Being from Miami, Addison was already in the habit of staying hydrated. Water was prescribed as the best defense against altitude sickness—something about the air pressure and thin air interfering with the way the cells exchanged oxygen. She didn’t understand the science the way Javier had explained it, but his message was clear—drink a lot.
“The other thing you must remember is that we go slowly. We say pole pole.”
That too was in the pamphlet Tom Muncie had sent, Addison recalled, though she hadn’t realized until now that it was pronounced po-lay po-lay.
As the gear was loaded into the back of the bus, she saw Mary Kate disappear into the small sundries store located near the bar. Addison stalled, letting Drew get on and take a seat. If Mary Kate and Drew were doing this trip together, she didn’t want to horn in on anything. But if they weren’t, she was the person who interested her most.
Mary Kate emerged, bag in hand, and climbed aboard. Addison whirled her backpack over her shoulder and followed. The bus was large enough that she could have a bench seat to herself. Ann and Nikki were sitting together, already deep in conversation. Kirby and Rachel shared a bench, and Courtney sat behind them, absorbed in a paperback. Mary Kate had taken the seat behind Drew and placed her backpack in the space beside her. Addison took that as a signal she wanted to sit alone and moved toward the empty space beside Drew. Suddenly, Mary Kate looked directly at her and picked up the pack, gesturing toward the open seat.
“Thanks,” Addison said, falling in beside her. “When I was stuck at the airport in Nairobi, I called Tom Muncie back in Seattle. He told me I’d be paired up with you for the safari, except he called you Mary.”
She sighed. “I know. People don’t understand how we do things in the South.”
“I like Mary Kate. It’s a nice name.”
“Thank you, but I think one name ought to be enough for anyone. Addison’s an interesting name.”
“Very proper British, just like my father, Reginald.”
“You don’t sound British.”
“Miami, born and bred. My mother’s from Peru. That makes me a mongrel.”
“If you’re a mongrel, I’m a…whatever is the most ordinary dog there is. I was born and raised in Mooresville, and both of my parents were too. One of my grandfathers was from the next county. That’s practically considered marrying a foreigner where I come from.”
Addison chuckled. “Did you guys come by yourself?” She poked Drew in the back to include him in the conversation.
He turned around. “Yeah, I had some friends that did this a couple of years ago. Neither one of them made it to the top, so I wanted to give it a shot.”
“I saw it on TV,” Mary Kate said. “I tried to get my boyfriend to come, but he wasn’t interested…at least not until he realized I was going to do it anyway.”
Boyfriend. Addison felt a wave of disappointment as her budding fantasy, which she quickly dismissed as absurd, evaporated. “So why isn’t he here?”
Mary Kate frowned and shook her head. “I decided I didn’t really want him to come, especially after he waited so long and I him.”
“Good for you.” To Addison, that didn’t sound like much of a relationship.
She smiled to herself as Mary Kate nodded off against the glass, remembering Drew’s crack about how she loved to sleep. She peered over her head out the window for her first look at the Tanzanian countryside. It was mostly flat, with a few peaks that seemed to rise out of nothing. What she remembered about Mount Kilimanjaro was that it was more than just the highest peak in the Africa. It was a volcanic creation, not part of a range, and the highest free-standing peak in the world.
An hour later, the bus turned off onto a side road, bouncing them out of their seats as they plowed over one rut after another. Mary Kate woke up as they were passing a small, muddy village.
“Look at that.” She pointed to a group of young girls, all walking with large buckets of water perched on their heads. “I thought that was just a postcard.”
“Apparently, it’s for real. That little one can’t be more than three years old.” Addison tried to remember some of the development plans she had seen at her father’s company. None had addressed improvements in the everyday lives of children and families. Once she signed on with Global Allied, she would steer some of the profits into things like schools and health clinics for villages like this one.
