I’d emailed or texted her every other day since I’d gotten here, but my dad had died here on a job similar to the one I was doing. Granted, his death had nothing to do with the work or being in Ethiopia, but still I knew she would get anxious.

“Mamí, I’ve been in way more remote places than this, and you know Ethiopia is very safe. I emailed you the day before yesterday to tell you we were coming back to Addis and that I was fine.”

She flipped her hand like an email every few days was not nearly enough. “I know, but the roads can be dangerous and they’re so narrow. I worry!”

I shook my head and tried not to get on her case about her assuming nothing had changed in the more than two decades since she’d been here. “Mamí, that was like twenty years ago! The roads are fine. We got back without so much as a flat tire. The logistics coordinator for the project drove me, and he was a driver for the embassy for years. He’s also the most responsible person on earth.” My stomach lurched from the mere mention of Elias.

This seemed to appease my mother, though, and her face relaxed somewhat. “Oh good, I’m happy to hear you’re with a good driver. Although I’m not surprised.” She sighed wistfully and looked up like she was recalling a memory. “We had such good years there. Met so many wonderful people.” After another sigh, she perked up. “Did you see Saba yet?”

I rolled my eyes at her question. “¡No, mujer, ya te dije! Like I mentioned in my email, I’ll see her today. I wasn’t sure how late we’d get back yesterday and didn’t want to cancel on her.”

“Okay, mijo,” she said, smiling wide at the mention of her friend. Saba had been my mom’s best friend when they lived here, and their friendship had not only survived, but thrived in the years since. Saba worked for the United Nations, and growing up I saw her almost every year when she’d go for meetings in New York City. She would always invite my mom and me to stay with her for the weekend, and we would take the bus from Ithaca to see her.

Those weekends with Saba were some of the best memories I had with my mom. Saba was a loyal friend to my family and, after my dad died, the only person other than my grandparents my mom and I could talk to who understood how hard it was for us without him.