I'm flashing back (by one day) in italics.

Chapter 21

The teams last day in Haiti was scheduled to take them out of Port-au-Prince for the full day. This was the reason they were told to pack a swimsuit. It wasn't so they could get in some practice. Once they got to Port-au-Prince that was obvious. There wasn't a droplet of water that was safe to be in, around, touch or drink.

The drive to Indigo Beach in Artibonite, Haiti would take close to two hours. Paige wasn't sure why they were spending the whole day there. They weren't here to vacation. They were here to build homes. Something about knowing they were on their way to play in the sun for a day on the beach bothered Paige. Perhaps it was because yesterday served as another stark reality of people's lives in Port-au-Prince.

The previous day…

The Rosewood teens had to take time off from the Habitat build site for the last half of the day. Crews would be attaching rafters and putting roofs up today. The girls weren't permitted to take part in those duties for risk of injury.

Instead, the team spent the afternoon in Cite Soliel. They had brought toys and games with them to play with kids from a local orphanage. The kids would be brought to a safe, gated complex at one of the sponsored compounds in the area.

To say that Cite Soliel was an eye-opener would be a drastic understatement. Nikki shared with the girls that Cite Soliel is the poorest slum in the western hemisphere. Over 500,000 people live within 2 miles. And you could almost see them all.

Cite Soliel was also known as "the tent city." That's all it was for as far as the eye could see. Row after row, with no space between, of "homes" stitched together with rickety sticks and tarps and scrap, rusty metal. To be honest, your first reaction was to turn and look away. Not to bear witness to the people staring back at you as you ride along in a bus while they stand in a seemingly forgotten wasteland. It was uncomfortable to witness living conditions like this. But the girls forced themselves to see the reality. If everyone looked away there would never been any change.

Emily looked out of her window and gestured for Paige to look as well. There was an older man sitting on a pile of rubble in bare feet, hitting a piece of rebar into a cinderblock with a rusty piece of scrap metal. They didn't even have the proper clothes or tools needed to rebuild. Anyone else might feel these attempts to be futile. But not here. No, in Haiti, you use what you can and you make progress day-by-day, hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute, second-by-second. And you do it with gratitude. Imagine if that scrap piece of metal hadn't been there to take the place of a hammer? Then what? The scrap metal was a blessing in disguise.

The bus parked in front of what looked like a community center in the compound. There were locked gates at each entrance. The windows had bars on them. It was evident that security was more of an issue here than it was at Blanchard. The front of the large space was wide open. From the middle half and back, sat row after row of white bench seats. There was no roof on the structure at all. If not for the trees that surrounded the building, the sun would bear down all day long. Luckily at this time of day shade was plentiful.

The girls unpacked all of the boxes they brought along. They were full of games, toys, every kind of ball imaginable, jump ropes, coloring books and so on. When the kids arrived there was most likely to be mass chaos with children laughing, running, screeching everywhere. The Rosewood teens welcomed it whole-heartedly.

Mr. Jean Durand from the orphanage led his group of children into the large open-air building. All of the kids walked in single-file and eyed the Sharks swim team with curiosity. Most of the kids tried to get a look at what was in the boxes and on the benches and tables. The smiles that graced their innocent faces let the girls know they had brought the right kind of play items.

Jean looked like a very nice man. When he smiled, his eyes lit up. Jean greeted Coach Fulton like an old friend. Probably at this point he was. Coach had been bringing her teams to Haiti for the past several years. Each time they came to Cite Soliel to visit with the orphaned children.

Coach Fulton gathered up the team to go over a few things with them before she let her swimmers breakout with the kids. "Now ladies, I don't have to remind you to behave, right? We don't need the kids running around like crazy people just because you've gotten them worked up."

Every head swiveled towards Paige. "What?" She rolled her eyes. "OK, y'all…"

Within fifteen minutes everyone was spread throughout the large space and having a great time. Emily was towards one corner with some of her teammates kicking a soccer ball back and forth with several of the older kids. Paige was running around doing something that caused a lot of shouting and laughter. Before long what she was up to became clear. Bright cords of silly string in neon colors flew through the air.

Coach Fulton looked over to Sydney who was coloring with a small boy and girl at a bench nearby. "Is that silly string? Did she bring that?"

Sydney laughed. "You really have to ask, Coach?" Sydney then stood up. "You're cleaning that up, Paige! I'm not sweeping up your mess!" Paige just looked over at her with a big smile on her face. She couldn't have cared less.

Just then, Emily ran by in a flash. She had neon blue silly string hanging from her hair. "Not you too, Fields," Coach Fulton groaned.

