by Leah Leonard
“You look tired today.”
“Yeah, it was a long night, to say the very least.”
“What happened? Are they going to invest in your company?”
Erick looked away and sighed. Although Cindy sensed he was under incredible pressure, he managed a faint smile between bites of his omelet.
“I hope so. I think Mr. Jibade is on board, but the rest don’t speak any English, so it’s tough to tell. I have trouble reading their facial expressions, their body language. The whole culture is so different, I just can’t tell. Just when I think we’re all getting along, it seems we’re not, and when they are frowning another minute and I wonder what I said to offend them, they come back with roars of laughter and praise. It’s definitely been quite a learning curve.”
“I can imagine it would be. I’m sure it will be okay. If they weren’t interested in it at all, I’m sure they wouldn’t waste their time sitting in a meeting half the night.”
“That’s true.”
“And just what time did the meeting get done last night?”
Although she hated to ask him, she couldn’t help it. The other night he was flirting in a bar, and as much as she wanted more than anything to trust him, she wasn’t quite sure she could just yet.
“One o’clock in the morning. By the time I got back up to the room, I sat up for another hour just going over it all in my mind. I was replaying everything I said, rethinking how I presented myself, everything. I don’t think I’ve ever felt as up in the air about things in my entire life.”
“I think it’s just fine, Erick. In fact, I’d bet on it.”
“The thing is, Cindy wife, I’ve been incredibly successful in the past. Heck, it seems everything I’ve touched for the past decade has turned to gold overnight. I don’t lack confidence; it’s just that without the ability to communicate, I feel out of the loop, and more dependant on Jibade than I’d like to be.”
“Did you consider taking some Arabic lessons? Or getting one of those tape programs? That might help.”
Erick reached over to take Cindy’s hand. He smiled, sending chills through her body and butterflies through her stomach.
“You are quite the lady, you know it? I have studied a little Arabic on tape, but the trouble here is that the people speak so many kinds. Some speak Moorish, some what’s called Moroccan, so when people are talking so quickly in so many styles it’s tough for me to understand it all, even with the interpreter.”
“So, you do have an interpreter?”
“Yes. I thought it was for the others to understand me, but now I see Jibade cleverly made it seem that way. It’s really me who is benefiting most from the service.”
“Are they learning any English?”
“Well, Jibade and his wife are fluent, as you know, but the others don’t seem too interested in learning it, from what I can see. I can look at a man’s eyes and size him up fairly quickly though, and I can tell they are good people. Jibade is a wonderful man and so I trust him and my own gut to lead us in the right direction. Anyhow, I’m sorry to be burdening you with all this. You and I are going to have a good time today and forget all about this business.”
“I don’t mind, Erick, really. It’s actually very interesting.”
“You know what I think’s interesting?”
“What?”
“I’m looking at her right now. Are you ready to go hit the streets of Marrakech before the Hollywood types buy out all the souvenirs?”
Cindy chuckled and took her last sip of coffee. “I hardly doubt that would happen. I’m sure they’re quite prepared to sell us anything and everything that’s not tied down or holding up a building.”
“Think so, huh?”
“Yep, I do.”
“Well then, let’s get to it. I want to make sure you go home with all of that and then some.”
Erick helped her out of her chair and took her hand as they walked down to the car. The driver was there as he always was waiting eagerly for them.
“Madame, sir, good morning.”
“Hello. How are you today?”
“Very well, sir. Where may I take you today?”
“Downtown to the best shops available and to any other sights we need to see here.”
“There are the palaces, sir, which are quite ancient and most popular.”
Erick looked at Cindy as if letting her make the decision, which she greatly appreciated.
“What is your pleasure, lady?”
“Well, since we already determined the shops will be full whenever we get to them, let’s go on to the palaces…if that’s okay with you.”
“You heard the lady. Off to the palaces, then.”
“Very well.”
The car sped down the drive and through the crowded city streets to the outskirts of town. They pulled up next to a huge flat roofed structure with several cars and a couple of tour buses parked outside.
“Wow, this is incredible.”
“It sure is. Which palace is this, sir?”
The driver began to speak as he parked the car and helped Cindy and Erick out, acting as their private tour guide.
“This is called El Badi Palace and was built in the year 1578 by the King as part of the Saadi Dynasty.”
“Saadi? Aren’t those the descendants of Mr. Jibade’s family?”
“Yes, it is. He is direct lineage of the royal family of the time.”
Cindy was impressed. No wonder the man seemed to know everyone and have access to everything there.
“So Mr. Jibade is royalty?”
“In a sense he is, indirectly. That’s why he is such an instrumental part of the project.”
“I can imagine he’s a good friend to have around here.”
“That’s for sure.”
As they walked hand-in-hand through the vast grounds, past the dried-up palace swimming pools and into the now-vacant grand rooms in the palace, Cindy couldn’t help but wonder how magnificent this place must have been at one time.
