Hi every one, thank you ever so much for all the feedbacks, I listened and got an editor. Many thanks to the wonderful Angelicsounds, for her help in shaping this story for me, also thanks to PennLady for some great tips. I have made changes to chapter one and re-post so the story could flow much better, also I have changed the heroine's name to 'Nicole'
Chapter: 1 (revisited)
The noise from the other passengers woke Nicole. She opened her eyes and glanced around, startled to discover that she must have slept throughout the flight. "Finally!" she said as she unbuckled her seatbelt.
It had been a long flight. Depending on the airline, it usually took nine and a half to ten hours to get from Kingston, Jamaica to London, England. "Think positively and stretch out. That's what they always say, and well, it doesn't help. At least not poor old me," Nicole mumbled sarcastically, her lips curled in a familiar smirk.
She pulled herself to her feet and glanced over at the other tired--looking passengers as they slowly exited the plane. When she finally made her exit, just before the elderly passengers whom normally waited on transport to help them leave, Nicole slipped into a nearby bathroom to freshen up and minimize her 'travel-worn' look.
Twenty minutes later, she was in the arrival baggage claim. She collected her luggage and began to walk towards the exit marked 'passenger pick-up'.
"I hate this bloody weather," Nicole grumbled to herself after exiting into the icy breeze that greeted her. It was a cold day and nothing felt warm, not even the expensive 'All Saints' woolen sweatshirt she was wearing. One would think she would have gotten used to the weather, having lived in the United Kingdom for the past eighteen years. She quickly took out her mobile and called her cousin Keisha. After receiving no reply, Nicole left a message on her voicemail, reminding her that she was supposed to pick her up from the airport. Nicole sighed and went back inside.
"Why do I always react this way every time I go somewhere warm?" Nicole wondered out loud to no one in particular.
Nicole spent an hour browsing in the airport shops. She spotted a Starbucks, so she went in and had something to eat. As she sat at one of the tables, she idly looked about the shop. Across from her was a rectangular-shaped mirror. She stared into the mirror and saw the same features she saw every day. Large brown eyes set in an oval face, with slightly plump cheeks. "You're a mess," she laughed and puckered her lips.
She had been told that she was beautiful, but didn't really care much about that. She had short pixie styled hair, stood at 5'6" tall and weighed about 130 pounds. At least that was her weight prior to going to Jamaica. During her vacation, she had partaken in all the Jamaican delicacies and had not paid much attention to maintaining her weight. She could always cycle it off.
While she was in Jamaica, her dad, Malik, and other relatives would either cook or take her out for dinner to places where she could eat all her favorite treats such as jerk chicken and patties. Most of her aunts and uncles still lived on the Island. Nicole's family had migrated to the UK from Jamaica in the early eighties, during a period when the British Government needed skilled workers in the field of nursing/midwifery and other areas. Her mother, Hyacinth, had been working as a midwife at Kingston Public Jubilee Hospital at the time and saw this as a great opportunity for her family. She had applied and was successful.
Hyacinth had been a midwife for many years at Jubilee, where her status was like that of a doctor. All the staff had loved and respected her. Sometimes doctors would approach her for assistance when faced with a difficult birth.
They had all been sad to see her go, but happy she was given the opportunity, thinking her lucky and hoping that she was going to be a success overnight. Well, her mother was a smart woman and a hard worker. The wages weren't much. Never the less, she had survived, thrived even. They had property in Finchley and Croydon, where her mother worked for the National Health Service. She later bought two more houses, using one as a rental property.
When Nicole's sister, Lisa, went to live with a man she hardly knew. Nicole was left alone with her mom, as her father had left for Jamaica two months after arriving in the UK. He had claimed that he couldn't stand the "Babylon system"; Babylon was his way of referring to the white man.
Lisa always said she wanted to study law, but she had an odd way of going about it. She now had four children, three with one man, and the last baby, Hayden, was with a different one. Lisa currently lived with Hayden's father, Derrick, believing that a man had to take care of her needs and saw no reason to work.
Nicole could remember a time when she and Lisa were very close, but Nicole and Derrick didn't get along, which strained their relationship. Nicole and her mother barely spoke to her sister and anytime Lisa did call them, she made it seem like she was doing them a big favor.
Nicole had a feeling that some of Lisa's anger stemmed from their father leaving to go back to Jamaica. She had tried talking to her about it, but Lisa usually remained mute or walked away. She got the same reaction when either she or her mother brought up law school to Lisa. Every time Lisa was asked about it, she got defensive and refused to speak to them for a while.
There was a time when Nicole did not get along with her mother, mostly during her parent's divorce. Some of the things she had found frustrating were the many quarrels and preconceptions her mother had about her father. Her father was a local Member of Parliament in Jamaica and had reluctantly followed his wife to England because she wanted a change. Realizing he did not share that passion, he went back home. Her father had re-married. Her mother was married to her work.
Although they had divorced, their relationship, though strained at best, was close. Nicole knew it was to ensure their children had a happy childhood, and they had.
After sitting in the café for two hours drinking endless coffee, Nicole got up and headed towards the parking area. As she approached the exit, she could see the parking area had been salted in preparation for snow. Frustrated and annoyed that her ride still wasn't there, Nicole unthinkingly walked out into the road to get over to the pick-up point, instead of using the under-pass.
'Beep! Beep!' a loud horn sounded, startling her. She turned her head, watching as a cab skidded to a stop in front of her. Horrified, she stood staring foolishly at the car.
"Are you stupid or what? Don't you see I am trying to cross the road?" she shouted at the cab driver, who almost hit her in his haste to get to a parking bay.
"Sorry, miss," he yelled back, "but you should have used the under-pass."
Nicole quickly stepped back as he drove by, almost hitting her again. She watched as he parked the car and smiled smugly to himself, no doubt because he got to the parking bay before another driver could beat him to it. His passengers gave her a sympathetic look as she glared at him.
Why did I not use the under-pass? Oh yes, because I am stupid
.
Nicole wanted to cry, but got angry instead. "Hothead," she grumbled, "Yeah, it's my fault as well, but he needed to take some responsibility. He could have killed me. Stupid moron."
Where the hell is Keisha?
She wondered.
Nicole sighed and took a calming breath. Keisha, her cousin, was supposed to pick her up from the airport. It had been three hours since her flight landed and she still hadn't shown. She figured Keisha's delay was typical. The girl had no respect for timeliness and was probably still asleep. Nicole had even spoken to her the night before and reminded Keisha to pick her up from the airport.
Nicole sucked her teeth in frustration. Keisha probably went to some Jamaican dance and was more than likely still asleep next to some dickhead she met there. Her cousin could be so reckless at times.
No need to get pissed off right now, Nicole. You can worry about strangling Keisha later,
