His listeners leaned forward, enraptured.
“If you don’t mind,” a sharp tone broke the spell, “can we cut to the chase? I have to be somewhere else right now.” The woman was tall and lean and her cropped T-shirt revealed a blue jewelled navel ring that flashed and glittered on her smooth belly.
“Of course,” Jono replied, “and once again, I apologize for the late start. As you know, this is a camping tour and you will be responsible for putting up and taking down your tents, which are provided. Breakfasts and suppers are prepared for you but you will take turns washing dishes and making lunches. We leave tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m. The bus will be parked right outside the hotel. Does anybody have questions?”
“I do,” the Eastern European man piped up, his notepad at the ready. “I’m Harrison Petrenko.”
“Harrison?” Eva whispered. “What’s with Harrison? Boris or Viktor yes, but Harrison?”
Kate shrugged.
Harrison continued. “All camping equipment is in good working order and all non-camping accommodation has been secured? The bus has been serviced and the tires are in good condition?”
There were a few snickers and Harrison glared as he tried to find the culprits.
“Please sir, do not worry,” Jono reassured him. “The tents are fine, the lodges have been booked, and the bus is in good working order. Anything else?”
“Yes,” Harrison nodded. “What about water? We are going into the desert after all.”
“We will stop regularly for supplies,” Jono said. “But, each person is responsible for their own drinking water.”
A new voice joined the conversation, high-pitched and uneven. The man twitched at his clothing as he spoke, a crooked smile on his face, his eyes looking down at the floor. “Rydell Adam Jackson here. Must we use bottled water for brushing our teeth?”
“Tap water is fine for brushing your teeth,” Jono said, “just do not drink it. And now, if there are no more questions, here is a list for each of you, with the names of everyone who is on this trip. I am going to read off the names and you can say if you are here or not.”
“How can you say you’re not here, if you’re not here to say it?” the hawklike British man enquired.
“If you are not here,” Jono replied, “we will determine that you are not here by a process of elimination. Let us get started. Charisse Masellis?”
“Here,” a husky voice called out. Charisse was long-limbed in tiny denim shorts.
“What’s the bet she’s a soap-star actress from L.A.,” Eva whispered to Kate. “Or a lingerie model.”
“Cheerleader,” Kate said.
“Brianna Hau?”
“Here,” a petite Asian woman replied from her spot next to Charisse.
“Jasmine Moir?”
“Here, and happy for it,” a heavily overweight blonde cried out, her words tangy with an Australian accent.
“Enrique Franco?” Jono moved through the list in no apparent order.
“I’m Enrique,” a young man with bad acne raised his hand.
“Sofie Sveinson?”
“Here, I am here,” a young woman jumped up and waved, causing her long blonde braids to bounce. She was wearing baggy jodhpuri salwar pants that curtained down in pleated folds of gold and aqua daisies and narrowed sharply at her ankles.The apparel seemed incongruous; she looked more suited to beer steins than vibrant Indian pantaloons.
“Helen Harding?”
“That’s me,” the tall brusque woman spoke up. “I’m the one who has to leave soon. I thought we’d be done by now.” She forced a smile.
“Do not worry, we will see you tomorrow,” Jono said. “But first, do you and Sofie know that you are sharing?”
“We met hours ago.” Helen waved at Sofie and rushed out without a backward glance.
“I’m glad I don’t have to share with Helen,” Kate whispered. “She’s scary.”
She was about to ask Eva who she was sharing with when Jono called out another name. “Ellie Lawrence?”
“Yes, I’m sharing with Jasmine, we’re traveling together.” This from a bony girl who was folded into the sofa next to Jasmine.
“Mia Teller?”
“That’s me, yeah,” the British girl said, looking mildly confused for no reason Kate could fathom.
“And I’m Richard Conlon,” her partner announced. “I’m with Mia.”
“Good to meet you, sir,” Jono said. “Marika van Breytenbach?”
There was no answer, only a couple of bewildered stares.
“Marika?” Jono asked again. “Marika, are you here?”
