Stunned, Charles walked deeper into the room. Royce’s eyes were open, staring into his father’s, but they held no sign of life.
Charles turned to his employer. His voice quavered with emotion. “Mr. Jamison?” The question needed no explanation; neither did Samuel’s next words.
“He wanted to get back to his boat before he lost daylight. See that he does.”
* * *
Nedra and Sin arrived in Berkeley just as their children returned from attending church with their aunt and uncle. They were all eager to go home. The farewells extended to the Belle family gave no hint to any of the children that this might be their last goodbye with Trevor in their midst.
As they headed back to Carmel, Gillian, still energized by her unexpected visit with the twins, was her usual bubbly self, but Trevor and Colin were both reserved, as if sensing that something was amiss. Nedra wondered at their intuitiveness. She and Sin had agreed to tell them later that evening about the deadline imposed by the court.
The ride home was quiet. The television, radio, DVD and CD players were all off. Gillian had fallen asleep, and the boys each stared out of their windows. Nedra welcomed the silence.
As they passed through San Jose, she thought about Sharon. They had spoken on the telephone earlier, and her friend had announced that she had reconciled with Winston. She sounded so happy that Nedra hesitated to tell her about the Monday deadline. When she did, just like Carla, she insisted that she would be at the house to support the family. They were always there for one another and always would be.
Nedra didn’t want to think about tomorrow, but it was looming like a storm cloud over the horizon. Her mother was back from her extended vacation, and she called her to inform her of the latest developments. Marva insisted that she would be catching a red-eye flight to California that evening. They said a prayer together, and before disconnecting, Marva left her with one powerful message: “Victory will be yours.”
Heartened by her mother’s words, Nedra chose to hold on to the belief that a miracle would occur before tomorrow. Some amazing things had already occurred. The stakes were too high to have any doubts that her faith would prevail.
She glanced at her husband’s stern profile as he drove his family home. After leaving Samuel Jamison’s house, the two of them had once again discussed leaving the country. It wasn’t too late. With Trevor’s life at stake, fleeing seemed less drastic. Yet, she still asked Sin to hold on to her faith. He was willing, but she knew that he did so reluctantly. His sadness was palpable, and it invaded the car’s interior.
Nedra placed a gentle hand on her husband’s cheek and caressed it. His jaw relaxed. Without taking his eyes off the road, he placed a kiss in her palm. The heady sensations that she felt whenever he touched her traveled through her system. She wondered if his effect on her would ever diminish. For a moment they were both lost in each other. It was Nedra who shook loose from the spell first as she decided to change the melancholy mood in the car.
She clapped her hands loudly to get everyone’s attention. “All right gang, let’s play The Best Time Ever.”
Prompted by the sound of her mother’s voice, Gillian awakened gradually. “Goody!” she squealed behind a wide yawn. The Best Time Ever was a game made up by her family and was her favorite game. “I’m first! I’m first!” As the youngest in the family, this right was always granted to her.
She wiggled in her seat excitedly. “The best time ever was when we were at Sweet’s house in Hawaii and him and me discovered a secret place that nobody knows about, and we buried secret treasure there and nobody knows where it is but us.” She exhaled dramatically, having relayed the entire scenario in one breath.
“We’ve heard that story a million times,” Trevor challenged. He too had perked up at his mother’s suggestion. “The rule says that the winner has to tell a new story.”
“Who says?” Gillian objected. “I didn’t tell this story a million times. Did I, Mommy?”
Nedra nodded. The only thing Gillian hadn’t revealed in her many recitations was the location of the secret place. “I’m afraid so.”
Gillian pouted. “Well, I never tell it the same way.”
“That’s all right, baby,” Sin cooed to his youngest, his spirits also lifted as a result of his wife’s efforts. “That’s Daddy’s favorite story, and you get my vote any day.”
He smiled as his little girl’s grin lit up the car’s interior.
“All right, Mr. Objective,” teased Nedra. “Since we know whose side you’re on you can go next, and your best time ever had better be a good one.”
