Coming Home

by Kimberly McKay

  Sleeping in a hard bunk for over four weeks had taken its toll, and without the pressure of a camera crew alongside, taping their every move, she needed to rest.

  Sleep came easy. It always did. And as she listened to the chatter around her, it almost lulled her into slumber.

  Within seconds of her eyelids pulling the cloak of darkness over her, the girl’s incessant chatter was replaced by the pulsing sounds of waves, as mentally, she was running down the beach.

  As Anne struggled to define her surroundings, she realized she was holding someone’s hand, dragging them behind her as they ran.

  “Hurry,” she hissed, and pounded the sand with her bare feet. Her long legs, which were almost an exact match for the pair behind her, strained to pull ahead, but she couldn’t leave anyone behind.

  In her mind’s eye, she searched for the face of the anonymous runner. Grace’s profile slowly came into focus. She watched as her little sister looked over her shoulder, running in fear.

  Anne could feel her heart plunge, as her anxiety level was kicked up with the darkness that chased them.

  “He’s going to catch us,” Grace cried.

  “We’re going to be okay,” she yelled. “Just hurry.”

  Anne again looked over her shoulder, and in the darkness could see a flashing light as it bobbed behind them in chase. He wasn’t far off.

  Anne sat up from her dream with a startled cry. Her heart, pounding, felt like it was about to beat from her chest.

  Her eyes darted up to the girls, who were staring at her with curious wonder. She let out a slow breathe and straightened in her chair.

  “You okay, LaSal?” Tina snorted, and then made a face at Brianna. “At least she wasn’t drooling.”

  Brianna grinned and waved her new video camera in the air. “If so I’d have caught it.”

  “Funny.” Anne smirked.

  The show had given them all hand-held video cameras to tape this portion of their trip for any edits they needed for later.

  She rose up, still foggy from her dream. “I’m going to go get something to drink. Anyone want anything?”

  The girls shook their heads but said nothing, so she turned to walk down the terminal.

  Although she knew her dream wasn’t real … it felt real, as if she’d been there in person. And it made her wonder if her sister was in some sort of trouble.

  She dug her cell phone from her pocket and dialed Grace’s number, to no avail. Again, there was no answer. She almost hated dialing that number, knowing the rejection she’d feel when her sister wouldn’t pick up. But it in this case, it was worth the hurt.

  She left a quick message, and then dialed Lilah’s home line only to receive the same result … voicemail. This time she left no message, and hung up thoroughly disgusted that she was held captive by her dream, without contact with her sister.

  Anne made her way up to the A&W counter, and ordered a root beer float, before dialing Chastity’s number.

  Chastity, quick to pick up, sent some much relief through her system.

  “Hey, Anna Banana. I was just thinking about you.”

  Anne could almost see her friend’s smile when she heard her words. She let out a deep sigh, and started her walk back to her gate with her root beer float in hand.

  “I needed someone to answer. And I needed to hear your voice.” Her gut twisted. Why did she let silly dreams get to her?

  “What’s up? Everything okay on the show?”

  “Yeah. In fact, I’m at the airport. We’re heading to Oahu.” She smiled to herself.

  “Shut up! How many girls is it down to?”

  “You know I can’t tell you anything. I’m bound by a confidentiality clause.”

  “Okay? What if I guess? By the way, I’ve been watching the show and you’re fabulous. I knew you would be, and I bet Guy is riveted to the screen too. So fifteen?”

  Anne laughed at the thought of Guy tuning in every week. “Fifteen what?”

  “Fifteen girls left?”

  Anne paused and played along. It couldn’t hurt.

  “Um, no. Not that many.”

  “No? Ten?”

  “Yes.” Anne laughed when she heard Chastity scream.

  “Timothy!” Chastity yelled across her living room. “She’s in the top ten!”

  Anne heard Timothy yell from the background, “Great! Tell her I’m happy for her.”

  “Did you hear that?” Chastity laughed.

  “Yes, I did. And, I am too.”

  “You are?” Chastity’s heart melted at the thought of her friend falling in love.

