CHAPTER FIVE: A STORY WITHIN A STORY

Stephanie Garrison put a bookmark in her book Return to the Cities of Gold. She had visited the Cities of Gold with her husband Ben, her sister Elizabeth, their friends Matthew and Gertrude, and their friends Lionel and Alexis, who were tourists and their chaperones, when they were teenagers. She was fascinated by what she had seen, and she wanted to know more about Esteban, Tao, and Zia, who had discovered the cities in the sixteenth century and then teach what she'd learned to her kindergarten class. She had already read so many fascinating things about Esteban and couldn't wait to see how it turned out between Tao and that ex-nun, and she thought Esteban and Zia's bond formed in a way very similar to hers and Ben's. The explorers had had similar experiences to her experiences, hers, Ben's, and the whole gang's. Stephanie couldn't wait to tell Ben what she had learned. He was a pilot, and he'd be home any minute after a flight back from France.

A moment later Ben was home. Stephanie kissed him and hugged him with all of her might, then told him she wanted to tell him about what she had been reading. Ben said she could once he put his pajamas on and they were in bed, so she waited.

Stephanie told her husband all about what she'd read, about Esteban and Zia and their children, Miguel and Conchetta, Mendoza marrying Marinche, Tao wanting a woman...everything! But as she spoke, she heard Ben snore. Sensing he was tired from a long flight back, she kissed him good night, turned off the light, snuggled up to him, and went to sleep.