CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“What the hell, Ada?” Sekou loud-whispered as he steered his boat heading back to the Isle. “Here you go again making decisions without giving anyone a heads-up. Not me or your grandmother. Do you really think anyone wants this white chick on the Isle, let alone at Naira’s Homegoing?”
“White chicks live on the Isle,” I reminded him. “Matter of fact, you’ve messed with a couple there. Remember that? Or is this selective amnesia?”
His nostrils flared. “I meant mainlander. Scratch that, a complete stranger.”
He had me there. Bringing a mainlander was one thing, especially one we barely knew. But this was different. Naira trusted her, and she and I had been through some shit. That had to be worth a temporary pass.
“Don’t you think she deserves some closure too? She lost someone who Naira cared about. Her family is all the way up north, and she only has an asshole of an uncle who’s around. Wecould help. Luke and Naira were together when they…” I still couldn’t bring myself to say the words.
Sekou glowered at Hailey again as we cut through the water heading toward the Isle. She’d left her life on the mainland. We’d said bye to Flex and Karlie, and made them promise to go nowhere alone, although they didn’t understand why.
“See there,” Sekou had whispered when they said their goodbyes at the pier. “Those two have sense. They know when to decline a polite invitation.”
I hadn’t told him the other part. My offer to Hailey hadn’t only been a polite invitation or even not wanting her to face that woman and her things alone. There was curiosity from the moment she picked up my grad cap. Then she let me in her home. Let me take her around the city playing detective. She nearly got killed because I’d dragged her around. Was this how it started with Naira about Luke?
“There’s more to why I didn’t want to leave her behind,” I explained. I ran through everything that had happened from the marina to right now. I was out of breath when I finished.
“Are you sure you all didn’t catch a contact high from some weed or something? Because what you’re saying is some high shit.”
“I know it.”
Sekou banged a beat only he could hear on the boat wheel, trying to make the irregular shapes of my story fit right like in Minecraft. Finally, he burst out laughing, loud and abrasive. He waggled a finger at me.
“You almost got me on that one. Glowing red eyes, droolingzombies, serial killers, and amulets that look like Nana Ama’s one-of-a-kind cuffs. Ooookay.”
I grabbed his arm, shushing him. “Not so loud,” I said.
“Let’s say you weren’t tripping off a bad batch. You really think the Isle is the best place for her to be?”
I nodded.
“They didn’t attack y’all at her house,” he said. “Maybe they moved on. And they said your mom’s name? Then they don’t want her, and she doesn’t have to be on this boat. Until we figure out what to do about those things.
“Let me just repeat that this is a bad idea so when shit hits the fan, I’m gonna say a big ole ‘I told ya so.’ Trust me on this.”
It was the only thing I could trust right about now.
From the public marina, Nana Ama waited with Elder James beside her, his face already screwed up to let me know how disappointed he was in my recent behavior. He watched Hailey step gingerly on the inclined walk from the boat to the pier, likely thinking I’d done it this time, invited a stranger to the Isle not only for a private Homegoing ceremony, but during our most sacred time, the Harvest Festival. He kept sneaking peeks at Nana Ama and tutting disapprovingly, like he was trying to rile her up, but next to him my grandmother remained cool and unreadable.
Nana Ama watched Hailey carefully as well, her eyes swiftly moving from top to bottom, taking her in, waiting for any signthat Hailey was not welcome here. I held my breath, waiting for the same. Waiting for any hint that Hailey would not be welcomed on the island. But Hailey was all smiles, commenting about everything she saw in Freeman’s Port.
When we finally made it in front of Nana Ama, she settled her intense glare on me, her blank face never cracking. I had so much to discuss with her, so much to ask. There was a whole conversation in her look, one that promised I’d be held to account later and that showed she wasn’t pleased with Hailey’s presence without her permission. But she would never be outwardly rude to Hailey. It wasn’t her way.
She let out a resigned sigh, turning her attention to my guest.
“Seems the Golden Isle welcomes you, Hailey. As do I,” Nana Ama said.
Hailey refocused on Nana Ama, even performing an awkward curtsy-kind-of-bow-combo thing that was cute but totally unnecessary. But I got it—Nana Ama had that effect on people.
Nana Ama said, “Oh ho, that is much too formal for this little island. We’re all family here.”
Nana’s laugh peeled away the anxiety that had built up, and everyone visibly relaxed. Elder James looked from me to Nana Ama with a mix of caution and curiosity, it being the first time he’d known someone to go against one of the biggest rules we had.
“Why don’t we show you to our guest accommodations? They’re located right here at the port, so there is plenty to keep you entertained while you’re here and my granddaughter is unavailable.”
Unavailablecould mean a lot of things, and the implications were making me uneasy.
