“God, fuck, where is he?” she exclaimed, looking around. She rushed to the patio bar where Cliff sat chatting with Kokila. “Have you guys seen Jack?”
“No. Are you okay?” Kokila asked.
“No. He’s not in our room and I don’t know where he might be.”
“That’s a bad bit,” Cliff said. “I’ll go look around and see if I can find him.”
“Thank you,” she said with a slight smile.
“I’ll tell Jack you’re looking for him if I see him,” Kokila said.
“Okay,” Jenna said, sighing with her head in her hands. She sat alone at the bar, trying to decide what to do. Kokila walked near and Jenna asked, “Do you have a phone back there?”
“Sure,” Kokila said, snatching the telephone from under the bar and placing it in front of her.
Jenna dialed Marc’s room and listened as it rang. On the fourth ring, Summer answered the phone. “Hello?”
“Summer, I can’t find Jack and there’s no answer at the door.”
“Why don’t you get a key from the front desk and see if he’s in the room. Maybe he’s on the balcony and he can’t hear you.”
“Of course. I’m a wreck. I’m not thinking straight. Thanks,” Jenna said, hanging up the telephone. “Thanks, Kokila.” She hurried from the bar, taking a bead on the front desk and never losing sight of her goal. “I need an extra key to my room, please, right now.”
“Mrs. Harper, that’s not a problem at all. You seem panicked.”
“My husband … I forgot my key,” she said.
“Here’s another.”
“Thank you,” she said abruptly and walked briskly back to the hallway that now seemed like a long tunnel from out of a nightmare, keeping her from her hotel room. She couldn’t get there fast enough. She opened the door and took in the half-empty closet and the pulled out drawers. “Oh no,” she cried. She sat on the bed and called Summer again. “He’s left. All of his stuff … it’s gone. Oh my god, what have I done! I can’t breathe.”
“Calm down, we’ll be right there,” she said.
“Hang on. I heard a knock at the door.” Jenna put the phone down on the bed and ran to open it. “Jack,” she said as she pulled on the knob.
Instead of finding Jack, the concierge stood with an envelope in her hand.
“I’ve been trying to find you, Mrs. Harper. Mr. Harper left this note for you. He asks that you meet him at the airport.”
She ripped open the note.
Jenna, I love you so much. I know I’ve been a complete ass but I’m not sure that I’m cut out for this lifestyle.
She could see where he had scribbled through—bullshit—and wrote ‘lifestyle’.
I know I pulled you into it, but I can’t sit back and watch you fall in love with Marc. I can’t lose you and I can’t stay. I’m sure they’ll never want to speak to me again anyway. You were right about everything. I shouldn’t have invited them. I thought they would distract us from ourselves. And they did, didn’t they? I understand if you choose to stay but just remember it’s you and only you that I love. Lift us up, Jenna, one more time and I promise I’ll make it up to you. If I don’t see you at the airport, I’ll know your decision. I love you and only you.
He had underlined ‘you’ twice.
She wadded up the note and ran to pick up the phone again. She lifted her hand intending to throw the note in the wicker wastebasket but instead slipped it into her pocket. “He left me a note,” Jenna said, looking at the mess around the room. “You know, he wanted this. Shit, I knew this was a bad idea.”
“So maybe you know him better than he does himself,” Summer said.
“You know what, I’ve come to realize I really do love him,” Jenna said, squeezing the phone cord in her hand. “Damn it, I need to get to the airport quick.”
“We’ll meet you in the lobby,” Summer said.
Jenna slammed the phone down, grabbed her backpack, room key, and cellphone and hurried after the concierge, remembering what Jack had once told her, ‘They can handle anything.’
“Listen, can you help me?” she asked as she caught up with her.
“How may I help you?”
“My husband ... he has ... did he ask you about flights to the US?”
“Yes. He’s on his way to Montego Bay now to fly standby for the 4:55pm flight to Miami.”
“Oh my god, I’ll never catch him. It’s 3:55 now. What am I going to do?”
“Call him on your cell phone.”
“I have our only cell phone. What’s the fastest way to Montego Bay?”
“Taxi, but you won’t make it,” she said, nodding her head. “There’s a small airport one mile down the road. I could call my uncle. He has a small two-seater.”
“Are you kidding me? Oh my god, how long does that take?” she asked, knowing she really didn’t want to hear the answer.
“Twenty-five to thirty minutes, depending on the winds.”
