Page 58 of Twice
“Cayenne pepper,” he said, grabbing a shaker, “for the passion, yes? A lemon, for life’s disappointments. Some vinegar, for the challenges you will face.
“And this...” He grabbed a jar of honey. “For the sweetness and joy.”
He placed the goods on the counter. “If you taste these four elements during your ceremony, it means you will understand what lies ahead in marriage.”
“That’s beautiful,” Gianna said. “Did you make that up?”
“Yes. Well. First, I saw it done in Nigeria.ThenI made it up!”
We all laughed. And that is how it happened. In a ceremony officiated by a Nigerian-born general store owner and witnessed by a mail sorter from the post office next door, Gianna and I recited unrehearsed vows. We tasted those four elements. When Dozie asked if we trusted each other in all things, we said we did.
“Good,” he said. “Suspicion and belief cannot share the same bed.”
When he finished, I got down on one knee and sang a chorus of “Try Me” to Gianna. Then I placed the toy ring on her finger. We were officially wed, against a backdrop of chirping birds and a gurgling river. And I wouldn’t dream of changing a moment.
Until I had to.
Nassau
LaPorta hurried through the hotel pool area, past palm trees planted in neatly spaced concrete squares, and rows of open white beach chairs. Sampson, the Bahamian police officer, matched his stride. They ducked in through a side entrance to the casino, moved briskly past the craps tables and the endless rows of slot machines, and turned down a corridor to the security office.
Although LaPorta was curious to speak with Gianna Rule, he had stopped at the casino first, because a witness had unexpectedly come forward. A blackjack dealer. He was waiting in the hallway, alongside a security guard.
“In here,” LaPorta said, motioning toward the door.
The dealer was thin,with a stringy mustache. When they sat him down, he began chewing on his fingernails. LaPorta flanked him on one side, Sampson on the other.
“You have something to tell us?”
“Yes.”
“Talk.”
His voice was taut with nerves. He said his name was Toussaint. He’d come to the Bahamas from Haiti.
“Two weeks ago, this man who live in my apartment building knock on my door. He ask if I know a roulette croupier here. I say yes, I know one very good. We come from Haiti together. The man ask if he can be trusted and I say, sure, I trust him with anything.”
“And then?” LaPorta said.
“Then he ask if I want to make some money.”
“What did you say?”
“I say sure. I like money. But I need my job, I cannot get in trouble, or maybe they send me back to Haiti. He say not to worry, all I have to do is introduce my friend to the American.”
“What American? What was his name?”
“I never know his name.”
“What did he look like?”
“Tall. He have an earring.”
Alfie, LaPorta thought.I knew it.
“When did they meet?”
“Last week.”
