With joy in his heart, he finished filling both bottles, closed them up tightly, and stuffed them into his backpack. “I think we should get going,” he suggested. “It’s really pretty and peaceful in here, but I’m starting to get nervous.”

She stood up. “I agree.” She walked gently past him toward the hole in the ceiling. “I’ll still lead, but we’ll see how well you remember the route.”

The only difficult part for Richard was the first step. He remembered having trouble with pull-ups in his youth, and not much had changed. Then he realized if he started by jumping as high as he could and then bracing his arms against the side of the shaft, he could save himself a lot of trouble. After that, he ascended quickly.

He crept along the passage with the narrow crack for a floor, finding it much easier this time. As long as he kept his soles flat against the direction of gravity, he ascended the slope without much trouble. The comfortable temperature undoubtedly helped a lot.

Richard felt great relief as the first glimmers of daylight reached the passage. He saw the square opening before him, just past Rosaleen. Suddenly, she stopped; he did likewise. She turned her head quickly and put her finger to her lips in a hushing motion; Richard froze and listened intently. There was no mistaking it – those were footsteps, and they were getting closer.

Richard fished in his backpack for his handgun and withdrew it. “Let me get past you,” he ordered as he started to insert a clip.

“No, stop that,” she countered. “Put that away. I have a better idea.”

Before he could even ask what it was, she looked squarely into the eyes of her lizard, who had taken all the day’s indignities with remarkable aplomb, pointed toward the opening, and clicked her tongue twice. He smoothly slid off her and bolted for the opening.

Richard listened intently. He heard the expected skittering sounds, then a loud thump as the lizard apparently belly-flopped from the ledge, more skittering, then a sudden cacophony of foot movements that brought to mind a tap dancer being set on fire. This was followed by loud stomping that trailed into the distance, accompanied by more skittering.

Rosaleen looked back at Richard with satisfaction. “See? Easy peasy.” She continued crawling out of the hole, emerging onto the shelf in the main passage.

They found the monitor lizard at the mouth of the cave, staring intently into the distance. There was no one to be seen.

“Good boy!” she trilled as she tapped her shoulder. The lizard effortlessly ascended her backside and poked his head out from her hair, slowly adjusting himself to tighten his grip.

“Excuse me.” Richard ran out of the cave, past Rosaleen. Moving at full speed, he managed to withdraw his handgun from his backpack, insert a clip, and make it to the edge of the valley, where he looked around wildly. No one in sight. He looked behind him, to see if maybe the interloper had left the valley by climbing higher. No one there either. All he could see was a very confused looking Rosaleen staring at him. Sighing, he unloaded the clip and trudged back to where she was, picking up his backpack from where he dropped it.

“What’s the matter?” she asked, noticing his darkened expression. “We’re safe, aren’t we?”

“I was hoping to get a look at him,” Richard moaned.

She turned to the lizard. “Well? Can you describe him?” He merely flicked his tongue at her, the tip glancing off her nose. She turned back to Richard, an impish glint in her eyes. “It’s no use…he ain’t talkin’.”

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“Finding out who he was could have been really important,” he groused. “I’m afraid we just blew a potentially important lead.”

She hung her head. “I’m sorry,” she lamented. “I guess I wasn’t thinking like a private detective.”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Richard apologized. “I know you were doing what you thought was best.”

“Hey, come on,” he soothed, drawing closer to her. “It wasn’t a total loss.” He fished around in his backpack. “I mean, we collected this bizarre fungus, didn’t we? This stuff could be special.” In the light of day, it didn’t appear to glow; it looked more like powdered limestone. He discreetly put the bottles back into the bag. “Oh well…it’ll probably look better in the dark. But I’ve had enough cave-dark for one day.”

“Me too,” she agreed. “Let’s get out of here.”

The hike back was surprisingly easy. The spelunking had raised the notion of difficulty to previously inconceivable levels; anything below that seemed as easy as a drag-racer trouncing a horse on the track. Besides, most of it was downhill.

They reached the parking lot; it was even emptier now than it was when they arrived. “Do you notice anything odd?” Richard asked.

Rosaleen looked around. “No. What should I be seeing?”

“No, not that,” he clarified. “It’s almost 4:30pm. It’s the hottest part of the day. But do you feel hot?”

She thought for a moment, then looked down at her arms and legs. “No! I’m not even sweating! What could it mean?”

“You said spending too much time in that cavern made you go numb. Maybe we’re partially numb right now. Not enough to feel unsteady or drowsy or anything, just enough to beat the heat.”

Her smirk turned into a rolling chuckle. “If that fungus makes it easier to live in this civic oven, it’ll make a fortune!”

He laughed. “Too bad I’m not a…fungus scientist.”

“Mycologist,” she filled in. “And neither am I.” She thought for a moment. “I could ask around the animal park, but I don’t think it’s anyone else’s specialty, either.”

“Well, we’ll have to find someone,” he stated. “I have a lot of connections; maybe I’ll run into one.”

“You do that,” she agreed. “I don’t really have time to pursue it. Besides,” she added, looking up, “I’m used to much worse heat. Try to imagine this, but with humidity.”

Richard shuddered. Even during the monsoons, the water vanished a few hours after the rain stopped, leaving the area as dry as it had been. The desert was not impressed with monsoon downpours. “It’s a scientific curiosity, at least,” he concluded. “I just don’t want this sample to go to waste.”

Her eyes glowed warmly. “You’re so thoughtful.” She stared at the ground. “Look, I’m really sorry about blowing your lead. I know I can’t really make up the damage, but…can I take you to lunch or something? At least try to make it right?”

Richard’s heart beat faster. “That sounds great!”

“I’ll text you when I can get a break. I figure no more than a few days from now.”

“Just let me know,” Richard assured. “I’ll be there.”

“There’s a restaurant I’d love to show you. I’m dying to know what you think about it.”

“Me too,” he assured.

They stared into each other’s eyes for a moment. Without warning, she moved in to hug him.

Richard hugged back, gripping tightly. The feeling of her firm, athletic body against his gave him goosebumps. The sensation of her voluptuous breasts pushing into his chest got his blood pumping like a flood-control dam dealing with a hurricane. The realization she hadn’t relaxed her grip yet sent his heart soaring. The wet sensation on his nose…

Richard opened his eyes. The lizard’s nose was nearly touching his.

Quickly, his mind raced. What was more important – hugging Rosaleen, or avoiding having his nose bitten off by a wild animal? Oh, what the heck, he decided; they can probably reattach it surgically. Besides, it might only get torn, not swallowed. He had to have priorities, after all.

He stared into the lizard’s placid brown eyes, as he beheld Richard impassively. His purple tongue flicked outward, the fork catching the tip of Richard’s nose. He smiled warmly; it seemed he had her lizard’s approval.

Rosaleen finally relaxed her grip; Richard did likewise. She stared into his eyes wordlessly for a moment.

“See you soon,” she chimed.

“Can’t wait,” he assured her.