Her Indigenous Surrender

CHAPTER 8 THE LABELS

Charlene tosses her pencil onto the desk in annoyance and shoves her office chair backwards, turning away from the offensive email. Not that she moved very far, since her cubicle is cramped for space. This is how she feels right now, boxed in by familial ties and obligations.

She has deluded herself into thinking that she could avoid Kitchi Adams, but this email has shattered that illusion. She can no more ignore the man's existence than she can avoid her responsibilities to her family. Whether deliberately or coincidentally, her family have just placed her in the direct path of the man, and she cannot deny their request without seeming prejudiced. Well, at least, her Aunt Ramona Challenger has done so.

For the past few weeks, since her aunt discovered Kitchi's presence in Dominica, she has tasked Charlene with the responsibility of showing him around. However, true to his word, Kitchi has been busy representing the Indigenous Community Charity Foundation in meetings with the Dominican government and private organisations that embody the interests of the Kalinago people and are willing to assist the Indigenous Community Charity Foundation.

At first, the tasks were simple: keep Kitchi entertained during her free time. The children had planned a snorkelling adventure as their first outing at Champagne Reef. They followed the same concept as their earlier outing together in St. Lucia, a nature adventure. Unfortunately, due to school, neither child could join them that morning, and, as upset as she was, Charlene went snorkelling with just Kitchi and the guide. She thought the snorkelling could have been booked for the weekend rather than a weekday. However, the company could not accommodate the switch, and she was forced to keep the original booking.

The second time they went out, it was to windsurf in Picard, Portsmouth, to the north of the island. The kids didn't miss that one as Charlene had booked it for a Saturday afternoon. There were also more activities offered by the water activity company based in Picard, and there were several restaurants nearby. So, everyone had something to keep them satisfied.

That, however, was two weeks ago, and since then they have been river tubing in Layou and ATV riding in the mountains at Bellevue Chopin. With Ariel's and Ashhur's final term exams coming up and Amaziah now sitting his end-of-semester exams, Charlene had protested to her aunt that she is unable to keep entertaining Kitchi. How did her aunt respond?

With this traitorous email she received a few minutes ago, Charlene fights and loses to the temptation of re-reading the taunting words directly from the monitor. She swivels her office chair back to its original position. It is shameful how she has memorised parts of the email already, and her heart lurches in her chest from an unknown emotion.

Charlene,

I understand your concerns. I really do. But I am not sure if you truly understand the situation. I have been requested by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Kalinago Affairs and Empowerment to find persons to host or act as such to the field representatives of the Indigenous Community Charity Foundation (ICCF).

Yes, I said representatives. Two Field Representatives from ICCF have been reassigned to Dominica due to the immense workload that will be associated with the liaison between the Government of Dominica, the private institutions, and the ICCF. I know it is a challenging task to balance your busy schedule—since you usually work from Monday to Friday, 8 to 4:30, and now must take up the afternoon shift work as a supermarket supervisor—with being welcoming on our behalf.

But with your cousins, Larissa and Laurent, each taking responsibility for the other two representatives, Doug Maxim and Shirley Templeton, I have no choice but to ask you to keep up with being a host to Kitchi. I would not have asked if anyone involved in this liaison were as capable or available as you are, my darling niece. I thank you for your understanding.