“Look,” Tone said as he began having second thoughts about their journey. “I know how important it is for you to find out what happened to Spits, but this shit don’t make no sense. Now, I think the best thing would be for us to just turn around and wait this shit out.”
“Don’t you understand?” Ginger asked. “We don’t have enough time to just wait this out. I don’t know what it is, but something inside of me is telling me that I need to be with him. I can’t just ignore those feelings, Anthony. I have to do whatever I can to get back to New York. We’ve already come this far. Why turn back now?”
For a second, Tone was left completely speechless, then he said, “’Cause I don’t wanna fuckin’ die out here, that’s why.” Ginger began crying hysterically from Tone’s response, but he was determined to stay focused. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think we can make it all the way to New York. We’re going to have to turn back.”
Just as the words were out of his mouth, they heard an earsplitting boom come from the right side of the aircraft. Suddenly, Ginger became extremely numb all over as caution lights began blinking, needles started twirling around uncontrollably, and warning noises came shooting from everywhere.
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
“I don’t know!” Tone cried. “I think the lightning hit us!” He took a moment to try and gather himself and figure out their next move, but then he looked out the window. What he saw could only bring one word to his mind, “Fuck!” As Ginger looked to see what had captivated Tone’s attention, she too became mesmerized by the sight. There was smoke spewing from their left wing and Ginger could do nothing but stare as well. She was unable to move her body at all.
“Where the hell you goin’?” Tone asked as Ginger got up out of her seat to make her way to the back. “Sit down and put your fuckin’ seatbelt back on!”
Tone’s cries would fall short of Ginger’s ears. She couldn’t even begin to consider anything else at this point as she didn’t determine the outcome of this situation. With everything that was happening, she only had one thing on her mind. She nervously searched through the bag that she had packed until she found the small velour purse she had tucked deep inside. She pulled the drawstring on the purse and turned it upside-down and dropped the small box that was inside in her hand, and then took a deep breath. She held the box close to her heart, and closed her eyes. She tried her best to imagine Spits there with her. She imagined him sitting there in front of her with a huge inviting smile on his face. She threw out her arms to give him a big hug. When in fact she was only squeezing her own torso, for a minute, she felt like he was really there with her. This was the only way that she could do what she was about to do. After all of the time that passed, she never went a day without thinking about the day she would finally open this box. She imagined over and over again what she would feel and where she would be when she opened it, but never in a million years could she have imagined that it would be like this. She didn’t know how long it would take before she was ready, but it had taken the argument that she’d had with her mother earlier in the day to realize.
At last, it was time to open the gift that Spits had given her on the day of their five-year anniversary. She kept her eyes firmly shut to keep the picture of Spits fresh in her mind until the box was completely opened. She breathed in through her nose deeply, and then she blew out of her mouth slowly. When she opened the box, she held it in front of her and imagined Spits down on one knee. She opened her eyes at a snail’s pace and completely fell in love with the sight of the ring that was revealed. It was a 3.5-carat, emerald-cut, diamond with baguettes in a platinum setting. She absolutely loved it. Suddenly, a waterfall of tears came down her face, and she wanted nothing more but to be with him. Without even thinking twice about it, she was dialing his number on her cell phone. She didn’t once consider the many attempts that she’d made all throughout the day, and she just knew that it would have to go through this time. Then, indescribable excitement flushed through her body as she heard his voice.
“Daddy?!” she yelled with anticipation. “Please tell me that it’s you.”
With all of the energy that was going through her body, all she could do was cry more when she realized that it was only his voicemail message that she was hearing. She was upset at first, but this was actually the closest she’d gotten to speaking to him all day. At least now she could tell him how she felt.
“Leave a message after the beep, and I’ll get back at you when I get back to you. One,” said Spits’ outgoing message right before a small beep.
“Daddy?” Ginger began as she let out a small sniffle. “I’m sorry . . .I’m sorry for not being there with you right now, but I didn’t know. I couldn’t have known. I just found out what was going on back home and all I could think about was being with my baby. I swear if I would’ve found out earlier, I would probably already be there with you right now. At the least we could be together though all of this. That’s all that I ever wanted, was for us to be together forever. I know that now . . .”
“Ginger,” Tone cried from the cockpit. “Get the hell back in here and put your fuckin’ seatbelt on! I don’t know how long we have before we go down! I’m startin’ to lose control!”
“ . . .I had to find that out from the most awkward of places, but it’s clear to me now,” Gin continued. “I wanted you to know that I love you with all of my heart and I’ll never stop loving you. That’s why I had to do what I did. I hope you’re not mad at me, but I wanted to tell you that I was finally ready to open your gift. It’s beautiful, baby, and it’s a perfect fit. I want to marry you, honey . . .now more than ever.”
Just as the words were out of her mouth, she was brought back to her reality as a tremendous wind burst sent the plane twirling downward. The sudden jerk threw her from her feet and she flew forward, hitting her back on the cockpit door. A little dizzy, she regained her strength and got back on her feet. Still holding her cell phone in her hand, she made her way back to the cockpit where Tone was. What she saw was absolutely devastating.
The force of the sudden jolt sent Tone from his seat as well. His head got badly bruised as his body flew forward into the window, and he’d lost consciousness. He was bleeding from his head and his mouth, and the plane was falling lifelessly toward the ground.
“I love you, Daddy,” Ginger said as she cried, while the plane plunged toward the earth uncontrollably. “I love you.”
THE END
AUTHOR BIO
Michael Baptiste, born April 23, 1980, was raised, and still resides, in the borough of the Bronx. As a young’n, he wasn’t always focused on his studies, and this led to him dropping out of Evander Childs High in 1996. At sixteen, he passed the test for an equivalency diploma without ever studying. His time following was spent mostly being a knucklehead, but it was not in vain. He soon realized the value of education and decided to pursue a career in computers. It wasn’t an easy task, but Michael worked hard enough to graduate from college with honors. Although his experience was in technology, his passion remained in the arts. Along with writing, he produces and records music, and he is also a freehand artist.
It has been a long road traveled for the now published writer, Michael D. Baptiste. He did not always aspire to be a writer; in fact, he still juggles numerous different interests that he shares the same love for. As shown above, Michael also has a love for producing and recording Rap music. As well as his music interests, Michael has always loved sketching, which is now transforming into an urban clothing line that he would like to see take form some time in the near future. Hopefully, triumph in one of these areas will provide the proper platform for success in the others. For now he will be more than happy to accept, with great pride and dignity, to be referred to under the title of “Author.”
With much help and influence from his “Wifie,” persistence and commitment, plus a little bit of luck, Michael was fortunate enough to have his manuscript grace the eyes of the one and only Zane of Str
ebor Books International. With this introduction, Michael’s future had finally begun to take form. The rest is, as they say, “history” . . .but the future is now. When Cracked Dreams is released in October of this year, we will all find out just how far Michael will be allowed to expand on his accomplishments.
All inquiries can be forwarded to [email protected], and thoughts and suggestions can be sent directly to [email protected]. To learn more about Michael Baptiste, please visit www.onlymike.com.
Published by
Strebor Books International LLC
P.O. Box 1370
Bowie, MD 20718
www.SimonandSchuster.com
http://www.streborbooks.com
Cracked Dreams © 2004 by Michael D. Baptiste. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means including electronic, mechanical or photocopying or stored in a retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages to be included in a review.
ISBN 1-59309-035-8
LCCN 2003116852
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Distributed by Simon & Schuster, Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
1-800-223-2336
Cover Design: www.mariondesigns.com
First Printing October 2004
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