Jailbird
Episode 20
Junior, his mouth smeared with sauce and a long
trail of a noodle disappearing fast into his
mouth, is holding out a plate to his father.
JUNIOR
Oh, please, Daddy, Daddy! Just one tiny
weeny little small scoop, pleeeeeeease!!
Chris is laughing down at his son, his cheeks
dimpled by that smile.
CHRIS
Champ, you’re going to burst! You’ve taken
too much! I heard say you hate noodles!
RUPERT
(moving forward)
Whatever it is, I want a plate!
He begins to apologize effusively for what
happened the previous day.
CHRIS
(gently)
That’s okay. You did what you had to do.
Rupert offers his hand and Chris takes it. They
shake hands.
RUPERT
Now, please, can I have some of that noodles?
The noodles was still sizzling in a saucepan.
Chris picks up a clean plate and scoops noodles
into it, and hands it to Rupert.
He takes Junior’s plate and gives him more
noodles.
Eyram stares into the saucepan, at the noodles
and sauce and bits of meat.
Effe leans against the door-frame and stares at
Chris.
It is a Chris she has not seen before.
Surely this cannot be the same man who hated
the kitchen!
The food smells really great, and to see Junior
asking for more noodles really throws Effe off-
guard.
Eyram has filled a plate, and she walks forward
and places it on a plastic table in the middle of
the room.
Rupert, Eyram and Junior are eating the noodles
with much relish.
Eyram suddenly stops and looks up at Chris, who
is leaning against the cabinet with his arms
crossed.
EYRAM
(awed)
CB! Surely this is the best noodles I’ve ever
tasted. Wow! How did this happen?
RUPERT
(nodding profusely)
You mean he cooked it? My goodness, no!
Effe walks forward and stands in front of Chris.
She puts her head to one side and regards him.
Without a word she reaches for a plate, scoops
the last bits of noodles into it, and picks up a
fork.
She stands next to him, forks the noodles into
her mouth, and as she eats another forkful she
is stunned, like the rest of them.
She looks at him with questioning eyes.
CHRIS
I had a cell mate in prison. A chef from Egypt.
He was extradited a few months before I was
released. He used to cook at the prison kitchen.
I was bored most of the time, and we became
friends. He taught me how to cook, and I had
such a great time learning.
EFFE
(softly)
But you hated cooking. You didn’t want to have
anything to do with a kitchen.
Chris looks at her, and she sees quite suddenly
that his eyes are once more wary, and absolutely
unfriendly, and once again she is staggered by
his obvious mistrust of her.
CHRIS
I was all alone in prison. I had no visitors. It
was fun learning how to cook. The time I spent
in the kitchen helped me to take my mind off
some painful things.
There is a note in his voice that makes them all
stop eating and look at him.
His words pierce Effe’s heart.
The sadness, the agony, the incredible hurt in
his voice suddenly reminds her of the anger she
had felt towards him.
This anger had ensured that she never visited
him, and he never saw his son.
Chris moves out of the kitchen into the living-
room, and sits down in an armchair.
Silently they continue to eat, but Junior leaves
his plate and, licking his lips, follows his father
into the living-room area.
When Effe takes her plate and goes to stand in
the doorway, she sees her son pushing his
father’s hands aside and climbing unto his laps.
He sits sideways, slips his arms around his
father, and puts his head on his chest.
Chris closes his eyes and leans back, putting his
arms around his son.
Effe sees the pain etched deeply on Chris’ face,
even when he smiles lovingly at his son.
She gives a shuddering breath, and suddenly she
does not taste the sweetness of the food
anymore.
Her heartbeats increase, and she wishes she can
go to him and soothe the bitterness from his
soul.
I should have visited him, at least for the sake
of his son…oh dear Lord!
Junior reaches up and touches his father’s face
lovingly.
JUNIOR
(trembling)
You look sad, Daddy! Please don’t be sad,
okay? Everything is going to be alright. I pray
for you everyday. God is going to make
everything alright, Daddy.
Chris wipes the sudden tears from his son’s
face.
CHRIS
(gently)
Thank you. Thank you, my boy.
Father and son smile tearfully into each other’s
eyes.
JUNIOR
I love you, Daddy.
CHRIS
Oh, Junior. I love you too. You won’t believe
just how much I love you, boy!
Effe cannot take it anymore.
She turns and rushes into the kitchen.
Rupert and Eyram look at her, startled. She
says nothing as she puts her plate down, and
then she brushes tears from her eyes quite
savagely, and takes deep breaths in abject
misery.
Rupert stands up and approaches her. She looks
at him through eyes half-blinded with tears.
