by Dee Lagasse
Closing the door with such careful precision, I wince when the clicking of the door latching shut seems to echo throughout the house. Feeling someone’s eyes on me, I turn to see Luke watching me with an amused grin on his face.
“Mornin’ ma’am,” he chuckles. “I was just about to make a cup of coffee for myself, would you like one?”
“Coffee sounds wonderful,” I nod. “Clem still sleeping?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he says, handing me a cup of coffee. “I don’t suppose we’ll see her much before noon.”
“Probably not,” I agree, laughing quietly before pointing to the sliding glass door off the kitchen. “I’m going to take this outside.”
“We have some visitors,” he smiles knowingly. “Oh! Sutton. I got fresh fruit from the market if you’re hungry. I figured I’d wait to do a big shopping trip until everyone was up.”
“I’ll get some in a little bit. Thanks, Luke,” I tell him, pausing before pushing the slider open. “Now, go relax. You don’t work on Sundays, at home or here.”
Nodding in appreciation, he sits down at the kitchen table with his coffee and a bowl of fruit he must have put together before I came out of the bedroom. Stepping out onto the patio, I sigh contentedly. The warm air hits me and as soon as I see the four-hundred-pound lion lounging next to the fence, I feel like only being here makes me feel – alive with incredible purpose.
With my steps, his round ears perk up and my coffee companion lifts his head with interest as I walk out to the small lawn. An electric fence separates us, and once I’ve sat down on the grass with my mug of coffee, he realizes I’m not a threat and lays his head back down. A few feet away, separated by another fence sits a lioness and another lion.
“You must be Smokey and Acadia,” I realize aloud, recognizing them from the posts on social media. They’re new additions from the last time I was here in April.
When my father and I came to the Jason Craib Lion Conservation in the spring, we stayed in the smaller huts provided to employees and volunteers. The very same huts we stayed in the first time I came here. Remembering the first time he showed me the shower house and told me I was expected to share that space with twenty other strangers is still completely humbling. Especially after finding out that a dozen people live like that every single day so they can be closest to the lions while still allowing any monetary resources they acquire to go right back into the conservation and the lions themselves.
The combination of being with and helping the lions and the sense of family and togetherness all the employees have is what keeps me coming back every year. A third-generation sanctuary, the conservation is now run by the Baker sisters, Julie and Cristina. Julie runs the conservation day-to-day, arranging volunteers, setting the feeding schedules, and overseeing the grounds. Her sister Cristina is the lead veterinarian caring for the lions. Over time, they’ve both become two of my closest friends.
When I told them I was bringing Bodie “home” to meet them, they both had a reaction similar to Simone’s when I told her I invited Bodie to South Africa in the first place. They were so excited they said if my parents hadn’t already paid for the Pride House for my birthday, they would have gifted it to me. The three-bedroom cottage is set within the home of the sixty lions that live on the reserve.
Just like right now, it’s nothing to walk out and have lions right outside the fence. With a full kitchen and large fireplace inside and the barbeque and the hot tub on the patio, it’s like staying at a five-star hotel right smack in the middle of the African wilderness.
And of all the five years I’ve been coming here for my birthday week, it’s always been just me, Luke, and Clementine coming down together. Luke is required to come with me because of his job, but if he wanted to, he could stay in the house, put his feet up and just sit by the phone all day. For the week, his only job is making sure that if my family needs to get in touch with me, they can. This could be an easy vacation-like week for him, but he’s always been completely hands-on doing whatever needs to get done, just as long as he can bring his cell phone.
Even my fashion-forward best friend spends the week in boots and old jeans. We have the same makeup-free faces and sport matching hairstyles all week. And I’ll tell you what…no one on this earth can rock the hell out of a topknot like Clementine Martinez.
“You know, we’ve been coming here for how many years now?” the raspy voice of my best friend pipes in from behind me. “This view will never get old.”
