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Authors: Marie Moore

2 Game Drive (3 page)

BOOK: 2 Game Drive
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Jay was at the bar with two other people we had briefly met in the lobby on arrival: George, the room thief, who was a short, wide travel agent from
Sarasota, and Connie, a blonde from Atlanta. Connie was big and her husky laugh was even bigger. I liked her immediately. I could tell she was going to be a lot of fun. She was adorned with all kinds of bling, including flashy diamonds on every finger, and covered in hot pink and black zebra print.

George wore huge, red-framed glasses. His short brown hair was gelled into spikes or tufts that combined with his wide shoulders and short, square body to give him the look of a jolly owl. The owl impression was further enhanced by the constant motion of his head as it swiveled back and forth so as not to miss any new arrivals.

“Sweetheart! Great to see you again. Give Georgie-baby a kiss,” he shrieked as he linked his arm in mine and steered me around the room, introducing me to the others. George had apparently already made friends with pretty much the whole group.


Please. Is he running for mayor?” Jay said, after I finally managed to disentangle myself from George by declaring my need for a fresh drink. “You meet the guy once in the lobby and he’s your new best friend.” He looked around the room. “This thing is winding down, Sidney. Let’s get out of here before he latches on to you again.”

We jumped into a cab and headed for the Nellie, just as the great red sun slipped behind the mountain.

 

 

Chapter
3

A
s our ratty old cab pulled up at the grand entrance of the brilliantly lit hotel, Jay pointed to the Bentley in front of us and said, “Now that is really more my style.”

The Mount Nelson Hotel is a giant pink and white pile of colonial splendor sprawled across the lower slopes of Table Mountain and flanked by stately palm trees and lush gardens.

The cab had whizzed us from the Waterfront to the front door of the Nellie, speeding through the warm, flower-scented evening, from Adderley Street, up Government Avenue, past the Houses of Parliament through the center of one of the oldest sites of the original colony, the Company’s Garden. This was the site of Jan van Riebeeck’s huge vegetable garden, which he planted for the colony he founded in 1652 to provide fresh food for ships rounding the Cape of Good Hope. Now it is a lovely, peaceful area of exotic plants and trees for the city’s residents and visitors. Museums, St. George’s Cathedral and other historic buildings line its borders, much like our own National Mall.

Jay hopped out of—and quickly away from—the shabby cab. I knew from previous experience that he was pretending we had arrived in the Bentley
and was hoping others might think so too. I followed him into the crowded lobby.

Our dinner reservations were at eight, and we were seated right away in the
Planet Restaurant. The tables were candlelit. I loved the tall ceilings and big mirrors, reflecting star-like chandeliers.

“Nice,” Jay said, as he scanned the faces of the other diners before opening his menu. “
Super nice. And looks like we’ve got a bonus, Sidney. Did you check out the prices?”

I looked at my menu. He was right. The setting was fantastic but the prices were the best surprise. They were a fraction of what they would have been in any comparable New York restaurant.

Jay chose the springbok loin. I had the poached king klip, a delicious native white fish. We shared a passion fruit soufflé for dessert. Because of the miracle of the exchange rate, the whole deal, with wine, set us each back about twenty-five bucks total.

Finally finished with the delicious dinner, we decided to head to the adjoining Planet Bar to enjoy an after-dinner drink.

“Get a champagne and try to look bored
and world-weary,” he whispered as we entered. “Work the room. I’m going to check out the terrace. See you later.”

It was one of Jay’s favorite games: we would act as though we were some kind of minor royalty—jaded sophisticates, Lord and Lady Something-or-Other—but our true aim was to spot an A-lister.

“Keep your eyes open, Sid,” he said in a low voice as he moved away, “there’s no telling who you might see here. This place is celebrity central.”

There were plenty of glamorous-looking people in the room that night, but I guessed that many of them were imposters like me and Jay,
more likely from Peoria than Paris. He disappeared through the tall doors onto the terrace. I was waiting at the bar for my drink before joining him when I heard someone call my name.

“Sidney, darling, what brings you to Africa?”

