Into The Courtyard !

Debbi tried to communicate with Fatima to ask if she and Sally could shower somewhere to wash off the residue from the henna treatment but the proprietor once more feigned ignorance of the language and quickly disappeared again with Bidisha. "I guess we just wait" said Debbi. The two English women retreated to sit on the marble bench to the side of the chamber, reminded that the underfloor heating made it uncomfortable to stand still for too long in bare feet. They sat with their feet tucked underneath them for this reason.

They became momentarily alarmed to see the door from the reception area open. Two much younger Moroccan women entered, probably still in their teens. These two were not wearing the traditional clothes of Fatima and Bidisha but were fashionably dressed in western clothes, despite both sporting headscarves. Debbi and Sally suddenly felt self conscious to be sitting there naked before the two elegant fully clothed newcomers. They were surprised and a little relieved when one of the girls addressed them in English. "Hi, mum just called me. We've come to help you get cleaned up, that henna gets everywhere !" the girl said in a distinctly American accent. "You speak English" Debbi blurted out and then immediately felt stupid for stating the obvious. The girl laughed. "I'm at college in Boston" she explained. "Let's get you rinsed down, you must be starting to feel sticky in that stuff."

Debbi and Sally agreed and stood up to follow the two Moroccan teens over to a third door at the rear of the chamber, though they remained puzzled as to why they should need any help to get cleaned up. The door opened and instead of the expected shower room, they found themselves outside in an open air courtyard and blinking in the harsh light of the north African sun ! The sun was shining directly in their eyes and together with the reflected glare from the surrounding whitewashed buildings, their vision was sufficiently impaired that they failed to look up to their left and observe the balcony of the coffee shop, which was now full of male customers crowding into the prime vantage point !

Friday prayers had just ended and word had been passed that two attractive western women were partaking of Fatima's special treatment. The gathering crowd had been watching expectantly as Fatima and Bidisha prepared a panoply of hoses and buckets. Their patience was rewarded when the door opened and the two naked women emerged blinking into the sunlight, plastered from head to foot in the ochre paste !