Chapter Two
Inside their room, they collapsed on the bed. Kara felt emotionally and physically exhausted, and this was just the beginning. How was she ever going to make it through this? Already, she was second guessing her decision to come here. It took every bit of her strength just to get up and make her way to the bathroom. She splashed cold water on her face until she felt half alive and returned to lay beside Thomas.
“What was all that about? That guy? He was acting like he wanted nothing to do with us, even though we are paying him to be our guide,” Thomas asked.
“I have no idea. You would think someone in the business of guiding tourists would want to make a positive impression and be friendly.”
“He certainly wasn’t that,” Thomas replied sourly.
“He’s the best at what he does, Thomas. He’s not just a guide. Well, the family is the best at what they do. His field of expertise is in the area of tiger conservation. Plus, he’s my relative, supposedly. I need to make friends with him. Pick his brain.”
“I’d like to pick his brain…with a pick-axe!” Thomas blurted out.
“That’s my man–always so spirited,” she laughed.
“Very funny. I just hope I don’t end up in an Indian prison for murder.”
“I know. I understand. If the next two weeks were like the brief encounter we had with him today, then I don’t know how well any of this will work,” she muttered. “Wine. I’m going to need lots of wine.”
“Right. As soon as we get a nap. I’m exhausted,” he replied.
“I can get behind that. First a nap, then wine.”
The two of them curled up beneath the duvet and were fast asleep, the long plane ride and less-than-cordial greeting having taken it out of them physically and emotionally. They were awakened several hours later by a knocking on the interior door. Kara walked sleepily toward it and opened it up to find Barb standing there.
“What? Were you asleep?” she laughed.
“Yeah. We were exhausted. Aren’t you?”
“Us? No way. We’ve been down at the pool having a swim! It’s a gorgeous day...well, what’s left of it.”
“I don’t know where you got the energy,” Kara replied. She turned for a moment toward the sound of Thomas as he shuffled out of bed and toward the bathroom.
After some much-needed rest and a shower, they retrieved Josh and Barb before making their way back downstairs into the hotel restaurant. A meal of lamb kebabs, accompanied by a full bottle of merlot, improved everyone’s mood considerably. Several more glasses in the small bar that adjoined the restaurant sent them wobbling back to their room, the beginnings of a wine headache already starting to form.
“Lock and load,” she mumbled as she fell asleep across the bed, not even bothering to change into her night clothes or get under the covers.
Kara awoke the next morning with a start as the alarm sounded violently from the side of the bed. She looked around wearily, momentarily confused by her surroundings. Her head pounded, and she felt a bit nauseous. What had possessed her to drink so much wine, when she had to get up so early this morning?
“Ugh,” she said to her puffy faced reflection in the mirror as Thomas appeared behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and nuzzling against her neck thoughtfully.
They showered and dressed for departure, taking their own luggage back down to the lobby to transfer back into the vehicle. Though she would never admit it, their guide might have been right about how much she had brought with her. She hadn’t even opened most of it during her first night, but she still had a long way to go, didn’t she?
“At least you are on time, he said, picking up their bags and putting them in the van. We don’t have much time. Plane takes off in an hour.”
“Plane? I thought we were going into the wild?” Kara replied.
“We are, but first we have to get on a plane and then drive a spell. Your hotel will be there on the water. It’s a lovely little place. I’ll let you explore on your own, and we’ll head out first thing tomorrow morning for the sanctuary. You’ll probably want to wear something a little more suited for the trip,” he said, eying their clothing.
“What? What do you mean? I bought this for the trip,” Barb protested.
“I figured that much. The tag is still attached to your jacket,” he said snidely.
Barb blushed an unnatural shade of red. Would he be humiliating them the entire trip, or was he getting it all out of the way up front, Kara wondered. She said nothing for a moment as she tried to calm herself down. How dare he embarrass any of them like that?
“What should we be wearing?” she asked on Barb’s behalf.
A quick glance toward Thomas and Josh showed that both of them were silently seething, but neither said anything. She knew that, under ordinary circumstances, they would step in and put the rude young man in his place, but they were trying to keep their cool for the sake of allowing her to accomplish what she had come here to do.
“What you both have on is fine. It’s just not properly worn in and too tight. You’re going to chafe in those pants, and your boots are going to put blisters on your feet. If you think I’m going to carry any of you through the trees, you’re sorely mistaken.”
“You know what? What is your problem? You were hired to be our guide and you’ve been nothing but a condescending jerk since we arrived,” Kara barked at him.
The terseness in her tone made it clear that she was losing her cool with him. Enough was enough, and if he didn’t chill out, she couldn’t be certain what the Higgins boys by her side might do or say.
“I wouldn’t have taken the job if I had known they were sending me the likes of you. Obviously, you have zero experience in trekking through the kind of terrain we’ll be traveling. You are the poster children for people who don’t know their backsides from a hole in the ground.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Kara demanded.
