One Way Ticket

by Tricia O'Malley

  “Are you okay?”

  Paige opened her eyes when she felt the cushion move next to her and saw Mariposa, accompanied by a pretty little girl.

  “I am. Is this your daughter?”

  “Yes, this is Estrella. Can you say hi to Paige?”

  “Hola.” The child smiled shyly up at her and clung to her mother’s side.

  “Do you want to color? There’s crayons and paper in your backpack.”

  Estrella nodded and scurried over to where a pink backpack sat on the floor. Her hair was pulled back in one long braid and she wore simple denim shorts and a striped pink t-shirt.

  “When did you leave to get her? I didn’t realize you had gone.”

  “Jack said my family could come here. Our house…it is not secure. And it is just my mother and my grandparents.” Mariposa nodded to a group huddled across the room. “I feel safer with them here.”

  “Good, I’m glad you were able to get them here in time. Is this what it’s always like?” Paige wondered, leaning back against the gritty concrete wall.

  “It depends.” Mariposa shrugged one shoulder. “Sometimes it is not such a rush, and we have more notice. Or if the category of the storm is meant to be smaller. Storms, well, they are moody. They change course when they feel like it. They get stronger. Weaker. It’s God’s will.”

  “And now we wait.”

  “Yes, that is often the hardest part. The waiting. You don’t know how long you are stuck inside. You don’t know what damage will be done. If people will get hurt. If your house will be there when you get back.”

  “How are you so calm? This is a horrible way to live. This…not knowing.” Paige looked at her in confusion. “And this happens every year?”

  “Not every year. And not always so bad. Every country has natural disasters. Most people here? They can’t afford to leave and start a new life elsewhere. So they make the best of what they have. It’s not a bad life, Paige. But, like with anything, you have to accept the good with the bad.”

  Despite herself, Paige’s eyes landed on where Jack crouched by a group of people, speaking softly to them.

  “Sometimes the bad outweighs the good.”

  Mariposa followed her gaze.

  “It depends. What are you willing to put up with in your life? Nothing is perfect. No matter how much you want it to be. Even yourself.”

  “I thought we were talking about the island.”

  “Were we?” Mariposa’s eyes crinkled at the corner as she smiled at Paige. “You’ve been cold to him today.”

  “Yes. Well…” Paige plucked a piece of a leaf off of her pants. She’d taken the time to change from her dress into leggings and a t-shirt, thinking she’d be more comfortable if they had to evacuate at some point. “It’s been a difficult day.”

  “Is that all? What’s changed between you two? I thought…for a while there…” Mariposa raised her eyebrows.

  “I thought for a while there that you two…” Paige deftly changed the subject.

  “Us?” Mariposa threw her head back and laughed. Paige noticed that more than one man looked up at her laugh. “No, no, never. He’s like a brother to me. Family. That is all.”

  “He seems pretty familiar with you. With a lot of people here.” Paige pushed her lip out sullenly.

  “Talk to him before you judge him. Everybody has their own story. Myself included.”

  “There’s nothing to be said. I already know everything I need to know,” Paige said, a stubborn note in her voice.

  “Ah, Estrella,” Mariposa raised her voice to her daughter. “What do I tell you about people who think they know everything?”

  “That they really know nothing at all.” Estrella’s tiny voice was like a little hammer strike to Paige’s gut.

  “A closed mind is an empty one.” Mariposa tapped her forehead with a finger. Then she cocked her head, listening. “Shh. Listen. It gets worse.”

  A rush of fear washed through Paige and she pulled her legs more tightly to her chest. There was nothing else she could do now. She had no control over the situation and there was nowhere to run. All they could do was wait as the storm bore down on them.

  “It’s coming.”

  A hush fell over the group, and a few whimpers sounded. People drew closer to each other as darkness fell outside. The winds had been picking up for hours, but now it sounded like a freight train hurtling toward them. Panic seized Paige’s stomach and she buried her face in her legs, with no idea what to expect. A loud crash sounded outside, and someone wailed from the other side of the room. Paige closed her eyes, not wanting to see, wanting to be anywhere else than where she was.

