Tangled Web

Cecielia Wilson

Description

This is an enthralling book that takes one on an emotional roller-coaster. Celeste the main character in the book is from the countryside of St. Thomas, Jamaica West Indies. She migrated to the city to access her tertiary studies where she met and fell in love with Steven. After almost 13 years of being in an emotionally and physically abusive relationship, she found out that Steven was a con-artiste and that the life she lived was a conned one. Celeste had two children for Steven. These children were registered with the fictitious name given by Steven. They knew of no other relatives from Steven's side but at his funeral would learn that they had upwards of 20 brothers and sisters. Celeste is now back and forth at the family court to have the children's name changed.

Sujets

• Jamaica

Informations

• Publié par: First Edition Design Publishing
• Date de parution: 01 novembre 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781506900636
• Langue: English

Extrait

Tangled Web
By
Cecielia A. Wilson

First Edition Design Publishing
Sarasota, Florida
Tangled Web
Copyright © 2015 Cecielia A. Wilson

ISBN 978-1506-900-62-9 PRINT
ISBN 978-1506-900-63-6 EBOOK

LCCN 2015956279

November 2015

Published and Distributed by
First Edition Design Publishing, Inc.
P.O. Box 20217, Sarasota, FL 34276-3217
www.firsteditiondesignpublishing.com



ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means ─ electronic, mechanical, photo-copy, recording, or any other ─ except brief quotation in reviews, without the prior permission of the author or publisher.

For speaking engagements please contact the author at [e-mail]

N ames and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals in this non-fiction book .
“Life is the art of being well deceived and in order that the deception may succeed, it must be habitual and uninterrupted”
William Hazlitt
FOREWORD

When we pray “Thy Will Be Done” as most of us do each day let us remember that “THY” refers to GOD and we must do like Celeste and allow Him to carry out his will in us. The author of this book although she did not realize it at that time was one of God’s chosen children with a purpose. He took her through the valley of death and is now moving mountains in her life and parting rivers for her to pass over safely.
To everyone who finds solace and comfort in reading this book, either because it reminds you of your past (or your present) put your hand in the hand of God and use him as your lever to raise yourself from your “devil” and seek deliverance through CHRIST.
This story should be a lesson to others in strength and fortitude coupled with faith. May God continue to bless you and your family and may your readers find food for thought in your story.

Leo A. Johnson
Table of Contents




INTRODUCTION ... 1
CHAPTER 1 The Genesis . 3
CHAPTER 2 Verbal Agreement . 13
CHAPTER 3 Voluntary Babysitting . 23
CHAPTER 4 Juggling University . 30
CHAPTER 5 Home Ownership . 40
CHAPTER 6 Revelation .. 53
CHAPTER 7 The Exodus . 57
CHAPTER 8 Child Maintenance . 62
CHAPTER 9 The Verbal Will 78
CHAPTER 10 The Adoption .. 80
INTRODUCTION

Daddy always warned his four girls “be independent… don’t depend on any man for a living,” and this would be a constant reminder. Mommy would always say to me “go to school and take in your lessons because you can’t survive the fields.”
I was born in a remote district in the parish of St. Thomas where I attended one of the traditional high schools. I completed my secondary education in 1993. Later that year, I left St. Thomas for Kingston and stayed with my eldest sister Julie so that I could attend college and subsequently get a job; I would not be depending on a man.
“I will be independent.” I promised myself.
I graduated from Duff’s Business College in May 1994. Between 1994 and 1996 I had a few temporary secretarial positions before I landed a permanent job with one of the Ministries in August 1996. I remained with this Ministry for two years, and in 1998 I was transferred to another division.
Little did I know that this would be the year that would change my life!
CHAPTER 1
The Genesis

