“Where’s the fun in that?” Richard climbed down. “Let me help you with those groceries, my good man. I must say, how much do you chaps think we eat? There’s enough for an army here.”
Settling into his seat, Rydell thought back to what had happened at the mall. He realized that Treasure had not laughed at him in a dismissive way; she simply had not wanted to let Jono know that she was interested. Which also explained her casual shrug. Rydell acknowledged how badly it had hurt when he had thought she scorned his affections but he now understood, and he also told himself that he had not been mistaken when he saw her glance coyly back at him over her shoulder as she and Jono walked away. He told himself it was her modesty that caused her to laugh, like a geisha girl giggling behind her hands to hide her hot desire.
Rydell cast a quick glance through the connecting window at Treasure who was dozing and felt a powerful connection to her.
The bus traveled steadily through the winelands and mountains of the western Cape, past lush green farmlands with old-fashioned windmills standing sentry to horses that grazed idly. Past flowing rivers that sparkled in the sunlight and bubbled over rocky beds.
“This feels so good,” Sofie shouted above the noise of the bus, her scarf held out to catch the hot breeze that blew through the open windows.
“Yeah, really,” Jasmine cried, “we are on holiday. Yeehaw!”
“I feel like I’m going to throw up,” Helen announced loudly. “Can I please exchange my aisle seat with someone who’s got a window? I hate to ask but I feel really carsick.”
“Sure,” Marika offered. “Take my seat.”
Kate sat up. “Uh, no, don’t go…”
But it was too late, Marika had gathered her plastic bag and her purse and Helen was ready, waiting.
Kate sighed. She could not help it, she did not like Helen with her brusque and self-centred manner.
“That’s much better,” Helen leaned out the window and took great gulps of fresh air.
Kate quickly reached for her iPod, hoping to get the earbuds in place before Helen could start chatting but she it was too late.
“You’re from Canada too?” Helen asked.
Kate sighed. “Yep, I am.”
“I love Africa much more than Canada and I was having the best time ever but then I made the stupid mistake of falling for the wrong guy. He turned out be so different to what I thought.”
Like it or not, I’m going to get Helen’s Heartbreak: The Unabridged Version. Kate tried to feel more charitable towards Helen but could not.
“I was volunteering at this mission, right?” Helen continued. “Getting them organized. You’d be amazed by how haphazard these places are; I’ve worked at so many and they’re well-meaning but chaotic. And there was this girl there, a total airhead, a do-gooder with not a hope in hell of organizing a box of matches at a campfire. And she thought I was a bitch, I could tell. But then her brother, Robbie, came to visit her and I fell for him, just like that. I didn’t mean to but I did.”
Her eyes filled with tears and she fumbled in her bag for a Kleenex, also digging out a photograph that she thrust at Kate. It pictured Helen, lovely and smiling, being hugged by a cherubic looking fellow with a wealth of blonde curls and big blue eyes, the same person who had bade Helen farewell at the bus.
“Nice,” Kate handed the picture back to Helen who put it carefully into her bag. “Don’t tell me, he had a girlfriend that he forgot to tell you about?” She couldn’t help asking.
Helen shook her head. “No, he fell for me too. At least he said he did. He even stayed for two weeks when he’d only planned on coming for a couple of days. We were together for every single minute from the time he arrived, and it was the best time of my life. He emailed me every single day when he went back to Cape Town; twice, three times a day. He talked about our future together, we discussed having kids and doing volunteer work around the world. He said I must come and see him before I went on this trip — I’d already booked this when I met him. Come and see me before you do your big trip, he says, I’ll show you my world, our new world.”
Helen blew her nose loudly. “I went to see him last night and there was nothing…. It was like we’d never met before. A complete and utter rejection. He even made me sleep in the living room. I wondered if his sister said something to turn him against me but he already knew she didn’t like me. I don’t know why he did this but I hate him, I hate him. ”
Kate had no idea what to say. Despite her recent similar heartbreak, all she could think was that it must have been because Helen was such a hard-assed bossy know-it-all but she knew that wasn’t fair.
