Jinnie felt she was on the road to recovery. She was being pushed in a hospital wheelchair by a porter and alongside her was Paolo, and behind was a uniformed Barbados Police Service officer armed with a pistol. The little party paused at a lift and Jinnie watched as several people stood back when they saw the officer was armed. No one else chose to get in the same lift as her and it shot up to the eighth floor. She was wheeled along a corridor and it was obvious what the destination was as there was a second armed BPS officer sitting on a chair at the door.
The private room was as nice as a hospital room could be and apart from the normal bed and armchair there was a large-screen TV and a private bathroom. The porter wheeled her over to the window and said, “You get a good view over Bridgetown from up here.” Paolo added, “I think I can see the cruise port but there are no ships in. I’m told that this is the joint tallest building in Barbados, as no building is allowed to be more than eight stories.” Two nurses followed them into the room and after introducing themselves asked, “Do you want to sit in the armchair for a bit or would you rather the bed?” Without hesitation, Jinnie said, “The chair please, so I can look out of the window.” The nurses got one either side of Jinnie and eased her into the chair that they had positioned so she could see out over the city.
The nurses were just leaving when one turned and said, “I almost forgot we have something of yours, the police handed it over this morning.” She walked over to the bedside cabinet and opened the cupboard and handed Jinnie her handbag. Jinnie stared at the bag for a moment, it was another thing she had totally forgotten. Seeing Jinnie opening the bag, the nurse said, “I’m told you had quite a lot of money and credit cards in your purse. Most of it has been removed and placed in the office safe in a sealed envelope. There is some money still there in case you need to buy a paper or want a chocolate bar.”
But it was her iPhone that Jinnie was looking for, she was thinking about talking to the twins. She found it, switched it on, and quickly switched it off when it revealed it had only 2% charge. Jinnie said to Paolo, “I don’t suppose you have a spare iPhone charger with you.” To which he replied, “I guess yours is back at Brian and Belinda’s. They are back in the U.K., but they have a housekeeper there who is looking after Peter in the guest house and keeping the house clean. I can pop round there tonight and get it. But hold on, I have an idea,” and with that he shot out of the room.
Five minutes later, Paolo was back with a plugin charger and cable. He explained that by the hospital’s main entrance there was a shop selling all sorts of things patients might require and it was there he found what was needed. He quickly plugged the phone into a wall socket and was delighted to read “charging” on the screen’s display. Jinnie thanked Paolo and said that tomorrow she could start chatting to people. Paolo replied that she shouldn’t start working until the doctors gave her permission, but he was sure no one would object if she talked to the twins.
Paolo pulled his iPad from his bag and said, “Let’s see if we can catch the twins before they go to bed. I usually FaceTime them on Izzy’s iPad at about this time. He was quickly through and Izzy answered saying ‘hello’ and asking after Jinnie. Instead of answering, he handed the iPad to Jinnie who said, “Hello Izzy, how are the twins?” “They’re here and I’m sure they would love to talk to you.” Jinnie heard Izzy call, “Hey twins, there’s someone wants to talk to you.”
Willie was first to appear on the screen and was stunned to see Jinnie. When seconds later Millie joined him, they chorused “Mummy!” Jinnie was so overwhelmed to see them that she burst into tears of joy. Millie said, “Please don’t cry, Mummy.” Jinnie replied, “It’s tears of happiness because I’m so pleased to see you both, I hope you have been good and not causing Izzy any trouble.” “We’ve been very good,” said Willie, “but we just want you to come home. Daddy said you were ill in hospital and were asleep. Can you come home now you are awake.”
Jinnie chuckled and replied, “I promise you I will be home as soon as they let me out of hospital and I am fit enough to fly. At the moment my wound is very sore, I have a broken bone and I am very weak. In fact, I can’t even get out of bed on my own. But I promise I will FaceTime you every day until I can come home.” Millie interjected, “Larry has come in he wants to say hello.” Larry was suddenly on the screen in front and purring loudly. Jinnie said, “Hello my friend, you are looking good. Children, will you give him a special stroke from me and a handful of those special cat treats he likes.” With that Larry meowed loudly and sat down looking at Jinnie, purring loudly.
