Swept Away (29 page)

“It's over now, Maddie. He can't hurt you now.”

“I know,” Maddie said through her tears. She looked up in agony at Ella and could barely get the words out: “But I miss him so much.”

That night, as Maddie slept in the other bed in the room, Ella went online to a passport expediting company and arranged for a replacement passport for Maddie. Then she booked her friend a seat on her own return flight out the following day. She was worried about actually getting Maddie
on
that flight since up to the point where she fell asleep exhausted in the bed, Maddie was insisting that she couldn't leave Egypt and she couldn't leave Gupta.

Ella found herself frustrated with the fact that the person being rescued was resisting the rescue. She figured she would just have to take it a day at a time. She couldn't force Maddie to come back with her.
Could she
? If Maddie needed another day or two to warm up to the idea, they could manage that. Ella stood next to the window and stared out into the dark Egyptian night. Something out there excited her. Something out there called to her.

Unnerved by the feeling, she stepped away from the window and decided a long hot bath wouldn't be a bad idea for her either. She glanced at the bedside clock which read five a.m. Dothan time, and wondered if her cowboy marshal was up yet. As soon as the thought came to her she stopped as if she'd been slapped.

Rowan hadn't worn his cowboy hat in months. How could she not have noticed that? The realization was so dramatic that she had to sit down on the edge of the bed to field it. Rowan, whose identity and signature trademark had been his white, low-brimmed cowboy hat, had stopped wearing it.

And she had not even noticed.

T
he next morning
, she and Maddie had breakfast in their hotel room. Ella could see that Maddie was a little better. She even laughed a few times and she hadn't mentioned Gupta's name once. However, when Ella told Maddie that they were booked on that afternoon's flight back to the States, Maddie asked if they could push it back a day.

“I don't think I could stand being cooped up on a nine-hour flight while in the middle of still trying to process this,” she said.

While Ella wasn't exactly sure how a flight would impede her ability to “process” anything, she agreed.

They spent the day talking about trivial things. Ella was careful not to mention her own wedding—which would have been taking place right about now, she realized—since she didn't want to remind Maddie of weddings that don't happen. They spent most of the day talking about their time together in college and about life in Cairo.

Maddie had seen very little of the city before being whisked away to
bastille Gupta.
When she suggested that the two of them go out that night, Ella wanted to believe that her friend really was feeling better, but the way Maddie continued to look at the telephone and the front door—as if expecting company—made her suspect otherwise.

“You know, Maddie, if you really want to go back to him and those lovely women who tied you up and beat you with sticks, I won't stand in your way.”

“Don't be silly, Ella.” But Maddie didn't look at her.

“But what I
will
do,” Ella said, “is call your brothers, your mom and dad and I'll put an update of it all on Facebook—complete with snapshots of your bruises—and then, when your brothers and parents come roaring over here with smoke pumping out of their ears to disembowel your intended, then and only then, will I agree to give up and go home alone. And I
will
go then because I will have handed the torch off to better people than me for getting the job done. And by
done
, I mean a supreme dose of
whup-ass
for your
ex
-fiancé. Just to be clear.”

Maddie stared at Ella and said nothing.

“Room service sound good?” Ella said brightly picking up the hotel phone.

R
owan turned
off the television set and picked up his cellphone. Every time he tried to call Ella he got a recording saying the line wasn't available. While he figured it was likely she had gone off without taking a charger converter for her phone, it was also possible he'd upset her to the point that she didn't want to talk to him.

He went to her computer and touched the keyboard to wake it up. Two clicks into her browsing history and he had the name of the hotel where she was staying.

Today was their wedding day. It had pissed down rain all morning. It would've been a crappy day for a wedding, all things considered. It was a Saturday so he didn't have work to occupy him. He knew he should've made plans for the day to prevent him thinking too much. Trouble was, he thought he
had
plans.

He entered the international number for the Cairo Hilton and asked for Ella's room. He glanced at the kitchen clock to note it was early there, right at seven am. But his girl was an early riser. He didn't expect he'd wake her.

“Hello?” Her voice sounded tentative, as if she'd been fielding telemarketing calls all night.

“Hey, babe,” he said.

“Rowan! I'm so glad to hear your voice.”

“How's it going? Did you get her?”