Helen blew her nose again. Kate looked around, wondering if anyone realized Helen was crying, but the bus was loud and they were all engrossed in their own chatter.
“I’m going to get over him, I will,” Helen said. “First thing I’ll do is go for a long run as soon as we get to wherever we’re going. A long, long run. Then I’m going to dig out all his emails, I printed them all, and I’m going to mark them with a highlighter and post them to him, so he knows he lied. I’ll send them back to him saying liar, liar.”
“I don’t think that will do you any good,” Kate said. “He’ll think you’re a psycho that he’s lucky to be rid of.”
Helen thought about that. “You’re right. Hmmm. But I want revenge. I do. Any advice?”
“Enjoy your holiday. I know, it’s easy for me to say, but you’re here now, try to let it go.”
“I can’t.” Helen’s eyes filled again. “He was my future. I have nothing without him. I’d been alone for so many years, and it was tough but I was okay, and then he came along and he was my everything. I don’t know how to be alone again. And I don’t even want to try.”
Kate knew that feeling. And she had no desire to imagine the reality of her life after the trip. Talking to Helen was making her horribly uneasy; it was triggering all the pain that had for the moment subsided. She had forgotten what her real life felt like and now Helen was bringing it all back to her.
“I still feel very hungover,” she lied. “I must have a nap. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude.”
Helen seemed not to have heard her. She was staring out the window, clutching her wad of sodden tissue, deep in thought.
Kate closed her eyes and, without intending to, fell fast asleep.
When she woke, Jono was shouting. “Everybody! Off the bus! We have ten minutes here! Off the bus!”
Kate looked around confused, then stepped off the bus, still half asleep. They were at the top of a mountain with a valley far below.
“This is the top of the Cedarberg mountains,” Jono explained to the gathered group, “and from here we begin our descent into the Ceres Valley named after the goddess of fertility. Our lodge for the night is on another mountain very close to here.”
Helen sat down on the top of the pebbled stone wall at the edge of the lookout and peered at the valley below.
“Lots of thorn trees and brush scrub,” she commented. “I wouldn’t like to fall down there. It’d be quite the punishing tumble for sure.”
Gisela looked at her. “Are you okay?” she asked. “You’re very pale, you know.”
“I’ve got a huge headache,” Helen lied. “Must be the relief of being on holiday, you know what that’s like, you suddenly let go and then it hits you.”
“I think it’s the party you had last night, that’s hitting you,” Sofie said. “I couldn’t help but notice your handsome boyfriend this morning. I am sure you didn’t do a lot of snoozing last night.”
“You are so right,” Helen said, “I hardly slept a wink. But Robbie’s not my boyfriend, not anymore, it’s time to find some new blood. Turned out he was quite weak and not the kind of man I want in my life. Pretty yes, but not much substance or brain power.”
“I would have kept him around as eye candy
,” Ellie said, flicking at a large ant.
“Too much candy causes cavities,” Gisela commented. “To sustain you in life, you need real food.”
“You got it,” Helen agreed. “I need a good thick steak to sink my teeth into.”
“Sounds rather painful for the steak,” Richard commented idly. He was chewing on a piece of veldt grass, one leg casually up on the stone wall.
Kate watched Helen turn towards him, her eyes widening and she smiled. “All depends on the technique,” she drawled.
“And practice makes perfect, I’m sure,” Richard said.
“Do I sense a vakansie romansie between those two?” Marika appeared next to Kate.
“A what?”
“A holiday romance.”
Kate shook her head. “He’s with Mia, over there. They were in the pharmacy together, remember?”
“Right. But Helen’s very predatory, if you ask me.”
“Yep. When we get back on the bus, I want to sit next to you again,” Kate said. “I don’t like her. She’s so … I don’t know … tough as nails. Some guy broke her heart and she’s out for revenge, and now it looks like she’s after a rebound man too.”
