Passage to Queen Mesentia (11 page)

“Elizabeth and Marilyn are very fast for their ages,” Mohamed protested. “I named them after beautiful American movie stars. I lived in Hollywood a year ago…”

“There are markets and bazaars a little further down,” she said. “Why don’t we get off there and then maybe we’ll lose him in the crowd.”

“Okay, we’ll do that,” Wade agreed.

Lilly shouted to Mohamed. “Drop us off at the first souq.”

“That is an excellent place to buy souvenirs and fresh produce, but I think such a beautiful lady as yourself would appreciate the beauty of the Luxor Temple more. You should see the lights at night.”

Wade glanced behind them and noticed that Schelsteder’s taxi was stopped behind a truck that was turning. Ahead of them, Wade noticed the amount of people out on the sidewalk had increased. “Is that it?”

Lilly nodded. “Yes, if I remember right, there are gobs of little shops down a strip, there.”

“Okay then, get ready to jump.”

“What?”

Mohamed was saying, “… it is not called the open air museum for nothing. The White Chapel of Senusret…” 

“Next time, buddy,” Wade said. “Right now we’re getting off here. Don’t stop; just slow down, and then keep on moving until you get to that temple. Here’s a little something for your trouble.”

Mohamed took the money and said, “Thank you. Generous American Cowboy.”

Wade looked at Lilly, and she nodded even though her eyes were wide and she was biting her fingernails.

When the carriage slowed, Wade jumped out and turned to Lilly, holding his arms out to catch her. She didn’t hesitate and jumped.

They sprinted into the bazaar, which, to Wade, resembled a large outdoor flea market. Although the walkway in-between the shops was covered and looked like a pedestrian area, people drove bikes and scooters down the wide corridor like it was the street, honking people out of the way.

Wade and Lilly ran into the first open shop and peeked around the wall to the street.

Seconds later, Wade watched as the taxi zoomed past. “We don’t have much time,” he said over the festive music, voices, bells, and horns. “As soon he catches up to the carriage, he’ll see no one is in there, and backtrack,”

“Come on, we can get out this way.” She pointed.

Wade saw that she meant for them to run all the way down the passage to the other side where there seemed to be another street opening. “No, let’s wait. I have an idea.”

The shop owner took notice of his new customers and started talking. He brought a couple of colorful purses over to Lilly and was telling her about them. Lilly seemed to be trying to be polite, so he would be quiet, yet let him know she wasn’t interested. “Aasif la,” she whispered. “No.” She shook her head and tried to shoo him with her hands.

Wade looked around the corner, again. A taxi pulled up along the street and stopped. “I think he’s here!” Wade said.

Sure enough, Schelsteder slinked out of the taxi. He stuck out like a redneck at a disco in his light beige suit among the casual tourist and fabric-wrapped locals. He calmly walked towards their shop, and Wade tried to spot a place where they could hide but there wasn’t even a counter.

“Fine,” Lilly said and took money from her purse and handed it to the man. She grabbed one of the bags he held, pulling it over her head so it hung from one shoulder and wore it like a satchel.

“You’re shopping?” Wade whispered as he put his attention back on Schelsteder, whose pace had quickened. Wade felt a wave of relief when he realized his sights were set in front of him, most likely to the far street Lilly had wanted to run to. As soon as Schelsteder walked passed them, Wade grabbed Lilly’s hand and they ran to the abandoned cab. They opened the door, got in, and locked it.

“Drive,” Wade said.

Schelsteder was at the car door immediately, trying to open it. Wade could see his other hand on a small pistol tucked inside his pants, normally hid by his jacket. The taxi screeched out onto the road, headed in the direction of the museum, leaving Schelsteder amidst exhaust.

Wade exhaled heavily as he melted back onto the seat. “That was close.”

“Where do we go?” Lilly asked excitedly. “What do we do now? I can’t believe he was chasing us. We can’t go back to the hotel. Did you see his gun? Oh my goodness, what are we going to do?”

“I don’t know about you, but all this Indiana Jones stuff has me famished.”

