“That’s flattering. Thank you for saying so.”
“No. Let me thank you for writing this book. Not only has our country, but the whole world has been captivated by your story.”
Amanda and Steve both smiled and the announcer went on. “Let me ask, may I call you Amanda and Steve?”
“Of course,” Steve said.
“Thank you. The whole world thinks of you by your first names and it’s hard to always say Mr. or Mrs. Brookshire.” He chuckled. “Let’s clear one thing up right off the bat. Steve, were you and Amanda strangers when you took that ill-fated flight back to the states?”
“Absolutely. We’d never met.”
“And you said in the book that you sat in different sections of the plane, is that correct, Amanda?”
“Yes. I wasn’t sure where Steve was sitting.” She glanced at him. “I had to ask him when I was writing the book. I knew I was near the center and had a window seat.”
“And you weren’t seatmates either?”
“No. My seatmate was a lovely Spanish lady. She didn’t speak English and I didn’t speak Spanish so we couldn’t do any talking beyond saying hello.”
“Was she one of the survivors?”
“I’m afraid not. I looked for her when I got out, but I didn’t see her anywhere.”
“Can you recall your feelings when you realized the plane was crashing?”
“I’d been looking out the window and when I began to see some ocean between the clouds I wondered if we weren’t in trouble. It wasn’t long until they told us to get ready to crash.”
Steve put in. “It all happened so fast, I don’t think any of us had time to get scared. We hit the water and the plane split apart. I got my seatbelt off and the next thing I knew I was treading water.”
“You had a broken wrist, Steve. How did you manage with that?”
“Fortunately it was my right wrist and I’m left handed.”
“The kick-board was a genius idea. Who thought of that?”
“Ray Jones. He had military experience and he became our leader.”
“Now we have you on the island, I want to get into the things most of our audience members are interested in.” He looked at Steve. “When did you fall in love with this woman, Steve?”
Steve smiled. “I’d like to say the minute I saw her, but it took a little longer than that. At first we only had surviving on our minds. We had to get to the island and find food and water. We then had to inventory all of our skills to see how we could support each other.” He glanced at Amanda. “I guess I began to think she was becoming more than a friend after a month or so.”
“Was it the same for you, Amanda?”
“Yes.”
“How about the others? You said Tony and Wilma were married this summer. I’m assuming they fell in love on the island, too.”
“Wilma was a nurse and Tony had a broken leg. She looked after him. They were both grieving over lost mates and I guess their feelings grew on the island,” Amanda said.
“There was one married couple in your group. The Michaels. Right?”
“Yes. Phyllis and Curtis.” Steve answered.
“The pregnant lady?”
“Debbie Westfield,” Amanda said.
“Then the young woman who’d lived on an island with her parents and helped you identify safe plants.”
“Joanna Godfrey,” Steve answered this time.
“And a doctor?”
“Gene Warren.” Steve answered again..
“It seems you had a compatible group.” He changed the subject again. “Now, as you know, the tabloids have been full of reports that there was another person on the island and you’re keeping his or her death a secret. I know you’ve done this before, but would you clear that up for us, Amanda?”
“There was another person. His name was Joey Fox. He was Wilma’s husband. He made it to the island, but he had a terrible wound. We don’t know what happened, but his side was punctured and he bled profusely. He died the first day on the island.”
“He was a brave man,” Steve added. “Gene did everything he could for him, but he’d lost too much blood. There was no way we could give him a transfusion.”
“As I said in the book, the last thing Joey said was for his wife to be as much help to the group as she could and to please bury him at sea, not in the jungle with the snakes.”
“And you did that?”
“Yes. The men swam out with his body and let him down almost a mile from shore.”
“Wasn’t that an awfully long distance to go?”
Steve said, “We had life jackets and we didn’t want his body to wash ashore. It would’ve been too hard on his widow.”
“I can understand that.” He picked up the book. “Folks, I’m talking with Amanda and Steve Brookshire, two of the survivors from the plane crash which set the world on its head when they were discovered on a deserted island twenty-seven months after the crash. We’re going to take a break and we’ll be right back.”
A commercial came on.
“Amanda,” Callie said. “You sure look lovely.”
“And Steve is nobody to sneeze at either,” Diane said.
“Thank both of you,” Amanda said.
The kids came from the basement. “We decided to come up here and watch it on the big screen. I didn’t know it was going to be so interesting,” Kenny said.
“Want some cider?” Noah asked.
“We had Cokes in the basement.” Kristy dropped to the floor beside Amanda’s legs.
Kenny sat down followed by Candy and Robin.
“I want to sit with Kenny,” Johnny announced and wiggled from Amanda’s side.
The program resumed and the announcer said. “We’re back with Amanda and Steve Brookshire, two survivors found on a deserted island in May of this year.” He turned to Amanda. “Now tell us about Bobby. I understand you all spoiled him.”
“He was such a wonderful baby.” She smiled. “Debbie was good about letting us play with him all we wanted to. He was a smart little fellow, too. When he walked he’d help his mother collect coconuts and the men taught him to swim.” She turned toward her husband. “Steve was teaching him to fish.”
