Kiss Me, Lynn (Kiss Me Series)

by Linda George

  “Very much. I’m so glad everyone isn’t trying to please the Americans by serving us hamburgers and fries!”

  “Actually, you can get both at the hotel restaurant for dinner tonight, if you’re hungry for something that isn’t Peruvian.”

  Lynn thought about it a minute. “I can have burgers and fries at home. While I’m here, I want to sample as many different Peruvian dishes as I can.”

  That pleased him. He helped her onto the bus, then took his place in the front seat across from Rudolfo while Lynn went toward the back to what had become her “regular” seat. The bus was big enough they all had room to stretch while traveling from one place to the next. That was great.

  Alex pointed out various landmarks on their way to the Inka Museum. They spent about an hour there, seeing pottery, mummies, silver figures, textiles, and even musical instruments made and used by the Inca.

  Out in the central courtyard of the museum, several women dressed in brightly colored Inca costumes sat before their looms, weaving blankets, shawls, and other things the turistas loved to take home with them. Lynn stood behind one woman, admiring her skill with weaving. As soon as the woman noticed her standing there, she began to recite the prices of the various things she’d made, which were stacked in abundance on shelves near her loom.

  They all took their time looking through her offerings, and several bought things from her. Prices in Peru were quite reasonable, since the local currency—soles—were worth about a third of the American dollar. Prices quoted in soles could be divided by three to get a good idea of the cost in dollars. One thing they’d all learned in Lima was that most vendors didn’t keep American money, so a twenty dollar bill in payment for an item costing forty-five soles might not result in change. Exchanging US dollars for soles was definitely the best thing to do.

  Lynn had discovered, the first time she’d bought something with American money, that the vendors would not take any bill with the slightest tear or mark. They explained that the bank would not take damaged US money. Even the exchanges wouldn’t take bills that weren’t perfect. So a lot of their cash was worthless!

  By the time they left the Inka Museum, Lynn was exhausted. Even Vicki had removed her shoes and massaged the arches of her feet. Vicki had always been the most active of their group, and she generally “led the pack” wherever they went. If Vicki’s feet were getting sore, then everyone needed some rest!

  At the hotel, Lynn knew she needed to check e-mail as soon as she got back to the room, but it was the last thing she wanted to do.

  Chapter 11

  Nothing from Santa Fe. After some rest, everyone gathered at the bus to go to the Cusco Planetarium. Lynn had taken Alex’s advice and worn warm clothes, since they’d be outside part of the time, looking through the telescope.

  Before helping her onto the bus, Alex asked her quietly, “Is everything okay at home?”

  “No word yet, but I hope so.”

  They wound their way through Cusco, then up the mountain. The lights below and on the mountainsides all around the city reminded Lynn of a trip she’d made to Mexico City when she was in high school. Their flight had arrived after dark and the pilot circled the vast metropolitan area before landing. There weren’t nearly as many lights in Cusco, but they were more beautiful, Lynn thought, because the air at this altitude was so clean and clear.

  When the bus stopped, everyone got out, but they didn’t see the planetarium. “So, where is it?” Sharon asked Alex.

  “It’s still above us. The bus cannot go all the way to the top of the mountain. Here they come now in their vans, to take us the rest of the way.”

  The owners of the planetarium arrived and took everyone up to the building and inside. The turistas sat on benches and listened to a brief talk about the Inca and their religious beliefs that related to stars and constellations. Lynn sat between BJ and Barb. Alex stood at the back of the room.

  “Welcome to the Cusco Planetarium! Before we go outside to view some of the heavens’ spectacular inhabitants that are visible this time of year, I want to tell you about how the Inca felt about the stars. The sun and moon were thought to be gods, and Inca agriculture was definitely related to such events as the summer and winter solstices and the equinoxes, and the position of the sun and moon in the sky.”

  Lynn whispered to Barb, “If I fall asleep, catch me before I fall off this bench!”

  “If you’ll promise to catch me, too!”

