Shangri-la
Chapter 16
Oran arrived sooner than Lotus had anticipated, and that filled her with the gleeful thought that Shangri-la was only three hours away. Though she could sense that he was nearby and watching, Alder didn’t bother them during the wait. Instead he chose to remain hidden, and the women spent the time searching for small ways to entertain themselves.
He can’t keep us apart, Shangri-la. He’ll never be able to break our love.
Lotus was glad that Oran arrived when he did. She had started feeling annoyed when her stomach churned with hunger and she discovered that Iris had eaten the last of her favorite pudding flavors. She had been afraid that she was on the verge of slipping into a snappy irritability.
“Why am I not surprised, Lotus?” Oran said as he stepped out of his shiny black Mazda, watching them with laughing eyes. “I sure am glad that I made you get that GPS tracker; otherwise, I would have never found you out here.”
“We ran into some unforseen trouble,” Lotus said simply, not bothering to offer any more explanation. “Oran, that’s Iris.” She pointed at the girl still seated in the car, watching them through the front windshield.
Lowering his voice, Oran asked, “Is she the one?”
“Of course she is.” Lotus felt tempted to roll her eyes. “I wouldn’t bring some random girl along for a ride.”
“One really never knows with you,” Oran said, then walked over to Lotus’s car. “Hello Iris, I’m Oran.” He held out his hand to her in that overly-friendly way he treated all women. All women except for Lotus, anyway, and Lotus suspected that she knew the reason why.
“Hello,” Iris said faintly, looking around as if she was haunted. The girl’s paranoia was unnecessary; with Oran’s appearance, Alder’s aura had faded to a faint tickle. Slowly and limply, she put her hand into Oran’s, but instead of shaking it he held it.
“Has Lotus told you about me at all?” he asked.
“No.” Iris’s voice sounded even weaker than before.
“I suppose it’s hard for a proud woman like her to admit that a man is her financial support. I’m the one who’s keeping Lotus alive.”
“We made the arrangement so I could focus on Shangri-la,” Lotus said sharply. “And since your interest in the place is merely academic, I didn’t see a need to mention you.”
“She loves me, really.” Oran squeezed Iris’s hand with a laugh then finally let go. “She just never shows it.”
“So you give Lotus money?” Iris was overwhelmed. Her brain didn’t seem to be absorbing anything.
“I pay off her credit card bill every month.” Oran winked.
“Open your trunk,” Lotus interrupted. “We don’t have time to waste, and I don’t like you flirting with Iris.”
“My sincerest of apologies.” Walking to his car, Oran opened the trunk and pulled out two gas cans. “This is enough to get you to the next city, and there you can fill your tank up all the way.”
“Thank you, Oran.” Grabbing one of the cans, Lotus lugged it around her car to the gas tank.
“Say sweetie, how about you ride with me the rest of the way?”
Lotus froze when she heard Oran say those words to Iris, and something stabbed at her heart. How dare he . . .? she thought. How dare he!
“No thank you,” Iris meekly replied. “I’m fine with Lotus.”
Lotus’s shoulders relaxed. “Iris has spoken,” she called out with a singsong voice. “Goodbye, Oran. We’ll see you at Shangri-la.”
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