After tossing and turning for a little while, Amanda got out of bed, put a blanket on the floor and pulled it around her. Soon she did fall asleep.
Chapter 4
Twenty-Seven Months Earlier
“It is a shark,” one of the survivors shouted.
“There are two of them!” Someone else cried.
Several fins came into view.
“Looks like a herd of them,” the man beside Amanda muttered. “We’re all goners now.”
Amanda closed her eyes and began to pray silently. Almost instantly she felt a hand cover hers. Her eyes flew open and she saw Steve smiling at her.
“Hang in there,” he whispered. “Maybe they’ll go away.”
“I pray they do.” She wanted to pull her hand away, but she knew he was only being nice, not making a pass at her.
After a long silence the silver grey fins moved in front of the swimmers. The silence left everyone to their own thoughts as the fins broke through the water.
Amanda trembled when an excited female voice called out. “I don’t think they’re sharks. They look more like dolphins.”
“Really?” One of the men asked.
“Yeah. Look closer. I’m pretty sure they’re not sharks,” the woman said.
Everyone stared at the large grey mammals swimming around in the circle.
“They are dolphins,” Steve said.
Someone shouted “Halleluiah, let’s start heading for the island again.”
“Thank goodness.” Amanda breathed deeply.
Steve chuckled. “I must admit, it gave me a start. I may be getting older, but I’m not ready to pack it in yet.”
“Neither am I.”
They were close enough now that the island actually had a form. They could see a mountain in the background and outlines of palm trees. Even as the sun began drop behind it, they knew they wouldn’t lose sight of their target. Though the swimmers were exhausted, the closer they got, the harder they pushed.
Darkness overtook them, but they were blessed with a full moon. The island loomed ahead. Amanda wondered if she would make it. “How much further?” she whispered.
“Maybe a mile. Come on, you can do it, Amanda. I know you can.”
Before she could answer Steve, a woman screamed. “He’s dead.”
The swimmers stopped kicking, suspended in a state of disbelief. The doctor told Steve, “Watch the pregnant lady. I’ll go see what I can do.”
Steve nodded and turned his head toward the young mother-to-be.
Amanda watched the doctor swim to the other end of the fuselage. The man who came up with the idea of the kick-board swam to meet him. She bit her lip and watched as the two men came around either side of the man who had the side wound. She saw the doctor shake his head. She didn’t want to watch, but she couldn’t turn away.
The man at the end eased the injured man from the board and the doctor put his arm around the woman who had been swimming on his right side. She could tell the woman was crying. She knew the deceased must have been someone close, probably her husband. Amanda darted her gaze to the man who’d eased the body backward. She stared as he removed the man’s life jacket and let the body float away. No one said a word as the form floated for a short distance then sank under the water.
The doctor came back and took his place on the board. The other man went back to his end of the board and shouted, “Team one, kick.”
Without a word team one resumed their synchronized motion.
“Now that’s one less person to kick. I think he was on my team too,” the man beside Amanda mumbled.
Though she’d already decided the man was heartless, she’d never before witnessed anyone so insensitive in the face of death. She wanted to hit him. Instead, she turned her head in the other direction.
Steve turned back to Amanda and saw tears in her eyes. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know, Steve. I feel so sorry for the lady who was with the dead man and I’m awfully tired. I’m getting numb, too.” Amanda knew her body had hit the proverbial wall, which her mind had hit much earlier. She worried whether she could go on in light of the suffering and this burial at sea. She was so tired.
“Don’t give up now. We’re too close.”
“If I could just rest a little...” She felt her hands loosen on the fuselage kick- board. She scrambled for a tighter grip.
Steve’s arm went around her shoulder. “Here,” he said. “Put your arm around me and let me hold you up. You can rest.”
“But it’s my time to kick.”
“I’ll help you kick so you won’t have to move your legs as much.” He pulled her next to him. “I think we’re the oldest two in this group. We can’t let them say we didn’t hold up our part of the swim.”
Without pulling away she said, “I’m trying.”
A little later he said, “Look, Amanda. We’re almost there. Maybe another quarter of a mile.”
“Shift to the left.” A shout came from the other end. “There’s a mountain which drops into the sea right in front of us. I see a beach to the left. Head for that. Everybody kick.”
“But it’s not our time to kick,” the man complained, though he began kicking.
In fact, everyone pushed harder. Even Amanda was able to start kicking harder again. She moved a little away from Steve, but he never removed his arm from around her shoulders.
The doctor shouted, “Folks when you hit the beach, head for the shade. We’ll probably sleep until the sun is well up tomorrow. We don’t want anyone getting third degree burns.”
After another twenty minutes of sheer determination Steve said, “Let go of the board and swim for it, Amanda. We’re close enough.”
“I don’t know if I can.”
“Sure you can. I’ll help you.”
Others let go of the board and were swimming for shore. Amanda swam, she faltered, Steve prodded and she swam some more. After a tedious fifteen minutes he stopped swimming.
“What’s wrong?” She demanded.
“I’m touching bottom.”
“Really?” Though the water closed over her shoulders, it was at his mid chest. “I feel it too. I’m standing!” She was laughing and crying at the same time.
