His Purple Heart

27 - The Bayou

I swatted a mosquito on my arm and then another on my neck. I missed both times, but whatever. At this point I just wanted to reach our destination, but I promised myself that I was going to have a good time this weekend and live in the moment.

The deeper we travelled into the bayou, the heavier the air got. Moisture clung to my curls, weighing them down. My skin felt wet, but when I touched it, it wasn't. It was warmer than I expected even though the trees provided ample shadow as we walked along stable swaps at the edge of the river.

After several feet we came to a stop at the edge of the slow moving river and I spotted an alligator lurking among the murky waters. I pointed the alligator out to Gonzales and he smiled, taking out his phone to snap a picture.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" he asked as he pushed a tree branch out of the way to let me pass.

"It really is. I'm glad I decided to do this. I don't do this kind of stuff often enough." I took a long look around me as I admired the lush flora and the array of cypress trees, their beautiful curved branches reaching for the heavens.

"What do you normally do?" Gonzales asked.

"Well, I spend most of my time inside, painting. What about you?"

"I work long hours and when I'm off I try to spend as much time with my son. I go to his games, or I take him fishing."

"How old is your son?" I asked trying to show some interest.

"He's seven."

I nodded and we walked the rest of the way in silence until we reached the cabins where we would be staying. Our guide Jean Baptiste explained how everything worked and then said that he would be back later that evening to take us to the bonfire next to the river in celebration of the full moon.

Gonzales asked if I wanted to go exploring around the cabins and I politely declined. He seemed a little upset with my answer, but I wasn't too sure. So I tried to explain myself.

"I don't feel so well and I just want to take a shower," I said.

"I get it," he said. "Enjoy your shower."

I turned and walked up the cabin steps. Following behind me, Addison grabbed my hand and pulled me to a stop.

"What was that about?" she asked. "I tried to talk to Gonzales, but he seemed upset. He just walked away from me with a grunt."

I sighed. "I don't know what's wrong with him. He asked me to go exploring with him and I said no. I'm pretty sure that's not what he's upset about. He was on the phone for awhile back there, maybe he got a disturbing call from work?"

Addison glanced in the direction where Gonzales had disappeared into the forest. "That's not like him. Hopefully he's back soon so I can talk to him."

Cabin number three was a very large cabin with two spacious bedrooms. Addison and Greg took the master bedroom with the queen sized bed and the guys and I got the other bedroom with four bunk beds in it.

I claimed one of the top beds for myself before taking a long shower to get rid of the grime on my skin in one of the two outdoor showers at the back of the cabin. I made sure to take advantage of the perfectly warm water and the pulsating shower head.

As I was showering, I heard a noise. The outdoor shower was made out of bamboo-like wood with spaces in between them and tied together with what looked like vines. I peeped through one of the slits and there stood Gonzales.

He was looking at me from afar, but I'm sure he couldn't see much of anything. I waved and he waved back before continuing on his way.

I quickly toweled off and headed back inside. I grabbed a white halter dress from my suitcase and put it on, forgoing to wear a bra.