Chapter 22 21 Gilbert

I learned to walk through Queenie's room with panic.I tread lightly down the last flight of stairs in my socks, like a criminal.I swear, I only balance on one toe so I don't wake her up by making a noise.It was so early in the morning that even the birds hadn't realized it was a new day.I pass her door softly, so lightly that my feet don't feel the ground, just hovering above the pattern on the floor. Gilbert.I heard her cry.Drink, this woman's hearing is really good, she must have heard the rustling of my small steps in socks.is that you, gilbert?To avoid her, I had to float down the window on angel wings.

no!I cried. I can tell it's you.She told me that her face was already close to the door. How did you hear it?I want to ask her.In God's name, tell me, how does she know I'm around?Queenie, I'm going to work.do you want me to be late It will take less than a minute. Luck is a funny thing.For some, winning large sums of money on bets is luck.Or it must be luck to find priceless jewels at your feet in the streets of London.But in wartime, luck turned a corner.It was luck not to be bombed.It's just luck that the head is still there when the leg is blown off.All the family members died, but Mommy survived. Congratulations, she is really a lucky one.Let me tell you what luck is for people of color who have just disembarked in England: it is finding Queenie.Bligh.Just to see that she has a big house and is willing to take me and others as tenants.Better than sipping rum from a golden bowl, it's English luck.

In the early days, Queenie was the pretty blond woman who leaned over the table in a friendly way and shared a crusty bun with me.Although I no longer wear a uniform, even if I wear ordinary clothes, I am still a member of the blue uniform.She is happy to have me in her room.She would make me tea, and we would sip the food and talk.The topic is her father-in-law.She told me it's all over and I don't need to worry about it.Also mentioning her husband: I don't know what happened to him, but I've got to live.A self-reliant woman who needs my assistance.She wears me out.We moved the furniture around the house so she could rent out the room, and she jumped up and down like a little girl.Let me tell you, in the early days I was on my knees every night thanking myself for my good fortune and cursing my hastily drawn engagement.and Queenie.Bligh's reunion was the best luck I've had so far as a Jamaican man.

Then Winston and Kenneth moved in.Queenie's high rent made me have to ask again.Three pounds a week for these disrepaired rooms?Not only Winston, but even Kenneth was dumbfounded.She said she had no choice but to offer that price.Then, Saturday morning, when I handed her my first week's rent, she told me someone's door was left open too long.The next day she wanted me to know if someone was closing the door too loudly, what was making the room stink, someone was making too much noise, I must tell the boys not to sleep with the light on, did I tell the boys to keep the room clean?

Tsk, I thought you said she was your friend.Then why is that woman like a landlord?Kenneth wondered. We can't come back too late.Never stay in other rooms without permission.The second staircase on the first floor is cracked, can we step over it?She told me: Gilbert, I'm depending on you to run them. Am I her concierge now?This woman is beginning to annoy me, making me think that her husband is really sensible enough to get out of here and disappear into India.Good guy, if there is a way to make me disappear from her eyes, see how I can seize the opportunity. Was it Kenneth who helped you bring that big suitcase in last night?she asked me.

I used to be unable to tell a lie.But with this new Queenie, and my own continued frustration, I'm now a master liar.I told her: no. Gilbert, I don't want Kenneth here.Winston I don't mind.But I can't tell who is who.I don't want Kenneth here.I don't trust him.He is cunning.And Mr. Todd would complain and complain. don’t worry.The one who helped me with my suitcase was Winston. you sure? Of course sure, why should I lie to you? She looked into my eyes and said: How is your wife?Why didn't you pick her up? I'm going to be late for work.I have to go now. Wait a minute, Gilbert, there's one more thing she said.This one may have come to help me dig up the garden.

I should flash.I told her to turn my back on her. Within a minute she was yelling. As rude as it may be, I'm nowhere to be seen.