The Gathering of Gypsies
By Donna and Abby
"Are we lost, Josie?" her little sister asked nervously. They had been traveling with the others in their gypsy clan to a large encampment in the central part of France, but when they had rounded a corner in the road, the wagons before and after them had vanished!
Their cousin, Joelle, was in the caravan, too. When her little cousin asked the question, she craned her head to see where they were. Like the little girl, she looked up to Josie to give them guidance.
Josie frowned. They were in a forested area, but somehow it didn't feel right. There should have been farmhouses and vineyards ahead of them! "Maybe I took a wrong turn," she said, looking ahead for a spot to turn the wagon around in. She clucked at her horse and sent the patient animal down the dirt road.
Just as they turned, they saw a rider up ahead. It was a man on a beautiful white stallion!
"Ohhh," gasped the young girl, whose name was Marilis. "Pretty!"
"The rider isn't too bad either," chuckled Joelle.
He approached slowly at first, and then, after giving the horse a slight tap on the withers with a long stick, pranced up toward them. When he was closer, he tapped the horse again, repeatedly, until the stallion crossed its front hooves and actually bowed!
All three girls applauded. "Magnifique!" cried out Josie. "Excusez-moi, monsieur. Can you help us? We seem to have gotten ourselves lost."
"That is a coincidence," said the man, "so am I. I am Cesar, by the way. My camp was in an urban area - my horse and I get work in Paris - but I suddenly find myself in this forest!"
"Have you seen any other wagons?" Josie asked. "We were traveling to attend the gathering of the gypsies. One minute we were with the rest of our group, the next, we were alone!" She wrapped her arm around Marilis protectively.
Cesar shook his head. "I saw no one." He looked at her and said, "I will not harm your child. In my camp, all children are mine, and all old people are my parents. We were a family."
"We are cousins," Joelle said, smiling at the man on the beautiful white stallion.
“Where is Papa?” Marilis whimpered. “Can you help us find him?”
Cesar smiled. He was very handsome. "It would be my honor to take his place, until he is found," he said. "Since we do not know where we are, I think it might be safest if I keep an eye on you ladies while we try to find the rest of your band?"
"Thank you," Jamie said with a sigh of relief.
And so they headed off down the road with Cesar as their guardian and protector. He was very good at it, being a bit older than they were, and Josie was pleased to be able to put some responsibilities onto another set of strong shoulders!
***
The day after Don Juan DeMarco came to Edan, he dressed carefully and went downstairs. He refused breakfast, and a horse, choosing to go to the Gypsy camp right away and on foot. That he was not the best horseman in the world was something he would not be giving away just yet!
He liked the idea that he could stay Don Juan here, and no one questioned his sanity. But it still bothered him that there were other men here who looked like him. He needed to see this Roux fellow.
It was a beautiful early spring day. Birds were singing, and there were hints of blossoms in the trees. As he walked down the narrow path that cut through the woods, he came upon the slightly wider wagon track that he had been told to turn onto.
As he walked, he pondered the previous night, and the decision that lay ahead of him. Certainly Carmen was beautiful, but he felt he had been so in love with Dona Ana that he could not love another so quickly! Even if he decided to live, he could not give his heart again so soon.
The sound of wagon wheels crunching on the dirt made him look back. He saw not one, but two colorful gypsy caravans, all drawn by sturdy black and white Gypsy Vanner horses and driven by beautiful young women. "Hello!" cried out the one in the lead wagon. "Can you help us please?"
Juan smiled. "Of course I can, senorita! What may I do for you? I am at your complete service." He made the last sound like a proposition, and yet it was not at all inappropriate. Just flirtatious.
"We are lost," the dark haired woman said, a worried looked on her face. She had an odd accent, part French, and part Spanish. "My name is Desiree. This is my sister Mercedes." She pointed to her twin sister who was sitting beside her. "We are on our way to the gathering of the Gypsies, but have gotten separated from the others we came with. The wagon behind us is driven by a woman from another group. Her name is Doina. She is lost too."
