Show Me the Sun
Page 24
He brought her limp body close and held her in a long embrace with her face on his chest, breathing him in taking him in even as she fought for control. She put her arms around him, realizing that that could be the last time she would ever see him, or hold him.
“Where’s your car?” she asked after he released her and rubbed her arm.
“Out there. You didn’t see it, you were too shocked to see me,” Amari said.
“Just be careful,” Raven said. “Be careful on the road.”
“I will.” He opened the door, then looked back at the tiny room and back to Raven’s concerned face. He touched her face. “I worry about you here. It’s so dark out there.”
“It’s okay. Josh’ll be here soon.”
“I’ll be waiting for you.” He turned and kissed her on the lips one more time before walking off into the dark. Raven saw his car next to the clinic and watched him sit in the car when the lights came on. Everything seemed surreal.
The powerful engine started a dark four-wheel drive. He reversed, turned the car around and drove right by her. He waved at her and she waved back. Raven watched until the car disappeared.
Chapter 37
On Sunday morning Raven and Josh went to church together. The service was quintessential as they sang Swahili songs. The pastor, a young, energetic man, spoke in Swahili while another man translated into English. The drive to the church was far, about an hour away from the clinic, but they attended as often as they could. After church Josh took her to the game park where they drove around in open trucks looking at the wild animals, something they liked because each trip revealed new and wonderful wildlife. Some days they would see baboons, called nyanis or pofu, or eland, which were the largest of the antelopes. They enjoyed seeing the impala jump high when they were disturbed. They saw these often and were just as common as the monkeys on the sides of the road.
They had lunch at the game park hotel, watching rolling coffee fields and forests. From the top of the mountain they could see the coffee plantation stretching as far as the eye could see, a solid green cloud.
“So what did Amari talk to you about?” Josh asked after the waiter poured their cups of coffee. The fire blazed in the hearth of the comfortable spacious restaurant that the hotel guests used.
“He was worried about me,” Raven said, her eyes down.
“He’s gone back to the States?”
“On Friday. He says he leaves on Friday,” Raven said and then took a sip of her coffee. “This is good. Tastes even better from up here. You know soon they will be picking coffee. We should go and see that, don’t you think? You know all the coffee has to be picked by hand. I would love to try it.”
Raven looked out at the view, lost in thought. They had taken a tour of the coffee plantation a few weeks back, learning the history of Kenyan coffee production. She was amazed at the unique process. Now that she had met some small-scale farmers of the plant, she was even more fascinated about its growth.
“Ray,” Josh called. “What do you think?” Raven turned to him, realizing he had said something.
“Oh, sorry. What did you say?” Raven asked. Josh looked at her with a knowing look in his eyes but did not repeat himself.
On Monday they worked side by side in the clinic and even visited a young woman in the village who was having twins. It was hectic and busy, but many times Raven would be distracted, causing Josh to repeat his instructions to her. On Tuesday she was supposed to go to Nairobi for a meeting with a recording artist who wanted to help in Kenya, but she convinced Zahara to go instead as she stayed and worked with Josh. On Wednesday they looked over the plans for the extension and the planned school. Friday morning she woke up early, washed her clothes and hung them up on the wire line before work.
“Working hard,” Josh said, walking towards her. He was dressed in khaki pants and a dark blue shirt and looked like a game ranger to her. She smiled at the thought then turned back to her clothes. Raven was hanging her last white blouse. She clipped it with the clothes hangers and turned to him.
“This is one thing I’ll never get used to around here. No washing machines, no dryers. Painful hands.” Raven blew into her fingers to warm them up.
“Here,” Josh said, and took her hands into his and rubbed them. She smiled at him.
“It’s freezing out here,” she said, blowing vapor from her mouth.
“Yep,” Josh said. “So it’s Friday, Ray. Don’t you have to be somewhere?”
Raven looked at him questioningly. “Did I forget something?”
