Three Rivers (49 page)

This sorrow certainly ended any spiritual separation and estrangement which might have existed between Alexis and Isabel, for, as he lay there thinking about it all, he was aware of guilt for the first time in his life. Previously, this force in his wife’s life had been foreign to him.

He could now understand and detest it. This tragedy would only bring him and Isabel closer. They would pity each other for the burden now laid upon them and love each other more for it. If their bodies were already united by pleasure, now their souls could be united, in pain.

Those two extraordinary women who had kept Isabel anxious, unhappy, and unfulfilled all of her life, through death would bring her love. The more barriers their tragic lives interposed between the lovers, the stronger the impulse would be for the couple to love each other.

Alexis lay there quietly for a very long time. Finally he
made a decision. He would carry the burden of this monstrous situation by keeping it to himself. He would tell her when they reached Abu Simbel. It would be soon enough for the horrors of the outside world to come in on them.

And so the weeks passed, and Alexis and Isabel did fall more and more in love with each other. They spent their days and nights in sexual communion, and their souls began to meet.

On this sublime journey up the Nile, destiny was playing an extraordinary role in their lives. The Nile, this magnificent river under whose spell Isabel had fallen and on which she was reborn. Every time Alexis made love to her, she died for that split-second with every orgasm.

They lost track of time and spent their days and nights with whatever and whoever came before them. They sometimes sat at night by fires in the desert, not far from the moored felucca and spoke to primitive people of their life and their world.

By this time the intense love they felt allowed them to talk to each other from their souls and hearts. It was a new revelation for both of them. They may have loved passionately, but they also loved gaily and lightly.

Once Alexis turned her over on deck and entered her from behind, sure that the crew could not see them. Once, in the dark of the night, while they sat with three village men talking under the stars, Isabel, sure that they could not see, unzipped his trousers and took him in her mouth as he talked to the men.

They were naughty lovers. Risks became part of their sexual play. They had each other for their own amusement as well as their passion and their love.

Isabel thought of nothing but took every hour and every day as it came. Then they were there. They had sailed 768 miles up the Nile, and had reached Abu Simbel, the most colossal of all the temples of Egypt. The preservation and setting were unbelievable. The temple was carved out of the side of a sandstone cliff facing east, to let the rising sun penetrate the inner sanctuary.

It was exactly at sunrise that the
Mamounia
sailed before Abu Simbel. Alexis and Isabel were standing on the raised deck as the temple lit up with the day. A felucca pulled up close to the anchored
Mamounia
, and on
board were two old friends of Alexis. One was the head man of Upper Egypt, a grand old fellow with great white flowing robes and a huge white turban. He carried the staff of Upper Egypt, a sign of his authority. He shook the staff at Alexis, shouting out, “Welcome to you and your bride. You will be my guests, Alexis, I will take you to Abu Simbel this time.”

Word had been sent weeks before about their eventual arrival, and since Alexis had been instrumental in saying the temple, there was nothing that they would not do to make him and his bride welcome.

With the old man was another old friend. He was one of the archaeologists responsible for the moving and preservation of Abu Simbel.

Alexis was delighted to see the old man, said to be in his ninety-eighth year. He had adored and known him all of his life. He whispered to Isabel that this was one of the great characters of his country, a brave, courageous man of the desert.

Isabel had on a long smock of rough white cheesecloth, cut with a round neckline that went to just below her collar bone. She had on her Bedouin silver-and-amber necklace. Her hair hung down around her shoulders and she wore a wide-brimmed Panama hat that kept her face and shoulders out of the sun.

They changed feluccas among endless instructions from everyone on how she should jump on board. Eventually she became frozen with fear until Gamal took over. He simply threw her across into Alexis’s arms.

“You silly thing, why ever did you not jump? You will always be safe with me.” Alexis smiled at her and put her down.

She was introduced to the handsome, dark, wrinkled ancient man, Hamouda, and the archaeologist, Nassim. Several women, all draped in their black robes and covered with gold jewelry, hovered around and presented her with armfuls of flowers. They giggled and smiled at her and took her off to one side when Alexis was swept up by the old man and Nassim. After coffee they sailed straight for the temple.

