Ruandan Delight Pt. 01

Not having Charles was an issue for me. Typically there would be two foreign MSF nurses or one nurse and another recent medical graduate but the WRG was understaffed when Justine had to leave on short notice due to a family emergency. Charles was almost indispensable, particularly as he was trained in administering anaesthesia. I was hoping for a quiet day or so before he returned.

Ending my call and returning my attention back to Ella I confirmed the story she heard. She was stuck and wasn't taking it well.

"What about road transport? You said there was a jeep track from here."

"Its possible, but can take two to four days depending on the state of the river crossings. The problem is getting to the national highway. There are some dangerous river crossings that must be forded in low water and often the trucks and jeeps wait out storms for days until levels subside. And that's even if we could arrange a jeep to take you. We can check into it tomorrow if you want."

"Two to four days? Really? I can't wait that long," she exclaimed, almost stomping back and forth on the deck in frustration. A corner of my mind enjoyed the rosy faced Ella with her hair flying wildly about as she shook her head in frustration. Her heavy breathing delightfully moved her breasts under her tight shirt. Suddenly, the thought of having her as an overnight guest wasn't so annoying as I had originally thought.

I really needed to cool down. I wasn't movie star material. But still, just being close to her for the evening would be fun.

"Sorry about all this. I know that I caused this situation but trust me I would never have done it without a good medical reason. Charles said the guy was doing well after emergency surgery. We probably saved his life."

"Okay, that makes it easier to take. For now is there anywhere I can clean up. I feel hot, dirty and sweaty but I have nothing to change into. I'm totally unprepared for an overnight." I hesitated in mild disbelief at her description of herself. In my view she looked cool and insanely alluring,

"Well, our facilities are sort of primitive but you can shower and I can lend you a shirt. Umm ... and the female staff sometimes leave a few items in the women's staff rooms when they return to Europe. I know that because they bitch about the stuff the previous nurses and physicians abandon in the dressers."

"At this point I'll take anything that remotely fits. Can I shower now?"

I set Ella up in a staff bedroom down the hall from mine and gave her a rundown of the shower/washroom and the solar tank that heats the water which is piped in from a stream up the hillside behind the facility. Outside of the rainy season the solar heated tank does a pretty good job of supplying warm water for the shower. Leaving her with some towels and shampoo I retreated to my room.

I flopped down on my bed and listened to the shower start up. I tried to stop my imagination from conjuring up images of a naked Ella in the shower but I failed dismally. There is another interpretation of the MSF abbreviation: many single females. And while that sounds crass let me tell you that I wouldn't still be out in the field as a physician/surgeon as long as I have without the presence of the MSF female workers. They make hellish situations bearable and many instinctively know that keeping guys like me happy and committed to the work requires that they go the 'extra mile'. I won't be coy about this; sleeping with the MSF women, the nurses, physicians and administrative personal is part of what keep me sane in the crazy places I end up. I like to think its not just out of the goodness of their hearts that they have sex with me. I also like to think that I have a certain attractiveness to them as well. Some have been very clear that they find me attractive. I take that under advisement though.

But right now my only full MSF colleague is a guy and I've been missing my female colleagues. And now I have one of the most beautiful women I've ever laid eyes on, naked on the other side of the wall. This could be a difficult day or so until she leaves. Worse yet, I'm starting to like her personality even though its just been a few hours since she's arrived. She can clearly be prickly but I sense a sweet nature underneath. She wouldn't be doing what she does if she didn't care.

I pulled out my smallest shirt and boxer's and took them over to her room. I was hoping Justine or one of the other girls had left some panties or other basics but I wasn't sure what Ella would find in the dresser drawers.

Hearing the pitter patter of feet, I turned to see her standing there, wrapped in a towel. My heart surely missed a beat. The towel was small, just barely covering her chest and ending well up her thighs. With a supreme effort I focused on her face that was deliciously framed in wet curls.

She smirked at my embarrassment, "There's a man in my room. Should I call the front desk?"

Fumbling, I replied, "Oops sorry. I thought you were in the shower. Here." I gestured to the shirt and boxers in my hand. "You might find some underwear or more in the drawers. I'll leave you to it." With that I moved up to the doorway she was standing in. She didn't move.