“I’ll be right back. Call your uncle and see if he’s available. Find out how much in dollars.” She hurried to the lobby where Marc and Summer stood by the front desk. She showed them the note and told them about the small plane.
“I don’t think I can do it. I can’t even stand the big ones.”
“You can do it, Jenna,” Summer said.
“Have a couple of quick drinks,” Marc said.
They ran to the terrace bar where Kokila came from around the other side to meet Jenna. “Did you find him?” she asked.
“I need a couple of good drinks to get my butt on a two-seater,” Jenna said.
“No problem. Mango martini,” Kokila said. “Two of them coming up.”
“Not good terms to use at this point,” Summer said wryly.
“We’ll go with you to the airport,” Marc said.
“That’d be great. I don’t know if I can get on a little plane,” she said, wringing her hands. “Thanks, Kokila.” She took a drink in each hand and without a blink downed them back to back. “I don’t feel a thing. Maybe I should take a hit?”
“No. You’ll be feeling these in a few minutes,” Kokila said. “These drinks are really called ‘Captain Courage’ in the islands.”
“I’m going to need it,” Jenna said. “I need to get going. Thanks, Kokila.”
“Jack has my information and I hope to hear from you both,” Kokila said. “You take good care of yourself.”
“Okay, let’s go,” Summer said as they left for the office of the concierge.
“My uncle says he can take you for two hundred American and you should be in Montego Bay in twenty-five minutes. If you leave now you’ll make it there ten minutes before the flight leaves for Miami.”
“Let’s go,” Summer said, pulling Jenna toward the lobby.
“There’s a taxi waiting for you. He knows what’s going on.”
They jogged to the rotunda where a taxi waited.
“Daniel, is this yours?” Jenna said surprised.
“Ya mon,” he said. “I’m told to help you get to Jack,” he said as he quickly opened the door. “Get in.” He slammed the door shut.
The taxi pulled away defying the laws of physics and blended into the traffic on the highway, ignoring the blaring horns and the near misses. Suddenly Daniel wheeled into a small parking lot with a two-room cinderblock building.
“Your pilot is right over there,” Daniel said, pointing to very tall lanky man with dreadlocks piled on top of his head.
“No fucking way am I getting on that plane,” Jenna said, peering out the back window of the cab.
“He’s a good pilot. The best runner between the islands there is.”
“I’ll go if you want me to,” Marc said.
“That’s not even a good idea,” Jenna said, feeling a little numb.
“You can do this,” Summer said supportively as she pushed Jenna toward the pilot who was smoking a huge doobie.
“Don’t worry about your stuff. I’ll take care of it,” Summer said, hugging
Jenna tight.
“You guys are the best. Here’s my room key. Thank you and I’m so sorry about everything,” she said and turned toward Marc.
“We never meant to come between—” Marc said, sadness infusing his expression.
“I know,” she said, walking toward him. “I wish it wasn’t ending this way.”
“Me, too,” he said, enclosing her in his arms. “I’ll miss you … I miss you already, Jenna. I know it’s been fast, but you’ve touched me in a way—I still hope…” he said, shaking his head and struggling to hold back the tears. He kissed her ever so gently, not wanting to let her go. Despite all he felt, he said, “You’re doing the right thing. Go fight for him. He loves you.”
“Thank you.” She touched the tear in the corner of his eye, mirroring her own. “I’ve got to go.” As she hurried toward the plane, Summer following closely behind, she called out, “If I die, take care of Jack.” She had begun to feel the effects of the mango martinis. “Oh, I can’t do this.”
“Jenna, get ahold of yourself. You have to go to Jack and this is the only option.” Summer held her by the arm, pulling her up to the pilot. “She’s very afraid of flying,” she said, standing next to the wing of the plane.
“No problem. Everyting’s going to be alright.” The pilot helped her aboard and said, “Here, my lady, take a short toke on this, not too much now. You will be enjoying this flight. I’ll show you all the places of interest on the way.”
“That’ll be good,” she said, managing a small smile. She piled into the passenger seat with the grace of a football player tackled from behind.
“Are you okay, my lady?”
“Yes. Maybe I should’ve only had one Captain Courage,” she said, holding up one finger to the pilot. “I can’t see out the front.”
“You will when we take off.” He turned over the engine causing the propeller to spin. The engine choked, backfired and then died.
“I’m getting out, right now,” Jenna said, pulling on the door handle.
