This one is for ReSch27. I appreciate all of the support over the years!
African Safari
"And if you look over there on your left, there is a lioness and her cubs. The dominant male is there too, keeping a watchful eye over his family," the guide says.
The group "oohs" and "ahs" over the cute sight.
"It is pretty amazing how something so ferocious can be so loving," Linka muses.
"You will know that feeling one day when the two of you start a family," one of their fellow tourists says.
Wheeler inwardly winces and instinctively reaches for Linka's hand and gives it a squeeze as he laces his fingers with hers.
The husband of the well-meaning tourist also chimes in,
"Yes, being parents is life changing. You'll be amazed at the feelings you find yourself capable of. I never really put much thought into being a father, you know? I think guys are wired differently than girls. Girls grow up playing with baby dolls and have that motherly, nurturing instinct. I never spent any time imagining what it would be like to be a dad, but once it happens…it's the best feeling. Like that daddy lion over there, you'll turn into a fierce protector of your kids."
"Not all dads," Wheeler says under his breath.
Now it is Linka's turn to offer him comfort by rubbing her thumb over his where their hands are clasped.
"Have you two decided when you will start your family?"
"Uh, no…we're just friends," Wheeler explains. He figured if he said it first, it would hurt less than if Linka hurried up and made the correction like she did in Argentina.
"Oh! Apologies. You two just seemed so close. The way she was resting her hand on your knee when she looked out the window. The way you casually had your arm around her, and she leaned into you…I assumed you were together."
"They do make a good-looking couple," says another person in the row behind them.
"It's only a matter of time then," teases that person's companion.
Four girls who appeared to be on a school trip and who had otherwise kept to themselves were suddenly very interested in checking out Wheeler. The unwanted attention made him uncomfortable, but the worst part was that the scrutiny they had received from the tour group, although mostly good natured, had caused Linka to sit up straighter and fold her hands in her lap. Wheeler moved his arm to rest on the back of her seat instead of around her shoulder.
The safari continued, everyone else oblivious to the tension between the two Planeteers.
When the tour concluded, the van carrying the group made the long drive back into town to drop everyone off at the hotel. That's when one of the college girls approached Wheeler.
"I thought you looked familiar," she practically giggled.
"Sorry, do I know you?"
"I'm Stacy…and you're famous."
"I think you have me confused with someone else," he says.
"Aren't you a Planeteer?" Another one of the girls chimes in.
"Oh, uh yeah. One of them…didn't realize that made me 'famous.' So, uh…you want an autograph or something?"
"We were hoping for something a little more memorable," a third girl adds.
"A picture? You got one of those selfie sticks or something?"
"Not exactly what we had in mind, but maybe your friend wouldn't mind taking a picture of all of us?"
Linka, who had been thanking the tour guide, was slightly aware of what was going on behind her but trying to ignore it. Typical Wheeler. Can't take him anywhere without him finding someone to flirt with.
"We were wondering if you'd like to join us at the night club in the hotel?"
"Oh, umm. I don't know. Clubs aren't really my thing, but I guess if Linka wants to do something tonight, we may end up there."
In all honesty, he was hoping for a quiet dinner with just the two of them, but this was Linka's trip, and he knew she liked dancing. Maybe she would like to go to the club. He wouldn't mind another opportunity to get close to her like they did while learning the tango…but he also didn't like the idea of other guys at the club trying to dance with her either.
"I didn't realize you needed to clear your plans with your friend," the one named Stacy says.
"He does not," Linka says as she turns to the group. "I am feeling tired, sweaty, and dirty after that tour. I am going to go back to my room and shower. I will probably just order room service and stay in. Do whatever you please."
And with that, she turns to go inside and catch the elevator.
"Great! Looks like you're free," one of the girls says. "Meet us in the lobby in an hour?"
"Umm. Maybe. I'm kinda tired too."
"Oh come on!" Stacy says, grabbing his arm. "A shower will make you feel better. We PROMISE, you'll have a good time."
