Sorry we skipped last week. I was busy that weekend, then got sick at the beginning of the week, and then it was Thanksgiving...so it just made sense to wait.

Chapter 37: Day 28, continued

"Blah blah blah blah blah…"

That's all I'm hearing. I know I should be paying closer attention because, 1. I'm a Planeteer and this is kinda a big deal and 2. This is important to Linka and I'm sure she'll be asking me questions about it. I'm more interested in getting out there and seeing for myself. All these people talking and basically patting themselves on the back is boring. Let me see it for myself and I'll decide whether or not you're as awesome as you think you are!

I realize I'm fidgeting when Linka puts her hand on my knee and squeezes. I look at her and she smiles at me. I smile back, trying to hide the guilty look on my face at my previous thoughts. Good thing she's not a mind reader!

Uh oh…the speaker just thanked Linka for her involvement. I quickly remove my arm from its resting place behind her and join the rest of the crowd in applauding. I can tell just by looking at her that she's gone stiff as all eyes are on her. She politely acknowledges the praise with a nod and a wave, but I know she'd like nothing more than to disappear. Once the speaker continues, I put my arm back around her, resting my hand on her shoulder and giving it a squeeze and rubbing my thumb over her shoulder blades, letting her know what she's got in store for her tonight. She's definitely gonna need it judging by what I feel.

"Thank you all for coming. Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Eden."

We clap once more…my applause is mostly for the fact that it's over! We are all herded like cattle through the gates. I'm gripping Linka's hand tightly, afraid of being separated and unable to find her in the crowd. If I'm gonna be forced to learn things and be educated, I'd rather at least get to enjoy myself by knowing that I'll be spending the whole day with Linka…which isn't unusual as of late, but this time, we're in public. I'll get to test the waters a bit…what can I get away with in public? So far, putting my arm around her is acceptable. So is hand holding. Maybe later, I'll try a hug…a kiss on the temple? A kiss on the cheek?

Linka has stopped to purchase a copy of the guide book. Gi and Ma-Ti brought their cameras and are busy taking pictures of the valley from the balcony. Oh great. We are in full fledge tourist mode! This isn't going to be a quick walk through after all. I hope Linka is up for it.

Time to see how far I can go…I stand behind her, wrap my arms around her as I look over her shoulder and say,

"They've done a terrific job Babe. The clay pit they built it in must have been a complete eyesore."

She just nods, the movement causing her hair to brush against my cheek. It's so soft.

Kwame, Gi, and Ma-Ti are already on their way down to the valley, so we follow them. I keep my arm around her shoulder as we walk. Everyone wants to see the rainforest environment, especially Ma-Ti so we head there, even though Linka points out that that it is not the route recommended in the guide book. I lean in to press my lips to the side of her head as I smile and say "Lighten up Babe."

I was tempted to take the guide book out of her hands and toss it, but since she paid for it, and I don't want to litter, I resist that temptation.

It's hot as hell in the fake rainforest! I have to unbutton a few buttons on my shirt and take off my jacket. The humidity takes some getting used to as well. It's hard to breathe. But it is pretty realistic…and beautiful. It's also pretty informative. I didn't know that we got chocolate from the countries that have rainforests and that it was part of our economic trade. I never really thought about where chocolate came from. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, I guess! Nope, not quite. So I did learn something interesting, despite my best efforts not to!

Linka is taking longer to examine everything. She's looking at all the plants, reading all the informative plaques…the others are drifting off ahead of us, taking different paths. I stay with Linka of course. She's so excited and going on and on. I may not be as interested about this stuff as the rest of them, but I'm content just to be with her and see her this happy. Seeing her like this is worth every second of boredom. I'm happy that she's happy.

As we make our way up to a portion of the display that's overlooking the rest, I can tell Linka is struggling. She leans into my side as she labors to force her muscles to listen to her commands. There's a lot of press here and I know she was worried about her appearance, not wanting them to notice something was wrong with her. I try to make it look like we're just a cute couple, sticking close to each other, but I wonder what Linka would find more mortifying? The press picking up on the fact that she's not well, or spreading rumors about her "love life" with a fellow Planeteer? Of course, I wouldn't mind it, but I know Linka would. I think that's part of her reluctance to be in a relationship. She's a very private person and we're kinda famous. On a slow news day, the goings on of the Planeteers might be interesting to some…and embarrassing for her. I don't care what anyone else thinks when they see us together like this. She's really pushing herself though, and I'm worried about her.

"Are you okay Babe?"

All she does is nod.

"There's a bench. Let's sit for a bit and enjoy the scenery," I suggest, hoping that she'll not be stubborn and agree to it.

We sit on the bench and I put my arm around her as she leans against my side.

After a while, she says, "Thank you for doing this with me. I know you must find all this quite boring."

Busted.

"I'm not too interested in the educational stuff," I admit, even though she probably already knows that. I give her a squeeze to let her know that I'm not disappointed. "But I'm not bored of being with you and it's great seeing you so happy. I'm proud of you."

I punctuate my last statement by kissing her cheek.

She smiles and puts her head on my shoulder as we talk about the things we've seen.

It's so hot in here, as much as I like having her close, it's not making things any cooler. Once she feels she's ok to walk, she suggests we go to the restaurants for a light lunch. Light lunch? I'm starving! As always. We have no idea where the others have gone off to, but neither one of us are really too bothered by it. We've spent the last few weeks together without them…it's no big deal that we're alone once again.

Poor Linka can't seem to find something that appeals to her. She's hurting, and she's hungry…which is making her a little irritable. I get it though…I get kinda cranky when I'm hungry too!

I decide to go with pizza and fries. They come together. It seems like an odd combination to me…I like them both, but they don't really go together. Linka decides to go with a local dish with beef, potato, onion, and…swede? I'm trying my hardest not to picture a chopped up Scandinavian. I'm pretty sure it's NOT a person and just the name of something that we don't have in the States or call it something else.

I suggest that Linka goes and finds a table while I wait for our food. I know she's really looking forward to sitting down so she doesn't argue.

"There you go Babe," I say as I put her plate down in front of her and sit down across from her. "Are you sure you wanna try it? I don't even know what a swede is, but the menu said they put that in there too!"

She laughs at my statement.

"It is a vegetable Yankee…like a…rutabaga I think."

"If you say so."

I can't say that I've ever eaten a rutabaga…not knowingly and definitely not willingly. She smiles as she takes a bite. She must like it because she's going back for a second forkful. However, this time, she's holding it up to my mouth.

"Try it."

I was hoping she wouldn't say that! I make a face, but I can't say no to her, ever…even when she's trying to poison me with vegetables. But the idea of her sharing her food with me, offering me her fork, it oddly makes me happy…the intimacy of it. I reluctantly take her fork into my mouth.

"Hmm, not bad," I lie. "Think I'll stick with the pizza though."

I quickly take a bite of the pizza to hurry up and mix it with her concoction…hoping that the familiar taste of the pizza will make it easier to swallow. I throw in a handful of fries and a gulp of Coke just for good measure.

We both finish all of our food. We still have not seen the others. I guess we'll just move on to the next exhibit without them.

"Where to next Babe?"

"Would you like to go to the Mediterranean area?" She asks.

"Wherever you wanna go…I'll follow."

Like a love sick puppy. You think she'd know that by now!

To Be Continued…

Don't forget, in order to get the full affect of the story, you HAVE TO read Linka's side of the story in Chapter 37 of LouiseX's Codependence.