Broken Together (40 page)

Rafael
and Jase edged closer to me when we entered the gloomy tunnel. Kadyn drew
closer to Shae. Brogan and Aidan remained with Sammi and Cory, who were trailing
behind us.

Tears
pricked my eyes. Centuries later, I could still feel the fear and the anguish
of the people who were torn from their families and herded like cattle through
this cramped space. My heart remained heavy despite the sunlight that greeted
us on the other side.

Amad
stopped in front of a stone wall overlooking the ocean. “Dee slaves were secured
to dis wall so dey could not escape. Dey were forced to stand here for hours
even in dee rainy season.”

Iron
rings remained embedded in the wall. I lifted one of the heavy metal rings. My
mind filled with images of people struggling to break free. My shoulders sagged
as I began to cry.

Rafael
gathered my face in his hands. “We cannot change the past, but we can work to
make this world a better place.” He brushed my tears away with his thumbs.

We
walked in silence down the stone stairs that led to the dock. Narrow, weathered
boats lined the heavily littered shore. “Dee slaves were led down dese stairs
to dee jetty where dey were loaded onto boats to dee Americas,” Momka noted
solemnly.

We
huddled against the harsh reality. There was no denying what had transpired
here. Ghostly images of men, women, and children being whipped and caned while
forced aboard those boats still haunted this dock. I was both saddened and
dismayed by the role our country had played.

Quietly,
we followed Momka and Amad back into the market. We purchased dozens of necklaces
and bracelets. Some were strung with polished seashells, others with wooden
beads. We purchased spices, vibrant fabrics, reed baskets, and hand carved wooden
masks. Momka and Amad encouraged us to haggle on the prices. Not a single one
of us could bear the thought. While their shackles were not visible, these people
were still enslaved. Poverty was an ugly master, and man was still to blame.

*
* * * *

Brogan
and Aidan led the training Thursday morning. They taught our students how to
read non-verbal communication, assess the conflict environment, and de-escalate
conflicts. Rafael, Kadyn, and Jase taught them how to reduce risk and improve
personal security. We ran our students through another conflict mapping and
simulation so they could practice these new found skills.

I
loved seeing how our team meshed. Each of us was working toward improving human
security, but in different ways. Like a complex puzzle, we accomplished far
greater things than one might anticipate when studying a single piece.

 We
stopped by Tessa’s before driving to the orphanage. Momka’s aunt overheard us
discussing the Saint George Orphanage when we returned for dinner Wednesday
night. She promised to have enough Benny cakes prepared for all the children if
we stopped by before visiting the orphanage. A sugary treat made with sesame
seeds and orange rind, Benny cakes tasted more like a sweet, crisp biscuit than
a traditional cake.

The
orphanage was located on the outskirts of town. Momka and Amad helped us unload
the books Rafael had purchased. Unbeknownst to me, he’d been sending Brogan and
Aidan out on shopping excursions to purchase books from local bookstores when
they weren’t participating in the training. They’d acquired nearly two hundred
books appropriate for a variety of age groups.

I
kissed Rafael on the cheek before grabbing a box. “Thank you for buying the
books.”

His
box appeared weightless when he shrugged. “After seeing how much the children
at the Casa Pia Orphanage enjoyed their books, how could I not?”

“I
love that you purchased the books from local bookstores,” Sammi remarked. “I’m
sure that made the bookstore owners very happy, and it helps the local
economy.”

A
woman appeared at the door. She was wearing a long, loose fitting dress. Light
blue circles of varying sizes were interspersed throughout the bright blue
material. Her hair was hidden beneath a scarf made from the very same fabric. “Welcome.
Mr. Garcia?”

Rafael
shifted his box so he could shake her hand. “Please, call me Rafael.”

“I
am Miss Lucee, dee administrator for dee Saint George Foundation Orphanage.
Please come in.” She held the door while we stepped inside.

