by Susan Harper
Kendell climbed up into the loft, quickly changed into some lounge clothes, and plopped down in the nearest twin bed. She could hear the shower running, but Lil emerged fairly quickly. While Kendell and Pauline had been able to at least rest on the flight, Lil had been working. She looked exhausted. Kendell smiled as Lil hopped on the other twin and stretched out. “Miss Pauline, you are just too kind to invite me along on this trip!” Lil called down to the old woman.
They heard Pauline snore in response, and the two younger women laughed quietly. It was a little stuffy in the loft area, so Kendell opened up the window for some fresh air. “Smells like giraffe poo when the wind blows in,” Lil complained.
“First of all, I’m not going to ask how you know what that smells like, and second, don’t complain. We are staying in what has got to be the most expensive hotel suite in all of Kenya,” Kendell said, smirking.
She drifted off to sleep fairly quickly. It had been a long day. In fact, it had been a long week. She and Pauline had stayed very busy in London between the tours, eating out, and of course, the local murder they had helped to solve. Kendell was ready for the relaxing part of this world tour to begin. The night ended almost too quickly, and she awakened to the sound of Lil’s excited squealing followed by what felt like a tongue right across her face. Oh my God, did Lil lick me, was Kendell’s first thought before her eyes darted open and she saw a giant giraffe tongue coming at her like a snake. “Oh!” she yelped in surprise. A giraffe had stuck its head in through the open window, and Lil was sitting on the other twin bed filming the whole thing on her phone.
“Did you get a good shot?” Kendell asked, wiping her face. “Eww!” She then looked at the creature and smiled. She never thought she would be able to pet a giraffe on the head!
Realizing they had no food or treats for him, the giraffe went on its way. “That was amazing!” Lil exclaimed.
“Hey, you two!” Pauline called from below. “You have ten minutes if you want to make it for breakfast!”
Lil and Kendell bolted, hurrying to get ready. Kendell did a speed rinse in the shower—mostly to wash her hair—and then scurried to meet Lil and Pauline in the hallway. They walked down together, easily locating the beautiful breakfast nook. It was a long room complete with an enormous table where a number of other guests were already seated. There were large, open doors all around along with giant windows; Kendell could see a number of young giraffes already making their way over, probably expecting to be given a bite of everyone’s breakfast.
Kendell got a good look at who else was staying at the manor with them. There was a white family consisting of a father, mother, and two children probably around eight or nine—fraternal twins, it seemed. The four of them were having an excited conversation in what sounded like French at the end of the table. The little children were bouncing in their seats, pointing at the giraffes making their way to them. There was a somewhat young couple, probably in their late twenties, leaning into one another speaking giddily; by the way they were acting, Kendell felt like they were honeymooners, obviously from the States. There were also two young Kenyan men, each sporting a professional-grade camera; they wore matching t-shirts that, though the words were in Swahili, Kendell guessed were promoting a photography business. Finally, there was what looked to be an American businessman attempting to go casual for the first time in his life to enjoy some time with strangers.
Kendell and Lil wound up right across from the honeymooners, and Pauline sat closer to the French family. “Bonjour,” Pauline said to the family with a big smile.
“Papa, chiot!” the little girl squealed, pointing to Pauline’s lap where Dot was stationed.
The man laughed. “Would you mind if she pet your dog?” he asked Pauline, and Pauline happily surrendered her puppy to the little girl. “I am Jean Duffey,” he said. “These are my children Abella and Victor.”
“You two must be twins,” Pauline said.
“Yes, ma’am,” the little boy said, his accident quite evident. “I like your dog.”
Pauline then looked at the woman. “And your name?”
The woman stared blankly, just nodding and smiling. “Oh, sorry, this is my wife, Esme. She does not speak very good English. This is our…honeymoon-slash-family bonding excursion.” He then muttered, “New stepmom for the kids.” Both children rolled their eyes, and the man shot them a glare.
Kendell giggled slightly. "Enchanté de vous rencontrer, Esme.”
Esme looked up and smiled at Kendell. “Parlez-vous français?”
“Oui,” Kendell said. “C'est comme ça que j'ai eu mon job d'hôtesse de l'air.”
