Bonnie flicked her hands like I was talking nonsense. “Oh no, you won’t be driving yourself.” She sounded like I’d suggested I was going to fly myself there. “You haven’t been here! There’s a learning curve, my friend. You’ll go down with Elias, the logistics coordinator for our project.” Her face lit up at the mention of the man, which I guess was a good sign. “Eli’s a star, one of my favorite people.” Her grin got wider with every word spoken about the magical Elias. “He was a driver for a few years before getting the coordinator job. He’ll get you there in one piece.”

I could work with that. “Sounds good.”

“He’ll come by your guest house tomorrow at 6:00 a.m. to pick you up. Make sure you’re ready to go by then—it’s about five hours to Awassa, and I’d like you to be there by midday.”

She waved a hand in the direction of the cubicle I was supposed to occupy. “All the stuff you need to go over is there. There’s a copy of the contract, so you know exactly what we need to deliver on. The IT guys will come in an hour or so to set you up. They’ll have a phone with a SIM card for you too.”

She pushed off the desk she’d been leaning on and offered me another warm smile. I could not say I was feeling unwelcome in Addis Ababa. “I need to get to a meeting, but I’ll be back before you leave. We’re so happy you’re here and can’t wait to put you to work.”

I laughed again as I dropped my backpack on the chair in my desk. “I’m glad to be here too.”

As Bonnie walked away, I found that I meant every word. I could say it had to do with Tefare and Bonnie being the only two people I’d interacted with so far. But it was more than that. I felt at home here in a way that I rarely felt anywhere.

Chapter 2

I woke up to another chilly Addis morning, and quickly realized I had overslept.