"You must. It is good to have that sort of love for your country."
"Yes, things are much better when they are built together with love." They sat in compatible silence and watched the animals that came to the water hole to drink until the sun rose and bathed Africa again in gold.
Alex wondered if Sarah had heard her leave. Was she disappointed or relieved to have their small bedroom to herself?
The next day, they had to be packed and ready early. The Hotel bus took them to the Nanyuki airstrip for their flight to the world-famous Masai Mara Game Reserve.
Sarah was relieved to be getting back to the wide open grasslands. She and Alex sat side by side in the small commuter plane while the pilot went through his preflight checklist.
"I was surprised to see the postmark on your letter was from Great Slave Lake. What were you doing up there?" Sarah asked.
Alex cringed. She knew she should have told Sarah about her job change sooner. "That's were I live. My practice is in Yellowknife."
"Since when?"
"Almost two years now."
Sarah would have asked more questions had the pilot not revved up the already noisy engines.
The plane carried twenty passengers. They were soon airborne and on their way across the flat grasslands of Kenya. The noise of the engines made it hard to hold a conversation except at a shout, so Sarah had to curb her curiosity.
They landed sometime later on a dirt airstrip in the centre of an ocean of grass. Climbing down from the plane, Alex stood on the airstrip and looked all around her. The tall grasses undulated with the rise and fall of the vast plain to the horizon in all directions. The green blades seemed to sing softly as they waved gently in the breeze. Off to her right in the distance, a band of trees marked the winding path of the Mara River, and to her left a large herd of wildebeests and zebra grazed contentedly.
Sarah had quickly gone and given one of the drivers that waited a big hug. She was chatting away to him now in Swahili as Alex walked over. "Alex, this is George. He's a bushman and the best guide here. I snatched him up before anyone else could claim him." Sarah beamed.
"Hi, George," Alex said, smiling at the small wiry man.
"Welcome. Welcome. You will see lots of animals. The lions have fat tummies at the moment. You go claim your bags and I'll get them into the Land Rover for you. By now, lunch will be ready for you back at the camp."
When Sarah had written to Alex, she had outlined a tour of some of the highlights Kenya had to offer. Whatever the outcome of their meeting, Alex knew that Sarah wanted her to see Africa through her eyes. It was clear to Alex that Africa had changed Sarah
profoundly. No matter what happened between her and Sarah, Alex wanted Sarah to have the opportunity to share her love of Africa with her.
A few minutes later, they were bouncing along the dirt road towards the camp. Sarah watched as Alex stood on the seat so that she could look out the open roof of the Land Rover and search for animals.
Governor's Camp was originally the exclusive hunting camp for the British Governor to Kenya and his royal and distinguished guests. Now, it was a magical safari camp, all under canvas. The thirty-eight guest tents lined the Mara river ravine in which both hippos and crocodile lived. Other tents overlooked the vast plains where huge herds of wild game migrated. There were no fences at Governor's Camp. The only protection provided for the guests were the base guides, who rotated through watches night and day.
Alex discovered that being "in the bush" did not at all mean roughing it. Each guest tent had a teak floor and two rooms, consisting of a bedroom/sitting room and a large en-suite bathroom with shower, hot and cold running water, and flush toilets.
Alex settled into their temporary home and hummed as she hung up a few things. Fate had played right into her hands. The porter who had taken her to their tent had explained that their late booking had left only one tent available, and if the two women minded sharing a double bed, then they could certainly set up a camp cot. Alex declined the camp cot with thanks.
Sarah found Alex looking over the pole fence down into the deep ravine that was only ten feet from their tent flap. Below, a hippo lay on the muddy bank sunning itself, and further on, a crocodile wiggled up the river. Sarah stood beside her ex-partner. "Pretty amazing, huh?"
"It sure is. I mean, they're right there—real wild animals. I didn't think a place like this existed on planet Earth anymore."
"You haven't seen anything yet. Wait until tomorrow," Sarah assured her.