"I myself was on my way to the gypsy camp," said Juan. "I was told it was just down this road."
"Good," the girl said with a sweet, but somehow sultry smile.
Juan stood in the road, smiling up at them. He was waiting for an invitation to join them in the cart. No gentleman would just jump up and grab the reins!
The twins scooted over and invited him to climb on board. "Are you heading to the Gathering too?" Mercedes asked.
"Gathering?" he asked. "No, I was just brought to this place, and I heard there was another here with my same face. Can you believe that? I wanted to meet him, and they gave me directions to where he lives."
The twins exchanged looks. They were used to sharing the same face so it wasn't anything new to them. "Hopefully the others will be there," Desiree said, a worried look on her face.
"It is quite strange," said Juan. "I was taken from an entirely different world, and brought into this one. Perhaps, if you do not mind me saying so, this happened to you, also?"
"A new world?" gasped the girls simultaneously. "What do you mean? Are we not in France?"
"We are in a place called Edan," he said deliberately. "Or so I am told. I was in New York, in a place called Queens, and then I was here!"
"New York? In the Americas?" gasped Desiree.
But before she could ask any more questions, they spotted another wagon following a man riding on a white horse. "They are not part of my family either," Mercedes moaned.
Juan started a little, when he saw that the man on the horse looked like him! "That is Roux," he said knowingly. "He will know which way we should go." But when they met up with the other caravan, and the two lookalikes had stared at each other for a moment, Juan rose in his seat upon the caravan and said, "I am Don Juan DeMarco, Senor Roux. Would you please show us the way to this camp of yours?"
"I wish I could," replied Cesar, "but I am not this Roux of which you speak." And then he told him of his camp within Paris, and his name. Everyone was stunned, especially Juan, since this meant not one, but two others had his face!
He wasn't sure he liked that one bit! But there wasn't exactly anything he could do about that. What he could do, however, was to continue to follow the directions he had been given to where the real Roux was located. The newcomers’ wagons were turned around so that they could follow behind the one Juan was sitting in, and they continued on their way. When the road crossed a creek, he turned left. A short while later, they finally arrived at the camp!
If they were looking for many caravans, they were disappointed. Only three dotted the landscape near the river. It was not just a modest camp, it was a tiny one! Not even close to being a large gathering of their kind.
Sighing, Desiree slapped the reins on the broad back of her horse, sending him towards the camp. Already the residents of it were coming out to greet them.
The one that interested Juan the most was sitting by the side of the river, strumming his guitar. He put it aside when he saw the caravans coming, and trotted up to walk beside Duncan and Jacob. Together, all three men made to meet the newcomers, while the women held back, preparing something to welcome anyone who was hungry.
As the first wagon pulled off to the side, the other two pulled up beside it, waiting for further directions on where to set up camp. It wasn’t what they expected, but for now, it would have to do.
The men went up to meet the newcomers, and were surprised there were only two men among them. And, of course, the two men looked just like one of them! Still, it was nice to have more people in the camp.
Although Irena was now carrying Roux's child, he was still available. He was the only man there who was. Seeing all these beautiful women, Duncan and Jacob almost envied him!
Juan, seeing the two other men, was more confused than ever. But over food and drink he got a chance to talk to them, and he found he liked them. Amazingly, because Roux and Cesar looked like twins in their similar outfits, it was not that difficult to tell them apart! Despite his French name, Roux had an Irish accent. And though both felt paternal responsibility for any children they might meet, Cesar seemed somewhat more concerned about forming a new band in this new place.
Jacob and Duncan both agreed that it would be a good idea to consolidate the group. True, there were extra women now, but that would not be a bad thing! They were all pretty, and if they danced as good as they looked, wouldn't it draw the men from the fort to come visit the camp?
Cesar's horse was definitely fun to watch, and of course, Roux played guitar. They had the makings of a real troupe of performers!! As for Don Juan, he went back to the Hacienda with some nice memories of an afternoon spent with beautiful women, and some men who just happened to look like him!