Bending over, I kissed his cheek, then his forehead, then his nose as a playful finish. ‘I… I love you, Ali,’ Billy said, looking at me nervous...y. Those were words I knew were hard for Billy to say. My heart melted nonetheless. I stroked the side of his neck with my thumb as our lips came together for one last kiss. . . . Well, at least for the moment. ‘I love you too,’ I said. ‘Forever and always. I’ll be back soon.’ —— I was halfway home when I began regretting my decision to leave. Evie and I got through it, just. We were like a couple of silly schoolgirls. We spent most of the morning copping a free feel from each other, enough for me to flood my liner. By eleven o'clock, when we had a coffee break, I had to dive to the loo to change it. As I sat there having a pee, I saw the toe of a shoe I recognised appear under the door. It was Evie.She tapped on the door, I opened it and she squeezed in to the small cubicle. She held her finger to her lips to keep me from saying. " Are you sure, left you here to cook and clean while he's out and you don't argue do you"?"Err no," her voice was getting louder as mine went very timid."So you don't know what he's up too, no wonder your stressed."It was as though she was forcing me to get stressed as I tried to find words to answer her, "He's working," I suddenly realized I was still standing by the wall like a naughty girl."Come here girl and say that like you mean it."Girl, girl I'm twenty-seven years old but I still. " Check," responded Isabella's voice in her earbug.Not long after dawn, Mira was on her way again. She had watched from the shadows as the village feasted on a small gazelle, roasted in the square. She had seen the men demand that several of the women dance for them. She had listened to the rhythms of drums beaten by one group of women as four very skinny young women, their faces veiled for "modesty", danced half-naked for the men. One of them, at least, was taken off to a tent for the pleasure.