The Lioness (7 page)

Rose sat in the candlelight waiting for Ty to come for
the night. They were trying to be discreet. Noori knew they were becoming close
but Hasina would have a cow if she knew what was going on. They read together,
did crossword puzzles together or typed at their laptops but they were
together. That’s what was important. They did little human interest stories but
in actuality it was the war, they were getting things that you didn’t get in
the everyday newspaper. It wasn’t front line war stories, it was the result of
the front lines. Lives that were forgotten, whether it be soldiers or the wives
and children they left behind. They dug and talked and interviewed and felt
like at the end of the day they had accomplished something. Rose was setting up
an NGO for widows and orphans of this war. She was having her parents start
things up so she could take over when she got back. Something needed to be done
for these women who for years had been oppressed by the Taliban. Some of them
didn’t have basic skills to find a way to eek out a living for their families.
She wanted a training center. If it succeeded then she would set one up in the
other bigger cities. Most couldn’t even read, but the few that could, she
wanted to help them, as well as the ones that couldn’t. She even found widows
who now were trying to get back into the world, some had been teachers or
worked at the hospitals. She needed them too. She was looking at a big project.
A training facility plus housing for the ones coming from the countryside. Ty
supported her and was tapping his own friends to find help. So she waited for
him to come to her tonight. She held his copy of Hafez, the translation by Bell
that she especially liked, and thumbed through it. She heard the gentle knock
and looking up looked into Ty’s beautiful eyes. God, they were beautiful and
when he smiled at her, her stomach did flip flops. She was going into meltdown
mode real fast. He did that to her every time when he smiled.

“Busy?” He walked in and after closing and locking the
door he sat down on her bed.

“No, just thinking what life would be like, a normal
life, back in the states.”

“I don’t know if anyone has a normal life, well maybe
my Mom. She does the same thing, day in, day out but she’s very happy and has
her grandkids nearby so she can cook for them and bake. I just never wanted to
live back down in Georgia after College.” He brushed back Rose’s hair and saw
she still looked a little tired from her ordeal. The doctor guaranteed her
wounds would heal. She seemed to be fine, though she had some real nightmares
the last couple of nights. Enough to waken him from a sound sleep. He was glad
he was with her so he was able to hold her and talk her out of them. Always the
same thing. The man and the little girl and her losing her grip on the little
one’s hand. She would lay in his arms for what seemed forever, sobbing, holding
him tight till they either made love or she fell back to sleep. Either way he
was happy he was there. Happy to be able to hold her while she was sleeping and
dreaming. He always left before Hasina got up for the morning, though he kept
his door locked.

“Do you think about us?”

Rose looked up. “Yeah, about us, back in America,
figuring how we would handle a commuter relationship, you in New York City, me
in Boston.”

“Would it have to be commuter? Why couldn’t it be,
either me coming up your way or you coming down my way? We don’t work for any
one place, since we freelance. Our life is really easier than most, though I’ve
had some offers, one from CNN, the other from the New York Times.”

“Would that mean you’d be in one place? Could you live
like that?”

“I’ve done enough traveling, eating and sleeping in
sand, wondering if I was going to be blown up, not that living back in the
states is a piece of cake, but it has its benefits. Maybe a certain someone
would be there….” He looked over at her and smiled his smile he knew melted her
heart.

Rose scootched in close, glad for the contact because
as soon as she did he pulled her in. “Maybe we could talk about it more, later
after….” She didn’t get the rest of the words out, he covered her mouth with his,
silencing her, bringing out the moan in both of them.

“So how many rooms does your apartment have?” Rose
asked, looking up into Ty’s face.

They walked out of the Post Office after mailing the
artwork. Ty took her hand and signaled for a Cyclo. Getting in, he pulled her
in close. He couldn’t get enough her. “Two bedrooms, a small kitchen, but it’s
sunny and well equipped. A large sunny dining and living area.  My bedroom is
large with a large window. The other is my guest room but doubles as my office for
the moment. I re-did the bath, I think you’d like it, large tub, plenty of room
for you and me. The floors are all hardwood, except for the bath and kitchen.”

“Can you have pets?” She was thinking of her older
cat. Her dog Gigi would be fine if she had to leave her with her mom, but her
cat, she had a hard time without Rose.

“Pets are ok, if they are small. I had a cat but he
died. I miss not having a pet.”

“I have two, a small dog and my older house cat. She’s
the one I’m concerned for.”

Then it sounds like we’re the makings of an American
family, all we need are the kids.”

Rose craned her neck to look up at him. “Do you want
children?” She had always wanted at least a couple but never gave it much of a
thought with Ty.

“I always did, but the last couple of years I didn’t
think I’d even find someone to share my life with, never mind making babies.”
He laughed ruefully. He was warmed by the pressure her hand gave to his.