Alex coughed and tried to look nonchalant, but failed rather badly. "We haven't always agreed on things, but you know you can trust me don't you, Sarah?"
Sarah looked suspicious. "Yes, I've never doubted your integrity. Why?"
"Well, we got one of the last rooms, and there wasn't much choice..." Sarah set off for their tent immediately. Alex followed, letting the tent flap fall down behind them
"Oh, no! No way! I'll sleep on the floor or get them to—"
Alex swept Sarah up in her arms and dropped a gentle kiss on her lips before she could react. Her dark eyes looked deep into Sarah's. "I'm a rogue, as you well know, but I'm an honourable one. All you have to do is say no, and I'll stop," she whispered, her voice rough with need. When she kissed Sarah this time, she let that need show. Gradually, Sarah's arm reached around Alex's neck and held her close. When she had made her point, Alex lowered Sarah slowly back down to her feet.
"That wasn't fair."
"No."
"If we have sex, that would only complicate things," Sarah said, but she didn't pull away from Alex's arms.
"We can handle complicated, but for tonight, I promise just to hold you," Alex purred, kissing Sarah's ear.
Sarah shivered in response. "Ah, not good."
"It could be," Alex whispered, stroking Sarah's back.
"Promise."
"What, that I can make it good?" Alex teased.
Sarah looked up at her with sparkling eyes. "No, that you won't take advantage tonight if we share a bed."
"My word," Alex said, kissing Sarah's upturned nose. Alex leaned against the warm, firm body that she had known so well. This was the woman she loved. The woman she had longed to hold again. She was a long way off from winning Sarah's trust again, she knew, but today had brought a small ray of hope that maybe it was possible.
"What did the manager want?" Alex asked after a while.
Sarah pulled away with a sigh and began to unpack. "I'm not sure. He went on and on at some length about the camp being above politics and people coming here just to enjoy the animals. He said he didn't want any trouble because trouble was bad for tourism and Kenya lived for tourism."
Alex crossed her arms. "What's that got to do with you?"
"I'm not sure. I stayed here one night before heading into Nairobi. James Phillips showed up and had a drink with me. The Kenyans don't like or trust James. He's an old colonial and is known to be associated with British Intelligence."
"You think that was it?"
"Maybe. I think I was given a very polite and encrypted warning. The truth is, though, I have no idea what the hell is going on, and I told Peter that."
Alex sat on the bed and watched Sarah's backside with some enjoyment while Sarah was bent over her suitcase. Sarah still had a nice, tight, round tush, Alex concluded. Her mind, however, was still focussed on more serious issues. "Whoever broke into our room in Nairobi was looking for something."
Sarah turned with her toilet bag in her hand and shrugged. "They can look all they want. I have nothing to hide."
That night, they had a pre-dinner drink in the open bar by the water and then walked with their guide to the dinner tent. Much later, relaxed by good wine and soft music, they used their flashlight to signal one of the guides to escort them back to their tent.
"Seen anything about tonight, Iban?" Sarah asked.
"Wiggily and Piggily are sleeping under the bush over there." The guide flashed his torch over to where the two warthogs lay stretched out on their sides on the ground. The animals had wandered into camp several years ago and proved impossible to chase away. They soon had names and were accepted as just being part of the camp experience. "I have not seen anything else, but lately, that female hippo and her calf have been walking through the camp, so be careful."
"We will. Good night, Iban."
"Wiggily and Piggily?" Alex asked with a laugh.
Sarah laughed. "The cook wanted to call them Pork Roast and Tenderloin, but Peter, the manager, thought it would give the guests the wrong impression of the camp food."
"Do you stay here a lot?"
Alex held the tent flap open so Sarah could go into the tent.
"Rarely. It's very expensive here. I usually stay in the Masai villages or one of the small bush camps. During the height of the tourist season, when they're short of staff, I act as a cultural guide for the camp, so I get a big discount."
