IBO - Brian R. Lundin (100 books to read in a lifetime .txt) 📗

it, how does it taste?”
Eli and Malik were too busy heaping food on their plate to answer.
After lunch the three friends were still sitting at the table, Malik and Eli were too full to move when Eli noticed the woman who had escorted them to their rooms was working in the garden.
“Who is that lady?” Eli asked pointing to her.
“Her name is Yolanda,” Diki answered.
“She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen,” Eli said. “
“Yes she is beautiful, on the inside as well as the outside. Her father worked with my father for many years and they were good friends, he was very loyal to my father and was his confidant. When he died, my father took her in and that was about fifteen years ago.
After lunch the three friends went by the pool, Yolanda brought them a pitcher of lemonade, looked at Eli and smiled as she walked away.
“Ok Malik. What’s up,” Eli asked?
“I have a business deal for Diki. Now, I know you don’t need any money, but money is money and no one has enough. I’m sure you have heard of crack cocaine. What makes it so popular in the States is that is very cheap. A hundred dollar investment can turn maybe five hundred. Let say, we make something just as well but cheaper, we could corner the drug market. In five years we could all walk away from all this with more money than we will ever be able to spend, if your scientist could come up with something, what do you think?”
“Interesting, what do you think Eli,” Diki asked.
“It could be risky.”
“Yes it could, but what isn’t,” Malik responded?”
“Let me talk with Dr. Lumody my chief chemist and see what they can do,” Diki said.
The three friends spent the next three weeks touring the fields, playing chess and relaxing. It was a glorious early evening as the sun was slowly on its way west to the hill where the sun hides. Eli was sitting on the porch enjoying the breathless view of the snow-topped mountain miles away when Yolanda appeared.
“Everything all right Mr. Eli,” she asked.
Without looking around, he knew who it was. Incredibly, even though she was a least a foot from him, Eli was absolutely convinced that he could feel the heat emanating from her body. When he turned around, he found himself staring into a pair of deep brown eyes that seemed hypnotic in their intensity. Her eyes held his for a brief second and Eli felt his heart beginning to pound in his tightening chest. He felt vaguely lightheaded and a little dizzy. Christ what’s the matter with me? I acting like a love struck teenager with a woman I have never even met before, Eli though.
“Please, Yolanda just call me Eli, yes everything is fine. It is such a lovely night and your country is so beautiful.”
“Yes it is, there is an old saying in my country that when the moon is full, the Gods are playing with the children,” Yolanda responded, looking up at the starry clear skies.
“Do you like it here with Diki?” Eli asked.
“Yes, he is such a good man, kind, generous and concerned. He is a like his father, good people, that’s why the Gods have smiled on him.”
“Have you ever been to the United States?”
“No,” she said.
“Diki has told me that it’s nice, but you have to be so very careful, it’s very dangerous. Diki get the papers from Chicago, New York, and most of the big cities, so much killing and violence in your country, why?”
“I don’t know there are probably a lot of reasons; no jobs, discrimination, and idleness, nothing for the young people to do and there are a lot of issues that needs to be resolved. Why should a kid, black or white work in a Mc Donald’s making fifty dollars a week when he can sell drugs and make a thousand dollars a day?”
“But isn’t that dangerous, they can go to jail?”
“So what, most of their friends are there anyway.”
“Just a waste” Yolanda said leaving, I don’t understand it.”
“Nice talking to you Mr.… she caught herself, I’m sorry, Eli. See you in the morning.”
Eli watched her as she left, she did not walk she floated, Eli though before going to bed.
The following morning at breakfast, Eli, and Malik was having coffee waiting for Diki when Malik noticed Eli watching Yolanda, as she served the coffee and joined them at the table. When Diki arrived and sat down next to Malik, Malik leaned over and said whispering to Diki “I think our man is in love.”
“She is so beautiful, man.” Eli said as Yolanda was walking away.
“Yes she is, I think she is kind of sweet on you too, yep, I have noticed her watching you and then turn her head when you look her way, go for it man,” Malik said jabbing Diki in the side.
“I wonder if she would come back to the States with me for a visit, what you think Diki.” Eli asked.
“Only one way to find out my brother is to ask her,” Diki said.
Eli turns to Diki, “What can you tell me about her?”
“What do you want to know, my brother?” Diki asked.
“Does she have a study boyfriend or something?”
“I don’t think so, she is a quiet young lady and I have met a couple of her male friends, but I don’t think there is nothing to it, and just you let you know, there is nothing going on between me and her either,” Diki said smiling. “I have seen you two looking at each other.”
“I think our boy is in love,” Malik jokingly said again.
“I don’t know about all that, but I am attracted to her,” Eli said.
“I talked with my chief chemist the other day and set up a meeting with him this morning after breakfast, but we will have to go by boat,” Diki said.
“What you guys think?”
“Diki asked.”
“Sounds pretty good to me, what you think Eli?” Malik asked.
“Sounds good to me too, but I’m concerned about the legal issues. The problem with drugs is getting dealers, eventually they are going to get caught, and that could cost us a lot of money in legal fees and bribes, but let see what the doctor can come up with,” Eli said.
“You’re right, but what if we became the suppliers, not the distributors. That way we don’t have to worry about the dealers getting busted, posting bonds or legal fees,” Malik responded.
“Hmm, that’s different,” said Eli.

