‘Victoria? You are saying “Victoria”? Who gave you that name?’ the Madam had scoffed, ‘what do they call you at home?’

‘Akua, M-madam,’ she had stammered.

‘Then say “Akua”. And you think you can be a waitress?’

‘Yes M-madam’

That was three days ago and the Madam had reluctantly given her the job of waitress in her beach bar.

‘But you are on trial first.’

Madam had not said for how long and Akua was too shy to ask. Auntie Doris, a relation of her mother, was the cook at the establishment and had told them about the vacancy. She had not said much about the Madam.

Today was Thursday and she was the only waitress. Like the previous days there were not many customers. The beach bar was of course located at the beach, in the part of town they called ‘abroakyery’. It was where the foreign tourists visited.

A foreign man came in now. He was not young but also not very old, and he carried a small backpack as if he had just arrived in town. He was dressed in a much-washed batik shirt, a pair of khaki trousers and brown leather sandals. His grey-blond hair was cut short and his skin had the colour of an ‘obroni’ who has lived in the tropics for long. He smiled when Akua approached and greeted him, and it made her feel a little bit more courageous.

‘Please, what food do you have today?’

Relief and gratefulness bubbled up in her: she did not have to go through the embarrassing ritual of explaining that the majority of items on their impressive menu list were not available ‘today’. Smiling, she recited what Auntie Doris had told her was the bar’s real daily menu: ‘Plain rice, jollof rice, yam with kontomire.’

‘Let me try your jollof. And bring me a big bottle of water. Do you have one that is not in the fridge?’

Yes, she had. At first it had confused her that people liked to drink ‘hot’ water, but this gentleman was the third customer who asked for it and she no longer showed surprise.

After she had served him she sat at some distance and watched him secretly. ‘Do not stare!’ Madam had told her, ‘and do not talk unless they ask you a question. No chitchatting, only answer their questions.’

Luckily Madam owned a big shop at the other side of the town and was often needed there, as she was now.

When the gentleman had paid his bill he asked: ‘Do you happen to know a foreign woman who stays with a man who has dreadlocks? They say the house is not far from the fort.’

Akua nodded; yes, she knew her because her own house was nearby, and she often saw the lady. Eagerly she gave directions:

‘The shortest way is over the beach. Before the fort there is a road, and there is a provisions store there. You can ask the woman, the house is right there.’

‘Thank you, you are very helpful, I appreciate that. What is your name?’

‘I’m….Victoria, Sir’

‘That means you are a winner. Nice to meet you Victoria, and thanks again for your help. And now I take my leave.’

Akua cleared the table, gave Auntie Doris a hand in the kitchen and then sat down until thirty minutes later two foreign women came in.

‘Time for a drink,’ Mimi said and steered Julia off the dusty town road towards the beach. They entered the first beach bar they met and the waitress, a young girl, came and took their order. For want of better they settled for beer. Mimi fished a packet of cigarettes from her bag and offered it to Julia, who declined. She rather felt in need of something stronger.

‘So how long have you been living here?’ Julia asked.

‘Almost six months, my dear. And it’s going to be much, much longer!’ Mimi looked expectantly at Julia, who obediently said: ‘Really?’

‘Yes my dear, till death do us part: I’m going to marry my George!’

‘Really?’ Julia said again.

‘I’ve given him money for the wedding. We agreed to go halves, and he is now gone to Accra to make arrangements’

‘So he is not here?’

‘No, he left almost two weeks ago. And it’s going to be a wedding, mjam!’ Mimi blew a kiss in the air. ‘And my George, he is soo sweet! I never knew a man could be so feeling, so caring.’

‘Have you heard from him?’

‘Not really. I think his phone has a problem, his number is off.’

‘Hmm. How much did you say you gave him?’ Julia never had any problem with asking intrusive questions.

‘Twenty thousand, my dear! Twenty thousand euros. And that is only my part, you can imagine what kind of wedding this will be!’ Mimi pulled hard on her cigarette and blew out a large cloud of smoke.

‘Twenty thousand…? Really?’ Julia noticed that in conversation with Mimi she repeatedly had need of the word.

‘Weddings are important occasions in Ghana, my dear. George explained it all to me. He knows so much about the culture! You should stay here till he comes back. And don’t you dare to leave Ghana before the wedding, you have to be there!’ She wagged her finger at Julia.

‘Will any of your family attend?’

‘Maybe. In any case the brother of my brother-in-law.’

She giggled and took another pull at her cigarette.

‘He is a missionary or something, he lives in Kumasi. My sister said he will come and see me one of these days. Of course we need his blessings.’

She giggled again.

‘And you, my dear? By now you must have made your choice: an attractive young lady like you cannot be without admirers among the gallant men of Ghana. Even an old woman like me can start a new life here…!’

