Love Thy Neighbour, Annecia Ellies [readict txt] 📗

time to kill. She got a text message on her phone from an unknown number. Reading it, she realized it was from Flynn.

Flynn: Morgan I still love you and I know you love me, can we please talk about this.

Morgan: Flynn, the trust between us has been broken, I don’t think I ever will get it back. I should have listened when I was told you were probably sleeping around. Just leave me alone, whatever we had was over. Just leave me alone.

Flynn: Who was it that told you that? Vinny?

Morgan: Vinny knew about you and Merlisa?

Flynn: Was it him?

Morgan: Do not text me again. I’m done. She felt herself getting angry. She could not believe Vincent knew about Flynn’s little tryst and did not tell her anything. She suspected it was him Auri got it from as Auri was good at digging things out of people. She dialed Saurelle’s number and waited. She got a response that she was in a meeting so she will have to try her again later. Her flight was called to board so she got up and followed the line of passengers to the door.

The flight was as usual, too short. It took about fifteen to twenty minutes to go to Tobago from Trinidad by air. Just as Morgan was settling into the flight, she had to prepare to land. Tobago, Tobago, my beautiful Tobago she thought. She had to meet with the coordinator at the Tourism Ministry on Wednesday, Everything will be set up on Thursday and the Event was on Friday, She had the weekend to spend at the beach before she headed back to Trinidad on Monday morning. She loved being home, the atmosphere is different, the people are different, the pace life follows here was different to that of Trinidad. She loved it and was glad to call it her first home. She disembarked with the other passengers and picked up her luggage. It was one bag, as she already had all her personal stuff in the bag she had on board the aircraft with her.

She saw her mother as soon as she got through the gate. Dawn sat on the bonnet of the car waiting for her one and only child, she loved her with all. Morgan saw her mother before she saw Morgan and she was almost upon her when she realized it was her daughter approaching.

“Hello precious Dawn said,” moving in for a tight embrace. Morgan kissed her mother on the cheek then hugged her, “Hi Momma”

They got into the car after Morgan put her bags in the back seat, and drove off.

“What about Zoe did you hear from her?” Dawn asked her

“She called me this morning when she came in, we will meet up tomorrow morning and head to the Ministry’s office. She is leaving on Saturday though. She doesn’t like to miss her church services on Sundays.” Morgan replied

They soon came to the village where Morgan grew up, Plymouth. Passing Mrs. Winifred Visalia’s home, Morgan shouted “Auntie Winnie!” she was seated on a swing set in front of her home talking to another well-known neighbor Miss Dorothy Forde, and sent a few air kisses to the waving Morgan.

“Don’t worry, mih got this here room fuh yuh friend baby girl, check mih later and I will show yuh ok.” Mrs. Winnie shouted.

A few moments later Dawn pulled into her own driveway and stopped the car.

“I’m heading over to Auntie Winnie now mamma, later I want to chill with you.” She said to her mom, stepping out of the car.

“Ok honey, I’ll take your things inside. Say good afternoon for me.”

She walked past the three houses between her mom’s and Mrs. Winnie’s home. She was about to go indoors when she turned and saw Morgan approaching. She stepped back and waited for her. Morgan went straight up to her and gave her a big hug.

“Hello Auntie Winnie.”

“Hello sugar, glad to see you, come here and sit down.” She sat on the steps and motioned for Morgan to follow.

Winifred Visalia knew Morgan ever since she was born. Being a good friend of Dawn, she often assisted the single mother in taking care of her only daughter, who she sometimes calls one of her own. She knew all about Dawn’s relationship with Emmie, her pregnancy with Morgan and her birth. She herself being the mother of three grown children, two daughters and one son, the last of whom is Morgan’s age.

“How are ye Muggy?” she took both hands and pinched Morgan’s cheeks, something she always did when Morgan was a little girl. “Ye look so pretty you almost glowing. How life in Trinidad treating you?”

“Great Auntie, work’s good, life’s good and things going fine.” Morgan replied

“Uh huh, love’s good too? The fellow that coming is he yur boyfriend? Yer mom said it is a special friend.”

Morgan gasped, “No, yes, well gosh…” she placed her face in her hands

“Morgan, yer blushing. Having yer dad’s complexion I can see all yer emotions on yer face. Tell mih about him”

“I met him a little while ago and we kinda hit it off immediately. He’s coming to meet mom really but it will be his first time here. He recently discovered the country and fell in love with it. We went out a couple times and spoke a lot, mostly online. He found some info on dad and wanted to speak with her to see if he can help, answer questions and stuff.”

“He fell in love with the country or with you?”

Morgan smiled and slanted her head as she looked at her aunt. “Well, you could say both.” They laughed.

“Anyways, he sounds like a considerate person, but is your mom ready for that girl? She gave up on him long time now you know.”