So were several other people.
“Let’s get out of this ocean.” Steve took her hand and pulled her toward the beach.
As soon as they cleared the water, Amanda sank to her knees. “I can’t go another step.”
Steve pulled her up. “Yes you can. Come on. It’s not far to the trees.”
She reluctantly let him pull her forward. In a few minutes, he said, “I think this is okay. Let’s sleep.”
They sank to the ground together.
* * * *
May 20—12:15 AM
Wendover, Georgia...
The kids were all in bed and Claudia came back into the family room of their ranch style house. She didn’t notice Steve was behind her. “Where’s your dad?”
“He wanted to take a shower.”
“Do you think we should wait to tell him everything tomorrow?”
“I suggested that, but he said he couldn’t sleep until he knew what was happening.”
“Want a snack?”
“I think I’ll take a beer. Want me to get it?”
“No, honey I’ll get it for you. I’ll get your dad one too. I guess he still likes beer.”
“He hasn’t had one in a long time, but I bet he still likes it,” Steve said as he stepped into the room.
She laughed as she went into the adjoining kitchen and returned with two bottles of beer for the men and a glass of wine for herself.
“Okay, Dave, out with it. Why didn’t your mother come to the airport to meet me?”
“Boy, you get right to the point don’t you, Dad?”
“No need to play around.”
“She didn’t think she could handle it, Steve,” Claudia said.
“Then why am I here instead of my house? Shouldn’t I go hom
e?”
“Dad, let me start at the beginning.” Dave took a swig of beer. “When your plane disappeared they searched for a week. They never found a thing. Not even wreckage. They weren’t even clear as to where or when the plane went down because for some reason it got off course. They declared everyone on the flight dead.”
Steve nodded and Dave went on, “We were all devastated, but there was nothing we could do. We had to accept it.”
“We even had a nice memorial service for you,” Claudia put in. “The church was packed.”
“Yeah, you have a lot of friends, Dad.”
“That’s nice.” Steve nodded and said, “Go on.”
“You know Warner Clifton has always been your best friend. Well, he and Marilyn were the ones Mom leaned on more than anyone else. They were always here when she needed someone and they saw she wanted for nothing.”
“That sounds like Warner.”
Dave continued. “A few weeks later, Mom and Marilyn went to some club meeting at church. There was an awful storm and on the way home, the car hydroplaned and rolled over several times. Marilyn was driving her small compact car. Mom had a broken arm, some scrapes and bruises and a knot on her head. Marilyn had internal injuries. She died on the operating table.”
“That’s terrible. How did Warner take it?” Steve knew how close Warner and Marilyn had been.
“He was torn up, of course. Mom was his rock. Together they grieved for their lost mates. After several months of mourning, they grew closer and closer. It didn’t surprise any of us when they announced they’d fallen in love and were getting married.” Dave paused and took a swig of his beer. When Steve said nothing, he added, “They’ve been married about sixteen months now and that’s why mom couldn’t face you.”
Without a word, Steve got up and moved to the glass doors leading onto the terrace. He stared into the darkness. He didn’t know what to say. It was hard to grasp the fact that his wife was now married to another man, or thought she was. Legally he supposed he and Janet might still be married. The fact that she’d married someone else was a scenario that hadn’t occurred to him in the list of possibilities. Was he upset about it? No, he wasn’t. Not at all. Maybe it was the perfect answer. He’d found happiness with someone else, why shouldn’t Janet do the same?
He turned around and saw Dave and Claudia looking at him. He smiled. “Don’t worry, kids. I’m not going into a rage and start breaking things. I fully understand what’s happened. I’m a little confused by it, but I do understand. All I want is for your mother to be happy. If Warner makes her happy, so be it. I’ll give them my blessing.” He took a breath. “I do want to see them both. I want to hear from them what they feel.”
“They both want to see you, Dad. They still care about you.” Dave drank from his beer again. “In fact Mom’s all confused. She doesn’t know what she should do. She says she loved you, but when she thought you were dead she gave her heart to another man. Now she’s torn between the past and the present.”
“Believe it or not, I know how she feels.” Steve smiled at them. “A lot of things have changed and nobody expects any of us to live in the past.”
“Steve, you took this so much better than we thought you would. You’re a changed man, aren’t you?”
“I’ve changed more than you can imagine, Claudia. When you go through what I have, it makes you a different person.” He smiled again. “Oh, don’t get me wrong. I still want to get on my horse tomorrow and ride fences. I want to check the cows and I want some good old American barbecue ribs for dinner tomorrow night. I still want to spend time with you two and the grandkids. But, yes, I’m different in some ways. I hope you find you love the person I’ve become as much or more than the man I was before.”
Dave stood and put his arm around his father’s shoulders. “You need never worry about that, Dad. We’ve always loved you and we always will.” Then with a sly grin, he added, “Of course you’d be easier to love without the beard and the ponytail.”
Steve burst into a hearty laugh. “I’ll have you know the beard will disappear tomorrow, though I’ll have to think about the pony tail. It’s become a part of my personality.” He winked at Claudia then reached out and hugged her. “Now, if you two don’t mind, I think I’ll try to get a little rest.”