“I guess we can answer that one for her,” Richard said, “Hi, I’m Marika and I’m not here.”
“Does anybody know where she is?” Jono ignored him. “Is anybody here traveling with her?”
“Shouldn’t you know that, not us?” the German man burst out. “Are you not the tour leader for God’s sake? How on earth are we supposed to know such things?”
Jono took the aggression in stride.
“Let us conclude that Marika is not here,” he said, “I will follow up on that. Kate Fraser?”
“That’s me,” Kate stuck her hand in the air and just as quickly pulled it down again. “I’m Kate Fraser.”
Jono made a note on his pad. “I see here that you’re sharing with Marika, the one who is missing.” He looked at Kate again and she thought he blushed.
“Ha! You’ve got a fan,” Eva whispered, laughing. “Jono likes you, did you see that?”
Kate was about to reply when the German man spoke loudly. “My wife and I are exhausted. We’ve also just arrived, we’d like to give you our names, take our papers and go to our room. Does the hotel offer room service?”
“Unfortunately not, but the front desk can recommend a number of good restaurants close to this area although I suggest you do not wander too far or stay out too late. Or, you could eat downstairs in the bar where they serve supper until 10:00p.m. What is your name, sir?”
“I’m Stepfan Brummer and this is my wife, Lena, and thank you, we’ll have a meal at the bar. We’ve no desire to be killed in Africa on our first night after waiting a lifetime to come here. We’ll see you all in the morning. Unless,” he said, swinging around to direct his attention to the long-legged Charisse, “you wish to join us at the bar?”
“A drink would be good,” she agreed, her voice languid. “And we haven’t eaten supper either.”
A masculine woman in her early forties piped up. “I’m Gisela and I’d love a nice big drink.”
“We’re ready for a few cold ones too,” Jasmine and Ellie chimed in.
“And we never say no to a drinkie-poo,” Mia declared, shrugging off her former tiredness. “Bring it on!”
Stepfan appeared disconcerted by the sudden additions to the party but he smiled and nodded. “Lena and I are going to freshen up. We’ll see you there shortly.” He strode out, a bow-legged bantam, with Lena gliding effortlessly behind.
Jono marked off Gisela’s name. “Who do we have next? Harrison Petrenko, that is you, yes?” He turned to the man with the notepad.
“Yes, I’m Harrison,” the man replied. He examined the papers that Jono had given him. “I don’t see the exact times of departures and arrivals marked here. And where are the daily kilometers we will travel? And where will the list be posted of who’s responsible for what duties?”
“I can give the kilometres to you each day,” Jono assured him. “Treasure, our cook, makes the lists of duties and sticks them on the inside of the bus door. The exact times of departure and arrivals are hard to say until we actually get on the road, and even then…”
“I can see that I will have to be in charge of my own documentation,” Harrison commented. He sounded grim although he smiled as he spoke, his blue eyes bright. “We must be precise
. Well, Mr. Jono, good night and thank you.” With that, he picked up a thin leather briefcase, bowed slightly and left.
“Did I leave anybody out?”Jono asked, looking at his list.
The room was emptying.
“Yes, me,” Eva said. “I’m Eva Leifsdottír and I am in Room 12. Is anybody else here who is also in Room 12? Room 12 that does not have a Gideon bible but does have a blue plaid carpet.”
“I’m in Room 12.” Gisela called out.
“Haw, but those are interesting clothes you are wearing for our journey,” Jono said, then paused, his eyes resting on Eva’s amused face. “Surely you will be very hot?”
Eva was wearing a long black sweatshirt with black leather knee-high platform boots, ripped black stockings and a short black skirt. She laughed. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”
“Do you just dress the part or do you live it?” a sly tone interjected with a slight stutter. “I bet you only dress it, you don’t mean it.”
It was Rydell, the man who had asked Jono about the bottled water. Rydell had thinning light brown hair, a long aristocratic nose, and full lips which he licked nervously. His small dark eyes were deep-set and he blinked rapidly, his gaze darting from Eva’s face to the floor.