Sin sighed. There had been so many best times since he met Nedra. It was as if his life had begun with her.
“My best time ever is now, at this moment, in this car with all of you.”
“I like that one, Daddy!” Gillian beamed.
“I do, too.” Nedra gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“Me three,” Trevor agreed heartily. “How about you, Colin?” He turned to his brother, eager to include him in the family game.
Colin had been quiet and withdrawn since they were discovered at the bus station. He had assured his brother that he wasn’t angry with him, but Trevor needed reassurance. Colin shrugged nonchalantly and continued staring out the window. An awkward silence filled the car.
“Well, I’ve got one.” Nedra smiled mysteriously at her small audience. “The best time ever was when the three of you came into our lives.”
“Good one, Mama.” Trevor gave her a thumbs up.
“No fair!” Gillian tossed the barrettes on her braids from side to side. “That’s an old one, too! You can’t vote on that.”
“She’s right.” Sin cocked an eyebrow. “And as sentimental as that one is, my dear, it’s still old.”
He stretched the last word out dramatically, eliciting giggles from Trevor and Gillian. The mood in the car had lifted considerably, much to everyone’s delight.
“I’ve got a new one,” Trevor piped in excitedly. “That time that we went on a cruise and…”
His brother’s voice became background as Colin continued to stare out of the window. He still felt badly about what he had been thinking about his dad. He had witnessed his mother’s touch and his father’s response. There was something special between them. He was angry with himself for having doubted it.
He had memorized the telephone number on the note that he had read resting on the seat of his dad’s car, and called it yesterday, certain that it belonged to Miss Linwood. He hadn’t planned on confronting her. He just wanted to verify his suspicion. It came as a surprise when another woman answered the telephone.
All he had said was “I’m calling about Sinclair Reasoner” and the woman had started whispering frantically. She was nearly hysterical as she indicated that there had been some meeting between her and his father on Friday that she didn’t like. From what he could make out of the one-sided conversation, the woman had talked with both his father and his mother, and Miss Linwood had been responsible for their meeting. The lady was upset about whatever had happened, and said that she was sorry, but she couldn’t help the family keep their little boy, then she hung up. The whole thing had been somewhat confusing, but one thing was clear. Miss Linwood wasn’t having an affair with his dad. Somehow, she was helping both his parents. He had been so wrong.
Even now, hours later, Colin still felt small. Tears welled in his eyes as he thought about how he had accused his father unjustly. He loved the man with his whole heart, and yet he had been willing to believe that he would betray his entire family. Instead, his parents were doing everything they could to keep their promise to fight for his brother. Now, despite the looming uncertainty surrounding Trevor, he didn’t feel as frightened as he had a few days ago.
“And I know why,” Colin muttered, unaware that he had done so aloud.
“What did you say, Colin?” Sin asked, peering at his eldest through the rear view mirror.
“What?” Colin asked, sh
aken from his musings.
“Did you decide on a Best Time Ever?” Nedra asked, bestowing a warm smile on her young man-child. She had noticed that over the past few days his voice had deepened further. Her boy was rapidly becoming a man.
“No. I mean yes. I’ve got one.” Colin scooted up in his seat as he held his family’s attention. “The best time ever was when we had just moved into our house. I woke up one night and I heard music downstairs in the family room. I sat at the top of the stairs where you and Dad couldn’t see me, but I could see the two of you. I watched the two of you dance to that song he likes, ‘Love Ballad.’”
Colin paused and looked at his parents, while Trevor smiled at the memory that he also shared.
“It was that night that I understood what love is, and it was that night that I began to feel safe.”
Speechless, Nedra’s eyes misted. Sin swallowed the lump in his throat.
“You win, Colin,” Gillian declared.
This time there were no objections.
