20 
ADVENTURES IN PARADISE

Justine awakened early and gazed through the picture window near the foot of the bed. She saw that the sun had begun its ascent. Streaks of orange, yellow and dark blue accented the Gallup sky. She smiled. Yes, she could get used to a life like this—rising to beauty, lying in comfort and being serenaded all night by her lover.

Her joints still ached from climbing hills and descending valleys at El Morro. Once they returned to his house, they had barely made it to the bed before making love again. There was probably clothing strewn from the front door to the bedroom. Justine remembered looking up at the Koshari painting as they made love, seeing the 3D movements of a fast and furious clown. Then they both fell into a dead sleep.

Darrius stirred next to her, yawning. He turned and stroked her exposed leg. However, the expression on her face concerned him. “Hey, where’s that smile you had a second ago?”

“You saw that?”

“I see everything when it comes to you.” He sat up, letting the sheet fall to his hips. “What are you thinking about that’s making you so sad suddenly?”

“Tomorrow.”

“What about it?”

“Don’t you remember what tomorrow is?”

“Yes, Monday.”

“I go home day after tomorrow, Darrius, and I don’t want to.”

“Do you have to?”

She slumped against his shoulder. “Yeah. They’re expecting me back now that the powwow is officially over.”

He wrapped his arm tightly around her, as if hoping a loving caress would take her mind from going home. “Well, let’s not think about it right now. Let’s grab some breakfast, get your things shipped off and then go to the golf course for a round or two with the guys. We’ll take things from there. You don’t mind watching a few rounds of golf, do you? It’s the last round after the ceremonies.”

“No. I don’t mind. I’d love to see you play again.”

The look of sadness persisted, and Darrius held her tighter. “I’ve got a surprise for you after the golf outing.”

A smile finally appeared. “What is it, lunch at the El Rancho? You know I’ve wanted to go there.”

“Sure, we’ll do that, but it’s something else I won’t tell you about just yet.”

“I love you, you know that?”

“Yes, I know that, and believe me, the feeling is mutual.” He pushed the sheets aside and jumped from the bed. “Let’s get this day rolling. We’ve got to go back to your room, pack your goodies and have them all set for Wednesday. I remember now that you’re leaving at an ungodly time; 6:50 from the train station.”

“If I left any sooner, I’d miss the plane in Albuquerque.”

She got up and they held hands in front of the picture window. “Boxing my trinkets and other tokens and sending them on ahead of time is a good idea. Everything goes other than my squash necklace and bracelet.” She jingled it, hearing the stones dance against the silver. “This always stays with me no matter what I wear. It’ll remind me of you when you’re not with me.”

“I’ll always be with you, Justine.”

“I mean in person. When I’m on the train, I won’t be able to see you. I don’t know when I’ll be able to see you after I leave.”

“We have today and tomorrow, my love. Today we live life to the fullest, kiss, dance, eat, golf, take more pictures. Whatever you want to do.”

“I want to stay in bed all day with you. Well, maybe we could visit your parents and then back to bed. Sound good to you?”

“Maybe tomorrow we can meet them for dinner. Would you like that?”

“Sure. I would love to see everyone before leaving.”

“Come on, let’s go pack, get breakfast at Michael’s and have a good day.”

“You’re not cooking me more raccoon links!”

“No, but if you like snake, I have some!” He smiled and pulled her arm. “You’ll like Michael’s. He’s got the best blueberry flapjacks imaginable. Let’s go shower. Together.”

* * *

They were at the golf course by 11:45 that morning, and Darrius couldn’t wait to get started. He looked so handsome in his white polo and dark blue Dockers.

Like a proud girlfriend, Justine sat on the cart cheering him on, watching him and his friends playing. It was a beautiful day for the golf finale. The golf finale was traditionally the end of the powwow. The air was still, the sun shining and the heat, as sweltering as it was, still felt good. New Mexico felt good, and the idea of leaving it made her sick. She would miss the fun times she had there.

She picked her camera up and took a few shots of Darrius in mid-swing. Several shots caught him with a swirl of long, dark hair circling his face. Beautiful. She shot the rolling greens, the well-manicured landscape and other natives playing their rounds of golf, some on the back nines. Still, there were places in midtown she hadn’t had time to photograph. She wondered if she had time before lunch to get in a few more photographs of town. She could take the truck and be back in time to pick him up.

Darrius approached, his hair blowing in the wind. “You’re a little bored watching me golf.”

“Really, I’m okay.”

“Justine, you’re bored.” He reached into his pocket and took out his keys. “Take the truck and go to some galleries or something. Shoot more things for the paper.”

“They have enough.”

“Then shoot them for your own photo album. These are your last couple of days here, and who knows when you’ll be back? Of course, I’ll try to make that as soon as possible.”

“Are you sure about the truck? I know how crazy you are about your baby.”

“You’re my baby. Now go, see something good, but be back by two for a late lunch.” He gave her a quick kiss before walking off.

With a casual wave back to him, she heaved her camera and a bottled water into her arms and literally skipped to the truck.

It took a little doing to get comfortable so high up from the pavement in his Ford F150. Her rental car was so small it was almost ground level. Her car at home was the same way. Behind his truck, she felt like the queen of the world.

Traveling down Route 66 with the air conditioning and CD player blasting songs by Jay Z and Nina Sky, she felt free, free to do and explore whatever she wanted. What came to mind were the ruins at El Morro, but if Darrius had an inkling about her going there, he’d blast her but good! Besides, she wouldn’t dare break her word to him. Wouldn’t dare!

