Guyana Chronicles

Note to the Reader: This is Chapter One of the Guyana Chronicles, my first attempt to write a longer story. More chapters will follow as I have time to write and edit them. The story itself is mostly biographical, sharing a season of my experiences after college. The names of characters have all been changed and some of the characters are composites of people I knew then. Guyana though is how I recall it in my memories. I hope you find the story interesting to read, it was for sure an interesting life to live in that time period. Also the rushed, rapid feeling of the first chapter's pace is done with intent. It is meant to convey a sense of excitement mixed with some alcohol. Enjoy!

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The heat was sticky, mixed with her sweat the viscosity causing her shirt and shorts to cling to her clammy skin. The Carolina blue color running a deeper hue to cobalt in the wetness she felt. A ball cap protected the top of her head and shaded her pale eyes from the equatorial sun that baked everything in sight. Every piece of her outfit exclaimed her pride in the place she acquired her education from though now she was a long way off from the Franklin Street bars and protest marches.

She was down on knees in the mud that covered the ground, it rained everyday down here in Guyana it seemed. Not loud storms with thunder, it was more just a heavy curtain of rain with big drops coming in the afternoons and giving relief from the heat. Her slender fingers darker in color from her time here at the Equator grasped around the thick heavy mass of slick clay on the ground, lifting it and dropping it into a bucket with a thud. Caliche, a material she never knew before was now the bane of her existence.

The stuff was everywhere; streaking across her exposed skin, under her broken fingernails, matted in the cotton of her blue clothing, which never came really clean. She stood up straight then, back aching, a lithe figure, more taut muscles and sinew than fleshy curves, she lifted the cheap plastic bucket full of caliche, lugging it to the next person in the chain and watching as the bucket swung hand by hand over towards the foundation of the house-to-be they were working on.

Wheelbarrows would be easier, but the one they had was broken, all there was were the plastic buckets. They had no shovels or mattocks either, the heavy caliche was being carved from the ground with a trowel tied to a long stick and used like a spear. The process was slow but it needed to be done and it was a lesson on working within the means of the local population, honoring them and their labor, honoring their culture and their place among humanity. A concept many westerners did not understand. It was a thought that never occurred to her before coming to Guyana.

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"I like that journal you have there it is really cool looking, I journal as well, I find it helps a lot."

She looked up from the page of her carefully crafted thoughts hearing the northeastern voice and saw the tall willowy redhead though her red hair was all wrapped in a white towel fresh from the shower. Ellen was her name and she was the leader of the volunteer group who came down to Guyana for two weeks to help with the project. It was summertime, most of the group were college age girls and a few older guys all bearing a desire to do something positive and helpful with their vacation time.

Jade's mind was not on that though as she looked up from her journal entry and stared at the redhead a bit harder than she knew she should.

"Of course." The words rambled in her mind but not aloud, she hoped.

Of course the team leader would be someone that looked just like Celeste, same body, same hair, same spirit, smart and wanting to make the world a better place. Jade's mind drifted for a moment back to treasured memories of a heated morning as she laid over Celeste body in her dorm room bed. Fingers over her smooth pale skin, the soft slope of her pelvic mound and the hollow of her hip as she kissed over every inch of Celeste's naked body that morning.

Stirring herself back to the present and finding herself still staring at this redhead wearing a clingy green cotton top and tight jeans. As Ellen gracefully sat down next to her at the table Jade remembered Ellen's hand.

"How is your hand, may I see it?"

Ellen's hand got smashed by an errant tool at the work site earlier in the day, it was bruised and there was an open cut over her first knuckle that Jade tended to on site, but she knew the risk of infection was real and highly possible on construction work sites especially in the third world, so Jade was concerned.

As Ellen offered her bruised right hand to Jade, she caressed it tenderly with her darker slender fingers. She almost majored in physical therapy and almost went to that massage school out in the Carolina woods not far off from the university, but she didn't, Jade stayed to the things that were deep in her heart and studied Sociology. Growing up though on a western ranch along the edge of the Colorado plateau, she possessed a strong body of knowledge in first aid and used her talents to serve as the team's nurse.

