“Yeah, though I don’t understand why.” I wrap my hand around the cup.
“What tea is that?” Clarissa asks, nodding toward my mug.
“Just green tea,” I answer.
She leans over me to glance at the cup. “And what’s that in it?”
“The stalk of a tea leaf,” I tell her. “The landlady said if it’s standing up, it’s good luck.”
“I see.”
As it so happens, the stalk is upright, floating like a buoy on the surface of the greenish gold liquid, which strangely reminds me of the color of Toshi’s eyes.
“So, maybe you’ll have good luck.” Clarissa gives me a weak smile.
“I’d rather give it to you,” I tell her. “I hope you’ll find whatever it is you’re looking for in Africa.”
She falls silent.
I take a sip from my cup and then set it down beside me. “Speaking of giving and of leaves, there’s something I want to give you before you leave.”
I take a carved wooden leaf out of my pocket, handing it to her.
Clarissa takes it, examining it closely. “Is this...?”
“The leaf you were trying to make back in Anchorage,” I tell her. “I continued it and finished it for you. I’ve even polished it. I hope you don’t mind.”
She shakes her head. “Not at all. It’s far better than I ever hoped it would be.”
“And I’ve put it on a leather strap so you can wear it,” I add.
She turns to me. “Do you want to put it on me?”
“Sure.”
She turns her back to me, holding her hair up and I try to tie the necklace around her neck. Try. The gesture takes a few attempts because of my large fingers and the strands of her hair getting in the way. With each attempt, my fingers graze against the soft skin of her nape, the soapy smell of it drifting to my nostrils. It reminds me of how she looked back there at the waterfall, so much of her skin bared, including those of her slender shoulders, her flat abdomen, her long legs. The memory doesn’t help with what I’m trying to do.
Finally, I finish and Clarissa lets her hair down.
“Sorry,” I mumble, still blushing, which I’m glad doesn’t show because of my dark skin. “Big, clumsy hands.”
I show them to her.
She places her hand on top of one of mine, the whole thing barely fitting in my palm. “I like your big hands.”
My blush intensifies.
She then runs her fingers over the leaf pendant of her necklace. “Now, I wish I’d been more ambitious, maybe tried to carve something more complex.”
“Like?”
Clarissa shrugs. “A flower.”
I grin. “I’ll carve a flower for you and give it to you when you come back.”
“It’s fine.” She shakes her head again. “One necklace is enough.”