3: Comes with the Territory-2
1323 Words
BELLE WOKE UP AS THE INTENSE LIGHT came through the tent canopy. She was alone again.
I have to get used to waking up alone, she thought.
She tried to move but couldn’t. Her body screamed and ached, everywhere. After swimming and making love in the water, they had to climb up again to the top of the fall. He had planned it. The Neanderthal planned it.
He had led her behind the curtain of water, felt for something against the rock. It was a climbing rope. He flicked it out of its hiding place and moved it to the side of the waterfall.
‘There are knots tied along its length, spaced a foot apart,’ he told her.
He showed her how to do it. She looked at him with eyes the size of saucers, indignant.
‘You have got to be kidding me, you Neanderthal.’
‘Neanderthal?’
‘Caveman.’
‘I know what a Neanderthal is. But pardon me if I disagree. If I’m a caveman, I won’t let you out. I’d tie you up, shut you up and just bang you when I want.’
The blue-green eyes narrowed. Her blues blinked.
‘Now, I’m being considerate; I’m letting you go up first.’
She looked at the rope, touched it. The hemp was rough against her hands. She looked at him with eyes flashing.
‘I don’t want to do this.’
‘I know,’ he said. He clasped her neck in his rough hands and kissed her passionately. She felt breathless.
‘But you have to. This is not the world as you know it. It’s primitive; it’s not for the faint-hearted.’
Tears gathered in her eyes. She protested.
‘But it’s so unfair; you’re deliberately making it hard because you want me to quit.’
‘If you want to leave, I’ll drive you back to the airport. But I’m not deliberately making it hard for you. I want you to stay so it’s best you know I’m impossible to live with.’
She looked up. Her chest thudded. It seemed impossible.
‘The most exercise I’ve ever done was window shopping; I don’t know how you think I can do this.’
‘You can.’
‘Stop saying that.’
‘I can’t make you; you have to be willing. It comes with the territory.’
She swallowed her fear and nodded. ‘Okay.’ He smiled and coached her along from below. When she was up about three feet, he warned her before he commenced his climb. The rope stretched and swayed as it took his weight, freaking her out. She gripped the rope tighter, burning her skin; slivers of hemp dug into her palm. They made it in fifteen minutes, but for her, it felt like hours.
She lay on the mossy edge, exhausted, then passed out.
He must have carried her to the tent set up on the back of the ute.
The morning light was too bright. She closed her eyes thinking; I’m a total wreck. Tears came out uncontrollably.
This isn’t what I want. I want someone like Giorgio, someone who’s sweet and gentle and romantic. I want someone who’d say, ‘I love you’ every day. He hasn’t even said that. Not once. He’s not what I want. I made a big mistake.
She wiped her tears and felt disgusted with herself for being such a weakling. She noticed her hands were bandaged in gauze. She removed the dressing to check her palm. Pressed on it was a leaf. The scratches had healed nicely overnight. She looked down at herself and found that he had clothed her in his T-shirt. Despite feeling sorry for herself, she smiled at his thoughtfulness.
There were rustling sounds outside the tent. She peered out of a small opening of the zippered flaps. The first thing she saw was a pair of military grade boots. She looked up and was surprised to find a clean-shaven Neanderthal. He had also cut his hair short. Her heart jumped.
‘You’re not going back—’
‘Nah.’
He flashed a smile as he jumped up onto the ute and unzipped the flaps.
‘So, how’s my Mrs?’
Mrs?
He laughed at her bewildered expression, grabbed her waist, wrestled her down and kissed her.
‘Wouldn’t it be wild if someone walks in on us?’
She stiffened, and he laughed again.
‘You’re such a disgrace.’
He was bemused.
‘I can think of a lot of words to describe me. Disgraceful doesn’t cut it.’
His hand went up her T-shirt and came close to—
She stopped him. ‘No.’
He stopped. ‘See, proves I’m not a caveman.’ He made a move to leave.
She felt regret, reached out to touch his shoulder, ‘Wait.’
He stayed rigid, waited to hear what she had to say.
‘Sorry,’ she said.
Bryce turned to face her, brows furrowed, ‘For what?’
When she didn’t answer, he reached up to touch her face. ‘You’re entitled to say “No.” You can’t be sorry for that. Breakfast’s ready.’
He jumped off and helped her down. They walked back to the same fallen log. A billycan was waiting for her. Handing it to her, he said thoughtfully, ‘The tea has cooled.’
She took it and smiled at pretty little flowers floating inside the billy.
In the daylight and after a good night’s sleep, she had a much better appreciation of her environment and her present company. Relaxing to the sound of rare birds and exotic animals in a tropical paradise, it was an unforgettable experience.
‘We leave the Daintree today, but first I’ll take you to see the one thousand one-hundred-year-old giant Kauri pine trees, the tallest in the world. It’s not a long walk.’
Not a long walk? I doubt it.
He busied himself with breakfast preparation while she surreptitiously inspected the scars that peppered his body.
I wonder what stories come with them.
He noticed the scrutiny, so she quickly looked away, embarrassed.
He came over with crackers topped with freshly sliced tomatoes, herbs, and cottage cheese and sat so close to her she could smell his scent of aftershave and musk.
‘I checked you out last night when you were sleeping,’ he murmured. He smiled wickedly, ‘I like ... very much.’
She reddened, which he found sexy. He said so.
After breakfast, they packed up.
‘Do you have walking boots?’
‘No, sorry.’
She was secretly delighted—no walking boots. No walking.
He strode towards the ute, brought back a pair of walking boots.
‘They’re Billy’s. She reckoned they’d fit you.’
Belle sighed in despair, causing Bryce to laugh again.
She dressed the part of a hiker: clean plaid shirt, denim jeans, thick socks, and walking boots. He came over with a cap and a bottle of sunscreen and slathered her face with it. After, she brushed her waist length light red-coloured hair.
‘Let me,’ he said.
He took the brush from her. His hands were surprisingly light. He braided her hair deftly, another surprise. ‘How do you know how to braid hair?’
‘I used to do mine when I was young.’
He’s so strange—an almost mythical creature.
‘Ready?’
She nodded.
He took her hand, and they walked off to explore the rainforest where trees towered up to one-hundred-fifty feet tall.
Playing the role of a tour guide, he enlightened her about the Daintree.
‘It’s called the Emerald of Australia. Here, there are over forty fern species. King Fern has the world’s longest fronds. It’s also home to three thousand known species of plants.’
He pointed out some of the exotic ones as they strolled along and took photographs.
They had been walking for at least three hours when they stopped for refreshment. He opened his rucksack and handed her ‘Special Forces food.’ A packet of M&Ms and a bottle of water. They sat on the peaty soil, surrounded with majestic beauty not far from a freshwater stream populated with colourful rainbow fish.
Then he surprised her again. He selected a leaf, sat down before her, and played a leaf-lute version of Edelweiss. She was carried away by the music, the place, and the moment. He ended the song in his baritone voice, singing the verse, ‘Small and white. Clean and bright. You look happy to meet me.’
She cried shamelessly.
‘You’re who I want,’ she said. It was a complete reversal of what she was thinking earlier.
‘I should hope so,’ he replied.
She wiped her dripping nose.
He dug something out of his pocket—a ring made of forest twine.
‘I’ve been making this while you were sleeping. Will you marry me?’
Overtaken with so much emotion, she couldn’t answer.
‘You have one more day to make up your mind.’
‘I don’t. I mean, I don’t need another day. Yes. Yes.’
He put the twine ring on her finger, then kissed the scarred palms of her hands. Then, he let her take the lead. After all, he was a rascal, not a Neanderthal.
- Writer
