Bella’s arms wrapped around Nathan from behind. “Hey there, birthday boy,” she said. “Forget the pot… I have a surprise for you.” She smiled as he placed the pot on the stove and turned to face her. There were vegetables and a package of uncooked rice on the counter. Bella chuckled. She’d returned home just in time to stop him from cooking.
Nathan’s eyes lit up with amusement. “I’m curious now,” he said. He leaned close to steal a kiss from Bella’s lips. She smiled at him. “I bet you are.” She withdrew a strip of fabric from her pocket and held it up. “Do you trust me?” she asked, unable to hide the smirk playing on the corners of her lips. Nathan laughed. “It depends. What do you plan to do with that?” Bella’s flingers slid over the smooth fabric as she walked around Nathan and stood on her toes to tie the blindfold around his eyes. She led him out of the house while he chuckled and asked dozens of questions. She responded to each with a playful, “You’ll see”, and then as she helped him into the jeep she said, “I’m abducting you.” Her confidence with driving had improved. She was more comfortable behind the wheel now, and lately she was getting the hang of the directions to several places. She drove out of the complex hoped that things would go smoothly. That she would find the location just the way she’d left it. There were wild animals in the clearing, and a huge chance that her entire plan would be ruined. The location was only about minutes away by car, however. Nathan’s eyebrows raised above the blindfold when Bella announced that they’d already arrived. She beamed at the view. Coincidentally, they’d arrived at such a perfect timing. “Babe,” Bella whispered, though the animal was far from where she’d parked. She nudged Nathan. “Take off the blindfold. You have to see this.”
0 Comments
Bella had been absolutely frightened at the thought of visiting the pet store on her own. She had the day off today, but Nathan was on call, taking care of several emergencies. So after dropping him off at headquarters, Bella had somehow convinced Inyoni to travel with her into the main city. Inyoni agreed but mentioned that first she had to pick up her son from her sister’s house. Sibusiso (S’bu for short) was such a handsome little boy. He had the most charming smile, and Bella, although awkward with kids, couldn’t help but smile right back at him.
They made it to the main city within three hours and soon found the pet store. Bella honestly had no idea what pet to get for Nathan, or if it was even a good idea. She was never good at buying presents, and in all honesty, they were working long hours daily, but-- “This one?!” S’bu exclaimed, pulling Bella out of his thoughts. His words were overly-enunciated, and he took a longer time than Inyoni to form English words. But he was quite clear when he said, “She likes you.” Bella smiled at the kitten who rubbed her head up against the cage when Bella placed her hand there. "Well then," said Bella. She looked at S'bu. "You'll have to take care of her when I'm working really long hours. How would you like that?" S'bu's wide grin said it all. Hours later, Bella was dropping Inyoni and S’bu home and heading home as Nathan had called to say he’d get a ride from one of his colleagues so she wouldn't have to leave the house. As he stepped into their apartment, Bella rose to her feet and went to greet him. “Welcome home,” she said. She smiled a little nervously as his eyes wandered over to their little guest. “She’s not a cheetah or a lion cub but I thought you’d like her anyway. I left the honour of naming her up to you." She chuckled at his expression and planted a kiss on his cheek. Merry Christmas, handsome.” Their first week in Africa had been absolutely lazy. They'd taken one day to leave the apartment and search for some surrounding markets to buy food, but the markets were quite far from the housing. Everything was far away in this part of South Africa where there were so many animal sanctuaries. They weren’t in tourist cities; they were practically on the savanna. Shopping had been an adventure. They were familiar items: cereals also found in the USA, even some snacks they'd had before, but when it came to other foods and even the fruit and vegetables, they had to ask a lot of questions.
