by Julian Bloom
When one of the Zimbabweans mentioned that he was in dire need of somewhere to “mark territory,” Blessings took the opportunity to stop for a morning coffee and bathroom break, choosing an area with widely scattered bushes and very little undergrowth. He directed the men to the largest of the nearest bushes, and Shirlee to another smaller one. Everybody but Brad and Shirlee, it seemed, had a similar need to “mark territory” and headed off, leaving them behind at the vehicle. While fixing the tea and buns, Blessings asked Shirlee how she was enjoying the drive.
Shirlee replied, “It’s absolutely fabulous! Everything I hoped it would be. It’s such a beautiful place. I could stay forever.”
“Some people find it threatening and uncomfortable.”
“Not I! I love it just like it is and, definitely,” thinking about the conversation about killing hyenas, “don’t want to kill anything, anything at all.”
“It’s not a desire I’ve ever had.”
“How could you kill those darling baby hyenas? I mean the adults were a bit frightening, so if they threatened you, I can see killing them in self-defense, but the cubs?”
“Actually, the only hyena that’s dangerous is a rabid one, and they’re rare.”
“I’m glad to know that.”
“Even the big cats only attack when they’re very hungry or you’re threatening them in some way. I’ve a friend at a lion rehabilitation center who plays with the lions just like you’d play with a pet kitty. Of course they know and trust him.”
“I’d love to do that.”
Don’t try it with big cats, but there are some places in South Africa that let you play with lion cubs if you want.”
“You love the bush, don’t you Blessings.”
“It’s my home! I grew up just outside the park and played with my friends in it from the time I was 5 or 6.”
“Don’t you hanker for the modern world?”
“Not even for one minute.”
The return of the guys put an end to the conversation. Brad went over to Shirlee and asked with a frown, “What were you two talking about?”
“About the bush mostly. Blessings says he loves it and never wants to leave.”
“Better him than me. That’s for sure.”
“Don’t you like it?”
“It’s great for a visit. I’m enjoying it, but I miss having my gun.”
To that Shirlee made no reply, and luckily, Blessings was calling them into the vehicle to continue the drive.
For the second half of the morning, Blessings took them into an area not regularly visited by tourists. The game scouts had reported with great excitement sightings of a rhino there. Most of the rhinos in Luwangwa had been shot out several decades before, and though spoor had been seen in the remote north of the park, no animals had been seen for a very long time, and none in an area reachable by road.
As they drove, Blessings pointed out a large collection of vultures flying overhead. “There’s a kill or a dying animal over there. I don’t know if it will be in sight of the road.”
“Why don’t you just bundu bash?” asked one of the Zimbabweans.
“We’re not allowed to drive off the road,” replied Blessings
“Who’s to know?”
“I’d know.” The Zimbabwean snorted, making his contempt clear, but said nothing.
After about 15 minutes they drove up to the carcass of a female rhino practically on the road. Her horns had been sawed off, making it clear that it had been the work of poachers.
“Bloody hell!” exclaimed Blessings, and then apologized for his language.
“It was wholly appropriate,” said Shirlee.
“Not to me,” replied Brad.
Then they saw what they had missed at first glance, a very small rhino calf trying to nurse.”
“Oh no!” cried out Shirlee and began to cry.
“It’s only a rhino,” Brad muttered. “What’s to cry about?”
Blessings turned on him and said, “For one thing, it may have been the last adult rhino in the park. I feel like crying myself.”
“It’s the baby, I’m crying about”, Shirley muttered. “Or maybe just the whole beastly business of killing for profit.”
“You eat meat, don’t you?” said one of the Zimbabweans. “What’s the difference?”
“The meat I eat has been grown domestically and wouldn’t exist if we didn’t eat it.”
“So what?”
“I don’t know but it’s different.”
The Zimbabwean just shrugged his shoulders. Brad agreed with the Zimbabwean, but he’d had this conversation with Shirlee before, so desisted saying so.
