H.R.H.

“Sucks for me,” Christianna said again in English. It had been her favorite expression in school. The two young women leaned against each other, laughing.

“No, it sucked for me,” Laure added in her heavy French accent, and they had tears running down their cheeks, as Yaw rode by them on the path. He was riding his bicycle somewhere, heard them laughing, slowed down, rode past, looked up at the tree, and then shouted at them, as they waved at him. They thought he was just saying hello.

“Go!” he shouted at them. “Go away!” He was waving frantically, and they looked at each other, still laughing, and got up. He was waving them away. They weren't sure what he wanted or what he was saying, but he kept yelling at them. They were still giggling, as they walked back onto the path and he pointed to the tree. An enormous green mamba snake had been lying right above them, sunning himself on the thick branch of the tree, and almost as though on cue, it dropped on top of the log where they'd been sitting, and slithered toward the stream. As they saw it, both girls screamed and ran away, waving at Yaw as he laughed and rode away.

“Merde!” Christianna said, and was still screaming, as both girls ran nearly all the way back to the compound, and then they stopped and started laughing again. “Oh my God, did you see that thing?” They had run so fast that Christianna's side ached. “You told me you'd never seen any snakes there,” Christianna said, still shaken.

“Maybe I never looked up at the tree,” Laure said with a grin. “That was the biggest snake I've ever seen.”

“Sucks for us,” both girls said in unison, and then laughed again.

“Thank God I'm going home soon,” Laure said as they walked back more slowly, in deference to the stitch in Christianna's side from running so hard. She had never run so fast in her life as after they'd seen the snake. It was her worst nightmare come true. Or would have been if not for Yaw. And then as they walked along, Laure suddenly realized she'd be sad to leave. Christianna was the first friend she had made here. The others had been nice to her, and pleasant to work with, but Christianna was the first person who had genuinely reached out to her. And surely the first person who had ever made her laugh as hard. Even if she looked shockingly like the woman who had betrayed her, she was a nice girl. It was written all over her. “Do you have a boyfriend?” Laure asked her with interest, as they walked into the camp.

“No, I have a brother, a father, and a dog. For now, that's it. I had one in Berkeley, but it wasn't a serious thing. He e-mails me sometimes, or he did before I came here.”

“Your two friends seem nice, the ones you came with.” Christianna nodded, not sure what to say. Sometimes they were hard to explain, other than that they were just two friends who had wanted to come to Africa, too.

“They were in Russia with me, and they met Marque, too.” Laure nodded, and as they headed toward the women's tent, she stopped and looked at Christianna for a long moment.

“Thank you for asking me to take a walk with you. I had a good time, Cricky.” She had heard the others call her that, and felt comfortable doing so herself now.

“I had a good time, too.” Christianna smiled at her warmly. Making friends with Laure had been a victory of sorts for her, and was an unexpected gift. It had been hard earned. “Except for the snake,” Christianna added, and they both laughed as they walked into the tent everyone called the Ritz. The others were all back from work, in varying degrees of undress, relaxing after a long day.

“Where have you two been?” Mary asked them, surprised to see them together. Everyone had noticed the chill between the two, and how unpleasant Laure had been to Christianna till then.

“We went out looking for snakes, and we found a big one, lying in a tree.” Christianna grinned, and Laure smiled, too.

“You don't sit under trees in Africa,” Mary scolded her with a stern look, and then she glanced at Laure with the same disapproving look. “You know better than that. We can't let you girls go anywhere, can we? I'm going to have to send you to your room.” Both young women laughed, and Laure announced that she was going to take a shower before dinner, which they all knew was not as simple as it looked. But she was sure she could still find someone to pour the water for her. She put on her bathrobe and left the tent, as Christianna lay down on her bed, trying not to think of the enormous snake they'd seen. She'd never screamed as loud in her life or run as fast. Thank God for Yaw.

“What on earth did you do to her?” Fiona asked with a look of amazement. She looked tired. She had delivered three babies in a row that afternoon, and one had died. It always depressed her when tragic things like that happened. She had done everything she could to save the infant, and Geoff had helped, but there was nothing they could do. It happened that way sometimes, but it always weighed heavily on her.