Julia laughed and shook her head. ’I’m taking my time.’ 

‘Very wise my dear, very wise. Not all men are like my George, there are some real crooks around. What brought you to Ghana?’

Julia looked around for the waitress, and signaled for another round. She was happy to meet someone from her own country because she had been quite lonely since her arrival in Ghana. Foreign tourism was not back at pre-pandemic levels, and she had not met the crowds of backpackers her former boyfriend had promised her. He was a Ghanaian but had lived in Europe since he was a baby and seldom visited his home country. She had been relieved that he had not suggested to go with her. He had actually been a bit outside her usual set. Since her schooldays she had always found herself with friends who regularly smoked marijuana and occasionally went in for the stronger stuff. She had quickly discovered that both were available once you knew where to look for it. It was what had kept her going. After all, her reason for coming here was to discover what she wanted to do with her life and relaxation was essential for that! But the guy would not have liked it, so it was better he was not with her.

Oh, Mimi had asked her a question. What did she say? Oh yes: what had brought her to Ghana?

‘I just needed a break. You know, pressure at work, broke off with my boyfriend and all that. So I decided to travel a bit.’

‘No better place than Ghana!’

‘Sure. But it is quite expensive here. I was told everything is cheap, but I’m almost at the end of my money already.’

‘So am I, my dear. I even have had to ask my sister to send me some cash now that my George is not here and I cannot ask him for housekeeping money. She said she will get back to me, said she had to consult her husband!’

Mimi laughed again and lighted another cigarette.

‘Where have you been so far?’

Their bottles rapidly emptied while they exchanged travel experiences and they kept ordering until Mimi asked: ‘And where exactly do you come from?’

When Julia mentioned the name of the town where she was born and still lived Mimi gave a little scream.

‘Oh my dear! That place has bad memories for me. Very bad memories!’

Julia looked at her expectantly. She now felt very much in need of a joint and she was not used to so much beer. Her brain was gradually becoming a muddle and she was just able to follow the conversation.

‘My first husband’, Mimi started explaining, ‘or, actually my only husband because I am not yet married to George and all the others were just boyfriends.’

She had a good laugh at this, waving her cigarette.

‘There is a river there, right? My husband was a speedboat skipper and he did those shows, during the summer. He and two friends, they did races and stunts with their speedboats. And they did a show at your town, seventeen years ago now, in August. But his friend made a mistake. His friend was to jump over him, with his boat. But he did not jump high enough, so my husband’s head was cut off… ‘

‘Excuse me,’ Julia abruptly stood up, walked out and disappeared behind a kiosk next to the beach bar.

Akua had become increasingly uneasy as she watched the two women. She had noticed the blankness in the eyes of the younger and had recognised her as a ‘junkie’. She saw it in the eyes of many of the young guys in town, and it was a diagnosis even her younger siblings could make. She also knew the reputation of the older woman as a drinker, and had heard that the ‘Rastaman’ had gone off with her money but that she didn’t know it yet. This too was a diagnosis everyone in the town was able to make as it was in the normal scheme of things.

And now the two of them were sitting here in her bar, drinking beer at high speed. Where would this end? Madam had warned her that smoking ‘wee’ was not tolerated. Anyone who did so had to leave. If they refused Auntie Doris could call a nearby cousin of Madam, a big tall man, to come in and help.

She wondered if she should tell the older lady that a foreign gentleman had asked for her house. But then, Madam had instructed her not to talk unless she was asked a question. This seemed a good enough excuse for not having to tell her. She did not like going near the women more than was needed for serving them. And of course to collect their money before they were leaving.

But now the young woman had gone up and walked out. Akua sat bold upright, but the older lady was still seated and not preparing to leave. She saw where the young woman went and understood. She felt tense: would she really have to sack them if the woman brought the ‘wee’ in here? How could she do that? She, a local girl, walking up to these two beautiful fair-skinned ladies and telling them to go? She shuddered at the thought and dreaded the moment the young woman would come back. It took quite a while, but when she returned the look in the woman’s eyes was blanker than ever and she sat down as in a trance. Akua thankfully understood that she had already consumed the stuff. At that moment Auntie Doris called her to the kitchen.

Julia was standing at the riverside. Her big sister had stationed her where she could see the show and now pushed some money in her hand.

‘When the show is over you buy some sweets and then you go home, ok? I will be there soon.’

Julia knew that her sister was to stay with her but was instead going off with her boyfriend. She felt a bit uneasy being on her own, but she reminded herself that as long as she was near the river she always could find the way home. And after all, she was six years old now so she could look after herself.

