“That must be Dr. Yusif. He said he would meet us here and take us to the campsite.”
“I didn’t expect it to be so green. I expected it to look more barren.”
Evan turned as he unloaded their bags and all the supplies from the plane. “Natumba is quite an agricultural state—they produce a lot of groundnuts. The land is supposed to be well cultivated and irrigated.”
“And the villages?” She left the question hanging in the air between them.
Both of them had read as much as they could about the surrounding area. Only half of the population in the area had access to portable water and appropriate sanitation. Health care was limited and the education system in a state of neglect.
Although the government had launched national campaigns to raise awareness about polio, the reality was the message wasn’t reaching the villagers.
“Nigeria isn’t all savannah. The far south has a tropical rainforest climate and good rainfall. There are also areas of saltwater swamp and mangroves. The border with Cameroon has highlands and a rich rainforest. It’s not the dry desert wasteland that some people expect.”
Dr. Yusif was striding across the ground to meet them. He was dressed in a white shirt and trousers with a white kufi cap on his head. “Welcome, welcome.” His smile reached from ear to ear. “I’m so glad to see you.” He shook hands with them both and guided them over to the vehicles. “Grab your bags and let’s get on the move. It will be too hot to travel if we don’t start now.”
“How far away is the campsite?” Violet asked as she slid into the backseat of the four wheel drive. The upholstery of the seats were ripped and scorched by the sun. She pulled her skirt down to stop her skin from sticking to the surface. It must be around one hundred degrees in here, nothing like the comfortable, air-conditioned vehicles they’d had in the city, or that she took for granted back home.
“It’s only around an hour, but the roads can be rough. Hold on to your hat!”
Evan slid in next to her and they listened as Dr. Yusif filled them in on some of the background to where they’d be working. Violet clung onto the grab handle on the roof as the car pitched over the uneven terrain—anything to stop her sliding across the seat and landing in Evan’s lap.
He was managing to look as cool and calm as ever. How did he do it? The sweat was already starting to trickle down her spine and she was wishing she had pulled her hair off her collar with an elastic band.
Dr. Yusif seemed to talk constantly. It seemed that he’d been here, without support, for some time and was relieved that they’d arrived. He was moving on to another area and would introduce them to the team covering the three local areas, which Evan would be leading.
Every now and then he turned and spoke to the driver of the car in another language. “What language is that you’re speaking?” Violet queried.
“It’s Hausa, the native language around these parts. Don’t worry. You’ll be assigned a local guide who’ll be able to interpret for you. And it might surprise you, but some of the villagers speak English. It’s one of the official languages of Nigeria. You’ll get along fine here.”
The countryside sped past. They passed some smaller villages, where people were working in the fields, and had to pull over as some livestock were driven along the road toward them.
Violet was feeling nervous.
This was what she’d wanted—a complete change of scenery. A chance to do the job she’d initially set out to do. A chance to test herself again—to get in among real live people and see if she could make a difference to their health and future prospects. A chance to get away from Evan Hunter.
The past few weeks had been a terrible strain. Working with Evan had been hard enough after their passionate interlude. But seeing his reactions to her brother’s involvement in the potential smallpox outbreak had made her throw all rational thought out the window.
She’d thought that by applying for a transfer she’d not only get a new start for herself but also a new start away from him.
But the director had obviously had other ideas.
Being trapped in a room with him last night had been more than a little strange. Of course she’d heard him come into the room.
Her heartbeat had quickened as she’d heard the rustle of his clothes. Willing herself not to imagine what lay beneath.
She’d been very conscious of her own breathing, trying not to let it change to keep up the pretense of being asleep when the mattress had sunk as he’d sat down on the edge of the bed. Then there had been the careful placement of pillows between them.
All the while her mind had been throwing them back off the wall on the other side of the room.
But why did she feel like this? She didn’t want to like him. She didn’t want to find him attractive. It was so much easier when they were arguing and scowling at each other. But this man had crept under her skin in so many different ways that she didn’t even want to think about.
All from that one kiss.
Why had neither of them ever acknowledged it? A relationship would have been frowned on by bosses at the DPA. Particularly if things had gone on a downward spiral and affected the work of the team.
But more importantly, for Violet, it was easier to pretend it had never happened. Because then she would have to deal with how it, and he, had made her feel. And she wasn’t ready for that, not then and not now.
