Finally and Forever

by Robin Jones Gunn

  Katie thought it was a lot cleverer when she had said it to the chief. When Eli said it, she felt as if he were scolding her. All this was new for her. He should realize that and try to be a little more patient and understanding.

  Eli was listening to the discussion between the chief and his dad. He turned to Katie and in a lowered voice gave her the update. “It looks as if we came at just the right time. He’s saying that the guys working on the well had some problems two days ago, so they’re just finishing this morning. Dad thought the project was already completed. This is ideal. We’ll be able to see the first trial run in about an hour.”

  “Perfect!” Katie said.

  Eli’s expression lit up. “The other good news is that a small film crew is here from the BBC. The team that dug the well is from the UK. This is going to be great promotion for what we’re doing here.”

  “Wow, that couldn’t be better,” Katie agreed. Several of the children were tugging on her arms and trying to tell her something.

  “They’re inviting you to play a game with them,” Eli said.

  “Is it all right if I go with them?”

  “Of course.”

  “Are you coming along to help translate?”

  “You won’t need me. You’ll figure it out.”

  For a moment, Katie read extra meaning into his statement, as if Eli were saying she could carry on her life from here on without him and she would be just fine. She didn’t know why she complicated things by giving herself crazy little relationship nuances to fret over. But there it was, sitting in the pit of her empty stomach. You don’t need me.

  The girls pulled Katie to the side of one of the huts where they had arranged a line of sticks and pebbles. They played something that resembled hopscotch, and Katie did her best to join in. The girls would all chatter at once when she did something wrong. They smiled approvingly when she got it right. For twenty minutes, she jumped, turned, stood on one foot, and felt her stomach grumbling. More than she wanted something to eat, Katie really wanted something to drink. She couldn’t remember ever being this thirsty. The sun was rising in the sky, warming the earth and making Katie even thirstier. How did these people live in this remote village for all these years and not have access to clean water?

  Katie knew from the presentation Eli had done in chapel and the fund-raiser she had organized that the lack of clean water was a solvable problem. In places like this village where the nearby streams had become polluted or dried up, a well could be dug, and from deep in the earth, clean water would come up. The ongoing need was for equipment funding and teams that drilled for water in these remote locations.

  Katie looked at one of the small girls who stood across from her waiting her turn for the game. She was thin and was dressed in a large T-shirt that advertised a character from an American TV show. How that soiled T-shirt found its way to this village would be an interesting bit of information. Her hair was cut very short, and her lower lip was cracked. Aside from the few obvious differences that came from the rural living conditions, Katie thought of how, in many ways, the little girl looked like any little girl in the States. One major difference was that when she was thirsty, she couldn’t drink some water and then return to her play. When she was thirsty, she remained thirsty.

  Someone who worked for the mission needed to do a better job of communicating Africa’s need for clean water by getting people to imagine what it would be like to be thirsty, really desperately thirsty, and to have no clean water available to drink. Katie wondered if the film crew from the BBC would let them use their documentary footage to put together a presentation for the US.

  Eli came looking for her and appeared just as excited as he had been earlier. “How’s it going here?”

  “Good. You look happy.”

  “I am. I’m so amazed at what they’ve accomplished here. It’s going to transform this village. Makes me wish we had ten million dollars so we could do this for every village on the list.”

  One of the girls tugged on Katie’s and Eli’s arms and kept saying something in Swahili.

  “What did she say?” Katie asked.

  “She said, ‘Mimi na wewe pete na kidole.’”

  “Very funny. What does that mean?”

  “It’s sweet. It means, ‘I and you are like a ring and a finger.’”

  Katie wasn’t sure she understood. “Is she saying that you and I seem like we’re engaged?”

  “No.”

  “Married?”

  “No, Katie, it’s like the two of you are so close that you are like a ring and a finger. She’s saying she likes you. She wants to be with you.”

