Gypsy in Black: The Romance of Gypsy Travelers (21 page)

The
Rom Baro
pushed through the crowd until he faced his son. 
“
We are always one tribe!
”

Nicolae
shook his head. 
“
The youn
g men are south, we are north. 
We must find them before they disgrace us again.
If we start
now, we rejoin with the
men by nightfall.
”
  To Sahara's
amazement, no one protested or ar
gued.  Instead, everyone turned
around and headed for their
wagons. 

As the crowd broke up,
Sahara realized
Nicolae
was star
ing at her.  Lowering her eyes,
Sahara tried to hide her b
ruise from his gaze.  But as he
approached her, she knew he had a
lready seen it. 
“
What is that,
my bori?
”

“
What is what,
Nicolae
?
”

His fingers dug into her chin, jerking he
r face upwards. 
His eyes widened as he gritted
his teeth. 
“
Who dared to touch
you like that?
”

“
It was an accident.
”
  S
he cringed under his fury.  His
fingers dug into her chin
harder as he glared past her at
nothing.  Sahara reached up, pushing his hand
away. 
“
You're
hurting me!
”
she whispered.

He released her arm immediately.  Lightly, he brushed her
arm as if
ridding her of
the pain he had unintentionally
inflicted. 
“
I apologize, my bori
.” 
Gently,
Nicolae
touched her goo
d cheek, smiling
into her dark eyes. 
“
We will
discuss this later, yes?  It is
time to move on.
”
 

Little beads of sweat dott
ed Sahara's forehead as she sat
next to the old man.  The sharp j
olts of the wagon wheels caused
Sahara to wince as she tried to s
it upright.  Her sides and back
ached.  Wiping the sweat away,
Sahara squinted in the glaring
sun.  For three hours, the gyp
sy caravan travelled silently. 
Occasionally, a child laughed or
a man hacked
, the dust from the trail getting caught in his throat.
  Even the horses
neighed less than usual as they tro
d down the long, endless road. 
The sun continually brightened its
burning rays with no relief in
sight.  The dry prairie gra
ss stood tall and motionless, a constant reminder that
no wind cooled the stifling air. 

Sahara moistened her parched lips, hatin
g the dry, cracked
feeling. 
She looked at the rest of the caravan.  Everyone was tired and quiet, even the children who leaned their heads out the back of the wagons, their eyes drooping with sleep. 
Swallowing what little
saliva was left in her throat,
Sahara
turned to the old man. 
“
This
is insane!  You must stop!  At
least to rest the horses!
”

“
Shut ye
r mouth, bori!
”

Her temper flared as she crossed her arms over her che
st. 
“
I wish I could!  Only, it's too dry to shut!
”

Finny touched Sahara's arm
in a silent plea.  When Sahara
turned to face the girl, she saw
Finny holding a metal flask out
to her. 
“
Drink this, romni.  It will kill your thirst.
”
 
Sahara eyed the flask
susp
iciously, wondering what potent
liquor awaited her.  But her d
ry throat urged her to take it,
drink the whole thing down.  Her
fingers touched the warm metal,
pulling the cork out of the top
.  Slowly, she lifted it to her
lips and tasted the warm water
.  Although it tasted sour, she
took several swallows before sh
e handed it back to Finny.  The
old man sneered at her. 
“
You are more gadjo den gypsy, bori.
”

Another silent hour down the
road and the caravan stopped by
a small river before crossing it.  T
he horses bent their heads
eagerly, drinking before the res
t of the gypsies were allowed. 
But the rest was only momentarily.
  Sahara had barely jumped down
from the wagon before the ca
ravan continu
e
d
on its way.  It
didn't surprise Sahara when the old man
thrust the rei
ns at
Sahara and climbed into the back
of the wagon to sleep.  Tired,
hungry, and restless, Sahara held
the rei
ns loosely in her small
hands, allowing the horse
s to do whatever they pleased. 
Obediently
, she stayed awake, watching the road
with a half
interested eye. 

The sun began to set.  The s
ky darkened to orange.  Several
stars twinkled in
the endless sky b
ut no moon shone overhead.  The
horses walked on slowly, thei
r heads hung low and their feet
almost dragging behind them.  Sahara
felt empty and lifeless, her
arms numb
and her hands blistered
from holding the rei
ns
.  Her body was aching,
exhausted from
sitting for so long.  Her ey
es drooped, not focusing on the
beautiful sunset but the empty hor
izon.  After hours of driving,
there was still no sight of the men.  S
o, when
Nicolae
raced by, his
black hair flowing behin
d him as he cried out,
“
We have
arrived!
”
Sahara awoke at onc
e.  Nudging Finny awake, Sahara
looked around.  The prairie gras
s beckoned the caravan.  One by
one, the wagons turned east onto the prairie.  T
he grass began to
bend down, creating a path to nowhere. 

