“Lord!
Have mercy! What is wrong with these people! They really did that? They really
set the hospital gate on fire?” I asked Matron. Matron said that the protesters
were determined to enter the hospital despite the presence of the police
personnel on the compound. She had called the Minister of Health before calling
me and he had promised to call and talk to the
Prime Minister about the situation. The
Minister of Health advised her that in the meantime she was not to allow the morning shift to turn up for work the next day. Matron said that she and the nurses were already overwhelmed because the afternoon shift had gotten
caught up in the situation and was forced to work the evening and night shifts,
respectively, because they could not leave the hospital, now they will be forced to work the
morning shift too! I asked her what was going to happen to the expectant mothers? She
said that expectant mothers were being advised to either go to the Victoria
Jubilee Hospital in Kingston or to the May Pen Hospital in Clarendon. Those who
were already there and needed to leave the hospital after giving birth to their babies were allowed to do so by the
hooligans who had taken up a firm stance at the gate, refusing to let any Doctor or Nurse leave until they were told which Doctor had given Rajah Williams the 'bad injection'. I told her of the
incident with Rajah Williams the night he was taken away from my home by the
police and my fear that any of my neighbors had recognized him and told the
other gang members what he or she had seen. My neighbors all knew where I worked, after all, I was the
Head Midwife at the hospital and had delivered most of their babies! Matron was alarmed when she heard that. What if the protesters made the connection with Rajah Williams and me? They would possibly harm me so it was really best that I remained at home until
further notice. She said I was not to return to work until I heard from her or her secretary. We then said our good nights and I hung up the phone. I shook my
head in disbelief. There is never a dull moment on my little island! I called
Ricky to tell him that I would not be going to work for the next couple of
days. After ending the call with Ricky I called Reverend Julian to ask him how
he was doing but the call went straight to voicemail. I went outside to check if the gate was secured properly. With Maud being so ‘in love’ I was not taking
any chances as she may just have forgotten her responsibilities! Just as I thought! The
padlock was not locked! The dogs ran up to me whining, when I checked their
water bowls, there was no water in them! If she didn’t have that interview in
the morning I would have a serious talk with her! I counted to ten and told
myself to be calm. I filled the bowls with water and the dogs rushed to lap up
the water. They were obviously very thirsty! I refilled the bowls and went back
inside the house. Tomorrow, I said to myself, tomorrow I will have a talk with
her! Anyway, not having to go to work the next day meant that I could stay up a
couple hours extra and read some more of Charles’ story.
Charles
said he fainted when he stepped into his living room. He could not tell if it was
apprehension or the heat that caused him to faint. When he opened his eyes he saw Miss Verna
looking down anxiously at him. “Are you okay Mass Charles?” she asked. Charles said
he got up from the floor and went to sit on the sofa. “So did you remember who
you were?” asked Stanley Wharbucks
sarcastically. “No I did not!” retorted Charles. “So what happened after that?”
asked Charmaine. Charles sighed and said that as much as he wanted to tell Miss
Verna that his memory had returned when he fell to the floor he could not do so. He could
not recall having being in that room at any time. Miss Verna was very disappointed to
hear that. She led him to a room and told him that it was his bedroom. She said he was to look around, maybe it would bring back some of his memory. He looked
inside his bedroom, still no memory of having being in there either. Miss Verna
then led him to another room, which she said was his daughter Charmaine’s room.
The room, said Charles, was beautifully furnished; there was a yellow bedspread
on the bed with matching yellow curtains at the window and a yellow rug on the
floor beside her bed. “Ooh, I love yellow!” exclaimed Charmaine. “Now I know
why.” Miss Verna told Charles that he
was the one who had decorated the room. There was a framed picture on the
princess dresser. Charles picked it up and looked at it. The woman in the
picture seemed vaguely familiar. “That’s your wife Charlotte, Charmaine’s
mother,” said Miss Verna. Charles said he began to cry, he held the picture to
his chest and cried like a baby. I started to cry when I read that. I put down
the diary. I just could not continue to read anymore at that moment. What was
astonishing to me was that Charmaine remembered so much of what Charles said in
great detail! She must have been taking notes! I dried my eyes and took up the
diary again. I just had a hunger to hear more of Charles’ story! I laughed out
loud when I turned the page and read where Charmaine wrote that it was a good
thing that she was taking notes while her father was speaking as she would not
have remembered everything that he said. Charmaine went on to say that Stanley
Wharbucks then said that he had heard enough from Charles for the day. He told
Charles that he was to return the next day and tell them the rest of ‘his’
story, sneering at Charles when he said this. At this point Charmaine asked
Stanley Wharbucks if her father could spend the night there. “Oh no! Not in my
house!” said Stanley Wharbucks. "There are many hotels in the town!" he continued. Charmaine was shocked to hear him say that, she opened her mouth to respond but no words came out. “You
are more than welcome to stay by my quarters,” said Florence, ignoring the glaring
look that Stanley Wharbucks was sending her way. “Thank you so much, I will
take you up on your offer,” said Charles. Stanley Wharbucks stormed angrily out
of the room.
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