  “The Inca believed that the creator, Viracocha, protected all living beings, and that the stars he created had special meaning, if only the people would believe the stories told about them. To them, the constellations were shaped like birds and animals, such as the fox, llama, toad, birds, or the serpent. You may have noticed snakes in paintings by Inca artists.

  “What we call the Milky Way, the Inca called a great river in the sky. Floating on this river, they saw bright constellations made of stars, and dark constellations, which were dark blotches against a lighter part of the sky. The Inca believed these dark constellations to be Earth’s living animals. Everything on Earth and in the sky was connected. Kind of like ‘The Force’ in the movies.”

  Lynn found that comparison extremely interesting. She could remember Yoda telling Luke that The Force connected everything, even trees, rocks, and water. It had always been one of the most comforting theories she’d ever heard.

  She leaned back a little to stretch her back and glimpsed Alex standing off to the side of the group now, instead of behind them. His smile made her wish she could invite him to sit next to her.

  The talk ended within a few minutes and they moved on to the next part of the tour—the dome of the planetarium.

  Lynn was getting so sleepy, she had a hard time staying awake in the darkened room. Alex sat down beside her and took her hand. Without thinking twice about it, she leaned toward him and rested her head on his shoulder.

  Much too soon, the presentation ended and they were invited to go outside to take turns looking through the telescope, which stood on the ground and was about four feet tall.

  Lynn shivered in spite of several layers of clothing and her jacket. The breeze came from behind the building, so she stood on the covered walkway, as much out of the wind as possible. There were two dogs outside who weren’t shy at all about approaching the group to be petted. Lynn wished she could wrap her arms around the bigger dog and share his warmth!

  While the group took turns looking at a star that turned out to be two stars close together, then a group of stars that had colors and looked like jewels, Lynn pressed closer to the building, wishing she could go inside. After Alex had taken his turn viewing the phenomena, he came to the porch, stood beside her, then eased his arm around her and pulled her in front of him.

  Immediately, she felt the warmth of his body on her back. She relaxed against him, his arms circling her waist, and silently thanked him. He held her hands with his, then whispered in her ear, “If you aren’t warm enough, I’ll try to do better.”

  Lynn was grateful it was so dark outside, yet she knew that anyone who looked toward them would see Alex holding her. The telescope had been repositioned to capture Saturn. It took several minutes for the astronomer to get it exactly right. He placed a stool beside the telescope. “Who wants to see?”

  Lynn knew she needed to be first. She pulled gently out of Alex’s arms and said, “Me! I’ve never seen Saturn except in photographs!”

  A murmur traveled through the group. No one else had, either.

  When she approached the telescope, she instinctively touched it before sitting on the stool.

  “Don’t touch the telescope!”

  She took two quick steps back.

  “Sorry. It’s just that it’s really delicate.” He looked through the eyepiece, then repositioned the scope, which took another minute.

  “I had no idea…” Lynn said apologetically.

  “No problem. Just sit and lean forward to the eyepiece.”

  She
did as he said, then gasped. In the center of the black circle of sky, Saturn hung like a crystal, slightly tipped to the side, with the rings circling it. It wasn’t that big—the size of a silver dollar, maybe—but seeing it as it actually was, and not in a photo, took her breath away.

  “Wow,” she whispered. “It’s actually there!”

  Reluctantly, she stepped back to let Dorothy take her place. The image remained in her mind on her way back to the porch. Alex was there waiting, watching her with an expression she hadn’t seen before. It was so dark, it might have been anything, of course, but it seemed different. More intense and emotional.

  He suddenly looked down, then back to her, smiling.

  She hadn’t imagined it. The look he’d given her—

  Sharon had just gotten up from the chair. “That was incredible! Thank you so much!”

  Before long, they were back on the bus and on their way to dinner. But the bus stopped before it had made it all the way down the mountain back to the city and pulled into a parking lot by a church. They got out and went to the fence surrounding the lot and gazed over the city, with its lights of every color, and paler white lights dotting the mountainsides.