With her own cup of coffee, she sits down on the grass across from me. Like me, she hasn’t bothered to get dressed yet, coming out in an old t-shirt and a pair of flannel pajama pants. Lifting his head at the sound of Clementine’s voice, our closest feline friend lets out a big yawn.
“Aw, are we boring you, fella?” I ask, grinning as he inhales and lets an exaggerated huff of air out of his nose.
“Sutton,” Clementine whispers pointing behind me, awestruck by whatever’s caught her attention.
Turning to see that two almost white lionesses have walked up to the fence to say hello in the habitat next to the one we’re sitting in front of. One is slim and sleek while the other one is round in the middle.
“This is Nura and Kendi!” I squeal, recognizing the pregnant lioness from the sanctuary’s social media. “They just got here a couple days ago. Kendi is due any day. Oh my God. Clem. If we get to see a baby being born…”
I don’t get to finish my thought when I hear a low gasp come from behind us. In only his pajama bottoms and head full of messy blond hair, Bodie stands frozen in place on the patio.
“Holy shit,” he mouths as a full grin spreads across his face. “I mean, I knew this was going to be cool, but this is just wow. They’re right there. Like, right there.”
“Just don’t touch the fence,” Clem laughs as Bodie slowly starts to move closer to the lions.
“It’s electric,” I explain.
The excitement on his face makes every doubt I had about this trip disappear. Bodie Cambridge, MLB MVP, World Champion pitcher for the Boston Red Sox looks like a little kid on Christmas morning realizing that Santa Claus came and left everything he asked for under the tree.
I get it, Bodie. It’s exactly how I feel every time I’m here.
Standing up, Clementine offers her hand to me, helping me off the ground. After brushing grass off the back of my legs, I bend back over for my coffee mug and place it in Clementine’s extended hand.
“Well, I’m going to go shower,” she starts. “And then go say hi to Cristina and Julie. I’ll, uh, yeah, I’ll catch up with you two later.”
The second the whooshing of the slider going back and forth stops, Bodie pulls me to him with his free hand. Leaning in, he kisses the top of my head before turning back to face the lions.
“Sutton, this is amazing,” he whispers. “You’re amazing. Thank you for letting me be a part of this.”
“I’m really glad you’re here,” I tell him honestly. “But don’t thank me just yet. You’ll be working your ass off this week.”
“What is the plan for the week?” he asks. “Do we take it day-by-day? Or is there a schedule? What are we doing today?”
Chuckling, I pull away slightly as my stomach starts to grumble.
“Well, first, I need food. So I’m going to go grab some of the fruit Luke picked up and probably shower after Clem does,” I tell him. “I didn’t plan much for today not knowing how you were going to wake up feeling after traveling so much. At some point, we’ll need to grab some groceries and I suppose I should introduce you to Cristina and Julie. We can go to the fire tonight, and then tomorrow, we’re all hands in. At some point, we have a game safari schedule, but I don’t remember what day. Other than that, yeah, it’s just a day-to-day thing. We just do whatever they need us to.”
Following me into the house, he takes a seat at the kitchen table, purposely choosing the chair that looks out the slider door. His eyes are locked on the fella right outside our yard.
“I can’t wait,” he says. “I honestly didn’t know what to expect coming down here. You do this every year for your birthday?”
“And once in the spring with my dad.” I nod, reaching for the container of blackberries. As I’m putting together a mini fruit salad of sorts a loud roar and a string of smaller grunts come from right outside the house. “I’m sure we slept through it all last night because we were exhausted, but usually you can hear them roaring all night. They’re a lot more vocal at night than during the day.”
“Really?” he asks absentmindedly as he watches the lion intently.
Normally I would be upset if I was being ignored or brushed off, but I can’t blame him. I’ve been here more than a dozen times and I’m still completely fascinated, finding something new to love about the lions and their home every time I come. Something tells me being here with Bodie is going to make this trip my new favorite.
After we’ve both showered, Bodie and I walk the mile down to the volunteer and employee housing where Luke and Clementine have been hanging out for a few hours. As soon as I’m noticed, Cristina excuses herself from the petite redhead she’s talking to and walks over to us with open arms.
