The Inheritance- a short story by Austin Mitchell

The Inheritance

by

Austin Mitchell

        Growing up in Banana Ridge, Wally Webster was always proud of his brothers. Linton and Norton were brilliant men, both had received scholarships to United States colleges. Linton was an economist with a top fortune five hundred companies. Norton was a surgeon at a top hospital in Georgia. His two sisters, Nicolet and Aesha, were also in the United States. Nicolet was pursuing her masters in Mathematics while Aesha was a computer specialist.

            “I wished Wally was like Linton or Norton or even as good as Nicolet or Aesha,” Miss Herma said.

            “He’s a big man now, it’s time for him to be on his own,” Mister George replied.

            “I agree with you, give him a piece of the land and let us see what he does with it,” Miss Herma said.

            “That’s what I’m going to do. Maybe it’s farming he’s going to do, though most of the young people don’t like it.’’

            Wally could remember the disappointment on his parent’s faces when he failed his high school entrance examinations and the opportunity to go to Kingston and board with the Walshs and attend school there was gone. Instead, he attended secondary school in Banana Ridge. Wally had acted like any normal boy, playing practically all the sports and enjoying the company of the opposite sex. Deborah Laing was his special girl. They had been friends from primary school. In grade ten they became lovers and by grade eleven it was over. Before that, they went everywhere together. Even now Wally was still feeling a bit hurt by what Deborah had done.

            “Wally, I’ve cut off five acres of my land for you to start your farm. Since you graduated from school you’ve been working on Willie Smith’s farm. I think it’s time you had your own farm,” Mass George said.

            “Thank you, daddy, I’m glad that John Bulla moved out of the house. You should have given him notice a long time ago. That nine months I spent working for Mr. Willie has given me a lot of experience.”

            “It’s a lucky thing that it’s only the two bedroom house he rented and not the land too.”

            “I am going to move my things in from tonight, sir, and from tomorrow I’m going to start farming the land. Give me three months and see what I do with it.”

            Wally was now twenty years of age. Mister George felt that he would be a good farmer and his lack of certificates would not be a hindrance. Mister George himself had not made it further than elementary school and it had not hindered his success.

            Wally rode his motorcycle up to Dania Andrews’ house early one evening. He wanted to begin seeing her. Dania lived a few chains from them. Dania was on her verandah when he got there.

            “Wally, what’s going on? It’s a long time I haven’t seen you,” Dania said.

            Dania was of medium height. She was pretty and from their school days Wally had always admired her.

            “One day you must teach me how to ride your  bike, Wally,” Dania requested.

            “Any time you’re ready I will show you what to do.”

            “You want something to drink, Wally?”

            “I feel for some lemonade, do you have any?”

            Inside her kitchen mixing the lemonade Dania gave off a soft laugh. God, she hated Wally, he was so boring. She had no interest in him. She could bet he was sweating all over her verandah. Why couldn’t he have asked for a beer or a soda? She finished mixing the lemonade and took a canned soda for herself. Her father was in the field and her mother had gone to the market in Old Harbour.        

            “What are you doing for yourself now Dania?” Wally asked as he finished draining the glass of lemonade.

            Dania re-filled his glass.

            “I thought you knew that I was at teacher’s college.”

            “I am sort of out of touch through I’m so busy on my farm. So you are on holidays now?”

            “Yeah, but I can’t wait to complete my courses.”

            “Dania, since we were in high school, I liked you. Can I come and see you again?”

            For a moment Dania wanted to tell him no but why not she thought. Many of her friends were in Kingston but she still had friends from her school days around. Wally wasn’t fun, but at least he was interesting and she could learn to ride his motor- cycle.

            “Wally I never knew that you even noticed me. Sure, you can come and look for me, but some of the time I’m not going to be home. Some friends in Kingston invited me to some parties they have down there.”

            “Whatever happened to Deborah, Wally?”

            “I thought you knew that we broke up.”

            “You loved her didn’t you?”

            “Maybe, but it takes two people to make a relationship work.”

            “Wally!”

            “You know what she did to me, Dania.”

            “Bertram told you a lie on her and you believed him. She and Ernie were never friends.”

            “How do you know and you and her weren’t friends?”
            “If she and he were friends, everybody would know. It’s because you don’t know how inquisitive the people in Banana Ridge are.”

            “I hope you haven’t changed since you started living in Kingston.”

            “I’m still the same person, Wally. I only learned to party a lot more.”

            “I don’t know if I can keep up with you then.”

            “You want a beer?”

            “I’ll drink some more lemonade.”

            Dania wondered if she was hearing right. On weekends in Kingston and at most clubs most of the patrons went for hard liquor. They would say that Wally was soft. She knew that all the men around went for hard liquor. Before she went to college, Clifton, her boyfriend then, only drank stout and tonic drinks. The young men in the village who were Wally’s contemporaries didn’t think much of him. He had stopped playing sports and didn’t party or drink. She would only amuse herself with him before she returned to college.

***

            “Are you enjoying yourself Wally?” Dania asked as they attended one of her friend’s birth night parties.

            “Yes, I didn’t know that you were such a good dancer.”

            “I didn’t know that you drink strong liquor.”

            “It’s not hard to do.”

            This wasn’t the first party they were attending together. Many of her friends raised their eyebrows at seeing her partying with Wally.

             Wally would buy a lot of drinks for Dania and her friends. Wally got to dance with her girlfriends. He always seemed to have money and Dania suspected that he and one of her friends, Jassette Loring, were friends. Although she and Wally were never in any intimate relationship she was a little bit jealous of Jassette.

            Finally the holidays were over and Dania returned to college. By the first week of school, she had forgotten about Wally.

            Wally and Jassette continued their affair until one day.

            “Wally, I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can continue this relationship, ’’Jassette said about two months later.

            “Is it because your former boyfriend, Enton, started coming around again and he’s bought a car.”

            “No, Wally, it’s just because I’m moving to Kingston and I’m not sure when I’m going to see you.”

            “It’s all right, but you know I don’t believe you.”

            Wally later learned from one of Jassette’s friends that she felt she was wasting her time with him. He wasn’t ever going to have much money to spend by just  farming five acres of land.

            Two years later and Dania finished up college. During the intervening years she never returned home for the holidays and her parents were mum to Wally’s inquiries. Wally wrote and phoned her, but she never replied.

            Linda Lawson had come to teach school at Banana Ridge Primary and was immediately put in charge of the canteen.
Read the full story in 'Bring back the good old Days'.