Road to Casablanca

by Leah Leonard

  Erick looked out the window and saw the fire Cindy pointed out. It was common to him, but he could see why she would find it frightening.

  “Don’t worry about that. They like to start fires around here for some reason. I think that’s how they get rid of trash, or something, but it seems to be a perfectly normal part of Moroccan life, from what I can tell.”

  Just past the flames, the driver made a left down a long, walled drive lined with tiny dark blue-and-gold tiles and hundreds of enormous palm trees. He drove along the narrow tunnel and pulled into the circular drive in front of the Sultan Hotel.

  “We’re almost to our hotel.”

  Erick noticed Cindy’s excited expression as she seemed to notice every little detail about the place.

  “This is incredible.”

  “Glad you think so. Just wait until you get inside, if you think this is neat.”

  Erick had to admit she was a very nice person and underneath her disheveled hair, her face, he noticed, was exquisite.

  “Oh, I already think it is the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen in my life.”

  Uniformed bellmen stood sternly by the hotel doors draped in turbans and long woolen gowns as the driver pulled up to the curb, the trunk was opened and their bags were whisked away by hotel employees.

  Erick came around to Cindy’s door to help her out of the car himself.

  “My lady.”

  “Thank you.”

  Cindy took his hand and he instantly noticed how soft her skin was and how fragile she seemed.

  As they walked hand in hand around the back of the car toward the steps leading into the lobby, someone called out.

  “Mr. Redmund!”

  Erick turned to see Mr. Jibade and Dalila waving as they walked toward a waiting limousine. He wanted to ignore them until he had time to explain his charade to his date, but it was too late. They had made eye contact.

  The Jibade’s, both impeccably dressed, quickly walked up to Cindy and Erick.

  “Oh this must be your lovely wife, Mrs. Redmund.”

  Mr. Jibade said, bowing to her, seeming not to notice her personal disarray.

  “This is Cindy,” Erick said, as Cindy stood by wondering why he was not correcting the error.

  “Oh no, I’m not….”

  “She means she’s not used to being in such a warm and hospitable country, are you sweetheart?”

  Erick squeezed her hand gently, but enough for her to know to keep quiet.

  “We will hope to see you for dinner tonight, Mr. and Mrs. Redmund?”

  Erick noticed Jibade’s demanding tone. Like Erick, he obviously expected to get the only answer he was willing to accept: yes.

  “Absolutely. We will see you at dinner, let’s say six o’clock?”

  Erick had not planned to get together with them until tomorrow night or even the next. “Nine would suit us better, Mr. Redmund,” Mr. Jibade said, subtly correcting him on a cultural difference. Erick had forgotten that for the people of Morocco, especially the sophisticated ones, the later the better was always the correct time for the evening meal.

  “Nine it is. See you then.”

  Erick privately thought the later hour was a godsend since he would need all the time he could get to have Cindy ready to make a more formal appearance in public. She smiled and waved politely to them as they walked away, another feather in her cap, as far as Erick was concerned.

  “Have a nice day.”

  As the bellman helped them up to their suite, Cindy kept quiet and acted like a perfect lady in Erick’s eyes, but once the door was closed and they were alone, he saw her change on a dime.

  “What is going on? Why were you telling those people we were married, or I should say why were you not correcting them?”

  Erick smirked, an uncontrollable reflex that had annoyed his former girlfriends beyond measure.

  “I didn’t tell them we were married. I just….”

  “What kind of game are you playing with me?”

  Erick was impressed by her sudden outburst; in fact, it kind of turned him on for some strange reason. Seemed the tame little kitten was turning into a tiger after all, and he liked it. Grrrrrrrr….

  “I’m not playing a game, at least not any game that you have not agreed to play with me.”

  “What are you talking about? I’m not into playing games.”

  When she scowled like she was doing now, he couldn’t help but notice the little wrinkle she got between her eyebrows and he thought it was incredibly sexy and cute.

  “You must be, little Miss Priss. Otherwise, why would you have flown halfway around the world to date a man you don’t know unless you’re hoping to take your little silver spoon and dig for gold with a rich man!”

  “How can you say such cruel things to me? A coworker convinced me to sign up for the dating service. I have no idea how much money you make, nor do I care.”

  “Yeah, right…”

  “It’s absolutely infuriating for you to sit there and make such accusations toward me when you don’t know a thing about me any more than I know about you. You’re no better than I am!”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “You’re a pompous ass, you know that? I don’t know who you think I am, but I am not some floozy escort, which is probably what you’re used to having in places like this. I am a lady and I expect to be treated as such. Do we have an understanding?”

  She sure is sexy when she’s mad. This blind date might be more fun than I thought. Much, much, more fun.

  Despite his absolute best intentions, Erick smirked again as he stood and looked at Cindy, who he could tell was infuriated.

  “What’s so funny?”

  Erick didn’t know what got into him, but this scraggly haired chick was making him so hot, he reached out and kissed her hot, feisty lips.

  Cindy struggled to get away from him as he grabbed her with strong arms and pulled her closer.

  “Stop it! Stop it! What are you doing?”