Chapter 13

Lilly had told the cab driver to take them to the Ali Baba Café on
Khaled Ibn El Walid, which was behind the Luxor Temple and close to the ferry. Since the restaurant was located upstairs, it had an excellent view of the street. But Lilly couldn’t take her eyes off of Wade. He sat across from her, unshaven, dirty, and with hat-hair, shoving his spaghetti bolognaise inside his mouth. If it would’ve been a couple of days earlier, she would have been embarrassed by his caveman-like manners. This thought made her feel a bit foolish with the way she had treated him because all she felt at that moment, was safe. She felt safe, even though they were being chased down the street in a foreign land by a lunatic. She knew she wouldn’t have felt safer nor did she want to be with any other person—man—at that moment.

She had been asking herself over the past weeks, ‘Why?’ Why did I choose him over my parents?

Lilly moved her vegetables around on her plate thinking about the first time she had met Wade. She and Grant had stopped by Starbucks on their way to a movie.

Grant had stood in front of her in line and asked what she wanted. She’d told him, “a tall vanilla latte.” He had order her a tall decaf vanilla latte with skim milk.

 Someone behind her had cleared their throat, loudly. She ignored it, not thinking much about it. However, after she and Grant had found a seat outside and had begun to talk about their wedding plans, two guys sat down at the table next to theirs. Again, she didn’t think much about it, until the wind started blowing, sending the scent of gasoline in her direction. She glanced over at the two filthy guys in matching dirty, blue work shirts.

Grant was saying, “I think we should let Aunt C make our cake.”

“Wait a minute. We already discussed this. I have our appointment set up for—”

“Don’t interrupt me,” he’d said sharply and this had been the second time he’d been short with her since they’d sat down. She didn’t say anything because she didn’t want to start a public argument.

So she had let him talk and plan their wedding. After about 15 minutes, he glanced at his watch and told her he had to leave.

“Where are you going? Are you going to meet me at the theatre?”

“Oh, didn’t I tell you? I can’t make it tonight. We’ll catch one later this weekend. You understand.” He kissed her on the
forehead
and walked out to the parking lot. In shock and annoyance, she watched him open his car door and get in and drive away.

“Okay,” she said to herself. She sat there for a few minutes considering calling a friend to go watch the movie with her when she heard the guy next to her say, “Don’t interrupt me,” mockingly.

She turned her head to listen, wondering if this stranger was actually making fun of her. The very idea!

And then she heard, “You understand,” in an insultingly deep voice. Grant’s voice was deeper than average so she knew this time that this person was being extremely rude. She turned all the way around so she could see the men sitting at the other table.

The guy who faced her shrugged his shoulders and shook his head as if to say, “It wasn’t me,” and nodded towards the other guy.

“What? Is she looking at me?”

The guy nodded and smiled widely.

The rude guy turned slowly, and that was the first time Lilly had ever seen Wade’s piercing blue eyes; they were
wow
. He was suntanned and had straight blonde hair and he was filthy and rude. She hated that there was an undeniable and immediate attraction that caused her to escape eye contact.

“Did your dad leave?”

“Excuse me?” Her eyes automatically shot back to his face.

“Your pops, he finally took a hike.”

“He’s not my dad! He’s my fiancé!”

“Well, the way he ordered for you and then—”

“Not that it is any of your business, but he was treating me like a lady. Something, I’m sure, you know nothing about.”

“Maybe not. But I do know the difference between treating someone like a lady and treating them like a child.” At that, he turned back to who she now knew was Wade’s brother, Colt.

Lilly’s face was hot with embarrassment and exasperation at this stranger’s gall. “Didn’t your mother teach you any manners? You are extremely rude.”

He turned back around taking his time to really examine her, making her feel a little vulnerable and flattered at the same time. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude to
you
. Your
fiancé
is a jerk and shouldn’t have treated someone like you, like that. When you’re my fiancée, you’ll understand what being treated like a lady really means.”

She had caught it: the “
when”
instead of “
if”
in his comment, and she knew for sure that her face was the color of a big fat apple. She had no words, only chills and tingles. She did wish he would turn around already and stop staring at her. Her glance, that was dancing around everywhere but eye contact, landed on his shirt pocket that had the words, “Wade Roberts Kits Auto Shop,” and it burned into her brain. “I don’t …” she had nothing to say and couldn’t sit there any longer feeling so awkward. She grabbed her purse and walked to her car.