* * *
Nedra placed Gillian in her bed and began to undress the sleeping child. It was late evening, and the end of a very long day. On the way home, Sin had suggested that they make this day the best one ever. He and Nedra decided to put their concerns about tomorrow aside. They started their adventure at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, where the family rode every ride. They stopped at Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey and dined on oysters in a seaside restaurant, then rented a bicycle surrey and pedaled up and down the wharf until they were breathless with laughter. They ended the day with a shopping spree in Carmel, strolling Ocean Boulevard to its end, where they joined a throng of others. There, they watched a fantastic sunset disappear beyond the horizon. It turned out to be quite a day.
Quietly, Sin entered Gillian’s room as Nedra was tucking her in. He kissed the child’s soft cheek, then squeezed his wife’s shoulders and whispered.
“Are you ready? The boys are downstairs waiting.”
It was time to tell them about tomorrow. Gillian would be told in the morning. They exited the little girl’s room.
“I’ve got about a million calls on my cell phone, Donovan’s among them.” Sin said as he and Nedra walked down the hallway with their arms wrapped around each other. Both needed the other’s strength and support. “Maybe I better return his call before we tell them.” He wanted to delay the inevitable. “There might be a development that we need to know about.” His stomach was in knots. Maybe their gamble with Samuel Jamison had paid off.
“I’ve got calls, too,” Nedra said, recognizing his need for avoidance. “Carla and Sharon have practically blown up my caller I.D. So has Donovan.” She was hopeful, too. She gave his waist a reassuring squeeze.
Sin stopped and drew her into his arms. The ache in his heart was excruciating.
“How can you be so calm?”
Nedra bestowed him with an ethereal smile. She opened her mouth to reply just as Colin called to them from the bottom of the stairs.
“Dad! Mama! Come here! Quick!”
There was urgency in his voice, so much so that the two of them rushed down the stairs hurriedly. The boy was no longer in the foyer. They trailed him to the family room where he and Trevor were sitting, mesmerized by the television.
“What is it?” Nedra was expecting the worse. She and Sin were both relieved to find both boys intact and no blood flowing.
“What’s wrong?” Sin’s eyes swept each child for any sign of injury they might have missed.
“Listen!” Colin demanded. His eyes were bright with excitement as they stayed glued to the plasma TV screen.
A reporter was standing on the dock of a marina addressing the viewing audience.
An array of expensive boats served as a backdrop
“Initial reports indicate that the craft left the dock this afternoon. Fellow sailors found the abandoned sailboat a few hours later drifting with no one aboard. Search parties have been out most of the day, but with no success. With an ocean this vast, one man would be difficult to spot in the rough Bay waters, but authorities vow that they will continue looking. This is Michael….”
“What is this about?” Nedra asked the boys as the reporter signed off, and the news report returned to the anchors. The boys shushed her.
“Just listen,” said Colin.
One of the anchors addressed the reporter. “So, Mike, do the authorities have any idea what might have happened to Royce Jamison?”
Nedra and Sin both gasped. They looked at each other in disbelief before returning their attention to the screen.
“No one’s talking, Tom. The boat had been brought to shore and authorities are going over it carefully. I did talk with some of Jamison’s neighbors docked here at the marina. One man did report seeing a man on deck steering the boat out to sea around midday. He only saw him from the back, but he thinks that it was Jamison. The witness said that he appeared to be alone, but until some questions can be answered foul play can’t be ruled out.”
“Thank you, Mike.” The anchor turned his attention back to the viewing audience. “We repeat. Royce Jamison, the son of real estate mogul, Samuel Jamison, has disappeared after going sailing on the San Francisco Bay. His sailboat was discovered intact, but abandoned about twenty miles from shore. Authorities have released this picture of forty-four-year-old, Jamison. If anyone has any information on his whereabouts…”
A picture of a smiling, well-dressed Royce Jamison flashed on the screen as the anchor gave the telephone number. Dressed in a suit and tie, and posing for the camera, Jamison looked like a clean-cut Wall Street executive. The photo was a far cry from the stern-faced, unsmiling figure who had become so familiar to Nedra and Sin.
