With the Wind | A Short Novel

by Judith Cropola

  Not once.

  Yet he kept sending them.

  She read every one. Would she keep reading them after today?

  She didn’t know.

  Misty heard a knock at the door.

  It was little Eva.

  She smiled at the girl.

  “Come to see me on my big day, honey?” Misty asked.

  “Miss Misty, I need to tell you something.”

  Eva was shaking and started to cry.

  She looked just like she did that day when she accused Daniel of touching her.

  “Honey, tell me. It’s okay.”

  “It is not okay, Miss Misty. I will burn in hell.”

  “Who told you such nonsense? Little children do not burn in hell.”

  “Father Anthony told me I would. I know it too. I deserve to be punished.”

  “Oh honey, it’s alright. Tell me what’s wrong.”

  “I lied.”

  “You lied? About what?”

  “About Daniel. He never touched me. Never.”

  Misty’s mood instantly changed. She became fully alert and on edge.

  “What did you say?”

  “My father told me that if I didn’t say those lies Mr. Buffett would deport us. He made me lie to you. Oh, I know that is no excuse.”

  “Eva.” Misty took the child’s face in her hands. “This is very important. Tell me the truth.”

  “The truth is Daniel never did anything bad to me, ever. He never made me touch him , he…”

  Misty punched the intercom button on the phone.

  “Rosie?”

  “Yes, Miss?”

  “Where is my father?”

  “He’s in the study with Mr. Wilson.”

  “Come up here please. I need you to sit with Eva for a minute.”

  “I’m on my way, Miss.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

  Misty had never known rage before.

  She had been angry many times, but never enraged.

  All of her pain, her suffering, her loss all of it surfaced at the same time.

  Her furor was mostly directed at herself.

  She should have known.

  But then part of her always knew.

  Why was she too cowardly to do the right thing, to stand up for the man who loved her more than anything else in the world?

  Could Daniel ever forgive her?

  She did not announce herself.

  Father always insisted that anyone approaching the library announced themselves.

  Screw him, Misty muttered.

  My God.

  Misty could not believe what she was seeing.

  Her father and her fiancé were…kissing.

  She just stood there, plainly visible but totally quiet.

  It all made sense now. At least part of it did.

  She had to know everything.

  She had to know why her father chose to ruin two lives.

  “I thought Wilson was supposed to kiss me,” Misty said, in a surprisingly even tone.

  Anthony and Wilson jumped away from each other.

  As if somehow Misty hadn’t seen them.

  “Sweetheart, let me explain,” Anthony began.

  “Explain what? This explains quite a bit, actually.”

  “Love, it’s...it's not what you think,” Wilson stammered.

  “'Love'. What a joke. Save it for your boyfriend.”

  “Misty, we have to talk,” Anthony blurted out.

  “I just got done talking with Eva. Guess what she told me.”

  “Honey, you need to know what’s going on. Why I did what I did.”

  As Anthony spoke, Wilson walked toward Misty.

  Misty reached into the fireplace and grabbed a log poker.

  “If you so much as breathe on me I will shove this down your throat.”

  Wilson stopped and said, “Fine and dandy. Well, what does a few hours difference make anyway.”

  “Honey, I had to do this,” Anthony said. “You will be saving the winery. Generations of our family are counting on you.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Anthony lost a fortune, dear. You and I are coming to the rescue.”

  “Dad?”

  “It’s true. I was taWilson by that bastard Whist. I lost over forty million dollars, honey. The winery, the estate, everything is tied up in this mess.”

  “What does Wilson and I getting married have to do with that?”

  “My father simply cannot tolerate a gay son. He wants grandchildren. He wants to go to Mass and not be ashamed. He wants me to have a proper wife and family.”

  “In return, he will give us the money, interest free, to pay off the debts. The winery will be saved,” Anthony explained.

  “What I want doesn’t matter? I have no say in this?”

  “Princess, you will inherit a fortune. Your kids, our kids, love, will be billionaires.”

  “If you call me princess or love or dear one more time I will take this poker and…”

  “Misty, calm down. Think about this. Have a drink.”

  “Have a drink, Dad? Are you insane?”

  “I love you. I only want what’s best for you.”

  “Liar. You want to save your own skin. You want me to marry your boyfriend. How convenient. My God, what have I done.”

  “Still thinking about that Russian fool, I see.”

  “Wilson, when I tell him about this you better pray that I can talk him out of coming back here and hurting you. Not beating you up, hurting you. Think maximum pain, Wilson.”

  “As for you, Father, goodbye. Never try and contact me. I am no longer your daughter.”

  She walked to the gun case in the hall.

  Misty smashed the glass with the log poker.

  She grabbed a thirty eight.

  It was not an antique.

  She made sure it was loaded and took the safety off.

  As her father and Wilson came out of the library she pointed the gun at them.

  “If either of you assholes gets in my way I will shoot.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

  Misty arrived in San Francisco at seven am on Christmas morning.

