Camp Uhuru is aptly named. Meaning "freedom" in Swahili, it is a camp for abused and neglected teenagers. It is a place where they can do as the name suggests, be free. But with that freedom comes intense therapy and life skills training. The children spend their summers taking care of horses, cattle and other forms of livestock. They are responsible for the well being of the animal in their care, and in return, they learn that life is much more than what you've been through. Having the responsibility of another life tends to rearrange your priorities.
Both Emma and Karine have been camp counselors at Uhuru since the age of sixteen. Founded and operated by Emma's Godfather and Kay's eldest brother, "G", he is a tireless advocate for children's rights.
With money getting tight, Emma was glad to have her services requested early this year. Her expertise in animal handling and training is always essential, as her Godfather pointed out over the phone.
"I hate to tear you away from your lover, but I really do need your help."
Emma laughed at his casual jibe. As much as she hated to be away from Davy, it was G who introduced them, and as he so eloquently pointed out, she owes him now.
"So Tana arrives Friday?" Emma questions Kay while placing a halter on her favorite horse, Sierra. The sorrel overo mare waits patiently to be led out to the pasture, but only after receiving her customary apple slices.
"Yup. Eight in the morning, red eye flight." Kay says without looking up from her duty of replacing last night's bedding from the stalls. The air in the barn quickly becomes dusty as she shovels the wood shavings. The smell of fresh cut pine is pleasant before the morning breeze carries it away.
Uhuru is where they both met Montana. She came to the camp as a young girl with a damaged soul. At the tender age of two, she was forcibly removed from her parents due to neglect and drug problems. No toddler should have to witness what she did. Malnourished and unable to speak a word, the child was now a ward of the state of Alabama. She was traumatized and afraid of her own shadow. Diagnosed with "failure to thrive", many felt she would never recover.
But with time and many months of medical care, the child slowly began to blossom. Tana bounced from foster home to foster home, never settling in or feeling loved enough by anyone to be adopted. At the age of eighteen, she could no longer be in the system and was left to fend for herself.
She had heard about Uhuru on the news and applied. The cut off age is eighteen, but upon hearing her story, G made an exception. It was the best decision he could have made. With her tenacity and vibrancy for life, Tana was a shining example to all the other kids that you can't let your circumstances run you. At the end of that summer, G approached her with a job offering to return next summer as a counselor. All expenses paid.
Like Emma, he looks at Tana like she is his own child. Scholarships were given so that she could attend university and he always made sure she had a roof over her head. G knew she could provide for herself, he just did not approve of how she was doing it. When he found out that she had been stripping for money to buy groceries and pay tuition, G had torn into her, disappointed that she did not ask for help instead. Tana just shrugged and told him not to worry.
Last month, she graduated with a double Master's degree in psychology and social work. The same girl no one ever thought would even speak. She has decided to dedicate her life to the same cause as the man who first believed in her. This will be her last summer at Uhuru as a senior counselor, something no one is looking forward to. Her vivaciousness is treasured by all who meet her.
The morning she arrived, her long flaxen hair was hanging loosely from a messy bun and it was obvious she was fatigued. But in the early sunlight, her beaming smile allowed her beauty to escape. As they have done for almost nine years now, the two girls run to embrace their friend after many months apart.
"So, Miss Emma," Tana says with her southern American accent as thick as ever, "tell me about your new man."
"We'll be here all day." Kay giggles.
"Oh now, don't you go acting like you don't go on about your man! I've got a novel's worth of emails from you." Tana points out the truth and places her arm around Emma's shoulder. "No, this is special. For too many years I've worried about you. I've just wanted you to be happy. And look at you! You're glowing like a rose! I'd say you look prettier than a glob of butter melting on a stack of wheat cakes."
Emma laughs at her friend's typical southern euphemism as they start walking toward the house. "I'll fill you in later about my man. You must be tired, you probably want to lie down..."
"Nonsense! I haven't see y'all in a dog's age. Besides, didn't you say there is someone for me to meet?"
Emma looks past her friend to catch Kay's expression. The bosun's reaction to meeting this girl was not a pleasant one.
"Well, he's kinda shy." Emma starts, "I think he's nervous to meet you."
"Nervous? Well, I don't bite, unless of course that is what he prefers."
Again, Emma finds herself laughing but is unsure if it's because of what Tana said or the accent that came with it. "Just give him time, he'll come around."
"Honey, I ain't got no time to waste! This is my last summer here. I wanna have me some fun."
Kay stops walking. "I don't normally equate the word "fun" with "Jimmy". Now "cranky" and "Jimmy" would work."
"Well that's about as handy as a back pocket on a shirt." Tana snickers. "It does me no good."
"I don't know, I think Tana can turn him around. He needs someone to outwit him." Emma waves to Davy and Niko who have been waiting on the patio. They seem keenly interested in meeting this girl, as they have been watching her since she arrived.
"He's a smart ass, huh? I like him already."
Jones and Niko approach and both extend their hands in greeting. Upon doing so, Niko shakes his head and tries to hide his laughter.
"Excuse me, but what's so funny?" Tana tilts her head while holding her smile.
"Yer Jim's girl?" He turns to face Jones. "This is Jim's girl...the one he don't want?"
Tana hides her surprise from the comment. "Well then I guess I'm not Jim's girl, now ain't I?" She continues to smile. Her presence is intoxicating, her voice contains strength and wisdom. Five foot eight, she elegantly towers over her petite friends. The gentle wisps of golden hair frame her angelic face, while her blue eyes shine like a tropical lagoon. Even though she is wearing a t-shirt and jeans, her figure is portrayed perfectly. She always was a beauty, one that men rarely resist.