I turned to find Brooke Shyler, my one truly glamorous friend and sometime-client from New York. Brooke is in her late seventies or early eighties, though no one knows for sure. She doesn’t look it and certainly isn’t sharing that information. Brooke lives in an East Side penthouse, has heaps of money, and knows everyone interesting in the City. She is slender and always beautifully dressed, and her hair is even redder than Jay’s.

“Brooke! How wonderful to see you. This is amazing. What on earth are you doing here? Jay and I are here on a fam trip for the agency, checking out a new tour. But what about you? What brings you to Cape Town?”

“Well, you know, darling, it’s really cold and dreary in New York right now, and it’s all warm and lovely here. So I decided to slip on over for a few weeks to soak up some sun. After I leave Cape Town on the twentieth, I’ll be cruising with friends to the Seychelles and on to India. I’ll be on a very special Empress Lines ship, Sidney,
The
Rapture of the Deep
. Remember that ship? I wonder who the captain might be this time.”

Her beautiful blue eyes sparkled. She loves to tease me about a certain ship
’s captain. That last cruise hadn’t been all bad, for it had resulted in quite a passionate relationship with one Captain Stephanos Vargos.

“I don’t know, Brooke. I haven’t heard from any ship captains lately. I don’t know what assignments he’s drawn. Things were a little rocky between us the last time he was in New York.”

“Really? Let me guess. He’s ready to take you to Athens for good and you are not ready to commit.”

“Something like that.”

“Well, the captain of this particular cruise could turn out to be short, fat, and ugly, I suppose, but if he is a tall, handsome Greek, I’ll be sure that he knows you are in the neighborhood, darling. The ship will dock here on the nineteenth.”

She smiled, but her eyes were serious.

“I wouldn’t let that one slip through my fingers, Sidney. Men like that don’t come around very often. Now come and meet my friends.”

Brooke has many, many friends all over the world, and they range from movie stars and tycoons to ordinary people like me. As I said, she is an amazing woman.

* * *

I had such a good time with Brooke and her pals that I lost track of time … and of Jay. When I realized how late it was, I said my goodbyes and started looking for him.

I didn’t see him in the bar, or on the terrace, but someone said he might be in the garden, so I went down the steps into the fragrant, moonlit night to find him. The enormous ivory globe of the African moon rose over the trees and flooded the path with light. That moon made the discreet pathway lights, thoughtfully placed by the garden’s designers, almost unnecessary. The moon was as yet only half full, but it shone brightly. I could only imagine how beautiful it would be in the nights to come.

I looked down one empty path, and then another, and saw three men beneath the trees at the far end with their backs turned, deep in conversation.

It was too dark to tell at a distance if one of them was Jay or not, but one guy was about Jay’s height and the white pants he wore stood out against the dark shrubbery. The other men were short and stocky, like George, wearing dark clothing. One of the short men left the group, striding away out of sight, into the trees. I started down the path toward the two who remained, smiling and waving, thinking that it had to be Jay. No one else in the bar had been dressed like Clark Gable in the John Ford classic,
Mogambo
.

From the looks of it, the two men seemed to be having an argument, though they were speaking in low tones and I couldn’t hear what they were saying. I was just a few feet away when they stopped talking and turned to stare at me.

Pretty embarrassing.

It was not Jay. I had never seen either of them before. The great-looking man in the white pants was Jay’s height, with shoulders just as broad. His hair was dark instead of red and much longer, brushing the collar of his dark coat. His strong jaw, unlike Jay’s, was clean-shaven. Even in the darkness, I could see that his handsome face was contorted in rage. His companion was a short, sturdy black man, with powerful shoulders and a grim expression. He wore an expensive dark suit and a large diamond ring.

Their reaction to my arrival was odd. Each man just stared, then turned abruptly and walked quickly away from me and from each other, in opposite directions, without another word.

I just stood there in the moonlight. Jay was nowhere in sight.

I shivered. I was alone in the lush, tropical garden. There were no sounds except for the faint melody of a piano coming from the hotel and the crunch of gravel receding as the two men retreated.

The moon drifted behind some clouds, making the night even darker, and the deep shadows of the overhanging trees suddenly made me feel very lonely indeed.

I hurried back toward the hotel, getting pebbles in my sandals, but I definitely wasn’t stopping in the deserted garden to empty them.