  She had driven all night, straight through from Oregon, to get there.

  She parked the jeep in long term parking at the airport.

  She left the keys in the ignition.

  Why not? She wasn’t coming back.

  Before she left home she grabbed her emergency cash stash.

  Then she emptied her bank account.

  Then she maxed out all of her father’s credit cards.

  That gave her great pleasure.

  She had fifty thousand three hundred dollars in her backpack.

  It was her dowry, that’s how she looked at it.

  Enough money to start a new life.

  A new life that should have begun a year ago.

  She still had not been able to reach Daniel.

  Where could he be?

  The phone number was right, she heard him speaking on the voicemail.

  “I need to get to Thailand, as soon as possible,” Misty said to the gate agent.

  “The airport is shut down, miss. Surely you saw the signs.”

  “Severe fog, yes, I get it.”

  “Plus it’s Christmas time. We’ve had limited flight operations for three days now. All of our international departures are overbooked.”

  “How soon can I get out of here? I don’t care how much it costs.”

  “Assuming that we can start flying again tonight, which is what they’re telling us, you could leave tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow? When will I get to Thailand?”

  “Late on Tuesday. The fastest way is to go to Tokyo, then to Manila, then on to Bangkok.”

  “I can’t fly straight there?”

  “Not until Wednesday, at the earliest.”

  “How much does it cost?”

  “First class or coach?”

  “First cl…” Misty caug
ht herself. She wasn’t rich anymore. “Coach”.

  “Six thousand dollars, one way.”

  “Book it.”

  Reaching into her wallet she saw Wilson’s American Express card. He had given it to her for personal shopping sprees in Forest Hills and Portland. It had no limit.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Yes, miss?”

  “Change that ticket to first class please.”

  “Okay. The cost for that is nine thousand five hundred.”

  “Great. Use this card.”

  ********

  She lay down on her bed in the airport Holiday Inn.

  The time difference. She had forgotten to factor that in.

  Why doesn’t he…

  Her phone chirped. It was Thailand calling.

  It was him.

  “Daniel?”

  “Misty. My God, it is so good to hear your voice.”

  “Daniel, how are you?”

  “I am well. I’ve been in jungle taking pictures. As soon as I see you call me I…”

  “You have been in the jungle taking pictures.”

  Misty could see in her mind’s eye Daniel smiling when she corrected his English.

  “I miss you very much. I love you always. I hope it is okay to tell you this.”

  Misty started crying. She was afraid this would happen.

  But there was no holding back the tears.

  “Misty, my love. It has happened, hasn’t it?”

  “What? How could you know?”

  “I knew that someday you would discover truth.”

  “Eva confessed. My father tricked her into lying about you.”

  “I suspect as much. Do not blame poor child.”

  “Of course not. Daniel, will you consider trying to forgive me?”

  “Will I consider? What? Say again?”

  “Will you consider trying to forgive me?”

  “Consider doing what? I do not understand.”

  Now he was playing with her.

  It was as if they were never apart.

  Not for one day, not for one moment.

  He still loved her. Nothing had changed.

  “Forgive me,” Misty said.

  “I forgave you the moment I left your father’s house.”

  “How could you, I mean what I did was unforgivable.”

  “You could not know I was telling truth. Eva must have been very scared to lie like that.”

  “My father threatened to deport Jose and her unless she lied.”

  “Someday you must explain this to me.”

  “I’ll explain on Tuesday when I see you.”

  “You are coming here?”

  “You did ask me to marry you, darling.”

  “Misty, this is wonderful. I must find us place to stay, arrange things.”

  “I love you Daniel. With all my heart and soul. I will never leave you again.”

  “We shall be married. I know just the place to do so. On the beach.”

  “I can’t believe it. I am so happy, my love. Tell me all about Thailand.”

  They talked on the phone for hours.

  They made plans.

  They expressed their eternal devotion to each other.

  They even named their first three children.

  Only an ocean stood between them.

  Happiness was just a plane ride away

  CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

  “What day is it here?” Misty asked the stewardess.

  “Tuesday, December twenty sixth.”

  “Oh, I can’t keep it all straight. You add a day when going west?”

  “Yes.”

  “How soon do we land in Manila?”

  “In forty minutes. You’ll have to hurry to make your connecting flight to Bangkok. It leaves thirty minutes after we arrive.”

  “May I have another cup of tea?”

  “Sure. Drink it quickly, though. We are starting our descent.”

  Misty looked at her watch. She did the math in her head.

  It was ten am in Thailand.

  She wondered where Daniel was, what he was doing.

  All she could think about was what it felt like to touch him, what he smelled like, the taste of his bare skin on her lips.

  She could not wait to look into his eyes again and get lost.

  Get lost forever.

  She nearly knocked over an elderly couple scrambling down the jet way.

  Courtesy was taking a back seat to urgency.