  “Are you okay?” It was Jack’s voice, as he went around from person to person. She heard him stop by her, but he didn’t speak. Instead, he moved on to the next person and her heart cracked even more. Jack’s words carried as he went around the room, checking on each person, making sure they had water or other needs tended to.

  “When will it be over?” Paige asked, turning to look at Mariposa. The sound outside was incredible, like a lion roaring its rage, and the roof trembled as rain lashed it in sheets.

  “Oh, hours. It could be hours and hours. It depends how fast the storm moves. Some of them are real quick. Others hunker in and hang out for a while. Those are the really bad ones. If it goes on for days, you can lose everything.”

  “Days…” Paige’s mouth dropped open. “You can’t be serious.”

  “I am.”

  The wind did not abate, and nobody slept. Instead they stayed huddled together and doled out food and water as necessary. The complaints had started about going to the restroom. Paige herself desperately needed to pee, and didn’t know what she would do if this went on much longer.

  Jack stood at the back of the garage. They’d turned on some solar charged lamps, and she could see the tension etched in his handsome face. He moved across the large garage space and stopped by a door in the back.

  “I understand we all need to use the bathroom. I’m going to check if the next room behind this door is structurally safe and if so, this will be an option. It…well, it won’t be pretty, but it’s better than the alternative.”

  With that, Jack ducked through the door, closing it quickly behind him.

  “I get to go first.” Horatio stood and made his way to the door.

  “Why do you get to go first?” A woman demanded. “There’s children here.”

  “Because I’m a paying guest and the leader of this group,” Horatio shot back, and Paige’s eyebrows went almost to her hairline at his response.

  “Don’t you think as the leader of a business that exists solely because people pay you to help them on their path to better health, it makes sense to let others see to their needs first?” Paige blinked for a moment when the whole room turned to look at her. Oops. She’d said that out loud.

  “Oh, Miss High and Mighty over there thinks she knows what is best? Is that why you invited me to your cabin last night? You were worried for our guests’ health?”

  Paige’s mouth dropped open.

  “What? That doesn’t even make sense! And I didn’t invite you to my cabin. You shoved your way in.”

  “Nice try, Paige. We all know you’ve been dying to redeem your position at Yoga Soulone. You’d do anything to be in a position of power, wouldn’t you? Isn’t that why you slept with Jack as well?”

  “You dirty piece of…” Paige was on her feet in a flash and Mariposa grabbed her arm, pulling her back.

  “Don’t let him get to you, mama. He’s nothing. Dirt.” Mariposa hissed in her ear.

  “You are a cheat,” Paige bit out, raising her chin at Horatio. “A cheat, a liar, and a fake. You don’t deserve these good people to be your clients. You take their hard-earned money and make a joke of them.”

  The mood of the room shifted as everyone’s eyes bounced between Paige and Horatio.

  “I only take what people are willing to give. We all have to give something o
n our path to lightness.” Horatio, knowing he had an audience, put a benevolent expression on his face.

  “Is that why you take free handouts? And use people? Like the guesthouse Shirley allows you to live in for free?” A gasp went through the room. “Or the free clothes you get from Lily’s store? Or what about the free spray-tan and Botox service’s from Nadia’s medical spa? I bet they don’t know that she comps you for them.”

  “You give him free Botox?” Lily whirled on Nadia. “You made me pay for mine, and I make less money than the both of you.”

  “You’re staying rent-free at his pool house. You can afford it!” Nadia shouted back. In moments, the guests turned on each other, the tension having ratcheted so high that everyone exploded.

  “And. You. Keep. Flirting. With. The. Bartender!” Stan’s wife smacked him over the head repeatedly with her purse.

  “Yoo-hoo! Yooooo-hooo!” CeCe forged her way into the middle of the room, clapping her hands together. Everyone silenced and looked at her. “I’ve got just the thing to settle all this. Who wants a rum punch?”