Several minutes later, the w
agons moved into a circle.  The
men that had been sent
ahe
ad cheered and yelled, greeting
their family and friends. 
Sahara stopped the wagon behind
another and pulled the brake.
Carefully, she lowered herself
onto the firm ground. 
“
May
I never have to ride in a wagon
again,
”
she mumbled to no
one
in particular
as
she started walking toward the
crowd of people.  Wagon doors op
ened as the children piled out,
happy to be free of confinement an
d chase each other once again. 
The men hurried to set up the
tents while the women unloaded
their cooking utensils.  Some ch
ildren raced out of the growing
darkness, each carrying a small ar
mload of kindle.  The young men
had already started small fires.
Onto these, the children threw
their kin
dle, stirring the flames into a
large roar.
Everyone had a job.

Sahara walked over to the wom
en and offered her assistance. 
One woman stared at Sahara, startl
ed by her offer.  But the woman
nodded her covered head once and motioned for Sahara to stir the
stew.  The thin,
brown liquid
looked more like dirty water to
Sahara as she pushed the large
wooden spoon in a circle.  The
little p
ieces of meat she managed to uncover
were as unappetizing as the rock that
lay
next to the
fire.  A couple of old, rotting
potatoes stuck to the bottom of th
e pot.  With all the energy she
had left, Sahara managed to s
crap them off.  By the time the
tents were erected, the food was
finished.  Quickly, the men ate
before scratching their sides and
stretching out before the warm
fire.  The women waited patientl
y for the last man to be served
before pouring the thin, tastel
ess stew into their own bowls. 
Sahara took the bowl Duda handed
to her with a tired smile.  She
retired to the nearest wagon, lea
ning her back against the wheel
as she hungrily swallowed her dinner. 

Duda waved away Sahara's
gesture to help clean up.  Her
toothless smile thanked the you
ng girl for all her help. 
“
You
sleep now, yes?
”

Sahara smiled back, her eyes practically s
hut. 
“
I sleep
now, yes.
”

Inside her tent, Sahara s
tripped
off her dirty clothes
. 
Leaving them in a heap by the
entrance, she crawled under the
blanket and collapsed on the soft
mattress.  She wrapped her arms
around a pillow, resting her cheek on the co
tton cover.  Her
chest rose and fell as she shut
her eyes.  It felt wonderful to
lay down on something soft.  E
ach bone and muscle in her body
hungered for sleep. 

“
Sahara?
”
 
Nicolae
secured the fl
ap shut and walked toward their
bed.  She heard him wrestling wit
h his clothing as he threw them
on the grass, kneeling beside her.  He ran his fingers through
her hair, his thumb
caressing her
cheek.  Once again, he noticed
the bruise under her eye.  It ange
red him to know somewhere lived
a man that had hurt his Sahara. 
“
You are sleeping, yes?
”

Lazily, Sahara lifted her ar
ms up, wrapping them around his
neck as she sighed. 
“
I am sleep
ing, yes.
”
  She rested her head
against his shoulder.

“
Without me?
”
  His strong
hands ran down the sides of her
body, one finger tracing the out
line of her spine.  He held her
tightly in his arms.  Twirlin
g her fingers through his hair,
Sahara softly kissed his skin.  Hi
s breath caressed her ear as he
gently nibbled at her earlobe. 
“
Or were you waiting, yes?
”
  His
husky voice sent a shiver down
her back and she clung to him,
ashamed of her own desire. 

“
I was waiting,
”
she admitted sleepily.

Leaning on his one hand, he ran his other hand over her flat, soft stomach.  Exploring her thighs,
Nicolae
stroked her
muscles before seeking the
center of her passion.  His elbow cracked as he shifted his weig
ht,
leaning forward to kiss her shoulder, her breast, her stomach.  With his tongue, he traced a wavy line down to his fingers, kiss
ing her with such fe
rvor that she pulled at his hair, wriggling in newfound ecstasy.  His own passion growing,
Nicolae
kissed her inner thighs, lifting his weight above her as he moved forward.  His hips rested on hers, his hands by her head.  Slowly, and with loving care, he made love to her until she cried his name out softly.  Exhausted and spent,
Nicolae
rested his head on her
chest,
shutting his eyes as Sahara ran her fingers through his hair.  He sighed once, obviously content as he drifted to sleep.  Sahara smiled sleepily to herself as she listened to
Nicolae
's gentle breathing.  His one hand rested lightly on her arm and his other was entangled in her hair.  His breathing softened until Sahara was sure he was asleep and w
ould not awakened. 
Softly, she kissed the top of his head befor
e shutting her eyes and
falling into a much needed and desired glorious sleep.