“How about you?”

“Mm, I’ve always wanted a family. I come from a happy
one so I hoped to some day find that with someone.”

“I think we are on the same page.”

They told the Cyclo driver to just take them around
town. “I was planning on going down to the coast after spending a day or two
here in Phnom Penh. Would you like to do that?”  Rose asked as she leaned into
Ty’s body.

Ty squeezed Rose’s waist. “As long as it’s not Kom
Pong Som. I hear that’s the real party town.”

“No, I don’t like Kom Pong Som. It’s a little too
much. No, I was thinking of Kampot and the Kep area. Both are quiet, with
enough to see and do to keep one busy if you want but if you just want to chill
out you can.”

Ty was thinking. That sounded like just what they needed.
A quiet place by the seaside. He wanted quiet and peace. He hadn’t had enough
of that in years. He was getting tired. Tired of living on the edge for years
on end. He could chase the eternal good story forever but that would get in the
way of a life, the life that he wanted. There was always going to be the story,
the one every journalist was looking for to get recognition. He had gotten
enough accolades, what he wanted now was a peaceful life, one with a home and
children and the woman he loved. That woman was sitting right next to him.

They were winding their way around Wat Phnom. “Want to
take an elephant ride?”

 “Oh, I’ve always wanted to ride an elephant. I’ve
ridden camels in Egypt. My parents and us kids went for a vacation one year.
I’d love to go back, go to the Red Sea. They have some lovely resorts from what
I’ve read. Yeah, let’s ride the elephant.”

They signaled the driver to stop and after paying him
they walked over to where they saw the elephant waiting, eating sugar cane and
banana leaves. They spoke to the handler and paid him the fee. Rose walked up
the stairs of the platform, with Ty at the rear. The elephant stayed real still
until she had a leg over then he decided to move, which brought a cheer from
the Khmer, who were standing by watching. Rose was quick and Ty had a hold of
her so she managed to grab a hold. The handler got him back in time for Ty to
grab a hold and get a leg up. “You looked real cute, spread eagle there.”

Rose slapped him but cuddled back towards him. “You
would think that’s cute. Just like the Khmer. They get a kick out of the
strangest things.”

“I wouldn’t have let you fall, you were safe.”

She leaned back and felt Ty’s arms go around her. “I
know. I’m never afraid around you. I’ve always felt safe, even in Afghanistan.”

   “That’s good. There were times when I wasn’t sure
if we had made the right decision to go to one place or another. You know,
going after certain stories. Like that War Lord. Even with the heavy guard and
his promise that we would be safe, you wonder when you reach a deserted town
for the most part and bullets are whizzing around you. Those were the times I
questioned my sanity and wondered if I had done the right thing in bringing you
into that place.”

Rose remembered that time and a few others. Once they
only got so far, when they were traveling down to Kandahar. A former Taliban
commander who had switched sides came out and warned them that the likelihood
of them reaching the southern city was twenty percent and the fact that they
had a fifty thousand dollar bounty on the heads of each foreign correspondent
captured made Ty’s decision that much easier. The commander had pulled Ty aside
and after talking with him, Ty had come back with a Burka and a change of
clothes for him. They still had a dangerous journey back, but the outfits might
help disguise them.

Rose hadn’t questioned the sound judgment of the
costume change. She didn’t want to get captured and if it took putting on the
filthy cover-up then she would do it.

Noori hadn’t said a word the entire return trip but he
had gotten down on his knees and kissed the ground in Kabul when they limped in
much later after two breakdowns.

Both Ty and she had thought what if they had broken
down in the no-man’s territory where the Taliban were still in control. They
wouldn’t be there at that moment. Probably would never see Kabul again, or
anywhere else for that matter.

Ty pulled Rose in closer and, using her scarf as a
shield, he let his hand gently go under her tank. Her skin was so soft and the
gentle rocking of the elephant made his head dizzy with the thoughts of what he
was going to do with her when they got back to the hotel. What they could do on
an elephant. He remembered one time when in Afghanistan after a particularly
hard road trip when they were turned back by that former Taliban commander who
had switched sides. When he had gotten Rose back, it was late and though Hasina
had gotten up to feed them, she went back to bed soon after. She had made sure
they had plenty of hot water for baths in their rooms. Ty had to use the common
bath, but Rose’s bedroom had the one and only private bath. He never told her
what he paid to make sure she got that.

 He had brought his thermoses of hot bath water in and
had taken and given Rose a bath.

He remembered the sensation of bathing her in the
candlelight, shaking with the discovery, actually it was a renewal of his
feelings that were growing at an alarming rate that he needed to tell Rose,
tell her his feelings. His growing love for her.