She hugged him back. “I have your bed all ready, father-in-law. I hope you sleep well.”
“I know I will. I’m looking forward to a soft bed.”
But Steve couldn’t sleep. Once he climbed between the starched white sheets, he put his hands behind his head and lay on his back. Staring into the darkness, he thought about the Janet and Warner situation. He would finish with them tomorrow. Amanda was on his mind, too. He wondered if she was sleeping. If not, was she thinking of him? Did she miss sleeping in his arms? They sure missed having her to hold. His right shoulder was actually almost cold. It was the spot she used as a pillow and the warmth of her face had kept it comfortable at night. He missed being able to nestle his face in her hair and smell the exotic odors it absorbed from the concoction she washed it in, which some of the natives had taught her to make from flowers. He missed the feel and the smell of her skin. The soft skin she so meticulously bathed daily either in the sea or the lagoon.
Damn it, Amanda. Why did I ever let you talk me into this stupid separation? Now that I know how things are here, there’s no reason we have to be apart. Besides I don’t think I’ll be able to hold out for a few months. I not only want you. I need you.
Chapter 5
Twenty-Seven Months Earlier...
“Steve,” Amanda whispered. She knew she had her head on his right shoulder. She felt ashamed, but she didn’t dare get up.
“Humph?”
“Don’t move. It might attack.”
He obeyed. “What might attack?”
“The bird.”
“What bird?”
“Cut your eyes to the left.”
He did. “I can’t see anything.”
“It’s because you’re on your back. It’s a huge bird and it’s not more than five feet away from us. It’s staring at you.”
“So. Maybe if I move, it’ll fly.”
“No. It might fly right into us. It has talons as long as my arm.”
“Come on, Amanda. You’re stretching it.”
“Maybe a little, but they are long.”
“Well, I’m going to take a chance. We can’t wait for it to fly.”
“I’m scared.”
“Okay. I promise to stay between you and the bird. How’s that?”
She didn’t answer and he swung his body to a sitting position, pulling her in front of him. Her back rested against his chest. It gave her a strange feeling. The bird flapped its huge wings and flew over their heads, down the beach a short distance and then back into the jungle.
“Oh it’s beautiful.” She looked at the red wings and green head as it went by.
“It was a pretty bird, and I don’t think it was very dangerous.” He stood and held a hand to her. She took it and he pulled her to her feet.
They walked toward the beach and saw the doctor working on the man with the broken leg. “It may grow back crooked, but at least this’ll help it set,” he said as he looped a vine around the two sticks he’d placed on each side of the leg.
“Where are the other folks?” Steve asked.
“A couple of guys went into the jungle to see if they could scavenge up some food and water. Others are exploring down the beach and there a few people still asleep.” The doctor continued to work on the leg.
“Anything we can do?”
“Maybe gather a few coconuts. If they don’t find anything else, we might have to survive on them for a while.”
“Come on, Amanda. Let’s see how many coconuts we can find.”
“Reminds me of the book I used to read my grandchildren called Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. It’s about climbing a coconut tree.”
The doctor called after them. “When you finish,
come back here. Ray and I thought we should have a meeting and get to know everyone. We’ll find out each other’s strengths and weaknesses then we’ll see what we need to do to survive.”
“Good idea,” Steve answered, though he had no idea who Ray was.
An hour later the group sat around munching on mangos and sea grapes the two explorers had found. The man that spearheaded the swim to the island began to talk. “First let’s all introduce ourselves and tell what we do for a living or as a hobby. That way we’ll learn what each of us can contribute to our survival until the rescue plane comes.”
“Ain’t going to be no rescue plane.” The grumbler had ended up beside Amanda again. “We’re probably going to either starve here or be eaten by some wild animal like a tiger or a bear on maybe get bit by one of those poisonous snakes. They say these islands are full of them.”
Ray ignored him and said, “My name’s Ray Jones. I’m originally from Cincinnati, Ohio. I’m a captain in the army and have some survival training. My wife was also in the army. Three months ago when a suicide bomber rammed the truck she was riding in, she was killed instantly. I used my leave to come on this trip to try to cope with it. I’m thirty-six years old and I have no children.” He looked at the doctor and nodded.
“My name’s Gene Warren. I’m from Baltimore, Maryland and I’m thirty-one. I’m a general practitioner. I hope I’ll be able to help with our medical needs, but you know we don’t have anything to work with except common sense and maybe a little input from me.” He looked at the pregnant lady. “I’ve delivered several babies, so I’m sure we’ll get through this birth fine.” He cleared his throat. “I’m not married and have no children either.”
The pregnant lady said, “I’m Debbie Westfield. I’m twenty-five and I’m from Tulsa. My husband is in the military. He was on leave so we were flying back to his parents’ home in Oklahoma because he wanted me to have our first child in the US. We lost a baby a couple of years ago and he wanted to be sure I had good medical care for this one. I don’t have any family except my in-laws.” She bit her lip and added, “My husband didn’t make it out of the plane.”
The Island Page 3
