Suddenly, Megan’s door flew open and a man about their age scooted into the seat right next to her, pushing Megan up against Crystal. What in the world?
The man had streaks of dirt on his brown cheeks and he reeked of sweat. Megan leaned away from him and her ponytail hit Crystal in the nose.
The man chortled. “Welcome to the pyramids. You want to ride a camel?”
The pandering had begun. Crystal rolled her eyes. “No. We don’t. Get out of our cab right now.” The cabbie’s eyes met hers in the rearview mirror once again, and he continued driving with the man in the backseat. Clearly they weren’t getting any help from him.
Crystal glared at the man. His front left tooth was missing and his grin was obnoxious. “Get. Out.”
“You have to ride camels to get to the pyramids.” The man folded his arms. “Might as well be mine. They are the strongest camels in all of Egypt.”
“No thanks.” She tapped the cabbie on the shoulder. “Take us to the front gate right now, or you’re not getting your fare.”
The camel vendor’s smile wrenched into a frown. “You wound me. I’m only trying to help.”
“We don’t want your help.”
At that moment they stopped and the man got out, slamming the door behind him. The cabbie kept driving, and the front gate came into view.
Megan turned to Crystal, eyes wide. “You handled that so well. I was ready to pay him to go away.”
“After you’ve been in Manhattan for a few years, you learn how to stand your ground. People there will walk all over you otherwise.”
“I guess I never thought of that.” Megan fidgeted in her seat. “Do you enjoy living there? I feel like I’d miss the trees and the water.”
“There’s Central Park. I go there when I can.” Not that that happened very often these days. “It’s definitely more fast-paced than Minnesota, and it took some getting used to. My first week there I got so lost on the subway that I ended up in Queens when I meant to go to Brooklyn. I tried asking a few people for help, but they just ignored me.”
“Rude.”
Crystal shrugged. “That’s just how it is. Not everyone is like that. But people tend to stick to themselves and not be overly friendly.”
Megan studied Crystal for a moment. What was she thinking? That Crystal had become like other New Yorkers? Maybe she had. After you’d grown up in a small town where everyone knew your business—and constantly asked you how your sick sister was doing—there was something rather appealing about living in a city where you didn’t have to answer to every person you passed on the street.
The car reached the gate, and the women climbed out. Crystal reached into her wallet and pulled out a one-hundred Egyptian pound note. She wished she’d thought to break the note at the hotel, and she hoped that the cabbie had change since they’d agreed on thirty before the cab ride began.
The man ripped the note from her hands and hopped back into his cab, taking off before Crystal could utter a protest. She clenched her fists and turned to find Megan, trying to regain the sense of calm that she’d felt earlier.
Crystal’s eyes swept the landscape. On one side, there stood three Egyptian pyramids and the Great Sphinx with an endless brown desert behind them, transporting them into an ancient world. But that’s where the lure and mystery stopped—because across the way, a busy residential area demonstrated how modernity had taken over. There was even a Pizza Hut within view. How disappointing.
But the architect in her wouldn’t allow her frustration to ruin the day. She was about to see one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Perhaps she could borrow some of Megan’s upbeat attitude. “Where should we start?”
Megan grabbed the straps of her pack and pointed to a line of tourists. “Over there.”
“Let’s go.” They managed to get through the gates, though it wasn’t easy with all the vendors hocking their wares and men trying to convince them to ride a camel.
After they’d paid for admittance to the Great Pyramid, Crystal’s pace increased. Her eyes began to catch all the intricate details that others might miss, observing how more than two million blocks worked together to create an awe-inspiring feat of engineering that had been genius at the time.
“Isn’t it incredible?” The whispered words slipped from her thoughts to her lips.
“What?”
Megan’s voice made Crystal jump. Oh yeah. She wasn’t alone. “Nothing.”
“Come on. Tell me.” Her sister tilted her head and studied the nearest pyramid. “I imagine that to someone with your background, this is a work of art, kind of like Ulysses and Anna Karenina are to me.”