Emily laughed as she blazed by. She shouted back, calling out over her shoulder, "If you can't beat'em, join'em, Coach!"

Coach Fulton rolled her eyes. "Those two," she murmured to herself.

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That night the girls were treated with a drive up into Petitionville. It was an affluent suburb of Port-au-Prince. This is where most anyone with a modest- to higher- level of wealth lives. How they came to that money was any number of ways. They could be foreign business executives, government officials or they could have inherited the wealth from their families who had once thrived during open trade to and from the island country.

Driving up the hills out of Port-au-Prince was like escaping to another world. Colorful houses and villas dotted the hills as they ascended. Here the streets were paved. Trash and debris was not nearly as prevalent. Electricity hummed along the wires that carried life into the homes and businesses. People walked along the streets in clean clothes, some of which even appeared designer. The ethnic makeup of people coming and going was diverse. The air was much, much more clean. The girls could take deep breaths without choking.

A light fog hung in the air the higher the bus climbed. At one point the bus stopped at a local shopping area to let the girls out. They had all brought cash with them as instructed and some of the girls were eager to buy souvenirs.

Emily bought a couple handmade bracelets in bright colors and designs. The woman making them had two of her three daughters with her that day to help out. Her husband left for a job opportunity some years before that. She since taught herself how to make jewelry and now supports her and her daughters.

Paige bought a painting from a man who had a stand on the side of the road. It had variations of brown, burnt orange, grass green, bronze and yellow. In the middle was a sun. Surrounding the sun on all four sides were reptiles found on the island: four snakes and two lizards. It was really very pretty. And he'd painted all of it with his hands and fingers. He used no brushes at all. Before she left his stand, she had the artist remove the canvas from the slight wooden frame he'd tacked it to. It would be much easier to transport home this way.

Before they drove back down to the compound in Port-au-Prince, the team stopped for dinner at a well-known pizza place. Their waitress, Nadine, stopped by to take their drink orders. When it was Paige's turn to order she looked up, "What kinda Coke have y'all got?"

Nadine looked confused. "Regular," she said it like a question; like she wasn't sure herself.

"What kinda regular Coke though?"

"A bottle," again said more like a question.

"Yeah but-"

Emily placed her hand over Paige's to stop her from going further. "Nadine, she'll have Sprite if you have it."

Nadine looked over to Paige for confirmation. Paige nodded her head yes.

Emily turned to Paige when Nadine left the table. "Honey, when are you going to learn that Coke is Coke, Sprite is Sprite, Root Beer is Root Beer…it's not all Coke. You confuse everyone."

Paige pouted. "It's not my fault y'all don't know. Probly you're just doing this to tease me."

Emily shrugged her shoulders and nodded the affirmative. "Prob-ab-ly." Emily made sure to enunciate the syllables Paige had left out. It's ironic because most things Paige says stretches to far more syllables than the word is supposed to have, and other times syllables are completely left out.

Paige threw her hands up in the air laughing while her teammates joined in.

To say the girls ravaged everything in front of them would be pretty accurate. They decimated every pan of pizza that was sat on the table. They swore they'd never had pizza that tasted so good. Either that or they were simply craving food that reminded them of home.

One of the purple flowers that hung from a trellis suspended above their table fell and floated down into Emily's lap. She plucked it up and made an exaggerated show of the flower to Paige. Nikki had told the girls at her table while they waited for their food about the tradition of the fragrant purple flowers. If one of them falls down to you, you have been blessed. The person then seated to your right gets to kiss you. Paige, of course, was seated to Emily's right.

Paige looked to Emily and smiled lovingly. She's all too happy to kiss her beautiful girlfriend. Emily smiled and pointed to her cheek near her prominent dimple. Paige leaned in to place a soft, lingering kiss there.

"Bless you," Paige said as she pulled back. Nikki had not said anything about Paige needing to say that, but it felt right to Paige at the time. Paige then took the flower from Emily, tucked her hair behind her girlfriend's ear, and placed the purple flower there. It looked like it belonged there as a decoration in her long, dark waves.

"Thanks," Emily said as she gently traced her fingers down Paige's arm and met her hand under the table. They both felt very fortunate to share this experience together.

Sydney reached for the rolled up canvas Paige had sitting near her chair. "Can I see the painting you bought today?"

Paige handed it over for Sydney and the girls seated near her to look at. She already knew where she was going to hang it in her bedroom. First though, she'd have to pay for a frame shop to stretch it for her.

"Are those snakes," asked Brooke, one of the distance swimmers for the Sharks. She was pointing down at the painting with her nose crinkled in what must have been unease.