  “Oh, that’s sweet.” Katie gave the girl a hug, and she hugged back even harder. The other girls were sitting in the hut’s shade, their energy spent.

  “Eli,” Katie said, her little ring girl still at her side. “You know how you said you wished you had ten million dollars to use for all the villages on the list?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you. I’m not sure this is the best time, but I want you to know that I don’t have ten million dollars, but I do have a lot of money. I mean, a lot.”

  Eli laughed.

  She kept a straight face. “It’s the truth, Eli. I had a great-aunt who passed away last year, and she left her estate to all the relatives who went to college, but it turned out I was the only one who did. So I inherited all the money.”

  He tilted his head and gave her an incredulous look.

  “I ended up with a big inheritance, and I was thinking it would be great to do more to make the need for clean water known to people. Maybe you and I could talk to your dad about a marketing fund or something to get the word out.”

  “Katie …” He gave her a look of pity, as if the sun had fried her brain.

  “Don’t look at me like that. I’m telling you the truth. This is one of those things I was referring to the other night in the dining hall when we had some serious topics we needed to discuss. This is one of those topics. I probably should have waited, but there it is. I have a lot of money.”

  He still had no response.

  “I don’t think about it very much, but …”

  “I don’t believe you.” Eli pulled back.

  Katie was surprised. “It’s true. I don’t think about it.”

  “No, I mean I don’t believe you have a stash of money in the bank. I’ve watched how you’ve lived for a year, Katie. I know you. I would have known about this.”

  She wished with all her heart that she had done this differently. Drawing in a deep breath and blowing the air out through her dry lips, Katie said, “Okay, I didn’t want to ever tell you this, but your school bill was paid off in full, right?”

  “Yes, I told you that. My uncle Jonathan paid it.”

  She asked Eli where his uncle would come up with that kind of money, and then she quoted him the exact amount.

  Eli’s jaw went slack. “That was from you? You paid it?”

  Katie rubbed her forehead and looked down. “I shouldn’t have blurted that out.”

  Cheryl came from around the corner of one of the huts and called out to them, waving for them to come to the well. Eli walked robotically, and Katie and her gathering of little girls followed him.

  “I’m sorry, Eli. It is shocking. I forget that. I never wanted anyone to know. Except Julia. She helped me with the lawyers, the bank, and everything. But hardly anyone else knows. Except your mom. Your mom knows.”

  Eli stopped walking and turned to give Katie a wounded look. “You told my mom?”

  “No, I didn’t tell her. She figured it out from the bank statements for the fund-raiser.” Katie pursed her lips together and wished again that she hadn’t leaked more information.

  “Is that why we did so well with the fund-raiser? You spiked the donations?”

  “I didn’t spike them. I just gave. A lot. Cheerfully. Eli, you’re acting like I’ve done something wrong.”
/>   “I can’t believe my mom knew but I didn’t. Does my dad know?”

  “No, I don’t think he does. Your mom said she wasn’t going to tell him or tell you since it was my place to tell people. I thought that was really sensitive of her, to hold a confidence for me like that.”

  Eli turned to Katie. “Is there anything else I should know?”

  “No.” She tried to lighten the mood. “That’s the only surprise I have for you today. Check in again tomorrow.”

  Eli’s expression made it clear he wasn’t joking about this disorienting piece of information. They met up with his mom, and he kept his eyes ahead, walking faster than the two of them toward the area where the crowd had gathered.

  “Eli,” Katie called out.

  He kept walking and didn’t turn back.

  “Is everything okay?” Cheryl asked.

  Cheryl gave Katie a comforting pat on the shoulder as they joined the crowd of villagers. “Give him some time. It takes a while to sink in.” Katie knew that once again she would have to wait for the right time to have a larger discussion with Eli that would clear the air and settle the tension that was building between them. She really hated waiting.

  Everyone was gathered around a cement platform that had a raised rim circling the outside. In the center was a tall, sturdy pump. Katie had seen a number of pictures of wells like this one that had been put into use in other parts of Africa. But this was the first one she had seen in person.

