Welcome to Dubai (The Traveler) (15 page)

“You should not be waiting outside for a cab,” Basim insisted.

“Then I will call one to wait for me at the curb,” Ramia countered. “What is wrong with you? People all around the world are murdered every day. But that should not stop us from living the life we all want to live.”

“What time are you supposed to be there?” he asked her.

Ramia cut off his plans, saying, “You are
not
coming to get me. I will not allow it. You have a job to do and now
I
have a job. So I will call you when I leave and call you again when I arrive there … and you can pick me up afterward.”

Basim’s younger cousin had it all mapped out. There was nothing left for him to say. But he thought something up anyway.

“You call me as soon as you step into the cab, and I’ll talk to you until you get there. All right?”

He was trying his hardest to make a safe deal with her.

Ramia sighed deeply and thought it over. Her cousin had a way of wearing her down with his calm persistence. “Okay. I’ll call you.”

*****

Gary rolled over in his king-sized bed at the Hilton downtown and stretched in a gray University of Louisville T-shirt. It was eleven o’clock, and he felt for a moment like a lazy college student sleeping in and skipping class.

“Urrrgghhh, that was a good sleep,” he moaned, pushing out his arms and legs while kicking off the white sheets and thick quilt. “Here comes my first full day in Dubai.”

He looked over at the clock on the nightstand and marveled at his perfect symmetry. He had a tour appointment at two, giving him plenty of time to shower, get dressed and grab something to eat before leaving.

On cue, his phone rang. Gary picked it up and answered without looking to see who it was. What difference did it make? He was up and he could use the conversation.

“Hello.”

“You were a big hit last night, man. They all want you back for more. What are you doing tonight?”

It was Johnny. Gary shook his head and grinned. The guy was a living dose of coffee.

“I didn’t do anything but smile and talk to people. What could they possibly want more of?” Gary asked him.

“They want more of you, man, your presence and essence. You have the
it
factor. No one can explain it, it just is,” Johnny told him. “You’re like
me,
man.
I
have it. So me and you together make a great team.”

Johnny continued, “I don’t even have to charge you for this. You took my game up a level. I got numbers I never could have gotten before last night before meeting up with you. So I need to thank you for that. People were talking about the fight you had with the big bloke at The Beach last night in the parking lot too.”

“Yeah, well, don’t get too used to that. I need to avoid problems over here. So no more drama girls, all right?” Gary joked.

“Oh, I hear you, my friend. No more of Saeeda. But she did call me twice last night for you.
Twice.”

“Well, thanks for not giving her my number.”

“No way, man, she’d have to pay me for that. Nothing’s on the house unless you make me money,” he boasted. “So what are you doing today?”

“What are
you
doing?” Gary asked him back. The man sounded like he had a lot of free time on his hands.

“Oh, I’ve already been at the airport since eight this morning. I’m making my third trip back now. I got four-hundred
dirham
in my pocket already. I’m on my way to six before noon.”

Outside of his obvious British accent, Johnny would fit right in with the movers and shakers of New York, Philly and Boston. He was fast paced and constantly buzzing.

“Do you ever sleep?” Gary asked him.

“Yeah, I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” he joked. “So what are you doing today?” he asked Gary again. “I wanted to give you a few more hours of sleep before I called to wake you up. You know it’s only one o’clock in the morning American time. It’s eight o’clock in Britain.”

“Thanks for reminding me,” Gary said. “But I’m going on a Dubai desert sand tour today.”

“Oh, man, I love those tours. They’re big fun, with the dune buggies, sand skis and camels. What time are you going?”

Gary hesitated. He had been around the guy enough for a while. He needed a ten-hour break, or maybe a day or two.

“You’re not planning on going are ya?”

“Aw, heck no. It’s Friday! I’m not leaving the airport until I make two thousand
dirham.
Then I’ll go home and kick up my feet for an hour or two,” Johnny said. “Those desert tour things take all day. They’re just fun to do when you have the time for it, especially if you take a girl with you. You got her all day and night, and everything is already paid for. That’s the best date ever.”

