Scarlett Secret Read online

  "And I would be right." Terri shook her head. "You can't stay here. It will confuse people, especially since you are deliberately trying to look like me."

  "No, it won't," Lola said confidently. "I am just a poor imitation of you. Everybody will take one look at me and know I am not you."

  "Oh, stop trying to butter me up with that nonsense. How did my parents greet you last night?" Terri asked raising an eyebrow skeptically.

  "Your mom asked me why I had changed my clothes from the party. Then proceeded to go into a long conversation about Troy and Chelsea and how happy she is that they are together again."

  "See, my own mother mistook you for me." Terri kissed her teeth. "This is not going to work. I kind of like being the only Terri Scarlett in the world."

  "So I'll just wash my hair and take out the contacts, then," Lola growled. "Can you stop and think about me for once? I am the one in trouble here."

  They reached a fork in the road. An elderly gentleman was walking toward them--Pops' old fisherman buddy, Gregor Jenkins.

  He blinked owlishly when he was a few steps before the two women and then grinned. "I never knew I had so much to drink last night. I am seeing doubles."

  Terri sighed. "Morning Uncle Gregor."

  "Morning Terri!" He spun around to Lola and grinned. "Morning Terri!"

  Jenkins swayed a little and put his hand up to his head and blinked rapidly. "I need to get my eyes tested again."

  "You do that," Terri said, pulling Lola toward the sea road. If they walked on the beach they wouldn't meet as many people at this hour. She looked at her watch; it was six-thirty. Maybe a tourist or two would be on the beach swimming. They didn't know her. That would be fine.

  "Where are we going?" Lola panted beside her, struggling to keep up with her punishing strides.

  Terri slowed her pace and sighed. "Sorry. We can't be seen on the main road. I don't know what to tell people if they see you. At least Uncle Gregor thought he was seeing double."

  Lola chuckled and looked down at herself. She was in jeans shorts with jagged cuts at the end and a green red and yellow t-shirt with Bob Marley's face on it; her hair was hanging in loose waves down her back. Terri was wearing a yellow sundress and had her curly hair in a high, messy topknot.

  "What are you laughing about?" Terri said, pulling off her shoes when they entered the beach area. A sign on a tree read Welcome to Great Bay Beach.

  "Nothing." Lola followed her friend and took off her shoes as well. "This place is so wild and starkly beautiful. There is the beach on this side of the road, the mountains on the other. I could live here."

  Terri snorted. "Too bad. We are going to leave here today."

  "But why?" Lola wailed. "I just got here. This is the perfect place to hide out. Hamad and his men would not be able to find me here."

  "We have to leave because I was planning to leave anyway. I have to go to Kingston. I was planning to stay with my brother Yuri for a while and sort out what I am going to do next. Top on my list is to get a job and then get an apartment. I hate being idle. You can come with me. We can both figure out what we are going to do in Kingston, where no one knows us, or you can just man up."

  "You think I should just give in and become Hamad's wife, don't you?" Lola said accusingly.

  "No." Terri looked at her friend. "I just don't get why you can't just say no and claim back your life. Hiding out and all of this nonsense is unnecessary."

  "So if you were me, what would you do?" Lola hissed. "Go to Qatar, confront my stepfather and mother, tell them they are medieval and crazy…tell Hamad that this whole wedding contract business is old fashioned and insulting. Tell him to go stick it where the sun doesn't shine and then go live my life elsewhere?"

  "Yes!" Terri said, "Why can't you do that?"

  "You have no idea what I am dealing with, do you?" Lola sneered. "The East is very different from the West. My mother's culture is all about honor and old traditions and she loves it. Maybe if I hadn't spent so much of my early years in Canada I would love it too but I can't...I can't do it...and yet I can't be the rebellious daughter. My mother has this way of making me feel as if I have betrayed the Arabian culture with what she calls my wanton rebellion against Allah."

  Terri sighed and sat beside Lola on a log. "So, you are afraid of your mother's emotional blackmail?"

