‘They don’t get white people in here very often, that’s why they’re curious,’ Gabriel reassures me. ‘You’ll be fine.’
We take our seats and Gabriel orders two Cokes from the server, before pointing out the blackboards above the barbecue, where the menu is written out. As well as the supposedly incredible jerk chicken, pork and vegetable options, there’s the goat curry that Gabriel mentioned earlier, but that’s pretty much where my ability to read the menu runs out.
‘What’s ackee and saltfish?’ I ask him.
‘It’s our national dish. Saltfish is dried and salted cod, which is fried up with ackee, which is a type of fruit, and lots of spices. It’s a breakfast thing mainly, but you can eat it at any time of day.’
‘And Escoveitch fish?’
‘That’s more tangy. It’s usually pickled.’
‘What are you going to have?’
‘Jerk chicken. It’s to die for here.’
‘Sod it. I’ll have the same. You can always eat mine if it’s too hot for me.’
Gabriel places the order with the server while I sit back and sip my Coke. The fridges may look ancient, but they obviouslywork well, because it’s ice cold. I can safely say I’ve never been anywhere like this before. The air is thick with the smoke from the barbeque, and the buzz of conversation is pretty much completely unintelligible. The barbecue itself, I notice, is manned by a huge, bearded guy with tattoos covering almost every exposed inch of his skin.
‘I don’t think I’d want to argue with him,’ I observe quietly to Gabriel. ‘I suspect the last person who complained about the food is underground somewhere.’
To my surprise, Gabriel laughs. ‘Aaron? He’s the owner and the reason this place is so successful. He looks menacing but he’s actually one of the gentlest people you could ever meet. The woman who sat us down is his wife, Jada.’
‘Do you know everyone on the island?’
‘No. I don’t really know them that well, to be fair. They’re Raphael’s friends.’
‘Here you go,’ the woman I now know to be Jada says as she plonks two well-filled plates down in front of us. ‘Two jerk chicken with rice and peas and callaloo. Enjoy your meal.’
I cut a small piece of chicken and put it into my mouth. Instantly, I can see what Gabriel means about the stuff at the hotel being toned down. This is very spicy indeed, and it’s not long before it feels like my mouth is on fire.
‘Too much?’ Gabriel asks as I widen my eyes.
‘It’s fine,’ I wheeze at him. ‘I just need to, umm, eat it slowly.’
Gabriel smiles and waves at Jada, who is obviously watching to see how I react to it. ‘Hey, Jada, can you bring a glass of milk for this one?’
Jada grins and heads over to one of the fridges, bringing out a large bottle of milk and emptying some into a glass, which she sets down in front of me.
‘Here you go,’ she says gently. ‘It’ll help with the chilli.’
I take a gulp and she’s right. With the help of a further two glasses of milk, I’m able to finish the chicken, which is actually delicious in an incredibly fiery kind of way. My mouth is still tingling, however, as we make our way back to the car.
‘You’re a proper Jamaican now,’ Gabriel tells me as I fasten my seatbelt and he starts the engine. To my surprise, however, he turns the opposite way from the way we came.
‘Where are we going?’ I ask him.
‘One of my favourite places to visit after dark. Is that all right? It’s a full moon tonight, so it will be magical.’
I nod my head and we lapse into silence as he drives. My desire for him to kiss me again has dropped a little, as the chilli heat has made my lips feel slightly numb and I’m worried I might actually be drooling without realising. As surreptitiously as I can, I run my hand over my chin to check, and I’m relieved to find it’s dry. Dribble is definitely not sexy.
‘Here we are,’ he says around half an hour later as he pulls off the road.
‘A beach?’ I ask as he kills the lights and switches off the engine.
‘A deserted beach, with a fabulous view of the moon. Come on.’ He pulls off his shoes, indicating that I should do the same, before jumping out of the car and rummaging in the back, from where he brings out two blankets and a couple of towels. It takes a moment for my eyes to acclimatise to the comparative darkness but, as they do and I follow him across the sand, I start to understand what he’s talking about. The moon is bright in the cloudless sky, illuminating the beach beautifully and making the sea seem to sparkle as it moves. The waves are breaking on the shore with a gentle swish and there’s a faint breeze rustling the leaves of the palm trees. The sand is cool beneath my feet.
‘You’re right. This is incredible,’ I tell him as he spreads the blankets on the sand and gestures for me to sit down.