Gary laughed. “You’re something else, man. If I would have met you six years ago, we could have really had some fun. But I’m a little older now.”

“You’re only as old as you allow yourself to be, my friend. You remember I said that. But I gotta go now; I’m back at the airport. Time to get back to busy.”

Just like that, Johnny was off the phone and back to his lifestyle.

Gary mumbled, “That guy probably has a heck of a life over here. But let me get my day started.” He climbed out of bed and headed toward the bathroom for a shower.

*****

The Dubai Safari Tours picked up three or four passengers in white Jeeps from various locations around the UAE and drove them all out to a desert tour ground. Once the tourists arrived in as many as twelve vehicles, the group formed a caravan to drive up, down and around the sand dunes in the desert. But before the drivers could start their fun in the sand, a tour guide asked them all to climb out of the vehicles for an official introduction and a chance for the tourists to meet each other.

A middle-aged British-Indian man addressed the group of thirty-six with an introduction in English while they all stood out in front of the white Jeeps.

“Hello, everyone. My name is Conrad Murymar, and I want to personally thank you all for signing up to enjoy the Dubai Safari Tours. In addition to the buggy rides through the sand dunes behind you, we have a fun-filled day planned for you all with sand skiing, camel back riding, belly dancing, flavored hookah pipes, a full-course meal, fireworks and plenty of photo opportunities to share with your friends and loved ones back home.

“But before we start our packed, fun-filled day, at this time we would like you all to greet each other, as we have participants from ten different nations,” Conrad said. He wore a tan bucket sand hat with a matching Dubai Safari Tours T-shirt. The other drivers were all dressed identically, except for their different pants, long shorts and shoes.

Conrad then read from a printout, “According to my list of participants today, you all are from Australia, Japan, Brazil, the U.S., the UK, Italy, Germany, South Africa, Canada and France. So we definitely have a good mix of people.”

Representing the U.S., along with a couple from Florida in their forties, Gary looked around and assumed that he was the only lone tourist in the large group. As they began to shake hands, greet each other and take pictures, the other tourists were mostly couples, families with children, or good friends on a vacation.

“Hi, I’m Gary, from the U.S.”

“You came alone?” an Italian woman asked him. She was in her late thirties and had come with her slightly younger girlfriend.

“Ah, I’m afraid so,” Gary answered sheepishly.

“Would you like to ride with us?” she asked him.

Wow!
Gary thought.
They waste no time with that.
He didn’t even know their names.

One of the young tour guides overheard their forward invitation to him and beamed right into Gary’s eyes. It was the understanding of awkwardness, and they shared an international moment of connection that needed no words.

“Ah, sure, I don’t see why not,” he answered. “What’re your names again?”

The older Italian woman chuckled and reached out her hand. “I’m Sophie, and this is Anastasia.”

Anastasia was not only younger but shorter, with light-brown hair that was in contrast to Sophie’s jet black. But they both had the deep-tanned skin and robust bodies of proud, fit Italians.

“What part of Italy are you from?”

“Venice.”

Gary angled toward the young tour guide to include her in the conversation. Tour guides were people too, so he didn’t want to leave her out, especially with her striking hazel-colored eyes that dazzled like a rainbow in the sand.

“And what country are you from?” he asked the young Dubai Safari Tours woman. Her sand hat covered her hair.

“Jordan.”

Gary reached out his hand to hers. “Are you a driver?” She looked too young and fragile to drive, but she could have surprised him.

The young Jordanian giggled. “No, I’m actually in training. This is my first day.”

“Oh, this is Maria. She came with us,” Sophie interjected. “Isn’t she gorgeous?”

The young woman smiled graciously and said, “
Ra
-mia,” to correct her name.

Cat fight brewing,
Gary thought.

“Oh, so
close,”
Sophie commented with a snap of her fingers. “
Ra
-mia.”

The young woman nodded and continued to smile. “Yes.”

Before they knew it, it was time to climb back into their vehicles and get started.

“Ramia, can you please take our picture,” Sophie asked, practically jamming her camera into the young woman’s hands.

