Chapter 12

The flight to Africa would start at LaGuardia airport. It was set to take off at 10:00pm this Friday night.

Joe walked to his bedroom, found his best camera and laid out some clothes. Shorts and thin shirts were the order of the day as far as Joe was concerned. Six undershirts, under-ware, two pair of dress pants, several pairs of socks and his handkerchiefs were the last items to go into his medium sized suitcase.

He placed his camera, water bottle, an extra pair of tennis shoes and protein bars into it as well. A couple of different soft hats were the last items he placed in it. It would be a short walk to the subway station from his apartment.

Charlene set her suitcases on the bed and looked at her list. She had complied over the last week.

It covered any possible contingency that might arrive. She had traveled abroad several times but kept that under her hat.

“No need to drive a wedge between her and her coworkers. Some might be jealous and make her working life more difficult than necessary.”

Her father was wealthy, after all, and she had many opportunities that those around her did not.

Three different types of shoes, several blouses, tights, slacks, socks, stockings, two large hats, one small one small and one wide brimmed hat.

She also included one formal dress for a night out to dinner and a long night gown, just in case. Some guys like those for some odd reason. Another small case carried all of her makeup and toiletries.

She had arranged for a town car to pick her up the night of the flight.

The money her father gave her would cover that necessity, easily. She liked to travel in style whenever she went anywhere. She had become accustomed to that.

Chad took down two suitcases from several sitting on the shelf in his large walk-in closet and placed them on a long low table in front of him.

His closet was as large as many apartments in New York City. He looked around at his working wardrobe hanging in front of him. Nothing seemed appropriate for this trip into the jungle and savannah of East Africa.

He walked over to the built in cabinet filled with several drawers in one end of the closet and pulled the first drawer open.

He looked into the top drawer in the custom made dresser and rifled through it. He found most of what he needed, right off.

It was a drawer filled with shorts and casual polo shirts, neatly folded by Maria, his house keeper. Some short sleeved and some with long sleeves. He grabbed a handful of each and tossed them into a suitcase.

He then picked through the dozens of running shoes and and hiking boots and found one of each that suited him. He would wear a pair of top sider dress shoes on the plane. He had several pairs to pick from. After an hour, he was packed.

Susan put the phone down and smiled. Chad would send a car for her tomorrow evening.

Suzan couldn’t wait to move into Chad’s apartment overlooking Central Park and put her mark on it. That part of her dream of her dream was coming true, finally.

She walked into her small bedroom and and found her suitcase among her shoes in the corner of her small but well organized closet.

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I am now on TikTok at R.C. Hand, while it lasts. Who knows what that will end up looking like. There are many photos and videos of my trips. I’m putting more up everyday.

We leave for Central America on April 14th. We will be gone three weeks. I will try to post in my travel diary on my website as I go this time. We will see how that works out.

I need a vacation from being retired. That sounds silly, doesn’t it.

Remember, the first Chapters of all my novels are here on my website.

For travel videos and pictures, podcast appearances, interviews, live on stage true storytelling and more come to Facebook, Instagram and TikTok at R.C. Hand.