"Will they serve me dinner in the dining room wearing a man's shorts and his shirt?" she smiled at me, still not moving. I tried to look only at her eyes and believe me that was hard enough in my current state but I could sense out of peripheral vision that the towel was sliding slowly down her breasts. My heart sped up a notch.

I mumbled out a reply, "Apologies miss, just the laundry service. I can take you clothes and they will be ready early tomorrow."

She cocked an eye at me. "Surgeon and laundry guy. Apparently multi-talented. What else are you good at?" Something in the tone of voice and the look in her eye hinted that she wasn't referring to my domestic skills. I believe I blushed. Was this a flirt?

"Umm ... I can scramble an egg and make coffee," I replied hopefully. There were other skills I had honed to perfection with a lovely colleague from Marseille that I would love to demonstrate on Ella but I knew that was only a dream. With my comment she moved out of my way and I hastened to make my exit. Before leaving I added, "Matilda will have dinner ready by 7 and I can assure you dress is casual. You should be fine."

****

Matilda set up two places on the veranda, the evening being dry and comfortable. I fidgeted while waiting for Ella to join me. When she stepped out of the doorway I sucked in a calming breath. She was a vision. A vision, which turned out to be one of many I will have forever, one that was immediately imprinted into my brain for all time. Standing there with my shirt loosely buttoned up and covering the tops of my smallest boxer shorts she looked both ridiculous and divine at the same time. The deep vee of the shirt, with the top button undone, exposed a small view of the gentle swell of her breasts. I tore my gaze away from her chest as an electric shock wave went through my body and ended fully in my middle. Oh shit!

Knowing fully well how silly she was dressed, she did a half twirl and curtsy and then with a coquettish smile asked, "Is the gentleman approving of my evening attire?"

I decided to push my luck. "Perhaps if the lady could turn around slowly I can develop a more informed opinion."

"Oh, certainly Sir!" She then did a slow half turn without breaking eye contact. As we were playing a game, I exaggerated my perusal of her body and attire while stroking my chin in a scholarly manner.

"Delightful my dear. Compliments to your designer." She giggled and sat down across from my seat.

I introduced Matilda to Ella as she set our dinner on the table. Tonight was a spicy chicken dish with rice and veggies, a staple of the local community. Most evenings I would wander down to the small village for dinner but tonight I wanted Ella to settle in to the staff quarters. She had had enough of a stressful day and tomorrow we would walk to the village to try to arrange backup transport. Matilda would first see to laundering her clothes.

"Matilda, how's the wine supply?" I asked, hoping we hadn't run out.

She laughed and replied, "Stocked up for you my friend. We know what keeps you here and with Justine gone home we wouldn't dare run out of wine." Matilda winked at me knowing fully well what Justine and I got up to when we weren't working. I really did miss her and the wine helped.

Ella smiled and asked, "Justine, what a lovely name. Tell me about her." Matilda ducked into the kitchen returning with wine glasses and a bottle of Italian red. Without asking Ella, Matilda poured both of us full glasses

"Justine is an amazing nurse. She can do just about anything around here. Charles and I miss her a whole lot."

"But I sense that she was more than a colleague?"

I squirmed in my seat. MSF male physicians have a notorious reputation for pairing up with the female employees and there was a lot of truth in that. It was about survival in some of the hell holes we worked in. Still, I was a bit embarrassed to fit the stereotype so completely. I replied, "Yes, Justine and I became very close while working here."

Ella smirked as she swirled the wine in her glass. "Well Adrian, I'm sure she found you very attractive."

'Whoa', I thought. I wasn't expecting a compliment like that and I was flustered but managed a hesitant, "Thank you Ella," and then added, "Coming from you that means something." I don't know why I said that.

"What do you mean, 'coming from me'?"

"Well, I imagine you move in a world of exotic and beautiful people. This place must seem very remote and backward."

"Adrian, I don't think you understand how exotic this facility is. There are many many people in the world who would love to be doing what you are doing, helping and saving people in very under serviced parts of the planet. Why do you think I do the fund raising that I do." With that she took a large drink of her wine.

"Thanks. We try our best," I half mumbled sensing there was sincerity in her comment.

"Will your colleague be returning soon?"

