seized on the opportunity to get on the

subject of Bobbette again. She wanted to clear up some unanswered questions about Stewart and that girl, which had been bugging her ever since she returned to the island.

"I just can't understand you and Bobbette being so close and not going to bed. I can’t imagine Bobbette being in a relationship with any man unless it was intimate.”

Stewart felt like she wanted to trap him.

"What more do you want me to tell you than what I told you at the party?”

"I've told you that I had a man while I was in Florida and I was sleeping with him. I left him because he was using me as a sort of trophy to show off on his friends. You want me to believe that the whole time I was away you were sleeping alone?''

"Okay, so I slept with some women after we broke up. But since you returned it’s just you alone.”

"So where does Bobbette fit in? Is she one of those you slept with? Stewart, stop trying to treat me like I’m an idiot. Of all those women I can bet that Bobbette must have looked the sexiest and yet she was the only one with whom, you never went to bed.”

"I didn't say that, there were other women with whom I was friendly and didn’t go to bed with. What do you think I am, some kind of a playboy?”

She ignored his sarcasm.

"I don't think you told me the truth as to why she and you were talking to each other so loudly at the party. Why was she there alone?”

"I can't remember what I said to her and she became angry,” he replied and laughed.

"I don't run this woman's life. How am I to know why she came to the party alone?”

“So where was her boyfriend? Isn’t he the partying type of person, why she was there alone?”

Stewart wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.

“All I know was that he wasn’t at the party. I don’t know where he was.”

"Maybe she wanted you to dance with her. Why didn't you?"

"I know you don't like her and I didn't want the two of you to start quarrelling.”

"At my boss's home, are you crazy?"

"Most of the times her boyfriend, Robert and I meet, we greet each other and shake hands. So you’re the only one, who is having a problem.”

Morgana felt there was no use to them prolonging the argument as they were getting nowhere. She stood up and took up her bag and car keys.

"You don't have to worry, it's you alone, I care about. There’s no other girl out there but you.”

She nodded, not sure whether to believe him or not. He opened the door for her and watch her drive off before sitting down in one of the patio chairs.

Let her go on not wanting to spend nights and

weekends with him and believe that she could stop him from sleeping with Bobbette, Yasmin, Sadie and the others. Nevertheless, it was a close call and she had nearly trapped him with some of those questions. He had to be extra careful from now on.

To be continued. Please read my blog at:http://stredwick.blogspot.com