Two days and one night of celebrations arranged by Hamouda were held in their honor. As if by magic, a full, pure white moon appeared over Abu Simbel, and dozens
of feluccas brought guests to the very foot of the temple where a temporary dock had been made.

The temple, measured from the facade to the innermost chamber, was over two hundred feet long. The first room had a ceiling supported by eight columns faced with huge statues of Ramses II in the pose of the god Osiris. The ceiling and walls were magnificently decorated, and the colors in most places were still brilliant.

It was in this first room that huge tables had been set up and laden with flowers and silver platters of food. The entire temple was lit by torchlight.

There were a hundred guests invited to honor the wedding couple, and everyone sat on the carpets that had been laid over the floor of the vast echoing space, now filled with flowers and laughter for this night. Mountains of fruits, pigeons, huge fish from the Nile and meats roasted with herbs were passed around the table endlessly.

Hamouda outdid himself. It was a reception almost unimaginable in splendor. He sat Isabel next to him and Alexis on his other side. Isabel had dressed magnificently for the occasion. She wore all of her jewels, including the Saladin Diamonds, over a long, paper-thin, white cotton evening dress that was completely accordion-pleated. When she walked into the temple, people gasped. Her dress was not unlike some seen in the ancient paintings on the tomb walls. Her hair was freshly washed and seemed to light up from the glow that her jewels gave. She was dazzling as she floated through the temple, meeting everyone.

Hamouda jabbered on to her all through the evening, but since she understood nothing she just kept smiling and nodding. Three-quarters of the way through the evening, he reached out and touched the Saladin Diamonds and in so doing, touched her nipple. Both she and Alexis noticed it. Alexis could not help but smile, and he gave her a sign not to make a fuss. She understood, although she did wonder when Hamouda turned to Alexis, who roared with laughter over what the old man said.

After the meal, which went on for hours and hours, there were exquisite folk and belly dancers. Then it was over.

After all the thanks and good-byes were made, they sailed away on the
Mamounia
. The felucca was in the mainstream of the river when the sun began inching its
way off the Nile, across the sand, and up the temple walls. They stood again, arm in arm, as they sailed away, this time towards Cairo and home, and watched Abu Simbel come alive again in the light of another day.

Then later that day Alexis asked Isabel to sit with him among the cushions on the raised deck. They spoke of the wonders of their trip and decided to have their dinner served to them up there on small tables.

They dined on tiny birds that had been shot somewhere along the green belt of the Nile and presented to them by a village elder. They had been stuffed with grapes and were served on a bed of rice with a green salad. There was fresh yogurt from a village nearby, with bananas and tangerines for dessert. It was yet another delicious meal and an end to yet another marvelous day.

After Gamal and Doreya had been dismissed, the couple lingered over their coffee, and Alexis lit up a couple of strong joints for them. The deck was lit by the usual lanterns and candles. They listened to the sounds of the Nile that they were quite used to now, although they received the same pleasure that they always did.

Alexis drew Isabel close to him and unbuttoned the tiny gold buttons on the galabia she had on. His fingers moved slowly, almost tenderly, as he exposed her breasts and played with her nipples. When he felt her completely relaxed and sighing from the pleasure that he was giving her, he pulled her close to him.

She slipped her hand under the galabia that he wore and fondled his balls and penis, which was only semi-erect.

He widened his legs and she was then able to hold his testicles in her cupped hands. She loved feeling the weight of them. She kissed him, and he told her how much he loved her.

They lay there like that, just petting each other lovingly, and he lit up two more joints for them. They finished them and, completely relaxed, listened to the night. Isabel had her arms around Alexis’s waist and her head resting on his chest. He gently, very slowly covered her breasts. That was when he told her about her mother and sister, ending with his promise to show her the horrid cables at another time.

Ava and her mother. Both dead. All the obsession over
the years about her mother’s funeral … and now there would be none.