She watched the speedboats doing their stunts and it was at some distance from her that the head of one skipper was cut off when the skipper of the other boat aimed too low when jumping over him. She did not see exactly what happened but suddenly people in the crowd around her started to scream and shout. She was pushed off her feet by a woman who violently turned away from the river, bent over and vomited on the pavement. Alarm and abandonment took possession of her and stopped her from crying. She knew something terrible had happened but she closed her mind, scrambled to her feet and told herself ‘I am going to buy candy floss.’

‘I want candy floss’.

The young man seated under the yellow umbrella looked confused. Julia heard her sister giggle behind her.

‘No, he does not h-h-have it. Let’s-s-s as-s-s-k there.’

Julia saw a shop across the road. The road seemed strange, all reddish sand, but there was the shop.

‘I want candy floss.’

She was vaguely aware that there was no money in her hand. Her sister must have taken it from her. She suddenly felt reassured: her sister was with her. She had a sense of horror, of something terrible that had happened totally outside her control. But now her sister was with her. Without waiting for the answer of the woman who kept the shop she walked on.

‘Lots of foreigners here,’ she noted, ‘must be because of the holiday season.’

Her sister, still giggling, steered her to another shop.

‘I want candy floss.’

The man in the shop looked at her, shook his head and turned his back on them.

‘Not very polite,’ Julia managed to say.

Then she felt her sister’s hand under her elbow and they walked on again. The road surely looked unfamiliar. But to her left she could see water glittering in the sun, so she was still close to the river. The river… She shook her head and looked down the road. She saw another umbrella and headed towards it. Did candy floss men not always stand under some kind of umbrella? But here again only a wooden table and a foreign woman who shook her head.

‘Excuse me,’ she heard a male voice say, ‘would you ladies like to view our historic slave fort?’

‘Do they have candy floss?

Again her sister giggled but Julia now saw the young man who had spoken to them. Another foreigner, but he smiled showing a set of perfect white teeth, and nodded and said yes, there was candy floss. So she followed him and her sister was still holding her elbow but steering her from one side of the road to the other as they went. The shops and houses ended and then the man led them into a bushy path. Julia felt unsure but her sister was with her so it should be alright. She saw a high, old wall in front of her. They went around the corner and there was an open door.

‘This is the entrance,’ their guide said.

They stepped inside and immediately the door was closed and locked behind them.

Akua saw the young man lock the door and watched from among the bushes as two other junkies appeared.

‘Ladies!’ one of them called.

‘I want candy floss!’ one voice said from inside.

‘Let us-s-s out!’ the other voice slurred. 

‘Hand your bags through the window and we will let you out.’

‘Never-r-r-!’ the slurry voice answered.

‘There are men with guns behind you.’

‘R-r-r-ubbis-s-sh,’ the voice replied, and the other voice said: ‘Where is the candy floss?’

Akua was horrified. She had missed the moment the ladies exited the bar and they had not paid their bill. At first she had not known what to do; then she ran to Auntie Doris and told her she had to go after them and collect their money before Madam turned up. Aunty Doris could only agree, as it was she who had kept Akua busy in the kitchen.

So Akua had followed the ladies all through the town, trying to gather enough courage to confront them. But their erratic behaviour had scared her, and when the young man had taken them in tow the only thing she could do was to follow. And now they were locked inside the ruins of the fort… Of course they did not know that one side wall was completely gone. That was where the junkies always went in to smoke. But if they handed in their bags there was no way she would get her money…and then she would have to face Madam!

At this point panic overtook her. Her mind went blank and it seemed her head was gone. Only her body was there and it was unable to move.

Suddenly she heard a voice say: ‘…that means you are a winner!’

She blinked her eyes and instantly her head was firmly back on her shoulders. She knew what to do.

She slipped back around the corner of the fort and ran to the lady’s house. And sure enough, there he was: sitting on the porch, his bag beside him.

‘Please come!’ Akua panted, ‘your sister is locked inside the fort! They are trying to rob her!’

‘Really?’ he said calmly, but he stood up and picked up his bag, ‘then we better go there.’

As they half-walked, half-ran he asked: ‘And how did you get here?’

‘They were in the bar and left without paying. Almost a hundred cedis!’

The man seemed not afraid and when he stepped around the corner of the fort the young men shrank back.

‘Open the door’ he said.

For a moment they stood still, sizing him up. Then one of them threw a key on the ground and they all ran off into the bushes.

A moment later the door was open and the two women came out.

‘I want candy floss’.

‘Please madam, I can go and buy it for you, just here. Give me a hundred cedis and I go.’

Julia’s brain was just able to process that someone was telling her to pay some money. Her hand went into her bag and brought out her purse. She held it open and the girl picked out two fifty cedi notes.

‘Thank you madam!’

Victoria winked at the man and swiftly walked off, her head high.