In my haste, I tripped over something, a broken tree limb, maybe, and went sprawling. I didn’t investigate. I jumped up, brushed myself off, and jogged off as fast as I could go toward light and people. My dress was okay and I wasn’t hurt, just shaken.

As I neared the hotel, I was glad to see George, leaning on a railing, smoking a cigar.

“Hello, Sidney. Isn’t this a great hotel? Don’t you wish you could just check in here for a year or two and paint or something?”

“Yes, I do,” I laughed, “but my budget won’t allow one night, much less a couple of years. What are you doing here, George? I thought you were going to a disco.”

“Changed my mind when I heard you and Jay had headed here. Thought I might as well
have a look. I’m glad I did. This place is impressive.”

“It is, isn’t it?”

“Where’s Jay? Why isn’t he with you? Were you out in the garden all by yourself?”

I wasn’t about to tell George about my embarrassing encounter with two strange men in the garden.

“Yes,” I said, trying to quell the faint tremor in my voice. “I just strolled out from the bar for a moment to get some fresh air.” I thought back to the men in the shadows of the deserted garden. I couldn’t quite shake the notion that I had seen something clandestine. Maybe it was that look of rage in the face of the handsome man ...

“It’s really beautiful, isn’t it?
See anyone you know in the garden? Did you take any pictures?”

I shrugged and held up my hands to show that they were empty. “No
, and I didn’t bring my camera with me tonight. Travelling light. I’m not sure how well pictures would turn out, in any case. Low light, you know.”

“Yeah, depends on how good the camera is, I guess. Where’s Jay? Did he go in the garden?”

“I think Jay’s inside. It’s getting late.” I started walking toward the hotel. “I better find him, grab a cab, and head back to the Waterfront. Want to share a ride?”

“No, thanks. I haven’t been here long. I think I’ll stay awhile. Good night, Sidney.”

He turned back, facing the steps, puffing on the cigar.

“Good night
, then, George,” I called, “See you in the morning.”

I had just stepped into the bar when I saw Jay, the real Jay this time. There was no mistaking that red hair
in the lights of the bar. In the dark, all colors just wash out.

“Jay! I’m so glad to find you. I’ve been looking all over the place. I almost grabbed a perfect stranger out there in the bushes because I thought it was you. Then I ran into George, who asked about a million questions about it. He has so much curiosity, maybe even more than I have.”

Jay smiled down at me. “No one has more than you, Sidney.”

I sat down on a chair to fish the pebbles out of my shoes, shaking my head at how many I had managed to accumulate. “I walked all over that garden looking for you, Jay. I did a little dance, too, when I tripped over something on the path. I almost fell on my face.”

“Well, I’ve been looking for you, too, babe, because that plane ride from hell is beginning to catch up with me. I hate to admit it, sweetie, but Big Jay is tired.” He stifled a yawn. “What do you think? Have you had enough fun? You look like you have.” He brushed a stray lock of hair back from my face. “Were you dancing? Your crowning glory is a mess.”

“I told you I tripped over something and fell in the garden,” I said. I pulled the remaining pins out of my hair and shook it out, letting it fall loose onto my shoulders.

“You okay, Sid?” He stared at me. “You’re not hurt, are you?”

“No, but I am also ready to go back to the Commodore. You’re so right. It’s late, and we have to be at David’s breakfast seminar in a few hours.”

We walked down the steps and climbed into a waiting cab.

“Did you see Brooke?” I asked Jay, as we rolled away into the fragrant night. “How funny to run into her here
, halfway around the world.”

“Yes, I did,” he said, leaning back on the lumpy old car seat, his eyes half-closed. “She told me how she just decided to pop over and grab some sun. Now wouldn’t that be nice? Don’t you wish you could do that? Just go wherever you want, whenever you want? I think she should adopt me, Sidney. You can adopt adults, you know. Then I would never have to work again and I could live like that all the time. Why don’t you speak to her about that idea, Sid, the next time you see her? Tell her she should adopt me. It’s the least you could do for me, after all I’ve done for you.”

I laughed. “Great idea, Jay. I’ll get right on that.”

Honestly. I couldn’t believe the way Jay’s mind worked. And the thing is, he was only half-kidding. He would let Brooke adopt him in a heartbeat and never look back.

I know Jay. He is my best friend. I know him well.

 

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