Page 111 of Tiger's Curse
Mr. Kadam pulled into the smooth driveway of a fabulous five-star hotel. I felt frumpy in my week-old, ripped, torn, and bloody clothes. Mr. Kadam seemed nonchalant and was happy as a clam when he handed over the keys to a valet and accompanied me into the hotel. I kept my backpack close, but our other two bags were taken up to our rooms by hotel staff.
Mr. Kadam filled out the necessary forms and spoke quietly with the lady at the front desk in Hindi. Then he gestured for me to follow.
As we passed, I leaned over and asked, “Just out of curiosity, you don’t allow pets. Am I right?”
She seemed confused and looked at Mr. Kadam, but shook her head no.
“Great. Just checking.” I smiled back at her. Mr. Kadam tilted his head in puzzlement but said nothing.
He must think I’m off my rocker.I grinned and followed him to the elevator. The bellhop inserted a card key into the slot at the top of the elevator button pad, which automatically closed the door, and selected our floor. We got out and stepped directly into our room, the penthouse suite.
The staff person left us, and the elevator doors shut. Mr. Kadam told me that he’d be staying in the bedroom to the left and that I would have the suite on the right. He left me to myself with the admonishment that I rest and eat in whatever order I chose and that food would be delivered soon.
I walked into my beautiful suite with a king-sized bed and laughed giddily. A huge hot tub was set in the middle of my private bathroom. I quickly kicked off my dirty tennis shoes and decided to shower first and then soak in the hot tub. Stepping into the hot shower, I soaped my hair four times and then applied conditioner and let the silky liquid soak in while I scrubbed my skin raw. I dug my fingernails into a bar of soap and wiggled them back and forth to get the dirt out and paid special attention to my feet. My poor, knobby, blistered, sore feet.Oh well, maybe Mr. Kadam will spring for a pedicure later.
After I felt thoroughly clean, I wrapped a towel around my hair, and slipped into a robe. Filling the hot tub with hot water, I poured in bubble bath that was conveniently provided, and started the jets. The scent of juicy pears and just-picked berries rose into the air. Its smell reminded me of Oregon.
Sinking into that tub was the best feeling in the whole world.Well, the second best feeling.I was annoyed that the memory of kissing Ren popped into my mind, and I quickly dismissed it, or tried to. The more I relaxed in the tub, the more my mind seemed to dwell on it. It was like a song that got stuck in my head, and, no matter what I did, it kept coming back to me.
The kiss played over and over. Despite my best efforts to eradicate it, I felt myself smile at the memory.Ugh! What’s that about?I shook myself out of my daydream angrily, and reluctantly climbed out of the tub. After I dried off and pulled on a pair of shorts and a clean T-shirt, I sat down to brush out my hair. It took a long time to get all the tangles out. The brushing was soothing. It reminded me of my mom. I sat back on my king-sized bed and just enjoyed the feel of pulling my hairbrush through clean, wet hair.
Later, I ventured to the sitting room and found Mr. Kadam reading a newspaper.
“Hello, Miss Kelsey. Are you feeling refreshed?”
“I feel so much better; I can’t even begin to tell you.”
“Good. There’s a late dinner under the cover over there. I took the liberty of ordering for you.”
I lifted the lid and found turkey, cornbread stuffing, cranberry relish, peas, and mashed potatoes.
“Wow! How did you get them to do this?”
He shrugged. “I thought you might like something American for a change, and that’s about as American as it gets. There’s even apple pie for dessert.”
I picked up my dinner plate and the glass full of icy lemon water that he knew I liked and sat down next to him with my legs tucked under me to eat.
“Did you eat already?”
“Yes, an hour or so ago. Don’t worry about me. Enjoy your dinner.”
I dug in and was pleasantly stuffed before I’d even had the apple pie. I swirled a piece of roll in my gravy and said, “Mr. Kadam? I want to tell you something. I feel guilty about not telling you before, but I think you should know.”
I took a deep breath and went on. “Ren was a man the whole time we were in Kishkindha.”
He set down his newspaper. “That’s interesting. But why couldn’t you tell me this before?”
I shrugged a shoulder and hedged, “I don’t know. Things weren’t exactly . . . smooth between us these past few days.”
His eyes twinkled as he laughed with understanding. “Now things make sense. I wondered why you were acting differently around him. Ren can be . . . difficult, if he chooses.”
“Stubborn, you mean. And demanding. And,” I looked out the window at the nighttime city lights and muttered, “lots of other things.”
He leaned forward and took one of my hands in his. “I see. Don’t fret, Miss Kelsey. I’m surprised that you’ve accomplished so much in such a short time. It’s hard enough to undertake a perilous journey, let alone with someone you are just getting to know and are not sure if you can trust. Even the best of companions can have falling-outs when under such great duress as you two have been. I’m sure that this is just a temporary setback in your friendship.”
Our friendship was not exactly the issue. Still, Mr. Kadam’s words gave me some comfort. Maybe, now that we were out of that situation, we could talk it out and apply good ol’ common sense to the problem. Perhaps I could be the bigger person. After all, Ren was just starting to communicate with people again. If I could just explain to him how the world worked, I was sure he would understand and be able to move on to a place where we could still be friends.
He continued, “It’s remarkable that he was able to maintain human form the entire time there. Perhaps it has something to do with time stopping.”