Eva looked down at him and frowned. “You couldn’t handle me, little man,” she said, and Rydell turned beet-red and scuttled out the room, leaving only Kate, Jono and Eva, who was also ready to leave. “I’m going to my room to freshen up, meet you down in the bar in half an hour?”
“Sounds good,” Kate said. “I just want to ask Jono something.”
“With pleaure, my dear,” Jono said, his smile wide. “But please excuse me, Kate, I must sit down for a minute. Haw, but I am very tired tonight. I have recurrent bouts of malaria and this time, it was very bad.”
He eased himself onto the floral sofa next to Kate. “Even if I was not sick,” he continued, “the briefing is always a very hard thing for me. I feel like I must be a salesman to everyone.” He rubbed his face and gave a small laugh. “Eish, I must be tired, to be telling you these things.”
Kate was used to strangers pouring out their hearts to her; even her friends and family found it natural for her to be waylaid by people wanting to share the intimate details of their lives.
“Everybody’s nervous and tired,” she said. “And that makes them seem wound up. This does seem to be quite the collection of characters though. Is it usually such a mixed bag?”
“Um, we do seem to have a few more unusual ones this time. I have never had anybody ask me for such particular details as Harrison, and Rydell, with his funny body twitches and dressed in so many layers of clothing, and Stepfan seems like such an angry little man … and then there is Eva! I have never had a punk girl on my bus before! Eish, I should not judge. Treasure is not going to have much patience with them, I can tell you now,” he laughed.
“Treasure’s our cook, right?”
“Yes, but she organizes a lot of things too. Everybody loves Treasure. But I am worried about her.” He burst out the last bit and then clamped his mouth shut.
“Why? You can trust me.” Kate was happy to be discussing someone else’s life, her own woes a distant memory for the moment.
Jono hesitated. “She is seeing a married man. A white, rich, married man. And she thinks he is going to leave his wife but he will not. They never do. And her heart will get broken, again. She is so beautiful but she picks the wrong men.”
“I’m sorry,” Kate said. “Heartbreak is horrible.”
Jono looked at her. “Is your heart broken?”
She shook her head vehemently. “I’ve got a wonderful boyfriend back home.” She was not sure why she lied. “He’s great about my coming on holiday. But who of us hasn’t known heartbreak and I hate people to be sad.”
“Yes, she is very sad. I also think she may be pregnant. She already has a six-year-old son back in Zimbabwe. Her mother looks after him. She cannot afford another child. It is very stupid, really. I do not know why I am telling you all this, I must still have a bad fever.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t say anything. Maybe this married man really loves her? If she’s so beautiful, then most likely he does. Men will generally do anything for a beautiful woman.” Kate realized she sounded bitter and changed the subject. “Jono, can’t you take anything for malaria?”
“It is too late for medicines, the mosquito swims in my blood forever. I just need a good night’s sleep and I’ll be fine in the morning.”
“I had better go and get ready to meet the others,” Kate said and stood up. “Would you like to join us downstairs?”
“No, but thank you. Did you not want to ask me something?”
“It was about the tents. I’ve never camped before and I am a bit worried about it, but I didn’t want to say so in front of everybody.”
“Ai, Katie, it is very easy and I will show you how to do everything, please do not worry.”
“Okay! See you tomorrow then,” Kate bade Jono goodnight and went down to the bar leaving a cheerful Jono.
Jono could not recall the last time he had really spoken to a woman and he could not help but appreciate that Kate was remarkably lovely although it seemed she was quite clueless to the fact. He thought about his own life and how loveless it had become, not by intention but by time, distance and the ever-constant companion of exhaustion. And while his head cautioned him there was no way that a white woman would fall in love with him, his heart could not deny the flicker of excitement he felt at the thought of seeing Kate the next morning.
Kate, flanked by Gisela and Eva, was soon enjoying a large glass of white wine in the pub.
