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Miss Josephine lounged at her patio table, sipping on her afternoon tea when she heard voices drifting from her house. Fear gripped her and her hand went to the talisman necklace circling her elegant neckline.
“Not again!” she gasped.
She jumped from her chair, knocking over the table as the door opened. Her terror dissipated as Amber, Bissau, and a much younger Alake stepped out onto the patio.
“Mes amis!” she exclaimed. “Mes beaux amis!”
She hugged Amber tight, and then greeted her grandmother with a sisterly embrace. For Bissau she kissed his cheeks like a long-lost son.
“So, you found what you sought?” Miss Josephine asked.
The three looked at each other with warm smiles.
“Yes, we did,” Amber answered. “Mademoiselle, did I leave my phone here?”
“You did, Cheri, and it’s been singing ever since. I believe the artist name is Neo?”
Amber giggled. “Yes it is.” She was beginning to feel like a thirteen-year-old again.
“I suspect it is your parents.” Miss Josephine’s face reflected their worry.
“You should call them,” Grandma said.
Neo’s smooth voice interrupted their conversation.
Miss Josephine rushed into her bedroom then returned with the phone. Amber took a deep breath then answered in the most innocent voice she could muster.
“Hi mommy!”
“Oh sweet Jesus! It’s my baby girl! Are you alright? Where’s mama? Is she okay?” We’ve been...”
Her father’s voice intruded.
“Young lady, you have a lot, I mean A LOT of explaining to do. Let me speak to your grandmother!”
“Daddy, everything is fine,” Amber replied. “Me and Grandma are fine. We took a trip up the Niger River where our cell phones didn’t work.”
“What do you mean your cell phones didn’t work? Cellphones work everywhere! Do you realize how worried we were? No, how worried we are? Let me speak to your grandmother!”
Amber closed her eyes then shook her head.
“Daddy, Grandma and I are in Dakar. We’re catching the next plane out to Paris then home. See you soon! I love you both.”
Amber hung up then muted the ringtone.
“You sure you’re not coming back, Grandma?”
Grandma spread her arms then twirled around. “How would I explain this? Crystal and Joseph aren’t ready. Let’s get you home and settled before we spring anything else on them.”
“You’re right, Grandma. You’re always right.”
She turned to Miss Josephine. “Miss Josephine, can you suffer our company for one night? It will take time to make a flight reservation to Paris.”
“Of course!” she exclaimed. “I’d be delighted!”
Miss Josephine quickly organized a dinner that resembled a feast for a diplomat. As their host and Grandma discussed her amazing physical transformation, Amber and Bissau ate silently. Amber looked at her protector as he studied his food before each bite. Occasionally he would look up then smile at her before immersing himself in his meal. She held back a laugh; she was making him nervous. After the meal Grandma and Miss Josephine retired to the parlor. Amber decided to go upstairs to the balcony. She grinned when she realized Bissau was following her.
He stood beside her as she looked out onto the ocean.
“You don’t have to protect me anymore,” she said.
“I know,” Bissau replied.
“Thank you,” she said.
“There is no need to thank me. Baba Jakada gave me a duty.”
“But you didn’t have to do it.”
Bissau’s eyes widened. “Of course, I did. Baba Jakada is my master. I do as he commands.”
Amber turned. “You mean you are his slave?”
Bissau shook his head. “He is my...mentor. In order to learn I must do everything he asks. It is our way.”
“We are so different,” she said.
“No, we’re not,” Bissau replied. “In the heart we are all the same. You should know this.”
She did. It was why standing so close to Bissau made her nervous. She knew how she felt about him and she knew he felt the same.
“Bissau, I...”
“I don’t think we should speak on such things,” he said. “Although Master Jakada treats me like an equal, I am not. There is no way we can marry.”
“Marry? Nobody said anything about marrying! I’m only thirteen, and even if I was older marrying would be the last thing on my mind.”
Bissau’s face sagged, his eyes drooping. Amber reached for him and he pulled away.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” she corrected. “Things are different outside Marai. In this world people our age aren’t considered adults. We aren’t allowed to get married. Not that I’m saying I would marry you if we were allowed...wait a minute, I didn’t mean that either.”
“I know what you meant,” Bissau said.
“No, I don’t think you do.”
Amber suddenly felt very tired. Moments ago, she was deciding the fate of a city, and now she couldn’t find the right words to say to a boy.
“I’m going to sleep,” she finally said.
She left Bissau on the balcony and retired to her room. The entire experience seemed to gang up on her at that moment, hitting her with exhaustion and a sense of relief. She had a dreamless sleep, awaking to a bright morning. Grandma peered at her from the doorway, a proud smile on her face.
“Wake up, baby girl. It’s time.”
The exhaustion from the day before yielded to the excitement of going home. Though she cherished every aspect of her adventure, Amber was homesick. She sat at the table with Grandma, Miss Josephine and Bissau, who still carried that sour look from the day before. Amber paid him no mind. She was going home. In a few days, Bissau would be a memory, a pleasant, cute memory.
“You must be very excited!” Miss Josephine sang.
“I am!” Amber replied.
“So, what is the first thing you’ll do?”
“Hug my Mama and Daddy then get me a hamburger!”