“Well, yes, he’s very nice. I believe it will close a chapter for us, you know, at least we will know why he hasn’t been coming back.”

“True dat. So about this guy now, yer in love with him, does yer mamma know that?”

“Why you think I in love with him auntie?” Morgan asked squinting her eyes and looking at Winnie who was smiling trying to pick her mouth.

“Your face lights up when I ask you about him chile, haven’t seen that when I ask about your other friend.”

Morgan said nothing, she just nodded.

“I’m glad fuh you, it’s time to settle down and give that mamma of yers some grand babies to doth over. But until you married ah hope you using some good protection you hear. Don go making no chile for any man who don’t commit to you yuh like yer mamma.”

“I’m good auntie, don’t worry.”

“Well I cyar wait to meet this friend of yours then. Glad you came to say hello though, run along now, your mamma must be waiting patiently fuh yuh. I will come over tomorrow. Tell her I got the kutchela she sent and it taste real good.” After saying goodbye Morgan headed to her mom’s house.

She walked into the house and found her mother in the kitchen kneading flour. She had a sudden case of déjà vu, this is the home she always remembers, and it was good to be back.

“I put your things in your room Muggy.” She said when Morgan came in.

“Thanks momma.” Morgan said and she ran up the stairs to get the envelope Filipe sent for her mom. She came into the kitchen and sat at the table. She took up a plantain and started to peel off the skin.

“No honey,” Dawn said taking it from her, “You leave that I will do it. I’m done kneading the flour for the bake. You go ahead and open that envelope you have in front of you.”

Morgan looked at her mom and nodded then took up the envelope and carefully opened it. She read for her mother:

“Emmie Andersen was the heading, with a photo included in the file.” Her heartbeat quickened as she continued.

“Matteo Edvin Andersen, aka Emmie Andersen, was from Sigtuna, Sweden. A brilliant architect by profession, his work was known both locally and overseas. He kept a rather low profile and was a quiet but friendly man.”

“Though belonging to a big family, he never married but was said to have had quite a few ladies at any given time. No children has been recorded to date. His life came to a sudden end on August twenty seventh two thousand and five.”

Morgan stopped and looked up at her mother who had closed her eyes tightly when she heard that news. “He died as the result of a fatal vehicular accident and is buried at a local cemetery in the village he came from.”

Morgan paused then continued, “His brother Hugo lives in Maine, USA and another brother Viktor resides in Canada, his two sisters, Marseille and Elsa both are said to be alive but their location has not been identified.”

Morgan stopped reading and looked at her mother, both their eyes filled with tears. While Morgan blinked hers away, one rolled down Dawn’s face and she quickly wiped it with her left wrist, leaving a smudge of flour on her cheek.

“He died, momma, my daddy died, that’s why we stopped hearing from him.” She sat staring into empty space. “He did not desert us, he died.”

Dawn came around the counter and hugged her. “He was a good man honey, I’m not surprised to hear this though because he always said he loved us and nothing will keep him away, save death. He loved coming to Tobago, he loved me and he simply adored you, his one and only.”

“I’m sorry momma, I know from the way you talked about him that you loved him and he loved you.”

“Yes that’s true, it says there though that he has no children. I wish that could be corrected. I always remembered him talking about his little sister, Elsa, she is the youngest and he told me they shared everything as they were very close. She is the only one that knew about you because one time she sent some pretty little dresses for you with a pink jeans hat. I remember sending a thank you card to her back with Emmie. That was long ago though you were about four, but why, even if she knew about you, didn’t she tell the others?” She paused then said “I have some questions for your Filipe though, I need to know if he found out more and did not say or if this is it. Someone must have known about you.”

“Momma, it doesn’t matter now you know, he is dead. And it happened about ten years ago, who will care about a long lost daughter?”

“I do, he has a child and that is important, who knows maybe a part of you is in Sweden.”

Dawn went back to making her bake and fried plantain, her thoughts far away while Morgan sat and watched her in silence, her mind swirling with thoughts and memories of her dad.

“Tell me what’s been happening here momma, we need to get our mind of dad.” She finally said after about ten minutes.

They talked for a while about the new park in the village, all those who got married and left the village to live elsewhere, and the ones that came in to live. The beach that’s always filled with tourist trying to catch glimpses of the leather back turtles when they come ashore.

As Morgan watched her mom while eating hot sada bake with fried plantains, she realized she misses home more than she is willing to admit. Her mind and heart filled with memories of growing up in the house. Sipping on some hot cocoa tea, Dawn joined her daughter by the table.

“Tell me about this Filipe person Muggy.”

“”First Flynn.” She paused and took a deep breath. “He hooked back up with his former girlfriend the last time he went to Miami and I found out a couple days ago. Right now I don’t want anything to do with him.”

“What do you mean hook up?”

“He