Gypsy in Black: The Romance of Gypsy Travelers (40 page)

“
No,
”
he lied. 
“
I saw nothing.
”

Another man joined in.  He was older with d
eep creases under
his eyes and grey streaking hi
s hair. 
“
The
Rom Baro
left the
fires after she danced.  He alwa
ys leaves the fires too early. 
People are worried, wondering i
f he truly is O Del's choice of
leader.  They are whispering about the real
Rom Baro
being
another.  You understand, yes?
”

Emilian
understood much better
than they thought.  Day by day,
they forgot his mahrime, much
the same way as
Nicolae
forgot the
gypsy customs when dealing with
Sahara. 
Nicolae
was softening and
Emilian
hardening. 
“
S'hara is not
the true wife of
Nicolae
and
Nicolae
is
not the true leader of the kumpania.  They are living in sin, yes?
”
  Several men nodded in agre
ement, taking heavy swallows of
rakiya.  They were getting drunk and
Emilian
more popular.

“
Perhaps,
”
Emilian
continued,
“
it is
time for O Del to choose what
must be done, yes?
”

“
She is evil, a descendant from Beng!
”

Emilian
quickly turned towar
d the man that had spoken those
words.  Even quicker, he grabbed h
im by the throat and shoved him
to the ground.  Leaning upon the unfortu
nate man's neck,
Emilian
's
face grew
violently
red with rag
e as he choked the man. 
“
It is
not the girl.  It is
Nicolae
!  He
is the one!  He stole my title,
stole my wife, convinced all of y
ou of a crime I did not commit,
did he not?  Then is not he the son of B
eng?  He is the one to
blame and
to
be punished, yes?  Not
the girl.
”
  Releasing his grip,
Emilian
stood up and turned to the
other men.  They stared at him,
half in fear, half in awe. 
“
You
wish to be le
d by a man who is
weak to his wife?  He will be weak to
you too, yes?  He is no
leader.  He was not
chosen
by
O Del to lead you.  I was and I
will lead you again, yes?  But it
was also the choice of O Del to
have S'hara my bori.  There is but
one way to right the wrong
Nicolae
has committed.
”
 

No one spoke.  They knew w
hat
Emilian
meant.  It frightened
them that
Nicolae
's weakness had co
me this far.  It terrified them
that
Emilian
had spoken what
they had all whispered about in
private or not at all. 
Nicolae
must
be removed from his position as
Rom Baro
.  Silently, they backed away into the darkness, adverting their eyes from
Emilian
's, afraid of what they saw and
what they knew he must do.  None
saw the truth behind his empty
words. 
Emilian
, too, had a weakness
where Sahara was concerned but in a much
stronger, desperate way.
No man could stop
Emilian
from having
Sahara.  He would have he
r with or without her consent. 
For in gypsy custom, there was on
ly one way for a man to wed his
brother's wife. 




   




When Nicolae finally entered the tent, he was both scared and excited.  His wedding night was before him and his bride was waiting.  His young, beautiful bride, he thought.  The tent was dark and he could hear the crowds cheering from the other side of the tent.  The men had escorted him to where Miquela waited, teasing him along the way as they shoved the young man toward his journey of manhood.  Nicolae had laughed with them, enjoying the moment.

Inside the tent, he struggled to find a lantern and light it.  It was too dark and he wanted to see his bride, see the look on her face when he approached her for the first time as her true husband.
The flame of the match flickered, momentarily blinding him in the golden flame.  But his eyes adjusted quickly and he lit the wick of the lantern.  It cast a soft glow around him.  He lifted it from the table and turned around to face the bed.  He was smiling, his heart pounding in anticipation. 

“Miquela,” he said softly as he took a step toward the bed.

He could hear her breathing softly but her back was toward him.  Was she feigning sleep? He knew that was not possible.  No bride slept on her wedding night.  He set the lantern down next to the bed and knelt on the soft mattress.  “Miquela,” he repeated and reached out for her shoulder.  “I have come to you, as your husband.” He spoke softly and caressed her bare skin. 
She did not turn to face him but he heard a different sound.  Weeping.  Soft weeping as though she was trying to hide her cries.   She is scared, he thought.  He knew that he was, too.  He had never had a woman before but he also knew that it was a night of magic and beauty.  He would make her see that, too.   And ever so gently, he repeated her name, turning her to face him.  But even in the darkness he could see the bruises on her cheeks, swelling of her lips, and the fear in her eyes. 

