by Pinki Parks
I was a little unsteady on my feet and I began laughing for no apparent reason. My parents had raised me in a strict Catholic way never giving me room to breathe. They tried to fight me telling me it was against their religion to get a divorce. They hadn’t talked to me. Losing that connection to my family made it necessary to strike out on my own. I didn’t have any siblings.
Harmony and Lindsay became the sisters I never had growing up. I was hitting my stride at the ripe age of 40. A new chapter was being written without the need for a man in my life. Unwinding and catching my breath was necessary after the dust had settled on the divorce.
I moved seamlessly down the aisle to first-class accommodations with a champagne glass presented from a comely young stewardess with her uniform pressed to perfection. Her perfume surrounded her like a halo and her long legs would make any man think that they went to heaven and beyond.
We went through the prerequisite spiel of where the exits were and what to do in case of a crash. I had done my due diligence and found the safest form of travel was by air. The chances of a catastrophe were slim to none.
A couple of more drinks and I was seeing the world through rose-colored glasses.
I was blissfully unaware of the drop in cabin pressure until I heard panicked screams. The plane lurched and began to fall exponentially with the mask of oxygen falling in front of my face.
My fingernails were digging into the arms of the chair. The universe did have a sick sense of humor. I was going to die just when I was getting my life back. It didn’t seem fair, but the one thing that remained as strong as ever was my faith. I grabbed the cross around my neck and held it tightly leaving the imprint emblazoned in the palm of my hand. I looked around and found everybody white-knuckling their chairs while saying a silent prayer with their mouths moving and nothing coming out. There were pictures of loved ones in their hands.
Lindsay was hugging a photograph of her son Ethan with her eyes closed. Harmony was sleeping soundly courtesy of the sleeping pill and champagne combined. She wasn’t much for flying, but she had her ways of dealing with it.
The plane finally leveled out and there was a collective breath of relief. I heard my phone buzzing and I looked down to see the most frightening words I had ever seen in my life.
“We want the painting. What you have just gone through is how far we are willing to go to get it. Think about that and we will be in touch shortly.” It had to be a figment of my liquor induced imagination, but staring at it didn’t make it go away.
Chapter 2
Pope
I had been in the military since I was old enough to enlist, at 18. I had dedicated my life to fighting for the freedoms people took for granted every day. It took someone of strong character and discipline to follow orders without questioning where they came from.
35-years old and I was feeling my age, but I was fighting it every step of the way. I was pushing myself beyond my endurance and making those around me miserable. I was given the duty of training those impressionable young men of the next generation of soldiers.
I had been Sergeant for the past five years and I took my duty seriously. It was a revolving door of those in desperate need of discipline. They called me Sergeant Hardcore for a reason.
Those who didn’t cut it watched me do twice as much as I had asked them to do, just to show them what kind of pussies they were. I buried their egos and took it to the next level by challenging them to beat me. I had an advantage with the obstacle course, since I was more familiar with it, so I added 100lbs to my back and carried it through the race. Nothing stopped me from reaching my target.
The rain was teeming and my new recruits were up at the crack of revelry. I heard their moans of disapproval and I smiled with no expression on my face. My hands were behind my back. They were crawling through the mud under an obstacle course that had become a legend to pass.
I was making notations in my head to single out the ones who showed potential. True leaders were forged out of adversity. Contrary to popular belief most weren’t born to carry the baton into battle. My regiment and training program peeled back the layers to see the strength underneath. I made them sweat bullets.
“The one in the front is giving the others something to think about.” Jack ‘The Hammer’ Hammond was my second in command. He was in the exact same position, not more than a year ago.
“Laura is pushing herself because of her family name. Her father and grandfather served with distinction. She’s the first female in her family to undertake a career in the military. The guys have big shoes to fill if they expect to keep up with her.” I was old school, but I was learning to be more progressive. She didn’t have to, but she shaved her head along with all the other recruits. She didn’t even blink an eye.
My body was built from military stock. Each morning I put myself through a rigorous exercise program. I was 6’2, 195 pounds of solid muscle. I was known for my gray eyes of death. I could intimidate with one look and make any man twice my size back down before resorting to violence.
Jack was in counterintelligence and had seen his fair share of how destructive human beings could be to one another. Giving him a position training new recruits was my way of helping him to cope with his post-traumatic stress disorder. He could’ve been my little brother and the resemblance was uncanny. He was 15 years younger with more to offer during his tenure.
“Don’t look now, but Tyson is showing some fortitude.” I couldn’t figure out Tyson, but he was showing there was a reserve of resiliency deep down where it mattered.
I watched mildly impressed as he scaled the wall with his hand shaking. He was grinding his teeth together and I knew from personal experience his mind was focused on the task at hand. The rain could have easily made him lose his grip, but he persevered until he was going over the wall.
