* * *
Why did I come home? This has been the worst day I’ve had in years. As soon as we arrived, I was made to change into dress clothes and attend a horrific emergency meeting with all the suits grilling me about what happened in Zamunda. It was awful—even one of the junior suits took a run at me. I spent the entire time reassuring them that nothing of consequence occurred, other than my relationship with Will, that is. But they wouldn’t let up no matter what I said. Finally, I resorted to my default way of getting out of situations like this—and I’mnotproud of myself, okay? So please don’t judge me. In fact, I hate myself for what I did next.
I cried.
Yes. That’s right. Arabella, Warrior Princess, who dragged a grown man out of the jungle, just turned on the water works to end a meeting. I suck. I really thought I was better than that but, apparently, no.
As soon as that horror show ended, I was rushed into my office by my assistant, Mrs. Chapman, who sat me down in front of a pile of overdue correspondence so high, I could barely reach the top. Okay, I’m being a bit dramatic about that, but it will take me days to catch up and there is no way I can cry my way out of anything with Mrs. Tight Bun No Nonsense.
I’m still working on it now, even though I’m physically exhausted and emotionally drained. We only slept for about two hours the entire night on account of being so busy storing up shags that we won’t be able to fit in over the next few weeks. My eyes close and I’m almost immediately asleep, sitting up when my phone buzzes.
When I swipe the screen, I see a text from Will.How is it possible that I miss you this much already?#patheticmaninlove.
Me:That works out well because I literally felt the life being drained from my body the moment we parted ways. #stupidarchaicrulesforprincesses
I smile at the screen for a moment, then dig around in my handbag for the shell Will gave me on our last day on the yacht. I was feeling particularly sad that the most relaxing, carefree, incredible time of my entire life was about to end, so while I was having a shower before supper, he dove into the ocean and found a tiny, perfect, pink and ivory conch shell. At supper that night, he gave it to me and told me to keep it with me always so that no matter where I was or what was happening, I could come right back to our time on the yacht and know how much I am loved.
Plucking it out of my bag, I hold it in my palm and run my fingertips over its smooth surface. I am loved. Aaahhh…
We really are perfect for each other. And I know everyonethinkstheirs is the greatest love of all time, but in our case, it’s true. His gorgeous face when we said goodbye pops into my mind— the dimples that appeared when he smiled at me, his chiseled jaw that lets you know he’s the manliest of men, and his coffee-coloured eyes shining at me. Oh, those eyes.
Eyes.
Eyelids.
Good God, my eyelids are heavy.
Nope. Must stay awake.
Mrs. Chapman knocks at the door, then enters my office with a trolley of tea and biscuits. “You’re going to need some energy for your first teleconference with the Equal Everywhere Campaign Director. It starts in exactly twelve minutes.”
I busy myself writing the birthday card for the chairperson of the Avonian Introverts Society (of which I am a patron) while she pours my tea. I can feel her staring before she finally comes out with it. “Is that too much bronzer or have you actually allowed your skin to tan?”
“The second one,” I say, without looking up. “It’s very difficult to be out on the open water for that many weeks without tanning, even if you are careful.” Which I wasn’t. I grin to myself a little, thinking of how shocked Mrs. Chapman would be to discover I don’t have any tan lines.
Yes, I’m a very scandalous princess these days, with a crazy hot manly boyfriend and my own adventure show that’s about to air on international television. Nothing dull about this lady anymore. She’s wild and fiercely… fierce. And too tired to think of a good way to describe herself. And stuck at her stupid desk with a pile of stupid mail.
* * *
Exactly eleven minutes later, I have sucked down two mugs of tea with extra sugar, my office has been staged, complete with a bouquet of fresh flowers, and I am seated at my desk waiting for the host to let me into our Zoom meeting room. I finally see Malika Jelani, the director of the Equal Everywhere Campaign, on the screen. She’s smiling brightly and speaking, but there’s no sound so I wave and say, “Hello. I can’t hear you. Can you hear me?”
She shakes her head and mouths what I’m sure is ‘I can’t hear you,’ then the two of us spend the next couple of minutes fiddling with the settings and trying to talk with neither of us figuring out the magic combination. Frustration builds as I tap at the microphone button for the one-hundredth time and mutter, “I’m too tired for this shit today. How is this any better than using the bloody telephone?!”
Malika’s face falls. “The sound seems to be fixed.”
“Brilliant.” Crap on a stick.Thatshe heard? I smile brightly, hoping it makes up for my foul language.
“If you’d rather reschedule, I have an opening next Tuesday.”
I laugh and shake my head. “Oh no, I didn’t mean I’m too tired for themeeting. I was talking about technology. I’m afraid it’s not my strong suit.”
Her face softens. “Mine either.”
Thank God she bought it. “No, I’m absolutely beyond thrilled to be the Avonian ambassador for the campaign.”
Malika smiles, the skin around her eyes crinkling as she does. To look at her, you’d think she’s a warm grandmotherly type who bakes cookies and knits baby blankets all day, but with her resume, I doubt she’s had time to do either of those things even once. She’s a professor at the prestigious University of Cape Town with PhDs in both International Law and Political Science. She was one of the first women to receive the World Science and Health Forum’s Heroes Award for her tireless efforts to raise awareness of the AIDS epidemic back in the eighties. She also won the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize and has made the list of the “100 Leading Global Thinkers” by Foreign Policy magazine four years in a row.
All that to say, I’m out of my league here. “I cannot think of more important work and am looking forward to throwing myself into it with everything I’ve got.”