"Yeah, I think they are," Paige answered. "It's like an island thing."

Sydney dropped the painting. "Oh my God! This is a voodoo painting!"

Paige grabbed the canvas and looked. "What? What do you mean?" Her eyes were wide in panic.

"Snakes, Paige. You know, like in voodoo…" Sydney said ominously.

"…and witchdoctors and headshrinkers and evil spirits…" Brooke chimed in with a grim look on her face, her voice an octave lower.

Paige swallowed audibly. Sweat broke out on the back of her neck. She likes her head the size it is. All of her hats fit perfect.

"You better sleep with one eye open, Paige. In fact, maybe you ought to sleep in a different room…by yourself. I don't want that bad," Sydney waved her hands around Paige, "aura rubbing off on me."

This was like Paige's worst fear from horror films come to life. She was about to become the next Blair Witch Project. Shit! Damn $40 voodoo painting. She'd even paid extra just because the liked the artist.

Paige looked to Nikki, her eyes pleading for help. Maybe she could burn some kind of bush or grass or something and run around in a circle. Then things would be OK.

Nikki couldn't contain her laughter anymore. "They're just teasing you, Paige. The painting is fine."

"We got you," the rest of the Sharks said pointing and laughing.

"I think y'all are gonna be the one's sleepin' with one eye open now," Paige said sarcastically. She turned back to Nikki. "But are the snakes really voodoo?"

Nikki shrugged her shoulders. "I can't say why the artist chose to put snakes on here. It may just be because he likes snakes. I can tell you that voodoo is the most widely practiced religion on the island and yes, snakes are part of it." Paige's eyes went wide. Nikki quickly added reassurance, "But they aren't a bad thing…snakes are revered…it's a good thing to have them on your painting."

"If you say so…" Paige planned to do some research when she got home, that's for sure.

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That night the girls went to bed in a pizza/carb daze with their bellies full and their spirits high. Going up to Petitionville was the right call to make. If they'd have come back to the compound after Cite Soliel that's all they'd have thought about as they tried to sleep. And most likely, they wouldn't have slept a wink.

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Present day….

It only took the bus full of Rosewood teens two and a half hours to make it to Indigo Beach in Artibonite. As they pulled into the parking lot, a large sign welcomed them to Club Indigo. Apparently this resort used to be a Club Med back when the island was in its heyday. Now it serves as a resort for vacationers who wanted to experience Haiti but wouldn't dare venture into Port-au-Prince. Club Indigo is one of the many beach resorts that dot the coast of Haiti. Some of the others are ports of call for cruise lines. In fact, hundreds of thousands of visitors vacation in the country every year.

Looking around, you'd never know that only two hours away, a population of over three million people is struggling to make it from day-to-day. If Club Indigo is any indication, tourism is alive and well in Haiti. And really, why wouldn't it be? It's a beautiful country full of amazing, proud people. If you come once, you're definitely coming back.

As Paige looked around, she started to understand why they were here today. This is their day to spend time together and come down from the trip. The girls experienced a lot this week. They saw a lot, too; a lot that opened the doors of the world to them. But they were going back to Rosewood tomorrow, back to a life that was very different than what they had encountered here. A day spent in an environment they were more accustomed to would be good right now. A way to ease them back in so-to-speak.

The pool was crystal clear. In the heat of the day this was very appealing. Chaise lounges were spread out evenly around the perimeter. A bright tile walkway led visitors to and from the pool and the hotel lobby. The girls scoped out the digs before deciding where they all wanted to go. Walking out towards the beach, they were greeted by an ocean that was a shade of greenish blue some of them had never seen before. If they'd been looking at a picture of this beach, they'd have sworn the color was Photoshopped. Nothing could be this pure, this beautiful.

Paige saw the kayak rental booth right away. She convinced Emily to go for a ride with her. They'd each get a single kayak for 30 minutes for only $10. $10! Back home something like this on the beach would probably be $75 easy.

The girls got in their kayaks, held steady in the shallow water by rental assistants. The only restriction they had was the mandatory life vests that had to be worn at all times. Otherwise, they could paddle out as far as they felt safe.

They lazily paddled around for a while taking in the scene of the beach from about 30 yards out from shore. There were quite a lot of people here, actually. Some of them sat out in the sun soaking up the UV rays while working on their tans. Others sat on lounges under thatch-roofed cabanas.

Both girls had their feet propped up, their oar across their laps, their heads tilted back, eyes closed and soaking up the sun.

"This is pretty great, right?" Paige said.

"This is awesome," Emily agreed, breathing in deep and exhaling slowly.

