Days had passed, the snow piled deep outside, and she had begun helping in the medical school, though she had not yet taken on teaching.
Mary encouraged her to feel things out first. She found herself enjoying it there, and for the first time in a long while it felt like a glimpse of her old self.
When their work in the medical school finished for the day, Mary and Iyisha went to help Ester in the garden.
The air was thick with the smell of wet soil and the faint sweetness of sprouting plants. Dirt clung beneath her nails, and her palms ached from pressing seeds into the damp rows.
The two women teased her gently about her soft hands and how she would toughen up with time. Their laughter was easy, comforting, yet tinged with curiosity.
Ester tilted her head, studying Iyisha with a knowing smile.
"So, is he your man?"
Iyisha blinked. "Who?"
"Malcolm," Ester said as if it were obvious. "The way he watches the room before you walk in. Damn!"
