by Jo Willow
“You look fantastic in that. You may have to wear it for me again later.”
She ran her hands up his chest and sighed.
“My underwear covers more than this thing Mitch.”
“Like I said, you’ll have to wear it again for me later.”
“You won’t be thinking that a few months from now.”
He kissed her again and hugged her.
“A few months from now I’ll want you naked so that I can see what we made.”
Beth leaned back and looked at him. He was relaxed, smiling and his skin had already taken on the glow of a new tan.
“You really are a hopeless romantic, you know that?”
“Hopeless maybe. I was never a romantic until I met you.”
“I’m glad we got a honeymoon.”
“Me too. I’m glad you’re pregnant too. If the children get eaten we’ll need another one.”
She slapped at him and giggled.
“The children are fine. Ian and Rose have a handle on it. Quit worrying.”
“Ian slept through the giraffe caper and they’re going to an alligator farm tomorrow.”
“He won’t let them play with alligators, relax.”
“Alright, but if they come home with an interesting pet, you get to feed it.”
Beth kissed him again and then started swimming. The water was warm and clear it washed all thoughts of trouble and business away.
When they surfaced and climbed out exhausted, Mitch led her back to the towels. He covered her in sunblock and then covered himself. Beth took care of his back, using sunblock to assist in her massage.
They spent the day drinking lemonade and dozing on the beach. The scent of salt air and coconut oil soothed their minds and when the scent of food hit them, they woke with smiles on their faces. Mitch looked over at her lying on her stomach and his smile faltered.
“Beth, how long have we been sleeping?”
“All day. Why?”
“You’re burned babe. Your back is bright red. So are your legs.”
“I don’t feel burned.”
“You will. Come on. We need to get you inside.”
When she bent to stand, her skin felt tight. Mitch grabbed the towels, their flip-flops and the sunblock and led her inside. He was careful not to touch her back.
Beth knew the minute she stepped inside that she was in trouble. The air was cool, accentuating the heat she felt radiating from her back.
Mitch led her into the master bath. The tile felt cool on her feet and the expansive mirror above the double sinks tempted her to take a peek. When she saw the look of concern on Mitch’s face, she hesitated.
“It’s bad isn’t it?”
“It’s not good. I’m sorry babe. Maybe a cool shower and some aloe will help.”
He opened the shower door and was glad there was a seat in the double shower. He adjusted the water temperature until it was cool but not cold. He couldn’t help but wonder how she’d sleep comfortably.
He returned to her and gently helped her out of the bikini. When she stepped into the shower, she squeaked.
“Oh crap that’s cold.”
Beth eased backwards into the spray and closed her eyes. The water felt like tiny needles on her skin and she found herself thinking about acupuncture and tattoos. She didn’t think she was blistered, but she’d spent precious little time in the sun. She was always too busy.
Mitch went into the kitchen and brought back the clear bottle of aloe vera he’d seen there earlier. Someone had stocked it presumably for kitchen burns, so he assumed the theory would work for sunburns as well. When he entered the bathroom, he saw that she had sat down and the water was cascading down her back.
“I’ve got some aloe vera handy babe. When you’re done, we’ll line you out.”
She shook her head and spoke with a tinge of derision in her voice.
“Only I would turn myself medium-rare on the first day of my honeymoon. I’m a redhead Mitch. What did I think was gonna happen?”
“Sweetheart, we were enjoying our day. We weren’t thinking at all. I’m sorry, I should’ve been paying closer attention.”
“It’s not your fault, quit blaming yourself. Get ready, I’m coming out.”
Mitch held the bath blanket open and he waited. She turned the water off and stepped into the soft white towel. The contrast of the bright white to her red skin startled him. She saw his expression and finally took a look at herself in the mirror.
“Do I have blisters?”
“No, but you’re gonna peel like like a banana.”
“Well that’ll be gross.”
“Don’t worry Beth. I won’t divorce you over that. You’re gonna have to do something really big like burn my toast or something.”