"I'd love to come back here some day. Maybe I could even visit with Anne-Marie. See how she's doing."

"That sounds nice, Paige. You should."

"Would you come back with me? I mean, if we're still together then."

Their off-track discussion the other night about futures and kids and stuff hung in the balance between them. Sure it was lighthearted but wasn't there some truth to it? Really, neither girl had a clue what the future held for them as individuals or as a couple. The end of the school year would be here before they knew it. What then?

Emily sat up in her kayak and looked over to Paige. "I'd go anywhere you asked me to. Any time. Any circumstance. Always." She removed her sunglasses so Paige could see the truth in her eyes.

Paige smiled and did that little head dip she always used to do when she first met Emily and was still somewhat flustered by her. "Good, that's good."

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When their 30 minutes was up, Paige and Emily joined most of the rest of their team in the pool. They hopped in to a winner takes all game of chicken in the shallow end. Of course, neither Paige nor Emily wanted to be on the bottom. They wanted to be on the top, on the shoulders duking it out with their opponents.

Paige ended up winning the coveted position with her contention that as a field hockey player, she has more control of her arms. Emily didn't see the validity of the case but she was tired of talking about it.

Besides, it's not like having her head between Paige's thighs was new to Emily. It's a position she rather likes…very much. In fact, when Paige got up on Emily's shoulders for the first battle, Emily discreetly kissed the inside of Paige's left inner-thigh and licked an escaping water droplet as it cascaded downward when no one was looking. Paige nearly fell off at the jolt of arousal. Emily craned her head up to smirk at Paige. Her look conveyed the obvious, "Playas gonna play." She's going to pass up that opportunity? No.

Their circumstantial abstinence was apparently rough on both girls. Private time back in Rosewood could not come fast enough. No pun intended.

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Everyone fell asleep pretty quickly that night. The girls would miss the sounds that surrounded them in the stillness of Haiti at night. It would be strange not to hear people talking, belly laughs bouncing around half crumbling walls, cows mooing, dogs barking. And yes, they'd even miss waking up to the sound of roosters crowing.

The walk back into the terminal at PAP was a somber one. As much as they were looking forward to going home, they also didn't want to leave.

In many ways, this was a life-changing experience. A once-in-a-lifetime experience too. Never again would they come as a team to this country to help build homes for families like Anne-Marie's. The bonds they forged in a country thousands of miles away from their own would propel them through the remainder of the season.

Paige was pretty quiet for the majority of the flight back to Miami. She and Emily were once again seated next to each other.

"What are you thinking about," Emily asked. She leaned her head against her girlfriends shoulder.

"You know that questionnaire we had to fill out before the trip? I was stuck on that one question when we were at your house."

"The one about what you hoped to gain from the experience?"

"Yeah, that one."

"What about it?"

"Well I never really did answer it," Paige admitted. "I kinda left it blank, and I wish now that I had been more open to the question. I could answer it without hesitation now."

Emily rested her hand gently on top of Paige's on the armrest between them. "You can tell me. What did you gain from the experience in Haiti?"

Paige's face brightened with a wide smile. "In one word: perspective. In another: gratitude. Humility, maybe too." Paige took a deep breath. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I've had a kinda shitty year so far."

Emily laughed. "It has been something, that's for sure."

"For months all I've thought about in the back of my mind is, 'why me?' 'How could this happen to me of all people?' I've gotten down on myself, my friends and my family. But really, how bad is my life? It isn't bad at all, in fact. It's good. I'm happy. I have great parents who love me and I love back. I have a fun group of friends who accept me for me. I have a sister." Paige cupped Emily's cheek and kissed her softly on the lips. "I have a beautiful girlfriend who I love with all my heart. I'm fortunate."

Emily squeezed Paige's hand. "I think we all are."

"Yeah, most of us are. But you know what? The people we just left, the Haitians, they are fortunate too. And the thing is…they know it, more so than any of the rest of us…and I think that's what makes them so great. My spirit feels lighter having been there."

"Me, too," Emily agreed. "I will never, ever forget this."

None of them would. None of the girls wanted to forget a single moment. A single person they met. And especially for Paige, she'd never forget Anne-Marie.

A/N: thecatfromaliceinwoderland- I liked your voodoo idea. I have the exact painting that I wrote Paige buying up in Petitionville. It hangs in my office. Honestly, when I started writing that scene it was for fun, until I thought, "Oh shit. Wait, what if it really is bad?" So I looked it up. Nope. Snakes=good. Whew!

Well this is the last chapter of the Haiti trip. I really enjoyed writing it. Hopefully I didn't go overboard with it.

We're back in Rosewood next chapter.