Millie said, “Larry has been very sad while you’ve been asleep, he didn’t want to eat, we even gave him chicken from our roast dinner and he didn’t eat very much, but this morning he ate all his breakfast and told us you were getting better.” “How could he tell you?” replied Jinnie. “He puts words and pictures in our heads,” said Millie. “Really?” said Jinnie. “Yes. He tells us lots of things. Like when he’s sad or when he is happy or when he is feeling old and tired. At the moment, he is happy because he can see you are getting better and he is going to eat his tea as soon as we say goodbye.” Jinnie was sure she saw Larry wink and thought, ‘Well there are many times I thought he put thoughts in my mind. I guess he does it to the twins too. I will have to ask Nigel if he has had similar experiences.’
When Jinnie and Paolo had said good night to the twins and Larry, Jinnie collapsed in the chair and said, “I feel drained, that was hard work just talking to them, but it was lovely seeing them and Izzy and Larry. Izzy has been so good we will have to do something special for her.” “Yes, she has been wonderful,” said Paolo. “She has stepped up and not complained. She hasn’t had a day off since you flew out here.” “I don’t have much else to do,” said Jinnie, “maybe I can think about it. But first, do you mind if I have a nap, I am shattered.” “Not at all,” replied Paolo, “do you want me to call the nurses so you can sleep on the bed?” “No thanks,” said Jinnie. “I think I am OK in this chair.”
Jinnie woke with a start, her head had lolled to one side and her neck was a bit stiff. She was alone in the room but she could see the guard moving through the obscured glass viewing panel in the door. She sat looking out of the window for a while and then tried moving her left hand and arm. She found moving her hand easier and not as painful as before but the heavy strapping on her shoulder made it difficult to move her arm and every little movement was painful.
Jinnie was wondering where Paolo had got to when there was a knock on the room’s door and two people Jinnie at first thought were nurses walked in. It was only when one said, “Good afternoon Dame Jinnie, we are your physiotherapists and I can tell you right now you are going to come to hate us. You will be seeing us twice a day until we get you up and walking on your own. I don’t mean just to the bathroom but down the corridor then down and back up the stairs.”
“First,” the physio said, “is we are going to get you standing on your own. While you have been unconscious your muscles have gotten flabby and we will also give you exercises to do when we are not here.” And with that, the torture began. Because of her shoulder injury, Jinnie found following the instructions for standing up very difficult. With one physio on either side showing her how to use the arms of the chair, it took her several attempts to stand with support from one of the physiotherapists. Jinnie stood for a second before being lowered back into the chair.
After a few minutes to recover her breath, the physios told her they wanted her to stand again but this time they would help her turn and sit on her bed. Then they would show her exercises to strengthen her legs, ankles and hips as they had obviously suffered more than they had thought. Jinnie managed to get up and, with help, shuffled round and collapsed on the edge of the bed. It was then that she realised Paolo was stood in the doorway watching and was holding two takeaway paper cups of coffee.
The physio got her legs up on the bed and, lying on her back, first got her ankles working, then slid her heel back towards her bottom so her knees went up. At first, Jinnie found she could slide her heel only a foot or so but slowly she pushed first her right foot and then her left foot further back against the pain. Seeing her wince, the leading physiotherapist said, “No pain, no gain, you have to work through the discomfort.” The next exercise was digging her heels down into the bed and squeezing her thighs so they lifted up a little. Jinnie found this hard but kept going until told to relax. The lead physio said, “I think that’s enough for this afternoon, we will be back tomorrow morning for more fun, but please do those exercises as much as you can. The more you do them, the easier it will get and the sooner we can get you walking again.”
Once the Physios had left, Paolo came over to her and handed her a coffee saying, “It from the coffee stall in reception, it’s not wonderful but it’s drinkable. I might ask if I can bring a filter coffee machine in.” “You’re right,” said Jinnie. “It’s not Jamaica Blue Mountain but it will do. Gosh, that was hard. I thought I was going to fall down a couple of times. I am going to do those exercises, I want out of here.”
