"Caeli, now is hardly the time."
"Now is the perfect time," Caeli insisted.
"You have heard this story a dozen times already," Salma declined.
"Please Salma, tell me again. I know you enjoy telling it as much as I like hearing it." Caeli’s determination won Salma over.
"All right, all right. I hate to hear a grown woman beg. We were staying at the lake house for a long weekend, and Ben told me he wanted to take me somewhere special for dinner. Of course, no matter how much I pestered him, he would not tell me where we were going," Salma began.
The plane continued to drop and still nothing penetrated the dense clouds engulfing the plane. Salma continued her tale as she squeezed Caeli's hand.
"Ben said to wear blue jeans and a comfortable blouse, and sent me off to get ready while he busied himself in the kitchen. I didn't have any idea what he was up to until right before we left. He was carrying a large picnic basket. Well, his version of one. It was really an oversized tackle box that Ben cleaned up and even decorated in a complete and utterly manly fashion. Since he obviously put so much effort into making it special, I didn't tease him about it. I was touched at the thought behind it. Then, he finally told me that we would be dining outside. Ben was so keyed up that I couldn't help but share his excitement. We didn't go far; down to the end of the dock. The moon was full and shining on a TV tray and two chairs already out there. Ben really outdid himself. There was a long, white tablecloth covering the tray, a candle lit in the center, and rose petals sprinkled all around. There were two place settings. It was beautiful. I couldn't believe Ben was able to arrange it all without me knowing about it; but he can be sneaky when it suits his needs. He pulled containers out of his makeshift picnic basket, and we enjoyed a lovely meal under the stars."
"He is such a romantic. I never would have guessed," Caeli commented with a smile.
"Don't tease. I won't tell you the rest," Salma joked.
"Sorry."
"Ok, then. After dinner, Ben spread a blanket on the dock and we stretched out to enjoy the clear evening and the beautiful scenery. Ben became fidgety when he started talking about his life and how it had changed over time. Finally, he took my hand and held it in both of his as we sat there. Without me even realizing it, Ben slid the ring on my finger, but kept his hands covering it in such a way that I couldn't tell it was there. He must have used his slight-of-hand skill that he does so well when he performs magic tricks for kids at the hospital. He is really quite good at it. Anyway, Ben told me how certain he was that we belonged together. After a few other private comments, he said he wanted to let the world know how great we were together. Then he asked me to marry him and revealed the ring already on my finger. He was smiling from ear to ear. The ring was sparkling in the moonlight. I wasn't expecting it at all, and Ben knew it. He fully intended to catch me by surprise, and he succeeded. For once, I was nearly speechless. All I could say was yes."
"The perfect answer," Caeli added with a huge smile.
Salma concluded her tale with perfect timing, too. The view over her shoulder suddenly brightened to reveal a clear, almost serene light, and the clouds appeared to be rising above and away from the plane. Unfortunately, as Caeli focused on the scene unfolding over Salma's shoulder, she could not see what happened on the opposite side of the plane. She and Salma both heard a loud bang accompanied an explosion that rocked the entire aircraft. Puffs of black smoke could barely be seen near the wing, if you could catch a glimpse through the quickly raised window shades on the other side of the aisle. The redhead was already at his window when everyone else turned to see what happened.
Bright orange and red flames were visible near the outer engine. The aircraft began to tilt downward on that side. The pilot was obviously having difficulty maneuvering, and they were still losing altitude. Caeli began to see the huge swells of the storm-tossed ocean below drawing nearer with each passing minute.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain in your crash positions and keep your electrical devices turned off. One of our engines has been struck by lightning, but we are not in any danger of crashing. We still have three good engines; more than sufficient to keep us aloft. Nonetheless, we have requested an emergency landing and will be dropping altitude rapidly. The landing will be shaky. Please remain calm and stay in your seats. We should be on the ground safely within the next ten minutes."
Those ten minutes seemed to last forever to Caeli. Salma was scared, and there was nothing more Caeli could say or do to make her feel better. Caeli, herself, was not faring much better. Her stomach lurching each time the plane made a sudden drop was not helping the fact that she was already nauseous. The unsettled contents threatened to rebel at any minute, and Caeli thought she might also be running a fever.
After several jolts of turbulent air and a few more stomach-churning turns, the plane's wheels finally made an abrupt touchdown on the runway. Caeli watched out the window as the plane slid sideways on the slick concrete before skidding to a stop at the very end of the runway.
"There, you see? What did I tell you? We made it safe and sound. And, from the look on your face, I can tell you won't be wasting money on any amusement park trips in the near future," Caeli tried to help Salma relax now that they were safely on the ground.
Unfortunately, all of the emergency vehicles outside and the caution of the airline made it incredibly time consuming to get the passengers off the plane and into the terminal. It was almost ninety minutes before she and Salma walked hesitantly up to the counter to catch their connecting flight. Salma was not looking forward to it at all. She tried to convince Caeli that they should take a taxi or catch a bus.