  Paige opened her mouth to stop CeCe from adding alcohol to this powder keg of a garage, but there was no stopping this crowd. Everyone clamored to the corner where Whit stood by a huge jug and doled out plastic cups of punch.

  “When in doubt…” Mariposa shook her head at the group.

  “What’s going on here?” Jack popped his head back in the door and looked at the crowd around CeCe.

  “Why, it’s cocktail hour, darling,” CeCe laughed.

  “It’s eight in the morning.”

  “A perfect time for a drink, don’t you think?”

  Seeing as the damage was already done, Jack just sighed and pinched his nose.

  “Listen up everyone. The bathroom is open. You need to go one at a time and walk along the back left concrete wall. I’ve put a little bench for the ladies. There are a couple large rolls of paper towel. There’s…well. It’s going to be gross, I guess. But it’s the only option we have. Is that okay by everyone?”

  “Of course.” Horatio ducked through the door before anyone else could and the group glared after him.

  “I hope he gets hit with a coconut,” Lily griped.

  “Oh, shut up, Lily,” Nadia said.

  By the time noon had come, the group was suitably numbed with alcohol, except for Paige, Jack, and Mariposa. Finally seeing her chance to use the bathroom, she crept across half-passed out people and made her way to the door. Opening it, Paige shivered at the gusts of wind that rattled the building. At times through the night, it had felt like the very roof over their heads would be ripped off. But now, it seemed to have grown a bit quieter. Hopeful that they wouldn’t be stuck in here too much longer, Paige awkwardly crouched in a corner and went potty, pinching her nose closed against the stench in the room. She was just finishing up when the door opened.

  “CeCe?” Paige asked, caught – quite literally – with her pants down.

  CeCe smiled tremulously at her, and then darted across the room and out the door to the outside.

  “CeCe!” Paige shouted, and then all but tripped over herself trying to pull her pants up and not fall face first into the waste around her. Rushing to the door, she looked out but couldn’t see a thing through the rain that still careened down in sheets. The storm had lessened, but not abated.

  And CeCe was gone.

  Turning, she ran to the garage door and threw it open.

  “Jack!”

  Jack jumped up from his corner, snatched up his rain jacket, and raced to her.

  “CeCe ran out.”

  “God damn it.” Jack was gone before Paige could do anything. Without another thought, she followed him into the storm.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Perhaps not her brightest choice, Paige immediately realized, as the wind threatened to knock her over. Rain whipped into her face, and she dashed forward, trying to keep the flash of red from Jack’s rain slicker in her sights. She stumbled as another gust of wind bore down on her.

  This was where her weight and her muscles came into play, Paige told herself as she forged forward. A little whisp of nothing like Lily would have been thrown into a side of a building by now. But Paige was strong, and even though the storm continued on, it wasn’t nearly as terrifying as it had been hours before. She wondered if they were moving into the eye of the storm or if the storm was actually almost over.

  Paige reached the reception hall and was shocked to see the destruction. Even though the chairs had been all tied together, they’d been flung across the hall and lay in haphazard piles. The door covering the bar had held, but palm trees and debris littered the wide open air hall. A flash of red caught Paige’s eyes, and she saw Jack running between the cabins, ducking his head into doors. Following him, she called out.

  “Jack!”

  Jack turned as Paige raced to him. Fury ripped across his face.

  “What are you doing here? Go back!” Jack shouted, pointing back the way she’d come.

  “I can’t. I have to help you.” Paige had to scream over the roar of the wind.

  “I can’t worry about you, too.” Jack surprised her by taking her shoulders and giving her a small shove.

  “You can’t make me.”

  “I can’t pay attention to you and find her, too. It’s too risky!”

  “I’m not leaving you by yourself.”

  “I can handle this on my own.”

  “Stop arguing with me. We don’t have much time.” Paige wiped the rain from her face, her chest heaving as she stared him down.

  “You have to go,” Jack tried once more.

  “You’re not alone, Jack.”