“I guess you had your own Garden of Eden there with your friends and all the fruit and other exotic foods.”
“The people and the fruit were wonderful, but it was by no means always a safe Eden type garden. It was full of snakes and other dangerous creatures,” Amanda explained.
“Steve, I had to cringe when I read about your snake bite. Do you know what kind bit you?”
“I have no idea. The jungle was crawling with them. We had to watch every step because most of the snakes on a tropical island are poisonous.”
“So you were bitten by a poisonous snake?”
“Yes. Of course I credit Gene with saving my life. He and Curtis were with me when I was bitten. Gene immediately grabbed a vine and bound my arm above my elbow. He then made cross cuts with a pocket knife where the fangs had punctured the skin. He and Curtis took turns sucking out the blood.”
“Some of the poison got into his system though,” Amanda added. “He was sick for several days. Gene kept packing the wound with mud and we’d wash it every day with sea water.”
“I shudder to think about it.” He smiled. “Did it leave a big scar?”
“A pretty good-sized one.”
“I know this is an imposition for you, but would you show it to me?”
“Of course.” Steve stood and removed his sport coat. He then rolled up his sleeve and held his arm out for the announcer to see. The camera man got a close-up shot of it.
When the announcer seemed to be turning green, Steve rolled down his sleep and added, “I’m a lucky man to have the attention I did from my friends.”
“Yes you were.” He turned back to Amanda. “It’s hard to believe you lived in such rugged conditions for twenty-seven months.”
“It wasn’t easy, but we became a family. W
e all depended on each other.”
“And in your book, you said you planned a reunion. When will this take place?”
“Since we were rescued in May, we decided that would be a good time.”
“Will you go to some island?”
“If we do it will be somewhere like Martha’s Vineyard or Galveston or Catalina. We won’t head for the tropics.”
They all laughed.
Again they stopped for a commercial.
“Grandpa, you were very brave. I’m glad that old snake didn’t do you in.”
“Thank you, Kenny. I’m glad too.”
“Nana, I’d like to meet the other people who were with you. Do you think we ever will?” Kristy looked up at her.
“You might, honey. Steve and I have discussed the possibility of having the reunion at our place.”
“That would be super,” Candy said. “Could we come if you do, Nana?”
“Of course you can.”
The program started again and everyone looked back at the television.
“Do you think your stay on the island would’ve been easier if the place had been inhabited?” The announced asked as the first question after their return.
“Maybe,” Amanda said without a beat. “If people had been there it might have gotten rid of some of the snakes and other undesirable animals in the jungle.”
“Or if they were up-to-date, they might have had hammers and saws or even matches,” Steve added. “But we learned to live without these things.”
The announcer chuckled. “So, do you think you’ll ever seek out this island again?”
“Heavens no,” Amanda said. “Oh, don’t get me wrong. We all became good friends and I met my husband there, but to go back? No way! Most of my memories of the island are bad. We want to see our friends again, but in a more habitable location.”
Steve added, “I guess if we could have foreseen all the hardship we endured, we’d have given up long before the rescue plane came.”
“The day that plane came over was the happiest day of our lives. We realized they’d spotted us and would send help, you can’t imagine the celebrating we did.”
“You said most of the memories are bad, Amanda. Is that why the survivors were reluctant to talk with reporters?”
“Probably. It’s hard to think back to the moment you woke up and one of those big snakes was coiled on the sand at your face or one of the giant spiders would crawl up your leg or the way those huge birds would fly down and try to nest in your hair.” She tried to smile at him. “And the weather was atrocious. It would rain for days at a time and then the sun would beat down until you could barely breathe.”
“And you wouldn’t believe the darkness,” Steve said. “When the sun went down the darkness became thick. Only the few times when there was a full moon, were you able to see even shadows at night. And no matter how hot the day was, it would get cold at night.”
“It certainly wasn’t a tropical paradise was it?”
“Not at all,” Steve reached over and took Amanda’s hand. “While she was writing this book, nobody will ever know the number of nights Amanda paced the floor because she was reliving one of the bad episodes she wanted to put in her manuscript.”
She forced a smile. “But things worked out. We were rescued and the group trusted me to tell our story. That’s why I concentrated on our friendships and my love for Steve. I put in enough of the horrible things we suffered so the public would know it wasn’t easy for any of us.”
“You certainly did that. As I said, I read this book from cover to cover.” He picked it up again and held it for the camera. “Ladies and gentlemen, if you haven’t read The Island, you owe it to yourself to do so. And if you ever had the idea to find a deserted island paradise it’ll make you think twice.”
He laid the book down. “Amanda, before we have to go, given the bad memories it dredged up, why did you write the book?”
“I did it for several reasons. One was so our families would know what happened to us during the twenty-seven months we were gone. Another was because of the curiosity of the public. They wanted to know. And I guess the third reason was because the group asked me to document our experiences there.” She smiled. “Of course I couldn’t have done it without their help. Everyone contributed to the book. That’s why I dedicated it to them and their families.”