“I did.” She lowered her voice. “She's sleeping. We were supposed to go home today so I'm glad you called.”

“You're not leaving today?”

“No, Maddie's really messed up. She still thinks she wants to be with that jerk.”

“Not surprising.”

“I know, but annoying when you're trying to get a flight out.”

“How much longer, do you think?”

“I don't know. I'm hoping for tomorrow.”

“I miss you, Ella,” he said.

“I miss you, too,” she said. “Rowan, why aren't you wearing your cowboy hat any more?”

“My hat? I don't know,” he said. “Just grew out of it, I guess.”

“Rowan, I am determined that we are going to fix whatever's wrong, okay?”

“Yeah, me, too, darlin'.”

There was a slight pause. “Today's our wedding day.”

“I know.”

“I'm so sorry, Rowan.”

“Don't be. Just come home.”

“My cellphone died. I don't have a charger here.”

“I figured.”

“But I'll call you when I know for sure when our flight is out.”

“And I'll be at the airport waiting for you.”

“I love you, Rowan,”

“And me you, Ella.”

T
wo days
later Ella felt like tying Maddie up herself. She was going so stir-crazy she was snapping at Maddie and rethinking the wisdom of the whole trip. It was bad enough that she was in an exotic city—maybe the most exotic city in the world—and she wasn't able to see any of it, but all the television channels except one were in Arabic. On the third day of their self-imposed incarceration, Ella sat Maddie down and asked her flat out if Ella needed to call Maddie's parents or would she come home with her?

Maddie had slowly begun regaining her sanity, it seemed to Ella.

But that's just what crazy people want you to think.

“I talked to G-g-gagan,” Maddie said after the two had polished off another bout of room service pizza with Coke and French fries.

“What?!” Ella froze with the last pizza slice half way to her lips.

Maddie nodded. “When you were downstairs last night.”

Ella had run down to the lobby for less than five minutes, just for a change of pace. Seeing all the people coming and going had felt like an infusion of life and energy that she desperately needed. It had been agony to force herself back upstairs, as if she were needed to attend some terminally ill person on her death bed.

“He's found us?” Ella stood up although it occurred to her that if she talked to him yesterday, he would have had plenty of time to come get them before now.

“I told him we were here,” Maddie said. “He's not a drug lord or Interpol gangster, Ella. He's not on the run from the law.”

Ella said nothing.

“I told him I needed to go home. I told him.”

“What did he say?”

“He…he said fine.” Maddie shrugged. “He was his old charming self. Said he was sorry it didn't work out and that he'll always…he'll always love me.” Maddie swallowed hard and her eyes filled with tears.

Yeah, love pounding on you,
Ella thought narrowing her eyes. “Well, that's good,” she said. “Sounds like he sees the wisdom in it.”

“Yes.”

“So, we're good?” Ella reached over and touched Maddie on the knee. “We're good to go?”

Maddie nodded. “I called my mom while I was at it.”

Praise the Lord.

“Told her I was coming home, that it didn't work out. You know what she said?”

Ella shook her head.

“She said
Thank God
.”

L
ater that afternoon
, Ella left the hotel. Confidant that Maddie wouldn't try to leave to reunite with Gagan and, after four days stuck in a hotel room, not sure if she even cared at this point, she left Maddie napping and had the doorman hail another taxi for her. She had had plenty of time to map out where she might go if she had a few hours reprieve from her task as loving jailer. She told the taxi driver to take her to the
Khan al-Khalili
bazaar. She would have loved to have seen the pyramids but it just wasn't going to be possible. It occurred to her that she and Rowan still had their tickets for the September trip and he appeared to be a big archaeology bug. (
Who knew
?) Maybe she'd get her Facebook picture on a camel yet.

Because there seemed to be so many taxis, indeed so many of every kind of vehicle, she felt no concern in letting her taxi go. She assumed she could easily hail another one. Located in the Islamic part of Cairo or Medieval Cairo, the bazaar was a magic land of hodgepodge shops and boutiques, a combination of fresh fruit juice stands and ancient storefronts with such amazing treasures inside as chandeliers to faux antiquities.

The noise, the smell, the swirling mass of humanity, reminded Ella of the Heidelberg markets in the seventeenth century. The only difference was the huge number of people Ella saw walking around the bazaar with cellphones slapped to their heads. She was amazed at how many people were so distracted by conversations that they weren't really
there
.
Worse than in the States
.