  Alex stood beside her, but didn’t take her hand this time. Instead, she took his. Together, they gave themselves time to become part of the city Alex loved so much.

  They proceeded to a restaurant with more native music and dancing. A group sang and played while several dancers made their way through the crowd during dinner. After they finished playing, the musicians wandered around, selling copies of their CD, which Lynn and two others bought.

  Lynn said very little during dinner. Alex sat beside her, their knees touching under the long tablecloth, their fingers laced. Alex spent most of the time watching the musicians instead of looking at Lynn, which she knew was best.

  When they got back on the bus, she made her way back to her usual seat. She had to have some time with Alex, alone. From the way he’d looked at her, she could tell he wanted that, too.

  <><><><>

  At the hotel, Lynn was last to leave the bus.

  Alex whispered, “Let’s take a walk. I know it’s cold, but I’ll keep you warm.”

  She nodded, caught up with Sharon, and told her she’d be up in a while, then went back outside. Alex put his arm around her shoulders while they walked. Before long, they reached the plaza where they’d sat on the bench, but they didn’t sit there. Instead, Alex led her around the edge and stopped when they got to a clump of flowering shrubs that were taller than they were. The clump hid a space in the center and it was to that space, rather like the center of a grape arbor, that he led her. With the fragrance of the flowers surrounding them, they couldn’t be seen by anyone in the plaza.

  “Are you cold?”

  “No, thanks to you.”

  “Querida, I need to tell you something.”

  Lynn held her breath.

  “I told you I have to come to think of you as a special friend. Yet, my feelings have grown deeper than friendship.”

  “I know.”

  “Your tour will end soon. We’ll go to the Sacred Valley tomorrow for two nights, then on to Machu Picchu for one night, then back to Cusco for your last night here before you fly to Lima, then home.”

  “Yes,” she whispered, as he pulled her closer.

  “I don’t want you to go.”

  She held him tighter, her cheek against his chest, loving the way he caressed her back and arms, creating a warmth inside her that made her breathing quicken and her heart beat faster.

  “I have to go home, Alex.”

  “I want you to stay longer. After this tour, I will have two weeks off, with no new groups. We could take our time getting to know each other better, spending more than a few moments together.”

  The idea made her sigh. If only she could…

  “I know we haven’t known each other very long, but I feel…drawn to you…in a way I’ve never felt before. Please, Querida, stay in Cusco with me.”

  “Querida. It means ‘friend,’ doesn’t it?”

  “No.” He leaned back so she would look directly into his eyes. “It means ‘sweetheart.’”

  When they kissed this time, she wanted to show him that her feelings also went far beyond those between special friends. He kissed her lips, her cheeks, her eyelids, then her lips again. She couldn’t hold him tightly enough, couldn’t kiss him deeply enough, and couldn’t imagine having to leave him.

  Lynn lost herself in the kiss. Staying with Alex would mean freedom for her. Freedom from worry, from responsibility, from work, but most of all from her feeling of duty. Never had she known anyone who created this feeling of freedom in her, this desire to become part of another person. How could she leave? But how could she stay?

  Chapter 12

  She entered the room quietly. Sharon, propped up in bed, put down the guide book next to the open laptop beside her.

  Lynn didn’t say anything. She went to the bathroom to change out of her clothes and into her pajamas and robe. When she emerged, Sharon was staring at her with a puzzled look on her face.

  “Okay, either you went for broke, or broke it off.”

  Lynn couldn’t look at her friend yet. She stacked the pillows behind her, climbed into bed, and pulled the covers up around her chin.

  “You went for broke.”

  Lynn nodded. “Actually, he went for broke. He wants me to stay in Cusco another two weeks after our tour ends.”

  “What did you tell him?”

  “That I can’t. But I wish I could.”

  “Flights can be rescheduled.”

  “I know. I just wish things were easier at home.”

  “Your dad and the lawyer will work things out. There’s no way an Alzheimer’s patient can divorce her husband. And it may not be Alzheimer’s. It could be something else causing the confusion. Like a reaction to medication.”

