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whether to scarper or offer his surrender. He thought of his mother’s words. “Nuh stray or wander inna foreign land becah yuh don’t know wha’ might happen to yuh. Old Screwface has many crooked an’ crafty ways to tempt de foolish an’ unwary.”
    He studied this wild man with wary eyes, not even thinking about disputing the ownership of the jackfruit in his hands.
    “May Akhenaten bless ya morning, sa,” the man greeted warmly. He presented the jackfruit to David who was wondering who Akhenaten was. “Me don’t sight too many mon up here ah hillside so me glad to see yuh. Me name Levi an’ me live up jus’ ah liccle furder more.” He pointed to the direction of his abode. “De jackfruit taste nice up here, mon. Why yuh don’t follow me steps up to me strikin’ plot an’ join me to nyam ah liccle somet’ing? Me about to fry some grunt fish an’ me gwarn roast some breadfruit. Me ’ave sweet-sop too. Wha’ yuh ah say, mon? Long time me don’t ’ave company an’ it seem dat fate carry yuh here ’pon de breeze.”
    His curiosity overcoming his fear, David followed Levi to his hillside encampment, transfixed by the tangled hair upon Levi’s head.
     
    Trading went well for David in Claremont market. Many of his customers were his mother’s friends, whom David had known all his life, or passing wayfarers who paused in Claremont on their way to the north coast; they proved to be the best customers. Others, who lived in the shanty huts down the hill, only offered fierce glares and aggressive mutterings, but David simply smiled at them, adding to their vexation. The people David knew warned of the perils of sin and how he should be looking for a wife now and setting up home, releasing the burden on his ‘ably mudder’. Mrs Grogan even introduced her daughter, Debbie, to David, asking her to do a twirl to showcase her ‘healthy body’ while she waxed lyrical about Debbie’s cooking prowess and her ‘strong breedable pickney hips’. Debbie, only fourteen years old, didn’t utter a word. She simply stared at the ground in mortification.
    Mrs Clarke, who owned the nearby shop, informed David of thehappenings and occurrences in St Anne’s Bay. She inspected David’s wares as she spoke, picking up those she liked. “Some of de fishermon affe move from de beaches becah de people wid money ah buy up land to buil’ hotel. It nah right, David. Dem get nuh money to relocate an’ dem cyan’t tek dem shanty hut wid dem. Me talk to one fishermon an’ him tell me him ’ave not’ing so him gwarn try him luck inna Kingston. Same t’ing happen to some farm worker who ah toil ’pon land t’irty mile from here. Some ah de soil red, so de farm owner decide to sell him land to ah bauxite company. De farm worker lost dem job. Most ah dem packing up an’ heading fe Kingston. It nah right! It seem dat everybody ’pon de move an’ even up here inna Claremont where some people forget about we, tribulation will finally reach we. It nah right!”
    When Amy’s friends paused from counselling David they shrilled the praises of Jenny and Hortense and how mightily Hortense sang in church last Sunday. Miss Jo scolded David for his absence from church but haggled over the price of limes even though David offered her half-price discount. Hardly any of his patrons referred to Joseph, just the occasional, “ya fader alright? Amy finally teach him how to smile?” Then they changed the subject, mostly complaining about the lack of a bus service. “Browns Town ’ave ah bus service! An’ Alderton! Why dem leave we out? Don’t dey know dat people who live ah Claremont need to travel too?” Others moaned about their sons going off to the ‘sin city’, Kingston, and relinquishing their responsibilities to their families. “Yuh ah good bwai, David, trodding in ya grandparents footsteps!” Mrs Coleman said inspecting the peppers. “ Don’t forward ah Kingston like me eldest son where Old Screwface ’ave him