by Kim Hornsby
Tina looked out the window and wondered which direction they were headed. Not north. That was Managua. The boat captain inside Tina liked to know where she was at all times. Next time she went in a store or gas station she’d buy a map of the area.
Just past a rugged cement school painted royal blue, with bars on the windows instead of glass or screens, Diego slowed down, preparing to turn off the main road. Groups of people stood at the junction, “waiting for a bus,” he said. As they navigated the dirt road’s potholes, she peered over the front seat to see why they were bumping around so much. It looked like parts of this road had been host to a small river’s invasion not too long ago. Diego waved to a family walking along the side of the road with baskets on their heads. Everyone waved back, smiling.
“Are you from around here originally?” Jamey asked.
“I was born in Managua, educated in Los Angeles, and came back here to live when I was forty-five, after I met my wife.”
“Is she from here too?” Tina asked.
“No, she’s American, but she loves Nicaragua, Mombacho in particular.”
They pulled off the road to park in front of a sunshine yellow and lime green cement structure with a sign that said. “Coke/Cerveza”. Multi-colored Christmas lights were strung along the edge of the tin roof. The outside patio was encased by a three-foot high cement wall. Maybe the pigs and chickens she’d seen roaming the sides of the road had a tendency to wander into the bar. The small cement building that was the bar looked to be locked up for the day. How did anyone make a living with such a small place?
Jamey and Diego got out of the car and she waved them on while she unstrapped Kai. Soon, he’d need a feeding. She’d given him spinach and carrots at El Camello, but he’d want to breastfeed again soon. She kind of hoped she wouldn’t have to feed him here, in the stifling heat of the afternoon in the truck. Sweat rolled down her back into her waistband as she carried Kai to the front door of the bar.
Diego returned from a hut next door with a rotund man who had huge white teeth and an uneven haircut. They said their hellos and when the man opened the door and let them in the building, Tina wondered what Jamey or Diego had said to gain access. Jamey couldn’t just tell them he was a fricking psychic and needed to walk around and touch everything. “Hola,” she said to the owner who looked over at Kai and smiled. “Was he on duty last night?” she asked Jamey.
“No, his brother was here, but he’s gone to Managua for the day.” Jamey sat at the first table. “Why would they come here? It’s so far from the island house and out of the way.” He seemed to be speaking to himself.
She answered anyhow. “You said that they didn’t leave anything at the house. Maybe they moved near here.”
“Then why would they sit in a bar on the road, like this? Waiting for something? The key to their new rental maybe.”
“Or they were thirsty. Did the owner try to call the brother?”
“He’s not answering.” Jamey moved to the next table. “How would they even find this place?”
Diego handed them each a Toňa and drank half of his in one gulp. The owner readied the bar for business, turning on the Coke neon sign and setting out napkins. Howler monkeys called from off in the jungle and the fine hairs on Tina’s arms stood on end to hear them.
Wow!
She looked at Kai’s expression. He’d stopped fussing to listen. If she wasn’t mistaken, her baby loved all this adventure. He heard the monkeys, but couldn’t know how special and rare it was for an American to hear monkeys in the wild. Just then, the owner of the bar turned on the overhead fan inside the building and Kai’s attention was captured. Tina walked around the little room with Kai in her arms desperately trying to watch the fan. She tried to pick up on something but couldn’t pull anything in.
Someone’s phone rang to the tune of the Mexican hat dance song.
Diego called over to Jamey. “He’s talking to his brother who says he served the man a beer, and the woman and child cokes.”
Jamey nodded like this verified something. “Ask if he talked to them, if he knows where they are staying. Were they driving a big black truck?”
Tina held her breath, waiting. The answer was given in rapid Spanish, but she had no idea what it was. When the call ended and Jamey approached her to take Kai from her arms, he translated. “He said they were rude, unfriendly, they called the boy Luke, and when they left in a taxi that was waiting for them, they headed towards Granada.”