Alexis saw the blood drain from her face, and for a moment he thought she was going to faint. He called for Gamal and gave some orders; at the same time he drew from his pocket a vial with some liquid in it that he held under her nose. It seemed to bring a little color back into her face. Gamal appeared with some whiskey, which Alexis told her to drink. She refused, and Alexis said very firmly, “I said, drink it down, all of it.”

Isabel did as she was told, and then, with a deep sigh, she looked at him. “My father always said, ever since I was a child, that I would be the death of my mother, and I was, you know.”

Still holding her in his arms, he was shocked to find her body had gone very cold. He rubbed her hands and arms.

She looked at him, and the tears just poured out of her eyes. “Oh, God, how did we make such a mess of it all? Why didn’t we help each other, love each other, why did we make such a mess of it? The waste, I cannot forgive myself for the waste. We lost each other because of the little things. Why did we make such a mess of it all, why?”

Alexis didn’t speak, he just let her cry it out. It was not very long before she fell asleep.

When she awoke a few hours later, she was still in his arms. He was smoking a joint and looking up at the stars. He asked her if she was better, and she said yes, she felt calmer. He passed the joint to her, and she smoked and asked him to please take her down to bed.

When they were in the bedroom they undressed and slipped into the bed. He took her in his arms and made tender love to her. At some point her passivity stopped, and she began to make love to him. She kissed him gently, and their lovemaking that night turned from tenderness to wild passion, then to animal lust, and then back to deep tenderness. They never stopped until she was exhausted and fell asleep in his arms. She was all relaxed and floppy like a little rag doll, and he held her close until he too slept.

When he woke in the morning he went to the bathroom and bathed, shaved and dressed. Then he went back to the sleeping Isabel and, lying down next to her, took her
in his arms to wake her up. He offered her a large glass of mango juice that had been brought in by Gamal, and while she drank it slowly, he poured them both some hot black coffee.

“How do you feel?” he asked.

“I have a terrific headache, and I feel quite confused, but calm.”

He picked up two tablets from the silver tray that her mango juice had been brought in on. “Well, darling, first things first,” he said and handed them to her.

She went into the bathroom, and when she returned, she had bathed and looked a little less confused. She climbed back into the bed next to him.

“Do you feel well enough to talk a little about it?” he began.

“Yes.”

He poured fresh cups of coffee for them and handed her a soft roll on a plate with some butter and marmalade. “Isabel, I want to tell you that those cables came three and a half weeks ago. I made the decision not to tell you because I could not see that there was anything we could do then. Your mother’s ship has now docked in New York, and there are things for us to do. I want you to know how sorry I am and that I feel in my heart a great pity about all this.”

“Alexis, the one thing I wanted was to spare you the problems of my family,” Isabel said, and sighed. “I don’t think I can bear you to be involved in any more of this than you are. It is my problem; actually, it is the end of my problem. I must think and work out what to do. Oh, I am so sorry it has all been laid on you. I wanted to give you only pleasure, and this is what I have saddled on you even before the honeymoon is over.” She began to cry.

“Isabel, listen to me. It has drawn us
closer
together, my knowing all this, because I have suffered
for
you. But, darling, I think, for lack of any other word, you must forget the
ghosts
of these two women. Darling, if you do not, in time they will come back and torture you as they did in life. This tragedy has happened at the beginning of a new life for both of us, and I do not intend it to linger on. I have a plan. I think we should fly into Cairo for a few days and then on to Athens to see your brother-in-law for a day. Then, I think we should go on to New York. I don’t want to question your feelings, but I think
we must bury these women in the only way that their deaths have allowed us to and then get in with
our
lives. Does that make sense to you?”

“Yes, I think it does.” Isabel nodded. “Alexis, something strange happened, and I want to tell you about it. You see, I let them die out of my life during that terrible luncheon in Athens. Now that they are really dead my guilt is gone. The reality of never being able to resolve our relationships is a defeat that I can accept, I think. But you are so right, I will never know until I bury the ghosts. I wonder how I would have faced all this without you.”