"Hard to tell. I hope so but the MSF people will replace her if necessary. They know we're short staffed here, medically speaking."

"But I sense that replacing her medically speaking might not fully replace her services." Ella was toying with me for some reason but her comment evoked the image of Justine's sweet full breasts and hard nipples being dragged over my eager lips and tongue. I shook my head to clear it of this erotic but inappropriate image. Ella smiled at my transparent expression. She knew somehow where my mind had gone.

"Yes, Justine will be hard to replace," I concurred with a twinkle in my eye. "Let me propose a toast to my MSF colleagues," I added, raising my glass towards Ella.

She reciprocated and added, "To Justine and all she does." She had a smirk on her face but she then added, "And as much as I'm having fun with you Adrian, I truly do appreciate and envy what MSF people do." I choked on my wine at the implication of what she just said. "Adrian, please, I mean the medical part of their job."

Okay, it was time to get off my job. I wanted to shift the attention to Ella. "Understand. But tell me about your career. How did you become involved in the film business?"

"Well, it was simple. I enjoyed acting in small plays in primary school and my mother took me to an audition for a children's film about fantasy and magic. There were lots of kids there auditioning and in the end, after many call backs, they offered me a part in what became a series of films in the same story line."

"Okay. As clueless as I am on popular culture I think I've heard of what you are referring to. So, you played a character in the series. Is it over now? Have you moved on to other roles?"

"Yeah, thank god. I had had enough of the child star business. I wanted to grow up and play grown up women." I smiled at that. Sitting across from me was a very grown up woman in all her alluring beauty. She casually pulled a bare foot up onto her chair and leaned into her knee, mashing her breasts to her leg in so doing. She may be a woman but this was a mannerism of a younger girl.

"So, have you had many grown up roles?" I was intrigued by the transition from her childhood acting experiences.

She smiled, maybe guessing what under lay my curiosity, "Do you mean, have I done a love scene on film?" I squirmed in my seat but yes I suppose that was what I was getting at.

"Well I was thinking more generally but perhaps that would certainly define a grown up role."

Ella looked out towards the forest surrounding the WRG for a few moments and replied, "Not yet really. Some kissing and petting but not really a sex scene. She turned to me and took a sip of her wine. Looking intently over the glass she asked softly, "Would seeing me in a love scene interest you?"

Oh My! My eyes widened and my heart sped up dangerously at that look and comment. Please, I thought, think of something to say without putting both feet in my mouth. In truth the love scene I was imagining her in wasn't with some random actor. I took a sip of my own wine and calming down, I said, "I do admire what actors do when filming a sex scene because I'm sure its an awkward thing to do with cameras rolling."

She threw her head back laughing and said, "Nice dodge. So tell me, what's your favourite sex scene in a movie."

Okay, she wasn't letting this go. I replied the first one that came to mind, "Hmm ... let me see ... okay probably the scene with Naomi Watts and the other actress in Mulholland Drive."

"Men!" she exclaimed, "you love seeing two women have sex don't you?" she asked rhetorically, a big smirk on her face.

"Well its just so picturesque, in a general sense - two lovely bodies enjoying each other. But there was something about that scene that was incredibly erotic and really, it just happened to involve two women."

"Yeah, David Lynch is a great director. I would love to do a movie with him.

"And if it involves a sex scene I'll dedicate it to you," she smiled broadly at me and then took another sip of her wine.

I had to play along with that. "And I will watch it over and over again imagining you sitting here in my shorts and shirt."

"Oh come now. I could leave you with a better image than that, couldn't I? You're just being kind. I know I look ridiculous in your clothes."

"Ridiculous but sublime I might add."

"Ha! for a self styled social misfit, that was a pretty good line."

"Truth m'lady."

Dinner with Ella was delightful. The soft evening breezes coming up from the valley and the sounds of the night birds in the forests were soothing and peaceful. This part of Ruanda, in fact most parts of this beautiful country, was enchanting. The rolling forested hills and the elevation provided relief from the heat and beautiful scenery at the same time. I was on my third rotation through this area, being drawn back to the tranquility and natural beauty of the landscape. It was hard to imagine the brutal chaos that enveloped this country in the early nineties. It seems so peaceful now. I could sense Ella falling under its spell. After dinner we moved to the wicker chairs to enjoy the starry sky and the warm breeze. I don't think I had ever enjoyed an evening here so much as I did with this lovely girl sitting beside me. Too soon, she yawned and l suggested we call it a day.