  “You are so sexy.”

  He smiled at her and found himself moving in for more.

  “Stop! You are an asshole! You give me the creeps!”

  Cindy pushed him away, turned and walked toward the window.

  Erick stood watching her, panting, wanting more.

  Later, then.

  He knew if she was like the rest of the women he knew, she wouldn’t be able to resist him for long. He wiped the hot wet taste of her from his mouth, still smelling the sweet scent of her breath on his and breathed her in to his nostrils.

  He was anxious to get this little beast turned into the beauty he now imagined she could be as soon as possible, and when that happened, based on this little encounter, he wondered how he would possibly be able to keep his hands off her.

  “Okay. Sorry about that. I couldn’t help it.”

  “That’s okay.”

  He could tell by the twisted-up look on her face she wasn’t okay with it at all, but ignored it and kept going.

  “My room is right next door if you need me. This door connects the two suites in case you want to stop by…or something.”

  Erick thought that getting adjoining suites would be the only sensible thing to do. He did not want to let on to his contacts that they were not together as man and wife, and also, this way, in case he got lucky, they could be together with as little or no discretion as they wanted.

  “If I stop by, and that’s a very big if, I think I’ll knock…on the front door.”

  “Okay, that’s fine. I bought you a day at the spa…so you can relax and get to feeling better after your flight.”

  “Well, that was considerate. Thanks.”

  “And I think you also know you have some free clothes coming to you in this deal.”

  As much as his comment amused him, Erick could tell by Cindy’s reddening cheeks she was not pleased.

  “Look, we need to have a little talk. I am here to meet you, to get out of my box, or whatever you want to call it, and you ap
parently need a date or a wife, I’m not really sure which yet…and you invited me here, so don’t you go trying to make me feel like I’m cheap just because you said you wanted me to have some new things. I still don’t know why I’m here. You were too busy kissing me to tell me what we are doing here exactly and why you insist on pretending I’m your wife. If you want me to play your game, you have to play mine and my game is quite simple. It involves common courtesies such as being polite. You got it?”

  Erick could feel his pant leg stiffen as she chewed him out. He’d never had a woman do that before, really stand up to him and tell him off, except when his girlfriends caught him cheating.

  But Cindy was different. She chewed him out for no apparent reason. It was sexy as hell. He took his stiff gait over toward her and grabbed her once more, kissing her deeply, sending his tongue forcibly into the back of her throat.

  He felt her kick and try to pull away for a few seconds until she gave way and seemed to be enjoying it.

  He could tell she was. More than she wanted to admit.

  “Uh…I think that will be all for now.”

  Much to Erick’s dismay, Cindy took his hands and gently removed them from her butt before putting them back by his side.

  “Yes, Madame. The tailor will be here at 11:00 this morning for your fitting. Your spa day starts at 1:00 p.m., and if I’m not too repulsive to you, I’d love you to join me for lunch at noon on the patio out back.”

  “Okay, thanks.”

  “Oh and this is a little something I picked up for you in the meantime. Hope you like it.”

  Erick threw a large shopping bag on the bed and turned to leave.

  “See you in a bit.”

  “Thanks, Erick.”

  He sauntered into the hall and heard the click of the bolt shut him out of her room for the time being, but if he had anything to say about it, that bolt would eventually open and he would be admitted into her inner kingdom.

  Chapter Ten

  Cindy couldn’t help but smile as she bolted the door and looked around her suite. Alone at last in what had to be the most extravagant setting she’d ever been in, she skipped over the intricate tile floors to the king-sized canopy bed.

  Dumping the contents of the shopping bag on to the bed, Cindy revealed a pretty blue sundress, some sandals that appeared to be just her size, and a lapis necklace and earrings.

  She’d never had a man buy her anything before. It felt strangely exciting, particularly when combined with the setting.

  She lay on her back for a few minutes, resting her aching body on the soft bed as she looked up toward the top of the canopy which seemed to protect her, calm her somehow.

  The curtains were cracked so she could see only a line of the blazing sun outside and wanted to see more of the scenery just outside her door. The far wall of her room was completely covered in glass and the balcony on the other side. Cindy opened the curtains completely to light her room then stepped outside, where she stared over an exotic garden with an intricate trail of gravel pathways.

  Each path seemed to end near or around a fountain and another sign pointed the way to a restaurant and a spa and bathhouse where Cindy assumed she would be going soon.

  The phone rang, startling her from her thoughts.

  “Hello?”

  “Cindy, Erick.”

  “Yes, I thought so. You happen to be the only person I know here.”

  He laughed and Cindy was glad he seemed to appreciate her sense of humor.

  “I wanted to let you know where the restaurant and the spa are…”

  “Actually, I think I just saw the signs downstairs.”

  “Oh, good. And has the tailor been there yet?”

  “No.”

  “Well they should be there any minute.”

  At that moment, someone knocked at the door.

  “I think I just heard them knock, unless that’s just you trying to get into my room again.”

  “No, I wish, but it’s not me.”

  They knocked again, louder.

  “I suppose if I am going to have something to wear tonight I need to get going.”

