Behold the Dreamers(111)
After the service, a line of congregants stood in front of them, taking turns to greet them. One woman wanted to know where Cameroon was on the map, and another wanted to know if Jende needed help finding a lawyer to continue his immigration case. He told the first woman that Cameroon was right next to Nigeria. To the second, he said no, he did not need a lawyer, his case was closed.
Most congregants simply wanted to shake hands or wish them well or tell them how glad they were that the Jongas had shared their story. A teenage girl choked up while telling Jende of a friend’s father who was deported to Guatemala even though he knew no one there. Her friend was very sad now, the young woman said. Jende gave her a hug and told her that, thankfully, they still had many family and friends in Cameroon.
Sixty
THE EMAIL RESPONSE CAME WITHIN TWO HOURS OF JENDE HITTING THE send button. Nice hearing from you, Jende, Clark wrote. I’m surprised to hear you’re returning home but I understand. Sometimes a man just has to go back home. You can certainly stop by to say goodbye. Talk to my secretary.
Jende went to visit Clark wearing the same black suit he’d worn for his first day of work as Clark’s chauffeur. Neni had told him the suit was unnecessary but he had insisted on wearing it. I’m going to be around people wearing suits, he reminded her. Why should I look like a nobody?
When he walked in, Clark stood from behind his desk to greet him. “It’s very nice of you to come say goodbye,” he said, smiling as he offered a hand.
“It’s me who has to thank you for making the time, sir,” Jende replied, taking Clark’s hand into both of his.
Clark seemed beyond pleased to see him, smiling more broadly than Jende had ever seen him smile, his eyes brighter than they had been in all the months Jende drove him around, his face younger looking. Jende could tell that Mr. Edwards’s happiness was not merely from seeing him—his former boss finally seemed a genuinely happy man.
“I wanted to give my condolences for the death of Mrs. Edwards, sir,” Jende said after they were seated. “I was at the memorial service, sir, but I could not get an opportunity to get near you to tell you how sorry I was.”
Clark nodded. Jende looked around at the office he’d moved to since they last saw each other. It had neither a sofa nor a view of Central Park, but the view of Queens was special in its own inferior way.
“How’s your family?” Clark asked. “Are they happy to be going back home?”
“They are fine, sir, thank you. My wife is angry, but she is not going to stay angry forever. My son is happy because I tell him about all the fun things I will take him to do back at home. The baby does not know anything, so that makes me happy.”
“Are you happy?”
“I am, but the more the day comes closer, the more I feel a little bit of sadness that I might never see this city again. New York is a wonderful city. It will be hard to not live here.”
“Yeah, I’ll have to learn to adjust, too. I’ll be leaving next month.”
“Oh? You mean you are moving also, sir?”
Clark nodded. “Mighty and I are moving to Virginia.”
“Virginia?”
“I found a new job in Washington, D.C. We’re actually going to look at houses this weekend. I’m hoping we can find something close to Arlington and Falls Church.”
“Falls Church? I remember, sir … that is where Mrs. Edwards came from?”
“You’ve got a good memory. And my family lived in Arlington for a bit before we moved to Illinois. My parents will be moving from California so they can be close to us.”
“That will be very good for you, sir.”
“Family’s everything,” Clark said. “I’m sure you know that already.”
“It is everything, sir.”
“I’ve got some cousins in the area, and Cindy has a half-sister there. Cindy wasn’t close to her before the end, but she came to the funeral and Mighty and I have been in touch with her lately.”
“That is good, sir.”
“Yeah, we had a great time visiting her a couple of months ago. Mighty’s really looking forward to growing up with his cousins. It’s important for him to know he has family, now that … well, now that so much has changed.”
“It is very true, sir,” Jende said, nodding. “Very true. And how is Vince?”
“He’s good; I spoke to him this morning. He’s thinking about opening a retreat center for American execs visiting Mumbai so they can attain peace and quiet between running around pursuing opportunities.” Clark laughed. “It sounded funny, but he might be on to something.”
“He is a very smart boy, sir,” Jende said.
The executive smiled, his pride undisguised. “Yeah, it’s just hard for anyone to know where he’s going to end up.”
“Maybe he’ll end up in Limbe,” Jende said, laughing.
“Maybe,” Clark said, laughing with him. “You never know. He could go to Limbe and teach folks there how to be one with the Universe and free themselves from their egos. Or he could have them walk around talking about rejecting the illusion.”
“Or maybe, sir,” Jende said, laughing hard now, “he could take them to the beach in the evening and they could watch the sun going down. The fishermen will be returning with their canoes on one side of the beach, and Vince and his followers will be sitting on the sand on the other side with their legs crossed, doing that chanting and meditation thing.”