"I think I'll read for a bit, if you want to go ahead and have your shower first," Alex offered.
Sarah disappeared behind the canvas wall that separated the two rooms. Alex groaned softly and went to sit in the canvas chair on their small porch. With grim determination, she tried to focus on her book and not on the thought of Sarah's naked body standing
under the shower. It was this forced concentration that resulted in her not being aware of the sound of massive and powerful jaws munching nearby until a grey wrinkled wall of hippo passed in front of Alex so close that she could have touched the beast.
With a yelp, Alex charged inside the tent, snagged a camp umbrella as a defensive weapon on her way past the clothes rack, and ran into the bathroom. Sarah gasped and reached for her towel. "Get out of here!"
"Hippo," Alex said, feeling a bit silly brandishing the umbrella like a sword now that her instant reaction was over.
Sarah's eye narrowed. She looked around the shower cubicle. "I don't see it. Is it doing a backstroke in the toilet bowl?"
"Out there." Alex pointed with the umbrella.
"In the bed? Well, it's just as well we have a double then. Get out of here, Alex."
Frustration overcame embarrassment. Alex threw the umbrella across the room, stepped under the shower, and pulled Sarah to her. "I was only trying to protect you, but if I'm going to be labeled as a libertine, damn it, I'm going to have the pleasure."
The first kiss was slow but demanding. Sarah's body fit close into Alex's wet clothes. She could feel Sarah's muscles tense with excitement. A soft moan of need escaped Alex's lips and was replaced by Sarah's tongue. Her own curled and sucked eagerly and then followed to taste Sarah's once again. Sarah's water-saturated towel fell heavily to the floor, and Alex's hands moved seductively over her back and cheeks.
The kisses ended. They stood in each other's arms as the hot water rained down their bodies. "Was there a hippo?"
Alex nodded. "Two of them. I was sitting on the porch, and they were suddenly right in front of me."
"Buttercup and Daisy. I meant to tell you about them."
"You said hippos were dangerous."
"They are. Very. Don't stand in Daisy's way or try to touch her." Sarah reached up and kissed Alex's lips, now swollen with her kisses. "Thanks for trying to protect me. Now, get the hell out of here before I use the umbrella on you."
Alex stole another kiss. She checked Sarah's shoulder and was pleased to see that it was healing nicely. Stepping back, Alex gave Sarah a long, sexy look from head to foot before she hopped from the shower, grabbed a towel, and ducked out of the bathroom.
When Sarah came out, clad respectably in a short housecoat, she found Alex had stripped off her wet clothes and was sitting in a chair wearing a damp towel and a smug grin. "I hope you get a cold," Sarah growled more in fun than anger. "The shower's yours. Get in there. You must be getting chilled."
Alex did as she was told, stopping only for a small kiss before she disappeared behind the canvas wall. She slipped out of her towel and with relief stepped under the warm water. As she soaped down, she tried to get her thoughts back into order after holding and kissing Sarah. But try as she might, every time she got her ducks in a row, they took off in all directions again. This was not good.
Alex stayed under the shower for a long time, relieving herself of some of the raw desire that touching Sarah had caused. When she thought she had her emotions under control again, she toweled off and went through her nightly routines before heading out to the main room while wearing only her birthday suit.
"Alex!"
"What?" Alex asked, looking around and then asking in a voice that mimicked Sarah's, "Is there a hippo hiding in the corner?"
"You're naked."
"I don't like wearing clothes to bed. You know that." Alex turned off the propane light and slid in beside Sarah, appreciating the toasty body. The night was turning cool.
"You promised to be good."
"I will." Alex sighed, and pulling Sarah close, she forced herself to relax and go to sleep.
Chapter 9
The next morning, Sarah woke to the warm, wonderful feeling of being snuggled against the body she loved. She opened her eyes to look at the strong, classic lines of Alex's face. She looked vulnerable when she slept. It was a side of Alex that few had seen. Sarah kissed the side of Alex's mouth. Alex's eyes opened and met hers. "Morning."