By mid-March, some of the
different kumpan
ia
had already
left the winter encampment, lea
ving their friends and families
for another year. 
Nicolae
had
spoken little of the Machwaiya
kumpania leaving the place whe
re he had found such passionate
love in Sahara.  Instead, he avo
ided the subject by continually
answering the question with a sim
ple
“
Soon.
”
  Most of the people
were ready to leave, wanting to
travel north again in search of
foolish gadjo, eager to part with
their money.  The gypsies said
goodbye to more friends each d
ay, wondering if
Nicolae
would ever
give them the signal to pack their
belongings into their wagons. 
But the signal never came.

The weather grew incr
easingly warm
and the gypsies
increasingly impatient. 
Spring was here and they wanted to travel, to explore the countryside, to sell horses and trade goods. 
Among t
hemselves, they whispered about
Nicolae
's lack of
leadership, wo
ndering if they would soon find
themselves wanting for
guidance
.  Was the gadjo-
gypsy girl
turning him away from the gypsy c
ustoms and lifestyle and making
him gadjo?  If she was, where w
ould that leave them?  Everyone
knew
Emilian
wanted to step
in and take command of the lost
kumpania.  Certainly the true le
ader in the eyes of O Del would
not let them down.  Some of the gypsies continu
ed to support
Nicolae
, knowing that
the past
Rom Baro
would neve
r leave his people in
incapable
hands. 
There was a split among the kumpania. 
Suddenly, the gypsies we
re quarreling among each other,
bickering and fighting.  Families
began to divide, some
favoring
Emilian
over
Nicolae
and others,
Nicolae
ov
er
Emilian
. 

“
We should all leave
with
Emilian
tonight,
”
one man decla
red to a crowd of his friends. 
They stood some distance from the
fires, the air having warmed so
much to make socializing near the flames too uncomfortable.
 
“
After all, he is the first born, the true leader.
”

“
Ah, but what of the girl?
”
  An older man stepped forward,
his tremulous hand reaching out
to touch the other's shoulder. 
“
She is the leader of the Afrika
iya, yes?  And are they not our
kin now?
”
  Several men stroked thei
r chins, nodding in agreement. 
T
he older man continued. 
“
Then h
er husband leads them, yes?  We
cannot leave
Nicolae
for
Emilian
for some of our kin will not follow.
”

The younger man sighed, sha
king his head as he stared into
the darkening sky.  The night had
come once again but no more did
the girls dance around the fir
es.  No more did the wild music
steal every listener's soul. 
Instead, the people sat around,
wondering when
Nicolae
would act. 
“
He is not leading us, Robello. 
Instead, he moons over the girl an
d forgets us. 
‘Ti
s as if she has
bewitched him.  Those who will
not follow
Emilian
can stay with
Nicolae
.  But the rest of us wa
nt to move on.  We are the last
kumpania as of today.  And they
stayed so late because E Martya
visited one of their women in childbirth.  We must move on, yes?
”
  Several men nodded their
heads in agreement, leaving the
group to go tell their families
that they had decided to leave
without the rest of the kumpania.
They would find
Emilian
and tell
them that they were willing t
o give up friends and family to
follow him and travel down
the road.  Their wanderlust was
calling and they
were far too willing to answer
. 

The older men stayed behi
nd, shaking their heads as they
wondered what should be done.  Per
haps the younger men were right
and
Nicolae
was turning gadjo.  Per
haps
Nicolae
never meant to leave. 
Already the food supply was gone.
  Those that went out in search
of fresh meat had to trave
l further and further each day,
sometimes even camping overni
ght.  No longer did neighboring
towns welcome the gypsies to th
eir saloons or general stores.
After the long winter, everyone in town had caught on to the
cheating and thieving.  The doors
had shut to the gypsies just as
they believed
Nicolae
's eyes had shut to the kumpania.
The towns wanted the gypsies gone…and the gypsies wanted to comply.  But they could not leave without a leader and their leader was too caught up with his gadjo-gypsy wife.

Robello and two other men d
ecided to talk to
Nicolae
.  After
all, they reasoned, he is a you
ng
Rom Baro
with a new wife and
daughter.  Certainly his lack of
understanding the needs of the
people was
forgivable
.
  He just needed to hear from the people, to learn what they were thinking and to understand their concerns.
  So t
hey walked toward
Nicolae
's
tent
. 
Several women standing around outside
their own tents looked up,
noticing the men headed for the
Rom Baro
's. 
Curiosity
got the
best of them and
,
slowly at first
, they began to follow the men,
clucking to each other like a pack of mother hens. 

