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“Uhhh…thank you, I think.” I tried to smile, but I was caught off-guard by his words and had no idea how to respond. Was it a joke? I didn’t find it funny either way, but I knew that it could have been meant that way. Some men didn’t understand that it was a confusing thing to say if it wasn’t serious, and creepy if it was.
I glanced at Lukas to see if he’d noticed, but he wasn’t looking at me. Instead he was scrutinizing the hut and everything I had done to it. He and Sarai quickly wandered deeper, and I hurriedto go after them, wanting to put some distance between me and Henry.
“What do you think?” I asked Sarai, noticing that Lukas was almost glaring at everything as if he hated being in the hut. I couldn’t tell if Sarai liked it or not. She wasn’t her usual bouncy self and she kept glancing toward Lukas as well. Had they heard what Henry had said to me?
Did they understand that I hadn’t been trying to get his attention at all? There was no way for me to know without asking, but Sarai slowly nodded.
“You know, at first I wasn’t sure, but it’s growing on me as I notice more of the little elements we decided on and the clever ways you incorporated them.” Sarai explored the hut. In terms of layout it was barely different from the others and in some ways that had made it harder to theme them all differently. There were only so many ways to place furniture in the same space.
Of course, the furniture varied, and I worried that it would be difficult to replace some of it if there was a breakage, but I also knew that this was going to be a fairly high-end vacation park. It would attract the sort of people who would expect a high standard, but also pay for it, and that meant replacing some of the furniture wouldn’t be as difficult, budget-wise.
The budget Sarai had given me had reflected that as well, and although I wouldn’t have admitted it out loud, it made it a lot of fun to do the design. Not once had I actually come close to any ceiling from Sarai.
Sarai shook her head as she came back down the stairs, but she was smiling and for a second or two I wasn’t sure what reaction to expect. “I don’t know how you’ve done it. You’ve made so many wonderful designs and put together such a lot of different pieces and you’ve barely spent a thing, darling. You’ve made this look effortless.”
Relief flooded through me, and I found myself grinning back, high on the praise after being so tense.
“What is the theme supposed to be for these huts?” Henry asked as Richard went upstairs, bypassing Sarai.
Richard didn’t seem to mind either way and had previously expressed the sentiment that as long as Sarai was happy, he would trust her natural instinct. I thought his support and how he showed it was adorable, and I loved that he was always willing to look, express encouragement, but leave the actual decisions to his wife.
At first, no one answered Henry’s question, all of us looking between us and not sure whom the question was even aimed at.
“African,” I replied when no one else did. The silence started to get awkward and I’d always struggled with silences. I was surprised he hadn’t been told that already, or didn’t know from the site map we’d been given or seen several times in the site office.
“It doesn’t look very African. I’d expect it to be more...” He trailed off, looking around like he couldn’t see what had caused me to decide and design the place the way I had.
“I studied several different tribes and the African tribes I’ve used in each hut are in the little information leaflets and the fun pack we designed, too,” I replied. “Of course, you’re right in that it’s not like the stereotypical caricature tribes that we get told about by Hollywood or Western media, but it still represents the African tribes and their culture overall in a much more respectful way. As Sarai and Richard are hoping to attract worldwide customers, I wanted the huts to respect each nation, not be gimmicky and fake.”
Although I had started speaking calmly to Henry, by the time I had finished, there was plenty of bite to my words, and my cheeks felt hot. I willed my body to relax and calm down, buteveryone was staring at me, including Richard, from the top of the stairs. I had just totally embarrassed myself.
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
The silence that dragged out after I snapped at Henry only served to make me feel even worse. No one knew what to say, and I could feel Lukas’ gaze on the side of my face.
Henry was my focus, and he was returning the stare as if challenging me.
“Well, I for one think we should move on to the next hut,” Sarai said eventually, breaking the ice and taking the focus. I nodded and walked out the door, not even waiting to see if anyone followed me or not. This was why I had been nervous. Todaywasdifferent after all.
I tried not to stomp down the path that led back to the road and then across to the next hut. I was bypassing one of the huts that had been decorated in the same way, going into another that was intended to represent a different part of Africa and a different culture. This had been one of the hardest to get right, and I knew that if Sarai didn’t like one of them, it would be this one.
As I got close to the hut, I finally stopped and waited. Only Sarai and Richard were with me. Lukas and Henry had hung back and were having a conversation by the first hut.
“Let’s go inside. I’m sure they’ll join us when they’re ready.” Sarai kept a smile on her face, but I could tell from her eyes that it was a little forced. It only made the situation worse. I couldn’t tell if she was irritated and exasperated at me, or at Henry and Lukas for not joining us.
I opened the door to this hut, but I don’t know how I walked through the door. At some point, I stepped out of the way enough for Sarai and Richard to follow, and then I just hung back and waited. Whatever their reaction to this, there wasn’t a lot I could do anymore. The design was done, and I wanted to get this tour over and done with.
“Oh, this one is even better.” Sarai clapped her hands, giving me the first gesture that made me feel as if she definitely liked what she saw. It was a reaction I had barely dared to hope for. But again, if she was happy, it didn’t really matter how anyone else felt about it.
Richard went straight to the small plaque that explained the African tribe it was based on and picked up the fun pack I’d put together for the kids, and Sarai followed him. Both of them flicked through it, Sarai growing even more animated, and even Richard appreciating it and making happy noises when he discovered another element—the word searches I’d made and everything I’d thought of to try and help explain the decor.
“Can you do these for all the others too? In case we get visitors to any of the huts who don’t understand it, and also to make them all the same fun for kids?”
I nodded, knowing it would be extra work but easy enough to do. I could follow the same formula as I had for the few already made, and just change details for each culture and theme. It would take time, but I was being paid more than enough that I didn’t mind the extra. If nothing else, it would keep me here for a few more days.
Assuming Lukas wasn’t angry with me after this. I didn’t think he was as angry at me as he seemed to be at Henry. I dared to glance through the open doorway to see what they were up to, and they were still talking. It looked less heated, but Lukas was doing more of the talking.
When Lukas looked my way, I quickly moved away from the doorway and closer to Sarai and Richard. He was still flicking through the little booklet I’d made, and Sarai had moved on to the rest of the hut. I had used more of my own artistic license with this one, and she’d approved fewer of the items directly.