  Anne paused before reaching the waiting area, where the girls sat. She stood far enough away to keep from being overheard.

  “Yes. He’s … real. And what you see is what you get.”

  “I cannot wait to meet him.” Chastity squealed.

  “Really? Get real. He may not pick me at the end of all this?”

  “Ahhh! You’re already visualizing the end?”

  “Shut up.” Anne laughed, and then dropped her voice to a more serious tone. “Thanks, I needed this. I needed for you to make me laugh.”

  Chastity remembered her friend’s tone when she first picked up. It didn’t display Anne’s normal chipper sound.

  “Oh, that’s right. I got you off topic. Everything okay – other than the show?”

  Chastity’s mind flew to Anne’s family issues. Not too long before the wedding, Anne divulged the true identity of her family.

  “Yeah. I just keep having this reoccurring dream about my sister, and it’s a pretty scary one. And I’ve tried reaching her, and you know how that turns out each time.”

  Anne grunted, and rubbed one of her temples.

  “Ugh, never mind. She’s a big girl, and I’m sure she’s fine.”

  “I’m so sorry. At least you have the reassurance that if anything had happened, you’d hear about it on the news. As big as the Aundine’s are, you’d hear about it.”

  “True, the curse I bear has its perks … I guess.” Anne relaxed some. “Thanks. I needed that.”

  Anne saw a few curious peeks from the other contestants. “Hey, I got to run, but I’ll call you when I arrive.”

  “Hey, before you hang up … I’ve got a favor to ask,” Chastity said.

  “Sure … anything.”

  “Grab me a bag of sand while you’re there, please.”

  “What?” She snorted, stopping short of laughter.

  “Seriously. Will you get a zip lock baggie of sand for me? As a souvenir … a reminder of my honeymoon on Oahu.”

  Anne chuckled. “Chastity – only you would want a baggie of sand. Really?”

  “Yes, and trust me. Once you’ve been there and then fly back, landlocked, you’ll understand.”

  “Okay, I promise. Love you, Chaz.”

  “Love you too. Don’t worry too much about your sis.” Chastity’s tone softened. “It will work out. She’ll come around.”

  Anne silently prayed that what she was saying would come true.

  “Okay, thanks. Bye.”

  She slipped her phone back in her pocket, walked back toward the girls, and slid down into her seat next to Kamryn.

  “Everything okay?” Kamryn said, with a frown.

  “Fine.” Anne liked Kamryn, but wasn’t ready to divulge anything.

  Kamryn watched Anne with curiosity, as the other girls had, but unlike the others, she knew something was upsetting her friend. She may have not known her for that long, but she was sensitive enough to tune in to most people. And what she saw in Anne’s posture and pacing, as she was on her phone, signaled stress.

  “Okay,” she said unsure, but let Anne off the hook. If she didn’t want to tell her, she wouldn’t force it.

  Anne sent Kamryn a sunny smile in return.

  “I’m fine. I just miss my family. That’s all.”

  Kamryn nodded and then put her nose back into her book.

  “What ya reading?” Anne leaned in, happy to tal
k about anything other than her issues.

  “Just something I picked up at the airport shop.” She rolled the book over in her hands. “It is called Second Chances - by a new author. In reading the back, it sounded like it would be interesting. And, I love a good romance.” Kamryn gleamed in anticipation and handed the book to Anne.

  Anne glanced down to the cover. Second Chances … the title sounded fitting for her journey too.

  Before she could read the back for herself, her thoughts were interrupted by what seemed like a half laugh – half cough from Brianna, who was sitting across the row from them.

  “I can’t believe how many followers I gotten from being on this show,” Brianna said, in shock.

  Anne looked to Brianna, whose nose had been buried in her tablet for the last thirty minutes.

  “How many?”

  “23,576! That’s crazy!” Brianna lifted her iPad to show the girls her twitter stats.

  “What? How is that possible? We’ve only been on air for a few weeks shows,” Tina exclaimed, and temporarily grabbed Brianna’s Ipad. “How many do I have?”