***
When it came to dinner time, Jinnie was not impressed. It wasn’t that she expected something marvellous but it was some sort of stew and potatoes that tasted as bad as it looked. Jinnie ate it because she was hungry and she had only had cereal and toast for breakfast and scrambled egg for lunch. Jinnie said to Paolo, “How can I be expected to get better when the food is this poor? I would be much happier with fried chicken from Auntie JoJo’s. Come to that, even from KFC. I know I don’t have a lot of appetite but why can’t they serve decent food? Did you see anyone eat the steamed fish at lunch! Anderson could probably have provided something better at half the price. The twins loved his homemade fish fingers and fish cakes.”
“I think it must be cost,” said Paolo. “The food in the visitor’s restaurant is quite good, but expensive. I have popped in there several times.” As they chatted, Jinnie kept doing the exercises she had been shown and in the end she said, “I’ve had enough, I’m worn out. Do you think I am getting my heel slid further back?” “A little,” lied Paolo before asking, “Is there anything you want me to bring you in tomorrow? “Yes,” said Jinnie, “Please could you have a look for my Kindle and its charger. I would rather read than watch the TV.” “OK,” replied Paolo, “but I will have to call round to Belinda’s house before coming here, so I might be a bit later than today.”
Paolo was just readying himself to head for his hotel and dinner when a new nurse arrived and introduced herself as Sister Abigail, the Ladies’ Surgical Ward sister. Sister Abigail said, “I have had a number of calls from people who want to visit you, but because of the security I have been asked to take their names and then clear them with you so that you know them. Then I can give security a list of acceptable visitors. Of course, your husband is top of the list but the security people already know him, so that is not a problem. Now let’s try some other people, Patricia and Monica from Aunty JoJo’s Chicken Shack.” “Yes,” said Jinnie, “they are friends and work colleagues.” “I won’t ask how you know people from Aunty JoJo’s, but I wish I did, the queues are always so long.” Jinnie laughed and replied, “We are all company directors and friends, when they come I will get them to bring a party bucket of fried chicken and a bucket of jerk chicken for you and the ward.” “Really?” said Sister Abigail. “Yes, really,” answered Jinnie.
“Next, we have someone who would only say they were ‘Lenny from the embassy’,” said the Sister. “Definitely,” said Jinnie, “I understand I need to thank him for saving my life.” “Ah,” said Sister Abigail with a twinkle in her eye, “Now you have given me a problem, who do I tell to come first, the man who saved your life or the people with the chicken? Now we have Vincenzo and Lucia Giordino.” “Yes, please,” said Jinnie. “They are old friends and he is my banker on the island.” “OK, another tick on the list,” said the Sister. “How about Michael Watson?” “That’s my Bajan lawyer, so that’s another yes,” replied Jinnie. “I expect he wants to talk to me about me getting shot and the police.”
“The only other one who wants to visit said he was called Sir Nigel Farage and he was flying back to the U.K. in a few days,” continued Sister Abigail. “He said he would like to bring Emma and Freddie. Are they his children? Jinnie heard Paolo splutter with laughter and, trying not to laugh herself, said, “He is the ex-British prime minister and a very close friend, Emma is his personal assistant and Freddie is his chauffeur.” “Now I understand why the premier demanded special treatment for you,” said the sister. “I’ll put that down as another yes.” Finally, she said, “We have had a number of people asking after you but without your permission we can’t tell anyone anything. I have several names here, Peter from Wright Refurbishment, Anderson from DKL (Caribbean) and Trevor from TT Continental. Isn’t that the posh restaurant?” “Yes, it is,” said Jinnie. “I know all of them and you have my permission to tell them how I am.”
“Thank you,” said Sister Abigail. “Before I leave you in peace, I have tomorrow’s menu for you to select from. Would you mind ticking your choice, please?” Jinnie was handed a sheet of paper and a pencil. She quickly ticked cornflakes, bread, butter and marmalade, and tea for breakfast. For lunch, she ticked ham salad cutter, ice cream and tea. But she saw nothing she fancied on the menu for dinner. Instead, she said to the sister, “Do you mind if I order-in my dinner?”
