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"Yes, apparently."
"Okay, I’ll be creative." I hear voices in the background and then he says, "Hey, I've got to go, they're finally ready to see us. I'll see you tonight." And then the line goes dead.
"Oh my God. That look in your eyes. You like him." Porsha says accusingly, but with a big grin on her face.
"Of course, I like him. What's not to like?"
"Absolutely nothing. He is yummy, you lucky girl. And Kojo says he's cra-aaazy about you." She snaps her fingers joyfully, grinning at me like I've won the lottery. "So what are you going to do?"
"Porsha, this is a holiday fling. For both of us." I say emphatically.
Liar.
"I'm never going to see him again. And that's fine."
Liar.
"Whatever." She says with a curl of lip, “It's not me who you need to convince."
"I don't need to convince anyone. We've already agreed." I tell her, the coil of panic in my gut killing the delicious buzz hearing his voice had left.
"Famous last words."
I grab her hands, all humor gone, needing her to see me and hear me.
"Porsha, please." My voice breaks, but I clear my throat and continue "Just let me enjoy myself. It's been so long since I've had... this. I never thought any of this would happen for me ever again." My grip on her hands tighten, squeezing to emphasize the gravity of what I'm saying. "I can't have anything beyond this. It's not possible. And it hurts me in a way I can't measure." Her beautiful brown eyes soften, and a tear rolls down her cheek and I loosen my grip slightly, but I don't release her gaze.
"So, please, don’t remind me that I'll have to say goodbye. Don't taunt my inaction. Don't make fun of the way I feel. Let me just enjoy it. All of it, without thinking. That's why I came. Please."
Her lips compress a little, but she smiles at me and squeezes my hand in return. “I wish you would tell me what’s wrong.”
“You promised you wouldn’t ask.” I remind her.
“Okay, cuz. I hear you.” She returns, her smile wistful.
I let go of her hands and look out of the window. The familiar scenery of her mother's neighborhood takes my mind off the conversation.
“Oh, we have to go to Accra Mall. There's an amazing restaurant and the shopping is the nicest in the city.”
"And the parking lot takes an hour to exit." Ken screams. Porsha dismisses Ken's statement with a wave of her hand.
"I'm texting Kojo to meet us there for dinner tonight."
"It'll be grand. The whole week will be. You wait and see."
16
Harry
"Massa, come. I've got some nice shirts. They'll fit you well, well," a man calls out to me as Emma and I pick our way out of the Art Center. I smile at him but shake my head and yank her hand as she slows down. "No, you can't stop again," I groan.
We came at my insistence. My mother and sister both wanted me to bring them beads and fabric. I'm leaving for the United Kingdom in two days. My gut twists at the thought, and it's one of my last-minute errands. I've spent the last week getting contracts signed, getting applications filed, and paying hefty customs fees. Today was supposed to be a laid-back day. I didn't know that Emma shopped like it’s her job and would want to buy everything she laid eyes on. It's remarkable to think that ten days ago, she was in the hospital with an IV in her arm.
I'm hot and hungry, almost out of cash and my arms are aching from the packages of fabric, carvings, jewelry, clothes and artwork I'm carrying.
"Oh, but look how beautiful they are," she coos. Her hand slips easily from my sweaty grip and steps into a stall crammed from floor to ceiling with bronze figurines.
"Madam, they are solid brass made here in Accra by my brother. Very fine work." The woman's voice is almost pleading. She looks tired, and she vibrates with desperation.
