“Take care of yourself too. You owe me a hike!” I congratulated myself on the little bit of cheerfulness I was able to manage, and the knot in my chest loosened somewhat when I heard Elias’s laugh.
“Eshi, konjo. Have a good Sunday. We’ll talk soon.”
I ended the call feeling out of sorts and annoyed at myself. I wasn’t in Ethiopia to pursue complicated relationships, no matter how amazing Elias was. I was here to think about my future and to get some closure around my father’s death. Instead I’d been running around thirsting after a man who had hard enough decisions to make without me pushing myself into his life.
Chapter 17
It was 6:00 p.m. on a Sunday and I was sitting at my cubicle in the Aid USA office. After spending a good part of the morning exploring Piazza and the huge open-air market in Addis, I took a taxi up to the office, hoping to do some work while the place was empty. I wasn’t surprised to find it half full of people with the same idea.
It was a common scene in the Aid USA offices I’d worked in. Expat life sometimes felt like summer camp. Balance could be elusive when personal and work lives melded this much. If I were honest, I’d been relieved to not have to spend the day in my own company. I ended up working on some of the adjustments to the surveys we’d need for the next round in the field, and even had time to send some emails out.
As I started packing up my stuff, I looked around and noticed a few others still around, including Bonnie and Sam. I was about to walk out when Bonnie came over and popped her head over my cubicle wall.
“We’re good for tomorrow’s trip. The data that came in from the first survey looks great, so thanks for that, both of you.” She looked over at Sam, who was now standing and listening in on the conversation. “The way we ran the teams went so well, I think we should just go with that same strategy for this one.”
I was tempted to ask if she had added a keeper for Sam in case he decided to harass any more government partners, but I refrained. He had been on his best behavior since we had to save his ass.
“Sam, you’ll go with Nati, Solomon and Abe. Tsehay will be with her own team, and Desta, you can go with Elias and the two surveyors who rode with you before.”
As soon as I heard Elias’s name, my face felt hot. I cleared my throat, took a drink from my water bottle, and nodded without making eye contact. “Sounds good. Elias was great helping with the translation, and Abraham and Yohannes were awesome with the families. I’m excited for the next round!”
Down, boy.
Sam scoffed while putting away his stuff, but didn’t say a word. I almost wished he would so I could tell Bonnie all the different ways we’d kept him from fucking up the project in the last couple of weeks. Thankfully, for once, he kept his mouth shut.
Bonnie raised an eyebrow, which read “what’s with him,” but I just shrugged, too annoyed to even get into it.
He smirked and looked at me with an expression that wasn’t exactly friendly, but I could tell that he knew not to try me. “Desta and Elias work well together.” He stretched out that last word like an ass, but when I narrowed my eyes he backed off quick. “Anyways, I’m headed home. Teams sound good.”
That was as much of an olive branch as I was going to get from Sam, so I lifted my hand as he headed out and turned my focus back to Bonnie. “I’ll see you a week from tomorrow, then? I’ll connect with Elias tonight to make sure we’re on the same page for our departure time.”
She gave me a thumbs-up and seemed totally fine with me basically ignoring Sam. “Yes, I’ll be there for the second week. We’ll come up with a plan for the wrap-up then, before we cut you loose to go back to the U.S. of A.”
It was like someone had punched me in the stomach. The thought of leaving and not seeing Elias again made me feel hollow inside. I gave Bonnie a forced smile as I tried once again to get myself together. “Oh, I’m in no rush to get back to DC.”
That truth hit me hard. I didn’t feel ready to face any of the things that were awaiting me when I got home. At the top of the list was the apartment with all of Miguel’s stuff that he didn’t bother taking with him. So much baggage. And here I was piling even more up with whatever I was doing with Elias. I felt weighed down with all of it.
“Are you okay, Desta?” Bonnie’s worried voice broke me out of the chaos in my head and I did my best to come up with a smile.
“I’m good.” She didn’t seem to buy it, but I didn’t think I could sound more convincing if I tried. “Must be hungry. I’m going to head out. Hopefully I’ll find something open close to the guesthouse.” I slid on my backpack and waved to Bonnie.
“Have a good night.” She waved as I walked out of the room, her brows still furrowed from whatever she saw on my face.
I tried to shake off the funk I’d sunk into in the last few minutes as I walked out of the building, and remembered I told Bonnie I’d get in touch with Elias. Like I needed an excuse. I also wanted to know how his dad was doing, so I took out my phone and texted him.
Hey. How’s