Kate, walking back to the bus next to Charisse, asked her she was feeling any better and Charisse shrugged. “Much the same really.”
Brianna was concerned and placed her hand on Charisse’s arm. “You didn’t tell me you weren’t feeling well,” she said and Charisse shot Kate a look.
“Because it’s nothing.” She smiled, put her arm around Brianna and planted a kiss on the top of Brianna’s head. “I’m fine.”
“Enough of this lesbian activity,” Stepfan grumbled, herding them in front of him. “Let a real man pleasure you, Charisse, and you’ll never look at a woman again.”
“And you’re the man for the job, eh?” Kate asked, unable to stop herself.
“No,” Stepfan said, weakly. “I’m a happily married man with a beautiful wife. I am just saying if Charisse found a real man to pleasure her, then she would never have a lesbian idea again.”
“Timeout, people,” Charisse said. “Let’s hit the road and discuss something a little more interesting than my love life.”
The bus drove through rich orchards and farmlands, finally turning into a steep gravel driveway lined with heavy fruit-laden lemon trees. Abundant purple and orange bougainvillea twisted around the branches of lilac jacarandas, while the scent of coffee jasmine filled the air with a soft vanilla fragrance.
“Oh my,” Kate climbed off the bus, closed her eyes and inhaled the air. “Yes, it’s official, I’m in heaven.”
She opened her eyes to see Rydell watching her with a very strange expression on his face. She opened her mouth to speak to him but before she could say anything, he twitched and moved off.
The Cedarberg Mountains
THE LODGE AND CAMPSITE WERE SET HIGH on the mountainside with a circular garden and a fire pit in the centre and an open, thatched rondavel to the side. The garden was filled with tall trees and abundant flowerbeds that offered a profusion of spectacular colour. To the rear, the towering mountain was piled with great rocks splattered with bold dashes of red as if an artist had thrown ochre paint or blood.
Kate was open-mouthed with wonder. She turned to Marika who was standing next to a heap of folded and canvas and steel supports and ran over to help her, examining the array of tent poles that Marika had emptied onto the ground. Following the others, they assembled their tent, stood back and surveyed their abode.
“Our tent looks like its trying to lift off and fly,” Marika said, “but the others are the same. Once we have our stuff in them, they’ll be weighed down better.”
“The campsite’s like a botanical garden,” Kate commented. “I imagined something a lot more Saharan.” She shaded her eyes. “Even though it’s summer here, it’s quite cold. I’ll need a sweater later.”
“It’s because we’re in the shadow of the mountain,” Marika said. “If we were in the sun, we’d feel the heat for sure. I’m going to get some floor mats for us.”
She returned with the mats and crawled into the tent, with Kate following.
Marika lay down on her bare mat. “Ag ja, it feels so good to lie down.”
“I’d forgotten,” Kate remarked, “you don’t have a sleeping bag or anything.”
“It’s not good,” Marika agreed. “Foolish of me, but I had hoped my luggage would be here when we arrived. Hey, is that Jono calling?”
She and Marika climbed out, zipped up the tent and walked over to the group.
“Everybody, there is a walk; it is only ten rand and the guide, Kleine Skok, is very knowledgeable. How many of you are interested?”
The gathered lot held their hands in the air and a commotion erupted near the fire pit as the guide arrived, accompanied by a pack of barking dogs leaping around with excitement. The guide was slender and short, wearing a large knitted reggae cap and holding a beautifully carved walking stick. He beamed at the group and revealed four missing front teeth.
“Hello mense. I am very glad to see all of youse here. Thank youse for joining me on my tour of this, my home country. Now, do not go off the path, there are lots of very poisonous snakes.”
He smiled happily and led the group around the side of the rondavel, holding the low thorny branches aside to let them pass through. The path was narrow and steep, ascending the mountainside sharply and passing between precariously balanced rocks of staggering heights. Kleine Skok led them at a brisk pace, chattering and pointing out this and that. The path itself was dusty, with patches of slippery broken stones that had to be navigated carefully and the group climbed upwards for a while until they burst out into the shoulder-high grasses at the very top. There was blue sky for miles around and an endless and lush valley below and everyone exclaimed in delight at the breath-taking scenery.