“It’s true. Like most architecture students, I studied the pyramids. Many believe they were intended as tombs built for the pharaohs, who were veritable gods among their people. So pyramids don’t just symbolize power. They were like a link between people’s earthly lives and heaven.”
“That’s interesting.” Megan hesitated. “But what does being here, seeing them, make you feel?”
“It’s hard to explain.”
“Just try.”
Not as easy as it sounded. “I—”
Crystal’s phone rang.
Saved by the ringtone. Maybe her husband was finally calling her. “Sorry. Hang on.” She pulled out her phone and her chest deflated a bit. Not Brian. Tony.
“It’s work. I’ve got to take this.”
Megan nodded. “I’ll wait.”
“No, go in and start looking around if you want. This could take awhile.” Tony was probably calling to discuss the ideas for the Lerner proposal Crystal had sent over that morning. She’d spent a large chunk of time brainstorming on the flight from Peru.
Megan frowned slightly, then nodded and headed toward the opening to the pyramid. Crystal adjusted her sunglasses and answered. “Tony, hi.”
“Crystal.” Ugh. So much depth in one little word. Her boss’s tone revealed a mixture of disappointment and weariness. “I received your e-mail. These ideas aren’t original enough.”
She sputtered for an answer. “They’re just prelim—”
“I realize they’re not complete.” Tony’s voice rustled and cut out a bit. “But Meredith has already come up with five viable options.”
Of course she had. Meredith probably smelled Crystal’s blood in the water and was circling, preparing to rip her competition to shreds. “The presentation is still weeks away. I’ll come up with one idea that will surpass Meredith’s five.”
“I have faith you will, if you can focus. There must be a lot of distractions.”
“Don’t you worry. I’ll do better, Tony. I promise.”
Static came over the line and she missed his next words.
“I didn’t catch—” She oofed as a young Egyptian boy with a baggy shirt bumped into her. Where were his parents? She rubbed her side, trying to refocus on her conversation with Tony.
But the phone line was silent. “Hello? Tony?” She stared at her phone and saw “No Signal” blinking back at her.
Great. Here she was, halfway around the world, while someone else horned in on her dreams. She’d just have to figure out a way to best Meredith.
She was almost to the entrance to the pyramid when she realized she still hadn’t talked to Brian.
June 25
Blog Post Title: A Bump in the Road: Visiting the Pyramids
Post Content:
Today we had to rely on the kindness of strangers to get by . . .
Inside the pyramid, the world fell away, and Megan could imagine herself as an Egyptian princess in an ancient world.
She examined the stone carvings in the wall in front of her, which showed a row of men and a few children in headdresses and shendyts. Hieroglyphics covered the walls. If she could decipher them, what mysteries would she find hidden there?
For all those years, when she’d read about the various places she wanted to visit, she’d absorbed every detail discussed in her books. But nothing ever told he
r that the walls and floors had an earthy scent or that the air was cool and slightly wet against her skin or that a person could feel so small inside a monumental feat of architecture like this one.
Thank goodness Crystal hadn’t let Megan give up and go home that first morning in Cusco.
Occasionally another tourist would walk by exploring the passageways, but Megan didn’t want to go too far. Hopefully Crystal would wrap up her work call quickly.
“You want me to take a picture?”
She jumped at the voice and whirled around. She was alone in the passageway with a large man in a guard’s uniform. Megan breathed easier. It wasn’t another vendor trying to scare the living daylights out of her. “Oh, that’s sweet of you. I thought I saw a sign that said no pictures, though.”
The man waved his hand in dismissal and placed it on his rotund stomach. “I can break the rules for a pretty lady.”
He seemed innocent enough, so the compliment warmed her. “That’d be great.” She heard footsteps, and Crystal came trudging toward them. “Can you get my sister in it too?” Megan dug the camera out of her bag.
The man nodded and took the camera from her. Crystal watched him and her eyes narrowed. “What’s going on?”