But the odd weather cleared almost immediately after they landed. The storm seemed to have moved off, and their next flight was not cancelled. When Salma asked, the lady at the ticket counter assured them that the next flight should be uneventful. They were going to be on a much smaller plane, flying lower, and traveling away from the storm. It would be a much shorter trip as well. Since their tickets were already paid for, Salma finally agreed, against her better judgment, to continue by air.
"Don't worry, Salma. If anything goes wrong this time, you can blame me. We will even take a boat home," Caeli joked.
Before they boarded at two o'clock, Caeli rummaged through her carryon bag for her cell phone. She used the autodial feature to call Vin's cell. It went straight to his voicemail, which meant he probably forgot to turn it on, as he often did. She left him a quick message.
"Hey, Vin. I'm sorry I missed you. Despite a few bumpy moments and a rough landing due to a patch of bad weather, we made it safely. You will probably hear about it on the news. Salma and I are fine, though it delayed us so that we only have a few minutes to catch our connecting flight. We are getting ready to board a really small plane. It looks like a toy. They said something about diverting further out to sea to get around the storm, but they assure us it should be perfectly safe. It is supposed to be a relatively short trip, only ninety minutes or so. Salma is on edge and wants to take a bus. It took every ounce of persuasion to convince her to stick with the original flight plans. After all, what are the chances of having two bad flights on the same day, right? I will call you once we get to the hotel. Have you figured out my note yet? I can't wait to explain it in person. I miss you already. I love you, Vin."
The message made Caeli miss Vin even more. Her guilt about being parted from him so soon after her last trip resurfaced, but she quickly buried it beneath thoughts of what awaited their upcoming reunion. Caeli thought, I will see him on Friday, and we will have the entire weekend to walk on the beach and enjoy the surprise together.
"Salma, do you want to call Ben? I'm sure he must be missing his new bride by now," Caeli laughed.
She offered Salma her phone, but when Salma tried to make the call, she was unable to get a signal. After two attempts, Salma gave up and returned the phone.
"Flight 903 to Hilo is now boarding. All passengers pl
ease report to Gate 6B for Flight 903 to Hilo."
This plane was tiny compared to the one they left behind. In fact, it was too short for the jetway. When they reached the end, they went down a set of stairs, walked across the Tarmac in the light rain, and climbed the plane's stairs in order to board. There were three seats in each of the four rows, separated by a narrow aisle down the middle of the plane. Salma and Caeli sat across from each other in the second row. Ahead of her, a familiar face popped up over the back of the seat.
"Hi, pretty Caeli. Are you going to my house, too?" Max grinned broadly at the idea.
Salma glanced over at Caeli with a questioning look on her face. She had been asleep when Caeli met Max.
"No, but we are going to the same airport."
"Max, turn around and buckle in. I'm sorry again. Max seems to think you are his new best friend," the boy's father added.
"I don't mind, really. Apela, this is my aunt, Dr. Salma Erickson." Caeli introduced Salma to the man she met earlier.
"I’m Apela, and that is my son, Max. We are on our way home after a vacation on the mainland. I run a small hotel on the east side of the island, away from the tourist crowds, but still close enough to be convenient."
"How did you get into the hotel business?" Salma asked politely.
"It has been in my family for generations. It came to me when my father died, but I had already been running it for several years. With all the unusual weather we've been having, business has been a little slower than usual. Plus, Max is fascinated with the festivities planned for this week. I decided that we would close the hotel and spend some time together. We haven't done that since his mother passed away last year."
"Oh. I'm sorry for your loss," Caeli said sincerely.
"Thank you. So, what are you here for, business or vacation?"
"Both. Salma is going to be speaking at a medical convention this week. I decided to tag along and keep her company. Our husbands will be flying down to join us a bit later in the week."
As Salma talked to Apela about her work, Caeli saw the redhead from their first flight board and take the seat directly behind Salma. Three businessmen occupied the seats in the very back, and a few other passengers boarded. The seats beside and directly behind Caeli remained empty. The flight took off without incident and flew for fifteen minutes before the storm returned, more aggressively than before. At one point, as crazy as it sounded, it almost appeared that the storm was chasing their plane.
Nearing the halfway point of the flight, about fifty minutes later, the small plane was forced further away from land in order to avoid the majority of the storm's effects. As if on cue, the storm clouds turned to follow the plane, and the ride began to get bumpy. Salma gave Caeli a look that let her know they would definitely be returning home by a different method of travel.
"Don't worry, Salma. I know we are going to be all right. Call it intuition or whatever, but I know everything will be fine."
Caeli continued to watch out the window, hoping desperately that her prediction was right. She looked back at the other passengers in time to see the redhead fidgeting with something that she could not identify in front of him.