After another hour, they turned again, this time onto a narrow dirt road that meandered through a part of the rainforest that appeared to have been clear cut, as only stumps remained among the lush high grass. Here was stark evidence of the disappearing rainforest, all for the meager livelihood of some of the world’s poorest people, who probably had no idea of the worldwide effort against deforestation.
Their route had taken them west of the mountain, where the rainforest obscured their view of the intimidating peak. Since she had never spent much time in the mountains, Addison couldn’t help but wonder if she had what it took to get to the summit. “What kind of training did you guys do for this?” she asked, loud enough for the others to hear.
“I’ve hiked some in the Rockies,” Drew answered, “but I travel a lot for work, so I try to run a few miles every day.”
“Yeah, me too,” she said. “We don’t have a lot of mountains in Miami.” None of the mountains near Lima were safe for a young woman hiking alone.
“We run too,” Kirby offered, waving a finger to include Rachel, but not Courtney. “We do a couple of miles about three times a week.”
“Man, you guys have me worried,” Mary Kate said. “I’ve been using a stair-climber at the gym, but I couldn’t run if my life depended on it.”
Ann spoke. “Don’t worry about it, Mary Kate. We won’t have to run here. Nikki and I have been doing the stair-climber too, and I feel like I’m ready.”
“You guys might be better off than the rest of us,” Rachel said. “Who knows if being able to run on flat ground is going to do us any good? At least you worked on your leg muscles.”
Nikki turned around and looked toward the back of the bus where their guide sat with the porters. “What do you think, Luke? How many in the group usually make it to the top?”
He scratched his chin, as if trying to choose his words carefully. “I would say that half of you will reach the summit, maybe more. But I do not know yet who. I can know more in two days.”
Addison looked around at her companions. Of the ten, only five.
“Hey, we’re missing somebody. Where are the two guys from Dallas?” Mary Kate asked.
No one knew, including Luke, who had expected them also.
The bus lurched to a stop, and Luke got off to open an iron gate. They passed through and pulled in front of a small cinderblock building. He jumped back onto the bus and said, “Leave your things here. This is the ranger station. You have to see the ranger and write your passport number.”
One by one, they signed into the log book and walked around, making the most of the chance to stretch their legs. Neal announced that he had found a latrine on the side of the building in case anyone needed to use it.
Addison took her turn in the tiny room. It was totally dark, save a narrow unscreened window near the ceiling. The “toilet” was a mere hole in the floor, approximately six by eight inches.
Mary Kate was the last to go and she gasped for breath as she exited.
“Held your breath, didn’t you?” Neal said teasingly. “What if you had passed out, huh? Did you think of that? What if you’d just fallen on your face in there and your arm or leg had gotten stuck in that hole?”
“Stop it! That’s disgusting.” Mary Kate laughed and tried to cover her ears, but Neal tugged at them playfully.
“I’ll tell you what’s disgusting. By this time next week, you’ll be begging for a bathroom as nice as that one.”
Addison grimaced as she acknowledged the likely truth of Neal’s words. She had been camping only twice in her whole life, and never with
out facilities. Yet, because of her somewhat privileged upbringing, she tried not to complain, especially about creature comforts.
“To the bus,” Luke commanded, and they herded back into their seats.
Mary Kate reached into her backpack and brought out the mysterious bag she had carried from the hotel shop. In it were two boxes of shortbread cookies, one of which she tossed to the dozen or so porters who sat at the back of the bus. The second box made the rounds of all the hikers, and in moments they were all gone.
“Did you like those, Neal?” she asked innocently.
“They’re pretty good,” he answered, still chewing.
“I found them on the floor in that bathroom.”
Chapter Nine
Mary Kate shifted in her seat to take the pressure off her already-aching back. Despite her continued speculation that the road couldn’t possibly get any worse, it had, repeatedly bouncing her against her seatmate.
She found herself utterly fascinated with Addison Falk. At first, it was just the way she looked—she had always loved the contrast of brown eyes with blond hair. Mary Kate had studied her at breakfast, comparing her to some of the really pretty girls she had known at college. Those girls worked at it, but Addison had a natural beauty without even a hint of makeup.
