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forty-three f

Home Again

A Mercedes was parked in our driveway when we returned home from safari. From my seat in the back of the van, I noticed glances pass between Carl and Maurice. I assumed the car belonged to one of their local drug contacts.

“Looks like we’ve got company,” I said.

“It might be the pool service,” Carl said. “You ladies stay in the van. Maurice and I’ll check around back.”

“The pool company wouldn’t drive a Mercedes,” I said.

“Carl’s lying. I can always tell,” Edie said.

“Something’s going down, and I’m gonna find out what,” I said.

“Madam, why don’t you stay with me?” Waititu urged.

“I’ll be fine.”

I tiptoed through the first floor. Nothing had been disturbed. Maybe Carl had told the truth about the pool service. I peeked out the dining room doors and saw Carl and Maurice deep in conversation. They knew something I didn’t.

I went upstairs. Each bedroom door was open, except for Mike’s and my room. I could swear I left the door open. Maybe Fatima, our housekeeper, had closed it.

The bamboo shade was drawn, giving an air of twilight to the room. The musty odor of sex filled my nostrils. In the dim light I noticed our bed was unmade. I flipped on the light switch, confident I could outrun anyone waking from a nap.

Mike! I clapped my hands over my mouth to keep from screaming.

He was naked and he wasn’t alone. He straightened his leg, which had been draped across the other body and sat up.

“Where ya been, doll?” he asked innocently.

“On safari. What—what’re you doing home? And who’s with you? ”

The other figure stirred. “What’s going on, baby?”

A young woman squinted and sat up. I stared at her naked breasts before meeting her gaze. She was petite, blond, and looked a lot like me.

“It’s not whatcha think,” Mike said.

My composure surprised me. “What am I thinking?”

The woman covered herself with my robe and walked into the bathroom.

“I know it looks bad, but nothin’ happened.”

“I catch you naked in bed wrapped around some bitch, and you tell me nothing happened. I’m not stupid.”

“Lemme explain.”

I planted my feet in front of Mike, crossed my arms, and stared into his face. “You have two minutes. Ready? Go!”

“Vinnie took me shopping in Bangkok. I bought all new furniture for the house. Wait’ll ya see it.”

“Ninety seconds.”

“Vinnie said I better get back here before the shit arrived, so I flew home a coupla days early. I couldn’t wait to see you and tell you about the trip. When I called, Fatima said you were away. I thought about takin’ a cab, but then I thought about callin’ Liz.”

“I assume that’s Liz in the bathroom in my robe . One minute left.”

“Rajiv introduced me to Liz after we moved here. Thought she’d be able to help us with the business. She’s a big shot in the government.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah. She gave me a ride home. Told her she could use the pool, get somethin’ to eat, relax a bit before she left. I was beat. Came up here and fell right to sleep. Guess she musta been tired, too. I had no idea she was here till you came in. That’s the God’s honest truth.”

“You’re a liar. You’ve been cheating on me since the day we met. But to do it in our own bed—screw you!” I slammed the door and ran downstairs.

My breath came in gasps. My heart pounded in my chest. I wondered if Edie and Tina knew the truth. Carl and Maurice had to know. I felt like a fool.

I met my housemates by the pool where they had already lit joints and made a pitcher of vodka and tonic.

I was well on my way to oblivion when Mike joined us—alone. He pulled up a lounge chair next to me, rested his hand on my knee, looked into my eyes, and said, “I missed you, doll. Couldn’t wait to get home.”

I didn’t want to start anything in front of our friends. “Missed you, too.”

How many lies had I told Mike? How many had he told me? I had no one to depend on except Tina and Edie. Here I was, living in luxury with more money than I’d ever had, yet I was miserable. I thought about the Kenyans in the farming villages. They had nothing, yet their smiles and gratitude were genuine.

All I ever wanted from life was to be loved and live in peace. But the longer I lived, the more love eluded me. All I could do right now was forget what happened and make peace with Mike.