Sister Abigail answered, “Well, we really like to have our patients eat a balanced diet so we don’t encourage people ordering in burgers and fries or a roti every night.” “Gosh no,” said Jinnie, “and I wouldn’t want to eat that every night. What I would like to do is order in from either the TT Continental or Anderson Fish Restaurant menus. I was thinking how I would rather like a pan-fried chicken breast in mushroom cream sauce, some fresh vegetables and roast potatoes for my dinner and fresh fruit salad for my dessert.” “Well, that sounds really nice and well balanced and I won’t object if you want to order that in. But how are you going to get them to deliver that selection here?”
“That’s easy,” said Jinnie, “I will use their delivery service and just phone up and ask.” “They have a delivery service?” asked the ward sister. “Well, I hope so, that’s why I was in Barbados, to open the delivery kitchens. As well as being a director of Aunty JoJo’s, I am also the managing director of DKL, the company that owns the kitchens that produce the delivery meals for the TT Continental, Aunty JoJo’s, Anderson’s, SuperBurger and others.” “Really?” said Sister Abigail. “Now I understand why you have local bankers and solicitors and know people from all those companies. So the delivery service is new?” “Yes,” replied Jinnie, “but until I talk to some of those people, I don’t know how well it is going. I’m sure if it had all gone wrong my husband would have heard and told me.”
“I read about the TT Continental when it was bought and had that spectacular reopening,” said the sister. “It looked fabulous, and my husband promised he would take me there one day.” “While we are on the subject of food,” said Paolo, “can I bring in a filter coffee machine. My wife is rather fussy about her brew.” “Well, I have no real objection, but it would need to be checked by our electricians for electrical safety before it is used.” “That’s OK,” said Paolo. “I haven’t bought the machine yet, so it will be brand new.”
***
The following morning the physios were in shortly after breakfast, before the nurses had got Jinnie out of bed. They put Jinnie through the exercises they had shown her the previous afternoon, said they thought her heel slides were closer to her bottom and then introduced some more exercises including lifting her bottom off the bed. Like the previous day, they left her shattered and when the nurses arrived she found it harder getting in the chair than the previous day as her muscles ached.
Jinnie was dozing when Paolo arrived. He had been to buy a filter coffee machine and explained he had left it with the ward sister who had promised to have it delivered just as soon as the electricians had tested it. He also had a shopping bag and from it pulled a tin of ground coffee; a number of UHT milk cartons (stolen from his hotel room); half a dozen matching coffee mugs; some packet of sugar (again stolen from his room and the hotel restaurant at breakfast); some teaspoons, knives, forks and spoons and finally a tea towel.
By the time he stopped pulling things out of the bag, Jinnie was laughing when Paolo pulled the final item out of the bag, she told him he reminded her of a magician. Paolo said that he wanted her to be able to entertain her visitors and said that tomorrow he would visit the British shop that Belinda and Brian used and get some biscuits. Jinnie said, “If Nigel is coming, look for Hobnobs. Those are his favourites and I have an urge for a Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer.”
Jinnie enjoyed her lunch, the cutter was nice and the salad in it was crisp and fresh. Just after lunch, the physios were back and this time they brought an aluminium walking frame, which struck Jinnie full of trepidation. The physio showed her a couple of variations on the bed exercises she could do while sitting in the armchair before getting her to get out of the chair, standing using the walker for balance, and sitting down again. It took her three attempts to do it on her own but she finally managed, even if she was rather wobbly.
In the end, it was Paolo who phoned to order the evening’s meal as Jinnie remembered her credit cards were in a hospital safe somewhere. He had decided that he would stay and eat with her instead of eating in the hotel restaurant. He knew the quality of TT Continental food and was happy to test the delivery quality and system. He had called up the TT Continental app on his iPad and carefully checked through the online menu before deciding on an 8oz sirloin steak, chips, peas and onion rings. For dessert, he ordered a mini lemon meringue pie and cream he then added a party bucket of Aunty JoJo’s fried chicken, a second of jerk chicken, a small bucket of beans and a bucket of chips. He even remembered to warn the operator that the delivery driver would find an armed guard on the room door, but if he took the Aunty JoJo’s order to sister’s office first, she would make sure the guard let them in.