"Hey." Sarah kissed Alex's throat, enjoying the heady spice that was her ex-lover.
"Mmm, I thought I had to promise to be good."
"That was last night," Sarah said softly into Alex's ear. With a swift move, Alex playfully pinned Sarah to the bed and leaned in with a very dangerous look in her eye.
A voice came from outside of the tent. "Good morning ladies! I have your coffee and biscuits,"
"Shit!" Sarah whispered, her embarrassment evident.
"Leave the things on the table out there, please," Alex said. She tried to grab Sarah as she wiggled out of the bed.
"No, we have to hurry."
Alex flopped back on the bed in frustration. "Damn!"
"I'm sorry, Alex. I shouldn't have led you on. I'll ask for a cot—"
"No, you won't. Okay, okay, I can live with this," she grumbled, slipping out of the bed and deliberately stretching so Sarah could appreciate her naked form and all she had turned down.
"You did that deliberately, you creep."
"Live with it, and the shower is mine first, too."
"Okay, I'll stand out here on hippo watch."
Alex disappeared behind the canvas wall.
They had a leisurely breakfast under a shady tree and then climbed into George's jeep for a drive to the grasslands.
A few hours later, they stood side by side on the seat of the jeep, their heads and shoulders through the open roof. Around them was a herd of thirty-two elephants, so close that they towered over the jeep. George had driven into the centre of the herd and parked.
"Wait for me, mamma. You're going too fast," George said as a baby barely a few months old ran to catch up with its grazing mother.
Alex snapped pictures while Sarah enjoyed the magnificent animals around them and talked a little bit about the elephants they were watching. "You see the musk draining down the bull's ears? He's coming into heat."
The massive animal flapped his ears, raised one foot, and pounded the ground. George put the jeep in gear and backed up a bit. "He's warning us off. Bulls are always pretty aggressive, but they're much more so when you see the stain of the musk on their ears. This herd is the bull's harem, and he's feeling some pretty good reasons for protecting it."
"Papa say, 'Go away. These are my wives.'" George put the jeep in gear again, and they bumped across the grasslands in search of other game. Alex held on to the roll bar and wrapped a protective arm around Sarah as they remained standing, enjoying the heat of the African sun and the wind through their hair.
George came to a stop and looked across the endless grasslands with experienced eyes. "Over there," he said, "a cheetah is sitting on an old termite hill. But on our way we'll stop to see that pride of lions." Alex had good eyes, and she scanned the waving grass in the direction that George pointed, but she could see nothing. She looked at Sarah. She really had gotten them the best guide in the camp.
A few minutes later, George stopped the jeep. Beside them, a big male lion lay contentedly in the sun. They could see several females nearby, but gradually they became aware of more and more. In all, they were finally able to count a dozen females, one young male, and the big alpha male. "Why don't they attack?" Alex asked.
George watched the animals that surrounded them. "They see the jeep as one entity, and they have seen enough of them to know they are harmless. Now, if you stepped out or reached out with an arm, papa lion would roar 'Bring me some nice human to eat. I am hungry.'"
The women chuckled at the way George talked for the animals. "Male lions, they do not know how to hunt. The females hunt, and then the male chases them away and eats the best parts of the kill. When the male is old and driven from the pride by a young male, they often starve to death because they will not hunt."
"Typical," Sarah said, then laughed at the comment, and Alex and George joined in.
"Even the mama lion is not all that good a hunter. Only forty percent of the time will she be successful at a kill. The rest of the time, she has to come home and tell papa that they will be hungry tonight." When Alex had taken all the pictures she wanted, George put the vehicle in gear again, and they bounced on through the tall grass to where the cheetah sat, about a half mile away.
"She is very nervous. She knows the lions are near. Soon she will move away from here," George said. They watched the beautiful animal sitting alert and tense. Then, it stood, sniffed the air, and bounded away. They went on to look at crocodiles lazing on river banks, giraffes grazing, and herds of zebra and wildebeest migrating by the hundreds in a long trail that seemed to go all the way to the horizon. They returned to the camp as the sun was setting, feeling totally in awe of what they had seen.