The three friends decide to go the pool for a swim. While Diki and Malik were in the pool, Yolanda brought a pitcher of lemonade and sat it on a table by Eli’s chair. Yolanda was wearing a soft white African caftan, which accented her dark skin and long, cold black hair. Her movements were lithe and graceful. She was a tall woman, slim but with a well-toned body. A slight breeze swirled her white cotton caftan and it clung to her full breast.
“Good morning Eli, care for a glass of lemonade?”
“Yes Yolanda that would be nice, you look absolutely gorgeous.”
With a slight blush Yolanda says, "Thank you sir, you have made my day.”
Diki and Malik notice Eli and Yolanda and decide to keep splashing around in the water.
"Would you join me in a glass of lemonade?” Eli asked.
“Thank you, I will,” Yolanda responded as she sat down next to him.
“I don’t mean to be rash, but I got to tell you how attracted I am to you and I would like to get to know you better, if that’s ok with you.”
“I would like that very much Eli, I would like to get to know you better also, but you will be leaving soon, she said sadly.”
“Maybe I can stay a little longer,” Eli said.
Eli and Yolanda spent every day together. Taking quiet walks around the estate and getting to know each other. Yolanda took Eli to the villages where her people lived. A village consisted of twenty families who lived in wooden houses that contained three bedrooms, kitchen, sitting room, indoor plumbing, cable color television, and air conditioning. All the villagers treated Yolanda like a queen; they called her Damisko, which they explained to Eli meant, “Daughter of the Earth.” Yolanda introduced Eli to Jumo, one of her tribe's elders, known as the “Story Teller.”
Yolanda explained to Eli that the oral history of her tribe was handed down through the generations by the Groit or “Story Tellers.”
“I would like to learn more about your people, Eli said to Yolanda. “When I was in school, we always thought about Africa as a jungle inhibited by wild animals and blood thirsty savages, our impressions of Africa was what we saw in the old Tarzan movies.”
Yolanda laughed, “I have seen some of those movies too, they were terrible, Africa is much more than that comes I will let Jumo, our “Story Teller,” give you an education.

Jumo was very dark, thin, but muscular, and when he smiled, like Diki, his teeth were perfect and a brilliant white. Eli guessed he was somewhere in his late seventies, but he could not be sure. Jumo invited Eli and Yolanda into his house and his wife Jemmna offered them tea.
“I am honored to have you and the Damisko in my home,” he said.
“My friend want to know about the people” Yolanda said, “being from the colonies he has no knowledge of our people or our ways except what he saw in old Tarzan movies, please enlighten him,” Yolanda said smiling.
Jemmna poured her husband, Yolanda and Eli a cup of tea, and for a moment, he was quiet.
“You must excuse me please, the people live well now, but it was not always like that. In the old days, the land was hard and unforgiving. Many of the people died in their constant search for food and shelter. The land was arid in those old days and the gathering of food and particularly water was a major concern for the people. The people were broken up into small clans usually no more than twenty-five; more would prove too difficult to feed; fewer to vulnerable to attack from animals or other tribes.
The clan consisted of a leader, who was usually the best hunter and an assortment of males and females of all ages and all possible relationships, the safety and the perpetuation of the clan was their major concern, every new born was treated with reverence for they were the future.
The leader of the clan main responsibility was to feed the clan and they followed the migrating animals far and wide walking miles and for