Lazy Days (42 page)

He opened the door and started going through her
bureau drawers, pulling out clothing.

"Exactly, what do you think you’re
doing?" Her voice cracked from exhaustion.

"I told you yesterday we'd be leaving this
morning. If you're not at the Toyota in half an hour, I’m coming back to dress
you myself.
Do you understand?"

Rainey jumped off the bed, so angry she forgot
she was tired. She stomped over to Roth and shoved her index finger in his
chest. "I’m flat-ass tired of you giving me orders. I will dress when I
want to dress. You have been nothing but an ogre for three days. Other than
breathing, I don’t know what I’ve done to piss you off." She stopped long
enough to suck in a breath and opened her mouth to lambast him again.

"Ogre, huh?" He grinned and looked
down, taking in the nightgown that had gotten caught in her lacey pink panties.

"Get out!" she yelled, and grabbed the
nightgown out of her panties, yanking it down. Unfortunately, the action
stretched it over her breasts, revealing their voluptuous outline.
"Crap!" She dived for the covers.

Roth only laughed and walked to the door.
"Actually, maybe you shouldn’t get dressed. I think I might like the
challenge of dressing a hellcat." He quickly snapped the door shut.

Every bump and jolt of the Toyota incensed
Rainey more. Roth refused to explain the reason for their return to the
Bedouins and she was plagued with a nagging sense of foreboding. So far, he had
not sprung a surprise on her that she liked. She was also starting to itch
under the protective head scarf.

"There’s the camp," Roth said.

Rainey looked at the oasis floating in the
distance. "Are you going to tell me
now
why we’re here?"

"No."

She bit her tongue to keep from verbally lashing
him for the umpteenth time. It would only make her more uncomfortable and hot,
and fall on deaf ears.

They reached the oasis. Several men stood
waiting, waving their hands for Roth to follow them. He drove the Toyota into a
tent set back from the others while the men held the flaps open. Rainey wasn’t
getting a good vibe about parking the 4x4 in a tent.

"Why are-"

"Later," Roth snapped.

Rainey stepped from the vehicle and Roth
motioned for her to follow him outside the tent. She watched him greet the
elderly man from before and then the other men. She saw the women watching in
the background. Roth spoke to the men in their language and gestured with his
hands. The men laughed.

At least someone thinks he’s funny.

The elderly man called and motioned to one of
the women and she came to stand beside him. He grinned at her, and Rainey could
see the responsive grin in her eyes through the opening in her head covering.
He seemed to be making introductions to Roth. Roth smiled and said something
that made her laugh and her eyes light up.

Roth turned to Rainey. "Go with Tahnoon's
wife, Nadia. She'll bring you back to me later."

You're starting to sound like a freaking sultan,
thought
Rainey. She threw him a scathing look and followed Nadia toward the other
women. As before, except for the youngest girls, they all wore black veils with
only their eyes peeking through. Shivers ran up Rainey’s arms. What had Roth
gotten her into?

She entered the same tent as before. The women
spread a small royal blue rug and gestured for her to sit. Rather than offend
as she had the last time, she sat and accepted the drink handed to her. She was
mildly surprised to sip sweet mint tea from a tiny glass. She pointed to
herself and said, "Rainey." Then she pointed to the woman closest to
her. The woman looked confused, and then realized what she was asking. The
woman pointed to herself and said, "Halima." Rainey smiled, and one
by one the women began pointing to themselves and saying their names. The group
seemed to accept her and she felt ashamed of her previous standoffish behavior.

A Bedouin man called from outside the tent and
Nadia left their group to lift the flap and join him. When she returned, she
spoke to the women and they giggled.

"What?" Rainey laughed.

Halima went to a corner of the tent and returned
carrying a black dress and black face veil decorated with red cross-stitches.
She said something to Rainey with gestures. Rainey gave her a look that
conveyed her confusion. The two women closest to Rainey urged her to her feet.
They raised her hands and pulled the black dress over her head and clothing.
Next, they placed the veil over her face. She peeked out the eye slits and
laughed.
Okay, I can play their dress-up game.
Halima pointed to her own
veil and said, "burqa." Rainey pointed to the veil she was wearing
and repeated, "burqa." The women giggled and nodded.

Again, a man called from outside the tent, and
Nadia motioned for Rainey to follow her. Rainey started to disrobe, but the
women quickly stopped her, pushing her toward the tent flap. Confused, she
walked outside. The women led her to an open area near some tethered camels.
Several men standing near the camels began loosing them. The camels knelt in
the sand. About half a dozen men climbed onto the backs of the camels. Rainey
thought the sight very interesting. She looked for Roth. Scanning back and
forth, her gaze stopped when it reached a tall, muscular Bedouin dressed in
white layered robes and a white turban.
Huh?

