Tiger's Curse (43 page)

“But what does it have to do with me?”

“That’s just it, Kelsey. You are helping Ren break the curse. The amulet connects the three of us, and I’m worried that Lokesh knows about us. About you, in particular. I was hoping that something had happened to him, that he wasn’t alive anymore after all these years. I’ve been searching for him for centuries. Now that he’s seen us, I’m worried that he will come after you and the amulet.”

“You really think he’s that ruthless?”

“I know he is.” Mr. Kadam paused, and then suggested softly, “Perhaps it is time for you to return home.”

“What?” I panicked.

Return home? Home to what? Home to whom?
I had no life at home. I hadn’t even thought about what would happen after we broke the curse. I guess I’d just assumed that there was so much to do that I’d be stuck here for a couple of years.

Dismayed, I inquired, “You really want me to go home now?”

He saw my face and patted my hand. “Not at all! I didn’t mean to imply that I wanted you to leave us. Don’t worry. We’ll figure something out. I’m just speculating for now. I have no immediate plans to send you home. And, of course, if and when you do go, you may always return whenever you wish. Our home is yours. We just need to proceed with extreme caution now that Lokesh is back in the picture.”

I felt my panic subside, but only halfway.
Maybe Mr. Kadam is right. Maybe I should go home. It would be much easier to forget Mr. Superhero if I were on the other side of the planet, right? Heck, he’s the only young male I’ve been around for weeks, not counting Kishan. It would be healthier for me to get out and meet other guys anyway. Maybe if I did that, I’d realize this whole emotional connection I feel with him isn’t really that strong.

Maybe my mind is playing tricks on me. I’ve just been isolated, that’s all. When all you have is Tarzan and some monkeys, Tarzan looks pretty good, right?

I’ll just get over him. I’ll just go home and date a nice, normal computer geek who’d never leave me. I’ll forget all about old what’s-his-name.

I continued this line of thought, listing my reasons for staying away from Ren, and stubbornly rededicated myself to avoiding him. The only problem was my rebellious, weak mind kept drifting back to how safe I felt when he held me. And what he’d said when he thought I was dying. And the warm tingle that lingered on my lips after he kissed me. Even if I ignored his beautiful face, which was next to a Herculean task, there were many other dazzling qualities for my mind to dwell on, and those thoughts kept me occupied for the rest of the trip.

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.”

“Do you really think time stopped in Kishkindha?”

“Perhaps time just moves differently there, but I do know that you were gone in our time for only a short while.”

I nodded, agreeing with his assessment. Feeling better after talking and also happy that I had told Mr. Kadam the truth, I said that I was going to read for a while and then go sleep for a long time with a soft pillow. He nodded and asked me to place all my clothing in the laundry bag so it could be cleaned overnight.

Heading back to my suite, I began to gather my things. I threw in my clothes and tennis shoes too. Also, I carefully unrolled my quilt, removed the Golden Fruit, and wrapped it in a small towel. I picked up my sad-looking, filthy quilt and popped it into the laundry bag as well.

Placing the laundry bag outside my door, I hopped into the huge bed, luxuriating in the soft, plush sheets. I sunk into the goose-down pillows, and fell into a deep, relaxing sleep.

The next morning, I smiled and stretched out all my limbs as far as they could go and still didn’t even reach the edge of the bed. I brushed out my hair again and pulled it up into a loose ponytail.

Mr. Kadam was just sitting down to a breakfast of hash browns, toast, and Spanish omelets. I joined him, sipped my orange juice, and chatted about how exciting it was to be heading back home.

Our laundry was brought back pressed and folded as if brand new. Taking some clothes out of the pile to wear, I transferred all the rest of the folded clothing to my other bag. When I got to my quilt, I stopped for a moment to smell the lemony soap they’d used and inspected it carefully for damage. Faded and old as it was, it was still holding together well. I sent a silent thanks to my grandmother.
They don’t make them anymore like you did, Gran.

I placed my folded quilt on the bottom of my backpack and put the
gada
on the side standing straight up. I’d taken the
gada
out to clean the night before, but I was surprised to find it shiny and spotless, as if it had never been used. Next, I set Fanindra carefully on top of my quilt and put the Golden Fruit right in the middle of her coils. Then I zipped it up, leaving just a part open so Fanindra could breathe. I didn’t know if she actually breathed, but it made me feel better anyway.

Soon it was time to leave. I felt happy, refreshed, and perfectly content until we pulled up to the side of the road, and I saw
him
and he wasn’t a tiger. Ren had been waiting for us, wearing his usual white clothing and a toothy grin. Mr. Kadam walked over and hugged him. I could hear their voices, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. I did hear Mr. Kadam laugh as he clapped Ren on the back rather loudly. He was obviously very happy about something.

Then Ren changed back into a tiger and jumped into the car. He curled up for a nap in the back while I pointedly ignored him and selected a book to keep myself occupied on the long drive.

Mr. Kadam explained that we would have to stop at another hotel on the way back and that we would be driving all day. I told him that it was fine with me. I had plenty of books to read because Mr. Kadam had bought me a couple of novels at the hotel bookstore as well as a travel book of India.

I napped on and off during the day between chapters. I finished the first novel by early afternoon and was nearing the end of the second book by the time we drove into the city. The car was unusually quiet. Mr. Kadam seemed in high spirits, but he wasn’t sharing, and Ren slept the day away in the back.

After the sun went down, Mr. Kadam announced that we were near our destination. He indicated that he would drop me off first and then we would have dinner in the hotel restaurant to celebrate.

Inside my new hotel room, I lamented over what to wear because all I had were jeans and T-shirts in my bag. As I was rifling through the same three items for the third time, I heard a knock at the door and shuffled over in my robe and slippers. A maid handed me a zipped garment bag and a box. I tried to talk to her, but she didn’t understand English. She just kept saying, “Kadam.”

I took it, thanked her, and unzipped the garment bag to find a gorgeous dress inside. The fitted black velvet bodice had a sweetheart neckline, and the capped sleeves and skirt were made of a pearlescent plum dupioni silk. The dress’s snug fit made me look curvier than I really was. It tapered down to my hips and settled over the full plum, knee-length skirt. A belt, made of the same soft material as the skirt, was knotted on the side and pinned with a sparkling broach to emphasize my waist.

The dress was beautifully made, fully lined, and probably expensive. When I moved in the light, the material shimmered, reflecting several different shades of purple. I’d never worn something so lovely, except for the beautiful blue Indian dress I had back at the house. I opened the box and found a pair of strappy black heels with diamond buckles and a matching lily clip for my hair. A dress like this required makeup, so I headed to the bathroom and finished getting ready. I clipped the lily into my hair just over my left ear and finger-combed through my wavy hair. Then I slipped on my shoes and waited for Mr. Kadam.

He soon knocked on my door and admired me with fatherly appreciation. “Miss Kelsey, you look beautiful!”

I swirled my skirt for him. “The
dress
is beautiful. If I look good, it’s all your doing. You picked out something fabulous. Thank you. You must have known that I wanted to feel like a lady for a change, instead of a camper Jane.”

He nodded. His eyes seemed thoughtful, but he smiled at me, held out his arm, and escorted me out to the hotel elevator. We rode down the elevator and laughed about monkeys, as I told him about Ren running around with about twenty of them attached to his fur.