Why in hell would they end up here, up this obscure little road, so far from town? If they were in a taxi, it looked like they didn’t have the truck anymore. Well, this was something. Not much, but something. Why couldn’t she get a reading from anything here? She walked outside to the patio where the threesome had been for ten minutes and put her hands on the metal table. Breathing deeply, she concentrated on Wyatt. When Kai started crying from Jamey’s arms, she’d had a faint idea that Wyatt was pretending to be Luke Skywalker, fighting Darth Vader. Then her concentration was broken by her baby’s cries.
Jamey walked over, sweeping Kai around like an airplane to still the crying—a distraction that worked. “I’m going to wait here for a few hours, see if they show up again, talk to taxi drivers, ask around. They must’ve been here for a reason. No one would just stumble upon this joint. You and Kai might as well go back to town with Diego.”
It would be dark in two hours. Then what? Another day without Wyatt, or Luke, if that’s what they were calling him now. “I got the sense Wyatt was here, playing Star Wars. That was all.”
Jamey nodded. “Me too. And that Kevin was at loose ends with what to do next.”
Diego thanked the bar’s owner, patting him on the back like a long-lost friend, slipped him some bills, and they all walked out through the wrought iron gate together. Diego turned and spoke to Jamey. “You sticking around here then? I can help you, Jamey.”
“If you could take Tina back to town, it would help a lot. I appreciate you offering to stay with me but…”
Diego interrupted. “Hey Man, when I offer to help, you need to accept it.” He nodded at Jamey. “Tell you what. I live just up the road a few miles. How about I take Tina and the baby to my house.” He turned to speak to Tina. “My wife Annie is there. You and Kai can take a nap, or eat, or just stare out at the view. See some monkeys. We’re on the monkey highway. Then Jamey and I can come back here, go up and down the road, find out if anyone knows anything. If not, we can go back to the island and check if they ended up there.”
Diego was right. It was a good plan. Taking her back to town would waste time and this way, she’d be close. “As long as your wife doesn’t mind the company,” Tina said.
“I’m sure she won’t mind. I’ll call her now to tell her you’re coming.” He grinned at Tina. “Annie is a great cook. She’ll make dinner and you’ll thank me for introducing you.”
A feeling of relief settled over Tina. Kai was fussing again. He needed to sleep and this detour sounded like a good plan. Again, she felt guilty for leaving Jamey to do the work, but Kai was her priority. “Are you sure, Jamey?”
“If I know you’re safe, I’ll be able to get more done,” he said, reading something on his phone.
Tina knew this to be true. Jamey wouldn’t be worrying about Kai and distracted by them. “Okay, take me to your house,” she said. But before she hopped in the truck with Diego, Jamey got a text and stood by a palm tree reading. The same flirtatious look crossed his face as he read and Tina’s heart squeezed for the second time in twenty-four hours. Jealousy was not a trait she wanted to embrace, especially if she was reading this expression all wrong. Something about that look did not say he was exchanging messages with his brothers or Carrie. Whoever it was had said something that amused him in a way that she once had.
Tina eased in to the back of the truck with Kai and took off up the rutted road. Glancing out the back window, she watched Jamey shut his phone and take off down the road for the bus stop, hoping to find so
meone, anyone who saw two gringo adults and a Star Wars clad kid yesterday having a drink on the road to Mombacho.
Chapter 12
Kai fell asleep on the way up the mountain in spite of all the bumping and jiggling. When they arrived at Diego and Annie’s house, Tina set his car seat in the guest bedroom.
Eventually she settled on the deck overlooking the view below, picking a spot where she could see Kai through the glass door. There was a beautiful rectangular, sparkling pool and Tina longed to jump in. She hadn’t gone swimming in weeks, which was a torturous first for her. Swimming seemed like a frivolous pastime when trying to save a child’s life.
She and Annie had what her hostess called a “late afternoon how-do-you-do.” Diego’s wife had a thick gray bun at the nape of her neck, turquoise jewelry, and a friendly, lined face. Tina was immediately intrigued by the woman. She’d picked up on a deep underlying sadness, but seemed very cheerful that afternoon. Tina relaxed in a sling back chair beside the pool, sipping an iced tea and having the best conversation she’d had in weeks.
