LiTTLE CHERiNE Book 02 - post034

“I have a feeling we should see more couples in love and more weddings being announced. Not immediately, but over a period of months. Business for the florists should also be picking up.”

Previous Post 033

780

Chapter Seventy Six

We hired a mini bus for the stay, with a driver. This simplified life a lot. We stayed the first night at the Michaelangelo in Sandton. This gave the ladies a wonderful opportunity to roam the mall and do their shopping. Unfortunately that is all I got to know of the Johannesburg area.

We left early in the morning for Sun City and arrived late in the afternoon. It took so long to get there because we made the mistake of stopping near a dam at a flea market that mostly sold African curios. I had a coffee and walked around, while waiting for everyone to buy some curios, and found a stall that was selling sun dried sausages and meat. Somewhat similar I would imagine to what I read in Westerns, cowboys call jerky, and I had a vague memory of having eaten it as a child in Kenya. I asked for the fat to be removed and to have it sliced. What a problem that created. The girls and everyone else thought I was barbarous, eating raw meat. I on the other hand, once I had started, could not stop eating. It made me very thirsty so I drank a fizzy drink and felt bloated. My healer protested that eating so much of this was not good and cleansed me. I have tried the same meat from other butcheries and shops during the rest of my stay, but none of them made it as nicely as that first stall I’d bought from.

The Palace of the Lost City and the casino/hotel complex are not the kind of place that impresses only children. It stunned all of us. This was something out of a fantasy world. Now I understood why they are so expensive. With my girls wanting to see everything, I was not interested in the gambling. Alki took Socrati and Andrea for a flutter while Jonathan and I took the ladies walking. It was still not hot enough for swimming, but the girls all took a swim the next morning, enjoying the idea of lying on a beach to suntan in the middle of a continent far away from the sea. I had made a mistake, in one sense, I should have booked for at least two nights. On the other hand, perhaps the fact that we stayed such a short time did not give the girls time to get tired of it or for the beauty to become familiar, and it remained in their memories as a dream palace.

The lodge we stayed in for the next night, in the park close to the Lost City, was the opposite. No luxury, but the wonderful feeling of being in Africa. We could sit on the verandah and hear the sounds of animals and other creatures around us. We were plagued by little monkeys that would enter our bungalows if the doors or windows were left open. They are accomplished little thieves so we were warned to be careful.

I only found out the next morning that we could have booked a hot-air balloon flight over the park. It does not matter, we saw a large variety, rhinos, elephants, all kind of buck and warthogs. At a lake we saw some hippos, though they were not close enough to see much details. Driving around, the smells, sounds of the birds and insects plus the dust all contributed to this being a unique experience. We stopped at a tea room close to the centre of the park and sat in the courtyard with our refreshments while twenty metres away giraffes and a couple of warthogs came to the waterhole to drink.

As we drove on, a car waved us down, we stopped and they told us to take the next small turn off, as there are two leopards sitting by the side of the river. We got there and it took us a while to see them. The kids saw them first. They must have got fed up of so many people coming to see them and got up and slowly, with an indifferent air, walked across the dry river bed and disappeared into the bush on the other side.

By the time we left the park we were all tired, hot and itching for a bath. It had been planned for us to drive towards the Kruger Park, but we all voted for a night of comfort. We got rooms at Sun City and left early the next morning.

(

We stayed at a camp, in tents, in the Kruger Park. The girls had a fright when they saw a snake. Socrati got in front of the snake and gently talked to it in Greek. He kept his voice softly even and did not move. It slowly relaxed and slid out of sight. The girls all clapped for him and gave him hugs and kisses, saying he is the bravest man etc, etc. He had not been in danger as my healer would have saved him, but I do not think he thought of that. He explained that his grandfather had taught him that snakes are like little people, they do not really want to attack and only do so if frightened. He had shown him how to talk to snakes and calm them down. I’m still trying to understand the logic of it, since snakes do not have ears (if anyone of my family is surprised because they did not know, I’m disappointed in you my loves. Get on the web and learn).

We went on a walk tour, our guides taking us amongst animals that mostly ignored us. The insects though did not. Dommi found, when we got back and she went for a shower, a tick lodged to her upper thigh at the back. She cried out and I rushed in and calmed her, reminding her it cannot affect her. I did not remove it, but went and asked for advice from the staff. It had to be removed in a way that does not leave any part of it (the head) within her. That was done and she was warned of the symptoms of tick bite fever. Terrible headaches mostly. It was a great comfort to know this would not happen to her.

