A Golden Legend

Chapter 14

Upon returning home, Teresa sat down at her computer and immediately opened her email. Within the multiple messages arrived there was one of Marcelo Ferrand. Exercising willpower she forced herself to read them sequentially. When it opened that of the man, she could not hide a satisfied smile. Marcelo confirmed he would take vacation and would accompany her on the trip to Peru that the young woman had already anticipated him. Consequently he wondered which the exact date was, and which the meeting point, things that Teresa at that point of time could already answer.

As she was writing to Marcelo, a lot of things disorderly came to her mind: what happened in Yucatan, physical love in the hotel of Cancun, confidences made by both, the expectations placed on each other. In contrast, her thoughts returned to McPherson. Teresa wondered what had she seen in the bland gringo in a relationship that had lasted six months. Obviously, new experiences and new relationships established put the former under a new perspective. She proceeded to reply to Marcelo´s message, and did not try to hide her eagerness to reconnect.

It remained to settle the issue of enrolling the young man in the cast of the members of the expedition. McPherson always kept the amount of personnel as low as possible, due to the costs and the logistical effort that meant having a large group of people in a rural environment, where there would be few opportunities for livelihoods. Teresa knew that her previous relationship with the teacher gave her a certain margin of extortion. She expected a certain degree of teacher resistance to a neophyte in the group, but faced with the predictable question about what role would play Marcelo in the expedition; Teresa would answer Magnus that the same as Nyoman, who, as she had correctly figured out, would be part of the group.

The following days were very busy for the girl. She went shopping to replace all the equipment lost in the Yucatan, including the tent (which she acquired with enough capacity for two people staying comfortable), sleeping bag, hat and rustic clothes for the jungle and warm apparel apt for the mountain climate.

At night she replied a new message of Marcelo, in which he consulted her about which gear to carry, given the fact that his experience was essentially in camps in areas of cold lakes and mountains in the South of Argentina, and not so much in jungle regions. Teresa answered the questions, ending with a phrase.

“... and do not worry about bringing a tent or carpa, as you call it. I will take care of that. Bring instead the sleeping bag that you say you use in Bariloche, since in the yunga nights are cold.”

Marcelo´s pulse quickened slightly as it did whenever he received an email from Teresa. He had to recognize that the thoughts on the girl produced him a pleasure unlike the excitement that he had felt with other girlfriends that he had in the past. His face was clearly exhibiting this state of calmness, so when his friend and buddy Leonardo Santa Croce happened to pass by his desk exclaimed.

“Well, it seems that the Mexican girl wrote!”

Marcelo suddenly reconnected with the reality with a jump.

“Stop teasing and lower your voice. I don't want to regret having confided my feelings to you. I don't want my private affairs in everybody´s mouth.”

“Calm down! I will be a tomb. I understand your enthusiasm; by the description you did it seems that you met Selma Hayek.”

“Do not fool around, Leo” said Marcelo amused “I didn't laugh when you went to Bogotá and met Sofia.

“And she is also rich! “ Continued Leonardo ignoring the response “when Mexicans are rich, they are seriously rich. Did you save yourself for the rest of your life?”

“Leo, cut it!”  Ended Marcelo feigning anger and throwing him a block of memos by the head. Then, regaining the seriousness, reported.

“Starting from the first day of the coming month I will take three weeks of vacation that the company owes me; you are going to have to cover me in the project related to the contract with the Brazilian paper mill. If you agree tomorrow we can meet and I will explain what we are negotiating. Look that is the largest contract that I got in the year, I have to take care”.

Then Marcelo briefly told his friend about the preparations he was making for the tour. Leonardo ended saying:

“Do not forget that in those days I will be in Lima for the Callao project. Anything you need, call me at mobile. I'll give you the local number as soon as I have it.”

“I doubt that I will have signal in mine given the places we will be in, but thanks anyway.”

Teresa dragged her luggage through the airport long corridors, stopped momentarily in search of the gate from which her aircraft was departing. Once she located it she approached it immediately. Upon arrival she glimpsed McPherson with the Indonesian beauty sitting in the waiting room. They had already arranged accounts with the Professor, and both had bleached their respective partners, without accusations of any of the two parties. Therefore the American was not bothered for seeing her and answered her greeting normally; the girl accompanying him instead was obviously uncomfortable, which was a bonus for Teresa.

“She is so young” thought Teresa “Magnus should be charged with abuse.” Then, addressing the teacher she inquired:

“Someone else will leave from Mexico DF today?”

“I don't know, as you know the meeting point is Cuzco. We have already set next Wednesday at 11 am at the Nonvoter in the city centre. Where you will find with your... boyfriend?”

“I will be waiting for him in Cuzco. We are going to meet at another hotel, best suited to the Marcelo´s income.”