The women guided her toward him. "Why are
we dressed like Bedouins, Roth?"

He ignored her and grabbed the reins of a camel.
The other camels began to rise with Bedouins on their backs. Roth motioned her
forward. She got that uneasy feeling again.

"Rainey, we’re going on a little
adventure."

Rainey’s jaw dropped. But of course, no one could
see her mouth because of her veil. She watched the camel kneel. She looked at
the split saddle, apparently for two riders on the same camel. "No
way," she whispered, feeling her breath bounce off the veil. Louder, she
said, "There is absolutely no way I’m getting on that beast. I don’t know
what kind of weird joke this is, but I am not,
not, NOT, riding a camel to
God knows where with you!"
Her voice rose in volume until she was
shouting.

The camel nonchalantly watched her while chewing
something. Roth looked at her too, and shook his head. "I've said this so
many times Rainey that I sound like a broken record. We can do this the
easy..."

Rainey turned on her heel and stomped back
toward the tents, stumbling when her toe caught in the long dress. She had just
righted herself when she felt arms whisking her off her feet. She squealed and
pushed at Roth’s chest. Before she could whack him, he lifted her robe and
straddled her legs over the back portion of the saddle. He jumped in the front
and the camel started to rise.

Rainey squealed again, only this time in fright.
She was sure she was going to fall off the ungainly beast as it tilted sideways
when it rose. Grabbing Roth by the waist she held on for her life. The animal
stood erect and Roth urged it forward behind the other Bedouins on their
camels.

"Where…where are we going?"

"Across the White Desert."

"Why?"

"There's something important to your
research there."

She practically screamed, "What can
possibly be important to my research in the desert! I want you to stop this
animal and take me back to Bawiti! In fact, I demand that you take me back to
the United States!"

"Rainey, I suggest you loose your death
grip on my waist, settle back, and enjoy the ride. It will take us two days to
reach our destination."

"Two days! No! You can’t make me go!"

"I can, and I am."

Rainey released her grip on Roth’s waist and
started to pound his back.
"I won’t go! I won’t go!"
She
slipped sideways in the saddle and had to grab his waist again to keep from
falling."

The camels plodded forward in a caravan.

Roth could feel Rainey’s head lolling against
his back. Her hands had gone slack and he held both of them in one of his
against his stomach to keep her upright on the camel. He’d actually felt bad
about springing their caravan travel on her. However, she'd left him no other
option. If he’d told her beforehand, he would have had a spitfire on his hands.
Roth smiled. For all her primness in dress, she was definitely a fiery woman.
When his thoughts turned to the implications of that, he quickly suppressed
them. He would not allow free reign to his imagination with her tightly tucked
against his body.

They had been traveling for about two hours.
Although hot, it was not dangerously so because of the spring season and Roth
had made Rainey drink water often. Tahnoon halted his camel and their caravan
began dismounting. When Roth’s camel bowed to the ground, the movement jarred
Rainey awake.

"Wh-what’s happening?" She clutched
his waist again.

"We’re stopping to drink and rest." He
dismounted and reached to lift her. She didn't fight him.

"Awgh," she said.

He held her arms to steady her. She glared at
him and jerked away. Her action sent her unstable body pitching backward. He
caught her by the waist before she landed on her rear in the hot sand. The veil
covering her face slipped askew and one eye peeked through.

Reaching for the burqa, she jerked it off and
said, "It’s as hot as a frying pan out here!" She pushed his hands
away from her waist and reached to lift the dress over her head.

"Don’t," Roth warned, and grabbed her
hands to stop her. "The dress is protection. And even though you’re
wearing street clothes underneath, it would be vulgar to remove it in the midst
of these men. I’ll give you some water to drink and bathe your face. Then put
the burqa back on."

He reached into a pouch on the saddle and pulled
out two water canteens. Handing one to her, he opened the other and took a long
swig. Looking around for Tahnoon, he said, "Stay here." Rainey opened
her mouth in what looked to be the beginnings of a harangue, and he quickly
walked away.

When he approached Tahnoon, the men parted,
allowing him access to their leader. Tahnoon said, "We will set up
temporary shelters, eat and rest for awhile. That way, we can travel longer. It
will turn cold tonight, so be prepared. The woman will need to be wrapped in a
blanket. Before darkness, we will erect our tents. We will arise at dawn and
camp again at sundown tomorrow. Dawn of the next day, I will lead you to the Sacred
Cave." Roth nodded his understanding.