“No, no. That happens all the time,” he said, taking her by her arm. “This time she will whine like a sewing machine.” He turned over the engine again fulfilling his prophecy. The engine whirled loudly and the plane began to taxi. Suddenly her ears filled with a loud roar as the plane sped down the airstrip gaining speed, bobbing back and forth.
As Jenna waved frantically to the rapidly shrinking Summer and Marc, her heart lurched in goodbye.
The plane floated and tilted to the side, curving around to fly a path along the coast. “Shall we fly back over your friends?”
“No,” she said with her eyes closed, gripping the sides of her seat. “Are there any in flight instructions?” she asked, cracking her left eye to look at the pilot.
“No,” he said. “If something goes wrong we can land on the highway or try the beach.”
“Oh my god,” she said, burying her face in her hands.
“So you’re trying to catch Jack?”
“Yes. Does everybody know about this?”
“Just the cousins. Jack’s a nice man. Look down there, that’s Sandals and over there is something else, I don’t remember,” he said, trailing off as he looked out the window.
Jenna lay back in her seat, crossed her arms and closed her eyes. She tried to convince herself she was just in a car on a bumpy highway.
She zoned out until they hit turbulence, causing the small plane to drop and then float. She put her right hand on her upper chest around her throat and said, “Please, how much longer?”
“Ten minutes till we are on the ground,” he said and radioed ahead. “This is not good, my lady. We will have to circle the field because Air Jamaica is ready to fly.”
“Shit,” she said through clenched teeth. “I can’t believe I missed him.” She peered out the window, straining to see the jet poised for takeoff.
The pilot circled as he descended to the landing strip at Montego Bay. He made his adjustments, lined up the small craft, and landed as Air Jamaica ascended from the other end of the tarmac.
“My lady,” he addressed her, “remember the islands are for restoring your soul. You must keep the faith. Ya mon?” The pilot jumped out of the plane and hurried to her side to assist her.
She thanked him profusely as he helped her out of the plane. She trudged to the terminal, pushing through the glass doors. Searching the measly crowd for Jack, she came up empty. She walked around for a moment and sat down to call Summer and Marc.
“After all that, I didn’t make it in time,” she said as her voice cracked under the strain. “God damn it.”
“Are you okay?” Marc asked.
“No. I can’t believe that this is so screwed up. I miss him already,” she said as she began to break. She laid her head back against the pew in an attempt to gain control of her feelings. “I love him so much. Why didn’t he believe that?”
“You know … if we sell another sculpture, we can come back here and do this right,” Jack said from the other side of the bench.
Jenna didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. As she tried to gather herself, she said into the phone, “You’re never going to believe this … I’ve got to go! I’ll call you back in a few.”
“Pick up a little ganja, go to the nude island, eat until we’re fat and make love,” he said, sitting up and looking over the pew-styled bench. He smiled the toothy grin Jenna had fallen in love with the very first time she laid eyes on him. “To each other—exclusively, if you don’t mind—for an entire week. What do you think?”
“I don’t know whether to hit you or to hug you but I must admit, that sounds pretty good to me,” Jenna said, shifting around to face him. “But don’t you ever do that to me again. I got on a small plane for you and I’m not totally sure you deserved it!”
“You have every right to be furious with me. I should’ve listened to you from the beginning. I was a complete ass and I plan to spend the rest of our lives making it up to you.”
“Really? Starting with some counseling when we get back?”
“If that’s what it takes.”
“In that case…” Jenna said and hesitated. She pulled Jack’s straw hat off his head and placed it on her own. She flounced around the end of the pew and said, “Move over, Picasso.”
Authors’ Bio
Dana and Blakely Bennett love to explore stories outside the realm of what society deems “normal.” They find relationships and love to be a fertile ground for exciting intrigue. Their first writing project together happened way back in 1996, which, in their own words, was “dreadful”, but solidified their dream of writing fiction for a living. They now write collectively and individually and love to support each other’s projects.
Dana and Blakely are very happily married and have been together for nineteen years. The time has flown by quickly for them and life’s twists and turns have made their journey all the richer.
Blakely is the published erotic suspense author of the My Body Trilogy and is currently working on her next erotic romance series. Dana is finishing up the first book in his Jones Whitman, Time Traveler, and historical romance series.
You can find out more by going to:
Blakely: http://www.blakelybennett.com/
Dana: https://www.facebook.com/GearedToThePresent
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