She wasn’t ready for anything other than the job. Thinking about a man would bring a whole host of other emotions to the surface. She was only ready to take baby steps.
Only her first baby steps had been like stepping onto the moon. A giant leap for mankind and a giant leap for Violet.
Working at the DPA had sheltered her for a while. It had almost made her feel safe. Watching the crops and dust speed past was exciting—her first visit to Africa. But it was just so, so different from being based in the DPA at Atlanta.
Could she really handle this? Or was it all just a step too far?
The car jolted to a halt outside a makeshift building. This was obviously the village. Most of it was in a state of disrepair. There was a huge variety of structures from thatched-roof huts to wooden buildings, from brick buildings to some traditionally built husa houses.
Her eyes were drawn immediately to the overhead water tank at the edge of the village. At least this village had one. From what she’d learned, access to improved water and sanitation was a daily challenge for most Nigerians, particularly in the rural north of the country where less than half the population had access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.
She jumped out and followed Evan into the building. Although the surroundings were poor, the equipment almost made her do a double-take. Two computers sat on a bench—where the generator was she’d no idea. Her eyes widened at the sight of some mobile phones and GPS monitors sitting on another bench, alongside vaccine transporters and fridges into which the vaccines were already being unpacked.
There was whole host of people to meet. Some of the village leaders, some health staff, community outreach workers, midwives and members of another voluntary organization involved in water aid.
But most importantly, outside stood a row of women with their children. Violet cringed with embarrassment as her case thudded from the back of the car. Three months’ worth of clothes and a whole pile of other things now seemed extravagant and ridiculous.
It didn’t matter that she also had a whole host of medical supplies in her case. The size and weight of her lime-green case now seemed like a beacon of excess. She wanted to send it straight back home.
Evan’s much smaller, navy blue case seemed much more appropriate. Something else to hold against him.
Dr. Yusif was still fussing around them, probably relieved that there were finally some colleagues to hand over to. “Your accommodation is over there.
I’ll get your luggage taken over. Would you like to go and freshen up?”
Violet followed where his finger was pointing at a solid brown building just a few hundred yards away.
“Separate rooms?” she asked. It was the first thing that sprang to mind.
“What?” He looked confused then started laughing. “Of course. There are single rooms for all of our staff. They are small and pretty basic, a single bed with mosquito net, a chest of drawers—” his eyes danced over her bulging case “—and some toilet facilities, but I’m sure you’ll be comfortable.”
“I’m sure we will be.” She was relieved. Being stuck in a room at night with Evan had unsettled her, and she had no idea if that would be expected in their field assignments too. Thankfully not.
She glanced at her watch, unsure what to do first. She nodded at the people outside. “Want me to get straight to work?”
Dr. Yusif looked a little taken aback. “Don’t you and Dr. Hunter want to take some time to settle in? I’ve got a whole host of things to hand over to Dr. Hunter before I leave—it will probably take the rest of the day.”
Violet shrugged. She wasn’t there to be a team leader. She was there to be doctor. And there was no time like the present.
Dr. Yusif’s hand touched her skin. “You do realize you won’t just get to administer polio vaccine straight away? Most of these people are here because their children are sick.” He lowered his voice. “This is where it gets really difficult. People come because you’re a doctor, not because of the vaccine. If you start to treat every problem, you’ll never get the job done that you’re here for.”
Violet looked at the anxious faces. She could already tell where she would fall down in this job. She couldn’t just administer vaccine. She had to look at the whole health of a person, how they lived, their home and their facilities, in order to give them the best advice possible. It was the heart of public health.
“Well, let’s just get me started in the meantime. We can reassess how things are going in a few days. Can you pair me up with an interpreter?”
Dr. Yusif nodded quickly and gestured to a young woman dressed in bright clothing to come over. “Olabisi, come over here please.”
The woman hurried over, her bright orange and red skirts sweeping along the floor. “Dr. Connelly wants to start straight away. Can you interpret for her, please, and show her around the clinic?”
Evan touched her shoulder. “Are you sure about this?”
He was leaning over her, watching her again with those blue eyes. He was close enough to see the gold flecks.
He couldn’t possibly know. He couldn’t possibly know how hard these first few steps would be.
Should she tell him?