  "Yes and no. I can deal with her from a distance. I can deal with the fact that my mother literally translates honoring my parents as meaning that whoever she chooses for me I should accept. Doing otherwise will mean eternal damnation in hell with infidels and people who drink alcohol."

  Terri threw back her head and laughed. "Your mom said that?"

  Lola chuckled. "And more. There is a long list of people I'll be in hell with if I don't marry Hamad."

  She sighed. "Sometimes I wish my dad had returned to Canada after meeting my mom. In Qatar, my dad could not raise his children as Christians. It is illegal to try to convert anyone from being Muslim, but I guess he didn't even try.

  "I am the only one who grew up in the middle of two cultures. My father met my mother when he was in Qatar as an expat. They married and had three boys while they were there.

  "When my older brother was eighteen, they moved to Canada and then my mother had me. When Dad died, I was just seven and my mom was homesick so she went back to Qatar. She remarried a year later.

  "See, I am a product of two worlds. My mother fully expects me to be like my brothers, who were born bred and steeped into the culture of the East. You know that my older brother, Ahmad, has three wives?"

  Terri nodded.

  "And he is a devout Muslim. When I went to university in Canada, he was against it. Everybody was against it! In my mother's family girls are still treated as if they have half a brain. They are old school, even though Qatar has moved on from that in recent years.

  "I fought tooth and nail to be able to go to university. I had to arrange with my grandfather in Canada to make up some family emergency and demand that I be there. And then I attended school. I never went back home until I graduated."

  Lola sighed. "And that is when I agreed for my stepfather to sign that stupid marriage contract on my behalf; because after returning home I stupidly thought I could be reconciled with my family but belatedly realized that no, that ship had sailed. I was never going to be the kind of daughter my mother wants."

  Terri patted Lola's back. "I can't say I understand. You are right; I have no idea what this feels like. But it seems to me as if you gave your consent for this whole marriage thing and now you are running away from it."

  Lola picked up a stone and flung it across the water. She picked up another and then looked at Terri contemplatively. "I didn't give my consent. I just went along with it because I am spineless and for a little while I thought going along with it would make me more of what they wanted. But the minute it was signed I realized I had flushed my life down the toilet. I was thinking..."

  "No." Terri took off her sandals and dug her feet in the sand.

  "You didn't let me finish." Lola looked hurt.

  Terri idly wrote her name in the sand with her toe and then stopped. "Because I know you think I should get involved but I don't want to be."

  "But Terri, we could exchange places for a while. You go to Qatar and convince my stepfather to get me out of the contract."

  Terri looked at her and shook her head. "Nope."

  Lola wasn't listening. She jumped up from the log. "It would be fun, Terri. You can go to Qatar and pretend to be me and I could stay here and pretend to be you. It would be awesome."

  "No, it wouldn't."

  "Think about the adventure," Lola said excitedly. "Didn't you like Qatar when you visited with me last year?"

  "Oh yes." Terri nodded, "but I was a visitor. Not expected to be a native. And you told me that July and August were the worst months to be in Qatar. Even you have never spent a whole summer there!"

  "Yes, there is that." Lola nodded and then tappe
d her chin. "You do have a point. I heard Hamad has an island here in the Caribbean where he spends his summers. Maybe he is here! That would be even better."

  Terri glanced at Lola, distrusting her sudden animation. "Even better than what?"

  "Instead of appealing to my stepfather, maybe you could ask Hamad to divorce me? Tell him that you have a sexually transmitted disease and you drink and whatever else will make a Muslim man shake in his boots. He'll divorce you on spot."

  Terri shook her head, "Do it yourself."

  "I can't, Terri. I am not as assertive as you are. I hear that Hamad is fierce. In his country, Akdhir, I hear he is law. I would break down crying at one furious look and before you know it I would be agreeing to everything he says; that's how my stepfather got me to say yes to the stupid contract in the first place."

  Terri got up and brushed herself off. "Let’s go home. We'll figure something out that doesn't involve me impersonating you and living a gross lie."

  Lola's shoulder drooped. "Too bad. I was so looking forward to being you for a while."