“
Rom Baro
!
”
  Robello called out first, waiting several
seconds
before shouting louder
,
“
Nicolae
!
”
  This time, they heard
movement from inside.  Sahara
emerged from the tent opening and stepped outside.
Her eyes were
dark and confident
as she stared at the
group of people in front of her.  In her arms, she clutc
hed her
baby, hugging Lea tightly as she s
tood before the gypsies. 
“
What
is wrong, Robello?  Has something happened?
”

The older man glanced over hi
s shoulder at the small crowd. 
Taking a deep breath, Robello look
ed back at Sahara
.  Her long,
black hair hung over her shoulder
.  The baby in her arms tangled
her pudgy fingers in it, pul
ling gently to get her mother's
attention.  The child had all t
he same features as her mother:
the dark glowing eyes, high cheek
bones, slightly puckered lips. 
The only feature of her father's wa
s the very obvious gypsy nose. 
But the hair.  It was the hair that bothered Robello.  The
child's thin patch of hair was
highlighted over the right ear
with a small patch of white. 
“
We
have come to speak with the
Rom Baro
.
”

“
Is something wrong
, Robello, that you wish to see the Rom Baro
?
”
she asked.

The concern in her voice tou
ched Robello.  Was she truly so
blind?  So self-centered as to
not have no idea to the unrest
among the gypsies? 
“
Nothing, romn
i.  We must speak with
Nicolae
,
‘
tis
all.
”

“
Well, you cannot.” She stated.  The crowd murmured and some of the men seemed to shuffle on their feet.  “You see, h
e isn't here.
”

The noise among the crowd grew louder.  What did she mean?
 
The
Rom Baro
left camp?  No one
had been aware of that.  Robello lifted his hand to silence the
people behind him.
 
“
Romni, where is the
Rom Baro
and when is he expected?
”

“
Well,
he was expected
last evening so I assume he'll be back
sometime
tonight.
”
  Sahara shifted Lea in her arms.  The baby
gurgled,
giggling to herself as she tugged
harder at Sahara's hair. 
“
He's
been gone almost a week.
”
  Th
e crowd began to talk at once. 
Never had a
Rom Baro
left his kumpa
nia without informing someone. 
Never had a Rom Baro been gone for so long without anyone noticing his absence.  A panic began to rise among the people. 
Sahara was quick to explain. 
“
He went in search
of supplies and to hear any news o
f the weather up north. 
Word had traveled to the Rom Baro that o
ne of
the kumpan
ia
that left several we
eks ago may have been caught in
a sudden blizzard.  Many ga
djo up north have perished.  He
thought it best not to tell any
one until he found out what has happened.
”
 
The crowd silenced a
gain, ashamed of themselves for
thinking the
Rom Baro
had been hib
ernating everyday in his wagon,
his back to his people when, in
fact, he
had been travel
ing
alone in search of news and to m
ake sure it was safe to venture
north again. 
“
Now, what is so urgent,
Robello?  What is so important for the Rom Baro?
”

Robello smiled at her, a
shamed, too, for doubting
Nicolae
's
capability to lead them. 
“
Nothing, romni.  Nothing at all.
”
Quickly, the crowd
dispersed
, t
alking quietly among each other
about the sudden turn of eve
nts. 
Emilian had been wrong. 
Nicolae
had not forgotten the
people.  Instead, they had been o
n his mind more than anyone had
expected. 
It was out of concern that he had left and out of concern that he would return. 
The gypsies knew they
would only have to wait for
Nicolae
to return before packing up and moving out.

As Sahara had predicted, later that evening,
Nicolae
rode into
camp. 
His face was flushed
and he le
d two
horses,
laden
with sacks of
food.  A few people had already
retired but most of the gypsies cr
owded around him, laughing and
smiling as they took the sacks fro
m him, eager to hear what their
Rom Baro
had to say. 
Nicolae
se
arched the crowd with his eyes,
catching Sahara's.  Quickly he d
ismounted and he walked over to
her.  The excited crowd waited brea
thlessly, knowing
Nicolae
was
going to present his wife with
a gift, a token of his love and
respect as all good husband
s did when separated from their
families for any period of time.