He had gotten down on his knees bathing her from head
to toe, telling her not to move a muscle. It had become increasingly harder
when he had gotten off track and had ended up licking her. How could he not
when she stood in front of him, he on his knees. Her knees had buckled and he
had scooped her up, soap bubbles and all, and had made love to her on her bed.

He leaned to the front the elephant’s gentle, slow
gate that could rock a person to sleep or awaken feelings that were slowly burning,
liked a banked fire. He kissed her face and hair, trailing down to her
collarbone. “Remember the time I bathed you by candlelight and with all your
glory and soap bubbles I made love to you on the bed?”

Rose leaned back, if that were possible. “How could I
forget? It was after our one and only aborted trip. I realized then that you
meant the world to me.”

“Let’s go back and do that again, get all soapy and
then make love. Then tomorrow we’re going to head for the coast. I want to take
one of the nights and bring you out in the ocean and make love to you there, bathe
with you in the sea, under the stars.”

“I’m glad I have you, you’re so romantic.”

“I’ll always be with you, Rose. Now let’s get back,
spend the rest of the afternoon naked.”

Ty drove at a slower pace than most of the traffic on
the road. Cars whizzed by, taxis honked their horns at them and then passed. He
didn’t care one bit. He had nowhere to be. He was with Rose, they had a week
down on the coast. His departure date was nine days from now. He was going to
enjoy every bit of his time with Rose. Then he’d go back to Baghdad, close up
things, tie up loose ends and when Rose arrived he’d get her out of the country
as fast as he could. He didn’t want her there any longer than necessary. He
tried to talk her out of coming, but she was stubborn. He admired that quality
in her but it was also very maddening when he loved her so much. There it was,
it was easier to say that to himself. He needed to say it to her. Tell her all
his feelings. He still skirted them and it was wrong.

He kept his eyes on the road but let one hand go to
her lap. She stretched in her sleep and snuggled into his arm. She was very
cuddly. She loved to touch and be touched. He had found that out early in their
relationship and it was hard for her when they had been in Afghanistan to keep
her hands to herself when people were around, especially since they weren’t
married. So they always waited until Noori left and his aunt Hasina went to
bed. Then he would go back to her room and spend the night, holding her, making
love. Those almost four months had been the best he had ever spent in his life.
He finally had found his best friend, his soul mate.

He swerved to avoid a cow that was bent on coming
across the road the same time he was crossing his spot. Then he had to avoid
some kids who were playing. Typical third world where you shared the road with
all manner of traffic and such. He slowed down in the straight stretch out of
town and looked down at Rose. She stretched and yawned.

“Hey baby, waking up?”

Rose stretched and looked up at Ty. “Mm, guess I
nodded off. Where we at?”

“Well we just went through the first big town after
crossing the Provincial border.”

“Oh, that’s Choukk. We’re forty-five minutes to an
hour from Kampot. We can check in and have a nice relaxing lunch, then I can
bring you swimming up the river if you want.”

“Yeah, after we’ve unpacked and relaxed for a few
minutes. I have a few things on my mind and swimming isn’t one of them.” Ty
looked over at Rose and smiled, then let his hand trace her thigh. Letting his
finger walk all over her thigh till it got to between her legs. “I need to
explore, baby….”

Rose felt the heat rise and it wasn’t from the sun.
She felt a great need to crawl over onto his lap and grab a hold of him and
kiss away, let her hands explore him, all of him. “We’ll see who gets to the
other first. It should be interesting.”

**********

Ty turned after locking the door and Rose was right
there, in his arms. She wrapped her one leg around his and was wrapping her
arms around his neck. Then, before he knew it, they were moving to the bed. Hands
moving, exploring, touching. The urgent need to feel each other. They were
pulling at each other’s clothes. She was kissing him, he was kissing her back.
He felt an urgent need to get her naked, beneath him. It was the first time in
their relationship where he didn’t want to wear a condom. He wanted just them.
Her, him, naked, no boundaries, nothing separating them.

He lifted her and laid her out on the bed, kissing
her, working her shorts down. Trailing kisses down her belly till he got to her
thighs. “I want to eat you, Rose, make you cum.”

She was arching under him as he pulled her shorts the
rest of the way down, then her panties came off. Then he went back to her tank
and got that off quickly and then her bra. She lay there beautiful. All naked,
all for him, him only. He lay down next to her and kissed her, letting his lips
slide over hers. She caught his tongue and sucked him in. Drawing him in and
out, like he was making love to her. His head swam, he wanted more, more of
her. He broke the kiss.

“You bring me so close, Rose.” He moaned into her neck
as he kissed, sucking on her skin just above her collar bone. He moved down her
chest to her breast. He got up on his knees and caught her breast up. “You’re
so beautiful, Rose, so, so beautiful.” He bent, taking her nipple in his mouth,
sucking hard, making her moan and buck.