Annie was originally from the Los Angeles area, had moved with Diego to his homeland, Nicaragua, so she could paint and him sell real estate to Americans. “Nicaragua is more cost effective than Los Angeles,” Annie smiled. Her colorful paintings of flora and fauna were hung all over their ranch-style house and Tina was already a big fan. Diego’s wife was a wealth of information about the area and all the creatures and critters that lived on the volcano. Tina was fascinated.
They eventually talked about Wyatt and how the plan was to search the crowd of the hipica on Sunday. “The birthfather is a big horse fan and we’re pretty sure they are in town for this parade. Otherwise they’d have moved on to surf,” she said, finishing her second glass of ice tea. They talked about how Diego and friends had built this gorgeous house, and after an hour more of conversation, Tina had to remind herself that she was still on a mission to find Wyatt, not to make friends.
“Wait until the monkeys arrive,” Annie said.
“What’s the Monkey Highway?” she asked.
“It’s a route that the monkeys follow through the tree system on the side of Mombacho.” Annie’s bracelets jingled as she reached to pour more tea. “But one of our stupid neighbors who bought the lot over there with no intention of building for years, cut down a crucial tree on the highway to make room to build his house and now the route is all screwed up. The monkeys have to backtrack and take a detour. That’s why we end up with howlers in these trees at night.” She pointed to the enormous deciduous trees above them. “It’s the end of a cul de sac.” They laughed. “Called a Chilamate tree. They produce a fig that the monkeys love to eat.”
“Do they come every night?”
“Not always, but lately. Around dusk.” Annie smiled warmly. “It’s a good life here on the side of Mombacho. Better than Los Angeles. Maybe in some ways similar to yours with your husband on Maui.”
Tina nodded. “It’s hot there in August, like here, but we don’t have monkeys, or sloths. Maui is very built up now and getting more crowded with hotels every year.”
“That’s why we like Nicaragua. Don’t tell anyone how beautiful it is here. We want to keep it this way.”
Tina pretended to zip her lips shut and looked out over the canopy of trees below the deck, towards the town. Half of the view was taken up with the vast, blue lake beyond Granada. “Did you have to cut trees for the view?”
Annie shook her head. “No. We built the house at a natural opening.” A large mixed-breed brown dog ran onto the terracotta patio and flopped down with an avocado in its mouth. “Chile, did you find a ball?” Annie laughed. “Our gardener took the dogs up to the water tank for a walk. Diego usually hikes with them at sunset.”
Then another dog arrived, a small terrier mix with wiry gray hair, charging towards Tina and barking.
“And that’s Frisco. He’s all bark and no bite.”
Tina held out her hand for the dog to sniff.
“He can’t seem to shut up. Barks all day long. We tune it out, but I hope it doesn’t wake your baby.”
She looked to see that Kai’s eyes were closed. “He sleeps through all kinds of noise.”
“A wonderful trait in a baby,” Annie said, standing up. “Come to the kitchen with me. I’ll make dinner and we can open a bottle of wine. Do you like white or red?”
“Either,” Tina said, and followed through the house with the dogs in tow. Just as the cork popped on a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, Jamey phoned.
“Are you okay there for another few hours?” he asked.
“Yes, but I feel badly about having a good time.”
“S’okay. Just take care of our son. Diego and I are going back to the island to see if they’ve shown up. We didn’t get anything at the taxi stand.”
“I feel like I should be out there with you.” She wandered back to the patio where darkness was falling and Annie didn’t have to overhear her side of the conversation.
“Me too, Darlin’. I know you want to be in on this, but I tell you, Diego is a Godsend. This guy knows everyone.” He sounded distracted.
Tina watched Annie chopping food in the house. “You’d really like his wife too. I think I dreamed of her recently. The one where the woman was crying babies. Looks a bit like her,” Tina said.
“We’re here.” Jamey was distracted. “Diego says to tell Annie to save him some dinner.”
She could hear Diego’s voice in the background. “I will. Be safe and I’ll see you in a few hours.” She ended the call and noticed Kai was awake. “Hi Sweetie.” She walked through the patio door to see him fussing with his left ear, a cross look on his face. He’d been pulling on that same ear all day. She picked him up and snuggled him into her. Walking back to the kitchen, she spoke to Annie. “Looks like our men are going to the Islands to check out the house again.”