Laura was only steps behind him. It came down to a foot race to the finish line. I could hear the slapping of their combat boots in the mud. She was overtaking him with long strides of a long-distance runner. She had medals in track and field. They both had the ability to tap into something they didn’t know they had. I unlocked the cage to set them free.
“I have to say these two are going to be the measuring stick for the others. There doesn’t seem to be the word quit in their vocabulary. This new class is going to be something to watch. Don’t be surprised to see a dark horse emerge from the pack.” I had seen those come from behind and there was always one to be a late bloomer.
“They will see you as the enemy.” I had adopted Jack from the moment he came to my attention with a lot of heart and tenacity. I gave him a forum to build his body into a military standard.
“I know they will hate me, but it will be a long and healthy grudge. I’m giving them the tools to surpass my expectations. They will remember and know what I did was in their best interest. You weren’t exactly singing my praises when you went off to the Middle East.” He admitted to using my training and psychological conditioning to make him a force to be reckoned with.
“I know how to kill, but you taught me how to move efficiently without being seen. I was able to get out of tough situations using your training and influence. I became who the guys followed into a hailstorm of gunfire. When hope was lost, I raised them up into the light to defy the odds.” He had come back a changed man and going back into civilian life was a transition he couldn’t make.
“I’ve never been much to follow religion. I don’t know why my parents named me Pope. I do have the uncanny ability to turn the other cheek. My father made sure to teach me valuable lessons. He said the best offense was my words, but he made sure I could defend myself.” All of my recruits were going to benefit from the same thing.
The training camp in Guam was my baby. I had given the higher brass an education in what made a soldier. I went in with a plan detailed down to a prospectus of how much was going to be needed to run such a facility. We were off the grid away from the prying eyes of oth
ers in a no-fly zone. The perimeter was surrounded by a chain-link fence with armed personnel to keep out trespassers.
I handpicked the recruits using my gut instinct and their personnel file. I could pinpoint weaknesses and strengthen their resolve to go the distance.
I ran my hand over the stubble of my head and directed them back to the barracks without saying a word. One fell down, exhausted, but he managed to stand back up without assistance. I was getting the inkling that maybe he was going to be the dark horse of the group.
“I have always considered you my father. I was born to serve my country. You are my best friend. I would give you the shirt off my back.” It touched me deeply to see the affection in his eyes. I had given him experiences worth more than any amount of money. He found out the uniform drew the ladies to him.
“I never had a son, but I would hope he would have turned out exactly like you. I don’t want to get sentimental, but we are coming up on five years of knowing each other. I want to celebrate this milestone off campus.” I considered this training ground a school of hard knocks and I was the warden.
“I haven’t been to the beach and it would be interesting to do that as a tourist.” I had taught him many things, but he had done the exact same thing.
“We will stand out from the crowd and discipline is hard to hide. It would be nice to get away from it all. I’ve always wanted to have a corn boil and maybe some fresh from the ocean seafood with a few cold ones. We will make our determination on who will join us.” I had connections to those who made their trade catching the big one.
“With some degree of certainty, I would say Laura and Tyson are at the top of the list. Everybody deserves a chance to do something just for fun.” I didn’t know what civilian life was like having been born in khaki diapers.
My father was stationed all over the world and I got used to calling home wherever we were at any given time. My mother died during childbirth. The one thing he taught me most of all was to be self-sufficient and independent. I did have a nanny for the first few years, but by the time I was eight years old I was practically raising myself.
“I’m going to turn over the reins to you for the rest of the day. I have some things to take care of in the office.” He was a good soldier, but he was also my friend. I didn’t make friends easily.
The rain had turned into a heavy mist with the smell of the ocean being carried several miles away. The facility was my pride and joy built on the sweat and tears of others. I turned boys into men and girls into the toughest women you could meet. I was given a limited budget. I knew how to stretch a dollar better than anybody.
I heard the plane and I gazed skyward with my hand shielding my eyes from the sunrise over the trees. It was a passenger airliner. I didn’t have to see it to know the engine. I had studied extensively various aircraft with the fascination of a little boy.
I could only imagine what was going through their heads on board. The sound traveled and the cover of the clouds kept me from seeing the Wright Brothers achievement of flight. It finally emerged and leveled out after what I could only assume was a serious case of turbulence.
I was not immune to the fragile state of human beings. It didn’t matter how much we could survive. It only took one bullet to take it all away. The futility of it all made me shake my head in disbelief. Seeing their lives flash before their eyes made me live vicariously through those on board. I saw a life of duty without a legacy to pass on to someone born from my loins.
There was a trail of broken hearts in many ports. I never could commit to something longer than a few days. I wanted a woman, but she had to have a certain something to capture my attention. I was responsible for taking these wet behind the ears recruits and turning them into a well-oiled machine. They were all my babies, but none of them carried on the family name of Grayson.