  She handed it back and began scrounging her apps to find twitter.

  “How do you guys know?” Anne asked.

  “Because it’s twitter,” Staci said, shocked that anyone would ever have to ask. She looked at Anne, like she was speaking a foreign language.

  Brooklyn blinked, in awe. “Don’t you know how it works? Your followers are listed on your profile.”

  “I wouldn’t have any idea,” Anne said, oblivious to the importance of twitter followers.

  “What do you mean – you’ve never looked?” Denise’s mouth fell open.

  “No, I let the show take care of all that for me. I’m not big into social media. Besides, who has the time?” Anne wasn’t sure why it was such a big deal that she didn’t spend her time in some other world, when she could participate in the real one.

  Treana laughed at Anne’s expense. “You’re one in a million LaSal. Hold on. Let me pull you up … holy crap – you’ve got 350,000 followers!”

  “What? How is that possible?” She dropped Kamryn’s book into her lap and leaned across the aisle, pulling Treana’s tablet toward her.

  It was then that she saw her profile for the first time. She found it odd that her face was plastered on an official ‘Broadcast Affair’ banner and displayed on twitter.

  “Wow … 350,000,” she whispered in shock.

  This was a whole new world that she’d never stopped to take stock in, let alone gave validity to.

  “Have you looked at your twitter feed to see what they’ve been tweeting for you?” Chantal asked.

  Anne shook her head. “Nope.”

  Tina rolled her eyes, and peered back down to her own phone mumbling, “You’re weird.”

  Anne shrugged her shoulders. “Yeah, well … privacy was really important to my grandmother when I was younger.” Anne put on her high society voice, and lifted her chin saying, “Twitter would have been highly frowned upon.”

  The few that were sitting near Anne laughed. Chantal and Tina were the only ones who ignored Anne’s humor and kept their gaze on their phones, oblivious to the interaction around them.

  Anne looked once more at her profile, and scrolled through her feed.

  They’ve done a good job, she thought.

  “350,000,” she whispered to Kamryn, who raised an eyebrow in return. “Who knew?”

  She handed the phone back to Treana, as she heard their flight being called. The girls stood in excitement.

  “Here we go.” Anne breathed, and grabbed her bag to follow the girls, who were all riding in first class. This was the beginning of their adventure.

  The flight, although a long one, was full of excitement as the girls pondered what was next on the agenda. Some chatted at the beginning of the flight. Some, like Kamryn, read. But after the first three hours, Anne noticed the noise dramatically dropped to a lull, as most on board slept, and all that could be heard was the engine, as it hummed it’s way over the Pacific.

  Anne fought sleep for as long as possible. After her nightmare, about her sister, the last thing she wanted was a repeat, however the soft lull of the engine and the dimmed light eventually took over, causing her body to override her mind’s sensibilities.

  After departing the plane, the girls were pleasantly surprised by a handsome group of Hawaiian men, who worked for the airline. They were dressed in aloha shirts and bearing leis.

  Anne liked how their dark complexion offset against their white teeth, as they smiled at each girl.

  As they entered the terminal, one by one, they each received leis, accompanied by a kiss on the cheek.

  “Aloha, welcome to the island of Hawai’i.” One of the men said to Anne, as he placed a fragrant lei on her shoulders.

  She smiled in return, and immediately tucked her head to smell the tiny delicate flower, which adorned her shoulders. It had the most sweet and succulent scent.

  “This is wonderful. What kind of flower is this?” She asked in amazement that one tiny flower could pack such a punch of fragrance.

  “It’s a tuberose.” The young man responded. “Welcome and thank you for flying with us.”

  “Does everyone get such a greeting?” Tina openly flirted with the young Hawaiian, who’d given her a lei.

  “Only the beautiful ladies from Broadcast Affair.” He winked at Tina, who blushed.

  “Can I take you home with me when I go?” She blinked at him through her thick lashes.

  Anne and Chantal whipped their head around.

  “What did she just say?” Chantal asked. “Uh, isn’t she supposed to be focused on Chad?”