EFFE
Yes?
Rupert points to her plate of noodles.
RUPERT
Oh, you can cry. But can I finish your
noodles?
Effe and Eyram both laugh then, and the pain
slowly leaves Effe’s eyes.
She picks up her plate and smiles at Rupert.
EFFE
No, Rupert. I think I want to finish this.
RUPERT
Oh, bother!
EYRAM’S RESIDENCE
Two days later, Eyram drives into her yard and
parks the car near the Boys Quarters.
Behind her car is a white U-Haul.
She gets down and looks across at Chris, and
her face closes in a look of extreme displeasure.
Chris is at the far end of the compound holding
a cutlass.
He is wearing black jeans and black Chinese
sneakers.
It is evident that he has been weeding the whole
compound.
He has packed the weeds neatly into huge black
polythene bags and stacked them at the entrance
of the house for the waste disposal company.
He has lifted the last bag and is carrying it
outside when her car turned in.
He deposits the full bag of weeds on top of the
others, and then he walks slowly towards her.
He is bare-chested, and his body tapers from a
broad masculine chest to a lean waist.
The hair on his chest is rich and beautiful,
covering even his stomach.
She waits for him, still scowling, and finally he
stops and presses his back against the railing of
the veranda and crosses his arms.
CHRIS
(gently)
You’re home early today, Eyram. Not expecting
you now.
She walks up to him and stands very close to
him. Her anger is apparent.
EYRAM
(icily, furiously)
CB, let this be the last time you weed this
compound! We have labourers who weed the
compound every two weeks. They have power
mowers. It is their job, and you should let them
do it!
CHRIS
(with a sad smile)
Relax, Eyram. I’ve been weeding for the last
five years. Actually I like weeding now. Great
exercise.
EYRAM
(icily, tightly)
Chris Bawa, you will promise me that this will
never happen again. Believe me, I would rather
throw you out of this place than watch you
weed. I don’t want you to weed this compound
again.
CHRIS
Eyram, come on. It gave me something to do,
something to clear my head. I don’t have a-
He sees that her hands are balled up into angry
fists by her side, and that her eyes are
flashing, and for an incredible moment it takes
him back, and for a moment he feels like he is
with Effe, because she behaves in the same way
when she is angry.
EYRAM
Chris. Please. No!
CHRIS
Alright, alright. I promise.
She looks at him with impotent rage for a
moment more, and then slowly she begins to
relax. Her hands uncurl, and she gives a
shuddering breath.
EYRAM
Thank you. I brought you a gift. Come have a
look.
He moves beside her and helps her to open the
U-Haul.
Inside, glistening in brand new metal, is a huge
Yamaha motorbike.
He stands back and looks at her warily.
CHRIS
Come on, Eyram. Don’t tell me you bought
that for me. You didn’t have to do it. Can’t
accept it, please.
She comes closer to him, very closer, and looks
into his eyes, and her eyes flash with
impatience.
EYRAM
(tightly)
Chris Bawa, don’t think because I kissed you
once, inappropriately, it connotes to a final
conclusion that everything I do for you means I
want some sort of sexual favour from you!
CHRIS
(unhappily)
Didn’t mean it like that, Eyram. I-
She holds up a stern right forefinger, cutting
him off, her eyes still angry.
EYRAM
Every senior doctor is supposed to have one
motorbike at home for houseboys. I don’t have
a houseboy, so I didn’t take mine. Now you’re
here, largely to begin your life again. I know
you would need to go around on personal
errands. This is hospital premises, and taxis
rarely frequent here. So I went for the
motorbike, to help you move around. If you
don’t want it, just leave it inside. I’ll send it
back.
She turns away from him and begins to walk
away.
CHRIS
(contrite)
Eyram, please. Wait!
He tries to take her hand, but she moves away
from him, and quickly walks towards the main
house.
He stays rooted, staring after her with mixed
feelings, and then he sighs and climbs into the
U-haul.
He brings out the motorbike, stands it up, and
moves towards the car to drive it to the main
house.
Just then two cars turn into the driveway from
the main road, and he stops and turns from the
car slowly.
He walks towards the veranda of the Boys
Quarters and leans against the wall, folding his
arms across his chest.
The first car is Effe’s sleek BMW X6.
The second car is a shiny ash Toyota Sequoia,
and they both come towards the Boys Quarters.
Chris watches warily as Effe gets down first, and
then the doors of the Toyota open, and Stan
gets down from the driver’s seat.
The Reverend Brand Bawa gets down from the
passenger seat.
Diana and his mother get down from the back
seats. They look at him, and then they begin to
walk towards him.
To be continued
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