“Sutton!” she exclaims, pulling me into a tight squeeze. “Oh, my gahd, I friggin’ missed you.”
As if he’s seeing a kindred spirit, Bodie smiles warmly when he hears Cristina speak.
“And, this must be the Massachusetts boy,” she smiles, opening her arms to Bodie. “We tend to hug around here. Plus, it’s not every day we get a hometown hero here at the conservation.”
Laughing at her choice of words earns me a playful eye roll and a shake of his head from Bodie.
“What?” Cristina questions, her face twisting into a mix of concern and worry. “What did I say?”
As I explain to Cristina that’s exactly how Bodie was introduced to me the first night we met and then start to tell Bodie how Cristina and Julie grew up with their mom in Boston, Bodie wraps Cristina in a hug. His body engulfing her small, five-foot frame.
“How’d you end up all the way out here?” Bodie asks. “You’re a long way from Boston.”
“The abridged version?” Cristina pauses and exhales before continuing. “Okay, so our mom came here with her family in 1970, met my dad, they fell in love, Dad moved to the US and me and Jules came shortly after. When my grandfather died in 1992, my dad had to decide whether to sell the conservation or take it over. He couldn’t bring himself to sell, so he came back. My mom didn’t want to uproot me and Julie, so we stayed. We came back to visit every summer break. Five years ago, we lost Dad to cancer and history repeated itself. Julie and I had to decide whether to sell or manage it. And, well, I think it’s pretty self-explanatory what we decided.”
The admiration I feel every time I hear this story is mirrored on Bodie’s face as he listens to Cristina’s story of her and her sister’s selflessness. What Cristina isn’t telling him is that she left behind an $89K a year job to come here, and not take a salary. Julie and Cristina eat from the volunteer and employee kitchen, just like everyone else. They only allow themselves new clothes when necessary, and if the situation presented itself, they’d still give the shirt off their back to someone who needed it more than them.
They’re everything I aspire to be.
“Well, look who decided to join the party!” a voice from behind us exclaims, catching our attention.
Turning, we’re greeted with another beaming brunette. Unlike her sister, who keeps her hair in a short pixie cut, Julie’s curly hair is pulled back in a ponytail. Even sitting on the top of her head, it falls below her shoulders. Her sun-kissed skin matches Cristina’s, in fact, the rest of their features are so similar I thought that they were twins the first time I met them. They have the same almond-shaped honey brown eyes, perfect bone structure, and lips I would make a deal with the devil for.
Before she can take another step, Bodie jogs over to her and extends both of his hands allowing her to drop the armful of firewood she’s carrying. They’re far enough away that I can’t hear the words being exchanged between the two of them, but the smiles on both of their faces says everything.
“I like him,” Julie smirks as they pass by us toward the roaring fire. Following them, we find Clementine and Luke standing talking to a small group of volunteers that will be leaving in the morning.
“So unless someone surprises us with a visit, it’s just us this week,” Cristina says as we walk. “Hope you’re ready to work.”
“Oh, you know it,” I smile. “And I brought extra hands this time. We got this!”
“It’s good to have you back, Sutton,” she laughs. “And it’s really nice to see that smile on your face.”
As Bodie walks toward us, she gently squeezes my arm before joining the group standing with Clementine and Luke. Sliding his hand in mine, we make our way to the group too. Like we’ve been doing this together for years, we join the conversation seamlessly.
Over the next few hours, we sit hand in hand next to a roaring bonfire, listening to Cristina and Julie tell us stories about the new lions. Neither of them mentions anything about who I am or who my family is while sitting amongst the family of volunteers. Like Bodie and themselves, they’re American. And while I’m not as recognizable as someone from, say, Great Britain’s Royal Family, the teenage girl with her cell phone attached to her hand could easily post about Bodie and I being here together if she figured out who we are. And that is not something I’m ready to deal with. Not yet.