“From the smell of it, more beer was spilled in here than drunk,” Eva wrinkled her nose. “But I love the décor, it’s very colonial.”
“I hadn’t really noticed,” Kate said, and looked around. The pub had a gold and red paisley carpet and striped burgundy and yellow wallpaper with framed prints of British fox hunts. An elderly black man in a white jacket and red fez was standing behind the bar, polishing wine glasses and keeping the drinks flowing.
“You’re right,” Kate said. “I need to be more observant, like you, Eva. Gisela, where are you from?”
“Sweden. How about you?”
Kate was impressed by how well almost everyone on the tour spoke English. Europeans, she thought, were always so far ahead in this regard than North Americans. “Canada,” she replied, wishing she could speak another language as effortlessly. “And you, Eva?”
“Iceland. I was studying psychology but I failed my exams, so I came to Cape Town as a volunteer and now I’m having a holiday before I go back home.”
“Volunteering is very noble of you,” Gisela said. “I just got tired of the darkness and the cold of December and I decided to give myself a hot summer vacation.”
“I’m not noble,” Eva downed half her beer. “I’m a poet with writer’s block and I thought coming here would help, but nothing has happened. My head and heart are still empty.”
“I wish my heart was empty,” Kate blurted out. “My heart’s full of hurt and questions.”
“He, or she, will come crawling back.” Eva spoke with conviction. “You’re much too gorgeous for them not to.”
Kate blushed. She had not meant to bare her soul to people she had just met. “You think so?” she added, somewhat cheered by Eva’s prognosis. “He doesn’t even care enough to know that I’ve come on this trip. He’s too busy enjoying the benefits of an open relationship with a socialite who wears a lot of Tiffany bracelets. But I’m sorry I mentioned it, let’s talk about something else.”
“What do you do for a job?” Gisela picked a safer topic.
“I very recently, and without any kind of regret, mind you, left my job as a publishing assistant, where I worked for eight very long years. I left, just like that. My entire l
ife is stored in two big boxes in my best friend’s apartment and here I am.”
“In that case you need another drink,” Eva said.
“True, I do,” Kate agreed. “Although I’ve never drunk this much in my life.”
“You’ve only had two glasses of wine,” Gisela was amused. “How old are you?”
“Thirty-one,” Kate said, “I know, I’m so boring. All I wanted to do was marry Cam, that’s my boyfriend, and do whatever came after that. But now that’s all gone.”
“If you ask me, my dear,” Gisela said, “coming on this trip is the best thing you could have done. It’ll clear your head and give you new perspective.” She laughed. “That’s what I’m hoping for anyway. And now, if you’ll both excuse me for a moment, I’m going outside to have a cigarette and I never apologise for my habit. I love smoking.”
Behind them, Stepfan was complaining theatrically about the food. “One would not think it possible to ruin such a simple thing as a hamburger but they’ve succeeded. The meat’s been deep-fried in what tastes like old fish oil. The bun is stale and these slices of raw onion are big enough to give me halitosis for the entire trip. But,” he paused for comedic effect, “what truly fascinates me, is this piece of orange. Let me present to you Exhibit A. I’ve never seen an orange garnish a hamburger before, particularly not speared onto a toothpick and accompanied by two red cocktail onions.” He thoroughly enjoyed his joke.
“Horrible old wolf,” Eva shivered. “No, wolf’s too good for him. He thinks he’s so charming.”
“I feel sorry for his wife,” Kate said, watching Lena pick quietly at her dinner without comment while Stepfan directed his observations at Charisse who laughed her deep slow laugh and agreed with his assessments. Charisse’s friend Brianna drank steadily, lost in her own world while Jasmine and Mia leaned across the bar counter and giggled while they threw back shots.
“Oops-a-daisy,” Mia exclaimed. “Nearly missed with that one! Got most of it on me bleedin’ face. What a waste. Here, luv,” she turned to Richard and offered him her sticky face. “Sambuca. Do us a favour and lick it off, won’t you?”
The Witchdoctor's Bones Page 2
