Flight 735 to Hato, Curaçao.
On Monday, 30 June, I call Mem. He tells me that Mama Irma is not doing well. She has lost her appetite, sleeps a lot, and doesn’t feel like drinking water or anything else.
I decide to buy a ticket and go there, especially after Thelma wrote: ‘If anything happens, can Guus come?’
There are still a few tickets available for Friday 4 July. And they’re not too expensive yet. On Saturday, the holidays start in the southern Netherlands and then the tickets with KLM (the crooks) will be €250 more expensive per flight.
I book.
The flight goes smoothly. I am sitting in front of a lady with a small dog. The animal barks a lot at first, but less later on. When I ask the stewardess about transporting dogs, she says that dogs weighing up to 10 kg are allowed in the cabin. ‘They usually sleep quietly,’ she says. ‘Is it bothering you? If the dog barks too much, just let me know, there’s another seat available in front of you.. You can move there.’ The dog must have heard her too, because it doesn’t want to cause any trouble and is quiet from that moment on.
At 4 p.m., we land at Hato. The familiar warm blanket envelops me as I stand outside waiting for Thelma to pick me up. It is thirty degrees, no sun, cloudy.
I’m waiting and suddenly I hear my name. It’s Jeanette, who works at Hato and has come to tell me that Thelma is on her way. Jeanette is a lovely and caring woman, and I’ll be seeing her a lot over the next few days when she visits Mama Irma.
Thelma arrives and we drive to Sint Willibrordus, the same familiar road I have driven a hundred times, past Souax, past the landfill, past Bali, past Daniel Soda Fountain, past Grote Berg Patat, past the truki pan (what is it called again, ah VIP grill) ), then left onto the newly paved road to Willibrordus. The road has been newly paved because Premier Pisas (the crook) lives on Coral Estate and has to go to his office in the city every day. The old road was not good enough for him.
Mama Irma is lying in bed. I greet her, give Mem a hug, and sit down next to Mama Irma. She has to vomit, the ‘sopi’ from this morning and the ‘awa di koko’.
I help Mem clean up a bit. And stay with Mama Irma. Jeanette arrives, after finishing work. She talks about Mama Irma as ‘mi baby’. Talks loudly to her. Sings a song with her. I don’t know the song.
I tidy up my things in my own ‘flat’.
Once I’m done, I sit down with Mama Irma, hold her hand and stroke her arms and legs. Moniek gave me some massage oil from Rituals and I use it liberally. I had to search for it at Schiphol, but there was a separate Rituals shop, where I was directed by a nice lady at the perfumery.
At 8:30 p.m., Mem wants to close the door. Over and out. Mum goes to bed. There is a flute on her bed. Mem put it there because he couldn’t hear her weak voice when she called him at night. Now she whistles when something is wrong. Mem can hear that sharp sound.