Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

***THEO***

T heo collapsed onto the pallet in the hut, exhausted after hours of helping Peter with his English, and closed his eyes, hoping he'd be able to sleep. Only a few minutes later, he drifted off and didn't surface until the sun came up the next morning. Surprised at how well he'd slept, he lay there for a few minutes, letting himself wake up slowly, going over the day before in his mind, searching for any detail that might explain how they got there.

He finally gave up when nothing stood out to him, got up from the pallet and pulled back the flap over the door, shading his eyes when the sun nearly blinded him. He found his way back to the center of the village, following the smell of something cooking and the sound of voices, relieved to see Eden sitting by the fire. She was holding a steaming cup in her hands, a look of enjoyment on her face, and he felt a little stab of desire, but quickly pushed it away.

"You look like you slept well," he said, sinking down onto the ground next to her. "Is that coffee?"

She grinned at him,"The best I've ever had," she said. " They grow it themselves up on the side of the mountain. I'll go get you a cup."

Before she could get up, Rose appeared, a cup in her hand. "For you," she said, handing it to him. "Breakfast next."

"Thank you," he said, smiling up at her. "But you don't have to wait on me, Eden can do that."

"Hey," Eden said, giving him a nudge in the ribs. "You can wait on yourself."

He grinned at her. "But it's so much more fun watching you do it," he said, then leaned over and gave her a kiss. "Just kidding, sweetheart, the truth is, I just like watching you. It doesn't matter what you're doing."

A blush appeared on Eden's cheeks. "Theo, everyone is watching us," she said. "Stop teasing me."

Rose smiled down at them. "I'll bring breakfast," she said. "You eat, and then we will go gathering with the other women. It will be fun."

"Gathering?" she asked. "What does that mean?"

"We go and look for fruit, nuts, roots, anything we can eat," Rose said. "There's lots of food out there, we just have to find it."

"Sounds like you're spending the morning in the jungle," he said, grinning at her. "I bet you're going to have tons of fun, just watch out for snakes."

She gave him a dirty look. "And I suppose you think you're just going to hang around camp all day," she said. "I bet they've got something planned for you as well."

Just then Peter came up, one of the long spears in his hand. "Come, we practice," he said. "Spearfishing today, you must get ready."

"Told you," Eden said, a grin on her face. "Go on, I'm sure you're going to have tons of fun. "

"What about breakfast?" he asked. "I'm starving."

"Practice first, food later," Peter said. "Let's go."

He leaned over and gave Eden a kiss. "Just in case I don't come back, don't forget me," he said dramatically. "I might starve to death before they let me eat."

Rose came back with two steaming bowls only a second later. "Here we are," she said, presenting the food with a flourish. "Very filling; give you lots of energy."

"Eat later," Peter said, shaking his head. "Practice now."

He started to get up but stopped when Rose shoved the bowl into his hands, then turned to her father and began speaking rapidly in their language. Peter finally held up his hand. "Eat now," he said. "Practice later."

Looking down into the bowl of lumpy porridge, dotted with specks of something he couldn't identify, he wondered if Peter had the right idea, but scooped up a spoonful and put it in his mouth. A burst of sweetness hit his tongue, followed by the mellow flavor of some kind of grain, and he took another bite, genuinely pleased with the food.

Eden was still staring into her bowl. "Try it, it's good, I promise," he said. "Kind of like oatmeal but better; just close your eyes and take a bite."

When he'd scraped the last bite from the bowl, Rose appeared again with a big platter of fruit. "I could get used to this," he said, then saw Peter heading his way again. "But it looks like breakfast is over."

Eden laughed and plucked some fruit off the tray. "Here, take these with you," she said, then leaned over and gave him a big kiss. "Good luck, I think you're going to need it."

When Peter got to him, he shoved the spear into his hands, then turned and walked away without a word. He looked over at Eden, shrugged his shoulders, and followed him. It took almost an hour before Peter signaled that he was ready to join the other fishermen, and he set the spear aside with a groan, relieved his training was over but not sure he had enough energy left for the fish. But he trudged down to the shore with the rest of the men, then sat watching for a few minutes as they waded in, spread out, and began searching for fish.

When he finally joined them in the water, he had a clear idea of what he was supposed to do, but it was hours before he finally speared his first fish. Holding it triumphantly in the air, he was surprised when the rest of the men began to cheer, and realized that as hard as it had been, the effort had been worth it.

He couldn't wait to show Eden the fish that he'd caught, and he wondered what her day had been like, if she'd enjoyed foraging with the women as much as he'd enjoyed fishing. There were two more fish in the basket Peter had given him before the sun began to sink in the sky, and he knew that he'd done his part to feed both himself and Eden for that day.