Blessings rang the camp on his radio phone to report the killing in hopes that the Park officials would send a helicopter to rescue the baby. Otherwise there was nothing to be done. In a few minutes he received the news that the helicopter was on its way with a rescue team.
He apologized to his clients, saying, “I’m sorry you had to see this, and unfortunately I have to stay nearby to guide the helicopter in, but we’ll drive around a bit to see what else there is to see in the area. “
Unfortunately the poaching action had frightened away almost all the game, so Blessings was reduced to showing them interesting trees, which didn’t interest the Zimbabweans, and the vultures gathered in the trees waiting their turn at the carcass and a few other remarkable birds such as the Ground Hornbill. By the time they could hear the helicopter approaching, they were bored, hot and upset, but Blessings didn’t see any way to help. As soon as he had directed the copter to the kill, he headed back to camp. He figured everybody, including himself, had had enough.
Chapter 8 SECOND HALF
The conversation at lunch was rather stilted as nobody wanted to talk about what was uppermost in their minds, but once again the food was excellent and the drinks were cold. As soon as they were finished, Blessings announced that after a rest period they would go driving again at four, and reminded them about the pool to deal with the heat.
As Brad escorted Shirlee to their tent, he made it clear that he was not primarily interested in resting. Shirlee sighed inwardly, but unwilling to contemplate a marriage with regular displeasing sex, reminded herself that one of the things Harry had taught her was that foreplay was not the job of the man alone. Perhaps if she took the lead, she could make the occasion more pleasurable for both of them. Stiff herself after the morning’s bumpy drive, she thought Brad might be so as well, and offered to give him a back and shoulders massage. He agreed, but said he should take a quick shower first to wash off the dust and suggested that Shirlee join him, which she did. They soaped each other lavishly and by the time they were finished, were pretty well aroused, especially Brad who was semi-erect. He suggested that they skip the massage, but Shirlee persuaded him not to, so he lay prone on the bed. Shirlee took the free bottle of body lotion provided by the safari company and straddled his hip, slavered lotion lavishly on his shoulders and back and proceeded with the erotic massage Harry had taught her. When she finished, she told him to turn over, and, applying more lotion, massaged his chest and belly and then his pelvic area. Soon he was obviously ready to go and her juices were running, so she lowered herself on to him.
Woman on top was not a part of Brad’s sexual vocabulary and he started to object, but she quietened him with a kiss and proceeded to lean backwards and forwards bringing him deliciously but slowly to a climax in which she was able to join him.
When they separated, Brad looked at her suspiciously. “Where did you learn that?”
“In a book on marriage.”
“It’s not right. The man should lead. Let’s not do it again. At least not very often.”
“Whatever you want, Brad. You know that.” Her tone was light, hiding her disappointment. Years of the boring missionary position loomed, which was discouraging to say the least.
Brad was soon asleep, but Shirlee put on the bikini Harry had given her and she had hidden from her parents and headed
to the swimming pool. After a refreshing dip, she spread out a towel at the pool edge and lay in the sun, enjoying the heat penetrating to her bones, and fell asleep. Blessings soon arrived wearing only speedos with a towel around his shoulders. Seeing his opportunity in the real need to wake Shirlee up lest she get sunburnt badly, slipped into the pool and after a few moments of admiring the body spread out before him as if on a platter, put his wet hand on her thigh. It was risky, but he respected his instinct that she would not be offended, and the momentary smile she started before she woke up, showed him that he had guessed aright. “Harry!” she exclaimed before fully awake, and then, realizing her mistake, sat up and said, “I’m sorry!”
“No problem. I should have called out. You need to cover up. The sun in Zambia can be dangerous. I think Harry’s a lucky guy!”
