24. Ghost

Damn,it was scorching hot, and I glanced over at Allison; she seemed restless, her gaze darting everywhere. I wasn't sure if she was scanning for those giant moths that invaded our room last night or if she was just happy to be on the road with the other people on our safari. We started at five this morning.

I hadn't anticipated other people would be going with us. I thought I signed up for a private tour. I intended on finding out how this mix-up happened. I wanted my honeymoon to be with just the two of us. As soon as we stopped for breakfast, I approached the guide.

"I paid for a private safari. This is my honeymoon. I would have stayed home if I wanted to hang out with others. Can you tell me when we lose these people?"

"I'm sorry," the guide replied nervously. "The other guide quit, and I couldn't just leave the others at the hotel. I called my boss, and he said another guide would meet us at dinner tonight. But in the meantime, we will do the best we can."

"We can do this until dinner. When will we reach the hotel?" I inquired.

"It'll be late, as there are only myself and two helpers and me. We are trying to accommodate everyone. I'm sure you will love your breakfast. Afram's grandmother was a great cook, and he inherited all her recipes. He assures me his food is delicious." Ajika explained, setting up the tables.

"You haven't tasted his food?" I asked, feeling a sinking sensation.

"No, I just hired him last night, but I trust him when he says it's delicious," Ajika nodded reassuringly.

"I'm sure it is," I turned back to Allison. She was watching the couple across from us. The wife was refilling their water bottles with vodka.

"Hey, sweetheart, let's take a short stroll before breakfast," I suggested, taking Allison's hand.

"Are you sure that's safe?" Allison asked, looking around like a lion was about to jump out from behind a bush.

"Look at the sunrise; it's beautiful," I said, trying to redirect her attention from wild animals, and to ease her tension.

"Yes, it's amazing out here; I can't wait for the wildlife tours; we'll have so much to share with everyone. Are we in a national park?" Allison inquired.

"I'm not sure. We'll ask our guide. Breakfast should be ready by now, so let's head back to the others." The couple with the water bottles were complaining when we got back to the others.

"They have no table for us to eat our breakfast on," the woman complained, in a loud voice. "The guide said we have to hold it in our lap," the woman griped.

"We've eaten holding our plates before; it's fine with me," I shrugged.

"We are not okay with it. I'll be complaining to the safari organizers. We were promised five staff members and two cooks. Where are the people we paid for?" the woman demanded.

"Is our breakfast ready?" I asked our guide, eager to avoid further confrontation.

"Yes, please come up, we'll serve the food onto your plates. Then you can sit and eat, and we'll be on our way," the guide replied nervously. I understood his anxiety when I saw the burned eggs and raw bacon, one sip of the coffee was all I could handle of that stuff.

Allison smiled at me, and I knew it was her way of saying it was okay. We took our seats, enduring the loud, drunken couple"s incessant chatter. We were all back in the vehicle, and I made sure we were upfront with the driver so that we didn't get seated next to Karen and Daren; of course, that's not their real names; Allison named them that.

"Pull over. We're going to walk to the hotel," the woman began shouting, her husband tried to quiet her to no avail. She continued her tirade, cursing everyone.

I watched Allison turn around; she fixed the woman with a steely gaze. "Karen, please shut up. I'm on my honeymoon, and I don't want to hear you screaming the entire time I'm in this vehicle. Put away that vodka bottle, and maybe you'll enjoy yourself."

"Joe, are you going to let her talk that way to me? She called me Karen, do something!" She demanded of her husband or whoever he was.

"Shut the fuck up, Karen. You haven't stopped since we got here. You spiked my water bottle with vodka. Now I understand what has been going on. The wedding is off!" Joe retorted.

"What? No, it is not!" She screamed.

I sensed a confrontation brewing; the wild look in the woman"s eyes was unmistakable. "Can you two please shut the fuck up? Argue all you want when we"re alone, but not in a vehicle with eight guests and four employees. I"m sure they don"t want to hear it any more than my wife and I do," I intervened, glancing back at them.

"I'm sorry," Joe apologized. "Now I understand why my brother warned me to open my eyes and keep my zipper up. She"s been putting vodka in everything I drink. She wants me drunk so she can rob me blind. Thank goodness I found out before we got married."

Before I knew it, the woman pulled out a knife and started stabbing Joe. So much for day one of our honeymoon. I reached back and grabbed the woman's wrist, and squeezed until she dropped the knife. The driver pulled over, and I restrained the woman. She wasn"t going anywhere.

"Hand me my bag," Allison instructed. As she tended to Joe"s wounds – thankfully, none were life-threatening – I picked up the knife and secured it in a plastic bag.

"Can you please shut up while I tend to Joe," Allison said, casting a glance at the woman.

"This is all your fault! None of this would have happened if you had kept your mouth shut. So when we get to the hotel, I'm calling the cops and having you arrested," the woman screamed.

I chuckled, as did the others around us. Allison may have been scared of bugs, but a woman brandishing a knife was nothing to her. With Joe patched up, we returned to the bus. The crazy woman rode in the back with the luggage; nobody wanted her near them.

I held Allison's hand, then leaning in to kiss her. "I love you, sweetheart?"

She returned the kiss with a smile. "I love you, too," she replied. We both wanted to laugh, hoping the rest of our honeymoon didn't involve any more drunk escapades."