Page 41 of Forever and Other Lies

Jayna wasn’t quite sure why she had made that promise to Talia. Something about the woman deeply touched her. She wanted to help her, just as she wanted to help Leighton get over the break-up with Tommy.

Unfortunately, the blind double date did not go well. But it was only her first attempt. Sorting through her closet, she filled a duffle bag with clothing. She had way too many clothes, and some of the items still had price tags attached. With the bag filled, she headed to the shelter where Talia was staying.

The shelter was bare bones and depressing. How did anyone thrive living in a place where hope came to shrivel up and die? More was needed than just a duffle bag filled with clothing and toiletries. She found Talia watching an episode of ‘Friends’ in the common room. “Pivot”, Ross was saying. Pivot. That’s exactly what was needed. This woman needed to pivot her entire life, and Jayna would be there to help.

Chapter 20

Derek just needed to pivot. This was bigger than just the shared animosity between two brothers. He needed to remember exactly why he had returned to Sierra Leone. He was here to help the incredible people who were struggling to survive in such a harsh and challenging land.

But Tommy? He had no idea what Tommy’s motivation was in tagging along. Was it to continue making Derek’s life a living hell? No, Tommy was not that nefarious. He was the perfect son, after all.

Whatever his brother’s motivation was, it didn’t concern him. He would keep himself busy. There was so much work to be done. Water well installation was hard, tiring work. It was actually back-breaking under the intense African sun. He’d work hard, go to bed early, rise even earlier, and repeat. Tommy could do whatever Tommy was here to do. Their paths didn’t need to cross.

It was working. Three days in and he’d barely seen his brother. Then Tommy had to go and be wonderful Tommy and come up with an incredible idea. Rejoice! All hail the amazing Tommy. The guy was here all of five minutes and was already the hero.

It didn’t matter that this was Derek’s third trip here. That he was the one with the engineering degree and the skill to actually make a difference. Oh no, Tommy just came up with a great plan. Everyone was raving over it, and now Derek had even more work to do.

However, he grudgingly had to admit that it was pretty good. The idea was to build a workshop for one of the villagers, Mariama. Currently, she was making African black soap to sell at the local market. With a well in the village, she no longer walked 2 km each way to the stream for water which meant she now had time to dedicate to soap making. But she was forced to use a heavy black cauldron over an open fire pit. It was unsafe and time-consuming.

Tommy had spoken with Leighton about ordering modern equipment that would streamline the production of this soap. Leighton planned to carry the soap in her store, and the TL Village Mercantile would stock it as well. Both stores had a successful online business, which meant Mariama’s soap would be sold worldwide. And she’d need to employ more villagers to help keep up with the demand.

Mariama needed a workshop with solar panels installed on the roof to provide a power source for the modern equipment. And that’s where Derek came in. He’d drawn up plans and was now drilling a metal track into the cement pad that had been poured the day before. He straightened, stretching out his back, and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Unscrewing the cap on his water bottle, he took a long swallow and took in the scenery all around. Makeni Village was made up of clay huts with straw-thatched roofs. A tropical rainforest lay behind the huts, and the once barren field was now planted. With clean water and stocked pantries, the villagers already appeared healthier.

Pens were being built to house goats and chickens. Ben put his fancy agricultural degree to good use, planting the fields with sustainable crops. Soon, this entire village would be sustainable as well.

“Son of a … Derek!” Ben howled and hobbled on one foot.

Derek set down the water bottle and ran toward his youngest brother, who was leaning on Tommy’s shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” He reached his brothers just as Heidi did. The doctor was here with the medical van, checking up on the villagers.

“You left a piece of wood with a nail sticking out is what’s wrong,” Ben yelled and pointed at his right shoe where blood was pooling, and a nail stuck out the top.

“Really, Derek, how could you be so careless?” Tommy chastised him.

“Damn, Benji. I’m sorry.” Derek swiped at his brow again. How had he been so careless?

“It could have been one of the kids,” Heidi scolded him as well. She bent down to examine Ben’s foot, touching the blood on top of his shoe where a nail protruded. She lifted her finger and frowned as she sniffed the red splotch on it. Heidi lifted Ben’s foot higher and yanked off the piece of wood under his shoe. Duct tape had been holding it in place.

Heidi stood and grabbed the ball cap off Ben’s head, hitting him with it. Then she smeared the red ‘blood’ from her finger across his cheek and swatted Tommy as well.

“Ketchup! Damn fools. The entire Brennan clan is a bunch of jokers.” Heidi sputtered and stomped back to the medical van.

Derek stared at the ketchup smear on Ben’s cheek and then down at the nail that Ben had quite obviously stuck through the top of his shoe. His little brother was an ass who thought he was freaking hilarious. “Ketchup? Seriously, Ben? I have a ton of work to get done. And you’re wasting my time being a jackass.”

Ben doubled over laughing, as did Tommy. Derek was happy that they were both enjoying themselves so much while he was breaking his back in the scorching sun, working on Tommy’s project, no less.

“You two don’t want to start a prank war with me,” he warned. “It won’t end well for either of you.”

“Whoa, shaking in my boots,” Ben taunted. “Bring it, big bro.”

Derek narrowed his eyes and shook his head. They were not worth it. The kids here did not need to witness a Brennan brother scuffle. It was never pretty. It also was immature. Oh, but it would feel so good.

He turned and stomped back toward the workshop build. “Why don’t you take the higher road?” his mother used to ask him. Today he would, because in Sierra Leone he was not a hothead daredevil.

“Need a hand?”

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