After sipping on cold bottles of Castle Lagers and eating an abundance of Boerewors—a barbequed South African sausage—until long after the sun has set, the four of us make our way back to the Pride House sleepily. Silently going three separate ways once we get into the house, the normalcy is something I would expect with Clementine and Luke as we’ve been a team for almost a decade, but it surprises me a little how easy it is with Bodie. Not even just with me, but with my friends too. The family of volunteers didn’t believe me when I said we’d only been together for a month.
When we climb into bed together, I find my way into his arms. Something I’d only done once the night before, but it already feels like it’s part of a routine. We have a whole week left together and I’m already dreading having to sleep without him once I get back home.
Feeling his kiss on the top of my head, I pull back, looking up at him. When his lips find mine, I’m jolted awake by our connection.
“We didn’t talk about this either,” he starts. “About being in bed together…about what could happen. If it’s too much, if I go too far, if you need me to stop, I need you to tell me, Sutton.”
“I will,” I tell him. “I think it’s safe to say this is already a lot more than we thought it was going to be.”
“Oh good, I was worried it was just me,” he chuckles as his lips trail down my neck and then my collarbone.
Opening my mouth to assure him that it’s not just him, I lose my ability to string words together as his hands follow the shape of my body. Muttering something about birth control when he pauses before going any further, I realize I’d been so caught up in the moment, I didn’t have time to think too much about what was happening. I’d let my emotions lead instead of my head, something I rarely ever do.
The sounds of the lions roaring in the background outside seem so cliché for this moment, but as our bodies become one, there isn’t any other sound that could possibly emulate what I’m feeling inside more.
Every day for the next week, I find myself waking up in Bodie’s arms. After a night of very little sleep, we spend the first fifteen minutes of the day pretending that we’re not going to get up and then, of course, we do anyway.
By the time we stumble into the kitchen, Luke has already made four travel mugs of coffee. At the very last second, Clementine makes her way into the kitchen and doesn’t say a word to any of us until we’re almost to the main house. Once we’re all caffeinated, we say our good mornings and
find Cristina and Julie for our daily assignments.
Because volunteers are in short supply, we’ve spent most of the week helping in ways I never had before. For the first three days, Clementine and I spent most of the time in the kitchen, prepping and preparing food. Bodie and Luke were sent to help set up a new habitat.
But when Kendi the pregnant lioness in the habitat behind the Pride House started showing signs of labor, our plans for the week changed. Never having a birth while they’ve been there, Cristina and Julie wanted to make sure Kendi and the cubs had a safe place to be when it was time for her to give birth. The habitat Bodie and Luke had been working on was for her. The extra food Clementine and I were prepping so we could be there if she went into labor.
Once Kendi started hiding from the other lions, Cristina knew it was almost time and by some form of miracle managed to lure her into a trailer with a piece of zebra. Shortly after, Nura, her sister was moved to be with her and then, Cristina and Julie disappeared into the enclosure.
We’ve been waiting, not so patiently, for the last four hours. Covered in bug spray, Luke, Bodie, Clementine, and I have been laying on old, foldable beach chairs right outside the enclosure. We ate sandwiches out of a cooler for dinner, have blankets ready in case we need to stay into the night.
Next to me in a pair of black athletic shorts and a plain black t-shirt, Bodie is losing the battle to keep his eyes open. On the other side of him, Clementine’s deep breathing creates an oddly therapeutic consistency in the sounds around us. And though I can’t see him, I presume the silence coming from Luke’s chair means he’s sleeping too.
Everything about this moment reminds me of when my sister went into labor with my nephew. My dad and Jameson’s dad were sound asleep in two chairs in the waiting room, while I anxiously waited for news from either Jameson’s mum or my own.
This time though, I’m prepared. Instead of wearing dress slacks and a knit sweater, I’m sitting comfortably in a pair of old leggings and one of Bodie’s t-shirts. A small stash of snacks and water sit beside me, and my Kindle is fully charged. At Clementine’s recommendation, I downloaded a few Colleen Hoover books and I’ve already devoured two of them since we left Windham.