“Okay, we’re going to need subtitles,” Pauline said.
Kendell laughed. “I got my job at the airline because I spoke French. I studied a little of it in college and did a semester abroad.”
“And here I thought you never traveled!” Pauline exclaimed.
“Sophomore year of college in Paris, France. That was the last time I ever vacationed before bumping into you, and it was for school,” Kendell said.
The honeymooners across from Kendell and Lil turned to the Duffeys, smiling. The young man said, “So you two just got married? Us too! We are also on our honeymoon.”
“We can tell,” Lil said with a smile and a wink. “You two from the States too?”
“Detroit,” the woman said. “I’m Katie Ashley, and this is my husband Richard.”
“Nice to meet you,” Lil said. “I’m Lil, this is Kendell, and our new friend Pauline. The white furball is Dot.”
“Since we’re doing introductions,” one of the cameramen said. “I’m Rider, and this is my business partner, Landon. We’re local, but this is our first time at the manor.”
“Let me guess,” the lonely man at the end of the table asked. “Photography, right?”
The two photographers laughed. “Yes, fairly obvious, I suppose,” Landon said, holding up his camera. “Our business is new, so we needed to build our portfolio a bit. Decided to do a little two-person company retreat and try to get some good photos.”
“You boys want to earn some money?” the man asked.
The two photographers exchanged glances. “Doing what, sir?” Rider asked.
The man pointed at the camera. “Taking pictures, kiddo.” He winked. “I’m on a little mission this week, and I would like to document my travels. I’m all about supporting small businesses. I ran a startup out in California, and if it wasn’t for some rich creeps throwing me a bone, I wouldn’t be where I am today. How’s three thousand American dollars sound for me to claim you two for the week?”
Rider and Landon’s jaws nearly hit the floor, and they were shaking the man’s hand in agreement before even hearing what they would be shooting. “What was your name?” Lil asked the strange man.
“Zachariah,” he said with a smirk. “I run a corporation based out in California. We’re looking into expanding all the way out here in Kenya, and I figured if it was going on the company card, I’d stay somewhere with a bit of flair. My secretary told me about this place; her ex-husband took her here once. I’m actually very excited to be here.”
“And we’re glad to have you!” Jahi called as he and his family arrived, each carrying a tray. Breakfast smelled amazing, and plates and glasses were placed in front of each of them.
Almost as soon as the wonderfully smelling food was placed in front of them, giraffes started poking their heads into the breakfast nook. “Giraffe-friendly dishes are in the blue bowls,” Jahi said. “Share with our tall companions or don’t, that’s up to you. Just keep the non-giraffe-friendly dishes out of their reach…if you can.” He laughed as a giraffe used its tongue to swipe something right out of Mrs. Duffey’s bowl. The woman laughed and patted the creature on its nose. Her stepchildren giggled, and the three of them started laughing together.
Props to you, Mr. Duffey, Kendell thought as the man smiled proudly to see his new wife having a fun conversation with his children. A giraffe
sniffed Kendell’s neck, and she laughed and jumped a bit. “You!” she said. “That’s the same giraffe who woke me up this morning! Poked his head in my window and licked my face!”
“That’s Yoyo,” Bina said as she refilled Kendell’s glass.
“Why do you call him Yoyo?” Kendell asked.
David snickered. “He came here to the sanctuary because he was sick when he was a little baby. Turns out he had eaten a yoyo, and, well… we got it back.”
“Oh, gross, kid, we’re eating!” Zachariah exclaimed.
David’s face scrunched up as he looked at Zachariah. “You are sharing a breakfast plate with a stinky animal, and that is what ruins your appetite?” the boy asked, and everyone at the table had a good laugh at Zachariah’s expense.
3
After breakfast, the cluster of Giraffe Manor patrons flooded outside where two large jeeps were waiting for them. There were two young men at the wheel of each vehicle, ready to take them all to the tour that would be heading out soon. While there was plenty to view on the land at the manor, namely giraffes, this particular safari excursion would allow them to see a variety of popular African creatures. Kendell in particular was hoping to get up and close to an elephant.