  “It’s better if I am.”

  Paige didn’t know what they were talking about anymore, and she didn’t care when movement behind Jack caught her eye.

  “There!” Paige shouted, pointing to the water.

  “Damn it!” Jack turned and grabbing Paige’s arm, he hauled her with him. Together they raced to the beach, bending at the waist as the wind picked up. Paige skidded to a stop, gasping at the sight that greeted her.

  There, CeCe waded in the cove, water to her waist, her arms held to the sky. She laughed, and laughed, twirling in madness, as the winds tore at her hair and waves battered her small body. More than once, she was tossed about, only to bob to the surface once more and shout to the sky. She danced and danced as the storm raged around her.

  “Mom!” Jack screamed, terror lancing his voice.

  Paige gasped as everything suddenly became crystal clear to her. The familiarity. The whispered “I love you.” The constant annoyance that Jack held for CeCe. She watched, helpless as Jack waded into the sea after his mother.

  If she went after them, she’d only hamper his progress.

  CeCe disappeared once more as another large wave crashed over her. The sea was like nothing Paige had ever seen before. Usually the waves would come in easy sets of three, careening gently into the shore. But not now. There was barely any time between when one wave hit and another would crash right behind it. The sea had turned an ugly mottled gray color, strewn with debris, with sand churned into its waters. Gone was the clear blue oasis of calm waters, and instead a dark beast rampaged their depths. Paige held her breath, not knowing what to do as Jack surfaced, and dove once more beneath a large wave that shattered over his head.

  Tears streamed down her cheeks as Paige realized she might lose them both. Whirling, she looked for anything she could find to help. Spying the dock, Paige pushed her way against the wind across the beach, her feet digging into the sand, her legs like lead. When she reached the dock, she found the rope still tied to the bracket, though the dinghy was long gone. Untying the rope, Paige turned and flew back across the beach, the wind helping her at her back this time, and skidded to a stop where she’d last seen Jack.

  “Jack!” Paige shouted, waving when he surfaced with CeCe in his arms. Wading into the water, Paige brandished the rope above her he
ad. “Jack!”

  He turned, bowing against another wave that slammed into his back, his mother cradled in his arms. His eyes, ravaged with fear, met hers.

  “Rope!” Paige shouted and he nodded.

  Paige wound it up and threw it with all her might, and a gust of wind helped it reach them. Maybe the universe did have her back sometimes, Paige thought, as she dropped to her knees at the waterline and wrapped the other end of the rope around her body. The rope went tight, and Paige bowed over, closing her eyes against the sand and the saltwater that buffeted her face, and she held on with all her might as Jack pulled himself closer to shore. Tears streamed down her face and Paige sobbed…for CeCe…for Jack…for all of them as they waited for the storm to finish unleashing her fury.

  When the rope went loose, Paige looked up to see Jack on his knees in the sand, cradling CeCe to his chest. Blood dripped from her forehead, her arms, and even on her legs. Jack had a particularly nasty scrape oozing blood on his forehead. Paige couldn’t bring herself to stand. She didn’t know if she could handle it if CeCe was gone. When CeCe finally moved, throwing her head back and laughing, before reaching up to pat Jack’s face, Paige choked out a sob. She was alive.

  And Jack was destroyed.

  Paige could see it in his eyes when he stood, looking down at his mother with love, but also with anger. She’d put herself in danger. Him in danger. And when Jack looked at Paige, she realized he cared about her, too.

  “Are you okay?” Jack asked, his voice gruff, as CeCe giggled in his arms like a madwoman.

  “I’m fine. Are you…is she?”

  “Wasn’t that most marvelous fun, darling? Oh, I do love a good storm!” CeCe crowed, oblivious to the wounds that marred her fragile body.

  “She’s fine,” Jack bit out. “Let’s go. I think the worst is over.”

  “Jack…” Paige wanted to apologize to him…to explain why she’d turned her back on him earlier that day. But when he turned and just shook his head at her, she left it.

  He was right. The storm had passed.