"I can't believe it," exclaimed Alex as she stripped out of her dusty clothes. "I thought we'd have to look for animals and be satisfied with an odd sighting, but no way. You park the jeep and a few giraffes are to your right, a herd of zebra go galloping past, a pride of lions is lying in the sun, and half a dozen other animals pass by, to boot. It's amazing!"
Sarah smiled. "I thought you'd like it. I wanted you to see it, to know this part of Africa as I do. Remember that this is the migration season, though. You're seeing it at its best. In a few months, all the wonderful grass will be eaten, and what's left will have dried in the sun and the herd animals will have headed south again."
Alex walked over and looked down at Sarah. "Is that the only reason? You just wanted me to have a good holiday?"
"Honestly, Alex, I was going to say no to the visit when I got your letter. I didn't think I could live through the heartache again. Then you said you loved me, and it seemed so sincere... I don't know. I'm pretty confused right now."
"I won't push."
"Oh, yeah, the person they coined the word 'driven' for is not going to push."
"I've changed."
"People don't."
"Then maybe I just got in touch with myself again and went back to being the person I was."
Sarah reached up and kissed Alex's cheek softly. "I fell in love with that person."
They left it at that.
* * *
At the open-air bar that night, Alex was ready to talk to Sarah. "I was furious with you," she admitted, staring into her glass. "I'd worked my tail off for us, and you walked out on me. I thought, so what? I don't need a bitch like that in my life. I bought myself a big home, a flashy car, and started doing the bar scenes, except I never could bring myself to bring anyone home for the night. I threw myself into my work and was making tons of money and a real name for myself, but it didn't mean shit. I didn't even know the name of the person I was operating on. But I sure was showing you how wrong you'd been about me."
"So what happened?"
Alex shook her head. "Nothing, really. I just woke up one day and realized that my life was about as shallow as a puddle. It wasn't the life. I was doing meaningful work; it was me. I was shallow because it didn't mean a thing to me except for the power and money that I could get out of it."
For a bit, the two women sat and stared at the flames of the fire. Alex needed time to find the right words. "So I quit. I saw an advertisement for the job of field surgeon working out of Yellowknife, and I applied. It's been great. I love it up there."
"What does your job entail?" Sarah asked as she reached forward to push a branch farther onto the fire.
"Mostly general surgery at the hospital in Yellowknife, but I also go around to some of the remote clinics and see patients. In rare cases, I even operate out of a clinic. Just before I left, I had to remove an appendix. A plane hadn't been able to land to get the patient out. I was nearby and came over on my dog sled to help out."
"You have sled dogs?"
Alex had never wanted a pet when they lived together. She said they were too much trouble and got hair on her clothes.
"Yeah. I've even competed in some of the local races. I've become real fond of them." Alex pulled her wallet from her pocket and took out a picture of her team. "That's Cleo, my lead dog. She's great. And lying down back there are Nip and Tuck," Alex said.
Alex looked up to see Sarah looking at her with tear-filled eyes. "What?"
"Nothing." Sarah blinked back her emotion. "I just think that maybe you have changed." They sat for a while, enjoying the night.
"Alex?"
"Yes."
"Is this who you are, or was it the other Alex who was moving up in society, or was it the tough, streetwise woman I first met? You see, I don't know."
Alex sighed and poked at the fire. "I guess I'm a bit of all those people. I set goals for myself, and when I do, I go all out. That's just the way I am. That's what enabled me to escape my childhood poverty and make it through medical school."
"You grew up in the city, Alex. Do you think you can really fit in and be happy in northern Canada? Is this just another obsession of yours?"
