Elias just shook his head as we watched them run off. “By tomorrow every boy in Awassa will know there’s a farenji giving away candy in this hotel. You will be like the Pied Piper when you go out for runs.”
I laughed and shook my head at the image of me with a trail of smiling boys running around town. “I only have a limited supply of candy, and I don’t have an evil ploy to lure little children. I’m also not afraid to say no.” I stuck my finger in the air to press my point. “And only those who can keep up with my lightning speed get the spoils.”
He threw his head back and laughed at my preening. He was flushed and sweaty, and I really wanted to run my hand over his face and chest. I settled for teasing him a bit instead. “And the Pied Piper? That’s a pretty Eurocentric analogy, sir.”
He smiled ruefully at my callout, but lifted his shoulder as he answered. “If something works, I’ll use it, and…” Now he was the one using a finger to make a point. “I will give the credit to whom it’s due…a not-so Eurocentric approach.”
“Touché,” I agreed. Elias was quick on his feet, that was for sure. I was already half-addicted to these sharp exchanges with him. I had to be on my toes with this man. “I’m only half colonizer, though. My mother’s from the Dominican Republic. It’s—”
He interrupted me before I went on to my scripted DR history sound bite. “I know about Hispaniola. One side of the island is Dominican Republic and the other is Haiti, the first free Black republic in the world. Jean-Jacques Dessalines is a hero of mine.” He smiled when he mentioned the Haitian general who led the slave rebellion in 1804.
“That’s right.” It never got old, connecting with someone over the pieces of who I was, which others rarely saw. Being biracial, I sometimes felt lost in an in-between world. I had to constantly make a space for myself where I didn’t necessarily feel like I fit in. For Elias to not question my claim on Hispaniola brought the warm feeling in my chest back with a vengeance.
We stayed silent for a few minutes until he jumped up from the grass and pulled me to my feet. I realized then that other than shaking his hand when we met, I hadn’t reached out to touch him at all. The warmth of his skin against mine made my stomach flutter. His eyes on me were intense, like he was trying to read every thought going through my head.
We looked at each other for another moment before he let go. Then he jerked his thumb over his shoulder, which I assumed indicated he was taking off. “I’m headed to shower and will grab a quick breakfast in the restaurant. Will you be ready to go in an hour?”
Right, plans for the day. For the job I was here to do, which didn’t involve messing around with Elias in the yard of the hotel.
I nodded as I started turning away. “Yes. I told Sam I’d meet him for breakfast to go over plans, but it should be quick.”
“Good. We should leave right at 8:00. We have to do a lot of driving today. I’ve also ordered some lunches and water bottles from the restaurant to take with us. There won’t be places to stop on today’s route.”
I looked at the time on my watch and gave him a thumbs-up. “That gives me about forty-five minutes, which is more than enough. See you in a bit, and thanks for taking care of lunch.”
I turned and started walking to my room. From the corner of my eye I saw Elias watching me, and his face had that intense look again.
Like I was something he was trying to figure out, but was afraid of the answers he’d discover.
I came downstairs to find Sam already in the dining room, leering at the woman sitting with him at the table. We’d met the day before, and he had been as much of a shithead as Bonnie has promised. Grateful that I didn’t need to be stuck with him in a car all day, I walked over to them, bracing for whatever asinine thing would come out of his mouth. I’d only spent a few hours with him and was already completely over his frat bro posturing.
When I got to the table, I first turned to the woman and offered my hand. She was tall and slender, with beautiful golden-brown skin. Even in her jeans, hiking boots, and long-sleeved Aid USA T-shirt, she was stunning. I assumed this was our statistician, who had arrived late yesterday and had not made it to dinner.
“Hi, you must be Tsehay. I’m Desta.”
She immediately stood up and grabbed my shoulder to do the double-kiss-and-embrace greeting that was compulsory for Ethiopians. My mother being Dominican, I was used to a kiss hello and goodbye, and after just a few days, I’d grown comfortable with the ritual. Ethiopians didn’t wave or do hurried handshakes. No, a greeting was a moment of pause and connection that said “I want to show you how good it is to see you.”
I responded to Tsehay’s greeting in kind. She beamed at me as we pulled back. “You’re like Habesha, Desta! With your name and such a proper greeting, you could fool anyone.”
I laughed at how serious she seemed. “I’m glad you approve.”
I turned to Sam, who had a puzzled look on his face, like he wasn’t one hundred percent sure what my agenda was with Tsehay. I did my best to suppress my eye roll as I went to sit down across from him. “Hey Sam, how’s it going?”
“Hey yourself.” I was almost impressed by