Grandma and Miss Josephine laughed; Bissau looked up from his plate with solemn eyes but said nothing.
After breakfast Amber packed her things. She called Mama and Daddy; assuring them she was actually coming home and avoiding any questions about why Grandma wasn’t. The four of them climbed into Miss Josephine’s limousine then rode to the airport, Amber clinging to Grandma’s arm the entire ride. Occasionally she peered out the window, taking a long look at Dakar. She knew this wouldn’t be the last time she visited, but she hoped she’d be away long enough to miss it. Returning to Marai would mean serious things were afoot, and she’d had her fill of serious for a while.
They arrived at the airport an hour before her flight. Miss Josephine was well respected in Dakar, so the check-in process went quickly. Airport security allowed them to accompany her to her gate.
“Goodbye, cheri,” Miss Josephine said as she hugged her. “You be a good girl, and make sure you tell your parents that Miss Josephine took good care of you.”
“I will,” Amber said.
She hugged Grandma long and tight.
“I love you so much, Grandma,” she whispered as tears welled in her eyes. “Thank you for this.”
“I’m the one who should be thanking you, baby girl.”
Grandma stepped back, holding her at arm’s length.
“You’ve grown so much this summer. I’m glad to be a part of it. Now don’t you worry about your Mama and Daddy. I’ll have a long conversation with them while you’re on your way home. By the time you land in Atlanta everything will be fine.”
Amber smirked. “No, it won’t.”
Grandma chuckled. “No, it probably won’t, but it will be better than when you leave here.”
Bissau appeared beside Grandma with her bag. His expression was cool.
“Are you ready?” he asked. “The plane is boarding.”
Amber emotions dampened. He was in so much turmoil inside.
“Maybe I should have used a mirror,” she joked.
Bissau’s expression didn’t change and Amber’s smile faded.
“Yes, I’m ready,” she said.
He placed the bag at her feet.
“Goodbye, Amber. Be safe.”
Bissau sulked away. Grandma watched him with concern.
“What did you say to him?” she asked.
“The wrong things,” Amber answered. “But it’s for the best. We’re so different.”
Grandma smiled. “Get on the plane, baby. Call me when you get settled.”
“I will, grandma.”
Amber hugged Grandma one more time. She peered over Grandma’s shoulder and waved at Bissau. He looked at her then shared a weak smile. Amber kept smiling at him as she boarded the plane despite the sadness inside her. It was for the best, she thought. It had to be.
It was a solemn flight to Paris. She should have been happier returning home, but she was missing Grandma already. She missed Bissau, too. Why couldn’t there be a boy like him waiting for her in Atlanta, a boy that respected her and thought the world of her?
The flight was late to Paris so she had just enough time to grab a bite to eat then board the non-stop to Atlanta. She slept the entire flight, fatigue finally catch up to her.
“Honey, we’re landing.”
The flight attendant’s voice startled her. She opened her eyes to a pleasant female face.
“We’re landing, sugar. You need to raise your seat.”
Amber scrambled about for the lever then lifted her backrest.
The flight attendant smiled. “There you go. Love your head wrap.”
Amber beamed. “Thank you!”
She looked out the window. The homesickness flared as they cruised by Stone Mountain, the huge solitary piece of granite a definitive sign that she was home. The familiar cluster of high-rises before her sealed the deal. She thought she would be more nervous but she wasn’t; despite Grandma’s calls she would still have a lot of explaining to do. But that was okay. She was home, and that was all that mattered.
It felt like forever for the plane to touch the tarmac then cruise to the gate. Amber, usually patient when exiting, jumped out of her seat as soon as the seatbelt light turned off. She grabbed her bag from the overhead bin then joined the shuffling line to the cabin door. As soon as she had room she fast walked through the terminal to the escalator leading to the trains. No sooner did she enter the train did she call her mother.
“Mama?”
“We’re here baby,” Mama answered.
“I’ll be there in a minute,” Amber replied.
She was one of the first off the train and to the escalator. Amber jogged up the moving stairs. As she emerged from the corridor she saw her mother holding a big sign embellished with her name.
“Welcome home, Amber!” they shouted.
She didn’t know whether to be embarrassed or happy, so he decided to be embarrassedly happy.
Amber and her mother squealed together as they ran to each other and hugged.
“Hey baby!” Mama said.
“Hey mommy!” Amber replied.
She looked over Mama’s shoulder. Daddy sauntered to them, a big smile on his face. He’d grown a beard during vacation as he usually did. It looked good on him. He wrapped his thick arms around both of them.
“Now this is how our vacation should have been,” he said. “Welcome home, princess.”
Daddy’s words sent her back to Marai. There she was a princess, sort of.
“Hey, Daddy. It’s good to be home.”
They walked to the shuttle then rode to the car in silence. Mama hugged her the entire way as Daddy whistled one of his favorite tunes. For the first time in her life she looked at her parents with her inner eye, enhanced by her journey to Marai. She found what she expected; good, loving people who only wanted the best for her. She would make the best of private school, she decided. If the journey to Marai taught her anything it was the difference between inconvenience and crisis. She snuggled against Mama then closed her eyes, falling into a peaceful sleep.