Bellinda Bell

Hortense M. Jenkins

Description

The tale of a young woman’s experiences as life takes her from Jamaica, West Indies, to South Hampton, England, to what she hopes is a new beginning.

It is the mid-fifties in Jamaica. Twenty-two-year-old Bellinda Simms is a strong-willed, temperamental, fearless, and not very intelligent young woman who is accustomed to battling her way out of any situation. Now as she boards a banana boat with other migrants and begins a three-week journey to South Hampton, England, in search of a new beginning, Bellinda has no idea what awaits her. All she knows is that she wants to achieve her dreams.



When she finally arrives in England, Bellinda makes a shocking discovery: she is pregnant with her Jamaican boyfriend’s child. Determined to keep it a secret for as long as she can, Bellinda secures work on an estate with other immigrants and begins dating her cousin’s friend. When she experiences complications and is sent to the hospital, she is tended to by a male nurse. After Bellinda eventually recovers and continues with her pregnancy, a chain of events unfurls that lead her down unexpected paths. Will Bellinda’s faith be enough to help her endure all her challenges?



Belinda Bell is the tale of a young woman’s experiences as life takes her from Jamaica, West Indies, to South Hampton, England, to what she hopes is a new beginning.

Sujets

• Thrillers
• Inglaterra
• Jamaica
• England
• Suspense
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Archway Publishing
• Date de parution: 21 mars 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781665738309
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

BELLINDA BELL
 
 
 
 
 
 
HORTENSE M. JENKINS
 
 
 
 

 
Copyright © 2023 Hortense M. Jenkins.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
 
Archway Publishing
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.archwaypublishing.com
844-669-3957
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6657-3829-3 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6657-3828-6 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6657-3830-9 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023902176
 
 
Archway Publishing rev. date: 03/13/2023
CONTENTS
Preface
 
CHAPTER 1       The Arrival
CHAPTER 2       The Male Nurse
CHAPTER 3       The Baby’s Arrival
CHAPTER 4       The Wedding Planners
CHAPTER 5       Hearts at Home
CHAPTER 6       A Different kind of Home
CHAPTER 7       Records from South Hampton
CHAPTER 8       Bertie’s Dilemma
CHAPTER 9       Clifton Lawrence Graduates
CHAPTER 10     Help from the Right Source
CHAPTER 11     Changes on the Horizon
CHAPTER 12     South Hampton News
CHAPTER 13     After Graduation
CHAPTER 14     Identification
CHAPTER 15     Wedding Bells
CHAPTER 16     News From Jamaica
CHAPTER 17     Bertie Bell’s Flight
CHAPTER 18     Bellinda’s Surgery
CHAPTER 19     Special Arrivals
CHAPTER 20     The Departure to South Hampton
CHAPTER 21     The Haunting Past
 