Chapter 3
Chelsea
We were soon standing in front of the Airport with our luggage in tow. My white blouse was sticking to me like a second skin. I could feel my nipples rubbing up against the material. I was fanning myself with my hand and looking at all of these taxi drivers hustling for a fare.
I couldn’t seem to forget the words that had mysteriously vanished from my phone. There was no trace of the veiled threat to my life. It was there one second and gone the next. I didn’t mention any of it to my girlfriends.
Harmony was flirting with a taxi driver with his shirt wide open. It was a colorful white shirt with blue flowers adorning the material. His black hair was slicked back and his dark skin was something Harmony couldn’t stop touching inappropriately. I was apprised of how cutthroat taxi drivers could be.
“You have to give the girl credit. She doesn’t take no for an answer. I can already see she has her sights set on sleeping with him. I would love to hear the whispered sweet nothings in his ear.” Lindsay had the grip of a lion on the handle of her luggage. It was purple on wheels and there was no mistaking it when it went around the carousel.
The smell of the exhaust was sickening and it was a good thing I didn’t have any lunch. I had sobered quickly during the flight and the subsequent plunge from thousands of feet in the air. My stomach did lurch and I did see how pointless my life had become. Life was for the living.
“Lindsay, I’m afraid of what we might see if we get into the same taxi with her.” Harmony wasn’t very subtle with her yellow dress made of transparent material.
In the right light, she became naked with nothing separating her body from the eager eyes of the men from this region.
“We need somebody like her to push us into doing crazy things for the sake of the being free from our husbands. We can’t sit on the sidelines and fret over what we lost. We have to remember what we gained by getting rid of hundreds of pounds of dead weight.” I understood the sentiment, but I still missed having Brent to come home to.
A strong masculine figure in touch with their feminine side was hard to come by. I was looking for perfection in a world of chaos. Nobody could measure up to my high expectations. I heard a high-pitched whistle and turned to find Harmony gesturing for us to get in the taxi.
The driver carelessly shoved our luggage into the trunk. Lindsay and I were in the back. Harmony was in the front with the driver giving him a come-hither look to her boudoir.
“Salvatore is going to be our personal driver for the duration of our stay. His neighborhood is having a festival in three days and he has graciously invited us. We can’t get caught in the tourist traps. He wants to show us how the locals live.” I felt it was a good idea to see things the tourists would never have the chance to see for themselves.
Harmony was showing off her body by bending over in the seat to wet his appetite. There was no air conditioning and the air circulating through the vents did very little to cool the atmosphere.
“I hope this isn’t going to be a long journey. I really want to get into my new bikini and jump into the ocean. It’s a little scandalous and is barely a piece of floss.” Lindsay had the kind of mom body that came with having two teenage boys. She was toned, but like me she was never going to reclaim the body she had when she was in her 20’s.
Ethan was her pride and joy. Declan was the black sheep and was always getting into trouble. I got the feeling Declan was always trying to compete with his brother. He was always in his shadow academically and athletically. They took sibling rivalry to a whole different level.
I was more comfortable in a one piece, but seeing it in the mirror in the changing room made me blush two different shades of red.
I tried to reminisce about the years I had wasted with Brent. We met at the museum during an art exhibit. Everything melted away when he had me in his arms. I succumbed easily in the back seat of his car after a few too many at a local bar.
It had a roomy backseat and somehow, he made me scream too many times to count. It was the one and only time during our relationship I was completely satisfied beyond words.
; I was pulled back to reality by how the driver was taking the turns recklessly. My heart was literally in my mouth. I could hear the joyous exclamation of pleasure from Harmony as she bounced up and down in her seat.
“I don’t know about the two of you, but this is better than some rides at an amusement park. I have this need…this need for speed.” Salvatore had seen her reaction and was pushing the envelope by pressing down the accelerator to the floor.
The yellow chipped paint of the taxi was pulled by its velocity to the side of the road. It was a good thing there was a guardrail. The sparks exploded in my eyes. It was grinding metal against metal. Somehow, he got back on the road with the tires adhering to the pavement. The pungent aroma of fear and exhilaration was in the air.
“He doesn’t talk much, but he makes up for that with more than enough action. He has really got my motor running. The both of you might want to make yourselves scarce when we get to the beach house. I plan to utilize the springs in the master bedroom. He is a slice of chocolate cake I plan to devour.” Lindsay and I looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders at how blatant she could be when her excitement level was at its peak.
“There are some things about my friends I don’t need to know. You go right ahead and put your brand on him. I’m going down to the beach after I change into something more comfortable.” Harmony had shown us photographs of happier times with her ex-husband.
The beach was a few yards from the beach house privately owned and operated by a staff of three. I pulled up each shot on my telephone. It was paradise.
The house itself was surrounded by a wraparound deck with two levels. The first one was dedicated to a huge living room, a conventional kitchen with stainless steel appliances flown in, decorative floor tiles from who knows where. I was impressed and ready to relax!