Letting his hand travel, he caught her fanny
squeezing, drawing her in. “I want all of you, no separation, nothing between
us Rose. Can we make love without a condom? Would you mind that?” He saw her
sweet smile.

She caught his face in her hands, cradling him and kissed
him hard.

“Take me now Ty, now, never mind anything else now.”
She took his hand taking hold of one finger, dipping him into her. “Just like
your finger, nothing between us, now, hard, you and me.”

“God Rose, you take my breath away. I love you, I love
you so much!”

Rose wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him
down. She was so happy with the way their relationship was going. She couldn’t
believe it. He loved her.

She arched up to him. She loved him, loved him with
all her heart. “Love me extra then, right now, make love to me.”

Ty rolled to his back and shucked off his shorts and
boxers. Then, getting on his knees, he came over her. “I love you Rose, now and
forever. You’re to be mine forever.”

He came down and parted her thighs with his knee. She
helped him by pulling him in till he filled her and they both sighed and then
moaned. She took his face in her hands and, looking into his eyes, she smiled.
“I’m so glad you love me, now show me.” She kissed him then as he let his lips
travel down to her chin and throat. She purred as he moved in her, stroking her.
They moved as one, harder and harder till he felt her get tighter, then she
arched and he felt her nails bite into his back and she moaned his name. She
looked up into his face, smiling. “Now Ty, I’m gonna cum, really cum.”

He could feel her as she tightened and gave away to
the feeling. He watched as he moved in her, harder, faster till he thought he
wouldn’t be able to think any more, his thoughts scattered. Then he leaned his
head down on her chest and with one last thrust he let her have him, all of him.

**********

“You know, Rose, you have enough energy for a couple
people. I never figured you for a little dynamo when I first met you but you
only get more so as we go along. We swam and biked back and you still don’t
seem tired.”

“Well, do you know what it’s like to have the freedom
to do things like swimming, biking or just holding hands like we are now? It’s
liberating, energizing to say the least. I’ll crash, no mistake about it,
tonight, but at least I’ll be with you.”

They walked along the riverside as the sun was going
down. It was fitting, the first time they had met was when the sun was setting,
but not a sunset like this. The sun was setting over Bokor Mountain. The sun,
which looked like a fiery ball, made the river look like it was all aflame.
They found a bench, one of the few, and sat down. He was holding a volume of Hafez
and holding her hand. They still loved to read to one another. He had started
that up again as soon as they got back together. He planned on sending her
daily pieces when he was back in Iraq just so she could read one when he was
away and still feel like he was with her.

He looked out over the river and took her hand to his
lips, kissing the tops of her knuckles down to her fingertips. He felt her eyes
on him but he had to get himself together. He didn’t want to think about their
time ending and him going back to the fray. He wouldn’t think about it. They
had basically six days left. That didn’t include the one day that they would
have to travel back to get him to the airport for a late flight to Bangkok. He
had finally made the arrangements so they would know exactly how long they
would have together.

He squeezed her hand and didn’t care if she knew there
was a tear or two. He was going to be up front, show all to her, give her all
like she said. They needed this time for bonding again. He wouldn’t think about
them being apart. It would only be the start of their life. He would go back,
get his job done. Then when she arrived he would get her out of there fast. He
didn’t want her there but she was so determined so what could he do?

He looked down at his book, tears blurring his vision.
“Mind if I read to you?”

Rose looked over at him. “I want everything. Reading
happens to be one of those things. I love to listen to your voice. The first
time I heard your voice it almost hypnotized me, it was so smooth. You could be
a very sexy telephone salesman.”

“The only one I want to hear my voice is you, my sweet
Rose, only you. I seem to melt down when I read to you. You do things for me Rose,
that make me a better man. I was nothing till I met you.”

She cuddled down into his arm and took hold of his
hand. They sat like that for a minute and watched as the sun slipped down below
the horizon, both lost in each other’s thoughts, each thinking about things
they didn’t want to voice right at that moment.

Ty opened up the volume of Hafez, the version by
Ladinsky, and scanned the page he had stopped at. Then he came to the part that
he wanted to read to her. It was short but it said a lot.

My dear,

Venus just leaned down and asked me

To tell you a secret, to confess

She’s just a mirror who has been stealing

Your light and music for centuries.

He looked over at Rose and saw her smile.

“That was the sweetest one you’ve read to me. I feel
like when you read to me that it’s meant really for me, not for anyone else.”

“For now, that piece is for you. Some day someone will
find that and read it to the one they love.” He looked at her and smiled and
took up her hand again, kissing it. “I have more to read but not now. Do you
want to go get a bite to eat then turn in for the night?”

Rose squeezed his hand. “That sounds fine. I’m
starved. I worked up an appetite for some reason.”