She grinned at him in the mirror and lowered the towel allowing him to gingerly apply the aloe. The soothing was immediate and she smiled.
“Just think Mitch. It’s only day one. We’ve got four more days to go.”
“Honey, at least we’re not at Disney.”
The first order of business was the souvenir store for shirts and hats. Rose and Amber pushed the lion strollers and followed the rest of them like conscientious caretakers.
The day was sunny and warm, but the forecast called for storms later on in the evening. Phil had purchased tickets to some dinner theater production that included jousting and princesses. It was going to be a full day.
Patty started off with Ian. When he turned to talk to Phil about safari hats for everyone, she wandered over to the stuffed toys. A stuffed Simba that was half her size made her smile and she lingered to pet and talk to it. Phil saw her and nudged Ian. The sight was so captivating, he told the clerk to add the lion, a zebra and a stuffed monkey to the bill.
Rose watched as two grown men and a boy walked out laden with shopping bags and stuffed toys. They were closely followed by Patty who was carrying something that looked capable of suffocating her.
Ian handed Alex the zebra and Jem the monkey. She looked at it closely and then looked at Patty.
“I want the lion.”
Ian studied his daughter and decided that “choosing his battles” would start now.
“You have a monkey. Patty has the lion.”
“I want the lion.”
“Jem, it’s the monkey or nothing.”
Jem had never been talked to like that by her father. She wasn’t sure what to think, so she crossed her arms and started screaming. Patty stepped forward to offer Jem her lion and Ian stopped her.
“Patty, the lion is yours sweetheart. Jem has a monkey. If she doesn’t stop screaming, she’ll have a monkey and a day in the car.”
Jem closed her mouth and looked at her father in shock while he stared right back at her. She sat back in her stroller and hugged her monkey, plotting. Ian looked at Rose and smiled smugly.
“See? It’s all about control.”
“You did good. Let’s see if it lasts.”
Patty clutched Simba and wasn’t sure what to do. She’d been taught to share her toys and the adults were telling her to keep her lion. She too became quiet, contemplating her situation. Phil scooped her up and settled her on his hip as they continued toward the Tree of Life.
The children were captivated by the tree. Scott continued taking pictures, and twice posed his sister in an interesting spot with her lion. When she offered Simba to Jem for a photo, Jem hugged her tightly, accepted the toy and let Scott take her picture. When she was done, she handed the lion back to Patty and smiled. Rose had never been prouder.
It was somewhere near the back of the tree that Patty got distracted. Phil was teaching Scott and Ian about using filters on the Nikon and Rose and Amber were settling Jem and Alex back in the strollers. When they looked up, Patty was gone.
Rose counted heads again, thinking that maybe she was standing behind Ian. She seemed to stay close to him and she couldn’t imagine her wandering very far away from him. She moved toward her husband and Ian happe
ned to glance up and saw the look of sheer panic on her face. He started looking around and didn’t see anything that should be alarming.
“Rose? What’s the matter honey?”
“Patty’s gone.”
Ian focused on their little group and did his own mental math. Sure enough, his little shadow was missing.
“When was the last time anybody saw her?”
The adults realized they’d been distracted and Scott found his voice.
“She was here when we started messing with the camera. That was maybe five minutes ago.”
Rose felt the start of terror building in the pit of her stomach. Five minutes was plenty of time if someone wanted to lead off a child as trusting as Patty. She looked at Ian and he could tell she was seconds from tears.
“Rosie, we’ll find her. Scott, you and Amber stay with the other two and do not move from this spot. Not to use the bathroom, not to get a drink, do NOT move.”
“Yes sir. I’ll stay close to Amber, I promise.”
Ian nodded and looked at Phil.
“Phil, you take the path towards Asia. Rose, you start towards Africa. I’m going to search every inch of this island and this tree. She’s carrying a big ass lion cub and she’s wearing a safari hat. Whether we find her or not, everybody meet back here in twenty minutes. Got it?”