  "Why?" Terri laughed. "My life is bordering on Boringville. The most exciting thing on my horizon right now is seeing Zachary Lee Chang, my very fine, very, very fine lawyer."

  Lola chuckled. "How many very's do there have to be?"

  "You won't understand till you see him." Terri grinned. "He is quite simply a beautiful man and I have been thinking about him off and on for the past year. It's like a guilty pleasure. He is part Asian, part black, I think...beautiful bone structure. A real hunky..."

  Lola gasped "Terri, look!"

  "What?" Terri looked around.

  "There." Lola pointed to the right of them. Three men in black suits were standing near Eggy's shack as still as statues. They were dressed in black suits and had on white head bandana things.

  "Let’s make a run for it," Lola groaned, but she wasn't moving as one of the guys, a tall, hulking man, headed toward them.

  Terri was staring at him transfixed, too. It wasn't fear that had her in its grips. It was anger. Lola really needed to grow herself a backbone and face up to Hamad and his men. If somebody didn't do it, it could ruin both of their lives. They looked too much alike for there to be any peace even for her.

  "Come on, Terri," Lola whimpered and grabbed her hand. "Let’s go."

  The big guy was bearing down on them, his long powerful strides eating up the sand. When he was about three feet away he stopped and looked between the two of them in confusion.

  "Which one of you is Lola Montega?" he asked gruffly. He had no discernible accent that Terri could think of. His black eyes looked fierce, though, and he looked between them as if he meant business.

  He was really a powerful looking fellow with Duane ‘the Rock’ Johnson kind of muscles.

  Lola squeezed Terri's arm tightly.

  "Who is Lola Montega?" Terri threw the question back at him in false bravado.

  The guy came closer and stopped. He knew one of them was Lola. He acknowledged Terri's fake confidence with a slight inclination of his head.

  The other two men had spread out behind them, cutting off their escape if they thought about it. There was nobody else on the beach; the nearest sign of life was a sea gull about a mile away up the beach.

  He had the upper hand and he knew it. Terri stifled a sigh.

  "Prince Hamad bin Ali al Jerza would like Lola Montega to be his guest for the summer on his island, Jannah. He says to inform Lola that he understands her reluctance to meet with him and that he will give her time to adjust to the marriage."

  Lola started shaking her head and Terri squeezed her hand. It was a dead giveaway as to who was Lola Montega. Lola was acting like a scared cat, cowering behind Terri and trembling.

  "Okay." Terri nodded. "That's a reasonable request. My hosts are leaving tomorrow. I should be available then. I promised them I would stay another day.

  The guy nodded. "That is fine. As soon as they leave we will be at the gate. Don't play with us anymore. If you so much as think to escape this community, we'll find you. By the way, this was a perfect place to be. Hamad is very understanding that you are here in Jamaica because his island is just an hour away. He likes to interpret this as you wanting to be closer to him."

  The guy moved away and snapped his fingers. The others followed him.

  Lola sagged to the sand and covered her face. "Terri, I can't do this. I can't be a third wife to an old prince. He has children older than me, for God's sake."

  "I know," Terri said, sinking down beside her friend.

  "I'll just die." Lola sobbed. "You'll never see me again. It will be like prison. All my essence will be sucked dry. I might as well walk out to sea now…disappear under the waves."

  "Oh come on, Lola, stop thinking like that," Terri said, raising her voice in alarm. Lola looked desperate and distressed in a way that she had not seen her before.

  "How else am I supposed to think?" Lola wailed. "I can't do it. I might as well just end it now."

  Terri hugged Lola to her as she cried, big gulping sobs that were almost loud enough to drown out the waves crashing on the shore. Her body was shaking uncontrollably, twitching and hitching as she cried.

  "Hush, Lola," Terri said, feeling genuine fear for her friend. "God will work out a way."

  "No, he won't," Lola sniffed. "He sometimes allows captivity, as punishment, like he did the children of Israel. This is my punishment. Jannah is now my Babylon."

  Terri bit back a chuckle.

  "My life is o-o-over," Lola hiccupped and then slumped on the sand with not a care that mini crabs were scurrying over her hair.

