Page 8 of Twenty-Three Years of Longing

“Alex and Ziva Henderson are here. They arrived with Ms. Davison.”

At least I knew she was in the building even though she hadn’t made it to the office as we agreed. “What exactly are they doing?”

“Serving breakfast to the children,” Jay replied. “They brought an abundance of fresh fruits. It was very thoughtful of them.”

True. Jay cooked lunch for them, but breakfast was not ever provided. Mostly because the funding wasn’t there. Not yet at least. I hoped to change that one day too. If this was Raya’s idea, maybe I’d cut her some slack for being late. I could never be angry with someone for putting the students first. It’s what I’ve always done myself.

“Thank you for informing me.”

Jay nodded. “Ms. Davison also asked if I could let you know that she will be here as soon as everyone has been taken care of. I offered to do it for her, but she insisted on participating.”

It was a better introduction to the students than I had planned. Guess she knew where the first impression mattered more. It wasn’t with me.

“That is fine. I am sure you have plenty of meal preparation to do yourself.”

“That I do,” he said, as he left my office.

We had one school and all grades attended classes here. Currently, there were just under three hundred students. Not all of the youth attended public school. There were still many Tabiqians who preferred to teach their children at home. Our curriculum was different from what it had been. Now we were more in line with the rest of the world. Children who attend public school had the option of going to a university in another country. Which was good, because we still didn’t have a college here.

Immense progress had been made, but so much more was yet to be done. Years of being ruled by evil had set us so far back that it would take generations to rectify our mistakes. Not even sure I’d see it in my lifetime, but I was going to do everything in my power to ensure that I was adding to the progress.

I felt my phone vibrate in my coat pocket. Pulling it out I saw a message.

SORRY. I NEED TO MOVE OUR MEETING. I SHOULD ONLY BE THIRTY MINUTES LATE.

Another knock on the door, but this time it opened before I could say anything. Although I hadn’t seen a photograph of her, I knew this was my replacement. She had all the features of a Tabiqian woman, except for one. She had short blond hair. Her fingernails were on the long side and covered with pink nail polish, and she had on make-up which was uncommon as well. I didn’t want to like it, but I could barely take my eyes off her. She was...

Stunning.

“I’m sorry to have kept you," she said as she laid her leather briefcase upon the desk. “I recall being hungry when I went to school and thought it would be right to start my job with a healthy snack for the students.”

“I’m sure they were thrilled. But I don’t want them to expect it all the time. It’s not in the budget,” I said. “Many things are not.”

She smiled and said, “I’m excellent at making a dollar stretch.”

“Please don’t take this the wrong way, but this isn’t the United States. There is no additional funding to be had.” Everything needed to be approved by the president. There was no public tax that we could draw from.

Raya sat down across from me and said, “Have you ever heard of a PTO?” I shook my head. “It’s a parent, teachers' organization. We raise funds for what is needed.”

“And how exactly do you raise funds?” I asked.

“A bake sale or craft fair. There are a lot of ways. And one avenue that could make these efforts a success would be the resort,” she stated.

“Hell no! We are not bringing our children and parading them around tourists, begging,” I said firmly.

Her mouth gaped open, and I saw a fire in her eyes. Her tone said she wasn’t shocked but pissed at my accusation. “I never suggested that we beg. First of all, I’m sure President O’Connor, as well as the Henderson family, would frown upon such a display. Secondly, what kind of person do you think I am that would use our youth in such a manner after all we have been through in Tabiq?”

I didn’t answer that one. Nothing I could say would be right. “What were you trying to say, then?”

“I was suggesting that our students become involved in the fundraising. Each of them has a talent or their family has a trade. Why not show how talented we are? See, we are not begging. We are bragging,” she said, pulling herself to sit more upright. “The world doesn’t have a clue about Tabiq.”

Yeah. We hide the good, so no one learns about just how bad and ugly things were.

“Maybe we can table this conversation for another time,” I replied.

Raya didn’t back down. “What don’t you like about my suggestion?”

She has been away from Tabiq for a while. Most women here wouldn’t ever challenge authority. Part of me found this refreshing. But then another thought entered my mind. I technically was her boss. Whether she liked it or not, I had the final say.

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