Jade knew Ellen's hand was okay, nothing was broken thankfully, just needed careful tending to now and protection so it did not get infected. She leaned her head in closer to Ellen, her dark hair hung like a curtain half covering her face. Her hair, the height of her cheek bones and the ease in which her skin tanned all revealed the traces of the Blackfoot people in Jade's bloodlines. But she never knew what to call herself, some folks preferred the word Indian while other used Native American, either way Jade did not care for labels or anyone telling her who she was or was not.

She pushed that dark curtain of hair behind her ear and glanced to Ellen's blue eyes with her own eyes that were the color of sage or even jade. Their heads not far from one another, Jade had been testing how close she could get into Ellen's personal space and Ellen's responses so far seem to say that she did not mind Jade's presence close to her, in fact it seemed that Ellen would often seek Jade out to be where she was.

"That still needs to be covered and I think tomorrow you should focus on just bossing people around."

Jade raised an eyebrow as she looked to Ellen's face and simpered at her own joke knowing already that Ellen was not the sort to just stand back while others did the work. She then imagined what it would be like to kiss Ellen's mouth, her lips were a bit lissome and her features softer than Jade's own. Ellen was brash and loud though and would have no trouble bossing others around if she chose to.

"I just need a Band-Aid; I will be fine." Ellen quipped back, displaying no uneasiness as Jade held her hand.

Jade just shook her head no and set Ellen's bruised hand down on her own thigh. Jade was wearing a dress, short light with a flower print so Ellen's hand rested on Jade's bare skin. Her massive first aid kit was on the table near to them so Jade was able to not move her legs and just zip open the case and retrieve the items she desired to tend to Ellen's hand.

She then started to carefully swab some antibiotic cream over the cut and wrap Ellen's hand in a protective bandage, keeping Ellen's hand resting on her bare thigh between each step of the process. And Ellen made no effort to take her hand away from Jade's thigh as they shared the moment together. From time to time Jade would look up into those clear azure eyes of Ellen's and realize that Ellen's was watching her, not her hands though but her face. Jade held a soft smile as she worked to properly wrap Ellen's hand so it was safe.

It was late in the day, evening was quickly approaching. The table the two young women were sitting at close together was outside in a yard of grass that was surrounded by a tall chain-link fence with a gate. Behind them was a large house, three stories high, it was old and its façade seem to be half composed of rotting wood and peeling white paint. Through open windows the voices of others could be heard, other members of the volunteer team getting themselves ready for the evening.

There was a brief rain that afternoon just as the team was finishing their work at the site. The coming evening was proving to be a bit more pleasant than the heat they experienced in the middle of the day.

Jade finished her ministrations of Ellen hand and still left the northeastern woman's hand on her thigh as she started to repack her aid kit. Ellen made no effort to move her hand either. Jade was enjoying the touch, the closeness to Ellen even through the bandage.

"After that cut heals over you really need to wear gloves." Jade reminded Ellen while also making a mental note to herself.

Another item on her list of things volunteers needed to have and bring with them and then wear them on site. The local workers did not wear gloves, but the volunteers who were not use to such manual labor did. The volunteers needed to protect themselves in common sense ways. It was always the small things Jade reminded herself, feeling a bit responsible for Ellen's injury. Jade scolded herself believing she should had foreseen the risk in Ellen's lazy behavior towards her gloves.

"You have well-muscled legs." Ellen mentioned to Jade then added, "What sports did you play?"

Jade smiled again to Ellen relishing the compliment. "I was a distant runner and played soccer in school, I even did some fencing once if you can believe that."

"I like to dance." Ellen gave a sly grin with her reply summing up her forms of exercise.

Jade wondered again what it would be like to kiss Ellen's lips, but this was not the place she thought, at least not out in the open. Still, she found herself staring at Ellen's mouth while Ellen was gazing back at her with those clear blue eyes of hers. Eyes Jade felt she could get lost in and forget for a day about worksites, caliche and struggles she faced in Guyana.