“In the sixteenth century this was the most pristine of all palaces in the land built by Sultan Ahmed el Mansour, until the ruler Moulay Ismail destroyed it in the seventeenth century to take the materials for building his own palace at Meknes.”
“Interesting…”
“Yes, it is, very.”
Within the hour they were back in the car and off to the next palace on their touring schedule.
“This, Mr. and Mrs. Redmund, is called Bahia Palace. It was built in the years between 1894 and 1900 for the son of the ruler Mohammed IV.”
Cindy held Erick’s arm as they followed their guide through vast open corridors of the space and into the many rooms of the palace. White walls were inlaid with thousands of multi-colored tiles, rounded Moorish doorways and simple but elegant architecture made the place absolutely exquisite.
“It’s absolutely stunning. It must have really been something in its day.”
“Indeed, Madame, it was, most certainly.”
Erick squeezed Cindy’s hand and smiled at her.
“You are the only stunning thing I see around here, lady.”
Cindy felt a warm flush run through her as she returned his smile. Erick had certainly been acting sweet lately. Better than she would have ever imagined he could.
Within another hour, they were off once more.
“Now to Jemaa el Fna, the town center of Marrakech.”
“Take us to a nice place for lunch, if you will.”
“Yes, Mr. Redmund, I know of just the place.”
Within ten minutes they were back in heavy traffic circling around the city center and the driver pulled them up to a two story white stucco building and led them upstairs.
“Come, Redmunds. I have a lovely restaurant picked out for you just upstairs here.”
A dark red tiled staircase led them to a room with low ceilings and big hand embroidered pillows thrown all about and around low lying tables.
The place was empty except for the staff, wh
o escorted them to the far back corner where they were given hot spearmint tea.
“Thank you for bringing me, Erick. This is wonderful.”
“Hey, don’t thank me, thank the driver. I had no idea this place was here, I just told him to take us someplace great.”
“The food here is the best we’ve had yet, don’t you think?”
“It is, but that’s only because I haven’t had you yet.”
“Too funny.”
“Who said I was being funny? There’s nothing funny about it, Miss Cindy, believe me.”
“We’ll just have to see about that, now won’t we?”
After lunch they walked out into the street where the driver was waiting patiently for them.
“To get to the center square you go down this way.”
He pointed to a barely passable narrow alleyway that seemed to lead to nowhere.
“Down there? Are you sure?”
The man laughed at Erick and nodded.
“Yes, sir. Believe me, I have lived here my entire life.”
“Okay so where will we meet you?”
“If you will follow this path you will pass many shops with many goods to sell. Keep wandering and you will come to the center of the Jemaa el Fna eventually.”
“You’re sure of that, are you? I don’t want the lady to think I don’t know how to find my way around here.”
“Trust me, Sir. You will come to it. Everyone does eventually.”
Holding hands, they passed through the first narrow passage and just behind the building where they had lunch, they found themselves walking on a narrow street lined with shops that were filled with pottery, iron lamps and silks.
“This place is incredible, Erick! I can’t believe it!”
“It is pretty amazing, I must say. Look around, dear wife, and if you see anything you want, just let me know.”
Cindy didn’t know where to begin. There was so much and it all looked so exotic. She wandered into a small shop where a man was sitting at a wooden bench crafting handmade pottery bowls with a young boy who must have been his son.
The boy pulled the bowls from the kiln in the back of the shop while the man wrapped hand-cut silver around the edges of it.
“This is so beautiful.”
Cindy smiled at the man, who looked up and smiled back at her.
“Thank you.”
She was surprised to hear English, but figured if one was to make any money selling to tourists you would have to learn many languages to survive in a place like this.
“How much?”
Erick already had his wallet out and pointed to the piece Cindy wanted. She’d never had any man spoil her and allow her to have whatever she wanted. It was a fairytale come true.
“Twenty dollars.”
Erick didn’t try to barter, as was custom in these type places. He pulled the money out and laid it on the table in front of where the man was working. He stopped his work and immediately wrapped the pot, put it in a bag and handed it to Cindy.
“Thank you very much.”
“Thank you, and you, Erick. I love it.”
“You’re worth it.”
They wandered further into the depths of the maze of shops and soon discovered the pot was similar to many for sale here. In fact most shops sold different versions of the same dozen or so items and soon it all started to blend together.
“It’s really something here, don’t you think?”
He held her hand and kept her close to him as they wandered around.
“Yes, it is. Are you having fun?”
“It’s a bit overwhelming, but yes, I am, thanks. Of course, I’m sure you’ve seen lots of other places like this in all your travels.”
Cindy didn’t mean to fish into his past, but she was curious about where all he had been and with whom.
“I haven’t been anywhere like this, I can tell you that.”
“Oh come on, Erick, you’ve surely been all over the world by now.”
“No, I haven’t been to as many places as you’d think. I prefer to stay closer to home – you know Mexico and Bahamas, places like that.”
Cindy was surprised to hear it, and Erick could obviously see it in her face, but she could see he was telling the truth.
