Fernando stepped up to the post and rang the bell one time, and then he stepped back and stood with his hands clasped in front of him.
After a moment, a woolen blanket that served as the shack’s front door was pulled aside and a very pretty woman of indeterminate age stepped through. She was of a slim build and had hair that was an almost iridescent white color that hung down to her shoulders. Her eyes were so dark a brown as to almost be black and gleamed with intelligence.
Fernando began to speak rapidly in Nahuatl but she stopped him with a raised hand as she stared first at Mason and then at Lauren.
“Hello,” Mason said, inclining his head in a gesture of respect. “I am Dr. Mason Williams and this is Doctor Lauren Sullivan.”
In surprisingly unaccented English, the woman said, “I am Maria. I, too, am a doctor…” she smiled slightly and continued, “at least, I am the closest thing to a doctor that this poor village has.”
Mason grinned. “You speak beautiful English, Maria.”
She smiled again, and it was as if a light shined from within as she said, “I was birthed by missionaries many years ago and they gave me the name of the Blessed Virgin and then they schooled me in English for several years as they ministered to the natives in this region.”
Not wanting to waste a minute, Lauren stepped forward, “We have come seeking your help, Maria.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Oh? And how can a poor woman deep in the jungles of Mexico help highly trained physicians such as yourselves?”
Lauren shook her head. “I am not a physician, Maria. I am a doctor of archaeology.”
Maria nodded and glanced at Mason.
“I am a physician, Maria,” he said. “And right now there is a terrible sickness spreading across the entire world killing millions and millions of people.” He hesitated for a moment. “Guatemotzi tells us you know of this illness and you call it the ‘bleeding sickness.’”
She shook her head. “That is a very bad illness. Over the years it has taken very many of my people.”
“But Guatemotzi tells us you know of a cure for the bleeding sickness,” Lauren said.
“It is true that I know of some herbs and plants that can help if given soon enough, before the illness has progressed too far.”
“Maria,” Mason said earnestly, “There is a great need for you to show us what you know. It could mean saving millions of lives.”
She nodded. “I will gather some of the boys who help me find the herbs and plants and we will go into the forest and begin to get as many of them for you as we can.”
She hesitated and looked back and forth at them, grinning. “Meanwhile, there is a stream running behind the village that has clear, clean water in it and if you wish you may wash up while I see if Fernando can provide you with nourishment while you wait.”
Lauren laughed, running her hands through her hair. “Do we look that bad?” she asked.
Maria blushed. “No, not at all. But you have come a long way and the journey must have been hard on you. A nice, refreshing swim will make you feel much better.”
“Come on, Lauren,” Mason said, wrinkling his nose. “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. I can’t wait to get out of these clothes and into some freshwater. I feel like I’m gonna have to scrape the grime off with a knife.”
Maria pointed to a small trail into the jungle that ran behind her shack. “At this time of day you will have complete privacy if you follow that trail to the river. There is a small sandy area where you can enter the water and several boulders where you can place your clothes in the sun to dry after washing them.”
“Uh, what about critters?” Lauren asked. “Are there any snakes or alligators or such in the river?”
Maria smiled. “No. This stream runs too fast for snakes or other animals to be a danger to you. You might feel a fish against your legs but they are of no consequence.”
Lauren grabbed her backpack and headed up the trail without a backward glance.
Mason hesitated, not knowing whether to follow her or to give her some privacy for her bath.
After about ten yards, Lauren stopped and looked back over her shoulder, a wide grin on her face. “You’d better come on, Mason, unless you’re planning on staying downwind of our hosts for the rest of the visit.”
He raised his eyebrows. “That bad, huh?”
“No worse than a wet goat, I suppose,” Lauren answered as she turned and began to jog up the trail.
“Well you’re not exactly roses, Missy,” he called back as he trotted after her.
Maria gave Motzi a puzzled glance and he shrugged, spreading his hands and grinning said, “Amor.”
“Ah,” Maria said, smiling as she watched the couple disappear into the jungle.
Then she clapped her hands and told Motzi to get his friends together and to begin to gather the herbs and plants she would need.
Mason slowed to a walk, letting Lauren get ahead of him as she disappeared into the jungle. “Slow down, Mason,” he said to himself. “No need to run after her like a horny schoolboy.”
When he finally sauntered into the sandy beach area of the river, he saw all of Lauren’s clothes washed and spread out on several large boulders baking in the tropical sun. He could almost see the steam rising from the clothes in the humid heat of late afternoon.
He peered around the edges of the river, but overhanging tree limbs caused much of the river to be in deep shade and he did not see Lauren anywhere.
Oh well, he thought, she probably swam around a nearby bend in the river so she could bathe without me staring at her.
With a sigh of relief, he slipped out of his clothes, taking off his underwear, shirt, and pants and scrubbing them in the rapidly moving water and then placing them on boulders next to Lauren’s clothes to dry.
He eased into the water up to his neck, surprised at how cool the temperature was. He shivered a little as he scrubbed his hands up and down his grimy skin, trying as best he could without soap or a washcloth to get himself clean.
“Jesus!” he screamed as a pair of hands slid around his stomach and up to his chest from behind him.
“Holy smoke, boss man. I thought you were going to jump right out of your skin,” she gasped around peals of laughter.
He finally had to smile back at her, though his heart was still pounding like a jackhammer.
“What did you expect, silly woman? I’m out here in a jungle river in the middle of southern Mexico, surrounded by who knows what manner of beasts, when something grabs me from the depths.”
She continued to smile as she arched an eyebrow. “What did you think it was… a river nymph?”
He noticed for the first time that she still had her arms around him and that there were two warm, soft breasts pressed against his chest, while her legs slowly hooked around his thighs.
He blushed at this realization, and at the inevitable biological response this was causing in his nether regions.
“Ummm…” he mumbled, feeling like his face was on fire.
“What’s the matter, Doc?” she asked coyly, staring deep into his eyes. “Cat got your tongue?”
As he felt her pelvis push against his beneath the water, he slipped his arms around her and did what he’d wanted to do ever since he first laid eyes on her. He pulled her tight against him and kissed her as hard and as deeply as he had ever kissed anyone in his life.
As they kissed, standing chest deep in water, he felt her hand reach down between them and adjust their bodies so that his erection was between her thighs.
His hand went to her breast as she slowly undulated her hips, rubbing her inner thighs against him in a most provocative way.
“Jesus,” he whispered against her lips as her nipple hardened and rose to meet his caress.