The announcer turned to the dedication page of the book. He began to read aloud. “I dedicate these pages to the people who lived these times with me. Joey Fox of Chicago, a man who was with us only one day, but who taught us how to face not only death, but life no matter how rough it became; Ray Jones of Cincinnati, military expert and leader extraordinaire; Dr. Gene Warren of Baltimore, who we all depended on when we weren’t up to par; Wilma Fox of Chicago, wonder nurse who not only helped with our medical needs but was always there as a friend; Joanna Godfrey, born on a military base in Germany, who taught us the right things to eat and how to climb palm trees; Tony Vaughn of Fort Worth, Texas, the expert carpenter who saved us from having to eat raw fish and taught us to build huts using vines, small tree trunks and palm branches; Debbie Westfield of Tulsa, Oklahoma the perfect mother who let us all share her child; Phyllis and Curtis Michaels of Seattle, Washington, who were a stabilizing force for us all and who soon learned it only took a few lessons to climb coconut trees; And of course Steve Brookshire of Wendover, Georgia, who not only was our expert fisherman but cleaned all those strange things we had to eat. And most important of all he’s the man who stood with me when I wrote these words, was there to pick me up when I wanted to chuck the whole thing and will be my friend, my lover and my husband for the rest of my life.”
He smiled at her and continued to read: “I also want to dedicate these pages to the families of the survivors. They were waiting with open arms when their lost family members were miraculously returned to them. And last I’d like to thank my own family. My daughter and her husband and their two children. My new step-son and his wife and their three children. Steve and I love all of you.”
He laid the book down and turned to them. “Amanda and Steve, thank you so much for the interview. It sure is a fascinating story. I pray God gives you a long happy life together. You deserve it after what you’ve been through.”
The three of them stood and Steve shook his hand. Amanda hugged him and he turned again to the camera. “We’ll be back next week folks. I hope you’ll join us then.” He turned back to Amanda and Steve and the program faded to black.
The room was silent until Kenny turned to his grandmother. There were tears in his eyes. “You and Grandpa did great, Nana,” he said softly.
The others congratulated and hugged them. “We’re so proud of you”...”You did a great job”... “You looked so pretty”... “I bet you’ll sell a ton more books.”
But the remark that made everyone laugh out loud came from Johnny. “Are you and Grandpa going to talk any more, Pamanda?”
“No, honey. We’re through talking.”
“Good, cause I can’t listen any more. I need Kenny to play trucks with me.”
Chapter 34
Twelve Months Earlier
It was getting late in the afternoon, but the group of eight to twelve-year-old native girls sitting around Amanda weren’t ready to go back to their village. They’d worked hard all week learning to weave the baskets the way Amada did them. She showed them how to twist and plait the grass and reeds and vines. Though they had to learn everything by gesture, they were happy with the baskets they’d produced. Today they would be able to take them back home with them.
As each of the eight girls finished, she brought her basket for Amanda to inspect. They had all done well. With her nods and her smiles, she communicated this fact to her pupils.
When a woman came out of the jungle and called to the girls, they reluctantly stood and headed in her direction. The two guards who were always with them, followed.
Wilma came up to Amanda when the girls were gone. “Wel
l, Mother Goose, how did it go today?”
Amanda began to gather the basket-making supplies strewn on the ground around her. “It went fine. They all finished their baskets and took them home.”
“Good.” Wilma began to help pick up the unused materials. “I don’t know if anyone’s told you lately, but we appreciate the way you handle these people. I don’t know if anyone else could’ve done it.”
“You’d have found a way.”
“I don’t know. I’m afraid some of us would have ended up like Mr. X.”
“Oh, Wilma don’t say that. It was horrible.”
“I know, but since he’s no longer with us, things have gone smoothly with the natives.” She grinned at Amanda. “And it’s mostly because of you.”
“Queenie’s become a dear friend. You don’t have to talk a lot to be friends with someone.” Amanda straightened up and put the supplies on a pile near a palm trunk. “That’s it. I don’t know if they’ll send any more kids to learn the art or not. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”
Wilma put her pile on top of the one Amanda laid down. “Now that you’ve completed your lessons for the day, they sent me to get you for supper. It’s all ready.”
“Good. I’m hungry.”
“Then you better hurry along. Your man gathered a big basket of scallops. He said you liked them and he wanted to do something special for you.”
Amanda grinned. “He’s such a sweetheart.”
“You really love him, don’t you?”
“That I do. I feel like the luckiest woman on earth because he actually loves me back.”
* * * *
After eating her fill of scallops, Amanda leaned in Steve’s arm and listened as her friends told stories about their families back home. She couldn’t help wondering what Diane and Noah were doing. And the twins. She wondered how much they’d grown.
“My son Dave’s probably working in the fields. Maybe riding the fences to make sure none are down where the cows could escape,” Steve was saying. “His wife Claudia may be cooking a good Southern meal for the family and my beautiful granddaughters are doing their homework. Johnny, the baby wasn’t quite three when I left. We were already buddies though.” He sighed. “I wonder if he remembers me?”
The Island Page 28