When they had gone outside and slapped hands in a pact to get to the summit, she felt an unusual kinship. It was nice to meet someone so sophisticated and worldly who didn’t make her feel like a bumpkin.
But the truly fascinating piece had come when they were stowing their belongings. Among the possessions Addison inventoried for safekeeping was a keychain with a triangle-shaped rainbow, a symbol she recognized from her lesbian friends at Savannah State. Deb had a similar bumper sticker, though she wouldn’t put it on her car for fear someone in Mooresville would figure out what it was and bash her windows in.
Addison Falk was nothing like the lesbians Mary Kate had known from her small circle of friends at college, women who seemed to fit a certain profile—short hair, athletic, masculine. Not that all of them were like that, but none was as pretty as Addison.
The bus came to a stop at a small clearing in the lush rainforest. Luke told them to pick up one of the box lunches from behind the driver’s seat and find a space outside to eat. That was easier said than done, since the clearing was little more than a pit of mud. Mary Kate rested her backpack on a grassy embankment and leaned against it. She hoped Addison would join her, but she took a spot near the van instead.
“Anyone know what kind of sandwich this used to be?” Drew asked.
Mary Kate was trying to figure that out for herself. “Whatever it was, I think they smeared it on and then scraped it off.”
“If I can’t tell what it is, I’m not eating it,” Courtney said emphatically.
Mary Kate was hungry and ate every bite. Then she washed it down with the extra bottle of water she had packed.
One by one, the fifteen porters assigned to their group loaded up and disappeared into the forest, packing tents, food and other supplies, including a folding table and ten camp stools, and all of the trekkers’ gear except what each carried in a daypack. Mary Kate looked down at her attire in wonder—convertible pants, a moisture-wicking polyester T-shirt, a lightweight GORE- TEX rain jacket and two-hundred-dollar boots. She had been practically obsessed with getting just the right equipment, and these porters wore sneakers without socks, cutoff pants and worn cotton T-shirts. No wonder Tom had suggested they leave behind a few items to help out the locals.
Her comrades seemed almost giddy in anticipation of the start of their trek. When Mei herded everyone together for the “before” picture, Mary Kate dug out her digital camera and got Luke to take one for her as well. It was exciting to think the “after” picture would come in only eight days.
“Are you ready?” Luke asked them, heaving an enormous pack onto his broad shoulders.
“Where’s the trail?” Kirby asked.
“Follow me,” he said, nonplussed. “That is why they call me the guide.”
Luke pulled back a large shrub to reveal the narrow trail, a muddy path that started up a steep incline. After only five minutes of walking, Mary Kate was winded and hot. When Luke paused to look back at how everyone was doing, she took off her jacket and tied the sleeves around her waist. Then she found the hose leading to the two-liter water bladder in her backpack and took a deep draw. The hose was the easiest way to both carry and drink water, since she could drink without stopping. The mouthpiece clipped to her shoulder for quick access.
“How high do you think we are?” Courtney asked, also puffing for breath.
“Moshi was at four thousand feet,” Mei said. “I think I read the Londorossi Gate was about sixty-five hundred.”
“And Big Tree is at ninety-two hundred, so we’ll be climbing almost three thousand feet today,” Rachel added.
For this section of the hike, they were escorted by an armed ranger. Luke said that was because elephants and water buffaloes frequented certain areas of the rainforest, posing a danger if they charged.
“So how do you keep an elephant from charging?” Neal asked.
Mei groaned in response. “I apologize for bringing along the guy with bad jokes.”
That particular joke had made the rounds of Mary Kate’s elementary school last year, but she thought it was pretty funny that Neal had brought it up in this context. “I’ll bite. How do you keep an elephant from charging?”
“Cut up his credit card.”
Mary Kate smiled in appreciation, but Nikki let out a snort when she laughed. Several others mocked her with snorts of their own. Luke simply looked at all of them and shook his head. He probably had no idea what a credit card was.