  Terri looked at her pitiful friend and sighed. "If I were to go instead of you, what would I need to do?"

  Lola struggled up on her elbow and looked at Terri, her eyes red and puffy. "You just said..."

  "Yes," Terri said impatiently. "What would I do? How can I get this marriage nonsense to go away?"

  Lola inhaled in a big heave and swiped her hand across her eyes. "You could get him to divorce you. It's as easy as him saying it three times in front of two witnesses and then the contract is void."

  "As easy as that, huh?" Terri asked skeptically. "So how do I get him to say the magic words three times?"

  "You could ask him to let you go without prejudice; some men do that and the women are free to marry again. He is a prince; he could more than do it and no one would say anything! But he has to be the one to do it or else it will bring shame on my family!"

  "Now, how am I supposed to have him do something like that?" Terri asked, feeling reluctant that she had even offered to stand in for Lola. "How am I to convince a prince that he is not to marry me...you?"

  "I don't know," Lola sniffed. "Quote the Bible at him or something. You are good at doing that with me. He is a strict Muslim; maybe then he'll think you are not a suitable wife for him."

  Terri snorted. "If it were that easy, why don't you do it? You know the Bible too."

  Lola swiped her hands across her eyes and ignored Terri's declaration. "You are the very best person in the entire world for this job."

  "I didn't say I was going to do it," Terri cautioned. But Lola was already looking revived.

  "Oh thank you, Terri." Lola hugged her so tightly around the neck that Terri couldn't breathe. "Thank you."

  "Come on." Terri got up and pulled Lola with her, steadying her on her feet when she swayed.

  "I am not pretending to be you for more than three days. I'll try to convince your Prince that I am not the right choice for him. I can't sacrifice any more time to this madness. I need to figure out little necessary things like finding a job when I get back. And the minute your Prince thinks to get amorous with me, I am telling him that I am not really you!"

  "That's more than I hoped for," Lola said humbly.

  "It's a good thing my parents will not be around. You wouldn't last two minutes as me," Terri huffed. "Not two minutes!"

  "But last night it worked," Lola remin
ded her.

  "Only because my mom didn't know you were around. There are little things like mannerisms and speech patterns and familiarity with objects and people and places and things that you just won't get because you aren't me."

  Terri inhaled shakily. A little voice at the back of her head kept jabbering, This is a bad idea to switch with Lola.

  She ignored the voice and spun around to Lola and growled unnecessarily harshly, "Here are the rules: do not, and I mean it, do not interact with any of my siblings, especially Troy because he met you already."

  "Okay." Lola nodded eagerly. She didn't care if Terri told her to go leap off a cliff. She was saving her from doing something she was just not sure that she could do herself.

  "Do not speak to anybody in the neighborhood. Pretend you have a throat infection or something."

  "But why?" Lola looked offended.

  "Because you don't understand Jamaican dialect and I don't want you attempting to speak it as me," Terri said sternly. "I would be the laughingstock of the entire district."

  "Okay." Lola frowned, "but I'll have you know I took patois classes a couple weeks ago when I thought I was coming out here. I can speak your precious dialect!"

  Terri rolled her eyes. "Patois classes, that's funny... Just wave, smile and point to your throat if anybody tries to speak to you."

  "Fine." Lola nodded. "I can go other places, though, like Montego Bay. I liked it there."

  "Please stay put." Terri imagined Lola flitting around Jamaica and getting into trouble. "Stay here and don't let me worry about you. You are not a native. I don't want you getting into any scrapes. While you are here we can contain this deception."

  "I'll do anything you say," Lola said eagerly. "I just want to get out of that marriage contract."

  "Fine," Terri said, doubting that Lola would stay put and doubting her ability to get her out of a marriage contract. They walked up the beach toward the house.

  "I wonder why the big guy thought I was you so readily," Terri asked Lola.

  "Because you are in a dress." Lola shrugged, "I am in shorts; this is way too revealing for any Muslim girl to wear. Didn't you see him averting his eyes from me? And he only looked you in the face."