Chapter Nine

The flame tree was in bloom and Lizzy couldn’t resist walking out of the front gates of her apartment complex and plopping down beneath the scarlet tree. She crossed her legs and picked up a bright flower as she waited for John.

Lizzy loved people-watching, and this was the perfect spot for it. Locals ran for the bus stop, mopeds sped by, and cars negotiated through the morning bustle.

The previous day had been a pleasant surprise. After a quick walk around the children’s home, Lizzy excused herself, helping in the kitchen by chopping up vegetables for the evening meal as John thoroughly walked the property, listing potential improvements.

It shouldn’t surprise her; John took everything in stride, and his easy adaptability was one of the star qualities that attracted her to the man.

By the end of the day, he’d accrued a workforce of teenage boys as a gang of wide-eyed little girls trailed his every move, peppering him with questions. “Mr. Jay, do you have a mommy? Do you have a sister? Why don’t you have a sister? Mr. Jay, do you have a pink teddy bear like this one? Mr. Jay, why is your leggys so big? Is Miss Wizzy your girlfriend?”

When Lizzy walked up to him on the soccer field, a kid sat on his shoulders and he held two others as he watched the boys play.

“Are you ready to go?” she’d asked.

“Why are there so few boys at the home?”

“We need to build an add-on to the boys’ facility. We don’t have enough beds. When they first opened, Esther and Denis focused first on rescuing girls. There are at least thirty thousand street children in Nairobi. While boys survive on collecting garbage and unloading goods, girls are forced to resort to prostitution from a young age. Also, girls with disabilities are marginalized and are at the highest risk for abuse. Of all the little ones rescued at Teens & Tots, around thirty percent of the girls living here have some form of disability or suffer from disease.”

Lizzy remembered the look in John’s eyes at hearing that, as he’d tightly hugged the little girls perched in his arms. Her warrior had a heart as big as the bright blue ocean.

She wasn’t able to see Valentino yesterday as he was with a lung specialist. Soon she’d introduce John to the kid. She couldn’t wait. Valentino held a special piece of her heart. Those tight little toddler hugs and the way he snuggled into her neck whenever he saw her. Such trust.

The crunch of twigs jerked Lizzy from her reverie. An old man leaned tiredly against the trunk of the tree. Lizzy dug in her bag of tricks and produced a boxed juice, handing it to the homeless man along with asking how he was in Swahili. “Habari gani?”

“Nzuri ahsante.”

He didn’t look fine, and Lizzy waved him over to sit beside her on the blossom-strewn earth. A brief chat revealed that he collected recyclables and hauled them across town on the rickety wheeled pallet secured to the tree. At seventy-six years old, he supported a sickly wife and their grandchildren and lived in a shanty village a mile from Teens & Tots. Lizzy gave him the address for the children’s home, telling him to drop by for a medical check-up and collect a food parcel for his family.

As she slipped a rosy flower behind her ear, John’s silver SUV turned into the drive, swerving around to roll up beside them. In a flash, John was standing over her, concern evident on his handsome face.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?” Lizzy introduced him to the old fellow and asked John if he had any food supplies hidden away in the shiny 4x4. She knew how much John ate, and her assumptions were on the mark as he produced a handful of granola bars and energy drinks.

The elderly traveler took the snacks but refused a ride, saying he still had collections in the area. He stuffed his pockets with the goodies, promising to visit the orphanage. With that, they pulled away.

Lizzy hummed as she rezipped her tote, stowing it by her feet, only noticing John’s angry, jaw-ticking profile as they maneuvered onto the main road.

“Any news on Brianna and Suzie?” She asked him every day, and the answer was always the same. It was a waiting game.

“Not yet. Sorry.” John shifted—his body stiff.

“What? Say it.”

“You have as much sense as a damn cow in a thunderstorm.”

She regarded him stonily. “Excuse me?”

“Lizbug, I get that you have a bleeding heart, but why in the living blazes were you squatting on the pavement outside of your secured compound? You’d be safer waiting inside.”

“Let me guess; we’re suddenly living in Afghanistan? I felt like sitting under a pretty tree while I waited for a grouchy oaf.”

He scrubbed a hand over his face. “You wander around in a fantasy world filled with rainbows and fucking fairies—chatting to random strangers—never thinking about the potential risk to your safety.”

“The guards were a few feet away,” she said, glaring. “Would you prefer that I ignored that frail man? I’m sorry I don’t see the world in shades of doom and gloom.”

