Taeja

35. Chapter 35

35

Her family and Taeja’s boyfriends came for her and ZsaZsa early this morning. They drove to a restaurant and were currently enjoying breakfast over idle chat.

Getting a small piece of callaloo omelet on a fork, Sakara tried feeding ZsaZsa. “Here, Cookie.”

Too focused on playing with one of Zain’s locs, ZsaZsa opened her mouth but didn’t turn her head toward her mother. Sighing, Sakara brought her hand around and put the fork in ZsaZsa’s mouth. Then, she returned to eating her meal, glancing at Taeja every so often.

Taeja sat between Damon and Zain. She smiled as she spoke to them, and they hooked onto every word she said. She sat closer to Damon, but Zain was more attentive than Damon, who seemed more interested in eating.

It was all still fascinating to Cassedi, but who was she to judge? She loved love, and her daughter’s happiness meant everything to her.

They finished up breakfast, then headed to a cave. While her family went along, Cassedi stayed in the vehicle with the bags. She was reading her daily noon scripture, but she couldn’t get past Genesis two verse twenty-four.

Cassedi shook her head with a sad chuckle.

Closing her Bible, she rested it aside and grabbed her phone. She didn’t call Jerry yesterday; she didn’t have the courage to, but she’d saved his number. His profile picture was public, and she’d stared at it all night after she put ZsaZsa to sleep.

Looking at him now, she smiled. Jerry wasn’t much of a looker, but his personality captivated her and made her see him in a completely different light.

Here were the laugh lines she fell in love with… Those cold eyes she’d stared into when she’d said, ‘I do’… That slim yet firm build she cuddled… And this was the mouth that kissed her and read scriptures with her whenever they found themselves at a crossroads.

Should she call him? She wanted to. But what would she say?

The door to Wayne’s bus opened, startling her. Seeing her daughter’s face, Cassedi smiled. “Baby girl, is everything okay?”

Taeja nodded while towel-drying her hair. “I came to get a towel for ZsaZsa.”

“I thought Sakara had one,” Cassedi said as she found one in the bags.

“They were sharing a towel, but ZsaZsa hitch up under Zain arm, so Sakara waa give her a towel,” Taeja said. “Yu sure yu nuh waa come? The water in the cave’s very cool and nice.”

“I’m fine. Go enjoy yourself, baby girl.”

Taeja gave her an unreadable stare. “Actually… I had enough fun. I’ll just go give them the towel and come back. Yu must lonely out here.”

“I’m not—” Cassedi said, but Taeja already walked off, returning moments later.

Taeja sat on the floor of the bus, right at the door, and smiled at Cassedi, who was still seated in the row closest to the door. “How it sound like yu nuh waa spend time with yu one and only so?”

Cassedi chuckled. “No, it’s not like that. I just want you to enjoy yourself—”

“I can enjoy myself with you,” Taeja said with a reassuring smile.

“Okay, but I’m not as fun.”

“Eeh? Wayne tell me seh a nuff time him carry yu go pon the water jets at the hotel.”

Cassedi smiled. “Not because I’m getting old means I can’t enjoy my life sometimes.”

“Stop call yuself old, Cassedi. Yu deevn look like yu touch forty,” Taeja said. “Anyway, what were you doing? ”

Her mind flashed to Jerry, and she rushed out, “Reading the Bible.”

“Oh…”

“You don’t go to church anymore?” Cassedi asked, and Taeja shook her head. “Jerry, too?”

“He stopped a few months after you left. My nanny used to bring me, but after I went to college, I don’t go as often.”

“I realize that a lot of persons who grew up in church, grow further away from the Lord the older they get. Even at my church, the youth fellowship isn’t what it used to be. Why’s your generation like this?”

Taeja shrugged. “I can’t speak for them. I can only speak for me.”

“I’m listening,” Cassedi said. “But come mek mi comb yu hair so it nuh knot up.”

“It nuh knot up easy,” Taeja laughed, moving to sit between Cassedi’s legs. “My comb is in Damon’s computer bag. Don’t tell him that, though. He’ll kill me if he knows I stuck it in there this morning when we were running late to get you and ZsaZsa.”

“Let me guess, Wayne was driving and complaining that foreigners aren’t punctual?” she asked, and Taeja nodded. Cassedi chuckled as she found the comb, then got to work on her daughter’s hair. It was as soft as she remembered, and Cassedi smiled. This thick bundle of curls had been on her maternal grandfather’s side of the family for generations. The blessing skipped her, but Cassedi was happy her daughter received it.