She wandered into several stores and through a maze of stalls, careful not to touch anything because she didn't know culturally how that would be seen. The smells from the food stalls made her stomach growl but her experience with the unpeeled fruit on her first day made her wary. She watched one man shaving meat off a large shank that looked like the back end of a mule and she wasn't at all sure how clean his hands were. Or, unfortunately, she realized, she
was
sure.

She watched the light begin to fail but stubbornly refused to think in terms of returning to the hotel just yet.
This is all I have! One short hour or two! I need to make the most of it.

As she made her way into the heart of the bazaar, her heart feeling lighter and more energized than it had in months, she saw a woman just a few years older than herself standing on the corner and staring at Ella as if she'd been waiting for her. In a strange way, Ella had the odd feeling that
she
had been waiting for her, too. She walked toward her and as she approached, the woman smiled. She held out both her hands to Ella and Ella took them in hers.

“
Es-Salamu-Aleku
,” the woman said.
Welcome
.

“Thanks,” Ella said.

“You will come in?” The woman gave Ella's hands a squeeze and then let them go. She was taller than Ella, with long hair caught up in a head scarf with pretty stones twinkling from the band. She wore a multi-colored
hijab
and sandals with rhinestones across the buckles.

Ella entered the woman's shop and saw that it was a small tearoom or coffee shop. It was empty.

“Since the 2011 Revolution,” the woman said, gesturing to a chair, “the tourists have stopped coming.”

“I'm sure they'll be back eventually,” Ella said, looking around the shop. A beautifully ornate water pipe sat on the table that the woman was indicating that Ella should sit at. The walls of the shop were lined with small sculptures and glassware.

“Do you take
sheesha
?” the woman said over her shoulder to Ella, indicating the pipe. “I have double apple if you'd prefer it to tobacco.”

“No, thanks,” Ella said. She wondered why in the world she came into the shop just because the woman greeted her as if they knew one another.

The woman came back with two cups and saucers. She set them down on the table.

“I took the liberty of sugaring yours,” she said, smiling.

Ella smiled but a puzzled look came to her face. “I know it's not possible that we know each other,” she said.

The woman laughed, her eyes bright at Ella's words. “But you can't help but think we do.”

“Is that weird?”

“Not at all. In fact, I
have
recognized you.”

“Well, I'm not famous,” Ella laughed as she sipped her coffee. “So I can't imagine how you could have.”

“My name is Yeena.”

“I'm Ella.”

“Sometimes, Ella, the knowing is a kind of unknowable knowing.”

“Wow. Okay,” Ella said, shaking her head and grinning.

“May I tell your fortune?”

“Oh! Is that what this is? I'm sorry, I thought it was just a tea shop or something.”

“For certain kinds of travelers it is a teashop,” Yeena said, her smile softening. “For others it is a way station. May I see your hand?”

Ella put her cup down and held out her hand. She didn't want to ask how much it cost. She hoped it wasn't too expensive. All in all it was a lovely story to take back with her to Rowan. And her dad and Suzie would get a kick out of hearing about it too.

Yeena's hands were cool and firm. She held Ella's hand palm up and traced a finger down the center of it. It tickled but felt nice, too, like a doctor being able to read what ails you. Ella felt a rush of trust in this strange woman.

“Yes, it is as I thought,” Yeena said. “You have a dragon to fight.”

Ella thought of Rowan's mother and smiled grimly.

“Your man waits for you.”

Ella looked up mildly startled but then decided that was probably a pretty safe bet for any female traveling alone.
Heck, for all Yeena knew, her man could be waiting for her outside in a taxi or back at the hotel.

“He has risked much to be with you.” Yeena looked up at Ella. “And you him.”

“I guess, like a lot of couples,” Ella said noncommittally.

“Not like this,” Yeena said, shaking her head. “You are a time traveler.”

Ella jerked her hand out of Yeena's grasp and gaped at her. “What did you say?”

Yeena seemed unperturbed at Ella's reaction. “I knew you were coming today.”

“Who are you?” Ella stood up and glanced at the door, but Yeena put her hands out to calm her.

“I am a seer,” she said. “Nothing more.”

“That's impossible,” Ella said, still standing. “People can't see the future.”