Sammi,
Shae, and I were wearing the same scarves we used to cover our hair at the market.
Momka’s aunt made a few minor adjustments when we arrived at the restaurant so
they didn’t look half bad even though the three of us were wearing blouses and
slacks.

Rafael
introduced everyone before explaining the boxes. “We brought candy from the
United States, books we purchased in Freetown, and Benny cakes from Tessa’s
Restaurant. The owner, Theresa, is Momka’s aunt. She made the Benny cakes
herself.”

Momka’s
chest puffed out proudly. “I am sure you will find dey are dee best Benny cakes
in town.”

Miss
Lucee looked pleased. “I would like to wait on dee treats until after dee
children have eaten supper. Dee children just finished deir studies. Dey have
some time before supper if you would like to distribute dee books.”

“Would
you mind if the children wrote their names inside the books?” I asked. “We brought
enough for everyone. We’ll encourage them to share, but we thought it would be
nice if each child could keep a book for himself.”

She
weighed the question carefully. “Yes. Dat would be fine. Do you require pens?”

I
smiled gratefully before shaking my head. “We brought pens.”

She
escorted us to their recreation center. “We currently have one hundred and seventy-five
children staying wid us. Dee ages vary from five to fifteen years of age. We do
not care for infants here, only school age children. Most are former street
children. We feed and clode dem, provide medical care and an education so dey
can gain employment and qualify for university when dey are older.”

“Thank
you for allowing us to meet your children,” Shae stated respectfully. “We’ve
been working with a lovely group of students from Fourah Bay College. I wonder
if they might be interested in mentoring some of your older children.”

My
eyes widened. “Shae, that’s brilliant. They can start their very own Big
Brothers Big Sisters program in Freetown! We should give them the contact
information for that organization tomorrow.”

Cory
chuckled. “There you go again, planting seeds.”

I
grinned. We were, in fact, planting seeds.

The
children eyed us warily. They wore clean clothes and solemn faces. These
children had not been coddled in any way. Life had hardened them at far too
early an age.

The
children gave Miss Lucee their undivided attention when she entered the room. “Dese
are dee special guests I was telling you about. Dey have brought you gifts.
Please treat dem wid dee same respect dat you show me.”

Miss
Lucee organized the children into seven separate lines, with twenty five
children standing in each line. The children’s books were boxed separately from
the young adult novels, which made things easy. Momka and Amad helped
distribute the books. The lines moved quickly with all eleven of us handing out
books.

We
sat and read with the younger children once the books were distributed. The
older children seemed a bit more leery of us.

We
grew animated after a while. There was a bit of one-upmanship involved when we
realized our goofy antics and exaggerated voices were reeling the older
children in. They were all in by the time we decided to act out the Three
Little Pigs. We reinvented the fable, recruiting some of the children to play additional
wolves and pigs until the story took on a life of its own. The children and the
staff were laughing by the time our play drew to an end.

*
* * * *

Friday
was the final day for our training. Sadly, I couldn’t remove my head from the
toilet long enough to attend the awards ceremony.

Rafael
pressed a cool washcloth to my skin. “Do you think this is food poisoning?”

“Maybe.”
I was loathe to blame Momka’s Aunt Theresa. We ate at her restaurant after
visiting the orphanage. We enjoyed her place so much, we deemed it our home
away from home. We’d eaten there three nights in a row.

“You
haven’t had any ice or tap water?” Rafael prodded.

“No,”
I answered weakly. I was very careful about drinking bottled water.

“Can
you get Cholera from food?” Rafael wondered aloud. He was researching the Cholera
outbreak on his phone.

“I
haven’t eaten any fresh fruit or vegetables. Besides no one else in our group
is sick, and we’ve been eating pretty much the same thing.”

He
looked unconvinced. “Maybe you picked up a virus at the orphanage.”

“In
less than twenty four hours?” I shook my head. “Maybe it was the tiger prawns I
ate last night.”