***Eden***

Eden wiped the sweat from her forehead, then looked down at herself with a sigh but followed Rose down the trail, doing her best to keep up. The basket on her arm was heavy, filled to the top with ripe fruit. She'd been proud of herself at first for finding so much, but now she almost wished she hadn't been so successful. When the village came into view, she let out a sigh of relief, but the women barely stopped to rest before picking up a fresh set of baskets and heading down another trail.

"Where are we going now?" she asked, trying to keep up with Rose. "I hope it's not far. I'm a little tired, I'm not used to this much activity. I mostly sit around and study all the time."

"Why?" Rose asked, looking over at her. "Are you smart?"

"I guess, a little," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "My mother wants me to be a doctor, and that takes a lot of studying."

"Doctor good," Rose said. "But you're not happy."

"That's not really what I want to do," she said. "I want to be a teacher, I love kids, they're so……I don't know, adorable."

Rose laughed. "Then be a teacher," she said. "Do want you want."

She said it so simply, as if it was the only thing that made sense. Eden paused a second and watched her new friend walk away, wishing that real life was that easy. "Hey, you didn't tell me where we're going," she called, catching up again. "I don't suppose it has anything to do with clean water and some kind of a bath."

Rose looked over her shoulder at her, then back down the trail and pointed. "Ocean is a big bath," she said. "We get clean there."

They got to the shore only a few minutes later, and she stopped, surprised to see the men wading waist-deep in the water, their spears held above their heads, ready to strike. Scanning the beach for Theo, she spotted him and stood watching, her body responding instantly to the sight of him bare-chested in the water, his muscles rippling as he brought the weapon down. He pulled it back up with a big silver fish wiggling on the end of the spear, a smile of triumph on his face, and this time it was more than just her body responding to him.

A little breathless, sure that she was starting to fall for Theo, she followed the other women down to the water, surprised and a bit disappointed when they didn't climb right into the waves but started up the beach instead. A few minutes later, it became obvious why they'd kept going when the land curved sharply, leading them to a small protected bay of water. The women all began stripping off their dresses, then plunged into the water, calling out to each other as they splashed around happily.

"Are you coming?" Rose asked, slipping her dress over her head. "Water feel good, men can't see us, you're safe."

She looked down at her swimsuit, then over at the woman, then took a deep breath, her cheeks flaming, and took it off. Running down to the water with Rose, she resisted the urge to cover herself up, but completely forgot her discomfort when she hit the water and it swallowed her up. Sighing with relief as the cool liquid slowly pulled the heat from her skin, she stood neck-deep for a long time, enjoying the sensation of being completely naked.

A splash followed by a giggle made her open her eyes. "I told you it was nice," Rose said, then splashed her again. "Come and play."

When they finally climbed out of the water and lay down on the warm sand of the beach to dry off, it was late afternoon. Letting out a sigh of happiness, Eden wondered what Theo was doing right then, if he was still spearing fish or headed back to camp with the rest of the men. The man made her feel something she'd never felt before, and now it wasn't just physical. She knew that she was falling in love with him. It both scared and thrilled her, and she hoped that he felt the same way.

Being stranded here had changed things, taken away all the inhibitions they'd felt at home. Here, their true feelings, and only their feelings, mattered. Even if Theo didn't love her, she was going to make the most of every minute they had together and etch it all very clearly in her mind so that years from now, the memories would still be as fresh as they were today.

One by one, the women began to rise from the sand and put on clean clothes, but she remained where she was, the thought of putting on her dirty swimming suit a bit revolting. But Rose came to her rescue once again with a dress she presented to Eden shyly, with a question in her eyes.

"Oh, Rose, thank you, it's lovely," she said, slipping it over her head. "How do I look?"

Rose smiled at her, then held up a finger. "I'll be right back," she said, then ran over to the basket she'd carried down to the water and came back with a comb carved out of wood. "Let me help with your hair."

When Rose was finished, her hair hung in shining waves down her back, and she reached up to twist it back up on her head, but Rose shook her head. With nimble fingers, she braided a few sections of hair next to her face, then pulled them back and secured them with a little piece of twine. She stood back, then a big smile spread across her face, and she nodded enthusiastically.

"Now, you look perfect," Rose finally said. "Your man will want you for sure."

She felt herself blushing. "I hope so," she said. "I want him too."

Rose giggled, "You should get married," she said, a wise look on her face. "Don't let him get away."

She laughed, "I don't know how Theo would feel about that," she said. "But I'll have to ask him."

"Good," Rose said, nodding her head again. "Theo belongs with Eden."