“I’ve watched you mope around the place all week. You can’t hide it. I wasn’t sure you would hold out here until Friday while Amari sits alone in some luxury hotel pining for you and you sit around this rural place, wanting him.”
Raven laughed and pulled her hands away from his grip.
“Josh. Please.”
“Ray. What are you waiting for?”
“What are you talking about?” Raven shook her head. Josh had lost his mind.
“If you hurry, you can catch him before he gets on that plane,” Josh said. “The minute I saw Amari standing here I knew I lost you, and it’s all right. You ran away from him, but his love stayed with you.”
Tears filled her eyes so quickly it was like a waterfall of pain. He was right. She had fought so hard. Tried so hard to forget him. And poor Josh had been a part of her charade. A part of her wish to forget Amari.
“Oh, Josh.”
“Ray. Be honest with yourself. I can see it. When you think I’m not looking I can see you are lost, thinking about him. Or trying to forget him but sometimes when you wake up your dreams of him are still in your eyes but you deny it.”
“Josh, what have I done? You must think the worst of me.”
“No, Raven. I always knew that I had to be careful. That I could lose you.”
“I tried. I thought I could forget him,” Raven cried, tears filling her eyes. “It was all I wanted to do. But…I couldn’t do it.”
“It’s all right. You have to rush. Don’t worry about anything here. Just go.”
“What if I’m too late?”
“Here, take the car. You know the way.”
Raven took the keys and dropped them as her hands trembled. She bent down to pick them up from the ground. “Thank you.”
She hugged him quickly then let go. She looked at his face, thanking him, wondering how she was so grateful for having had him and his guidance all these months.
“I’m sorry, Josh,” she said. Josh took her hands in his.
“There’s nothing to be sorry about. You need to move fast.”
Raven gave a small teary smile and turned away from Josh into the tiny room. She grabbed her purse and coat. She was about to step outside when she remembered the note Amari had given her. It had fallen on the floor behind her chair. She panicked when she couldn’t find it and eventually found it under the bed, hidden behind one of her bags.
Raven picked up the paper and opened it up. With trembling hands she read the name of the hotel, his room number and phone number, all in Amari’s huge messy writing.
She still had many questions.
Where would they live? Would Hart like her? Who would continue her work in Kenya?
Despite all that, she knew clearly that she was doing the right thing. She felt the peace wash over her like a soft cloud of sweetness as her heart settled on Amari, for better or worse. Though she drove carefully on the bumpy road she wanted to be in his arms that second. Raven was impatient to see his eyes. She was going to get the man God had intended for her all along. And she was going to enjoy being loved by him and loving him fully in return.
Show Me the Sun Discussion Questions
• Why do you think people are so concerned with outward appearances?
• What could Raven have done to defend herself against people who made fun of her skin color?
• What do you think of the way Clare treated her daughters?
• Have you e
xperienced certain treatment from your own race about the darkness or lightness of your skin?
• How can a man or woman choose the right person without being influenced by outward appearances?
• Who determines what is attractive and what is not?
• How do you deal with family’s expectations of you and those of your own?
• What challenges do children of pastors face?
• Why do you think Amari fell in love with Raven when she was not the perfect ten all his teammates talked about?
• What, if anything could Amari have done to avoid the situation with Lexie?
• What, if anything could Raven have done to protect her marriage?
• How do you handle jealousies from friends? Do you keep the friendship or remove yourself?
• Can a person be more dedicated to their cause than their own marriage?
• What does God say about adultery and forgiveness?
• Did Raven make the right decision? Why or why not?
• What challenges will her relationship face after she makes her decision?
About the Author
Miriam Shumba has had several short stories and articles published in Zimbabwe, South Africa, and the United States. She earned her teaching degree at Rhodes University in South Africa and continued her education at Walden University. Miriam has taught elementary school in several countries. She moved to the United States from Zimbabwe in 2001 and now lives in Michigan with her husband. Show Me The Sun is her first novel. You can read more about her writing and life journey at www.miriamshumba.com.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Show Me the Sun Discussion Questions
About the Author