Courtney and Rachel were directly behind the ranger at the front of the single-file line, followed by Nikki, Ann and Kirby. Mary Kate walked behind Luke, who was in the middle of the pack. After her were Drew, Neal and Mei, with Addison bringing up the rear.
As they walked farther into the rainforest, Mary Kate marveled at the surrounding landscape, a three-dimensional panorama of deep greens. Only occasionally did the sunlight seep beneath the forest canopy, and a fine mist wafted through the valley below. From time to time, Addison would call out “Porter!” and everyone would step off the narrow trail to allow the crewman through. Despite their heavy loads, the porters moved at a much faster pace, hurrying ahead to ready the camp for their arrival. Mary Kate hated to think what a lone porter would do if charged by an angry elephant.
“Jambo! Asante,” the porter said as he passed. Hello. Thank you.
“Jambo,” they all answered in unison, quickly picking up the greeting.
Mary Kate glanced over her shoulder, stealing a look at Addison, who had stopped to take pictures. She probably had no idea how pretty she looked against the backdrop of the rainforest. Of course, women like Addison looked great against—
“We stop for a break,” Luke announced.
She had been so distracted that she almost plowed right into him. Now standing in a small clearing, she dropped her walking sticks, shed her pack, and rolled her shoulders to stretch.
“Does everyone drink their water?” Luke asked.
Some nodded. Others reached for their bottles. Mary Kate estimated she had drunk a second liter since starting the climb… and her bladder was screaming.
“I think I’ll get rid of some water,” Kirby said, retreating back down the trail behind a large tree.
“And I think I have penis envy,” Rachel mumbled, looking about for a discreet spot. Walking ahead of the group, she ventured over a small rise where she was hidden from the others.
“I had penis envy when I was younger,” Courtney said. “But my mother told me that as long as I had one of these”—she gestured to her lap—“I could have all of those I wanted.”
The women laughed, and Drew conceded that she had a point. Luke was unfazed, as if he hadn’t understood.
Mary Kate loosened the jack
et from her waist and looked around. “I guess I should do that, too. Hey, Rachel, is there another spot over there? Maybe something uphill from where you are?” If she had to pee outside, she didn’t want to be downhill from someone else who was doing the same thing.
One by one, they took turns using the makeshift men’s and ladies’ rooms, though Courtney had second thoughts when Luke cautioned them all to be on the lookout for the green mamba, one of the world’s most poisonous snakes.
Once rested, they got underway again. Mary Kate had stepped aside to let Neal and Mei in front so she could walk toward the back with Drew and Addison. Addison was telling a story about the airlines losing her luggage in Peru. She had worn her step- father’s track suits for three days.
A half hour later, Luke held up his hand to slow them as they walked within thirty yards of a tree that housed a family of black monkeys. Mary Kate snapped a few pictures as the playful primates crawled from limb to limb, hanging upside down to reach out for leaves or to play with a sibling. She doubted anyone back in Mooresville had ever seen such a thing.
Ever since Addison arrived, she had wondered how they would pair up tonight in the two-person tents. Obviously, Neal and Mei would share, as would Ann and Nikki. Rachel would probably go with Kirby, which left two other girls and one guy. Alarmed at the possibility of having to share with Drew, she stepped aside and waited for him to pass.
“Addison?”
“Hey, what’s up?”
Mary Kate fell into step in front and talked over her shoulder, keeping her voice low, though they had fallen back out of earshot. “I wanted to ask you something. We’re supposed to pair up when we get to camp, and I was wondering if you wanted to share a tent?”
Addison shot her a broad smile. “Sure, but I think Mr. Colorado has other ideas, though I’m not sure he cares if it’s you or me.”
“Yeah, I know. That’s kind of why I was hoping you’d say yes. I thought it might be awkward if he asked. He didn’t seem to hear the ‘boyfriend’ part when we were on the bus.”
“Maybe he figured it wasn’t too serious if you were here without him.”
Worth Every Step Page 7