Taeja continued, “It’s not that I don’t want to go to church, I just don’t have time.”

“That’s always the excuse.”

“But it’s valid. When I’m at school, that’s all I focus on, and Saturdays, I party to de-stress. When Sunday comes, I can barely drag myself out of bed.”

“You should manage your time wisely.”

Taeja sighed. “Miss Charm always tells me that. I’m going to do better this semester though. I can’t afford to fail.”

“I’d like to meet Miss Charm,” Cassedi said. She wasn’t jealous, but it was disheartening that another woman played her role as a mother .

“Mek mi call her.” Taeja grabbed her phone. “She’s probably at home baking—” Taeja paused when she found the number. “Speaking of calling people, did you speak to Jerry?”

Cassedi froze before she recovered, resuming the cornrow. “No.”

“You don’t want to talk to him?” Taeja asked, puzzled.

“I do.”

“Yu waa mi call him? If you don’t know what to say to him, tell him bout him mada,” Taeja suggested, and Cassedi slapped Taeja’s arm with the comb. “Ow, Cassedi!” Taeja exclaimed, rubbing the spot.

“Behave yourself,” Cassedi huffed.

“You sound like Jerry,” Taeja grumbled.

“I don’t sound like him. I just don’t think you should allow that woman to turn you into someone you’re not.”

“Me naa stop cuss her.” Taeja hissed her teeth. “Do you want to talk to him or not?”

“Sure… You can call him,” Cassedi said, somewhat thankful for how pushy her daughter was. She knew she’d never contact Jerry any other way, no matter how much she longed to hear his voice.

The call connected, and Taeja put it on speaker. “Hello, Jerry Marley. May I ask who I am speaking to?”

“Me,” Taeja said, a hint of attitude in her tone.

“Why are you calling me, Taeja?” Jerry asked, and Cassedi froze. His voice sounded just as she remembered, but… icier.

What happened when she was away?

“Yu feel seh a beg mi a beg yu nun, Jerry?” Taeja bit back, making Cassedi’s heart sink. She knew they didn’t have the best relationship anymore, but witnessing it was something else entirely.

Jerry sighed. “You do not have to be so aggressive, Taeja. I am at work.”

“Oh… Sorry. I didn’t know that you went back.”

Jerry paused. “What do you want?”

“I have someone who wants to speak to you.” Taeja looked over her shoulder at Cassedi, who’d stopped combing her hair .

“Who?” Jerry asked.

“Cassedi,” Taeja answered, and Cassedi’s heart stopped beating completely.

No, no. It was beating. Hard and fast against her chest cavity, flirting with the risk of cardiac arrest. This couldn’t be normal.

“C-Cassedi?” Jerry stuttered, and Cassedi’s heart raced faster. The way he said her name differed from the icy tone he used with their daughter.

“Y-yes,” Cassedi said before clearing her throat. “It’s me.”

“What do you want?” Jerry asked, that trace of emotion gone and replaced by anger.

Whatever heat Cassedi felt sizzled away as if someone doused her in cold water.

“Watch yu tone when yaa talk to mi mother,” Taeja hissed.

“You need to watch your tone when you are talking to me ,” Jerry bit back. “I am your father.”

“Some father you are,” Taeja mocked. “Mi nuh call fi argue wid yu. You need to speak to my mother. You have a lot to talk about.”

“I do not have anything to say to her—”

“Teddy lied,” Taeja blurted.

“W-what?” Jerry asked.

Taeja put the phone in Cassedi’s hand, and Cassedi looked at it like it was a foreign object. “Talk to him, Cassedi. I can’t do it for you.”

Cassedi nodded weakly, watching as Taeja walked a distance away from the vehicle. Cassedi inhaled a deep breath. “Jerry?” she said hesitantly.

He didn’t answer, but she heard his heavy breathing on the other end.

“H-how are you?” she asked.

“How do you think?” he hissed. “You have some nerve trying to talk to me, Cassedi.”

Her brows pulled together. “What do you mean?”

“You… left me,” he forced out, his voice shaking. “And our little girl. Do you know how many lies I had to tell her when she asked where you went? Do you know how it felt watching her grow up to become the type of person you are?”

Her throat tightened. “The type of person I am?”