My friend Rocky would pick me up for work each day, but on the morning of February 16, 1998 he was earlier than usual.
I got to my destination and quickly walked to my office. I did the normal preliminaries such as signing the attendance register and saying good morning to my co-workers, before proceeding to my desk. I started gathering some correspondence that I had for filing when suddenly my concentration was interrupted by the loud ring of my boss’ telephone which was a little distance away from where I sat. Being a secretary, I was trained to answer the telephone with a smile, and I did just that. On the other end of the line was a gentleman sporting an American accent. He identified himself as Steven Honeywell and said he was conducting investigations on behalf of the US Embassy. His reason for calling was to locate one, Miss Maxine Gordon. It turned out that we didn’t have anyone with that name among our employees. He said that he was given that number for her and was therefore not sure where he had slipped a digit. I said “sorry about that sir” but, before he hung up he asked where he had called and I told him.
A day later a fellow co-worker with whom I shared surname called to say that a gentleman had asked for Miss Williamson, stating that he had spoken with her the day before. She then put the call to my office as she did not recall recently speaking to a gentleman with an accent.
Steven recognized my voice right away. He complimented me on my customer service skills and told me that I had a nice voice. He asked if he could get a home telephone number for me since we were about to go on break to observe Ash Wednesday. I saw the opportunity of going to America – land of opportunities, and would not let it pass “a neglected opportunity” was one of the four things in life that comes not back. I did not hesitate to give him the number.
Time went by, we spoke, but he was always the one calling; based on the type of work in which he was involved (secret services) he did not want to compromise his stay in Jamaica, so I understood. During three months of talking on the phone he finally told me that he was the older brother of a prominent boxer. I said to myself… wow I would not only go to America but I would also be associated with fame and moreover, if I were dreaming, the dream definitely felt good.
A friend of mine at the office had friends at the US Embassy, and she wanted to do an investigation to find out if there were any truths to what Steven was saying.
I feared that he would get in trouble so I turned the offer down. I told my friend that there would be no need to conduct an investigation as I had no intentions of getting involved with the gentleman. She obeyed.
We finally decided that after four months of talking on the phone, it was time we met each other personally. I had given him the directions to my address and was expecting him the first Sunday in May 1998.
I was living with two of my younger siblings who had also left St. Thomas to join big sis in Kingston. The day that I had expected Steven had been the same day that my sisters and friends had planned a beach trip.
“Celeste, you coming with us?” “No dear” …was my response, “remember Romeo comes today” I reminded them. They completed their packing for the outing and within another hour or so, they were ready to leave, “are you sure you don’t want to come?” they jeered. “Confident” I replied.
After they left the house, I took a shower and got dressed in close fitting jeans and a sleeveless top that would show off my assets. I then applied makeup and let my hair down; I was pleased with the person looking back at me in the mirror.
By now my sisters and friends had been gone for about three hours when it dawned on me how lonely and bored I had become. I grabbed a book and began reading. Morning turned to afternoon, afternoon turned to evening, evening turned to night and Steven was a “no show.”
When my sisters got back they asked how the meeting went. I was disinclined to offer any information as I knew what the result would be– yes they would laugh me to scorn. I finally told them and they had a hearty laugh. They did not hesitate to tell me how much of a fun-filled day they had.
The following Friday at around 6:00 p.m., I heard a car pulled up to our gate. I was in no condition to see any visitor so I prayed that the person was lost and was only asking for directions. I had recently braided my hair and decided on getting waves in the braids. This would have been done by grouping between 10 and 15 of the fine plaits to make jumbo plaits which would then be submerged in hot water for about 5 minutes then towel dried. A towel was around my neck for the purpose of drying the plaits after submerging in water.
“Hello! The person said as he approached my gate. He was of medium built, about 5’6” tall and fair complexion. “Hello” I responded. “Is this where I find Celeste?” “Who is looking for Celeste?” I asked, but that was a rhetorical question as I had recognized the voice and accent. “I am Steven” he responded. I could not believe this man. After I had put myself together and was ready to meet him the Sunday prior, he had not turned up but now in my shabby looking state he was just turning up. I did not have a contact number for him and so I could not have called to find out if he were on his way or had postponed the meeting. Any communication between us would have been at his discretion, reason being, he was staying at the Plaza hotel where I could neither visit nor call based on his type of work.
I quickly walked to the gate to greet him, “Are you stunned by my beauty?” I asked, he laughed and right away I felt the connection. I knew we would get on. I questioned him about not turning up as we had discussed and he told me that he did that because he knew that any smart woman would have gone above and beyond to prepare herself and the home to meet him and that doing it this way would have allowed him to see the true me. “Really now” I remarked; because this is not even true me; this was the first time that I was doing any such thing as submerging jumbo plaits in hot water. Not only was my hair done with the jumbo plaits but I had pieces of strings and stockings that tied the ends so that the plaits would stay in place. That aside, we were happy to see each other especially now that we could put a face to the conversations.
As time went by, I noticed Steven’s favourite footwear was leather with heels and zipper to the sides. He always dressed to match and would be on time for most of our dates. Wherever we went he would com