He must be even shallower than I originally thought.
Of course she would never say that to his face, but she couldn’t help but wonder why someone with so many resources wouldn’t choose to see more of the world.
“Well I guess it’s just lucky we’re out here then to get you out of your shell.”
“Yes, you’re right, it is. And you? I suppose you’ve jet-setted all over the place, haven’t you?”
“Oh yeah, right. Uh let’s see, how about the Iowa City Corncob Parade starting when I was about six. That was a big production to go to, and let’s see, since moving to Texas, I did manage a trip to the Southfork Ranch where Dallas was filmed.”
“Well you have me beat then. I never saw where or who shot J. R.”
“Well, we’ll have to see to it you get to go there someday.’
As soon as she said it, Cindy wished she hadn’t. What if he had no intentions of ever seeing her again? Surely that was possible. He didn’t owe her anything. He needed her for this trip, and potentially for little else. After all, the man was a millionaire.
“We will have to do that sometime, for sure.”
Erick looked at her but Cindy could not tell for sure what was going on behind his gorgeous eyes. She would give anything to be able to read his mind, but for now, she decided it best to say nothing and get back to shopping.
“Look at that!”
It was a silk scarf and matching gown in deep purple. Cindy walked up to it and ran her hands over it, holding it up to her skin in a small mirror hanging from a wire on the side wall of the store.
Erick didn’t say a word but got his wallet out on cue as the old woman running the place answered his question before he could ask.
“Twenty dollars.”
“Is that all? Cindy, you’re turning out to be a pretty cheap date.”
“Not too cheap, I hope.”
“You know what I mean. Here.”
Erick handed her the bag and they walked hand in hand for a while longer before finally arriving at the city center where a large crowd was gathered around a stone fountain inlaid in what looked like ancient colored tiles. There was a large tower that looked like a place of worship and musicians played strangely exotic melodies on instruments Cindy had never seen before.
At the far side of the square, they both spotted their driver leaning against the hood of his car. He waving when he recognized them.
“Take your time! I will be here.”
“Are you ready to go, or do you want to see some more?”
Cindy was so impressed by how attentive Erick had been to her all day and flattered he was willing to do more if she wanted him to.
“Erick, I’ve had a wonderful time today and I thank you so much for everything. I am actually all shopped out for now, though—that is, if you are.”
He leaned over and kissed her cheek, then her lips.
“I am. Let’s go home, Mrs. Redmund.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
When Cindy finally arrived back in her room, packages in hand, she was shocked to see another floor-length gown hanging from her bathroom door.
“Oh, my!”
She picked up the gown and started to examine it. This one was a striking copper color with tulip sleeves and a plunging front and back with nothing holding it together. The color matched some of the streaks of her highlights perfectly.
She had to know how this got here, how Erick could possibly have arranged it was amazing to her, so she immediately picked up the phone and called him.
“Hello?”
“Erick, Cindy.”
“Hi, gorgeous. What’s up?”
“I was about to ask you the same question.”
There was a strange silence on
the phone and Cindy knew Erick must be thinking he was in the dog house.
“What are you talking about?”
“The copper dress in my room. Do you know where it came from?”
Erick chuckled.
“Like it, do you? I had that one made myself. I know you’ll be smokin’ hot in that one, baby, and I want nothing less from you tonight. We’ve got another star studded event planned, don’t ya know?”
“Well, I just wanted to say I absolutely love it, and thank you again.”
“Does it fit?”
“I don’t know. I just saw it a minute ago.”
“Well, just so you know I didn’t size it to fit. It’s a bit on the skimpy side for a reason, so don’t panic when you try it on, okay? You’ll look great in it, I just know it.”
“Okay, so until tonight…”
“I’ll be over in just a bit to get you. Bye.”
As promised, within the hour a smiling Erick showed up at Cindy’s door in a tux and carrying two long black velvet cases.
“Hi! You look so handsome in your tux.”
Erick whistled and smiled at her.
“Not half as good as you look in that dress. I knew it would show off those gorgeous eyes and that sexy body, but it is far better than even I had imagined.”
Cindy felt heat rise in her cheeks and a pang move through her heart.
“Thank you. I love it. You were right, a bit skimpy, but nice fit, huh?”
“Oh yeah, that’s for sure.”
Erick stood awkwardly in the doorway as they smiled at each other.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Did you want to come in? I thought we were in a hurry.”
Cindy pretended not to notice the boxes. She wasn’t quite sure she could handle any more gifts or luxuries today; it was all so much already.
“Yes, I’d like to for just a minute, if that’s okay.”
Makeup, a blow-dryer, towels and brushes covered her bathroom countertop, but Erick seemed not to notice. He walked across the room and put the boxes down on the table near her balcony window, as Cindy followed closely behind.
“What’s that?”
“Oh, just a little something for my precious.”
The first box contained a long, braided rose-gold chain; the second a matching bracelet, earrings and a ring.