I felt hands nudging me and my name being called. I opened my eyes to find Pope standing over me. Dusk had fallen.

“Come on, let’s go home.”

I rubbed the sleep off my face. My legs had gone to sleep. I got up gingerly. Pope supported me as I stood. When I was up on my feet, I shrugged his arm away and marched to the car. He followed me without a word. I sat at the back. He stared at me in the rear-view mirror. I could tell he wanted to talk. I didn’t want him to. I looked away from him. I wasn’t ready to hear anything he had to say. But who cared what I wanted these days? He went ahead and said what was on his mind.

“Buerki, I wasn’t planning on being single for the rest of my life. I always knew I’d remarry. I agree it’s happened a lot sooner than I expected. I mean I wasn’t even looking for female companionship. All this just happened and to be honest I’m glad it did. Try and look at it from Naadu’s point of view—I come with two children, one of whom does not even like her, and she has to deal with that. We all have to make adjustments for our new life to work.”

I didn’t bother telling him that I wasn’t ready to make any new adjustments. I was still adjusting to Mama not being around. Besides, I liked how our life had been before she showed up. I certainly hadn’t asked anyone to get me a new life. He started the car and drove us home.

Naadu left the next morning.

Things went back to near normal after Naadu left but I knew it wouldn’t last long. There was a dark cloud hanging over us. We didn’t speak about Naadu. It was as if that whole period with her never happened, but I knew Pope was still seeing her. Sometimes he spent the weekend in Accra. He told me it was for business. I knew better. He asked me if I wanted to continue working at the resort. I refused. Instead I spent the mornings helping Nene with his school work.

If Mantse wasn’t too busy in the afternoons he gave me driving lessons. I knew I didn’t qualify for a license until I was eighteen but there was no harm in being ready. Besides we just drove on the beach. Mantse refused to let me drive on any of the roads, even the ones with potholes. In the evenings I usually swam with Nene. We were on the beach one evening when Sandra approached us.

“Hi,” she said. “Hi,” I said back.

“I wanted to thank you for what you did the last time. Sorry I couldn’t come earlier.”

“It’s okay. I get cramps too sometimes. I know what they can be like.”

“I heard you quit.”

“Yeah.” I wondered if she thought I was spoilt. Here she was just two years older than me and she had to help care for her siblings.

“Then I guess I’ll see you around.”

“Yeah.”

She said bye to Nene and started walking back to the resort.

“Sandra, wait,” I said, running to catch up with her. “I could give you some of my old textbooks, you know, for your brother and sister. And your sister could have some of my clothes and shoes, if you don’t mind.”

“No, of course not. I don’t mind. Neither will she. I love your clothes. She’ll love them too. Thank you. Thank you so much. God bless you.”

“It’s okay, really.”

Sandra came home with us, and I gave her the things I’d promised. Later that evening I went through some of Mama’s stuff and selected those I thought I’d never use. I even took a couple of old shirts, trousers and shoes that Pope no longer wore and some of Nene’s old clothes as well. I gave them to Mantse and asked him to send them to Sandra’s house.