Walking Ella back to her room I thought to leave her and then go check with the overnight security person who patrolled the compound. The proximity to some very dangerous areas across the border in the Congo necessitated vigilance, particularly at night. The forests around the WRG were dark and spooky.

Standing in the doorway as I edged down the hall to leave she said, "Adrian, thank you for everything today. I know I was a little bitchy when it became clear I couldn't leave. You made the day and evening more than interesting and dinner was delightful.

"And pardon my evening wear," she giggled. I smiled and stole a glance down, sweeping over her long graceful legs and then up to linger on the swell of her right breast in my over sized shirt as she leaned against the door frame, still not moving. I so wanted to undo the final three buttons on that shirt.

"Hey, my clothing has never looked so good. I'll never wear them again without thinking of you?"

"Thinking of me or thinking of how silly I look in a man's boxers?"

In truth, this woman could make a potato sack look good but that's not what I was thinking and she knew it I sensed. All I said was, "Goodnight Ella," as I smiled and turned away to leave her. I heard a soft goodnight from her as I walked down the hall.

***

My sleep was restless. I was annoyed and I realized it was because of her; or rather because of me. No matter how much I tried, the image of her luminescent eyes framed by her dark blonde curls was printed on my inner vision. And then there was her smile.

I fell into a fitful sleep.

Sometime after midnight the pounding and howling on the roof started suddenly. Roving tribes of Howler monkeys occasionally raided the WRG looking for handouts or any food they could steal, and as luck would have it they picked tonight to stir up a ruckus. I didn't think it possible but I hoped my guest would sleep through it all. No sooner than that thought occurred I heard a small but insistent rap on my door. I yelled to come in.

Ella burst through the door and shouted in a very worried tone, "Adrian, what the hell is going on out there? Is this an invasion?" I switched on my bedside reading light and blinked at her standing there in only a t-shirt, at least as far as I could tell. She seemed to have shed the boxers in favour of the t-shirt I had loaned her.

Trying to drag my eyes up from her long slender legs to her eyes I sat up in bed and said, "Nope, just some of our unruly neighbours." She came further towards my bed and stood near the end. She was shaking in fright as the band of primates roved over our roof, some obviously banging the corrugated steel material with sticks. Their shrieks and howling were terrifying to the unsuspecting.

"Neighbours? Really! They're scaring the life out of me. Who are they and what do they want.?" My reptile brain - about the only part of me fully awake - seized the opportunity. I gestured to the end of the bed and said, "Have a seat and I'll fill you in."

Ella sat primly at the end of my bed, while pulling the t-shirt down over her upper thighs. For a moment I just drank in the smell and aura of this intoxicating women perched on my bed. In the soft light of the reading lamp she was radiant in her fright. The curls of her dishevelled hair framed her terrified eyes as the racket above us continued on. Pulling my mind back I said softly, "Just our local band of howler monkeys out to make pests of themselves. They're looking for handouts and just trying to get our attention."

She gasped, "Monkeys, really! Well they sure have my attention."

"Well perhaps the word is out there is a famous actress at the WRG and they came to check it out."

"Last I heard there are no monkeys in the fan club," she said in a more settled tone but still looking suspiciously at the ceiling. She added, "Perhaps could you introduce them to me?"

"Sure, come on. We can go out and try to scare them away if the security guys aren't already on it." I doubted Thomas, our night watchman, would do much as a band of Howlers was nothing unusual. I pulled myself up, out of bed and started leading the way into the darkened hallway.

Ella followed but surprised me by taking my hand and grasping it tightly. She said, "Sorry to crush your fingers but I'm still a bit rattled." Soft feminine fingers wrapped themselves around mine and then interlaced between mine. I squeezed her hand back and tried hard to breath normally as I led her out the front onto the veranda. Some of the troop jumped down onto the ground and faced us waving their arms and continued with the verbal racket. Howlers are mostly harmless but with all primates, they can be threatening and will sometime come in for a bite. Ella pulled up close behind, still gripping tightly to my hand.