Carlos Casales was stunned when he stared into the bedroom.
A man's clothing was scattered across the floor and silky red lingerie lay on the rumpled bed. An empty wine bottle and two glasses littered one night table and a tube of something stood upright on the other. His mind whirled with the realization of what all this meant.
Marina was here with another man!
It was a good thing that Jaguar had stayed outside in the car. Had he come upstairs, there'd have been Hell to pay.
****
One month earlier:
The sunset was always glorious from their new apartment with a view out over the Pacific.
The sinking orange orb dipped below a cloudbank just above the ocean and reflected off the gray underbelly, illuminating it in golden and reddish hues. Beneath that, shining arms of orange reached across the surface of the smooth water, lighting up the high walls of surrounding buildings.
But the magnificent sight didn't match Jaguar's sombre mood. His pretty wife of three years, Marina, was late coming home from the museum again, the second time this week. He figured she'd be just as evasive in her explanation as last time.
Jag stood on the balcony brooding, searching for clues that might help him understand what was going on. During the past month, his wife had seemed distant, not the loving partner he'd come to know since meeting her as an American tourist visiting Peru. They'd fallen hard for each other and married.
Jaguar was from the United States too, though he'd been in Peru for nearly half his life. He first arrived as a graduate student named Wesley Arundel, and became so hooked on Andean culture that he took his iconic nickname from an ancient god.
He couldn't leave. Instead, he finished his studies and settled in Lima. To support himself, he established the Andean Experience tour company. It grew to become a cultural and archaeological venture very popular with global tourists.
After meeting Marina, he landed a career with the National Archaeological Museum, using the help of a former lover with a key position there. Elena Rodrigues also hired Jag's new wife as a docent, to guide English-language tour groups.
[Jaguar and Marina's story is found in Chapters 01 through 06 of Andean Experience. You might enjoy their sometimes-dangerous adventures in Peru.]
The couple enjoyed life in Peru's lively capital. But lately things weren't going so well with them.
Suddenly, Jaguar heard a noise from inside the apartment. He stepped in from the balcony to see his annoyed wife struggling with some large bags.
"Help me with these, Jag. They're so heavy."
"What do you have there?"
"Groceries. We're out of everything. But what would you know about that anyway? You just eat what I prepare and leave the rest to me. What have you been doing since you came home?"
"Nothing really. Watching the sunset."
"I could have guessed as much. Make yourself useful. Unpack these and put them away while I change into something more comfortable."
"Want a hand with that?" Jaguar joked.
"No. Just put the groceries away."
"Why so cold, Marina? Some problem with the new guy, Juan today?"
"Enough about him! Are you jealous or something? That's the third or fourth time you've asked me about him this week."
"You're spending a lot of time with...."
"And he's young and handsome, right?" she interrupted. "You're jealous, Jag! He's just a boy, ten years younger than me!"
"Well, I'm twice his age. Does that make me an old man? I've seen how you light up when he's around, and so has everybody else."
"Stop that! It's nothing. I'm supposed to show him how to guide tours. You're just imagining things. Now put the food away."
With that, Marina spun on her heal and went to the bedroom- without so much as a kiss or a hug, her husband noted. Was there reason to be suspicious about Juan?
The suppertime conversation became heated at times. It was clear that Jaguar was feeling threatened by his wife's time with the handsome new employee. From there, his complaints expanded to what he viewed as her decreased libido.
"You were so hot in bed. Now you just want to fall asleep by 10:00!"
"I'm tired after work, then I come home to mind everything here. You need to help me more and demand less. How did you manage before we were married."
"Well... I...."
"Time's up! You had your women friends around to do it. In fact, they did anything you wanted! I'm American, Jag. I'm not one of your Spanish ladies, so eager to get into your bed!"
Marina knew he had a long string of girlfriends and one night stands in his former tour business. It was a real sore point, one that often came up when she was angry. Jaguar wondered if she knew that her best friend and boss, Elena, had been one of his bedtime women? He had to be careful now.
"OK, I'll try to do better," he conceded. "If I'm home before you, I'll pick up around here, or start on supper. I can do some basic cooking, though nowhere near as good as yours."
"That's wise.... And about Juan?"
"I'll stay off that," Jaguar replied, though he knew it wouldn't be easy to keep his jealousy in check.
"I'm just training him, that's all. Elena would love to do it, but she's too busy."
"Elena. That doesn't surprise me,' he quipped, before recovering. "Maybe you'd like to train me later, Marina?"
"You never give up, do you?" she laughed. "Does that mean you'll keep the promises you just made? If so, then yes."
"Of course. I'll be helpful and stay quiet about good-looking Juan."
"Jaguar... just let it go."
Later, they went to bed to put an end to their disagreement. She kissed him and snuggled close in a reassuring way. He felt the heat of her smooth body against his muscular torso. Before long, all was forgotten as they basked in the intensity of their love for one another. The rest of the world fell away as their passion grew.
Then, all at once, they felt the Earth move. It was incredible!
"Did you feel that, Jag?"
"Amazing, eh!" he groaned as he gasped for breath.
"Not that. I mean, did you feel the bed shake a few moments ago?"
"We're so good together!" he grinned.
"No, I felt the room shake. Like a quake or something."
"Oh... could be. The Andes is an active zone. Shaking? I thought it was us!" he laughed.
"Seriously, it was more than that. I really felt the Earth move!... Wait!... There's another one! Omigod! An earthquake?"
They waited breathlessly, but nothing else happened.
"A tremor," Jaguar eventually announced. "Happens fairly often but doesn't amount to much here. Relax, Marina, it's just a fact of life living near the mountains."
