Amala knew that eventually she would need to return to England, at least for a significant visit. And she would. But not yet; not until she was ready. She grew increasingly grateful for the comfortable companionship she shared with Paulina, who often declared that she didn’t know how she would ever get along without Amala should she ever decide to take a different course in life beyond traipsing around the world according to Paulina’s whims. For now, Paulina’s wanderlust suited Amala just fine, even if a part of her knew she was hiding and running away. She preferred to think of it more as simply giving herself time to adjust; perhaps it was some of both.

Paulina occasionally mentioned a desire to travel to America, just for the adventure of it, and said that perhaps they could do that after they’d worked up the courage for a brief visit in England. Amala liked the idea of having a plan that included extensive travel and a great many miles between herself and the happiness being shared by two of the people she loved most. It was Paulina’s view that some years had now passed since the end of that dreadful civil war in America, and as long as they restricted their travels to certain parts of the country, the dust had surely settled by now and they would not be affected by it. They had conversations about how much of the basis of the war had been rooted in the slavery of black-skinned people and how President Lincoln—prior to his tragic death—had written a proclamation to declare them now free. But Paulina and Amala both agreed that being declared free and actually being treated fairly by those with white skin were two vastly different things, and it would likely take a long, long time for such people of color to truly feel equal to their fellow human beings—if such a thing were ever even possible.