I ate my dinner rather quickly and excused myself as politely as I could. Having dinner with Jake in such a romantic setting was too painful, like being back on the beach, watching the sunset. My heart just ached, badly, and smiling through his small talk wasn’t exactly working for me.
“Ashly, please stay,” he said. “How often does one get a romantic dinner out in the middle of the bush?”
“Not often, Jake, but I’m afraid that moment, for us, is gone forever.”
“I don’t believe that. We might’ve lost it five years ago, but I’m here to fix it.”
By no means did I want to have the same old talk about us again. “I’m tired, and we have a big day tomorrow,” I said. “But it sure was beautiful.”
He stood. “I’ll go back with you. Tarzan no want Jane to get eaten by lion,” he said, beating his chest.
As I laughed, he grinned. I always loved the way he made me smile.
“That was a good Tarzan impression,” I said.
He chuckled, then put his hand on my back and led me back to our suite.
* * *
The next day, we had breakfast on the patio overlooking the watering hole and saw a family of warthogs.
After breakfast, Anto, our guide and tracker, met up with us. We were going on an overnight camping trip so we could get up close and personal with the bush. He’d warned us not to wear bright colors because it would make us conspicuous to the wildlife. He had told us not to wear dark colors either, because they would absorb too much heat. Plus, tsetse flies love blue or black, so it was best to dress in neutral colors such as khaki, beige, olive, and green, with a safari hat to avoid sunburn.
I followed his guidelines and got dressed, then strapped my camera around my neck.
Our Land Rover had no roof or doors, just three staggered bench seats behind the driver. That allowed for a spectacular 360-degree view of the wilderness all around us. As I climbed into the vehicle, Anto turned on some soothing safari music. It was so serene to listen to the music while staring at the beautiful scenery of Africa. I clung to my seat as we raced over a million bumps. It was hot and dusty, but it was nothing less than one of the adventures I’d always dreamt about, and I enjoyed every minute of it.
Our funny and friendly guide harbored a wealth of knowledge and told us facts about every animal and plant we saw. He even explained how to make toothpaste from local plants. As if that wasn’t amazing enough, he could even identify animal tracks in the dirt and could tell how long ago an animal had been in the vicinity.
We drove through miles of golden, baking-hot grasslands when I saw a flash of yellow against the green reeds.
“Look!” I shouted.
“Leopard,” Anto said calmly. He stopped the Land Rover so we could observe the world’s fastest runner up close.
She was gorgeous and slowly crept up to us.
“Uh, guys, she’s getting closer,” I said.
“Isn’t she magnificent?” Jake said in amazement.
Suddenly, the young leopard leapt on our vehicle, and my heart pounded in my throat. I met Anto’s gaze and smiled. “Um…in case you didn’t notice, there’s a wildcat on the hood.”
He just laughed nonchalantly as the leopard made herself comfortable on our hood, staring at me with her amber eyes, so close that I could make out each of her white whiskers.
As frightened as I was, I couldn’t resist the urge to snap several photos. “We’re safe, right?” I asked.
“Wild animals are unpredictable,” the tour guide said, “but she’s just a baby.”
“But babies have mamas,” Jake chimed in.
We enjoyed the moment for as long as it lasted. After a few minutes of lazily resting on the hood, the leopard jumped down and gracefully walked off.
“Wow,” I said. “My heart was beating a million miles a minute, but I got it on film!”
Jake put the lens cover back on his camera. “I bet we both got some fantastic shots.”
We drove in and out of the bush and stopped to watch a herd of zebras, springboks, and impalas, who were sitting in the shade, trying to cool off. After a few more amazing pictures, we ventured on.