Dear Red

Sixty Four

I watched the sun come up at a small countryside restaurant while I sipped a mug of coffee and nibbled on some biscuits. I had a lot of atoning to do with my friends and family. I was beginning to realize that chasing an international medical career to make them proud of me again had not been the right antidote to my sins 10 years ago. But what other options did I have at the time? Subjecting myself to the anger and disappointment at home? I had needed time to grow up and at 27, I was way more mature than I had been at 17 when I was booted out of school and then Uganda. I got my meager breakfast and stepped out of the restaurant. There was plenty of time to think, cry and plan with the drive I had left. I refueled and continued the drive to the village. Neither Freida nor Alex had gotten in touch with me. They must have been in bed since it had been a late night. I pushed them from my mind as I went deeper into Western Uganda.

At 10 am, I drove up to our country home. I took a moment to appreciate all that had changed since I had last been there. Dad had spruced up the place considerably. It looked like a town house but its elegance was complimented by the natural vegetation sprawled around it for miles. I glimpsed a pool behind the house and swallowed my surprise. In some ways, this place was even better than our town home. No wonder dad was comfortable living here all year round. I parked the car and took off my sunglasses. I grabbed my duffel bag from the backseat and the rest of my belongings then made my way up to the front door. When I knocked, the house keeper opened and she gave me a wide smile.

"Tina," she said on a breath as she hugged me close. Her maternal instinct kicked in as she rubbed my back. I felt the tension that had built up over the drive start to melt away. Someone was glad that I was back, at least. She took my things even though I protested and then shooed me to the living room claiming they were waiting for me. I wondered whether I should wait for my dad to finish entertaining whoever was here before I went in. However she firmly steered me there and then went off with my things. I stepped into the living room and almost fainted.

My dad was seated on a leather couch with a newspaper in his hands. Aside from some gray hairs, he had not changed at all. He was still strong and built as I remembered. My mother was there too. She was dressed in beautiful traditional attire and sparkling jewelry. Her hair was wonderfully coiffed and she was smiling teasingly at my father.

"What should I tell..." she began but the words died on her lips when she caught sight of me. My dad looked up at her from the paper and then his gaze followed hers. We had an intense staring match for what seemed like eternity.

"Tina!" my mother burst out with a smile. I could not bear this. I had said a lot of ugly things to her the last time we spoke at St. Xavier. We had both done things we were not proud of a decade ago. If she was here with my dad, a lot had changed since then. She made her way to me and then enfolded me in a warm hug. There was no resentment here-only love. Yet, I could not figure out how I felt. I had even more emotions to sort through than before. For the moment, I hugged her back and over her shoulder, I saw my father rise. My mother let go of me but he did not approach.

I slid to my knees and greeted him. He responded with a small smile.

"It is so good to have you home, my girl," my mother said as she brought me to my feet and then stepped back to examine me while holding my arms away from my body.

"You've grown! What a lovely young lady you are," she said.

"Thank you," I mumbled as she drew me back to her side with an arm round my shoulders.

"Lenard, you should have told me Tina was coming over. I would have opted out of this Mother's Union meeting," mum said.

"I didn't know she would come so soon," dad told her.