Moo

Mac’s Mother Miriam Simmons was a West Indian Matriarch in every sense of the word.  She was loved by many as well as feared; she could be formidable, you did not want to be on the wrong side of Momma!  Miriam raised quite a few children, several of them not her own, and seemed to feed a multitude of people on a daily basis.  Momma was adored by Vanessa, who for some reason called her Grandmother “Moo”.

Moo loved nothing better than to have Vanessa with her during the day, and would send for her pretty well every morning while I was at work. Vanessa often spent the entire day with her grandmother, returning in the late afternoon for supper and bed.  Rachel was much younger and stayed home with her nanny, she never got the opportunity to know Moo the way Vanessa did.

One morning Moo suffered a heart attack.  Her maid called Mac in a panic and he rushed to his mother’s house.  I arrived with my nurse friend Vanessa Bowman a short while afterwards but Moo had passed away.  Momma’s death was very sudden, and a terrible shock for the family.  Her wake and funeral were attended by many, including all her children from abroad.

Momma had built a new house on what we called “Family Hill” and we decided to move into it.  Momma had taken out a loan for its construction and we would pay the bank mortgage each month in lieu of rent.  It would mean a slightly longer walk to work each morning but that was fine, it would be nice to live in a more modern house. It had a much nicer kitchen than the old house and a water heater for the shower!!

On Family Hill we would be close to Mac’s father Bluesy, who seemed quite lost after Momma died.  The new sail loft was adjacent to his house, and Nolly’s chalet sat at the very top of the hill.  The house Momma had built overlooked the loft and offered a splendid view of the harbor from its verandah.

It didn’t take us long to make the move, the house we had rented was just down the road from Family Hill. Mac and his friends carried our possessions to the new home and we settled in quickly.

Shortly afterwards Bluesy slaughtered one of his pigs. I had eaten some of his pork in the past and it had been delicious, hopefully he would share this pig with us too! I got more than I bargained for, Mac’s father arrived with the pig’s head and ceremoniously offered it to me. In the past the head had been given to Momma, from now on it would be mine.

Yup, West Indian or not, I was now the Matriarch of Family Hill!