a towel around her bare buttocks. A blushing Chung Lee treads water in the centre of the pool.
‘It’s not a good time, Ben,’ she says. ‘You should have phoned.’
‘How’s the water?’ I ask Chung. He doesn’t answer.
Elizabeth and I walk back toward the gate.
‘Why don’t you come tomorrow for dinner?’ she says. ‘We can talk.’
‘Who will you have naked in the pool tomorrow?’ I ask. ‘Professor Runnels? Mr Murehwa?’
‘I’m sorry this happened,’ she says, though I don’t detect remorse in her voice. ‘I told you I don’t like conflict.’
She stops a few feet in front of the gate. I keep walking. As I reach the exit, I turn back.
‘Here’s your wine,’ I say, tossing the bottle to her. ‘Catch!’
She reaches with both hands to grab it. The towel comes undone and falls to the ground.
‘Bastard,’ she says, setting the bottle on the ground and fumbling for the towel. I’ve never seen her naked in the sunlight. She’s almost pink.
‘Get out of here with your bullshit about reconciliation.’
I take one last look at her nipples before I leave.
I walk to the King George and prepare to get good and drunk. I’ve lost the little grounding I had in Harare. Now, even going to the archives will be uncomfortable. I think of all those people clapping for me at Mawere’s party. And I’ve done nothing.The only history I can write is the debacle of my relationship with Elizabeth.
I wonder if her dinner invitation for tomorrow is still good.
Chapter 12
The Princess Lounge has live music – a balding white crooner who specialises in Frank Sinatra with a twist of Tom Jones and Dean Martin. Well-dressed young black civil servants flock to the King George to loosen their ties and sing along to ‘My Way’ or ‘Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime’.
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