  “See you at noon. If you need help finding anything, just ask someone.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Madame? Are you there?”

  The knocking continued as Cindy rushed toward the door.

  “Coming….”

  A beautiful older lady with jet black hair stood in the doorway pulling a cart of cloth behind her and bowing as she entered the room.

  “Hello, Miss Cindy. I am here for your fitting.”

  Cindy stared at all the magnificent silks and the obviously hand-woven containers filled with pins and hemming implements.

  “Hello; come in.”

  “First, we’re going to pick your colors, and then I will show you the style I recommend and I will have it all by the end of the day, okay?”

  “Okay…”

  “Now I need you to take off your clothes, only bras and panties allowed.”

  Cindy slowly unbuttoned her jeans and cringed as she threw them on the ground. Then her blouse made its way to the canopy bed and Cindy considered covering herself with the drapes.

  “Now stand over here by the mirror.”

  The woman took several swatches of cloth and held them up to Cindy’s creamy white skin. After seeing the flawless brown complexions of everyone here, she felt like she hadn’t seen the light of day in years.

  With lightning speed, the woman sifted and sorted through the fabric until there was a small pile on the chair. She never asked Cindy’s opinion, but moved the cart back and held each selection up longer and appeared to be considering something as she stared at her in the mirror.

  “We go with this one, and this one, and this one. I would like to make a dress that would go over the shoulder here, and wrap around there…”

  Her modesty nearly gone, Cindy listened and soon realized the woman knew what she was doing and offered her suggestions.

  “I always look good in a halter top.”

  “A what?”

  Cindy realized that culturally, the woman may not understand the term. She moved the fabric around her neck, over her shoulder. The tailor nodded, seemingly pleased.

  “Oh yes, okay. This will look wonderful.”

  Soon, she packed up the cart and was on her way.

  Cindy recalled that the last time she’d bought any dress like this must have been her high school prom, but then the dress was ready-made, purchased off the rack. This was going to be quite a treat.

  It was nearly 11:30 when the woman left. Cindy rested for a few minutes before showering and slipping into her new dress, sandals and jewelry.

  She easily found her way to the patio where Erick was waiting for her, a huge smile on his face as he stood to greet her with a kiss on her cheek.

  “Have a good rest? You look great.”

  She wondered if he meant it, but accepted the compliment anyway.

  “Thanks, so do you.”

  He looked good enough to eat…too good, as a matter of fact. His shirt blew in the arid desert heat and his khaki pants snugly hugged his behind. She’d noticed that when he’d left her room earlier, but now with in full daylight, it was truly a sight for sore eyes.

  “Our table is over here.”

  She followed him to the far side of patio and into the far corner. The table was short and they had to practically squat to be seated on a bed of hand embroidered pillows.

  Cindy laughed as she sank into them, feeling like a child at a tea party.

  “It’s not easy to sit here, but once you make your way down, I think it’s comfortable.”

  “Yeah, it reminds me of a table I had when I was a little girl.”

  The waiter followed them to their seat and immediately placed an enormous platter of food in the center of the square table.

  “My goodness, that’s a lot!”

  “This is the traditional fare here. It’s actually pretty good.”
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  Not sure of what it all was, Cindy recognized potatoes, squash of some kind and some dumplings.

  As she looked for the serving utensils and waited politely for Erick to serve her, instead he abruptly reached into the plate with his hands and helped himself.

  Visibly shocked by what she perceived to be his unbelievable lack of manners, Cindy was speechless.

  Erick laughed hysterically when he saw the look on her face.

  “You think I was raised by wolves, huh?”

  “What?”

  “Don’t try to pretend with me. I saw the way you looked at me just a minute ago. It was priceless.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “When I picked up the food with my hands…”

  “Oh.”

  ‘That’s the custom here. It’s perfectly acceptable.”

  “Oh…”

  “I would have helped your plate, but I wasn’t sure we know each other well enough yet.”

  “Thanks for that, anyhow. Does that mean I need to dip in there too?”

  “I’m happy to do it for you if you’d like.”

  Cindy stared at the plate and Erick continued to chuckle.

  “No, I can handle it, thank you.”

  Delicately, she reached in and put two potatoes and a piece of squash on her plate.

  “Oh come on now, you’re going to have to eat more than that…..”

  “What’s that?”

  She pointed to the dumplings and to some other darker balls of something she didn’t recognize as Erick popped them into his mouth and smiled.

  “I’m not sure, but they taste pretty darned good. Try it.”

  Cindy picked up two of each and put them on her plate.

  “You know, when I was a kid, I would be grounded for a week for eating with my hands.”

  “Oh you’re telling me? My father would get his belt out at the table if we spoke out of line.”

  They shared a smile and Cindy reached out and put one of the dumplings in her mouth.

  “Hey, this is good.”

  “Would I lead you astray?”

  “I’m not sure yet. I’ll let you know about that in a couple days, okay?”

  The waiter then appeared with a steaming hot tea kettle and filled their empty mugs.

  “Mmmmm, what is that? It smells incredible.”