Ignoring his comment but taking his advice, she stood up and wrapped the towel around her before sitting on one of the lounge chairs arranged around the pool. Blessings sat on the chair next to her. Shirlee tried not to look him over, but failed. She eyed him out of the corner of her eyes. What a piece of eye candy he was! And except for his hair, which unlike Harry’s was cut short without braids, every inch that she could see reminded her of Harry, and there was very little she couldn’t see, and even that, its shape clearly revealed by the speedo, looked like Harry. She knew she should get up and go, but she couldn’t make herself do so, and really, such was the weakness in her legs that made her wonder if she could manage it if she tried. It was all she could manage was to refrain from throwing herself on top of him.
Blessings, also taking care not to look at her directly, was very much aware of what was going on. He noted her accelerated breathing and her swollen nipples were obvious even inside her bikini. Though he was entirely aware of how dangerous it was, he couldn’t stop what was going on inside his speedo. He moved to cover himself with a towel, but then decided to risk silently telling Shirlee that he was as ready for her as she was for him. Experiencing some pain, he reached into his speedo and adjusted things so that he was not only more comfortable but obviously more aroused. He inclined the back of the chair so that he was almost horizontal, just enough to make his message clear.
Shirlee saw and closed her eyes vainly trying to shut the sight out, but her memory was clear and wouldn’t leave her. There was a long silence as they both lay entranced, no longer pretending. Shirlee had no idea what she was supposed to do. Actually, she corrected the thought: she knew what she was supposed to do, but couldn’t do it.
Blessings, also knowing what he was supposed to do, had no intention of doing it. He intended something entirely different, but wasn’t clear how he could manage it. He broke the silence by saying, “Our situation’s pretty clear, isn’t it.”
“I don’t know; I suppose so.”
“Do you fancy a stroll in the bush?”
“In a bikini and flip flops?”
“There’s a path that leads from here to a viewpoint over the river. It’s not far.”
“What if somebody comes along it?”
“The staff won’t and the rest of the clients don’t know about it.”
Shirley was sure it was more risky than he was letting on, but she was also beyond caring. “OK.”
With some speed they walked together to the viewpoint, surrounded by bushes on three sides and high above the river on the fourth, with a bench in the middle facing the river.
When she reached the bench, Shirlee turned to him and undid her bikini top. Her breasts, swinging free, the nipples already swollen and surrounded by a huge aureole, were perfect. She rubbed them across his chest, causing him to gasp and greedily took his lips in hers, her tongue insistent and then deep inside as he responded. The kiss wasn’t long; in fact it hadn’t been needed. Quickly shucking off the speedo, a job complicated by the inconvenient stiffness and shape of his organ inside, he grasped her shoulders with one arm and untied her bikini with the other, letting it fall to the ground. Then with both his arms he lifted her up to him and let her slide down on his erection. When her arms were around his neck, and her legs wrapped around his waist, he used both arms to lift her and lower her on his shaft. For Shirlee the whole world left her consciousness except for the feel of him inside her and the exquisite pleasure it gave her. Without her noticing, she began a rhythmical groaning in time to her movement.
Blessings concentrated on her as long as he could to prolong the pleasure, but when, despite his attempts he reached the point of no return, he sat back on the bench and stopped all movement, letting his climax grow on his own until with a cry, he jetted his seed into her.
As soon as the nerve tumult died, they put their swimming gear back on, conscious that they were very exposed, and headed back to the pool in silence. When they reached the pool they both dived in and were surfacing when two of the Zimbabweans turned up.
“Come in!” cried Blessings. “It’s lekker!” They, of course, would have preferred that Blessings wasn’t in the pool with them, but it was too hot to quibble, so they joined them. “Where are your friends?” Blessings asked.
“Still asleep, lazy sods.”
“They certainly don’t know what they’re missing.”
“Definitely not,” replied one of the youths, eyeing Shirlee as she climbed out of the pool. Shirley beat a hasty retreat, not up to saying anything to anybody, her mind in a turmoil. Suddenly the thought of marrying Brad was repugnant. She couldn’t imagine why she had agreed to do so. They were poles apart, even in bed.
