Gypsy in Black: The Romance of Gypsy Travelers (41 page)

Sahara stood on the outskirts of the group, holding
Lea
protectively in her arms.  The chi
ld wore a pale cream-colored
dress with
lace around the collar and sleev
es.  Upon her head, even though
the sun had retired many hours a
go, Sahara had tied a beautiful
white bonnet.  In the radiance
from the fire, both mother and
daughter stared at him, their chee
ks pressed lightly together and
their eyes catching the orange
flickers from the flames.  Lea
seemed to be watching
Nicolae
with
the same
curiosity
and love as
was in Sahara's eyes.

Stopping before them,
Nicolae
reached out to brush Sahara's
cheek.  Then, with fatherly af
fection, he
tweaked
Lea's nose,
causing a tired giggle to esca
pe her puckered lips.  Reaching
into his pockets,
Nicolae
withdre
w a thick gold ring with a dark
stone centered on it.  He took S
ahara's hand, sliding it gently
on a free finger.  Her neck was covered with gold necklaces and her wrists with bracelets.  But t
he only other ring she wore was
the one
Nicolae
had given her after L
ea was born. 
“
I did not forget
you, my devoted wife, while we were apart.
”
  He leaned forward,
kissing her forehead softly be
fore turning around to face the
people. 
“
I have good news for ev
eryone.” 

The crowd silenced, eagerly awaiting word from their leader.  He let them wait in silence as he scanned the crowd.  He had known what they were thinking and he had known what they were considering.  Now, it was time to let them know the truth.  “L
ate winter storms
are
cursing the
north.  Even though we are far
from them, I feared we would t
ouch sudden cold weather and be
taken ill. 
While many of you were anxious to move north and thought that I had forgotten you, it was because of you that we stayed.  I have ridden north.  I have gone as far as I could to learn the truth in order to protect our kumpania. 
The storms
have moved
north
and the weather on our tr
ail
is
warming to the spring sun.
We will leave tomorrow.
”

The crowd cheered, laughin
g and smiling, relieved to know
they would finally begin their travels again.  The winte
r had
been long and marked with few
incidences
worthy of remembrance,
with the exceptions of the
Rom Baro
's death and Lea's birth. 
Someone shouted out,
“
Tonig
ht will be our last slava!  Our
tribute to the sedentary months a
nd our relief for the months of
travel ahead of us!
”
  The people began to laugh again, hurrying
away as they began to prepare fo
r the final slava at the winter
grounds. 

Nicolae
watched them leave befo
re turning to Sahara.  His eyes
were weary, heavy bags underneath them.  The past week had
not
been easy.  The days were long wi
th continual horseback riding. 
The nights
had been
sleepless for he mis
sed the loving body that curled
against him every night.  The mor
nings were lonely for there was
no baby's cry
to awaken him.  But now he was home, back with the woman he loved and the child
their love had created. 
“
I am
in no mood for a slava, S'h
ara.  Instead, I wish to retire
early.
”

“
I'll get you something
to eat then.  Certainly you are
hungry after such a long journey.
”

Nicolae
placed his hand on the
back of her neck, holding her tight but
careful not to crush Le
a. 
“
I am hungry, yes, but only
for you.
”

Back in the
tent
, Sahara la
id the drowsy Lea on her bed of
pillows, covering the baby with a
soft blanket to keep the slight
chill of the night off her.  Sh
e stared into the sleeping face
for a couple minutes before turning to
Nicolae
. 

He was sitting on
the oak trunk, tugging at his
black leather boots.  Quickly,
Sahara hurried over, helping h
im pull the boots off.  She set
them aside and stood before
Nicolae
. 
“
You made the people very
happy.  The men
were here earlier, wa
nting to speak to you.  I think
they were going to tell you they
wanted to leave. 
There has been talk among the people.  Your brother has been stirring their desire to leave. 
Instead, you
returned and told them what they wanted to hear.
”