  “I hope you’re right. I hope it will prove to be something that can be easily fixed.” Lynn turned on her side, facing Sharon. “I can’t believe I’ve let things get so out of control.”

  Sharon released a huge sigh. “You still think falling in love means you’re out of control.”

  “That’s exactly what it means when the person you’re falling in love with lives so far away that calling it a ‘long distance romance’ is utterly ridiculous. It isn’t as though we could see each other on weekends, or once a month. More like once a year, if I could afford the flight. It’s like loving someone who lives on the moon! Sharon, I have to wake up! This is a dream, and as wonderful as it’s been so far, it’s going to turn into a nightmare in a few days!”

  “Maybe sooner. You got a post from your dad.”

  “When?”

  “Right after I got back to the room. Not much you can do from here, though. Your mother left. He has no idea where she’s gone. Police are searching for her car, checking flights, but so far there’s no indication of where she’s going or exactly when she left. I answered and told him we’d be waiting for news.”

  Lynn closed her eyes. Her tears soaked into the pillow.

  “There’s nothing you can do, Lynn. They’ll find her and she’ll be all right. You have to believe that.”

  Lynn turned over to face the wall. Nothing she could do. She wished Alex were there to hold her, rub her back, kiss her and tell her… But he hadn’t told her he loved her. He’d shown her. How did that help this miserable situation? Falling in love with him would only complicate things to the point where she wanted to hide somewhere until, like a fairy tale, everyone lived happily ever after.

  Sharon closed the laptop and put it on the dresser across the room. “Time to get some sleep. But first, tell me if Cher was right.”

  Lynn took a deep breath. “She was right.”

  <><><><>

  The next morning, they had a quick breakfast in the restaurant. Lynn had two cups of Coca tea, hoping it would lift her spirits. She hadn’t slept well, which certainly wasn�
��t a surprise, and the tea helped wake her up a bit. Even though she wasn’t that hungry, she ate a full breakfast. It could be a long time until lunch.

  Alex seemed almost embarrassed this morning. Surely, he didn’t regret the time they’d spent together, and asking her to stay in Cusco. Maybe she’d misinterpreted his expression and the way he avoided looking into her eyes for longer than a few seconds. She wanted to see happiness on his face instead of confusion.

  When Alex sat down adjacent from Lynn with his plate piled high and his cup of tea, he immediately started a conversation with Sharon and Barb, who sat at the table with them, about what they’d be seeing today. Beneath the table, he reached for Lynn’s hand and caressed it while he talked.

  “This morning we will go to the Cusco Market, then we’ll visit the ruins of Tambomachay, the Red Fortress, then the fortress of Sacsayhuamán. It is one of the most important and famous Inca sites in all of South America. Its name is Quechua and means ‘satisfied falcon.’ Those who served at the fortress protected Cusco, which was the capital city of the Inca Empire.”

  Also on the itinerary were two museums, but Lynn’s mind wandered from Alex’s descriptions. She tried to pay attention but kept thinking about her father’s email. Holding Alex’s hand was another distraction, but a nicer one. She remembered last night, standing together at the planetarium, then hiding from everyone at the plaza, giving in to the feelings that had been building in her, day by day. She closed her eyes and remembered kissing him, then felt his hand tightening around hers. With a smile, she realized she’d squeezed his fingers during the memory.

  <><><><>

  They boarded the bus and rode to the Cusco Market, where they were given about an hour to wander through. When Lynn went inside and saw how massive the market was, she knew they could never do more than sample what lay before them in only an hour. Wandering, wishing she could go up and down the aisles and see everything, she marveled at what she was able to see.

  People sat at tables eating chicken soup, which Alex said was the cheapest lunch in Cusco. They passed dozens of vendors selling everything from clothing to dozens of varieties of potatoes—purple, green white, red, orange, yellow—a rainbow of potatoes—in the midst of multicolored varieties of corn, and dozens of fruits, vegetables, cheeses, and foods Lynn could only guess about.