"We have to try to make that rice," Bella had reminded Nathan. "The spicy one they had back at headquarters?" Nathan had agreed. It was one of the foods they'd missed when they had to return to New York in the Spring. They’d returned home from the market and stocked the pantry and cabinets, even their fridge was full, as they didn’t know the next time they’d get the opportunity to get groceries again. They were needed down at wildlife headquarters to do tons of paperwork, but as they still had a few days and they weren’t in much of a rush. The morning of their last day off, Bella and Nathan lay awake, neither of them wanting to get out of bed. Every time one of them tried to get up, the other begged for five more minutes. The previous day, it had been Nathan to pull Bella out of bed first. Today, Bella was the first to get up. She had to literally roll away from Nathan’s grasping hands as he tried to keep her in bed. It had to have been the cutest and most hilarious thing if someone had been watching them. Bella was still chuckling even after she made her escape. “I’m going to shower,” she said Bella. "Those puppy eyes don't work on me." She smirked and glanced over her shoulder at him. Gods, she’d miss these lazy mornings. As she was almost out of the room, she added, “Feel free to join me.” There was a gate that surrounded the ‘safari housing’ and wide open fields and lush bushes everywhere. Far different from Brooklyn New York. Bella had tucked a photograph of her Brooklyn apartment into a book in her bag. She didn’t want to forget the place she’d given up for an extended stay in Africa. It was a big deal, leaving behind a place she’d called home, for another place… and this time she and Nathan would be living together, as a couple. At the clerk’s office, they received their keys and were given directions on how to get to house 8. They walked through the little ‘village’, glancing at the numbers on the concrete walls of the flats. From the outside, the apartments appeared clean and well-kept. When they stood outside of house 8, Bella handed the key to Nathan. “You do the honours,” she asked. Nathan smiled and stepped up to unlock the door. As Nathan opened the door, Bella smiled widely. The apartment was quite spacious. Cream walls, some exposed brick here and there, and tiled flooring. Bella supposed it was to keep the apartment cool. You didn’t get a lot of tiled flooring in the living room of a Brooklyn apartment. There was a massive leather couch that seemed to be in good shape. Perhaps the floors needed some sweeping and mopping, but they seemed clean otherwise. A sigh of relief left Bella’s lips. “One room down,” she said, chuckling. “So far, so good,” Nathan added. They set their luggage down before venturing to other parts of the apartment. The kitchen was next. Nathan glanced around, grinning. “Oh I like this,” he said. His fingers traced the countertop. “It’s much larger than I’d expected.” “It is,” Bella agreed. She walked around the kitchen, quite satisfied with the appliances. Perhaps not the most updated, but modern enough. Bella wandered off while Nathan was still in the kitchen. There was a little hall, one door leading to the bathroom and the other to the bedroom. As she walked into the bedroom, she was greeted with a gust of fresh air. “Oh Nathan!” she called. “You have to see this!” The bedroom was absolutely lovely. They’d been assured by the clerk that the sheets were clean and the bed freshly made. Bella felt like a hotel guest rather than a new renter. But the people here prided themselves on hospitality; they were eager to get their new residents settled in before they were on their own. Bella approached Nathan, her arm snaking around his waist. “This is so lovely,” she said. “I love the canopy.” She chuckled. “I wonder if it doubles as a mosquito net.” “I hope so.” Nathan’s eyes wandered. “Is that a door?” he asked, pointing. Bella followed Nathan’s finger. “Ooh, I think so,” she said, excitedly. They walked towards the door together and saw that it led out onto a terrace. It was fenced off and so charming. Bella couldn’t stop smiling. “I can absolutely see us sitting out here daily.” She laughed lightly. There was a small walkway along the terrace, leading towards a secluded little area. For a while, Bella stared at the area, wondering its purpose, then after a while, she asked a bit too loudly. “Is that a shower?!”
A little smirk graced Nathan’s lips as he said, “I think so.” Bella burst out laughing. “That’s actually pretty cool.” She stepped up onto the little round platform and ran her fingers over the knobs. “I wonder if the water is warm or cold. This could be quite an adventure. Just showering…” She couldn’t stop laughing. “I wonder if it even works,” She heard, rather than saw, Nathan right behind her. His hand moved past her, to the knobs and he turned it before Bella could even hop off the platform. Cold water streamed down over them, making Bella shriek. “Nathan!” She stared at him in utter shock as her hair immediately got soaked. “It works,” said Nathan, laughing at her expression. He didn’t even seem bothered that his clothes were also getting wet. He just laughed more and turned the faucet off. Bella was still standing there, shocked, but then she joined in his laughter. Eventually, she folded her arms over her chest and tried to give him a stern look. “Is it too late to change my mind about living with you?” Nathan smiled and pulled the towel down from the ring, wrapping it around Bella. “Yup,” he said, pulling her close. “Way too late.” “I came here for a physical. Nor for treatment,” said Bella, sliding off the examination table.
The doctor was obviously concerned. “You’re still young. If we treat this now--” “No, thank you,” Bella interrupted. She walked to the chair where her backpack was perched, and hung the strap over one shoulder. “Isabella, if this goes untreated, it won’t remain as mild as it is now.” Bella sighed. “Look… you said yourself that my condition is rather mild. I’m not losing weight, I have no double vision, no muscle weakness, my hair is far from brittle, and I’m only irritable because you keep insisting that I start a new drug regimen. I don’t want to to ‘experiment’ with medications that might not even work. I’ve been like this since I was a teenager, and I’ve had various treatments. What makes anything you’ll try will work any differently?” “Medicine has evolved,” the doctor replied. “And I’ll make sure that anything I give you won’t counteract the Depakote. But honestly speaking here, that drug can also make your menstrual cycles irregular, which doesn't help that symptom. You'll go into early menopause at this rate. Your symptoms may all be mild now, but sooner or later, your body will prove to you that things are not okay. It goes beyond infertility and weight loss. You can develop an arrhythmia or even osteoporosis. And I’m sure the last thing you want in Africa is to break your leg again. Or an arm. Or a hip.” Bella hesitated for a moment. She didn’t know what else to say. The doctor had good points, but she hadn’t been there when Bella had to change medications. When she had to deal with side effects and put her life on hold. “No,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t need treatment. I’ll be fine.” She opened the door and stepped out before turning back and saying, “But thank you.” She returned to the parking lot where Nathan was waiting for her. "How'd it go?" he asked. Bella sighed. "I hate doctors." |
Isabella Kaylee DwyerWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
December 2017
Categories |