  The villagers drew in closer, waiting, talking in quieted tones, eager for the something special that was about to happen. She noticed that the two-man BBC film crew standing across from them didn’t have their camera in place yet, so she guessed it was going to be a little while before the ceremony began.

  One of the guys from the film crew came striding over to the side where Cheryl and Jim stood about ten feet from Katie and Eli. He shook hands with Jim and Cheryl, and then Jim pointed at Eli, who raised his hand in a casual wave.

  The impromptu ceremony began with a declaration in English from the head of the well diggers that the project was completed and they were ready for a trial run. Katie pulled out her phone camera as the chief stepped forward and pronounced a blessing on the well. Many of the women of the village stood by with buckets in their hands, waiting with wide-eyed expectation as the chief selected one of the children to come and stand with him. Together the elderly chief and the young boy put their hands on the pump handle and lifted it up and then pressed it down.

  Another little boy stepped forward and held a small aluminum cup under the opening. With a quick zoom, Katie’s camera captured the look on his face, showing the intensity of his deep thirst and his eager anticipation. A cup of cold water in Jesus’ name. Hope that the promised end to their thirst would soon be fulfilled.

  The villagers began to chant, “Maji, maji,” which Katie quickly learned meant “water.”

  The answer came in a sputter that sent the boy with the cup closer to the spout. He lifted up the vessel to catch the first few drops that came out like a sneeze. Then suddenly a fountain of life-giving water gushed from the spout and doused the boy, filling his cup to overflowing.

  He laughed and lifted his hands as he opened his mouth. The water poured over his head and face and soaked his body. The cup was tossed aside as all the other children rushed forward and danced in the glorious abundance of clean water.

  Some of the women raised their faces and their voices toward the heavens. Others inserted their buckets, taking their fill. The water continued to flow. Cheers, laughter, and sounds of amazement echoed around the circle of joyful spectators.

  Katie held up her phone, trying to capture the moment. She could hardly see because of the tears that flowed from her eyes. Dozens of hands were reaching out to touch the miracle. She could hear Eli laughing his best, soul-deep laugh.

  One by one the ecstatic villagers filled their buckets and their cups and drank their fill. The thin little girl who had coaxed Katie into playing with them earlier came up to Katie holding the aluminum drinking cup that brimmed with water. She smiled broadly and waited for Katie to take the cup and drink from it. Katie sipped the cool, clean water and handed the cup to Eli. He downed all that remained and handed the cup back to the little girl, who happily returned to fill it again.

  Katie smiled at Eli. He didn’t smile back.

  Coming closer, Eli’s expression reamined serious. “You and I have a lot of things we need to talk about.”

  “I know.”

  “This sudden news about your inheritance is disturbing.”

  “Disturbing?”

  “Yes, disturbing.”

  Katie didn’t know what to do with that. Eli looked genuinely ticked off. She wasn’t sure she’d ever seen him this upset. It was a crazy contrast to the exuberance of everyone around them at that moment.

  “I guess it’s almost as disturbing as my finding out that you plan on spending the rest of your life in a mud hut,” she responded.

  “I never said that.”

  “Oh, really?”

  “No. Where did you come up with that?”

  “I came up with that conclusion from reading between the lines of all your comments and your parents’ comments.”

  “Well, you’re not accurate in what you’re saying, Katie.”

  “Oh, I’m not? Well, what a surprise. All I can go on is what I’m hearing here and there, because you haven’t told me what you’re really thinking.”

  “We need to talk about all that.”

  “When?” Katie lifted her chin defiantly. “When are we going to talk about it?”

  “Now,” he said firmly.

  “Fine. Start talking.”

  Katie hated the feeling that she and Eli were about to have their first all-out fight, and she hated that it was in the wake of such a great celebration.