Alex laughed. "I was the butt of so many jokes my first year there. Whenever I had to go out in the field, they would take bets on whether I would have to be rescued, too. I didn't know shit, and I think I made every mistake a person could make. But I've learned, even if it was the hard way. Yeah, I love it up there. Life feels real, and every day is different. The challenges are big, and I have so much more to learn. It's where I want to be. I'm hoping that you feel you could live there, too."
"And do what? I'm not prepared to be some hausfrau while you're off having a career."
"I wouldn't expect you to. There's a lot of work that needs to be done in the north. Yellowknife is still a town, but it's one of the biggest in Canada. There are lots of opportunities. You could lecture at the Aurora or Nunavut Colleges. There's all sorts of renewed interest in the ways the Dene and Inuit used the land and their knowledge of animal husbandry and wild plant medicines. You could do some real meaningful research. I have a nice house overlooking the lake."
Sarah shook her head and chuckled.
"What?" Alex asked.
"Tell me you aren't going to push. You have this all worked out, don't you?"
"I think about it a lot. I want us to have a life together. That's not pushing."
"I guess I wanted you to see my part of Africa for the same reason," Sarah said. "This is where I've done my research, and I love it here. I want you to love it, too. It's part of who I am. They talk about the African disease, you know. It's fatal to some Europeans. Phillips is a good example. They come here, and they can't leave. Africa gets in their blood." Sarah reached out to squeeze Alex's hand. "And just for the record, I have thought about you being here. Daydreamed about it. And now you are."
An office clerk came up beside them. "Excuse me, Doctor Meloche, this message was left at the desk for you this afternoon. I am sorry I am so late in delivering it. With the new group of tourists arriving today, I have been very busy." He had the droopy, pierced ear lobes of a Masai.
"That's okay. Thanks for bringing it to me. I never think to check my mailbox when I'm here."
The clerk left, and Sarah went over to the light of the bar to read the message.
Alex watched Sarah's happy face change into hard, stressed lines. She got up and went over to join her. "What's the matter?"
Sarah handed her the note. It was typewritten, short, and had no letterhead or signature.
You are being watched. I believe that you are being considered to play apart in a deadly attack. Please be on your guard. Be sure you know who your friends are.
"It sounds like Phillips again," Alex said.
"Yes, or someone writing in his style. I don't like being used. Whoever these people are, they aren't going to get very far trying to get me to do something I don't want to do."
"Should we call the police?"
"It would be a waste of time. They have bigger issues to deal with. No, let's go back to our tent." Sarah signaled to one of the guards and they followed him back to their room.
Alex unzipped the flap, lifted it, and froze. There was something lying on their pillow. As she walked closer, she saw it
was a small stone carving of a hippo. "What's this? Someone's been in the tent."
Sarah came over and looked. She smiled and kissed Alex's cheek. "It's for you. The camp has them carved and leaves one on the pillow for each new guest. The woman who lights our lanterns and turns down the beds would have brought it when she came."
Alex smiled. "Awesome. It's cute. Sure beats a rose. I never know what to do with them, and the chocolate they leave is always stale."
"Trust you to be an expert on the things maids leave on hotel beds," Sarah said.
Alex's arm whipped out quick as lightening and drew Sarah close to her. "I don't recall you ever complaining about my experience," she said into Sarah's ear before kissing it.
Sarah moaned. "You promised to be good."
"That was last night."
"And tonight."
Alex sighed dramatically. "Okay, and tonight, just how good do you want me to be?"
Sarah hugged her close. "Good enough so my mind isn't worrying about that silly message and what I might have gotten myself into, but not so good that I wake in the morning with bigger complications than I already have."
Alex hugged Sarah reassuringly. Later, they showered together, washing each other like they used to do years before, but being careful not to cross the line into intimacy. In the darkened tent, Alex held Sarah close to her in bed long after Sarah had gone to sleep.
Chapter 10
The rotting carcass of a reedbuck hung from the fork in a gnarled tree nestled in the hollow of a large outcropping of rock. "A leopard kill," George said. "But at least a week old. I do not think the leopard is around now."
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