Part 1
"What kind of tea you want Junie? Coffee or Milo?"
Looking in the mirror, Avril-Dawn finished dusting translucent powder on her cheeks and forehead before she answered her grandmother.
"Coffee Mamma." Then she added. "But without condensed milk. Just sugar".
Her grandmother raised her eyebrows.
"But is not bush tea you drinking? You must have a little milk with it."
Avril-Dawn tied a silk handkerchief scarf around her neck and answered a little hastily.
"Mamma, I know what I want, please. The taxi should be here at any moment."
As if on cue, a car horn tooted at the gate. Avril-Dawn ran to the grille and saw that it was no longer dark as the sky was now pale grey turning blue. She shouted out to the driver at the gate.
"I'm coming." As she turned to go back in her room she saw that her grandmother had already placed her locked suitcase and blazer by the door and was standing there with Avril-Dawn’s handbag in one hand and a cup of black coffee in the other.
"Come, you not leaving here without a hot drink," her grandmother said.
Her voice carried a tone that Avril-Dawn knew well. It was the one that her grandmother used when she was not going to tolerate any more argument from her grand daughter, and Avril-Dawn knew better than to challenge her. Her grandmother was not going to give up without a fight.
Avril-Dawn gulped it down and gave her grandmother a hug. The older woman spoke first.
"I still don't like the idea of you going to the airport by yourself."
“'I'll be fine Mamma. Call you tonight as we agreed."
Avril-Dawn checked her handbag for her passport and plane ticket, and then wheeled her suitcase out to the waiting taxi.
Despite her nonchalance and bravado, Avril-Dawn was very nervous. This was a big day for her. She directed the taxi driver to go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs so that she could collect the diplomatic pouch as well as all the other files that were waiting for her there. The security guard helped her to load four packages and a briefcase into the cab. Leaving New Kingston she looked at her watch. It read ten minutes to six. She was making good time for a seven thirty a.m. flight.
Avril-Dawn was a Ministry attaché going on her first overseas assignment. It was also her first time outside of the island and on an aeroplane. Naturally, she was excited as well as nervous, but when she got out of the cab and joined the line in the ticketing area, she pretended to be bored as if travelling overseas was something that she did frequently for years.
Although she was early, there were lines already at the ticketing counters. It was a mixed group of travellers this morning. A few, like her were men and women in business suits; there was a group of about twelve members of a band who were being checked in separately; a few women who seemed to be going on a shopping trip, and parents with sleepy-eyed children.
When it was her turn she handed her ticket to the agent who had a cheerful smile, even at that hour, and asked Avril-Dawn whether she wanted to sit the smoking or the non smoking section of the plane.
Avril-Dawn gave a confident smile, “Aisle Bulkhead please.”
Her advisors at the Ministry told her that was the best seat for a person her height, but that it was also where the stewardess put unaccompanied children, so she was sure to get attention.
The agent nodded and said that it was available, then checked in Avril-Dawn’s packages and directed her to customs and immigration. Even though she had never done it before, Avril-Dawn knew what to expect and after presenting her bag for X-ray scanning and her documents to be checked, she sat by a window in the departure lounge and watched the ground staff prepare planes for early morning flights.
After she boarded and snapped her safety belt in place, Avril-Dawn watched the steward go through his paces then they were driving down the highway for takeoff. The whole of her insides seemed to frighten and jump up when the plane suddenly tilted and left the ground for the sky. Avril-Dawn shut her eyes tight trying not to moan and hoped that she would not do anything stupid, or worse, throw up. However after a few seconds, when the plane did nothing more than become level again, she relaxed and opened her eyes. She looked through the small rectangular window and saw a deep, deep blue that was wavy like silk below her and realized that it was the Caribbean Sea. She breathed deeply and started to relax.
When she landed that afternoon at Washington Dulles International Airport, a driver was waiting to take her to the Embassy. It was a hot afternoon, but she still kept on her blazer while they sped on the Dulles toll road then crawled through the slow afternoon city traffic from Virginia across into Washington D.C. It was only when they pulled in front of the embassy and she saw the plaza of the Organisation of the American States across the road when Avril-Dawn finally felt like she was a diplomat. It was only a week ago that the Permanent Secretary informed her that there was a last minute change and that she was assigned to this mission. She alighted from the taxi and straightened her suit while the driver took out her cases.
At 25, Avril-Dawn was tall and athletic. She used to play Goal Shoot on her church's netball team until the demands of time from her job caused her to step aside. She was wearing a double-breasted chocolate coloured pant suit, with a silk-like white polyester inner blouse. The little scarf around her neck was a leopard print and she wore dark brown leather closed toe sandals; all brand new. In the midst of document preparations for her trip, the Director of Protocol had called her into a meeting and discreetly discussed aspects of dress. She was advised to carry suits, preferably tailored skirt suits – below the knee and not figure-hugging and made out of a non-crush material. It was summer, so a light jacket or blazer would look businesslike and keep out a sudden chill. Avril-Dawn had to trust her grandmother’s partner money to get her wardrobe up to mark. She knew that her hair was in place, as the stylist had spent eight hours last Saturday putting in micro braids.