“Now mense, and that means ‘people’ in my language, the Afrikaans language, you must wait for me here. I am going to look for a tortoise for youse because they are special creatures of this earth and you must see one. But if I take too long, youse must please shout for me.”
“Okay,” they chorused and sat down on the lichen-covered rocks, enjoying the cool breeze. Kate and Enrique whipped out their cameras.
Enrique was in his element, with his nose up close to tiny grasses and flowers. “I studied all the plants of the places I planned to visit,” he told Eva, “and it’s wonderful to see them all in real life.”
“So what are all these ones called?” Eva teased him and he blushed.
“The grasses and plants are called fynbos, which is a collective term for all the shrubland that you see. It’s not good grazing but it’s lovely for us plant lovers. See those yellow flowers there? That bush is part of the proteoid family, which includes the famous protea.”
“Impressive,” the group gave him a round of applause.
Except for Mia. “Good Lord,” she commented. She had a smudge of dirt on her upper lip and forehead and she looked like a disheveled Kewpie doll. “Get a freakin’ life, son. While you’re pouring over the botany books and all that crap, there are randy girls out there waiting to be shagged, pubs to be visited, drinks to be drunk.”
“Thank God, Mia,” Sofie commented, “that we’re not all like you.”
“And what exactly is that supposed to mean?” Mia demanded. She thrust out her belly, her hands on her hips.
“Actually, Mia,” Enrique interrupted any retort Sofie might have made, “you may think what you do is fun but I wouldn’t exchange my interests for yours or anybody else’s. I’m going to give you one more fact; Britain, in an area three and a half times larger than this, has only 1,500 plants, meanwhile there are 8,500 species right here.”
“I’m glad if that gets your rocks off, Professor Flowerpot,” Mia countered, unapologetic, “you can do my learning
for me, I can’t be bothered, mate.” She sat down and glared at Sofie who was meditating with her eyes closed while she clutched a dancing Ganesh necklace.
Enrique shrugged and turned away while Stepfan and Harrison broke into a noisy argument about a bush; whether it was the one that Kleine Skok had said would cure liver ailments or if that had been another. Kate was snapping photographs, while Marika was enjoying the view. Lena sat quietly to the side looking like a Vogue model. Her long tanned legs were stretched out in front her of her, and she trailed her hand over the tiny stones on the surface of the soft, cool soil. She was wearing white tailored shorts and an orange sleeveless tank top covered with a long-sleeved sheer white shirt and a large, broad-rimmed linen hat hid her face.
Mia was talking about how she was longing for a pint or three, with Jasmine and Ellie concuring with vocal enthusiasm. Sofie was talking at high speed and loud volume to Helen about yoga and Pilates and they announced they would hold a class each evening.
Stepfan interrupted his argument with Harrison to say he would love to join the yoga class, in fact, he would lead it and advise. Yoga was then met with less enthusiasm.
“We will do it and not tell him,” Sofie whispered to Helen. Kate saw Lena wince and she wished Sofie did not talk so loudly; even her whisper was clearly audible.
At that moment Kleine Skok reappeared, disconsolate. “I cannot find me a tortoise. There was one there this morning but he left and now I can’t find him.”
The group tried to reassure him they were fine without a tortoise but he remained unconvinced.
“Now, I could not find me a tortoise but I did find me these.” He dug into his pockets and brought out two large scorpions that scuttled up his bare arms.
As one, the group recoiled.
Kleine Skok laughed. “This one is the male,” he pointed to his right arm, “and the other is the female. Now me, I was once bitten by a scorpion. If you is bitten by a scorpion, you must get the nicotine from an old man’s pipe and rub it immediately into the area of the bite. But the day I was bitten, it was a Saturday night and you know, mense, my people, they likes to drink, most particularly on a Saturday night.
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