Wheeler didn't want to have a good time…not with anyone but Linka and she was clearly in a mood. He wanted to make her feel better, so he told the girls what they wanted to hear to get them off his back.
"Ok…I'll meet you here in an hour."
After his shower, Wheeler knocks lightly on the door to their adjoining rooms, which they had left open earlier in the day.
"Babe?" He asks as he steps into the room.
"Da?" She looks up from her laptop just in time to see him pulling a black polo shirt over his head and tucking half of it into his grey cargo shorts.
"Did you order from room service yet?"
"Nyet, I am not hungry at the moment."
"Seriously? I'm starving."
"You are going out?"
"I was hoping to change your mind and talk you into going out for dinner, but if you're not hungry, I guess I'll just order in too and get mine now."
"Why not meet up with your fan club?"
"That's what I'm trying to do, but she's not hungry!" He says with a smile.
His comment earns him a smile back and she seems to relax more.
"Seriously Babe, I don't wanna hang out with anyone else but you. I came on this journey with you…I'm sticking with you for the duration…and I'm not just talking about the vacation."
His words send a chill down her spine. It catches her by surprise and confuses her as well. Did he really mean it? Or was he just trying to make her feel better? Did he mean as friends? Probably. She stops herself from over thinking things too much, thinking it is silly to get her hopes up.
"Did you have something in mind for dinner?"
"If you had your heart set on staying in, I'll just order room service," he says.
"It seems silly to get room service when we are on vacation. We should try something local, da?"
"Sounds good to me. Wanna just take a walk down the street and see what catches our interest?"
"Just give me a few minutes to put on some makeup and more appropriate clothing."
"Aww, I thought you looked cute in your pajamas," he teases. "And you're not wearing makeup? Couldn't tell. You still look beautiful."
She blushes at the compliment.
"I already agreed to join you for dinner…no need to try and flatter me into going."
"Just being honest."
"And you do not want me to take too long because you are hungry!"
He smiles guiltily.
"Well, there's that too."
"So predictable, Yankee," she says as she grabs a shirt and shorts from her suitcase and heads towards the bathroom to get ready.
"Nah, you just know me so well, Babe."
Wheeler and Linka walk down the sidewalk until they find a place that looks good for dinner. Once they are seated and have placed their order, they start conversing to pass the time.
"So when you were looking at the laptop earlier, were you looking for our next destination?" Wheeler asks.
"Nyet, I was just checking my email."
"Oh. Well then, any ideas where you want to go next?"
"Umm…about that…maybe we should just go home?"
"You want to go to Russia? That's fine, I figured we'd get there eventually…you wanna go there next?"
"Nyet, I meant Hope Island. Call off the whole 'world tour.'
"Oh. Ok, whatever you want. This is your thing, after all. I'm just tagging along."
"You sound disappointed?"
"No…well, I mean…I'm just confused, I guess. It's your money and you should spend it how you want…or save it. So if you don't want to do this anymore, I'll go along with whatever you decide. I'm just kinda wondering why the sudden change?"
"I thought this was going to be a good trip…relaxing…but really it has been more stressful that I had thought."
"Oh?"
"You have not noticed? Maybe it is just me then…I feel like there is a tension between us…all these strangers keep assuming things about us and then when we correct them, things get awkward and uncomfortable."
"Yeah, I've noticed," he admits.
"You are a good friend to have agreed to come with me, I do not want this trip to cause problems for us."
"Then just ignore it when people make assumptions…we know the truth. No need to explain ourselves to strangers. Besides, when you say we are just friends, everyone probably assumes I'm gay."
"Wheeler! Why would you think that?"
"Because there's no way a beautiful girl like you could possibly be single and if you are hanging out with a guy, he's either an idiot for not making sure you were his…or gay."
She giggles at his logic, but then suddenly her expression changes.
"If they knew I was not a real woman, they would understand."
"You're a dude?!" He quietly exclaims playfully. "No wonder you won't let me kiss you! Thanks for that!"
His silliness makes her laugh again.
"You know what I mean."