Kendell, Pauline, Lil, and the Duffeys piled into one of the vehicles while the Ashleys, the two photographers, and Zachariah crammed into the second. Jahi and his family remained behind, waving to them as the group headed off on their adventure. Pauline had left Dot behind, much to Kendell’s surprise. Dot was in good hands; Jahi’s children had been more than happy to offer themselves as free puppy-sitters.
It took them close to an hour to get to where the safari tour would begin. The two jeeps stopped in front of a small wooden building where a number of tour guides were waiting. There was a large bus with a shaded roof and open viewing out front, the bottom half of the bus was painted with zebra stripes. Kendell was bursting with excitement. Lil nudged her, nodding at Zachariah, who was posing for the photographers he had hired. “That’s so weird,” Kendell said under her breath.
“Have you ever in your life met a man that vain?” Lil questioned.
“Honey, give it time. You’ll meet plenty by the time you’re my age,” Pauline said, chuckling. “Time changes. Men really don’t.”
Lil laughed. “I’m really digging her little nuggets of wisdom, Kendell.”
“The charm of it will pass,” Kendell assured her.
The group from Giraffe Manor all loaded onto one bus, and since the large bus was over halfway full, the tour guides decided not to wait around for any last-minute bookings and took them out a bit earlier than scheduled. For the first ten minutes or so of the ride, everything was quiet. The tour guide standing next to the driver spoke loud enough for everyone to hear about Nairobi and some of its animal inhabitants. Finally, after what felt like an eternity but was only a few short minutes, they spotted a cluster of elephants in the distance. Kendell’s eyes glistened.
“This group you see to your right have been living on sanctuary grounds most of their lives,” the tour guide began. “So, they’re a bunch of friendly girls. I’m sure they’ll let us come right up to them so long as we’re quiet.”
“Will this tour take us off the sanctuary?” Mr. Duffey asked.
“Yes, so we’re bound to see some predators out here today as well,” the tour guide said. “So, stay vigilant!”
As promised by the tour guides, the elephants eventually made their way over toward the safari bus, and the tour guides gave them all buckets of lettuce to pass out the window. Kendell squealed excitedly as she pet the trunk of a large female.
“So, are all of them girls?” Victor asked as he and his sister fought over the last bit of lettuce in their family’s bucket.
“All of these are,” the tour guide said. “In an elephant herd, the ladies tend to stick together. Although, unlike most animals, family relationships are very important to elephants. In fact, they are one of the only creatures in the animal kingdom in which the grandmother will stick around to help her child raise the young.” The guide pointed to the elephant allowing Kendell to pet the trunk. “That is this particular herd’s matriarch right there. She just became a great-grandma last month, and she looks after that little fella like you would not believe.”
“Great-grandmas are that way,” Pauline said with a wink. Kendell leaned back as the elephant’s trunk made its way into the bus, and Pauline touched the creature and stroked its rough skin. “Friendly girl. You weren’t kidding.”
Realizing the group had run out of treats, the elephants headed back to their watering hole, and the bus drove on. The tour guide continued giving them a long-winded talk on Nairobi’s animal populations. In the distance, they did spot a male lion, but it dipped out fairly quickly, much to Kendell’s disappointment. Most of the animals were not as friendly as the practically domesticated elephants, but they were able to view some of the creatures from a safe distance.
They came to a small creek, and the tour guides pointed out a number of rhinos cooling down in the water. Zachariah stood up in the back of the bus, calling for his hired photographers to take some pictures. He posed for the cameramen as they ensured him they were getting plenty of the rhinos in the background.
“So, do you like rhinos or something?” Lil asked.
“Yes, I’m going to kill one,” he said so bluntly that Kendell had to pause to ensure that she did in fact hear him correctly.
“Excuse me?” Mrs. Ashley asked, spinning in her seat.
The man smiled proudly. “Yes, dear, I’m a bit of a trophy hunter. Planning to snag me a rhino horn for my office back home.”
“Um,” Lil piped up again. “Isn’t that poaching? And, you know, illegal?”
“There are legal ways around it, dear,” he said, still posing.
The Kenyan cameramen didn’t look too thrilled.