“Sure.”

Sophie grabbed Gary by the wrist. “If you don’t mind,” she said.

“Okay,” Gary agreed.

Anastasia jumped in on the other side of him, creating a sandwich, while Sophie dictated her terms.

“Okay, now take a few long shots of us as well. Gary is very tall.”

Ramia took at least eight different angles with the digital camera before returning it to the zestful Italian.

Sophie forwarded through the pictures on the view screen and nodded, while showing them to Anastasia and Gary.

“She’s good, very good,” she commented.

Ramia was all smiles. “Thank you.”

The tour group all climbed back into the vehicles, with several couples swapping Jeeps as Gary moved in with the two Italians and Ramia, who sat up front with a male driver.

“Has everyone met each other back there? I’m David,” the late-twenties driver introduced himself, mainly to Gary. He was as brown as Johnny. Maybe he was Sri Lankan as well.

“I’m Gary.”

“All right, Gary, well buckle up your seatbelts back there, and get ready for a fun and rocky ride. That means you too, Ramia. We don’t want to lose you to a concussion on your first day of training,” he teased her.

Ramia smiled and said, “Okay.”

The line of Jeeps faced the towering sand dunes as the drivers began to take air out of the tires. A flat wheel was much less likely to flip. In a few minutes, they were all blasting away through the sand.

“Oh, my goodness!” Sophie screamed as if on a rollercoaster ride. A few times she even grabbed Gary’s thigh to balance herself inside the back, as their jeep cut in, out, up, down and around the sand dunes with the others.

All the while, Gary continued to connect to Ramia, who held a secret empathy for the American man. And with every look, grin or eye that she was able to give him from the front, they understood each other.

She really is beautiful,
Gary admitted to himself.
She has a good spirit. But I wonder how young she is. I know she’s older than a teenager, but she looks that young. I give her no more than twenty-two.

The young Jordanian held his attention the entire time, even while the Italian flirted mercilessly. In fact, Gary couldn’t wait to ask the young woman more questions later, if he was able to. Surely, a young and beautiful woman could relate to being cordial under fire.

After cruising the sand dunes, the Jeeps drove through an ostrich and camel farm before arriving at a campground in the middle of the desert, with tents, tables, food, drinks, a circular stage and a DJ for music. The drivers parked and let all of the tourists out to eat and enjoy themselves at the camp, including sand skiing down a nearby slope, camelback riding, snake and hawk petting, hookah smoking and plenty of pictures. But Gary didn’t have many opportunities to speak to Ramia again. She was in training with the other tour guides, who continued to show her the ropes around the campgrounds. She also helped to prepare food and tables and collect the trash.

Gary could tell that she watched him. Her hazel eyes continued to glimmer, no matter the distance between them. Gary showed off his athleticism, hoping to impress the beautiful Jordanian as he skied down sand slopes. He also sparred with Middle Eastern swords, held the snakes and hawks and petted the guard dogs around the camp.

Ramia
was
impressed. The tall American continued to stand out—a lone, handsome and rugged Western man out in the desert. And as the sun began to set, with the DJ playing music for a team of Syrian belly dancers, Gary finally had his chance to get next to her again in the crowd.

“This is really a great tour. I’m enjoying myself,” he told her casually.

She gushed. “I know. This is the greatest job in the
world.”

Gary was overtaken by her spunk and happiness. However, he was also leery of singling her out too much in the crowd. She was so young and exotic, but she was also an Arab woman in the Middle East. So he remained cautious not to offend anyone. With her sand hat off in the dim light, her auburn hair, just a shade darker than his own, along with her perfectly toned and flawless skin, she looked even more beautiful. She was a young goddess in the desert sand.

Now I see why they cover their women up,
Gary joked to himself.

Ramia looked into his green eyes again and smiled, as if waiting for more of his conversation. That only made his desire to talk to her burn stronger inside of his heart.

Okay, I need to get away from her before I make a fool of myself out here,
he mused. The urge made him feel very uncomfortable.

Finally, he said, “Okay, well … enjoy your training.”