"What kind of tea you want Junie? Coffee or Milo?"
Looking in the mirror, Avril-Dawn finished dusting translucent powder on her cheeks and forehead before she answered her grandmother.
"Coffee Mamma." Then she added. "But without condensed milk. Just sugar".
Her grandmother raised her eyebrows.
"But is not bush tea you drinking? You must have a little milk with it."
Avril-Dawn tied a silk handkerchief scarf around her neck and answered a little hastily.
"Mamma, I know what I want, please. The taxi should be here at any moment."
As if on cue, a car horn tooted at the gate. Avril-Dawn ran to the grille and saw that it was no longer dark as the sky was now pale grey turning blue. She shouted out to the driver at the gate.
"I'm coming." As she turned to go back in her room she saw that her grandmother had already placed her locked suitcase and blazer by the door and was standing there with Avril-Dawn’s handbag in one hand and a cup of black coffee in the other.
"Come, you not leaving here without a hot drink," her grandmother said.
Her voice carried a tone that Avril-Dawn knew well. It was the one that her grandmother used when she was not going to tolerate any more argument from her grand daughter, and Avril-Dawn knew better than to challenge her. Her grandmother was not going to give up without a fight.
Avril-Dawn gulped it down and gave her grandmother a hug. The older woman spoke first.
"I still don't like the idea of you going to the airport by yourself."
“'I'll be fine Mamma. Call you tonight as we agreed."
Avril-Dawn checked her handbag for her passport and plane ticket, and then wheeled her suitcase out to the waiting taxi.
Despite her nonchalance and bravado, Avril-Dawn was very nervous. This was a big day for her. She directed the taxi driver to go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs so that she could collect the diplomatic pouch as well as all the other files that were waiting for her there. The security guard helped her to load four packages and a briefcase into the cab. Leaving New Kingston she looked at her watch. It read ten minutes to six. She was making good time for a seven thirty a.m. flight.
Avril-Dawn was a Ministry attaché going on her first overseas assignment. It was also her first time outside of the island and on an aeroplane. Naturally, she was excited as well as nervous, but when she got out of the cab and joined the line in the ticketing area, she pretended to be bored as if travelling overseas was something that she did frequently for years.
Although she was early, there were lines already at the ticketing counters. It was a mixed group of travellers this morning. A few, like her were men and women in business suits; there was a group of about twelve members of a band who were being checked in separately; a few women who seemed to be going on a shopping trip, and parents with sleepy-eyed children.
When it was her turn she handed her ticket to the agent who had a cheerful smile, even at that hour, and asked Avril-Dawn whether she wanted to sit the smoking or the non smoking section of the plane.
Avril-Dawn gave a confident smile, “Aisle Bulkhead please.”
Her advisors at the Ministry told her that was the best seat for a person her height, but that it was also where the stewardess put unaccompanied children, so she was sure to get attention.
The agent nodded and said that it was available, then checked in Avril-Dawn’s packages and directed her to customs and immigration. Even though she had never done it before, Avril-Dawn knew what to expect and after presenting her bag for X-ray scanning and her documents to be checked, she sat by a window in the departure lounge and watched the ground staff prepare planes for early morning flights.
After she boarded and snapped her safety belt in place, Avril-Dawn watched the steward go through his paces then they were driving down the highway for takeoff. The whole of her insides seemed to frighten and jump up when the plane suddenly tilted and left the ground for the sky. Avril-Dawn shut her eyes tight trying not to moan and hoped that she would not do anything stupid, or worse, throw up. However after a few seconds, when the plane did nothing more than become level again, she relaxed and opened her eyes. She looked through the small rectangular window and saw a deep, deep blue that was wavy like silk below her and realized that it was the Caribbean Sea. She breathed deeply and started to relax.
When she landed that afternoon at Washington Dulles International Airport, a driver was waiting to take her to the Embassy. It was a hot afternoon, but she still kept on her blazer while they sped on the Dulles toll road then crawled through the slow afternoon city traffic from Virginia across into Washington D.C. It was only when they pulled in front of the embassy and she saw the plaza of the Organisation of the American States across the road when Avril-Dawn finally felt like she was a diplomat. It was only a week ago that the Permanent Secretary informed her that there was a last minute change and that she was assigned to this mission. She alighted from the taxi and straightened her suit while the driver took out her cases.
At 25, Avril-Dawn was tall and athletic. She used to play Goal Shoot on her church's netball team until the demands of time from her job caused her to step aside. She was wearing a double-breasted chocolate coloured pant suit, with a silk-like white polyester inner blouse. The little scarf around her neck was a leopard print and she wore dark brown leather closed toe sandals; all brand new. In the midst of document preparations for her trip, the Director of Protocol had called her into a meeting and discreetly discussed aspects of dress. She was advised to carry suits, preferably tailored skirt suits – below the knee and not figure-hugging and made out of a non-crush material. It was summer, so a light jacket or blazer would look businesslike and keep out a sudden chill. Avril-Dawn had to trust her grandmother’s partner money to get her wardrobe up to mark. She knew that her hair was in place, as the stylist had spent eight hours last Saturday putting in micro braids.
