He reached out his hand, and when she grabbed it he pulled her out of her seat.
“We’ll be back in a little while,” Christine said to Akosua.
Before they set off, they went to the water’s edge to let Abe know. Hosiah looked immediately anxious. “Where are you going, Daddy?”
“We’re just going to walk past the village.”
“Is the bad man there?”
Dawson got a knot in his chest. “Come here, Hosiah.”
He knelt in the sand and hugged his wet son, giving him a kiss. “The man isn’t there, okay? I promise you. We went with Mr. Cardiman and saw the village with the chief and everything, and no one bad was there. Only good people, okay?”
Hosiah nodded mutely.
“We’ll be back soon. Play with Uncle Abe and Sly.”
He lifted his palm in the air and his son gave him a resounding high five, running back into the water.
Dawson and Christine held hands as they sauntered along the beach a little in front of the farthest point the waves rolled up onto the sand. The sun was high overhead, and the aqua hue of the water appeared more intense.
“This was such a wonderful idea, Dark,” she said, her eyes shining as she looked at him. “The boys are having the time of their lives, and they’re overjoyed to see you safe and sound. Thank you.”
He looked back at her. She was lovely in a loose flowered skirt and a waist-hugging sleeveless teal blouse. She asked him if he had learned anything useful from Cardiman or the chief.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I have to digest it tomorrow.”
He wasn’t interested in talking any further about it, and he knew she sensed that.
They crossed a bridge over the Ezile River, passed along the outskirts of Akwidaa, negotiated another clump of rocks, and entered the peninsula forest along a path that twisted and turned through thick undergrowth and palm and banana trees. At intervals, lengths of chicken wire stretched between one bush or tree and the next.
“What are those for?” Christine wondered.
“I think it’s to keep goats and sheep out when they plant crops,” Dawson said. “And of course, any wild animals.”
“Wild animals? What wild animals?”
“You know, forest leopards and things like that,” Dawson said casually.
“What?” Christine said, stopping in her tracks. “There are no leopards in Ghana.”
“Oh, yes there are,” he said, turning to her authoritatively. “People just don’t know about them. Just like they don’t know we have dolphins and whales.”
“Wait a minute,” she said incredulously. “There are leopards in this forest? Who told you that?”