On the way into town, she had to pass the cliffs of Red Rock. She hadn’t seen the place in two days, and had thought of the dangerous side only briefly last night. She slowed the truck as she got closer to the main entrance. Her mind was telling her to keep going, forget about the place beyond the jagged hilltop, but she told herself that she had to at least see what was up there. She didn’t have to go as far as the sacred lands and rugged terrain. Nothing would happen. Besides, didn’t she have the right vehicle to do it now? You bet!

Before she realized exactly what she was doing, she had already turned onto the road that led directly to Red Rock’s parking lot. Just beyond it was the road, the infamous road she thought was her demon. She stopped midway up, staring at the hilly, reddish-white road dotted with patches of grass. She put the truck in park and pressed the accelerator, revving the engine as if to tear up that hill and show it who was boss. Yet, she stayed in place. Her mind raced; her palms began to itch and sweat! Words trembled as she spoke. “This is crazy! What am I doing here? Why do I want this so much? Darrius told me to stay away, so why am I going against his word?”

Her other side came into play. You said you won’t go to the sacred place, so what’s the problem? Just trek up the damn hill and get ‘er done. Easy as pie. Do it! The thought made her laugh a bit, as if she would stake a victory flag at the top. In a way, she agreed with that terrible, troublemaking idea—she wouldn’t go to the part Darrius warned her of.

With that in mind, she took the turtle totem from her purse, held it tightly in her hand and placed the gear in drive. She closed her eyes for a second, as if in contemplation, and then moved further up the mountain, hoping the totem would do what it was supposed to do—give her courage to take things slowly and cautiously.

She was okay, smooth sailing thus far. She moved on. The truck was in the process of climbing, tilting a little. She pressed the brake and looked up. By now, her forehead was beading with sweat. The front of her pink tank dress showed sweat stains, and her eyes darted from side to side of each mountaintop.

She was determined to reach the top with totem in hand! But in the back of her mind, she wondered if Darrius had some inkling of what she was doing. She had deliberately not spoken of Red Rock to him to take his mind away from it. Sure, he knew the place excited her, but hadn’t exactly known why. Again, the voice. Just see the top and come back down.

Sweat dripped into her eyes, and she felt as if she were crying. Gripping the wheel a little harder now, she pressed on. With hardly any nerve left, she advanced until she got to the fork in the road, the same one she had reached the other day. Now, which way to go? She looked at both roads and chose the one on the left. For some reason, it looked less foreboding. On the other side of it was Red Rock’s amphitheatre, only it was near two hundred or more feet down. That’s a heck of a drop, Justine.

She slowly moved higher. Within seconds, she reached a sort of plateau. The flat surface was a welcome sight. She smiled and wiped sweat from her face. She had passed her previous mark and was at the top of one cliff. After putting the gear in park, she slowly opened the door. Her feet and legs felt like lead as she stepped down from the truck.

The top of the mountain was surprisingly picturesque. She thought she would see nothing but arid clumps of earth, barren land. It was lovely. Desert flowers dotted the ground, and there were cacti and trees—some cottonwood. The air was fresh up there, and she could see above most of the state. All around her were the reddish-brown hills and mountains of Gallup and surrounding cities. She put the camera belt around her neck and took a few photographs. Her nerve had returned, and she was eager to see everything. She lowered the camera and looked harder, forced her eyes to see beyond what the normal eye could. She squinted, stepped closer to the drop-off. Everything was the same from cliff to cliff—rows and rows of red hills.

She aimed the camera again, wanting the best angle for more shots. Though she remembered Darrius telling her the terrain was rugged, she didn’t see anything dangerous. She took a few more shots, and to the right on the next overhang, she thought she saw what could be the ruins of some ancient Navajo dwellings. Was it possible to see the ruins from another city? Was it the dangerous part Darrius spoke of? Whatever the case, she was in too deep now to stop.

With a careful step, Justine reached the next small cliff, stood atop and stared. She thought by now she would be a bunch of rattling bones as she stood near the overhang, but she wasn’t. The scenery was beautiful, and that was what had captured her thoughts. There had been two incidents while taking photos for the Arizona powwow where she had fallen down a small hill trying to take shots of distant mountain ranges that she couldn’t get to from any other spot. Yet her curiosity was what fueled her, that natural curiosity to see what was beyond. She had definitely been in worse situations—like rescuing one of her brothers from a gang. She had handled herself very well that day with those thugs, and she was going to again today. No dangerous land was going to stop her.

The turtle totem was still clutched tightly in her hand, and it made her think. Maybe there is something to these totems after all. Maybe this has helped me see that I was scared of nothing. It wasn’t a sudden revelation, more like something she had allowed to manifest in her mind without cause.

She took a few more steps and stopped almost at the edge of the cliff and looked down. Again, it was quite a drop, but there were plateaus below her.

Her weight caused the plate of granite below her feet to crumble, and before she could move, it gave way and she slid onto the next plateau. Fear returned though she hadn’t slid but a foot. It made her think about the tumbles she had taken in Arizona. But this was different, not nearly as steep as those hills had been, but still, she knew Darrius was right. The terrain was rocky and it was time to leave. Darrius would be expecting her and she didn’t want to give him anything to worry about. As she stepped onto the next plateau to head back, it, too, was unable to hold her slight weight and she could feel it crumbling beneath her feet. Panic returned as the slab gave completely—only this time, there wasn’t another one close enough to reach for.