"What are you two ladies up too?"

The strong high male voice shattered the silent moment they were sharing and Ellen slyly removed her hand from Jade's thigh and set it on the wooden table.

"The team doctor here thinks I need to be wrapped up like a mummy." Ellen displayed her bandaged hand to the man.

The man had a concerned and caring look in his dark eyes and wide face. He was a local businessman there in Georgetown. He donated money to the project and was something of a bigwig in Guyana and every day in the early evening after work he would come to sit and talk with the Americans and Canadians out there at the table in the yard outside of the old catholic mission house the team was staying in. They rarely talked about the project though, he was more in interested in their political views and sharing his own. He always brought a bottle of rum with him for that was his business, rum distilling, and he would share a bottle as they talked.

"From what I have heard, Jade has the makings of being a fine doctor, she took care of the driver's foot and stitched up that cut to the head suffered by the site foreman last week." Mr. Harrison said as he put a metal cup down on the table then a bottle of his rum as he sat with the young women.

"We are blessed to have her." He added as he opened the bottle. Then he asked Jade directly, "Ellen's hand is okay?" A look of concern in his eyes.

"She is fine, she just needs to keep it covered." Jade looked to Ellen and then sighed to herself quietly.

Jade always felt uncomfortable with compliments especially from men, she tended to ignore them or deflect them if she had to, which made her appear rude to some. She did not like being the focus of someone else's attention, her experiences had taught her that such attention often led to trouble. Even with Ellen now it was not so much Ellen's attention she craved, she just wanted to be in the presence of the intriguing redhead. She felt drawn to Ellen's energy and spirit, but there was more to it than that and Jade was still trying to figure that out.

"Glad it is nothing serious." Mr. Harrison said as he looked hard at how close Ellen and Jade were sitting together across the otherwise empty table, then dismissed the thought.

Ellen with a mischievous smile showed her other hand and two small plastic cups she held in her fingers, sliding them over to Mr. Harrison so he could pour some of his rum for the girls.

"So what is the grand plan for tonight?" He asked, changing the subject, as he poured the rum and pass the cups back across the table to the girls.

Ellen shared the plan. "The bar we went to last night, we are going back there again, they have karaoke tonight and Jade promised to sing."

"I did, didn't I?" There was a smirk on Jade's lips.

Jade zipped up her aid bag and then closed her journal, tying the leather thong around it and stuffing the pencil inside that she used. Before finally taking the plastic cup in her hand, the smell of the rum was strong and heavy and Jade had had bad experiences before with straight liquor, so she took just a small sip in politeness for the gift and set the cup back down again letting her fingers play over the rim. Trying not to make a face as she swallowed.

She was still sitting close to Ellen so she was happy about that, their shoulders almost touching now. Under the table their knees found one another's and they played a casual game of knee presses against each other as they discussed the politics in Georgetown with Mr. Harrison, who was educated in England, and the division that existed in his home country of Guyana as he called it.

The history of Guyana was interesting to Jade, she was a bit a history buff. Instead of working together the Blacks and Indians fought against one another for control in Guyana. One people were brought to the old colony as slaves and the second group as indigenous servants when slavery was outlawed in the British empire.

Mr. Harrison always expressed curiosity about Jade's opinion on things for she was an intelligent woman and clearly "not white" and tended to have an opinion that differed from the other Americans; he seemed genuinely interested in what she had to say. He respected her though she was young Jade thought to herself as they talked.

Soon the table was full, many of the team members had ventured downstairs from the old mission house and set down around the table to share in the conversation and rum. Mr. Harrison's visits were one of the highlights of the day for the team, a chance to talk politics with a local leader in Georgetown and share in some of the rum he provided. The sun started to set and the world grew dark except for the poor lighting outside of the house.

Darkness comes quickly along the Equator and Mr. Harrison finally excused himself from the company, saying he needed to get home and to dinner with his family. Everyone thanked him again for his time and insight to the world around them. Then the team turned their focus to the next subject, their plans for going out that night.