“No? Can they travel back in time?”

Whether through a dull acquiescence or because her knees were giving out on her, Ella didn't know, but she sat back down hard in her chair.

“How…how did you know?” she asked, not sure if she felt terrified or relieved that someone knew her secret.

“I don't know
how
I know,” Yeena admitted, wiping up some coffee that Ella had spilled. “I just know I do. I have something to show you.”

“Show me?” Ella looked around the shop. It had begun to feel a little warm to her.

“Not here. You must go and get it.”

“I don't really have time for more shopping today. I'm sorry. And I'm leaving the country tomorrow.”

Ella could swear that Yeena smiled even broader at that.

“You must take this with you on your travels,” she said. “It is for your husband.”

“I'm not married.”

“We both know that you are, Ella.” The woman smiled. “I have seen a wedding in a very old chapel surrounded by many women. Nuns, I believe.”

Oh my God. She was seeing Heidelberg. The seer was talking about Heidelberg.

Ella sat stunned. “We
were
married,” she said slowly. “In 1620. When we came back…” she looked at Yeena. “…we didn't think it still held, the marriage. We had no license.” She struggled to get the words out. “It was almost four hundred years later.”

“I know.”

“What is this souvenir I need to bring to Rowan? I don't have a lot of time. I really have to go back to the hotel now. We leave
tomorrow
.”

“You must retrieve it before you get on the airplane.”

Ella rubbed her face and realized her hand was shaking. She couldn't believe she was talking with someone who knew about her and Rowan and Heidelberg.

“Do you know who Greta is?” Ella asked suddenly.

“Of course.”

“Do you know…do you know what happened to her?”

Yeena reached for Ella's empty coffee cup and set it on a tray along with her own. “It is not something people usually want to know,” she said gently.

“Right.” Ella looked down at her hands. “She's dead, of course.”

“The item you must retrieve is a copy of an old papyrus. You will find it at the end of this street, behind the baker. It is easy to find.”

“This paper is at the baker's?”

“
Behind
the baker's, yes. Go around to the back. There is a very small coffee shop there. Inside will be a man named Abed. Tell him Yeena has sent you for the book.”

“I thought you said it was a paper. Does Abed speak English?”

“No, but he will be watching for you.”

“And how do I know Abed won't bop me on the head and relieve me of my credit cards and passport?”

“You must trust me, Ella.”

“This book have a name?”

“It does, my brave one. It is called the Book of the Dead.”

I
t was
difficult to sleep that night. Ella had gone straight back to the hotel without attempting to acquire the book Yeena wanted so badly for her to have. She knew she had been gone too long as it was and Maddie would be worried. Besides, the woman scared her. She needed to think about everything the seer said before she did anything rash—like creep around the back end of a deserted alleyway in post-revolution Cairo.
At night.

The next morning, her head was so full of questions that she decided to skip the whole life-and-death papyrus thing and go straight back to Yeena to find out
how
the seer knew what she did. It never occurred to Ella that she might find someone who knew about the time traveling.
It meant she knew how it happened!
Perhaps Ella could return and see Greta again.
She could return with a backpack full of antibiotics and penicillin and the special coffee that Greta liked…

The seer could tell her if she and Rowan had just been wildly lucky to go and come back or if there was a way to control it.

Rowan! Wait until he heard this!

Maddie interrupted Ella's thoughts by clicking her fingers. “Earth to Ella,” she said. “You about ready?”

Ella snapped out of her daze to find Maddie fully dressed and standing by the door with Ella's carry-on bag beside her. Ella noticed that Maddie had a small bag, too.

“Where'd you get that? she asked.

“Now, don't get mad, but I asked Gagan to bring me my purse last night and a few of my clothes,
and
my passport. He'll send the rest on to me.”

“Are you totally shitting me?” Ella's mouth fell open. She looked around the hotel room. “He was
here
?”

“No,” Maddie admitted. “I met him downstairs in the lobby. The very
public
lobby.”

“Where he could just drag you off and stuff you in the trunk of his car!”

“Which is why I didn't tell you, Ella,” Maddie said, looking very tired and world-weary. “Because as you can see nobody dragged anybody. He has accepted that the wedding's off. He was very decent about it.” She gave a deliberate pause. “As I knew he would be.”