By the fourth day I was very glad to be moving back to civilisation. Not so Claudia and Diana. They had loved the experience and were already pleading for us to return again.

We decided to fly to Cape Town.

What a lovely city. We went to the waterfront and up Table mountain. We drove out of the city to a wine farm and had a wonderful meal and bought a few bottles of wine. It was pleasant for me to be in an area where nature has been tamed and made beautiful by man. My attitude upset my two girls who did not like it as much as they love the wild. We all enjoyed visiting a couple of small towns along the coast. Since Diana was with us, the antique shops did quite well out of us.

Alki and I made pigs of ourselves on oysters and crayfish. By the time we had to catch our flight I think all of us were exhausted and were making plans to return someday. I saw that what we had done was arrived at a huge banquet table and only sampled a couple of the dishes. Next time I decided we must come for at least a month.

We arrived back in Athens worn out, but filled with good memories. The trip had also been good in that it brought us closer to Jonathan and Percy. I noticed that throughout the trip they watched how Em-e interacted with my girls, how they love her. When in Cape Town, she had sat on my lap and as I held her, I had felt my love for her as a kind of rapture. They said afterwards that seeing my face, feeling my emoting had given them joy and they really no longer fear for her. I’m guessing it will take a while longer, but at least they are more relaxed with me.

Back at the home of Alki, the girls surrounded Annabelle, all trying to talk at once. They disappeared with her to show her their souvenirs and give her the gifts they had bought for her. Dommi took a bath and then made us some sandwiches.

I told Keith, “Keith, next time you and Annabelle come with on our travels. It would have been a wonderful experience for her. Kids need that kind of adventure.”

“I thought of it, but I asked her to wait until I am earning enough to be able to afford it.”

“That was wrong Keith. Kids see the world in a different way from us. The more she sees now the better. At her age there is a sweetness to the memories they acquire that she will not feel if lived later on. How is work coming on?”

“You were right. I already have an idea I am working on. Nothing revolutionary, but it will drastically increase the speed with which visitors can open new pages at our sites. It feels very good to be doing something useful again.”

“Keith, I hope you do not resent me pointing out a few facts to you. Your lovely Annabelle has had her whole life turned around. She has lost her family, she can never even visit the parents she has here. She has been taken out of the environment she grew up in. She is with a man she loves, but who is still, basically, a stranger to her. She has found herself in an adult kind of relationship. You did the right thing, your time with her was the most useful way you could have spent it. But, never forget Keith, she is still a child. She needs to play and be irresponsible. Do not try to turn her into a mini adult. Be not only a lover, but also her father and mother. That’s an idea. Hold on.” I called to Dommi. She came at once.

“What is it Roberto?”

“Annabelle, could your mother love extend to her?”

She smiled fondly at me. “You do not already feel her in my heart?”

“That heart of yours, it is so huge I get lost in it. How would you feel about you adopting her as your daughter?”

The girls, now quiet, came to us, bringing Annabelle with them. She was puzzled, for as they had been talking and giggling, they had suddenly stood up as one, joy on their faces and brought her to us.

Keith put out his huge hands to her. She went to him, her eyes solemn. “My little dove, Dominique wants to ask you something. It is very special and she means it with all her heart.”

Dommi sent out her feelings of motherly love to Annabelle. She turned and stared at her with fear.

“What you felt was true Annabelle. I know that I do not look my age anymore, that I am young, but I want to ask you a special question. Will you be my adopted daughter. Could you see me as your mother? I want to fill you with all my love and care for you. Can I be your mummy?”

The fear turned to wonder and then she burst into tears as she stepped into her arms.

I held back the girls until the need to be hugged by Dommi had subsided. They all rushed to her, calling her sister. This brought new tears.

“Annabelle this means you will soon be the auntie of my twins. Will you choose the names for your nieces?”

Keith took hold of my hand. “I owe you so much Robert. How can I ever repay you?”

“By making Annabelle happy. Do not allow her to get pregnant yet Keith. You can see she is still adapting. Let her settle, mature a little first.”

“She is worried your healer will make me too young. She says she likes me as I am. How young will I become?”

Next Post 035

I hope you enjoy reading this story of fantasy, adventure and love.

Αλέξανδρος Ζήνον Ευσταθίου

(Alexander Zenon Eustace)
^{15th September}
* posted on Steemit: 15th September, 2018



For those who wish to be notified of sequels
@nikosnitza

If you wish to have your name added above, I would be honoured.

The arthur.grafo Steemhost pages