Megan hooked her arm with Crystal’s and dragged her in front of the most picturesque wall. “This nice man is going to take our picture.”
“But—”
“Come on. Smile, Crystal.” Megan posed, and the camera’s flash blinded her momentarily. She grinned at the man and reached for the camera. But he held it just out of her reach and extended his own empty hand. “I’ll take the camera back now, thank you.”
The man shook his head, the smile gone from his lips. His extended hand remained firm.
Megan opened her mouth to say something, and Crystal groaned. “Oh, for heaven’s sake. He wants money for taking our picture.”
Suddenly the man’s actions made sense. Megan rubbed the bridge of her nose. “He didn’t say that before offering.” She threw the words toward him, but the accusation didn’t move the guard. His eyes were flint.
“It’s fine. We’ll just pay him and move on.” Crystal dug in her purse. “It’s not here.” Crystal looked up, her eyes full of panic. Crystal never panicked. Something was very wrong.
“What isn’t where?”
“My wallet. It’s gone.”
“When did you last see it?”
Crystal knelt down and dumped the contents of her bag onto the dirt floor. Megan bent to help her comb through the contents. Phone, keys, lip gloss, mascara, tissues, water . . . but no wallet.
Her sister threw everything back in the bag and worried her lip. “That little boy outside. He bumped into me and must have been a pickpocket. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“Maybe we can still catch him.” Megan’s hand went to her wrist, and it was a full ten seconds before she realized she’d started checking her pulse. It was elevated. She needed to calm down.
“I’m sure he’s long gone by now. I’ll just have to call and cancel my credit cards when we get back to the hotel and have decent service.” Crystal stood again and Megan joined her. “At least I wasn’t carrying my passport and had converted only a little bit of money to cash.”
“Yeah.” Whew, at least the damage wasn’t too bad. But then another thought struck Megan, and she clutched the straps of her bag tighter. “Oh no. I don’t have my wallet either.”
Crystal’s eyes locked on to hers. “What do you mean?”
She cringed. “You had yours and we were in such a rush, I didn’t think much about it.” What kind of traveling moron was she?
“Oh, Megan.” Crystal paced. The guard stood by and watched their whole exchange, not saying a word or offering to help. Her sister stopped pacing in front of him and grabbed the camera before he could stop her. “You’re out of luck. We don’t have any money.”
Then Crystal turned on her heel and headed for the outside. Megan scampered along behind her. They burst through the opening to see the crowd had dwindled with much of the daylight. Crystal scanned the remaining people in the vicinity, but most of them were vendors. Her sister slumped onto a bench and put her head in her hands.
Megan lowered herself next to Crystal. “What should we do?”
“I’m thinking.”
Megan averted her eyes. This was all her fault. If only she’d thought ahead and been responsible. Her eyes stung. Do not cry. Do not cry. “I . . .” Her voice croaked. She waited and tried again. “We can see if any of the guards will help us.”
A strangled laugh left Crystal’s throat. “Because that last guard we encountered was such a peach.”
Megan had read a report warning tourists, especially Americans, not to be at the pyramids at night. Something about violence and extorting money. They needed to find a way out of here before it got dark. She looked around. Maybe they could find another American family willing to help. But no one really stood out as an option.
“Do you have anything of value to sell?” Crystal’s voice broke through Megan’s thoughts.
All she had was Nana’s ring. She looked at it and twisted it on her finger. “I—”
“Oh. No way.” Crystal’s features tightened as she saw what Megan was considering. “We’ll figure something else out.” Did the look of pain flashing across Crystal’s face mean she remembered that day in the hospital before her surgery, when Megan had offered the ring to her in case she . . .
Megan swallowed hard. Would she ever know what Crystal was really thinking again?
Focus on the problem at hand, Megan. Think. “What about calling our hotel and seeing if they can send someone? They have our credit card on file, so they’d know we’re good for reimbursing them.”