Epilogue
PREFACE
Sometimes she tried to understand many things, and even so, it did not satisfy her curiosity. As a little girl, Bellinda Simms was very strong willed, temperamental, fearless, and not very intelligent. Her abilities to achieve whatever she wants, comes through being very physical at the drop of a button. And coming from both sides of her families only makes matters worse. It is of no wonder that she is who she is; because both parents, though not married to each other, were worse than she was.
They too would physically fight at the drop of a button, not among themselves, but anyone who would try to cross their paths. Bellinda’s mother was the strongest of most women known in the district of Clarksonville, (it was rumored) and surrounding areas, and her father the butcher, was her equal. How did nature, time, fate, and faith connect these two? Six decades have passed and I am still amazed by the connection and gravity of these two. What was clearly understood, is that the distance between courting, Bellinda’s parents did not have far to go to see each other. And it seemed that fate had it planned that way because they were always crossing paths, and most of the residents were told some secrets by some seniors from the district.
Some labeled Bellinda’s mother as ‘bull buck and duppy conqueror’, a term used for gangland style, action and attitude. What they saw of her, could be describe as coming out of a fiction or fairy tale magazine or movie. One man told me, he witnessed Bellinda’s mother holding the hands of one man and beats three men using the poor defenseless man in a swinging motion. But she was not worried about her parents, because she could fight her own battle, without help from anyone. As far back as she could remember, right up until her senior years, Bellinda had no problem fighting her way out of any situation. Well….that is until she had that major surgery which almost took her life; and even so, she was not afraid of many things, or confrontations.
During the early to mid-fifties, Island migration was in full swing, and Bellinda, her sister, and many others were blessed to be in the number. It was also the time of exporting bananas to the United Kingdom from Jamaica and other adjoining islands; and since some were still in the British Colony, including Jamaica, it became quite convenient for whosoever were blessed to be able to afford the passage. No need to worry about the receiver at the other end; ‘have ‘dunzi’ will travel’. (Have money will travel) And so Bellinda set sail for England on a banana boat. She boarded the Banana Boat in Kingston and set sail for South Hampton.
Her arrival was met with the usual fanfare, and enthusiasms at the dock in South Hampton where the unloading of green bananas took place. It was many years later---to be quite frank, it was forty years later she talked about her arrival in the United Kingdom. Within those forty years, Bellinda was very elusive with many things that took place in her life.
That side of her, from a little girl in her native Jamaica, she was very private. To pry and prod would be asking for trouble because of her temper. She had no problem in letting anyone know about that particular part of her. So many things were left unsaid which makes life much easier and comfortable for those who would think she was a ‘pushover’ and would want to ‘try a thing’.
With Bellinda, surprises were far and few among those who knew her well. Another side of her, she would sometimes openly display, and be very firm and candid about; was her religious beliefs, and political affiliation. Don’t push, question, or intrude; let her volunteer to do and say which, sometimes turned out to be a teaching experience for many, without the questions and answers sessions. And when she is in that mood, her emotions got the better of her. Her cracked, whispering voice, and teary eyes, managed to expose the softness that lies beneath that layer of solidity.
Bellinda realized that many people found out that she’s not so tough after all. Although many in her new adopted home would not bet on that because of past experiences; while some of the receivers at South Hampton, who knew her very well, and what she stands for, knew exactly how to approach her. Family members and friends of them were very particular in their choice of communication, because of her explosive manner. Therefore, they would rather let ‘sleeping dogs lie’ than do anything else.
Amazingly, she remained strong until she started having her children. Besides those bouts of explosive moments, she could be sweet, loving, charming, giving, compassionate and extremely caring. Yes! Bellinda could be one beautiful caring person. She remembered the day when she arrived in South Hampton, it was the first time she is going to experience the difference in climate change.
Bellinda’s desire was not only to leave the hum-drum standard of living behind, but also to have her children in an adopted country where they will hug and accept newness. A newness that she had never experienced, but that the needs of her children would be met without the hardship that almost suffocate her. Bellinda wondered if she would ever find a man to love her, fathered her children, and not looking at the way she presented herself. Despite her attitude she loved to secretly pray. In other words, accept her as she is. Yes! That is all wonderful, but it takes time to know Bellinda.
When things are not going the way she had planned, she would ask the Lord to work it out; not on a regular basis, nevertheless, she would pray. Because she believed that God knew her from the beginning of time, and He sees her as one of His beautiful Creation. And regardless of her upbringing she was taught that she did not just ‘happen on this planet’. Bellinda was taught that there was a creator who created her and the world, ‘and they that dwell therein’; and He loved all His creation, including her. Therefore, it should not be taken for granted, because He is a jealous God. All the Churches and Sunday Schools that helped to shaped Bellinda’s life was not what the family expected. Nevertheless, she was loved and appreciated.
There was only one set back that caused her to question God, and it did not take her long to get back into harmony with her Savior. But she still asked the Lord: “why did you let me have a baby of a different colour?” The baby was not black, instead he has that pigmentation that gives cause for concern. In her native Jamaica they called that colour “dundus”. Her question was directed to God and she never discussed it with anyone else. Whether God answered her or not, no one knows because no one knew about it but her and God. She was that person, and she hoped to maintain that part of her.
When Bellinda made the decision to follow in her fellow Islanders footsteps to ‘board the banana boat’, just a few people knew about it. Some cousins from her father’s side of the family and her mother. She refused to let anyone know. She was not super…. of being jinxed but she was not trusting of some people, especially those from the neighborhood; and that family from Long Hill. Yes, especially that family! She got into Bellinda’s ‘Belfry’. They were classmates from Clarksonville Primary school, and they had a nasty fight. The feud continued into their adult years because of a substance that wa