Rose was already moving and Phil started off in the opposite direction. Ian started backtracking around the tree.
Patty had been distracted by a butterfly. An innocuous, pretty blue butterfly that led her into a small grouping of shrubs about a hundred feet from the tree. The noise of the crowd faded slightly and she was grateful. She was tired of being crushed by the crowd. It was okay when Uncle Ian was carrying her, but she was only little and people often bumped into her. It was getting fatiguing. She and Scott had gotten up very early and it had already been a long day for her.
She noticed it was cooler and shady in the shrubs as well and her feet hurt in her new sandals. She sat down for a moment and she disappeared from view. She smiled and thought it was quieter too. She thought that maybe she’d rest here a little while until her feet stopped hurting. She put Simba down and rested her little head on the lion’s back. Patty fell asleep.
Rose had a dilemma. She was already farther ahead than Patty possibly could’ve gotten. Three people had recognized her and asked her for an autograph, which she quickly signed, then thanked the askers. She couldn’t risk being recognized further by yelling out Patty’s name. If someone figured out the problem and found Patty before she did, the idea of ransom might come to mind. Right now, Patty was just a lost little red-haired girl. No one knew that she was tied to Rose and Ian James. When she turned to return in order to meet her twenty minute deadline, Rose started crying.
Phil was faring no better. He searched behind trash bins, buildings, and described her to vendors. He called her name several times, but he was going in the opposite direction that she’d gone. In the din of the crowd she would not have heard him anyway. As difficult as it was to admit defeat, he turned back hoping that Ian or Rose had an alternate plan.
Twenty minutes had passed and Rose and Phil were back at the strollers. Scott saw immediately that neither one of them had his sister. He hugged Rose because it always helped his mom when she cried and Rose wrapped her arms around the little boy.
“Don’t worry Aunt Rose. She’s little but she’s smart. She’ll ask someone for help.”
Rose didn’t dare tell him that she was afraid of exactly that.
“Has anyone seen Ian?”
Amber glanced at a sleeping Jem and Alex and answered the question.
“No, but he won’t get lost. Let’s just wait here and give him a few more minutes. He might be on to something.”
They found a park bench a few feet from where they were standing and took a seat.
Ian refused to give up. He’d come to love Patty almost as much as he loved Jem and he would not return to Rose and her brother empty handed. He was determined to find her if he had to offer a reward to do it. That thought sobered him. Rose had gotten there quicker, but Ian suddenly remembered who he and Rose were. The word ‘kidnapped’ passed through his mind in a fleeting moment, leaving again before he could grasp the implications entirely.
Forty-five minutes had passed. If someone had her, they could be out of the park by now. Ian knew it and he knew it was crossing Rose’s mind. He didn’t dare go back without something. It was at that moment, in a state of complete desperation, that he saw what appeared to be a bit of orange fabric through an expanse of green. If he’d been shorter, he’d of missed it.
He squeezed between the first two rows of bushes and he saw her. She was curled up on her side with her head on her toy, sound asleep. He hadn’t realized how fast his heart had been beating until it finally started to slow down to a reasonable rate. He felt no anger whatsoever, just complete and total relief. Patty was safe.
Ian squatted down and smoothed her hair from her face. The little girl opened her eyes and looked around quickly. Thinking she was in trouble, she grabbed her lion and jumped up. Then she started to cry.
Ian wrapped his arms around her and patted her back, trying to soothe and console her.
“Hey honey, it’s alright. It’s okay. You don’t have to cry, we were just worried. If you’re tired, we’ll get you a stroller too and you can nap all you want to angel.”
“My feet hurt Uncle Ian.”
Ian lifted her into his arms and took off one of her sandals. She had a horrendous blister on her heel and it made him angry. He took off her other sandal and that blister had popped, her heel was raw.
“Baby, how long have your feet been like this?”
Patty shrugged and hugged him, relieved to be free of the cause of her distress.