“Yes,” he hissed. “A—” He paused. “I do not want to talk to you, Cassedi. Go to Romar. He has what you are looking for, correct?”

Cassedi batted away the tears. Jerry hadn’t changed much at all. This was the same way he acted when Teddy finally managed to get all the way in his head — harsh, condescending.

“Romar and I have never been in a relationship, Jerry.”

“What?” he mocked.

“That’s what our daughter was telling you. Teddy lied to you.”

“My mother has never lied to me about anything.”

Cassedi scoffed. “Can you allow me to speak?”

“Sure. Go ahead. I would love to hear what sorry excuse you have.”

So, she told him everything. From hating how controlling he became when they moved in with his mother, to wanting to visit Jamaica. From Teddy helping her to book the flight, to Romar leaving her stranded. How she turned over a new leaf — barely. “I went to the embassy several times, but they turned me away because I have nothing to prove that I live there. I tried, J… I tried.”

H is mouth fell after hearing all she had to say.

Cassedi didn’t leave him? All these years were nothing but a big miscommunication based on lies and deceit from his mother?

His chest tightened. Breathing was difficult. He moved the phone from his ear and ended the call before tossing the phone aside.

A bad choice? Maybe.

But he just couldn’t listen anymore.

To all she had to say. To her voice that haunted him for years. To the hurt in her tone and how much she was telling him that his actions hurt her.

He thought women liked getting taken care of. He thought they liked having all their bills paid and needs tended to. The only thing they had to do was worry about the home and their kids.

Their daughter. Taeja.

He ruined his relationship with his only child because of his mother.

Had it always been this way? Or were they teaming up to get into his head?

His mother would never do this to him. They must have been lying.

Dissociated, he barely realized when he grabbed his keys and briefcase.

“Mr. Marley, are you going out for lunch? Should I take your calls?” his assistant asked as he waited for the elevator. Her voice was distant despite being only a few feet away.

“Yes,” the word passed his lips, not sounding like his own voice.

Finally, the elevator arrived, and he went to the underground parking lot. He found his car and drove to his mother’s house. The house he paid for with his hard-earned money.

He parked and went inside, seeing Teddy in the living room laughing at a rom-com. How could she look so happy? So carefree? After all his family accused her of doing?

“Teddy,” he forced the word out, and she looked at him.

“Jerry!” She smiled at him. Her joy dwindled when he didn’t smile back. “Is Taeja being a brat again?”

He snapped back to the moment. “Do not call her that,” he stated firmly.

Teddy gasped, her eyes widening. She recovered quickly and patted the space beside her on the couch. “Come talk to Mommy.”

Jerry’s feet brought him there by their own accord. His body dropped beside her, heavier than normal. Teddy made him lay his head on her shoulder, and she held him close like she always did.

“What happened?” Teddy pressed.

“I spoke to Cassedi today,” Jerry said, and Teddy stiffened. He pulled away to watch her closely. “Is it true?”

Teddy forced a chuckle. “About what?”

Jerry chuckled, shaking his head. One action so simple, yet it spoke volumes. “Nothing, never mind,” he said, standing and walking away .

Teddy grabbed his wrist, halting him. Her eyes were frantic and teary as she looked at him. “Talk to me,” she begged. “You can’t push me away like this again, Jerald—”

His nostrils flared as he yanked his hand free. “I’m not Jerald.”

Teddy’s eyes widened before returning to normal. “I mean Jerry—”

Jerry’s jaw clenched. It was hard to believe that this was the same woman who clothed and fed him since he was a boy. She always said his happiness meant everything to her, and now he truly understood why.

“My family was right about you,” Jerry spat, looking his mother up and down in distaste.

“I’m your family!”

Jerry’s fists tightened. He wanted to say something harsh, like the words he used to get beneath the skin of a witness on the stand. Something harsher than the words his daughter would spew to him. But he didn’t have the strength to.

Teddy wasn’t worth it.

Not giving her a last look, he took long strides out of the house. He ignored her pleas for them to sit and talk like they always did. Jerry reversed out of the yard and went home.

Parking in the garage, he left the vehicle running as he pulled his phone out. Looking at the message that came in a few minutes after he ended the call, his lips trembled as tears blurred his vision.

Body shaking from rage and sadness, he dialed the number, and it answered on the first ring. Jerry’s voice cracked. “I am sorry, Cass.”