Gypsy in Black: The Romance of Gypsy Travelers (18 page)

She
stifled
her sigh o
f relief as
Nicolae
lead her to the
cooking fires.  As they passed
a group of men,
Nicolae
reached out
for a bottle of rakiya and handed it to Sahara.  She raised it to her lips, taking a long swallow
before handing it back to him. 
He took it gratefully as they r
eached the fires.  Duda noticed
them sitting by the edge of th
e fire and quickly brought them
each a bowl, serving it to them
from behind.  Sahara nodded at
the old woman but
Nicolae
ignored he
r.  Instead, he lifted the bowl
to his lips, drinking the warm
juices from the stew.  With his
fingers, he picked up a piece of m
eat.  Sahara watched him before
hesitantly following his example.
  The meat was tough and tasted
overcooked.  But she didn't compl
ain as she finished what was in
her bowl and set it befor
e her. 
Nicolae
savored his longer,
apparently enjoying the coarse
meat while Sahara
drank once again from
the
bottle of rakiya. 

When
Nicolae
finally set his b
owl down next to Sahara's, Duda
was quick to take both bowls, ca
reful not to mix them up as she
washed them. 
Nicolae
glanced at the old woman. 
“
Duda works ha
rd. 
She is a good wife.
”
  He reach
ed for the bottle from Sahara. 
After quenching his thirst, he set it between himself and Sahara.

She watched as Duda washed
the bowls. 
“
Is her husband the
Rom Baro
?
”

“
The
Rom Baro
, yes.
”

She had already realized Duda
was married to the
Rom Baro
but she had never asked
Nicolae
.  No
w, Sahara questioned him with a
frown. 
“
She is
not
your mother
though
?
”

Nicolae
gave a tired laugh as
he looked at her. 
“
My mother's
sister.  My mother died shortly after I was born and my father married her
sister
to take c
are of his two children.  It is
custom if the sister is not married already or recently widowed.
”

Sahara wrapped her
hands around her knees, smiling
mischievously at
Nicolae
. 
“
And wha
t would you do if I left you in
such a situation?
”

He lowered his eyes and look
ed back at the fires. 
“
I would
be forced to marry again, S'hara.
”
  He hesitated
, his expression dark and pained,
before he added,
“
So don't.
”

They were silent for severa
l minutes.  Sahara pondered the
sorrow in his voice when he had spoken his last sentence.  Did h
e
actually fear she might leav
e him or die?  Sahara smiled to
herself, for the first time f
eeling drawn to the man she had
married.  He had waited for her,
sought her out, and tricked her
in order to marry her.  The more s
he knew about him, the more she
wanted to try for him.  Try to be
a good wife, perhaps even to be
like Duda one day. 
“
Well, I'
ll do my best to make sure that
doesn't happen.
”
  When he g
lanced at her to see if she was
teasing him, she smiled sedu
ctively. 
“
Is that more to your
liking?
”

“
I have more use for you alive
, S'hara.  Don't forget that.
”
 
He didn't wait for her to reply
as he stood up. 
“
Let us watch
the dancing.
”

The dancing, although full of
gypsy life, lacked the passion
from the first nights. 
Nicolae
always called it dancing
“
for
the
gadjo.
”
  It was more of a show with colorful costumes and fl
amboyant, stereotypical music.  Looking past the dancers,
Sahara noticed Locke standing alo
ne.  He watched the gypsy girls
with a lustful gleam in his
eye.  Sahara followed his gaze,
startled to see a young gypsy girl dancing for what appeared to
be only Locke.  Sahara squinted
, trying to make out the girl's
face as she danced.  Unable to mak
e her out, Sahara laid her hand on
Nicolae
's arm. 
“
Who
is that girl?
”

Nicolae
looked where Sahara pointed. 
“
The girl with the gold
costume on?  She is Greggor's fut
ure wife.  She has not become a
sheybari yet.
”
  When he noticed Sa
hara's confused look, he leaned
down and whispered in her ear.
“
She is still a little girl.
”
 
His emphasis on
“
little girl
”
made it c
lear to Sahara that he
meant she had not started men
struating. 
“
When she becomes a
sheybari, Greggor will marry her.
”

Sahara remembered Greg
gor as the boy Locke had fought
several days ago.  Perhaps t
he reason for their dispute ran
deeper than personal dislike. 
Sahara looked back at the young
girl, dancing eagerly for the
lean Locke.  Perhaps Locke and
Greggor's
fiancé
were in
love. 
“
They are
too young.
”