But at the same time she was terribly aware that she was setting herself up for another betrayal. Despite all her good intentions, she had failed to act with the slightest circumspection. No matter what she decided to do about Brad, she would have to stop this business with Blessings immediately, and she resolved to do so no matter what.
9
Chapter 9 TIME OUT
That, like so many good resolves, not only those made on New Year’s Day, lasted only a short time –no more than a day. The evening drive was rather boring as they sometimes are. There’s magic in being in the bush at night, and it’s the only time one can see exciting nocturnal animals like civets, genets, galagos and African wild cats, but quite often one drives for a long time without seeing anything much. On this particular evening, aside from a magnificent sunset, their best sighting was of several hippos walking in the bush a long way from the river, something they do at night in search of forage.
Despite her resolve, now that she knew intimately the body covered by Blessings’s closely fitting guide’s uniform, even the view of his neck from behind was enough to set off fantasies of a naked encounter with the rest of him. Not only that, Brad, bored, was even more surly than usual and despite Blessings’s reminders that talking frightened the game, meaning that they would see fewer animals, engaged the Zimbabweans in discussions and stories about hunting. Sensing, perhaps, a change in Shirlee, he was extra rude to her. Had he had any idea of the direction her thoughts had taken in the afternoon, he could have taken care to please her, but he didn’t.
Shirlee, against her will, struggled to refrain from kissing that attractive neck just a few feet in front of her. The night being cool, they had thrown a blanket over their legs and to distract herself and perhaps divert Brad from thoughts of killing, she slipped her hand under the blanket and stroked Brad’s thigh, and then when that seemed to have no effect, his more intimate parts. She could feel that she was having an effect, but he just whispered, “later” in her ear and set her hand on her own legs, while carrying on his conversation.
Her taking an initiative with Brad, both the night before and tonight, together with her awareness that both Harry and Blessings had expected much more than passivity from her, had planted the seeds of a questioning of her long-time assumptions about the role of women. Her betrayal by Harry had been devastating, but was that perhaps merely because she had been expecting something different – assuming that a woman could have a full life only if she secured the
permanent love and attention of a male. Shirlee had, of course, been aware of the voices calling for a reassessment of what women needed and could have if they wanted. She had always dismissed them as a passing fancy, an aberration of the corrupt modern world. But were they? She was quite sure that in the long run, she wanted a long-term marriage and children. But did that have to happen right now? She had a lot of years ahead of her, and just at this moment a long-term union with Brad seemed less than ideal.
Surely such ideas were subversive and she was determined not to act on them. And perhaps she would not have had Brad not developed the next day a rather severe diarrhea. He managed the morning drive and lunch, but then took to his bed. Shirlee at first said she would stay with him in the tent, but he angrily told her to go enjoy herself. He said he didn’t want to spoil her holiday, but really, he didn’t relish the thought of her seeing him in distress and weakness. Real men didn’t get diarrhea!
For Shirlee, who sensed the truth, that was the last straw. She was free, she figured, to enjoy herself, and enjoying herself meant having as much contact in every sense with Blessings as she could. She had qualms about the future but squashed then. She would deal with the future when it arrived.
10
PLAY RESUMED
With badly concealed haste she showered and changed into her bikini and headed for the pool. Brad, she saw with relief, was beyond thinking about anybody but himself. Blessings, having taken in Shirlee’s supposed attitude change towards him since their encounter, was of two minds whether to seek her out, but decided that it was too early to give up. Accordingly he was at the pool in his speedo when she arrived.
Unfortunately the Zimbabweans were also there behaving like young Zimbabwean males, making the pool less attractive for others and any significant dialogue between Blessings and Shirlee impossible. But Shirlee’s new attitude towards Blessings was very clear by her body language. Even the Zimbabweans noticed and grinned significantly at each other. So that was the way the land lay, was it? They would have a ribald discussion about it later, but refrained from doing so at the moment, fortunately.