“Jeez, no. I want you to be aware of the risks. What would you have done if a vehicle full of men pulled up? This is a big city where violent crime and rape are on the increase. A woman was raped last month in broad daylight—in the business district, at eleven in the damn morning!”

She’d heard about that, but she refused to live like a prisoner. Like any city, Nairobi had its safety issues, but it was a vibrant and exciting place.

“This is my life. I’m an independent woman who makes her own darn decisions. Get off your soldiery stallion and live a little!”

“I’ve lived a whole hell of a lot. I’ve seen a whole hell of a lot. That’s the issue. I know what’s out there. I’ve seen firsthand what a gang of thugs can do to one tiny woman.”

Gosh, wasn’t Mr. Big, Rough and Raw as cheerful as a cricket. Lizzy needed to turn this conversation around. “Okay, grumpy pants. You’ve made your point. What time do we need to leave the orphanage? What’s on your work agenda for the day?”

John sighed and his hands relaxed at the wheel. “I have a late afternoon meeting, but the rest of the day is yours. I brought supplies along to fix the border fence. We’ll need to swing by a hardware store on the way, and I need breakfast before we get started.”

“Well, crikey all mighty, let’s get cracking, Mr. Jay Jay!”

And she had him smiling again. Mission accomplished. The man was warm putty in her sneaky hands.

***

He’d sweated off half a tube of sunscreen in the baking Nairobi sun. Johnny stepped back to admire his handiwork and congratulated the crew of boys that helped. They were all covered in dust and grime, including Johnny. They’d run a new strip of fence along the left perimeter and ditched the old torn-up boundary fence. The temperature soared into the mid-nineties by mid-morning; it was time to get the kids out of the midday sun.

“Now that’s an incredible piece of handiwork,” Esther said from behind.

Johnny turned to face the woman, staring at him like he was Sunday lunch.

“You like the fence?” he asked warily as Esther’s eyes ran over his shirtless torso.

“Sure. The fence looks good,” Esther said, not taking her eyes off him.

Johnny smiled nervously as she swayed up to him. Her generous assets peeked out her shirt, shimmying for attention. A swift step backward had him tripping over the toolkit, and Esther chuckled in amusement.

“Relax, John. I am only messing with you. I know your heart is locked down on our sweet Lizzy. I came to offer refreshments and the use of our guest shower—so you can clean up. The fence looks wonderful. Thank you for your hard work. We could not have afforded to do this ourselves.”

Johnny grabbed his go-bag and headed indoors. Thirty minutes later, he systematically searched the home looking for Lizzy, eventually finding her on a bench under a shade tree outside the clinic.

A harried smile greeted him as she rocked a wailing toddler.

“This little munchkin is from the nearby village. She broke her ankle playing with her rowdy brothers. They set it this morning; her mother is inside getting her medication sorted. I’m on babysitting duty.”

Sitting down, Johnny examined the small cast as the tyke paused to regard him warily, tears running down fat cheeks, and suddenly the cacophony was back. Lizzy shifted the little girl and tried to console her.

“Why don’t you play the sand circles game?”

“I never thought of that—she doesn’t understand English.”

“Music is universal. Any fun lullaby might help.”

Lizzy sank to the ground and sang Belinda Carlisle to the babe. Johnny felt a knot claw at his throat. He’d missed that angelic voice. One night at Abby’s home, Lizzy had produced a guitar and sang a mix of tunes. He was floored by her talent and by her second song, he’d secretly recorded her on his phone. Listening to that incredible voice, as he’d lain down every night over the past six months, was blissful torture.

As she traced a figure of eight, the youngster sniffled and began to watch. Lizzy wiped the last of the kid’s tears, hugging the kid playfully as she sang. Squidgy fingers pulled at the coral blossom in Lizzy’s hair. He blocked out the soft breeze blowing through the leaves and the thick sounds of the African bush, alive with swarming creatures. The delicate sprite sitting cross-legged in the dust had his full attention. Lizzy looked up and spotted the child’s mother strolling their way. Johnny lifted the tyke as Lizzy sprang to her feet. He handed the kid back, and she ran over, eventually walking the family over to the exit.

He knelt back down, staring at the bruised, red flower crushed on the earth. Rough fingers traced the circle she’d drawn. The sad fact was, he loved a wild and flighty girl who’d broken his heart and would do it again in a heartbeat. Johnny was fucked, and he knew it.