He returned to Rainey who was pouring water down
the inside of her garment. She held the burqa in her free hand.

"You're wasting water, which is never a
good idea in the desert. Also, if you don’t want to suffer sunstroke, I suggest
you put the burqa back on." He advised with a scowl.

"I have sunscreen on," she defied him.

Roth reached to grab the veil.

"Okay, okay." She jerked it over her
head. "What are we doing now, besides baking in the sun?"

"The men are going to erect some temporary
shelters so we can eat and rest. We'll continue when the weather cools. You
should be happy it's not the height of summer."

"I’ll be happy when I’m back in the U.S.
and away from you,
Mr. Beowolf."

"Someday,
Ms. Childress,
your mouth
is going to get you into trouble." He stalked away and helped the men
erect the shelters.

* * *

Rainey sat under one of the shelters, a simple
lean-to, and watched the Bedouins converse under the other two shelters. Roth
had handed her some kind of dried cheese he'd poured water over to create a
soupy mixture, along with a piece of flat bread. She’d started to decline the
food, but he’d grabbed her hands and made her take the unappetizing concoction.
He’d admonished her to eat. The food sat untouched beside her. She removed her
burqa and pulled her knees to her chest, lowering her head and staring at the
sand.

A shadow fell across her and she looked up. Roth
started to sit beside her. Irritated, she scooted away from him.

"I'd advise you to eat. You’re going to get
very hungry."

As if to verify his words, her stomach growled
loudly. She ignored his advice, and said, "Exactly where are we going, and
why?"

Tonight we’ll reach the Black Desert, camp
there, and leave at dawn. Around noon tomorrow we’ll reach Crystal Mountain,
and then in the evening we’ll arrive at our destination just beyond the White
Desert."

"Are you making that up? Is there really a
Black Desert and a White Desert and a Crystal Mountain?"

"Absolutely."

"Why do they have such common names?"

"It’s very simple. The Black Desert is
black, the White Desert is White, and the Mountain is made of crystal."

"That’s ridiculous."

"Alright, how’s this. The Black Desert and
the White Desert are part of the Western Desert, which is part of the Sahara
Desert. The Black Desert gets its name from magma that has oozed through cracks
and covered the surface of the ground in a thin layer. In some places, however,
it was thicker and created large lumps when it cooled. In areas where sand has
blown away from the hills, there are thick basalt rocks exposed. The Black
Desert is very stark and dramatic."

"And what about Crystal Mountain?"

"Between the Black Desert and the White
Desert is Crystal Mountain. The word 'mountain' is actually misleading in the
English language. In Arabic, it's referring to a formation. So Crystal Mountain
is actually a series of rocks with crystals cascading down the sides. In the
sunlight the rocks shimmer and create a prism affect."

Rainey gave him a disbelieving look and finally
asked, "So, that leaves the White Desert. I can’t wait to hear why it’s
white." She edged her remark with sarcasm.

Roth didn’t react to her tone. "Because of
wind erosion, the White Desert has limestone chalk formations erupting from the
sand. The shapes take the form of mushrooms, animal figures, mounds, and
unnamed bizarre sculptures. The figures run the gamut from tiny to huge. In
some areas, all you see is white. It's ethereal."

"From your descriptions, I take it you’ve
been to these places?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"Some years ago."

"How many years ago?"

"Several."

"Several. Now that’s a
creative
answer. How many years are
several?"

Roth laughed and picked up the bowl of cheese
soup, placing it in her hands. "Several means…several." He rose and
left the shelter.

Rainey eyed the soup and her stomach growled
again. Taking a tentative sip, she was surprised that it actually tasted better
than it looked. She swallowed some more.

She soon grew bored of watching the men converse
and turned her attention to watching gusts of wind create sand ripples. After
getting bored of that, she closed her eyes and imagined herself as an eagle
floating on a breeze high above the desert. Then she envisioned herself above
the forest near her home.

"What are you thinking, Rainey? You have a
smile on your face." Roth had returned.

"I'm not thinking about anything in
particular."

"Liar."

"Well, it's none of your business."

"I'm sorry I asked." He reached to
give her a hand up. "It's time to dismantle the shelters and move
on."

Rather than create more animosity, she allowed
him to pull her up. She put the burqa back on. It helped to keep blowing sand
out of her mouth.