“
Did you say something?
”
 

Sahara looked up at
Nicolae
and shook her head.  She hadn't
meant to speak
out loud
. 
“
No, I didn't.
”

Nicolae
looked down at her as s
he turned her attention back to
the dancing.  The longing in his
groin began to grow again.  All
day he had felt the throbbing of desire whenever he thought of
his new wife.  Now, as
he stared at her su
nned face from being
outside all day, he decided to
not fight it any more.  Placing
his hand on
her shoulder, he waited
un
til she looked back at him. 
“
I want to go to sleep.
”
  The
insinuation was clear.  Sahara
glanced once more at the dancing girl before f
orgetting the
possible love triangle between
Greggor, Locke, and the girl.  Hesitantly,
Sahara followed
Nicolae
. 

He lit the lantern in the te
nt while Sahara shut the flap. 
The lantern glowed orange, creati
ng mystical shadows that danced
on the canvas walls.  Sahara b
ent over to pick up her package
from the ground, taking i
t to the
wood
trunk
Nicolae
had
made
for his new wife's belon
gings.  She was about to set it
inside when
Nicolae
noticed the brown
wrapping.  Breaking the awkward
silence, he asked,
“
What did you buy, S'hara?
”

She shrugged her shoulders. 
“
Just some material.
”

He sat down on the beddin
g, pulling at one of his black, knee-high
leather boots.  With
a grunt, he dropped one on the
ground.  He began pulling at the other boot. 
“
I would like to
see it.
”
 

Sahara reluctantly opene
d the wrapping and took out the
black material.  She turned t
o show it to him, the other two
materials hidden in the packaging
.  When
Nicolae
saw it, the muscles
in his cheeks twitched.  He r
eached out, snatching the black
cloth fr
om her.  Confused, he
looked up at her, holding it in his hand
. 
“
Black? 
Always the black.
You are mourning something, yes?
”
 

Sahara
reached for the cl
oth, but
Nicolae
held it out of her grasp. 
“
Give it to me.
  It's mine!
”

“Maybe it is bad luck to wear such colors, S’hara.”

“Nicolae, I don’t believe those superstitions.  Please now, let me put it away.”  When he refused to give it to her, she put her hands on her hips and stared at him, angry.  “I had wanted to surprise you.  Now you are ruining it.”

He laughed at her, keeping it above her head.  When she tried once more to grab it, h
e pulled her
tight against his body. 
The material fell from his grasp to the ground.  He was too strong and she couldn’t free herself.  Instead, she relaxed.  He rubbed her back and shoulders, his lips brushing against her neck. 
She cou
ld feel his erect groin against
her leg.  Shutting her eyes, she
tried to hold back her
emotions for this man
. 
His look, his touch, even his scent infused her with heat and passion.  When she tried to be angry with him or tried to deny her feelings, she found it impossible.  She was overwhelmed in his presence and even more so in his embrace.  It was just too easy to release herself to his control.  It was also just as pleasurable to be controlled by him.

So she let him undress her and lead her to their bedding.  She didn’t blush at her nakedness, even when he knelt by her side, staring down at her body. She wasn’t ashamed anymore when he touched her or when she responded to his touch.  Instead, she shut her eyes and let herself disappear into his world and his soul.  His touch was gentle, just barely brushing against her skin.  It left her tingling and warm as she anticipated his next touch.   When she heard him removing his shirt, she couldn’t hold back and reached out to touch his chest, to trace an imaginary line across his skin.  His hand covered hers and he kissed her palm. 

“Ah S’hara,” he murmured, releasing her to relieve himself of his remaining clothes.  “What you do to me…”

The late afternoon light faded to dusk.  The inside of the tent was filled with shadows.  Outside, the night became alive with a different type of music.  The gadjo were gone and the night belonged to the gypsies.  Sahara
heard
Nicolae
moving around the tent.  Curiously
, she opened one eye and saw he
was dressed and ready to leave.  S
itting up, she pulled the quilt
around
her bare chest. 
“
Nicolae? Where are you
going?
”

He smiled at her, his expression soft.  He reached out a hand, helping her to stand.  She stood before him, naked, her body pressed against his once again.  He leaned down and breathed in her hair.  It smelled like the outdoors, fresh and free.  He ran his hands down her back, leaving a burning trail on her skin.  “The night is young, my bori.  I want you to come with me, to dance and to laugh. I want the world to see your beauty in my arms. “