Crystal’s eyes lit with hope. “That’s actually not a bad idea.”
Megan’s shoulders lifted.
Her sister pulled her phone from her bag and tried dialing. When it wouldn’t connect, she banged the phone against her palm. “No service.”
After Megan tried her own phone and couldn’t make a connection either, she stood. “Let’s go see if anyone else has a phone we can borrow.”
With a wary glance, Crystal finally rose and followed her. But every person they approached held out a palm, wanting to be paid before they’d allow the sisters to use their phone.
Megan’s steps grew heavier. “I’ve never felt so disillusioned with the human race as I do right now.”
Their precarious position was her fault. She had to be strong, find a solution. Giving up wasn’t an option.
As Megan was looking around, she noticed one of the vendors looking at them, his head tilted. He seemed to be in his late teens, and Megan saw him turn to say something to the robust woman next to him. They were selling an assortment of drinks, including soft drinks, water, and bottled teas. The ice underneath the drinks had nearly melted away. The woman gestured to them.
“Look, Crystal.”
“They just want to sell us a drink.”
They might as well try. “Let’s go hear what they have to say.” She walked toward the vendor cart and didn’t wait to see if Crystal followed.
The woman’s head was covered, and she gave a slight nod when Megan arrived at their cart. “My son said you need help.” Though accented, her English was flawless, and something about her seemed sincere.
“Yes. Do you have a phone we could use?”
The woman’s head moved side to side, quick and tight. “I’m afraid not. Can I help some other way?”
Crystal tugged at Megan’s elbow, as if to discourage her from answering. But it couldn’t hurt to tell the woman a little bit of information and see if she could offer a solution. “Our wallet was stolen and we have no money. We need to call our hotel for a ride.”
The boy clucked his tongue and said something to his mother in Arabic. She answered. Then she turned back to Megan and offered a small smile. “We are almost done here if you can wait. We are happy to give you a
ride to your hotel.”
Another tug from Crystal. But Megan ignored her. “That would be amazing. We can pay you when we get back there.”
The woman shook her head. “No need.”
“We’ll just wait over there for you.” Megan shrugged off Crystal’s arm and headed back toward the bench.
Crystal wrenched her around. “Stop, Megan.”
“What’s wrong? I just found us a way home.”
“With complete strangers. How is that safe?”
“Do you have a better idea?”
Crystal swiveled on her foot and faced the horizon. She was silent for a moment, and all Megan could hear was the crunch of the camels’ feet moving in the dirt nearby, the squeal of taxi tires, and the constant chatter of the vendors.
Her tone had not been kind. “I’m sorry.”
Her sister sighed. “No, I am. I’m worried and not thinking straight. You probably know this about me, but I hate not being in control.”
“Oh really? I had no idea.” Megan chuckled, though the laugh was strained. “And it’s okay. It’s a stressful situation, made worse by my forgetfulness.”
“Yeah, well.” Crystal’s eyes seemed suddenly red—almost like she was on the verge of tears—and she cleared her throat. Another unusual flash of emotion from her sister.
They stood there together, watching the sun set behind the pyramids. When the woman and her son approached and led Crystal and Megan to a beat-up brown truck, the girls climbed in. And when they arrived safely at their hotel after a lovely thirty-minute chat with the woman, Aziza, Megan couldn’t help feeling maybe a little bit triumphant and brave.
Turns out, she wasn’t as helpless as she’d thought.
Chapter 12
If Crystal was going to have a job to come home to, she had to find inspiration for the Lerner project—and fast.
For the hundredth time, she pulled the bangs off her sweaty forehead. Her hand came away wet. Next to her, Megan fanned herself with a pamphlet that espoused all kinds of facts about the Taj Mahal. Crystal’s stomach shook with its familiar ache. The spicy laal maas she’d eaten for lunch had not been kind to her. If she did have some sort of an ulcer, it was probably best to avoid troublesome foods in the future.
The Heart Between Us Page 10