Page 33 of Fervor

I turned to Yunique, gesturing for her to come to me. I could see the fear in her eyes. When she got close, I said quietly in her ear, “I need you to quietly make sure all the windows and doors are closed and locked. Don’t worry. I got us, okay?”

I could see the terror in her eyes as she left to do what I said, going to the back door first. I watched her close and lock it as the guy knocked again. While we were at the market, I had noticed him staring at us, but I didn’t make a big deal out of it, because I didn’t want to frighten Yunique. I’d given him the look of death, daring him to run up on us, and he’d averted his gaze elsewhere.

I made my way to the door as Yunique closed and locked the last window. “Go to the shower area and get on the floor.”

Her eyes widened, and she wrapped her arms around me. “Go!” I whispered harshly in her ear.

I couldn’t be too careful because we were in an unknown place and had been followed. I opened the door, coming face to face with the man. He frowned slightly then reached into his pocket. He said, “la Orana.”

I didn’t have the slightest clue what he’d said, but I was bracing for the worst. When he waved at me in a manner that said he was speaking, I nodded. When his hand came out of his pocket, it was a business card. It was in English, thank God. He was a photographer. When I looked back up at him, he smiled.

“Lady…” he said, then gestured like he was taking pictures.

I didn’t trust his ass, because he could have stopped us in the market, not followed us to our hut. Plus, there wasn’t a camera in sight. I gave the card back to him and said, “No, thank you.”

I shook my head, indicating I said no in case he didn’t understand. He nodded, and I closed the door, then checked the window to see him sit on the step. I frowned as I watched him slide the card in his pocket, then take off his shoe and shake it. A rock fell out, and he put it back on and left. I took a deep breath, thanking God that things didn’t get out of hand.

I went to the bathroom to find Yunique still on the floor balled up in the fetal position, facing the wall. “Baby,” I said as I went to my knees.

Seeing her afraid was hard, but it was my job to protect her. I couldn’t risk being too free and this man attacking us. She turned to me and quickly scrambled out of the shower. I hugged her tightly. “You okay?”

“Yes. What did he want?” she asked.

Her heart was beating so fast. I sat on the floor and pulled her onto my lap. “He wanted to take pictures of you.”

She lifted her head and frowned. “That’s it?”

“Yeah.”

“Why were you being so cautious?”

“Because we’re tourists. He had to follow us here. I remembered his face from the market we went to for fruit. I take my role of protector very seriously. If he wanted something other than that, he was gonna have to go through me to get it.”

She nodded and let out a deep sigh. “Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me for doing what I’m supposed to do.”

She smiled slightly, then stood. I stood, too, and followed her back to the hammock. We got back in the position we were previously in, but neither of us felt comfortable opening anything. Thankfully, it wasn’t hot. The weather was nice, in the low seventies. I knew eventually we’d have to crack something open to get air circulating through here.

When Yunique lay on top of me, I could feel her heart still beating fast as hell. I gently rubbed her back, doing my best to calm her spirit. I kissed the top of her head. “It’s okay, baby. Everything’s okay.”

She nodded, and I could feel her relaxing a bit. I was relaxed myself, and I found myself drifting off to sleep.

“Noooo! Please stop! I’m gonna tell my daddy!”

I was awakened by Yunique’s tossing and turning, then I felt hot liquid. She jumped awake, sitting straight up, before I could say anything. She hopped up from the bed, and said, “Oh my God! Oh shit!”

She was pacing back and forth, and I could see her skin glistening in the dark. I turned the lamp on and saw a huge wet spot in the bed. Did she piss in the bed? I looked up at her, andher body was completely wet. Her silk gown was sticking to her. Her breathing seemed labored. “Yunique? Baby, what’s wrong?”

“I… had a… nightmare. Oh shit!”

I stood from the bed and felt the wetness on my leg. When I looked down at it, she yelled, “Fuck! I’m… so… sorry.”

She ran to the shower and got in, drenching herself with cold water. She’d indeed pissed on herself during her nightmare. I pulled off my drawers and went to the shower with her. It seemed she was struggling to breathe. The water was freezing because it hadn’t had time to warm up just yet. I wrapped my arms around her. “Baby, it’s okay. I got’chu.”

I couldn’t tell her that I knew what her nightmare was probably about, but I did know, from what she’d told me, that it stemmed from her childhood. I lifted her arms in the air and kissed her head. “Take deep breaths if you can. Think about how much I care for you… nothing else. Think about how happy we are to be married.”

She leaned back against me as I felt her relaxing a bit. Her breathing was evening out and becoming less ragged. Turning to me, she rested her forehead against my shoulder. I gently caressed her back for a moment then grabbed her loofah to wash her up. We remained quiet as I washed her body, taking the time to kiss her in various spots.