  She knew the gate number she needed to go to.

  She spotted the sign and headed off toward the gate.

  Misty noticed that large groups of people were gathered around the tvs.

  Probably some terrorist bombing, she thought.

  She reached Gate 122.

  The sign said, “Flight Delayed”.

  “Great, just great,” she muttered.

  Everyone at the gate was gathered around the tv.

  She walked over to see what everyone was watching.

  An Australian couple was talking.

  “The whole town is gone?”

  “Looks like. Wiped from the map.”

  “How big was the wave?”

  “They’re saying over twenty feet.”

  “Crikey. How many carked it?”

  “Thousands. They’re all shark biscuits.”

  “Where was that,” Misty asked. “Where did the wave hit?”

  “Thailand, miss. The town of Phuket is no more.”

  It took a second to register.

  Phuket.

  That’s where she was headed.

  That’s where Daniel was right now.

  Please God, no.

  Misty strained to hear every word the news reporter was saying.

  There had been a massive earthquake out to sea.

  A tsunami had just struck Thailand.

  Reports were sketchy, but it appeared that the devastation in Phuket was total.

  The talking heads were speculating that few in the town could have survived. It just wasn’t possible.

  She ran to an empty bench and tossed her luggage down.

  He’s okay. He has to be, she told herself as she dialed.

  She could not get through. The telephone system in Thailand was down.

  She ran back to the gate.

  “I have to get to Thailand,” Misty said to the man working behind the counter.

  “Miss, that’s impossible at the moment. Haven’t you been watching the news?”

  “That’s why I have to get there. He may need me. I can’t wait.”

  “I’m very sorry. Bangkok airport is closed to all commercial air traffic.”

  “Get me closer.”

  “What?”

  “Fly me in to the nearest country.”

  “You don’t want to go to Laos or Cambodia, miss.”

  “My friends here say that I do.”

  Misty held out ten hundred dollar bills.

  “Do you have a passport?”

  “Of course.”

  The churlish gate attendant examined Misty’s documents.

  “American. It figures. One moment please.”

  The gate attendant made a couple of phone calls. He spoke in Spanish.

  “I have made arrangements for you.”

  Misty handed him the money.

  “Go to Gate 315. A flight is leaving in one hour for Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. If you are very lucky more of your 'friends' will get you a seat on a relief flight to Bangkok within the next day.”

  Misty dialed as she ran.

  Cell service in Thailand was still down.

  She suspected it would not be restored quickly.

  Please Jesus, Mary and all the saints, protect my Daniel.

  Misty started to pray the Rosary.

  She didn’t stop praying until she landed in Vietnam.

  CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

  “I’ve been stuck here for two days,” Misty complained.

  “Impossible get to Thailand,” t
he Vietnamese airline staffer said.

  “I have to get there.”

  “Too many problem…where I put you?”

  “I’ll ride on a crate. I’ll sit on someone’s lap. Hell, tie me to the wing.”

  “I cannot…”

  A supervisor strolled over. He was nicely dressed and looked professional.

  So unlike everyone else at Ho Chi Minh Airport.

  “Your name, please?” the supervisor asked.

  “Misty Buffett.”

  “From United States?”

  “Yes, I’m American.”

  “You want to go to Thailand?”

  “Yes, I need to get there now. Every second is precious.”

  “Plane to Bangkok leave in ten minutes. Jump seat available.”

  “I’m on it!” Misty shouted.

  “Two thousand U.S. Cash.”

  Misty paid him. She grabbed her bag.

  She had very little with her, just the essentials.

  Most of her luggage was in storage in Manila.

  For the past forty eight hours she had sat in this airport.

  Waiting. Worrying.

  Praying.

  Daniel needs her. He might be hurt.

  He might be dead.

  Misty refused to consider that possibility.

  She would find him.

  Or die trying.

  ********

  “You want go Phuket?”

  “Yes, I go now.”

  “No can go Phuket. Big mess. Dead bodies, water …”

  Misty moved on. She had stationed herself where the relief agencies were gathered near the Bangkok Airport.

  She was asking anyone and everyone for a ride to Phuket.

  Hours passed.

  She felt ill.

  She wasn’t ill, she had forgotten to eat. She was hungry.

  Misty spotted a noodle stand. She walked over and ordered some Pad Thai.

  “Hi,” said the older man dressed in a white coat.

  “Hello,” Misty answered.

  “I’m Edward Williams. Dr. Edward Williams.”

  “Misty Buffett.”

  “I overheard you Ms. Buffett. Not to be nosy but …”

  “I need to get to Phuket.”

  “So I gather. May I ask why?”

  “My fiancé, he is there. He might be injured, he might be…”

  “You’d be heading into a disaster.”

  “Can you take me?”

  “Yes, that’s why I came over to talk with you. I just wanted you to …”

  Misty set down her noodles and gave Dr. Williams a hug and a kiss.