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Ellen and Jade were sitting together again at a crowded table, thigh to thigh and shoulder to shoulder, sharing a cigarette. Ellen inhaled from the thin white stick and blew out the smoke. Jade watched the way she held the thing, how it dangled between her soft lips and then between the fingers of her bandaged hand.

Jade then carefully took the cigarette from Ellen's fingers and taking a puff herself, trying to inhale the smoke, but she was not graceful with it. Jade actually disliked the idea of smoking and everything about it, her father was a chain smoker and the smoking and the habit always bothered her. Smoke in the truck drifting around the cabin, she would roll down the window with a huff in frustration. But her father never stopped and now he was just a frail old man done in from years of abusing himself and others, and still he smoked.

Ellen then got up from her seat leaning against Jade as she moved, then making an announcement around the table, leaving the cigarette in Jade's hand.

"Who needs another beer?"

It was her turn to buy the round of beers. Jade could see that Ellen was enjoying herself, the redhead liked being the center of every conversation and always had something witty to say on every topic. She was vibrant and easy to like and held herself well. She did not seek attention; it was just willingly given to her and she accepted it with a sort of grace and humor that was attractive. Ellen got the requests making a joke or two and then headed to the window in the wall.

The bar was an outdoor establishment, a patio facing a city street with wooden tables where everyone was sitting. The team was clustered around two tables and drinking beer, Red Stripe and Guinness were the two options, both only in bottles and Guinness being the more expensive of the two. In Jade's experience so far that was the reality of Guyana, Red Stripe and Guinness were the choices no matter where you went, that and the occasional bottle of rum.

Beer was acquired from a window in the wall of the building there next to the patio. There was a shelf for sitting orders on just below the window. The wall was painted a vivid red. Many of the buildings in that area of Georgetown where painted all sorts of crazy colors, red, purples, yellows, creating a wild rainbow for the eyes as one walked down the street. The bar also sold some candy bars of the Caribbean varieties and even a tasteless ice cream.

The team was a curiosity to the locals, basically the only "whites" in the country except of the few Mormon missionaries that trolled the streets on their bikes donned in their white button shirts. Jade's presence was known to many of the locals, she had been there awhile, the "woman working for the American NGO" and the team was the first group of volunteers the NGO had sent to Guyana for a two week "vacation" of hard labor and cultural interaction.

While Ellen ventured off to acquire more beer Jade was called up to be the next singer. It was karaoke night at the bar, and Jade agreed at the work site earlier in the day to show the team how it was done. The venture was a bit of a novelty for the team, karaoke was not really a thing in the states. There was a quite simple set up at the end of the building, facing the street and the tables in that direction, a small colorful screen and a music player.

There was claps from around the outdoor bar, many of the team members clapping loudly and the locals clapped as well for Jade as she got up from her seat. She took another drag off the nearly spent cigarette in her hand, trying to look cool as she blew the smoke into the air before she approached the stand-up screen and microphone. She selected a song she felt would fit her voice and it was loaded for her by the grinning attendant who had metal over his teeth.

She did not know what to do with the cigarette and ended up setting it down on a ledge at the end of the building as she stood in front of it, then messed with her dark hanging hair, pulling it away from her face, showing off her clear sage eyes and cheek bones. Her focus though was on the movement of Ellen as she held beer bottles in her hands and returned to their table. At first, she was miffed, Ellen was using her bandaged hand, but Jade soon became distracted looking at Ellen's butt as she turned. The way her ass filled out the tight jeans she was wearing was nice as was the sway of her hips. Mindlessly Jade bit down on her bottom lip.

First the start of the music and then the gaze of Ellen with an encouraging smile as she turned around caused Jade to wake from her short dream, realizing she had the microphone in her hand and colored words started to roll on the small screen. The song was one Jade liked and fit her soft melodic voice, Fast Car by Tracy Chapman, and it was a different selection from most of the singers at the bar who tended to stick with Bob Marley tunes.