“For starters, you two women are wearing enough makeup to star in a Broadway musical. Your hair is down, and you are wearing brand new clothes recommended by some clerk at your local sporting goods store who told you it was exactly what you needed, when he’s probably never stepped one foot out of the city.”
“Listen, I’ve had just about enough of this. I’ve been trying to let Kara deal with this on her own terms as she requested, but you are just being entirely insolent. It is completely uncalled for!” Thomas bellowed at him.
“Well, how about that! You do have a spine. I was beginning to believe the male half of this little party was mute and impotent,” the guy shot back
Thomas took a step toward him. It was Josh that extended his hand and held him back, but Kara who reminded him why they were here with a mere look. Though his anger was still obvious, he bit his lip, waiting to see what unfolded next.
“What is wrong with taking a bit of pride in our appearance?” Kara asked, making a point of looking disapprovingly at his disheveled hair and noting he had on the same clothes as yesterday.
“There is no place for it where we are going. You should be in loose, light clothing, and your hair in a ponytail. Plus, the makeup was a waste of time. You might be okay today while still in tourist mode, but it’s just going to melt down the sides of your face tomorrow. All those bags you brought are just going to be sitting in an empty hotel room without you.”
“Well, how were we supposed to know? This is our first trip to a place like this. It’s your job to get us where we need to be and take us through it. Just shut up and do your job!” she said angrily.
“Precisely my point. It is my job to get you in and out unharmed. You’d be wise to listen to me,” he told her.
“Fine,” she snapped at him.
“Fine,” he replied, waving his hand toward the vehicle for them to get inside without bothering to open the door for them.
They rode in silence the rest of the way to the small airstrip, only speaking to one another during the trek, when absolutely necessary.
Once they had arrived at the hotel, their guide pulled up to the curb and very curtly dismissed them, telling them he would return for them in the morning. No one even bothered to respond as they exited the vehicle.
The foursome took all of their bags into their rooms and emptied them out on the bed, studying the things they had brought. Since they were on their own for the rest of the evening, they decided to meet downstairs at the front desk to ask if there was a local guide available for them to talk to. The man there directed them to a small building down the street.
“Can I help you?” a pleasant, younger, local man asked as they stepped inside. Kara was glad that he spoke English, as the few Hindi words she had learned would do little more than get her to the nearest bathroom or restaurant.
“I certainly hope so. We need the proper clothes for a safari. I’m afraid that what we brought with us isn’t quite right, and we can’t afford to be ill-fitted on the trip.”
“Ah, you’ve come to the right place!” he told her, turning to call to someone in the back room behind him. A woman–who she assumed might be his wife–stepped out and looked at him impatiently. He spoke to her in their native tongue, leaving Kara unable to understand a word between them. The woman nodded and smiled, holding out her hand toward them and guiding them toward the door. Kara looked at the man, confused by what was happening.
“Where is she taking us?” she asked.
“There is a shop down the street. She will take you there and make sure you get what you need. Her English is not as good as mine, but she knows some words,” he said.
“And she understands what we will need for the safari?”
“Yes. Do you also need a guide for your trip?”
“No. I already have one, unfortunately.”
“Who is it?” he asked, seeming a little puzzled by her response.
“I don’t remember his name. A local from Eye of the Tiger,” she told him.
“Yes, they are excellent guides. Why is it unfortunate?” he asked.
“He’s not very friendly…or polite, for that matter,” she replied.
“That’s being kind,” Barb added. “He’s downright rude and abrasive.”
“Really? I’m surprised. They are usually a very kind and helpful group,” the man told them, seeming genuinely perplexed by the rude behavior she claimed.
“I find that hard to believe,” Josh told him before nodding for everyone to follow the woman out the door. He added, “Anyway, thank you for loaning us your wife to help us. We really appreciate it.”
As they made their way down the street, it struck Kara just how far out of her element she truly was. Why had she decided to do this? Now, she was stuck here to do this, and she would see it through, but that didn’t mean she was going to like it at all. More than anything, she felt bad that she had dragged everyone else along with her.
Kara looked around at the shop they entered. At first, she thought it was a mistake. It looked more like some sort of massive flea market than a place that would sell outdoor clothing. The woman began picking up items and handing some to each of them. Looking around, Kara realized it was a surplus store. The items here were previously worn, and thus, worn in. It made perfect sense. She wasn’t thrilled about wearing used clothes and wondered if they had been laundered properly, but it was less of a concern than proving their guide right by getting chafed or looking like something out of a magazine ad for Dick’s Sporting Goods.
With several bags in hand, they thanked the woman and paid her a fee as if she were a personal shopper. The woman nodded and smiled, heading back to her husband’s shop, while they returned to the hotel. She was pleased to find that everything seemed to fit perfectly. The woman had been spot-on with selecting sizes. Hopefully, this would please their ruthless guide.