“Sweetheart, I’m going to carry you until we find a shop where I can get you some comfortable shoes. Okay?”
“You’re not mad at me for sleeping?”
“Of course I’m not mad. If I’d found the spot first, you and me would’ve been napping together. Let’s go though, Rose and Scott are about to send out a search team. You’ve been gone quite a little while.”
Patty put her head on Ian’s shoulder and he carried her towards the tree.
Scott saw them first. Rose had her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands. Phil was in deep discussion with Amber.
“I wonder why she doesn’t have her shoes on.”
That was all he said and Rose’s head popped up. Phil and Amber stopped their conversation and followed Scott’s eyes. Everyone relaxed and started smiling and Patty waved shyly.
Rose jumped up and grabbed her from Ian’s arms. He caught the lion and Rose almost crushed her in her exuberance.
“Oh you little angel, I have been worried to death.”
“I’m sorry Rose. I didn’t mean to make you cry. Please don’t tell mama.”
Rose looked up at Ian who was holding up her shoes.
“Look at her heels Rose. She laid down in the shade and fell asleep. Her feet hurt.”
Rose examined her feet and when she touched her heels, Patty winced. Rose cringed and looked up at Ian.
“She’ll need to be in a stroller or carried the rest of the day. They need bandages and cotton socks for the rest of the trip.”
She cuddled Patty again and Patty hugged her tightly.
“I’m sorry if I scared you Rose. I didn’t mean it, I promise.”
“Baby, you scared us to death. We thought somebody stole our Patty.”
“Stole me? Why would anybody steal me? I’m just a little kid.”
“You’re a special little kid and you’re our little kid.”
Scott patted his sister on the arm.
“Can we go in the tree now? It’s hot out here.”
The moment was broken and they got back in line.
The trip through “Asia” proved the most relaxing for Ian and Phil. The adrenaline rush from the disappearing child had left them bot
h jittery and exhausted. The afternoon sun beat down adding to the uncomfortable experience. Scott found himself enjoying spending the day with Rose and Amber and he volunteered to push the stroller that contained his little sister. She sat in the shade and pointed things out that made them both laugh. He took her picture with Mickey in safari clothing and Rose took one of him. They immediately sent both to their parents.
The stroller brigade led the way toward a show about flight, when Ian noticed something interesting. Outside the theater and directly across the paved walkway, was a small kiosk that sold margaritas, daiquiris and other frozen concoctions. Ian nudged Phil and tilted his head at his discovery. Phil’s slow smile gave Ian his answer. He tugged on Rose’s sleeve and she stopped abruptly.
“Look, I know they’re all here because I can touch all four of them.”
“That’s not it. You guys go ahead and catch the show. We’re going over there to have a couple of drinks and we’ll be waiting for you when you come out.”
Rose saw the spot he was referring to and she nudged Amber.
“Here’s the deal. We do the flight show and then it’s our turn.”
Ian looked at her and put on his business face.
“Your turn to what?”
“You and Phil take Scott on the scary train ride. Then you come back here and we’ll all go on the river rapids ride. Alex and Jem are both tall enough for that one and we can all ride in the same raft. Deal?”
“You and Amber are having margaritas? Really?”
“I can’t speak for Amber, but I’m having a strawberry daiquiri. Is it a deal or not?”
Phil was already standing in line to order their drinks and Ian laughed.
“Have fun at the show and we’ll see you in a little while.
They left the strollers with Ian and Phil and Rose carried Patty. They went in to see the show in air conditioned comfort.
Chapter Eighteen
Two days had passed since their Saturday night romp and Brian hadn’t called her. Marla knew he had her number, he’d called to confirm their meeting at the wine bar on Saturday. She’d been amazed at his stamina and creativity on Saturday night. Neither one of them had managed sleep. He was more than pleased with her and he told her so several times. When they’d finally exhausted one another in the early hours of Sunday morning, he informed her that he couldn’t sleep away from home and he left before sunrise. Since then, nothing.