A Ferry from Laus Oma to Dzum
Aremu couldn’t quite have said he minded that either; between the flowers and Aurelie herself he found he had more than enough to occupy him. He didn’t worry about other visitors drifting past them; he couldn’t.
All day, Aremu thought, and perhaps even before, he had harbored a secret fear that any moment, Aurelie’s right to be there should be questioned. It was obvious to him what she was, with how small and red haired she was, and only worse for their holding hands. He had, in thinking it over, decided that the best way out was through, so to speak, and that they should do best by behaving as if there were nothing to see.
So he had tried to do, and it did, Aremu thought, seem to work. There were no particular second looks their way, no questions or other oddities. They were left to drift through the orchid garden and the crowd in peace, to admire the vibrant fall of colors and all the different shades of orchids.
Aremu had squeezed Aurelie’s hand a little, his thumb stroking over it, when she spoke of her mother. “I’m glad you like them,” he had said, in the end, although largely because he hadn’t known what else to say.
They dawdled, a little while, and then the last of their group was being politely told to go, and they too went back through the small exit hall, and out through another set of glass doors and back to the path.
It was time, then, to go; Aremu hailed a public cab headed towards the wharf, and climbed in beside Aurelie. An older imbali couple sat opposite them, talking in quiet Mugrobi throughout about some issue with their tomato plants. Aremu didn’t let go of Aurelie’s hand, startled to find just how tired he was.
It didn’t let up; there was the tricky business of getting the engine part onto the boat with them, and by the time Aremu had it set down, he was on the verge of swaying on his feet. The boat was already pulling away; they had been just in time.
He sat down beside Aurelie, meaning to make conversation, and instead found himself leaning against her, just a little - felt the soft warmth of her beneath his cheek as he let his eyes drift shut, smelling the soft scent of her and feeling the rhythmic shift of her breath as he dozed off.