Roth and the Bedouins quickly dismantled their
shelters and then one of the men led their camel to them. She backed away when
the huge beast came close. The ungainly animal knelt and waited to be mounted.
Again, Roth scooped her into his arms and planted her in the saddle.
Effortlessly, he swung onto his side of the split seat. Unable to help herself,
she grabbed him when the animal lurched upward. She bit her tongue, however, to
keep from squealing and sounding like a wimp. The other men mounted their own
camels and they all started forward. As an unwilling participant, Rainey
continued her trek across the rippling sands of the Western Desert.

On and on they plodded. Rainey’s eyes drifted
shut from the swaying motion. She snuggled close to a muscular back and
tightened her grip around a firm waist. Her groggy mind thought,
God, he
feels good.
She saw an eagle in her mind, large and proud. The eagle spoke
to her with Roth’s voice.

"Rainey, wake up. We’ve reached the Black
Desert."

She felt a gentle pat on her arms circling
Roth's waist and looked up.

"We’re in the Black Desert."

Rainey focused on her surroundings. Roth’s
description of an area stark and dramatic had been an understatement. The Black
Desert looked like something out of a sci-fi movie; a barren plain on a distant
planet.

"What do you think?" he asked, after
she'd had time to fully awaken and look around.

"It’s certainly dramatic. I half expect to
see an alien craft dart from behind one of those black volcano-looking hills.
They’re not really volcanoes, are they?"

Roth laughed. "No, not at all. Here, wrap
in this blanket; it’s getting cold." He handed a blanket behind him. Rainey
accepted it without argument.

For the time-being, she forgot her antagonism
toward her bodyguard and gazed in wonder at the unearthly terrain of black
rocks scattered across golden sand mixed with magma and interspersed with black
hills. Eventually, however, discomfort made her squirm in the saddle.

"We should be stopping soon to make
camp," Roth said.

Shortly after he'd said the words, the lead
camel halted and knelt; the other camels did likewise. Rainey tried to free
herself from the saddle, but her legs wouldn’t move.

Roth lifted her off the ungainly beast and held
her steady. Her extremities tingled with the new rush of blood. The inside of
her legs felt raw from rubbing against her pant legs. She moaned.

"I've got ointment for you to rub on your
legs," he said.

Rainey tried to respond, but she hurt too much.

"Can you stand by yourself?"

She nodded.

Slowly, he released her and she took some
tentative steps.

The Bedouins started unloading their camels.
Rainey stepped aside and watched them do what they had obviously done thousands
of times. In an amazingly short timeframe the tents were up and the sun was
down, its death glow the only remembrance of the heat previously baking the
desert. A campfire cast shadows across the tents as the Bedouins began preparing
a meal.

Roth motioned for Rainey to enter their tent.
She was too tired for any verbal sparring and obeyed. He lifted the flap,
holding a small lantern, and she ducked inside, pulling off her burqa.
Collapsing onto a red and blue woven carpet dancing with shadows from the
lantern, she winced at the pain in her legs. Roth set the lantern on the
carpet.

"Take your pants off," he said.

"Huh?"

"Rainey, you’ve got to put this ointment on
your inner thighs. If you'd ridden the camel without your slacks, you'd be in
even worse shape. Do you want me to help you?" He tossed an animal-skin
bag on the carpet.

"No! I don’t want your help!"

He made an unintelligible sound and lifted the
flap to leave. He looked back. "I’ll return in a few minutes with water so
you can rinse the dust off."

Turning to face the back of the tent, Rainey
pulled her slacks off and tentatively rubbed the salve onto her thighs. It hurt
like hell at first, but then the soothing balm helped immensely. Covering
herself again with the long black dress, she waited impatiently for Roth's
return. The night had turned chilly, but at the moment, that was the least of
her worries. She needed to relieve herself. If she didn't take care of the
problem soon, she was going to burst.

She heard Roth conversing in Arabic with one of
the men outside their tent. After a few minutes, he raised the flap and
entered, setting a bowl of water beside her. Rainey looked at the water and
almost wet her pants. She bit the inside of her cheek and looked up at him.

He said, "I was wondering when you'd get
around to that. Come on, I’ll walk you away from the camp."

"I don’t want you to go with me. Just point
me in the right direction."

"You’re not going anywhere alone. Besides,
I intend to bring a blanket for privacy. Come on."

Rainey had to go so bad she stopped arguing.
Roth reached to help her up and then grabbed the lantern. Between the salve on
her thighs, the soreness of her legs, and her full bladder, she didn’t know if
she could make it a respectable distance from the camp. Holding up the edge of
her dress she waddled after Roth, trying to keep the sand from kicking up and
sticking to the salve. Finally, he stopped and held the blanket stretched out,
arm-to-arm, behind his back.