"I know what YOU think you mean. It's not what I think though…and anyone that does think that about you is an idiot."
"Did you just call me an idiot?" She asks, feigning offense.
"In this instance, yeah. Ya are! I'm not gonna sit here and let you think badly of yourself. You're still the same person you've always been. You're just facing a difficult time. You've spent all these years as a Planeteer and this never came up, now all of a sudden, you feel like time has gotten away from you…you see all that BS that people are posting on their social media…well guess what Babe, those people that seem so happy, aren't. They put all the good stuff out there for everyone to see, but they conveniently leave out the bad stuff. Those 'perfect families' that you're seeing, the ones who make you think that's what you should be doing with your life, those are just pictures. People can pick and choose the pictures they put online."
"True."
"I bet if you put up some of the pictures from our vacation, people would be super jealous. Look at you, doin' all this fun stuff; traveling the world; hanging out with a handsome stud."
"Stud? But we have not gone horseback riding yet," she teases.
Happy to see her smiling again, he accepts her good natured ribbing.
"Ha-Ha. We'll add that to the list."
Their food arrives and their conversation is paused for a moment while they enjoy their food.
"So, you still wanna go home?" He asks.
"I suppose we can go somewhere where that does not involve a group activity or a crowd. Do you have any suggestions?"
"I don't have any at the moment. We can look later tonight when we get back to the hotel. Right now, let's just enjoy this quiet moment with no one making assumptions or having expectations. If anyone assumes we are together, I say let 'em…you saw what happened when they found out the truth. Those college girls turned into vultures!"
"See, they did not assume you were gay!" She chuckles.
"Well of course not! My masculinity was just too much for them to ignore!"
She bursts into laughter, and he soon joins her. The rest of their evening is spent in a relaxed mood and with much more laughter as they continue to chat about random things through dinner and dessert.
"Babe, check out this description: 'Tohoku offers the traveler some of the best scenery in Japan. In winter, the Snow Country of the western Japan Sea coast racks up some of the highest snowfall figures in the world, which also means great skiing and lots of hot springs to warm up in.' It also says it's a good backup plan for cherry blossom viewing, since the trees blossom a few weeks later here than they do in Tokyo," he says as he reads off the website.
"I like it," she calls from the bathroom.
When she emerges with her pajamas, she sees him stretched out on her bed with her laptop.
"I'll let you check out this site some more and make sure it sounds like something you wanna do."
She sits down next to him and accepts the computer as he passes it.
He gets up to leave and she's disappointed.
"Leaving already? You do not want to see if there is anything else that interests you?"
"The only thing I'm interested in now is getting comfortable…I'll be right back."
She spends the next few minutes scrolling through the site and taking note of things. When he comes back, he has changed out of his dressier clothes and into a pair of athletic shorts and a retro Brooklyn Dodgers t-shirt.
He retakes his position next to her, neither one of them feeling the least bit awkward about sharing a bed. Yes, all they were doing was sitting there, but when it comes to Wheeler and Linka, nothing is just that simple.
"It says, 'Information in English tends to be sparse in rural Tohoku, since foreign travelers are few in these parts; most people are also apprehensive around foreigners even if you can speak Japanese.' It just keeps getting more and more perfect!"
"People will leave us alone if they can't communicate with us, that's for sure."
"Shall I book it?"
"Let's do it Babe!"
"It looks like we will have to fly into Tokyo and then take a train to Tohoku."
"Cool…scenic route."
A few clicks and she turns to him with a satisfied smile.
"Done. Our flight leaves tomorrow at 9:40."
"Guess I better try and get some sleep…you know me and mornings don't get along!" He leans over and gives her a quick kiss on the cheek before getting up to head back to his room. "G'night Babe."
Her stomach flutters at his innocent show of affection. After what he said earlier about being with her for the duration, and not just meaning the trip, he's stirring up emotions she has tried so hard to keep buried.
"Goodnight Yankee...leave the door open, I will make sure you are up in time."
"Thanks."
To Be Continued…