He
stretched out his legs and pulled me into his arms. “You shared your prawns
with me, and I’m fine. I think we should fly out tonight. If this continues on
into tomorrow, then you’re going to require some medical attention. Lisbon is a
far better option than Freetown.”

“I
don’t want to cut the trip short for Kadyn and Jase,” I protested.

“We’re
ready to leave now,” Jase announced from just outside the door. “Is she
decent?”

I
gaped at Rafael.

“She’s
dressed,” he answered. “I gave him a room key in case of an emergency.”

My
eyes widened. “I didn’t even hear him slide the card through the door.”

He
smoothed my unruly hair back into place. “How could you? You were vomiting.”

Jase’s
six foot three frame filled the bathroom doorway. “I have the Emetrol.”

I
closed my eyes as another wave of nausea taunted me. “What’s Emetrol?”

“Anti-nausea
medicine.” Jase broke the seal on the box and handed the bottle to Rafael. “I’m
sorry that took so long. This medicine proved difficult to find.”

Rafael
filled the cap. “You’re both packed?” He handed me the cap.

Jase
nodded. “We packed as soon as we heard she was sick. Brogan and Aidan will stay
with Sammi and Cory. They’re flying back to Virginia tomorrow. Shae wants to
fly back with us. She’s worried about Kristine.”

I
drank the capful of medicine and leaned against Rafael’s chest. Chills wracked
my body while it threatened to reject the medicine. I ran through a mental list
of all the things I’d eaten.

Rafael
sent a text before scooping me into his arms. “I want you in bed while I pack.”

Jase
grabbed the wastebasket. “No one else is sick. What do you think this is?”

“Food
poisoning would be my guess. Either way, I don’t want Kristine seeking medical
care here. With the Cholera outbreak, the hospitals aren’t safe. I want her
back in Lisbon.” Rafael glanced at his phone. “The pilot and the flight
attendant are ready to leave. Captain Anderson will have the flight plan filed
shortly.”

Alarms
sounded in my head. “There was fresh cucumber and tomato on the
Chicken Shawarma
I ate Wednesday night.”

Jase’s
eyes widened. “You can get Cholera from raw vegetables if they aren’t washed
properly.”

Rafael
gritted his teeth as I began to heave.

*
* * * *

“Sorry,
love, time to buckle up.” Rafael bundled me inside the duvet before lifting me
from the bed.

My
stomach roiled over the sudden movement.

Rafael
pressed a bottle of water into my hand. “You’re dehydrated. Please, baby, try
to drink something.” He snapped my seatbelt into place.

“Sorry,
guys.” I offered Kadyn, Jase, and Shae a half smile before twisting the lid and
taking a sip. My stomach objected to the water and the sudden descent.

Rafael
rubbed my back while I heaved into a small bag. My stomach was completely
empty, so the bag wasn’t even necessary.

“How
long does food poisoning last?” I’d been vomiting for nineteen hours.

“One,
maybe two, days,” Kadyn answered.

“Maybe
it’s the flu.” Shae’s knee bounced while she chewed her bottom lip.

Rafael
felt my forehead, my cheek, and the back of my neck. “She feels clammy.”

My
stomach lurched when the plane lost altitude.

“My
apologies,” Captain Anderson announced. “We’re in for a bumpy ride until we pass
through these rain clouds.”

Jase’s
fists clenched against the armrests. “I think you should go straight to the
hospital.”

I
grasped Rafael’s arm. “I don’t want to go to the hospital. Please? Just let me
sleep in your bed tonight. If I’m not better by tomorrow morning, I’ll go. I… I
just don’t want anyone sticking me with needles right now.”

He
eyed me uncertainly until I burst into tears. “Kristine? Oh, God, please don’t
cry. I… I won’t take you to the hospital tonight.”

I
breathed a small sigh of relief until we hit turbulence again. My fingers
locked around his arm. I was so consumed with praying for a safe landing, I
forgot all about the nausea.