“So that’s him.”
Trevor’s voice broke through the shock of both his parents. It had not occurred to either of them that their son had never seen the face of the man whose genes he carried.
“Yes, sweetheart, that’s him,” Nedra answered.
For the next few hours, the ringing of the telephone interrupted the Reasoner household. Everyone wanted to make certain that they had heard the news.
Carla pulled no punches. She stated flatly that she hoped that Royce Jamison was dead. Sharon was less harsh, but not much. She hoped that he had been kidnapped and would never be released. Donovan relayed to them that his investigator had hurried to the marina and snooped around. Rumor had it that liquor bottles littered the boat’s cabin. The unofficial word was that Royce Jamison had probably gone on deck drunk, lost his footing, fell overboard and drowned. Whatever the scenario, one thing was clear.
“It’s over,” Nedra whispered aloud as she stood in their bedroom later that evening ready to retire. She could hardly believe her own words.
Sin slipped up behind her and encircled her waist. He placed a kiss in her hair.
“It looks like it might be.” The relief that he was afraid to feel earlier began to emerge.
Nedra leaned back against him, able to relax completely for the first time in weeks. “And it ended so abruptly, without fanfare. I don’t know what I’m supposed to feel. Sad? Happy? Guilty? The price of the finale means that a man’s life may have ended, and poor Samuel Jamison, the old man may have lost everyone now.”
Sin had no conflict or sympathy. Like Carla, he hoped that Royce was dead and he felt no guilt about it. As for his father, in his weakened condition, it could mean his early demise as well. So he chose to remain silent about both men.
Nedra patted his hand affectionately, recognizing the meaning behind his silence. She knew that he had no problem with the end of their saga, but she was grateful that he did not express it verbally.
“I may not be certain about how I should feel about this,” she said, removing herself from his embrace. “But I do know what I’ve got to do.”
Sliding to her knees, she knelt beside the bed as she did every night before retiring. Closing her eyes, she bowed her head.
As she knelt giving thanks, there was the
slight sound of a rustle, and then the warmth of a presence kneeling beside her. A sob caught in her throat. Her heart nearly burst with joy. With eyes still closed, she groped for his hand and wrapped it firmly around her own. This night she had a multitude of reasons to give thanks for her many blessings, and for the first time in their married life ,with her husband kneeling down beside her, she would not be doing so alone.
It was twelve o’clock midnight, Monday morning—a day that neither of them would forget. This was the best time ever.
EPILOGUE
It was a week after Royce Jamison disappeared that Nedra and Sin received a telephone call from Samuel Jamison’s attorney. He informed them that the old man was dying and that his last request had been to see Trevor. They let their son make the decision as to whether he would like to honor that request. He agreed.
A lot had happened in such a short time. Trevor’s favorite teacher, Miss Linwood, had handed in her resignation, effective immediately. The boy had been saddened by her sudden departure; but, he had learned early in his young life how quickly things could change, and he was adjusting.
As Nedra and Sin walked down the carpeted hallway of the large mansion with Trevor between them, it seemed more ominous than it had before. The house felt more like a museum than a home. Upstairs, portraits of generations of Jamison patriarchs peered down at them from gilded frames hanging on the walls.
“I don’t like this place,” Trevor whispered.
Nedra agreed. “I don’t either.”
They followed the butler, Charles, to a set of double doors that he opened for them to enter. They did so, and he closed the doors behind them.
The room they stood in was as large as the rest of the house. Sunlight streamed into it through floor to ceiling windows draped in richly textured fabric. Dominating the room was a large, cherry wood, four-poster bed. Hospital equipment stood beside the bed, but it was no longer in use. In the center of the bed lay the wasted frame of an elderly man with skin so pale that he nearly disappeared against the snow-white linen covering him. The movements of a uniformed nurse leaving the room caught their attention as she closed a pair of French doors behind her. The three of them returned their attention to the man in the bed—Samuel Jamison.
Sinful Intentions Page 33
