Never Alone

April set a box of books heavily down on the long table inside the big tent and swatted the bug that was biting the back of her sweaty neck. She examined the squished bug for a moment before determining that it likely wasn’t poisonous. Everything in Peru seemed to be poisonous. She looked around at the empty, makeshift school and sighed. She didn’t have a lot of experience with kids.

“I wonder if they can smell fear,” she thought.

April straightened a couple of the desks and wished she could do more to make it look more settled and homey for the kids. The river that went by their village had flooded very suddenly in the night a few weeks ago and had washed their whole lives away. Elderly people had drowned in their beds, some small children had been swept away by the current before their parents had been able to grab them, and now many of the villagers were coming down with Dengue fever, after drinking contaminated water. The Red Cross was taking all the healthy people out and sending them fifty miles south to this research station and had recruited the researchers to teach the school. The researchers were mostly pretty friendly and didn’t seem to mind having the missionaries and aid workers underfoot.

The white tent snapped and rattled in the light breeze. April shuddered and looked around. It was a bit creepy, like someone was there. Then a shadow fell on the side of the tent - someone was there! Her fingers touched the small, wooden cross that hung around her neck and she watched as it moved along the wall, then she went to the door to see who it was. April stepped out into the hot sunshine to greet her visitor, but all she saw was a slight shimmer as the cool wind swept over the hot ground.

“That’s weird,” she muttered. “I thought someone was here.” She shrugged and turned away from the shimmer and started walking up the hill to the small building where she lived with the other scientists and researchers. She glanced briefly back at the school - she shimmer was gone.

The air inside the building was just as hot as it was outside. The air conditioning system had conked out the night before when they’d blown a fuse. April made her way to the kitchen to get some water from the fridge. The table was covered in metal parts and tools and a slender blonde man was working on putting it back together.

“Hi Jake!” she said.

“Hey Padre!” he greeted April, warmly. “Want to help fix the air conditioner?”

“Padre means father,” April laughed. “I’m not a priest.” She went to the fridge and took out a jug of water. “Want some?” she asked. She hoped she wasn’t blushing. The archaeologist was cute and sweet. He made her feel shy, but in a good way.

“Sure, that’d be nice,” he smiled. “So what’s Spanish for sister, then?”

April rolled her eyes and took two large glasses down from the cupboard. “I’m not a nun and you know it,” she said as she poured the water. Jake was just as sweaty as she was and his shirt was clinging to the big muscles in his arms that he’d built up during the excavation. She tried to keep looking him in the face, but the sexy stubble on his chin was distracting.

“So that means that you’ll go out with me?” Jake asked.

April froze and felt her face go hot as he stepped over to take a sweating glass of water from her hand. She smiled and looked shyly away for a minute as he chugged the water down.

“That depends on where you’re planning on taking me,” she teased. Jake arched an eyebrow up quizzically and April slapped a hand over her mouth as she realized how that had sounded. “I didn’t mean... I meant...” she stammered.

Jake laughed again and set his glass down on the counter. He took her hand and leaned back on the edge of the table. “Hey,” he said, “I know you’re a missionary and your faith is important to you. Believe it or not, I went to Sunday School once.” It was April’s turn to arch an eyebrow. “It’s true,” Jake went on. He sighed and ran his hand through his short hair in a boyish gesture. “Look,” he said, “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I really like you. I think you’re so beautiful and smart, but I’m not a jerk. I won’t try to get you into bed if that’s not your thing... I might try to kiss you though.”

April bit her lip coyly and giggled. “You’re a nice man, Jake, and I maybe kinda might sorta like you, too... maybe,” she teased.

Jake stroked his thumb over the back of her hand. “I’d take you to a movie,” he said, “but since we’re in the middle of the jungle, how about we take a picnic to the dig site and I’ll show you what I’ve dug up?”

April smiled. “That’d be really cool, actually,” she said enthusiastically.