Love on Safari

Catching Up

Olivia took a bite of her sausage. It was just the way the remembered it. Crispy on the outside and deliciously juicy inside with hints of rosemary, chili and garlic. She wondered what was so important this time.

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of an unplanned visit from my best friend this beautiful Saturday morning" Olivia asked sarcastically.

"Haha, very funny Oli. Anyway, so you remember I was doing some tax consulting for a large international tour company based up in the north last two weeks? You should have come with me. Kasane is such a beautiful place. You will love it! And". She trailed off as Olivia interrupted her.

"I will love it? What are you talking about Anna?" She looked at her friend suspiciously.

"Oh, what I meant to say was I think you should go up there with me next time," Anna added. She took a sip of her hot chocolate. It was really good. No wonder she and Olivia loved it. It was different because it had hints of hazelnut in it and it was not too rich or too thin, with just the right amount of sweetness. It was simply perfect!

"I don't know Anna. Somehow that town has never appealed to me. I mean, what do people do there for fun apart from viewing wildlife? Even that must get boring after a while. Unless you are keeping track of which animals are expecting and you go back to check their offsprings".

They both laughed at the thought of that.

"I can get you an animal record book," Anna said before the two women burst out laughing again.

It was this sense of humor that had brought them together almost twenty years back. They had been in the same high school class and even chose English Literature as an elective together. Their EE teacher had been a short almost bald man named Mr Butti. The whole class had nicknamed him "Upon Avon" from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. When he had introduced the book to the class, he told them about his time studying in the United Kingdom and spoke whist fully about the time he had visit Shakespeare's home Upon Avon.

He had spoken with so much passion about that visit that you could see wanderlust in his eyes. He spoke about Shakespeare as if he had lived during his time and had been a personal friend of his. That is how he earned himself that nickname and it was befitting. And with that, he had brought English Literature studies alive in his students and it would lead Olivia to pursue a career in writing.

"I am serious Anna. I think you will love it there. It will be good for you. You have always said you want to live in a small town. You could come with me and see how it feels. You never know. Might even be able to catch a handsome tourist who will whisk you away to Europe somewhere or America, or Canada."

Anna sounded serious and Olivia knew that tone. It meant she was not going to take no for an answer.

"Are you sure you just want me to live out my dream of small town living or you just want company?"

"As a matter of fact, I got some more work up there. This time I am going to be gone for a month. I am taking part of my team with me. You have one week to pack up." She informed Olivia.

"We should go shopping, I need to buy a few things for the kids and groceries. Do you know the kids have been eating cereal and just food while I was away? My sweet Darius is hopeless in the kitchen, you know that. So I need to properly stock up on healthy food this time before I leave." And with that Anna got up to go put her disposable plate and cup in the kitchen bin.

Olivia sat there watching her while her words played in her mind. She was too tired to consider it but not too tired to think once more of her disrupted perfect little plan for the day. She let out a big sigh and got up to clear away the remainder of the items on the countertop.

"Go change, will wait for you while I make a few calls to make sure the kids have bathed."

Olivia nodded and darted through the door that led into the passageway. Her room was down the corridor to the right, with a beautiful full view overlooking the garden. She liked to sit by the chaise lounge besides the double sliding doors, giving her that perfect garden view. But today would not be the day she got to do that. But she was grateful for a chance to catch-up with Anna and hear what she missed out on while away.