She fumbled with the key and the door until it finally opened, and then she quickly got in. As she put her key in the ignition, she tried not to look at him… but did.  They made eye contact as she put the car in gear. He smiled at her. His eyes were gentle, almost sad, like he was watching a long lost friend leave his life forever. After she pulled out of the parking lot onto the street, she couldn’t get him out her mind.

Lilly went on to the movies with a girlfriend that night but now couldn’t even remember which movie they had watched, because she didn’t watch it. All of her thoughts had been about the arrogant, attractive man she’d talked to at Starbucks. How had he made her feel so sexy just by looking at her? Guilt slid into her thoughts every once in awhile because she also imagined things that hadn’t happened. And then she actually did the unimaginable the next day.

“What am I doing? What am I doing?” she’d asked herself as she pulled into Kit’s Auto Shop. Her heart pounded. She had never done anything so bold before. But she hadn’t been able to sleep a wink. She had to see him one more time. Because there was a powerful pull there. Something she had never felt before. Not even with Grant. Nobody.

She walked inside the little office beside the garage. There was an older man at the counter who asked if he could help her.

“Umm, I think I might need an oil change.”

“It’ll be a few minutes. Can you wait?”

“Sure,” she said, glancing outside to see if she could see Wade through the glass walls of the office. She didn’t see him and wasn’t sure if she felt relieved or upset.  At least she would be able to get her oil changed, if nothing else. The problem was, she knew she wouldn’t be able to let it go. She would have to come back, or ask about him. She sat down in one of the grungy plastic chairs trying to figure out what the next reason would be to bring in her brand new Mercedes when
he
walked in.

Wade’s initial expression was of shock and disbelief which slowly turned into a devilish grin; the confident smirk that she had come to recognize as “I’m so clever” but also caused his blue eyes to sparkle and made her melt.

Regret washed over her, and she wished she could disappear. They both knew why she was there. “You work here?” she asked quietly.

“That’s right. Says so, right here on my shirt.”

“I need my oil changed. My car is the white one.”

“I remember,” he said, losing the grin. “That’s why I came in here. I was hoping it was you.”

Chills.

Wade walked closer, wiping his hands with a red rag that appeared filthier than his hands. In fact, she thought he was even dirtier than he had been the day before; he even had grease smudged on his face.

“Do you have plans for the night?” he asked.

“That’s a long time to change oil.”

“That’s not what I mean.” Wade’s gaze was so serious it made her lose her breath for a second. “I want to see you again. Are you busy, tonight?”

Within her mind she was arguing, going over all the reasons why she should say yes and take a chance for once in her life. All the reasons she should say no. She should definitely say no. She couldn’t go on a date when she was engaged. It was crazy. Stupid. What was she doing here? She should leave that very instant. She shook her head as she stood up. “I uhh—”

“It’s not a date,” he said as if reading her mind. “I’m going to a car show at the stadium with some friends… just friends. I can… we can meet you there.”

Friends. Okay. She was going to go hangout with new friends… that she knew nothing about. But they were
new
. Nobody knew anything about new friends. “Okay,” she blurted and walked as quickly past him as possible while maintaining her composure until she reached the door.

“Can I have your number?”

She stopped with her hand on the door and turned. “What?”

“I’ve been kicking myself ever since you left yesterday because I didn’t ask for your number…. I don’t want to make the same mistake twice.”

She had given him her number, telling herself she was only giving it to him in case something came up and he and his friends couldn’t make it. She told herself the reason she didn’t tell Grant she was going out with new friends was because he would be worried about her and that it was a onetime thing.  One little bitty lie before she got married. Because she was going to marry Grant. She was. They had practically been engaged since birth.

After she’d arrived at Reliant Stadium, it had taken her a minute to recognize the guy in tight blue-jeans, shiny belt buckle, boots,
and
hat as Wade. She should have guessed he was a cowboy.