Page 14 of Worlds Apart
It’s a pleasant flirtation, nothing more.
Martin picked up his razor and carefully began to soap his jaw.
“It’s nothing,” he whispered to his reflection. “What can it hurt to enjoy the company of a pleasant woman?”
Sunny Randolph was in Kenya for a week and a half. She would leave his camp in four more days and move on with her life. Until then? Why not enjoy her beautiful smile and pleasant conversation.
What could it hurt?
* * *
“Ethel,if you keep trying to crawl to the roof of the truck, I’m going to have to keep stopping and then we’re going to miss the leopard Mingati spotted this morning.”
The younger Calloway boy piped up from the back seat. “I don’t want to miss the leopard!”
Ethel sighed and sat down. “You did this on purpose, Martin.”
He started driving again, spotting the smirk on Mingati’s face as he continued across the dirt track that led east to the gorge.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ethel.”
“Putting me with kids. You know I can’t stand to disappoint a kid.”
Martin smiled. “I cannot think what you mean. Your walking partner is Miss Randolph.”
He glanced in the mirror to check on the guests. Sunny and Ethel were in the first row with the open roof over them and the second row where Mr. and Mrs. Calloway sat. Their boys, Austin and Jack, were in the last row of seats, safely restricted from standing in the vehicle.
“Come on, Ethel.” Sunny distracted her. “You were telling me last night how hard it was to get a good picture of a leopard. We don’t want to miss our chance. Tell me more about living in New York. I’ve only been to visit a few times.”
Sunny was an invaluable partner for Ethel, and she was good natured about the older woman who could be more than a little opinionated.
The herds were moving that morning, and they had to stop multiple times to let animals pass. The wildebeests were still in the national park, so the majority of the traffic consisted of zebras, gazelles, and impalas.
“Hyenas, boss.” Mingati muttered in Maasai and gestured to the left. “Big pack with little ones.”
Martin responded in English. “If they have cubs, they’ll be settled in that area for a while, yes?”
“Oh yeah.” Mingati squinted at the horizon. “Just letting you know. We’ll catch them on the way back. Ol-keri won’t stay in the gorge for long. She’ll move on tonight.”
Leopards were one of the hardest animals for the spotters to predict. They were solitary, elusive, and masters of camouflage. The spotters could go weeks without seeing one in clear view. The fact that this female was hunting on the edge of the conservancy was a chance Martin didn’t want to pass up.
He glanced in the mirror again to see Sunny pointing at something in the distance, smiling and speaking animatedly to Ethel. One of the boys asked her a question and she turned to engage with him before she started talking with Mrs. Calloway about traveling with her children.
She was kind. Sunny was the perfect name for her, because everyone who spoke with her came away smiling.
Mingati muttered something in Maasai that Martin didn’t catch. “What was that?”
“Good woman.” Mingati switched to Swahili. “Alice’s friend. No complaining.”
It was the first time Martin had heard Mingati compliment any guest. Ever. “She’s a lovely person,” he responded in Swahili. “Kind to everyone.”
Mingati cut his eyes to the side. “Don’t be dumb, boss.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Yeah, you do.”
ChapterFive
