As she wiped her forehead, a large tree in a clearing next to the road caught her eye.Just the spot she’d been looking for.She stepped closer.Yellow and red leaves scattered the ground.No, not leaves, but ripe fruit that had fallen from the tree.
Mango!
Dozens of them.
Libby pulled a bag out of the bottom of the stroller and began to collect the scattered fruit off the ground.Some were damaged from their fall and covered in dirt.Others were just a little bruised.She could cut around the bad bits and make a purée with the good pieces.She could even make curries and desserts—all sorts of things.They’d have a feast.
10 delicious things to do with mango…
Right there was a video idea and an article for a blog post.
She dug out her phone and started recording.
“Hey guys,” she whispered to the camera, careful not to wake Karim.“So, while my baby sleeps, I’m taking a walk through beautiful Atiu, just a little way from the harbor, and look what I found.”She picked up a ripe mango bursting with juice and held it up to the camera.Then, angling her phone to the tree, she added, “Just look at how soft and juicy these are.”She squeezed the fruit.Juice glistened and dripped down her fingers.She brought it to her lips and licked.Sweet tanginess exploded in her mouth.“Oh, my!This is so delicious, guys.I wish you could all try some.”She took another juicy mouthful, sucking at the soft, sweet flesh.“Mmm…too good.This is too good.”She then winked at the camera and stopped recording.
Oh, argh.What a pile of inane crap!
Who’d be interested in watching her eat a mango she’d scraped off the frickin’ ground?
She stuffed her phone back into her bag and swallowed her last mouthful.
So much for her stupid ideas, her stupid plans.
She licked her fingers and threw the pit over her shoulder into the bushes.But the thrash of leaves was way louder than she’d expected.She spun around.Her breath caught.
Dan had stepped into the clearing.
“Why didn’t you tell me you’re a journalist?”he asked.
“Like straight after you said you hated them?Gee, I’m not sure.”She tried to calm her racing heart and continued to pick mangoes off the ground.
But Dan’s gaze remained heavy on her.“So, who do you work for?”
“Myself.”
“And you earn enough to support you and Karim?”
Slowly, she straightened, keeping her eyes steady on his and her temper in check.Losing it now wouldn’t help anyone.“It’s none of your goddamn business how I support myself and my son.”
“It is if you want to get rich quick out of me.Who have you told that I’m here?”
“No one,” she said sharply.“And if you hadn’t been such a hotheaded dick the other night, I would’ve told you what my notebook was all about.I thought we were friends, but you didn’t even have the decency to listen to me.”
“Friends don’t make notes on each other.”
“I’m constantly making notes.About everything and anything.It’s what I do!Maybe it’s time you hauled your head out of your ass and made some notes too.Like, ‘Count my blessings’ and ‘Stop sulking.’”She poked him hard in the chest.“When are you gonna wake up and realize you’re not actually dead?You’re alive, you idiot.You’re alive.”
Danstumbledback,Libby’swords like electric zaps to his head.
“You’ve been walking around like a dead man,” she was saying, coming at him with one hand on her hip and her finger jabbing the air in front of him.“You’ve been given a second chance, so use it.”
“I… I am using it!”
She scoffed and stalked to the stroller.
“What?”he snapped.“You think I can just flick a switch, and hey presto, everything’s sunshine and rainbows again?”
“It’s been six months, Dan.I get it.You don’t want to give me an interview, and that’s fine.I’m sorry I ever had that stupid idea.But for your sake, if no one else’s, isn’t it time that you made a conscious decision to move on from what happened to you?Or at least start to try to move on.You have the rest of your life ahead of you.What are you going to do?Lose your shit and threaten anyone who takes an interest in you with lawyers?”She then snatched a cloth bag from under the stroller and tossed it at his feet.“These belong to you.”