Nicolae
sighed and reached out for her hand.  He
pulled her onto
his lap and wrapped his arms aro
und her waist. 
“
S'hara, if you
only knew the things I have he
ard.  The blizzard fooled many,
yes.  But they also fooled the
gypsies.  Indeed the storm was
further north than I believed but the first kumpania
that left
was caught in it.  I do not know w
hat has become of them.  But it
cannot be good.
”
  He noticed the dark cloud fall over her face.  Not wanting to ruin the mood,
Nicolae
smiled and brushed the hair off
her neck. 
“
Enough of that.  There will be time
to mourn for them
when we know what has happened,
yes?  But for now, my beautiful
wife, I want to love you like
never before.  I vowed I would
never be apart from you again but
I had to break that vow for the
peo
ple.  Now, I must amend for it,
yes?
”

Nicolae
pressed his lips against
hers, kissing her with all the
passion that had built up wit
hin him over the past week.  He
could feel her heart poundin
g as he held her tight, one arm
tucking under her legs as he l
ifted her up and carried her to
their mattress.  Setting her on
her feet,
Nicolae
took a step back,
carefully helping her undress. 
The softness of her skin warmed
him as he ran his hands over her body as each layer of clothing
slowly fell to the ground.  When
she finally stood naked before
him,
Nicolae
kissed her shoulder
s, her breast, her stomach.  He
kissed every part of her body, wanting to taste her skin
before he
made love to her. 

Their bodies entwined as t
hey had so many other nights in
the past but each time was
as
the first, a moment of love and
passion so intense, Sahara knew
it could never get better.  But
always on the next night, when
Nicolae
held her tight, kissing her
and loving her, it was better.
So much better than Sahara had
remembered.  And she wanted him o
ver and over again.  She wanted
to feel the warmth of his eyes sta
ring into hers, telling her how
much he wanted her, needed her, loved her.  Always he told her how he loved her and could never
go on living without her.  And
then, they'd make love again,
their bodies joined as one and
their hearts molded together for all eternity.

Sahara
lay
in his arms, c
aressing his back, still sweaty
from their
lovemaking
.  His brea
th was warm on her throat as he
rested his head on the pillow, h
is face next to hers.  One hand
rested on her waist, the other wa
s tangled into her silky hair. 
He opened his eyes, watching her
stare at the top of the wagon.
“
What are you thinking, S'hara?
”
 

She turned her head, her
eyes meeting his gaze. 
“
I was
thinking about leaving here.
I had hoped we could stay here
forever.  It was so wonderful.  Lea was born, we fell in love...
”

Nicolae
pressed a finger again
st her lips, silencing her from
finishing the rest of the sentence. 
“
I always was in-
love with
you, S'hara.  Only here, I realized how much.
”

She reached a hand up and
wrapped her fingers around his,
gently kissing his fingertips. 
“
And I too.  I love you,
Nicolae
.  I
love you so much.  I think I lo
ved you from the first night we
danced.
”
  She hesitated,
and then
smiled. 
“
The night we were
married.  Only I didn't know it then.
”

Nicolae
kissed her shoulder. 
“
A
nd if I remember correctly, you
weren't too happy about it when you found out, yes?
”

Sahara leaned on her elbo
w, gazing at him.  The darkness
shrouded his face, hiding his expr
ession from her.  She longed to
know what he was thinking and how he felt.  She wanted to crawl
inside him and curl around
h
is heart. 
“
I think deep down I
wasn't so upset.  I mean, my
life at the saloon was going
nowhere
.  And now I had thi
s man, the future leader of the
kumpania.  You didn't make it easy on me,
Nicolae
, never telling me what I was doing wrong or about the customs
.
”

Nicolae
laughed softly, pressing
his palm against her cheek.  He
could barely believe that the loving woman staring down at
him
was the same
feisty
girl he had fallen in-
love with almost one
year ago.
He sighed, leaning bac
k
into his pillow, one arm over his
forehead as he thought back to
those days.  They seemed like ye
ars ago. 
“
You were an innocent
child then and now, you are a
woman.  A loving mother,
a
wife,
a
gypsy.  Yes, you are truly gypsy now, S'hara.
”
  He moved his arm
and stared at her.  There was a gro
wing orange glow from outside. 
It shone through the narrow crac
ks in the wagon, reflecting off
her winter-faded golden skin.
“
I love you, S'hara.  I cannot
imagine life without you and Lea.  She is so perfect, an exact
replica of you.  One day, she w
ill marry a man and make him as
happy as you have made me.
”

Tears glistened in the co
rners of her eyes. 
“
And I love
you,
Nicolae
.
”