Then the coffee machine arrived and was sited on the small table by a power outlet. Paolo filled a jug with water and topped up the machine’s tank, put ground coffee in the gold filter and turned it on. Quickly, the room was filled with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee and Jinnie said, “Wow, that smells good.” When it stopped dripping, Paolo poured a mug and, adding a dash of milk, just as she liked her coffee, handed it to Jinnie who took a sip and immediately said, “That’s Jamaica Blue Mountain, where did you get that?” Paolo smiled and replied, “I popped into the TT Continental last night on my way to the hotel and Trevor ground a load up for me and put it in an empty tin. I thought you would have noticed it was a cocoa tin.”
Sister Abigail came in to say that she had just had a call from Patricia and Monica to check if it was OK to visit and they were on their way. Then she commented that the smell of coffee was drifting down the corridor and Paolo offered her a mug, which she happily accepted. She sipped the brew and said, “This is real good coffee.” Jinnie smiled and Paolo said, “I told you my wife was fussy about her coffee and this is something of a special sort that she is particularly fond of.” The Sister said, “I can understand why, I might just pop in tomorrow for another cup.”
Patricia and Monica arrived shortly after the ward sister left and they both accepted a mug before sitting down for a chat. Jinnie explained how Paolo had scrounged the ground coffee from the TT Continental and the milk and sugar was stolen from his hotel. Monica quickly said, “We can do better than that, I will send Gloria over with one of our spare trays with all the fixings on and a box of refills. We can’t have Paolo getting into trouble for taking them from his hotel when we can easily supply them.”
Jinnie was anxious to know how the business was going and Patricia said, “Well, I am amazed just how well things are going. We now have two branches open in Trinidad, they are real busy and it’s all word of mouth, we haven’t spent a cent on advertising. Branch number three opens next week, and number four two weeks after that. The second branch has opened in London and Brooke says it is ‘flying,’ I guess that is good.” Jinnie assured her that was better than good before Monica chipped in, “I have found another site in Bridgetown and we are negotiating a lease. Your spreadsheet says it will make a lot of money, easily paying off the investment in the first year, so Brian said to go for it. Oh, and I think we have got two potential sites in Grenada, one at the airport and one in Saint George in the middle of town.”
“My you are busy,” said Jinnie, “but how about the delivery business? I am particularly interested in how that’s going.” Monica and Patricia looked at each other, and Monica answered, “Well, I was worried it wouldn’t work as we had no experience in deliveries, but it is doing great. We seem to have hit a sweet spot, as it hasn’t made any difference to the restaurant and takeaway business but it has been too busy and we have had to limit the areas we deliver to as we were getting calls from the other end of the island. We are telling people that in another couple of weeks our second delivery hub in Speightstown will be open and we will be happy to serve them then. I hate turning customers away but it is just not possible to serve the whole island from one location.”
Jinnie said, “Well, I suppose that’s a good problem to have, but we never intended to serve the whole island from one kitchen, that’s why we went for a second kitchen. Tell me, do you know how the other kitchens are doing?” Patricia answered, “I understand everyone is happy, some a bit more than others. Trevor says business is good, not as mad as us, but pretty good. He has catered a couple of big dinner parties and got publicity in the media. I hear the Roti House is delighted and Anderson is in the same position as us, so busy he can’t wait for Speightstown to open. SuperBurger are not saying a lot but the delivery drivers say they are doing OK.”
The conversation went on until a doctor arrived to check on Jinnie’s wound and the two ladies left. Jinnie was now looking forward to her dinner more than any meal since she woke up. Hospital dinner came any time between 16:30 and 18:30 and Paolo had asked for it to be delivered in the middle at 17:30. It arrived at 17:34 and the driver apologised for being late, saying he had been on time but, as instructed, had delivered the food to the ward sister’s office first. Jinnie was more than happy with her dinner. It was hot and nicely presented and tasted delicious. But as she said to Paolo, after hospital food, almost anything would have tasted good.
In Chapter 3 – Going home
© WorthingGooner 2024
