Mr Loverman

Carmel is alone late at night, praying by herself and waiting for Barry to come home. Carmel nearly stopped believing in God during her postnatal depression. Although her condition was very bad, Barry only agreed to let her see the doctor after she had already improved, fearing a racist medical system would hasten to admit her. She and Barry disagree about what cured her depression. Whereas she believes it was God, Barry insists that it was the Valium that a doctor finally prescribed.

Unlike Barry, Carmel commits herself to finishing a degree (in business administration) and lands a job as a housing assistant for the Hackney Council. She flourishes at work, making new friends whom she even enjoys the occasional drink with. She proudly shows off a photo of Barry on her desk, as she believes he’s still very attractive. However, the photo reminds her that he has never told her that he loves her.

For Carmel, the church affirms that she is righteous and that her husband is in the wrong for his suspected sins. When Pastor George states that “and as for the homos, they goin’ end up raped by Lucifer himself, and they won’t get no kicks from it either, because his scorching hot rod’s so big it will go in one end and come out the other” (154), Carmel “hollers” in agreement.

Pastor George has warned Carmel that she will get cancer if she is not thankful. While praying, she therefore thinks of everything she is thankful for. She thanks God for her daughters, her degree, her job, and her large house. She recognizes that she has many things that other people can only wish for. However, when she tries to be thankful for her husband, she becomes fixated on the adultery she suspects him of. She becomes so furious that she ends up praying for his death. Ultimately, she realizes that Jesus’s teachings are of love and that she should not let her husband lead her astray from that. She also feels that her feelings are somewhat justified: “[I]t’s not that you don’t love your husband / it’s just that at the age of thirty-six you been waiting twenty years for him to love you” (102).

Carmel calls to tell Barry that her father has died. Although Barry disliked his father-in-law, he still feels sorry for Carmel’s loss. Barry upsets Carmel when he says he has no interest in returning to Antigua to attend the funeral.

The thought of Carmel’s loss triggers Barry’s own grief, as the death reminds him of his father, who died right before he turned 16. They had a troubled relationship at the time of his death, as Barry had grown tired of his father’s expectations and demands. Barry reflects, “I didn’t understand then that when your people come from nothing, each subsequent generation is supposed to supersede the achievements of its parents” (111). He also remembers his mother’s death. In 1968, they discovered that she had cancer in most of her organs, but she only had access to traditional medicines. Barry tried to take a boat to Antigua to see his mother, but the boat was late and the trip took two weeks, so he could not properly say goodbye to her.

The last funeral Barry attended was Larry’s, his older brother’s. He reminisces on their time together and cherishes the fact that Larry kept his relationship with Morris a secret. When Barry was 17, Larry walked in on Barry and Morris having sex. As soon as he saw them, he shut the door and left. He was away for hours, and Barry was anticipating his own murder, as that was often the fate of gay men in Antigua. Larry, however, came home drunk and simply told Barry he must be more careful. At Larry’s funeral, Barry dropped to his knees and wept. He felt it was the first time he properly mourned his three closest family members.

In the present, Donna calls to berate her father for not attending the funeral. She’s about to leave for Antigua and asks Barry to look after Daniel while she is away, as he is preparing for exams. She tells Barry he is not to introduce her son to alcohol. Barry, however, puts rum at the top of his shopping list, reasoning that his grandson should experience more of his cultural roots.

As soon as Daniel arrives, Barry offers him a drink, even though it is only 11:30 a.m. Daniel eventually accepts, and Barry asks him what Donna says about him behind his back. To Barry’s surprise, Daniel has very little sympathy for his mother, and even calls her a “bitch.” Daniel reveals that he has been speaking to his estranged father, Frankie, over Facebook for the last four years; he believes Donna ruined their relationship. Barry remembers that Frankie refused to be present for Daniel’s birth, cheated on Donna, and physically assaulted her before the relationship ended. After Frankie abused Donna, Barry and Morris secretly visited him at night and assaulted him, after which Frankie left Donna.

Daniel further reveals that his mother drinks too much alcohol and cries for hours about how lonely she is. Barry sadly thinks about how everyone in his family is lonely. Daniel asks about Morris’s whereabouts and reveals that Donna often jokes that it’s Barry and Morris who should’ve gotten married. Barry wishes, in that moment, that he could tell his grandson about their long-lasting love affair, but he opts out again.