  “You’d think?” Anne grimaced.

  Kamryn sailed by, with her hand held video camera high in the air.

  “Well, it’s a good thing I had this rolling. The production crew might find the footage interesting.” She laughed and zoomed in on Tina, who was still chatting it up with the handsome local.

  “Come on, Tina. We’ve got to go!” Brianna dragged her rolling carryon toward the signs for baggage claim.

  Anne watched as the handsome local slipped a piece of paper in Tina’s pocket, before the group moved on. Her jaw dropped, as she watched her approach with a smug look of satisfaction.

  “Oh, a little harmless flirting doesn’t hurt,” Tina rolled her eyes at her, before continuing, “So I got his number…so what? If this thing with Chad doesn’t pan out, I’m going to need a handsome distraction.” She scowled and walked toward the other girls, who’d already moved on.

  Anne was flabbergasted, but then reminded herself that it just proved that not everyone here was involved for the right reasons. She only hoped Chad would see through girls, like her.

  As the women walked out the terminal toward baggage claim, they marveled at the open aired breezeway, which spanned for what seemed to be a mile.

  Anne tried to cement this moment, which was her first impression of Oahu. The airport tower set to one side of the breezeway, as the tarmac, which was lined with planes, aligned on the other. She briefly closed her eyes – only to open them allowing this moment to leave a permanent impression in her mind.

  She took note of the warm breeze, as it flowed across her skin. Even with the airport structures sitting in place, she could see the beauty that surrounded them as the open sky and palm trees enveloped them.

  This first impression is what did it for Anne. She felt like she’d come home, for the first time in ages. This was going to be a defining place for her. She felt it in her bones, and knew the island of Oahu was about to weave it’s magic on her.

  Chapter 24

  Hawaiian music blared from the sound system that hung in the eaves of the lanai. Although most of the girls hadn’t been exposed to this music before, they found it very relaxing as they let their bodies bake in the tropical rays near their new pool.

  “Now this is paradise.” Anne smiled, slipping on her sunglasses to take in the vie
w. From her lounger, she could see the ocean, as it set outside the property, past the pool.

  Anne turned to see the other nine women, as they stretched out in their chairs along the pool’s edge. This was as quiet as she’d heard them so far. She giggled, thankful for the reprieve.

  The only thing that was standard was the small crew, which still surrounded them. A cameraman stood at the end of the chairs, panning their bodies, which gleamed under the sun.

  “Come on girls!” Janie yelled down the line. “Why don’t you get in the pool? Make this look fun!”

  Denise, who was closest to the crew, lifted her head and said, “Um, this is the most fun I’ve had since we left Texas. Do you see this place?” She sat up and gleamed at Janie. “There’s no dust or dirt. There’s only this pool, which has a view of the ocean. Hello!”

  Janie laughed. “Okay. Guys. Let’s set a stationary camera up and give them some time.”

  “Thank you!” Brandi lifted her hand and waved to the crew.

  “Now, this is living it up.” Treana turned her head toward Kamryn and Anne.

  Treana looked like she belonged in the lap of luxury. Her hair and nails were always done to perfection, and her smooth alabaster skin almost looked polished.

  “You’re going to get a burn if you’re not careful.” Kamryn lifted her eyebrows at Treana.

  “I’ll be fine.” She blew her off. “Besides it’s our first day here. I want to relax.”

  “She’ll be sorry.” Kamryn whispered to Anne, whose eyes twinkled in return.

  “You know what I’m enjoying?” Anne asked. “That full bar back there, stocked with any tropical food or drink we could ever want. I’m almost in culture shock after life at camp.”

  Kamryn’s face lit up. “I know! We go from roughing it and fending for ourselves to having a staff at our beck and call. This top then thing is nice.”

  “What would be nicer is if Chad was here with us,” Treana grumbled, and turned on to her belly.

  “Agreed!” Staci blindly lifted her arm to the young local, who was working the bar behind them. “Oh Keko! Another please!”

  As she waited for him to bring her a refill, Chad stepped in with a full glass.