Annie pointed to a glass of wine on the counter. “There’s yours.” She looked the baby up and down and then her brow wrinkled. What usually followed this thorough sizing up was a comment about how cute her baby was or at least how big he was, but Annie said nothing. Tina jiggled Kai on her hip to quell his fussy cry.
“Going out on the water? At this hour?” Annie turned around, a look of concern clouding her face.
Tina nodded apologetically. “That’s what he said.”
“Well, I guess if they’re looking for a child, they have to try everything.” Annie shook her head and went back to chopping vegetables. Just then a call that sounded like an amplified drainage pipe noise reverberated through the house. “Here they go.” Annie said, like that horrible sound was an everyday occurrence, which it was.
This was the same sound they’d heard down at the bar by the bus stop, but much, much louder and closer. Others chimed in. Kai went stiff in Tina’s arms, his eyes wide. “It’s okay. It’s monkeys!” She tried to make light of the horrific noise in the trees above them, but Kai was scared. As much as Tina wanted to go outside to look at the monkeys, she wasn’t sure it would help her son.
Then Kai started crying. Jiggling didn’t help.
“Let’s go see!” she said like it was going to be so much fun!
Stepping outside to the tiled deck, Tina was amazed to see the trees above the house filled with brown fuzzy creatures, moving from branch to branch, swinging and calling to each other. Most watched them below. She pointed to a mother with a baby on her back and then noticed that Kai had gone quiet. His gaze was fixed on the monkeys above them. Tina smiled to see him so engaged, his mouth a little O shape. She watched the babies get settled in the branches, mothers close by. The only ones making the guttural howling noises were the big ones without babies.
Annie arrived with both glasses of wine. “Your baby likes the howlers.” She set the wine on the patio table. “Only the males howl that really low sound.” She looked up into the trees.
“Are they gathering their group for the night?” Tina asked.
“They’re telli
ng other howlers out there where they are. It’s a way to say this campsite over here is full.”
Kai reached for Annie’s dangling earrings and Tina pulled him back.
“Oh no you don’t.” Annie looked at the baby like she might warm up to him if she was given a month or two.
It was hard for Tina to be around Kai without touching him, but she understood that some people did not have the need to touch and kiss babies. Her best friend Pepper wasn’t overly affectionate with babies.
“When Kai can walk around and talk, I’ll be a better godmother,” she’d said.
Tina just happened to be baby crazy. Always had been. And recently she’d told Jamey she wanted to have as many of them as they could before her eggs dried up.
“Then let’s get going,” he’d said pressing himself into her in their bed.
When the monkeys grew silent, and the only sound was a very loud frog near the pool, Tina sipped her wine. Dinner was in the oven and Annie had gone out to her art studio while the chicken cooked. Tina’s thoughts drifted back to Hank and the baby they might have had. She wondered if he’d have been a good father. She’d banked on it when they were married, but all that she knew about her husband now, and his scheming and shadier side, leaked doubts. The funny thing was, he’d always loved kids, and they’d returned the affection. With an arsenal of kid jokes and games always on hand, he was a favorite with their friends who had children.
Noble was a different story. Like Annie, he seemed indifferent to children. She remembered when Noble suggested they have a baby after Hank died. That was a strange time in her life. She’d never fully understand either of those two men, but looking back, Noble was more of an enigma, seemingly so devoted to her. But as it turned out, he wasn’t to be trusted.
A month ago she’d had a dream about walking with Noble through a park with a picturesque lake. They’d talked, just like the old days before she knew he was using her for a con; back when she still thought of him as their best friend. In the dream they’d laughed about something, then Noble looked her in the eyes and said, “I miss you,” so intensely, she woke. Thinking about the dream all the next day, she’d wished things had been different with both Hank and Noble. For years, she’d admired their friendship. “Through thick and thin,” Hank said. But it was a sham. She knew that now. They were brothers who had a bond that included a twisted hatred as well as brotherly love. Had she mentioned her feelings about the dream to Jamey, he’d have said what he always did. “Those relationships are behind you now.” She’d used her husband as a sounding board long enough. Now, she had Doc Chan to interpret her dreams.