  They stood two feet away from each other, Katie with her hands on her hips, and Eli with his arms folded across his chest.

  Just then the guy from the film crew stepped up behind Eli. Katie glared at him, hoping he would take the hint and leave.

  Instead of leaving, his eyes grew wide. With a gasp, he spoke her name.

  “Katie?”

  Her arms went limp at their sides.

  The world around her seemed to turn into watercolors and dissolve. “Michael?”

  In one grand sweep, Katie’s old high school boyfriend pushed past Eli, pulled Katie close, and fervently kissed her on the lips.

  15

  Katie couldn’t move. She couldn’t speak or even blink. Michael’s hair was shaved so that he was nearly bald. His skin was tanned, and his shoulders were broader than they had been in high school. But that narrow nose, those thick eyebrows, and those dark, brooding eyes couldn’t be duplicated. Neither could that kiss. It was Michael, all right.

  And he was going to mess things up for her something awful. She just knew it.

  “Katie, darlin’, what are you doin’ here on the other side of the world?”

  Before Katie could form an answer, Eli stepped in, wedging his shoulder between Michael and Katie. He turned and gave Katie a look she had never seen on his scruffy face. Fury burned in his eyes.

  “Eli, this is Michael,” she said quickly. “Michael, do you know Eli? His dad is Jim Lorenzo.”

  Neither of them spoke. They both stood with their shoulders back, sizing each other up.

  Michael’s expression suddenly changed, and a contrite look came over him. “Are the two of you married? Is that it?”

  “No.” Eli and Katie responded in unison.

  Michael’s eyebrows went up. “Engaged?”

  Again the mutual “No” was given in perfect harmony.

  “Ah, good. I thought for a moment there I’d be needin’ to offer an apology.”

  “You do need to apologize, Michael,” Katie said firmly.

  “Do I now? The way I see it, I’m still waiting on an apology from you for the way you broke up with me.”


  “I … I …”

  “See?” He pointed at Katie with a twinkle in his eye that was so familiar. It was his charm that caused her to fall for him in high school. He seemed to have perfected his skills in the half decade since she last saw him.

  “You know you owe me an apology. Katie, go ahead. Ladies first,” he said brazenly.

  Without looking at Eli, Katie said, “You’re right, Michael. I didn’t handle things well back in high school. I’m sorry for the way I broke up with you. I really am. I apologize.”

  “Apology accepted.”

  It was silent for a moment.

  “Your turn.” Katie narrowed her eyes and studied Michael’s smug expression. “Go ahead, say it. Say that you know you shouldn’t have kissed me like that.”

  “You’re right.” Michael’s grin expanded. “What I should have done was kiss you like this.” With that, he tried to reach for Katie again.

  Before she could pull back, Eli blocked Michael’s path. The two men scuffled for a few seconds like a couple of impalas locking horns.

  “Unbelievable!” Katie threw up her hands in frustration and walked away, letting out a furious huff. Her little maids in waiting skittered to her side, wet and grinning and eager to be the ones to hold her hands and lead her off to play another game with them.

  Jim, along with the other videographer, had made their way over to Eli and Michael to see what the fracas was about. Katie glanced at them over her shoulder and then kept on going, feeling as if the fire in her belly was about to ignite and she would self-combust.

  “Katie.” Cheryl trotted up. “Is everything okay?”

  “No, everything is not okay. Nothing is okay. I can’t believe what’s happening. This is over the top. Why is he here? I can hardly breathe.”

  “Come on.” Cheryl took Katie by the hand and led her and her little followers to one of the mud huts. Cheryl called out something, and a reply came from inside. “We can go in here,” she said.

  Katie ducked and entered a cool, dark space where a grass mat covered part of the dirt floor. An elderly woman sat at the corner of the mat, holding a cup of water. Her nearly toothless smile was the first thing Katie focused on as her eyes adjusted to the shadows. The woman motioned for them to come in, to sit, to rest.