Posted As Missing

Chapter Thirty-Nine

David brought the bedrolls over to their work area, laid one of them out, and they placed all the dressmaking goods and remnants in its centre. He pulled the corners together into a large bag and slung it over his shoulder as Rachel and Maria stepped out of their skirts and folded them neatly on the slab. They all took a last long look down at the valley, searching for any changes, then they headed back across to their camp.

He laid out his good wool trousers, best shirt and clean socks, all freshly laundered a few days previously at the hot pool. He cleaned their shoes and boots with the boiled linseed oil and polished them using a beeswax candle.

They quickly sorted and packed the small rucksack with the things they wanted to take with them. The remainder was packed into the three large rucksacks, which were then placed at the back of the small grotto. He dressed, hanging his jacket over his shoulders as a cape in the fashion he had seen in Freiburg.

After he had slung the rucksack over his left shoulder and put on his loden jägerhut, he said, "A quick look around, ladies. Check to see if we've missed anything."

"One thing," Maria said. "Let me adjust the feather in your hat. For you, it has to be much more jaunty. How's this, Mama?"

"He looks like he belongs here, between the Black Forest and the Alps." She picked up her cane and pointed it across the ridge. "Let's go have lunch."

They regained the lookout slab, David walked over to the prow and did one more check of the valley, and after half a minute he said, "I see nothing different down there."

The ladies picked up their skirts and draped them over their arms, David picked up the crutches and led the way across the rugged ridge. He turned frequently to watch the ladies, to confirm their safe progress, but more fascinated by the play of their lips as they stretched long steps between some blocks and down off others.

Within five minutes he had reached the edge of the granitic intrusion, and he looked back to watch in wonder at the beauty of the ladies manoeuvring toward him.

"You're an attentive guide," Maria said as she approached. "Very concerned at our safe steps."

"That, certainly." He looked down. "But my attention is also with the movements here." Running his fingers through her folds, he leaned forward to kiss her. "I'm fascinated with it."

"Fascinated with what?" Rachel asked as she arrived beside them.

"Folds, lips, beautiful moving flesh. You both are so fascinating to watch. I've not before had the opportunity to study the action, the interaction of your legs and lips, the interaction between your lips and your flaps. It's so beautiful to me, so different from anything I know."

"It's probably like my having you swing and pendulum so close in front of my face back there at the hot pools." Rachel shuddered lightly. "So wonderfully different."

"That's the thing, isn't it? Difference." He nodded. "We're built so differently, inside and out, emotionally, mentally, physically. The biggest differences, the physical ones are kept hidden. Why? Our culture seems to bury the wonder of, the reality of our differences."

"Buried somewhere in ancient religious tradition is most likely the answer." Rachel shrugged.

"Let's press on." He pointed. "There's the beginning of a more gentle slope ahead with less tangled undergrowth. Let's head there and see if it's a good place to dress. How's the ankle, Mama?"

"It's so much stronger today. I'm pleased with how it's healed — not quite a week yet. The cane is still welcome, but I can now place much more weight on my foot."