The second lament was without question a life mistake. Josephine had been very young back then and she didn’t realize—or was in denial over the possibility—that she was pregnant until the fifth month. She went on to have the baby boy, but it was really Josephine’s sister who ended up rearing him. Josephine rarely saw him or his father. She had never revealed to James that she had had a child out of wedlock. She was ashamed of it. As far as Josephine was concerned, that would remain a secret forever.

Her other two children with James were a success story, however. Two girls, utterly brilliant throughout their schooling, one finishing law and the other starting medical school. A doctor and a lawyer in the family. Nothing could be more perfect than that.

SEVENTEEN

January 26, Accra, Ghana

Apart from a minor disturbance back in economy, which Josephine barely heard as she slept in her business class flat bed, the flight into Accra was uneventful. Night had fallen but the new international Terminal 3 was lit up and glistening like a crystal palace. Josephine breezed through VIP customs. Her driver was waiting for her on the other side, using his special pass to enter a normally restricted area.

From the airport, Josephine’s 4×4 vehicle with flashing lights got her back home more quickly than it would mere mortals and she pulled into the guarded compound of the Akrofi home within an hour of landing.

While the houseboy took the luggage in, James came out to meet her. “How are you, love?” he said, hugging her and giving her a robust kiss on the cheek. “I’ve missed you.”

“Me too, love,” she said.

“Tired after the long trip?”

“Just a little.”

They held hands as they went into the house. “If you’re hungry, Araba has made something,” James told her.

“Maybe in an hour or so,” Josephine said, slipping her heels off in the foyer. Her feet ached and it felt so good to walk in her stockings. With a sigh of relief, she flopped onto the sofa in the sitting room as Araba, the diminutive maid appeared.

“Good evening, madam. You are welcome.”

“Thank you, Araba.”

“Please, will you take something to eat?”

“Just bring me some water with ice. Be sure it’s Bel-Aqua. I can’t drink that awful Voltic.” She looked pointedly at James, but he only laughed. They each swore by their favorite brands of bottled water and claimed they could taste the difference.

“Yes, madam.”

James didn’t want anything, and Araba left.

“So great to see you, Josie,” he said, leaning over to kiss her again. “Did you have a successful trip?”

“Yes, I think so,” she said, rubbing her feet.

“Here, let me do that,” he said, swinging her feet into his lap. “You just relax.”

“Ah, thank you so much,” she said. James really did do a good massage. “I got at least three people to pledge to the Autism Foundation and a couple more of them probably will once I get back to them tomorrow to remind them.”