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He bent down to me, his kiss warm. Then he pulled me into an even tighter embrace, lifting me off my feet.
"I can't wait for us to make one of these places our home. Buying groceries, cooking meals together, swimming in the pool, walking the streets, sleeping in late on the weekends. Using these rain shower stalls. I can think of a thousand things to do once we're moved in and all alone."
I smiled up at him. "You can? What could you possibly mean?"
He grinned at me, his eyes twinkling. "I'll have to make a pit stop at the local hardware store for some rope and maybe a few hooks and padlocks. I can't wait to tie you up and keep you so sexually satisfied, you'll never want to leave the grounds."
"I can't wait either. But I'll still have to go out now and then..."
"Now and then." He squeezed me once more and then ended the embrace. We went back to the kitchen where Jan stood waiting for us.
"Well? What did you think?" Jan turned to me as if I was the one to decide.
"I can't imagine seeing anything more wonderful than this house."
"It is the nicest. But there are a few others I've arranged, so if you're ready, we can go."
We followed him out to the car, and I glanced back, wondering if we'd take this place or one of the other houses we were scheduled to see. I thought I could be happy here and really wasn’t sure if we needed to see other properties, but we'd at least look at them and decide once we had all the information.
The next two houses were smaller than the last, and lacked character.
"Properties are really scarce this time of year," Jan said as we drove away. "These three are all I have in this area. We can see others tomorrow, but this is by far the nicest community in the city."
On our way back to the hotel, Jan drove us by the first house once more as if to entice us, but I needed little enticing. I could really see us there and couldn't wait to get into it. I'd see what else Jan had, but he said it was the nicest property he'd be showing us. Part of me thought we should take it and move in without seeing the others.
Drake took my hand as we drove out of the gated community. He kissed my knuckles.
"What did you think?" His blue eyes searched my face.
"I loved the first house. I'd take it now, if it was up to me."
"My thoughts exactly," he said and smiled. "Jan, I think our minds are made up. We like the first house."
Jan laughed from the front seat. "I thought you'd like it. Consider it done. I'm the renting agent on that one and if you give me the deposit, it's yours. The current renters have moved out, but it has to be cleaned. You can have it in ten days once the paperwork goes through."
Drake started at the hospital on the following Monday, doing rounds with Michael and meeting with his prospective patients. I was alone all morning and spent my time writing down a list of things we'd need to buy once we moved in. Mostly, things for our kitchen and bathrooms, cleaning supplies, toiletries, sheets and towels. Claire called and took me shopping in the afternoon since it was her day off. We went to a mall that she felt was safe.
That night, Drake had to stay late to work with Michael, whom he was shadowing, helping out with Michael's young pediatric neurosurgery patients and any neurology patients who came in the Emergency Room, and overseeing the Residents. I waited for him, but finally was too tired to wait any longer and so I went to bed, turning off the light and lying in the huge bed alone. I missed him, despite my busy day.
Drake arrived at the hotel near midnight. He was quiet as he walked through the suite, and I knew he must be exhausted. He came into the bedroom and stood in the darkness, undressing. He must have thought I was asleep, as he didn’t come over or say anything. He went to the bathroom and washed his face and brushed his teeth, then came to bed naked, slipping beneath the sheets, moving closer to me but not touching me, as if he didn't want to wake me.
I lay in silence and pretended to be asleep. In truth, I would have liked it if he woke me up so I could talk to him, but he must have been too tired. Instead, I lay quietly and listened to his breathing, which was slow and deep. In a very short time, perhaps less than five minutes, I could tell he was asleep by how slowly and deeply he breathed.
I hoped every day wasn’t like today. I'd grown so spoiled, having him with me every day and night for the past two months. I knew I had to let him go and be a surgeon, for it was his calling, but I would miss him.
My art would have to fill up my time.
CHAPTER THREE
On Friday night, after a week of working twelve-hour days, coming home before midnight and crawling into bed beside me before falling fast asleep, Drake took the evening off. Michael made it a rule to take Fridays off unless there was an emergency and so he and Claire picked us up at the hotel to take us out for authentic Nairobi cuisine. We arrived in the city center without collision. Somehow, Michael managed to find a parking spot and we walked the rest of the way to the restaurant, whose hand-painted sign read 'Ranalo's' and featured a picture of a cauldron over a fire.
"They serve really great home-cooked food, local cuisine. You should try the tilapia – it's great and very fresh."
We entered the restaurant, with bamboo chairs and tables and whitewashed walls. The restaurant was busy, but we found a table with an umbrella on the patio, exposed to the night sky. Then, like at Katz's in Manhattan, we went to a cafeteria-style display and ordered our food. I chose the fresh grilled tilapia as did Drake, while Michael ordered the beef and Claire ordered a mixed grill plate. We paid for our food and then sat down to wait for the servers to bring us our meals.
While we waited, I observed the other patrons – a mix of Africans and Europeans, sitting at their tables, talking and laughing, eating the colorful aromatic food and drinking beer. The food smelled delicious and my stomach growled.
"So Miss Katherine," Michael said to me as he sipped a beer. "Tell us what your plans are while you're in Nairobi. As you can see from this first full week, I'm afraid I'm going to be keeping Drake very busy with surgery and teaching. I've been working on him for years to come and help out here at the college, and now that I have him, I'm not letting go easily."