"Smarten up!" Jones snaps at the coxswain. "Stop your droolin'."
"Yes...stop it." Kay warns.
Davy continues. "I must warn ye, Jim isn't exactly open to this."
"I don't know, sir. He hasn't seen her yet." Niko mumbles and receives a glare from his girlfriend.
"So you think I might be the bosun's type?" Tana's omnipresent smile grows wider.
Niko steps back into the safety of his superior's backside. "He'd be a fool if ye weren't."
"Niko. How does sleeping on the couch sound?" Karine growls at him with disgust.
"Uncomfortable." He laughs.
Jones rolls his cerulean eyes. "So what's the plan for tonight?"
"Well, we are going to have a special dinner and we are going to pass her off as just a friend. She has no interest in meeting him." Emma announces.
Niko scoffs. "There's a great way to start a relationship! With a lie!"
Two hours after the dinner has finished, Jimmy hasn't made an appearance on the patio to greet the new guest. In fact, he could not be found all day. Normally evasive with strangers, it is to be expected, but not to the point of complete avoidance. Both Davy and Niko try to coax him out, but they always come back without him.
"I take it he knows what's going on." Tana says, resting her chin on her hand.
"Yeah, he's definitely on to us." Emma shrugs. "I guess we'll have to let him come to you on his own terms."
"Shame. Gotta love the strong, silent type. But if I'm going to be staying here for the summer, he's bound to run into me eventually. I didn't realize I was so scary." She says with a laugh. "Well, I'm going to the little girl's room."
She stands up and enters the house. After many years of staying here, she has become familiar with the layout. She decides on the washroom directly across from her room in the basement. As she heads down the darkened stairway, she comes face to face with the man who has been avoiding her. His face tells of his frustration, the shadows around him make him appear eerie and show his desperation for an escape. They stand there silently for a few minutes, both looking shocked and feeling awkward.
Jimmy shifts uncomfortably, wishing he were anywhere but here. "So yer the one they be trying to set me up with?"
"Beg your pardon?"
"Don't play dumb with me. I know yer in on this little scheme they got planned." He panics and storms past her, climbing each stair with a heavy thud. "Let me tell ye, it's not going to work!"
Tana thinks that perhaps it is best to turn the tables on him. "Well, if you're so nervous on meeting me, how come you're not hiding in your room?"
"Excuse me?" He spins around and glares at her. "I'm allowed to go where I please! I live here."
"And now, so do I. It just seems to me that skulking around in the dark is a rather suspicious behavior." She folds her arms across her chest and leans against the wall. "We can't have that as now the basement belongs to me."
He examines her coldly with his eyes and then descends the stairs to stand in front of her. "What I do is none of yer business."
"I think it is! As I said, I live here now."
"Oh, do ye now? Pray tell!" His eyes scan her body, from the determined stare, down past the gentle curves of her breasts to her bare toes exposed through slinky sandals.
"I always stay here in the summer. Did they fail to tell you that? I think you were curious and you were trying to check me out!" She leans into his face, eying the jagged teeth jutting from his jaw.
"Complete rubbish!" He growls and climbs the stairs again.
"So is your attitude. It's about as useful as a trap door on a canoe. So you can drop it. One would think you'd be more appreciative of a fan." She feigns disgust.
Again, he stomps down the stairs. "Ye know nothing of me."
"Your full name is James Alexander Jones. You're thirty seven years old, you were raised on a ship by a man named Samuel Jones...and I know you have a shitty attitude." Her eyes widen as she leans in closer to his face.
He stares at her with disbelief, his eyes flaring with frustration. "Bah! They told ye that!" A pointed finger snaps in the direction of the laughter outside.
"Not all of it," she laughs, "I figured out the shitty attitude part on my own."
"Aren't ye a clever one! Well, seeing since we're being so open and honest, I should tell ye that I think ye are one hell of a cocky twit!" He leans in and yells in her face.
"There's that shitty attitude again. Doin' you no good."
He pulls back in shock. No one has ever stood up to him like this before. He finds himself intrigued. "What's yer name?" He already knows her name, but feels it's his turn to do some button pushing.
"Montana Pierce."
"That's a stupid name. Named after a state!" He snarls.
"Oh, and what kind of name is Jimmylegs?" She retorts.
"I was given that name as a child. Because of my work ethic, 'tis why! I'm a hard worker..."
"And a hard ass..." She interrupts.
"Yer a bitch!" He begins his escape up the stairs. "And ye have a stupid accent!"
"You're making fun of my accent, Mr. Cockney British man?" Finding herself flustered, she swallows her pride and calls after him. "I know what you're doing. You're afraid of letting anyone get close, so you try to scare them away before they can hurt you. But I'm telling you that you're going to miss out on a lot if you continue to shut people outta your life. And being mean isn't enough to scare me off, no sir. You won't get rid of me that easily."
He considers her words carefully. "And how will I get rid of ye?"
Unfolding her arms, she climbs the stairs toward him. Her voice softens as she gazes up at him. She allows her lower lip to fall into a tantalizing pout. "That is up to you Mr. Legs. But you haven't left yet, so I'm not entirely sure you want to get rid of me."
"I should just push ye down the stairs and be done with ye." He snarls.
She looks at him and shrugs. "Well, here I am. What are you waiting for?"
"Yer more annoying than a tick stuck to the cheek of my ass! Ye know that?" He growls and ascends to the top. Stopping once he arrives there, he looks back down to her.
"And yet, you didn't push me."