followed the tyre tracks until she reached a clearing. The view was magnificent. There were jungle-covered mountains on either side of the valley, with the azure ocean twinkling in the distance. It was breathtaking.
In the middle of the clearing sat a dilapidated building. It was single storey, wooden and had been painted bright green. The sun, however, had bleached it in places to a paler shade, and where the panels met windows and doors the paint was missing entirely, hanging in thin strips to reveal bare wood and knotty grains.
The main structure had smaller wooden additions tacked on to its sides, forming an irregular shape that from space might have looked like a poorly drawn pentagon. For poor it was. The whole construction seemed to be listing to the right and most of the windows were without glass, but instead had fly screen tacked over the frames. Kate hadn’t known what to expect, but would have guessed at something solid, brick, possibly hospital-like. This was very different. Welcoming and bright, but without any of the grandeur or sturdiness that she had hoped to find.
‘There you are, Kate. You found us!’ Simon clapped his hands together as he appeared from the side of the building.
‘Only just, it was more luck than judgement!’
He took both her hands inside his own. ‘Welcome. And what perfect timing, you can join us for lunch!’
Kate smiled, that did indeed sound perfect. She noted his lack of surprise at her arrival, as though he had been expecting her at that precise moment.
Inside the main building was a large T-shape of tables covered with a peony-patterned oil cloth and encircled by thirty metal-legged chairs. They were the same chairs that you might find stacked in any English village hall or being scraped along tessellated wooden floors by a Brownie pack on a Thursday night.
The hubbub of conversation stopped rather abruptly as Kate walked into the room. Each seat was occupied by a child. First glance revealed their ages to be between two and fourteen. The girls had ribbons in their plaited hair and the boys were radiant in yellow-and-orange checked shirts.
‘Everybody! This is Kate. Would you like to say hello?’
Some waved, others smiled and a couple giggled into their palms at the sight of this strange lady standing in their dining hall.
‘Hi, hello everyone.’ Kate waved back.
‘Mind your backs!’
Simon and Kate swerved to the right as a short, fat man wearing a chef’s hat swung around them both to place large platters of chicken patties on each of the tables.
‘This is Fabian – the chef, as denoted by the hat. He is also the driver – he wears a cap for that – and when he’s the maintenance man…’
Fabian nodded at her as he made a return swoop in the direction of the kitchen.
‘A different hat?’
‘You got it!’
‘And again, folks! Hot food coming through!’ This time Fabian was loaded with a large bowl of rice and what smelt like hot bread rolls.
The children sat patiently, hands in laps, waiting. Kate compared the scene to the unruly bun fight that used to ensue each morning at Mountbriers as the pupils clamoured for French toast and bacon. The bigger boys would elbow the smaller ones out of the way and girls of all ages would moan about the lack of fat-free yoghurt and demand blueberries. This was much nicer.
‘Kate, please take a seat.’
Simon pulled out a chair between two younger children who found it hilarious that this stranger was to be seated between them and could barely contain their laughter. Kate shook hands with them both. The little boy to her right reached up and stroked the ends of her hair between his thumb and forefinger, before collapsing in giggles onto the table. She smiled, having never before considered her limp, mousy hair that funny.
Simon stood centrally, raising his palms towards the roof and bowing his head with his eyes tightly shut. His big voice filled the space.
‘Lord, we thank you for the gift of food that you have bestowed upon us on this day…’
There were a few impromptu shouts of ‘Praise be to the Lord’. Simon was not finished.
‘We give thanks for all your mighty gifts, not least the gift of forgiveness. We are thankful that when we need shelter, when we need escape, we can find refuge under your mighty wing.’
A large chorus of ‘Amen’ echoed around the ceiling and then the bun fight started.
Kate noticed that when Simon opened his eyes he was staring straight at her.