“Is that your mission you are wanting us to photograph for you?” Rider asked.
“Yes! I want to get a professional shot done when I take down my rhino,” he said, smirking. “I’m going to frame it and hang the horn above the photograph.”
“Wow,” Mr. Duffey said under his breath with a not-so-subtle eye-roll. “You can’t be serious.”
“Quite so!” Zachariah exclaimed. “I’m quite the skilled hunter. I own a cabin out in Montana, and I filled it to the brim with deer, elk, and all sorts of stuffed creatures. But, shooting the same animals over and over again doesn’t make for a good story! I’ve been trophy hunting for about eight years now. I’ve gotten a lion, an elephant, a—”
“Okay, that’s enough,” Lil snapped, waving toward the Duffey children. “You’re upsetting the kids, man, chill.”
“Sounds like Mr. Duffey there needs to take his kiddos on a hunting trip, then,” Zachariah claimed. “Especially your son. Let him learn what it’s like to be a real man!”
The little boy, Victor, bucked up slightly. “My dad is an animal rights activist. He’s more of a man than you, you creep.”
Mr. Duffey shushed his son, but he did look in Zachariah’s direction with disappointment.
Mr. Ashley grunted. “You really hunt endangered animals? How do you even get away with that?”
Zachariah just grunted and rolled his eyes. “Every last one of you,” he says with a huff. “You’re just a bunch of tree-hugging, hippie animal-lovers. If I want to hunt, that’s my business. And, in three days, I’m killing myself a rhino. I got paperwork that says I can.” The man plopped himself down, crossed his arms, and huffed again.
The tour guides pulled the bus away from the rhinos. Kendell shook her head. Surely something could be done about this Zachariah character? Like Lil said, Kendell was quite confident that poaching was illegal, so she wasn’t sure what he meant by having paperwork that granted him permission to do so. Kendell shook it off, deciding that the unusual disruption caused by Zachariah’s childish outburst would not ruin her tour.
The bus stopped near where a group
of flamingos were gathered, and everyone laughed and took pictures. As everyone was over to one side of the bus to attempt to get a good photo with their phones, one of the tour guides abruptly called everyone back to their seats. “Please, everyone, remain in the aisle seat of the bus. We have a hostile visitor, it seems,” the guide said just as a female lion jumped up onto the hood of the bus.
The children shrieked, but the guides didn’t seem fazed. The lion growled and then hopped back to the ground, circling the bus. “We’re safe in here, right?” Mr. Duffey asked, patting his new wife’s hand.
“Of course. Just remain in the aisle seats, though. If she jumps up on the side of the bus, she could claw you if you’re sitting to close to the side,” the tour guide said nonchalantly.
“The casualness of these people over a live lion circling the bus is just creepy,” Lil muttered, and Kendell smirked a bit. They waited a few minutes before the lioness eventually wandered off, and then they started up the bus again. The tour guide kindly pulled out prepared lunches, and everyone ate happily while watching some gazelles grazing.
Kendell had felt anxious during the lioness’s strut around the bus, but it had been exhilarating as well. Eventually, the bus headed back to its initial starting point where Giraffe Manor drivers were waiting on them. Everyone was excitedly talking about all of the amazing animals they had seen and how they had been able to pet an elephant.
Dinner was ready when they got back to the manor, and everyone ate outside on the beautiful patio. A young giraffe was grazing nearby, but he didn’t come over. He just made for a lovely sight while they all enjoyed their food. Eventually, the sun set, and everyone headed off to bed. Lil, Pauline, and Kendell all excitedly jabbered on about the tour and how much fun they’d had. Pauline gushed over Dot a little after having not seen her little pooch all day, and she gave the children candy from her bag as thanks for being such willing dog-sitters.
Kendell took a shower to get the smell of dirty animals off her, and she could hear Lil speaking to Pauline outside of the bathroom, thanking her again for such a wonderful trip. “Honestly, I really cannot believe your generosity,” Lil said. “I’m going to run down to the kitchen and fix myself a little midnight snack. They said they have little teacakes sitting out. I didn’t eat much at dinner. Would you like anything?”