A loud, sizzling sound suddenly engulfed the plane. Within a few seconds, all of the electronic equipment, except the lights, stopped working and the engines stalled. A few minutes later, almost as an afterthought, the lights went out, too. Caeli thought the plane must have been struck by lightning. What are the odds of that happening a second time to a plane on which she and Salma were passengers?
Everyone on board realized the plane was going down. Thankfully, they were already flying low, very near the water. The waves could be seen out the window, reaching up as if to pull the aircraft down into the frothy waters below. Salma held tightly to Caeli's hand across the aisle.
When the water outside began to splash droplets onto the plane, Caeli suddenly felt another presence clinging to her. She looked down to see that Max had squirmed away from Apela and now clung frantically to her. He crawled up into her seat and folded himself across her lap, scared witless, wanting the security that his mother most likely would have offered him. She held tightly to the child with one arm wrapped protectively around him, knowing there was not enough time to send him back to his father. In the next instant, the plane struck the water, and Caeli's last thought before the impact was of her husband.
"Vin!"
CHAPTER 7
"Ah, now this is the life, Lad," Ben commented lazily as he relaxed in his lawn chair at the end of the dock, fishing pole resting in one hand, feet propped up on the tackle box in front of him. The midday sun was already well on its way toward the horizon.
"Just remember, biggest catch before we leave on Friday, that's the bet. Loser buys the first round when we arrive in Hawaii. I can almost taste the little pineapple drink that you will owe me," Ben laughed.
Vin, sitting similarly next to Ben and toying with an envelope he had been holding in his hand all day, suddenly threw his fishing pole down and shot up out of his chair, startling Ben with the sudden upheaval. A gust of wind blew across the dock rustling his dark hair, but doing nothing to cool Vin's sudden feeling of uneasiness.
"What's the matter? Did something bite you?" Ben asked.
"Did you hear something? I could have sworn that I heard…nah; I must have been dozing off. I've probably been out in the sun too long. Either that or your mighty fisherman boast is putting me to sleep. I've yet to see you drag anything bigger than a minnow out of that water," Vin replied, trying to return the good humor, but his tension would not ease as he paced a few steps away.
"Have you caught anything better to brag about?" Ben joked.
"No, and I think I am ready to call it a day, Ben. Why don't we go up to the house and get something to eat? I think we missed lunch."
"Well, would you look at the time? You're right. It will be dinnertime before too long. No wonder my stomach is grumbling loud enough to scare the fish away."
"Don't use that as an excuse, you old sea dog," Vin joked in reference to Ben's former Navy days.
"Hey, show a little respect or I will make you cook for the rest of the week. Come on, then. I'm sure we can find something to hold us over until dinner. Are you sure you're all right? You still look a little edgy. What was it that you thought you heard?" Ben asked again.
"I thought I heard Caeli calling me. You are going to say I'm crazy, right?" Vin answered sheepishly, feeling foolish for reacting like such an alarmist when he knew she was on a plane headed toward a tropical climate. He was probably the farthest thing from her overly-excited mind right now. Since reading the note she had written him, Caeli had been on Vin's mind all day.
"No. I wouldn't say that at all, especially with the special talents that run in your families; and not after what you two have been through. Nonetheless, you were probably starting to drift off. You younger lads can't keep pace with us more experienced folks," Ben said in jest.
"Besides, Caeli has been gone a lot recently. You can probably chalk it up to a young pup missing his wife and daydreaming about her."
"I'll grant you that. You should have seen the outfit she modeled for me before she left this morning. It was well worth the daydream. Heck, it seriously tempted me to follow her to the beach," Vin changed the subject to try to ease his tension.
"I can only imagine. What was she up to? Knowing Caeli, I'm sure she had a good reason."
"Now that you mention it, she didn't say specifically. She did give me this note at the airport and told me that she had another surprise for me that would be better than her new outfit. I have been puzzling over it all day."
"What does it say?"
"That she is going to return a gift to me; thereby giving me a challenge that will change my life. It's very cryptic in typical Caeli fashion. Of course, I have to wait until Friday to find out what she means," Vin admitted.
"And you don't have any idea?"
"Not yet. There are dozens of possibilitie
s. We have been discussing several trips and adventures that we might like to try; and this could be related to any one of them. I have no idea what she means by returning a gift. I have given her many over the years. To my knowledge, she has never returned a single one of them. The only other clue she left me was her change of outfit from conservative to knockout, and wow, what a clue. I do have to admit that I love her surprises."
"Well, it seems to me that Caeli left you a puzzle to solve before Friday. For now, let's go get some food and a cold drink. I can't believe you let me sit out here and miss lunch," Ben continued their friendly banter.
The two men started collecting their fishing gear and were heading toward the house when something in the lake caught Vin's eye. He stopped and turned to look directly at it. Ben, noticing Vin had stopped, turned to see what his friend found so captivating. Ben could not see anything, but Vin's focus didn't waver.
Vin watched a bright ring of light, the size of a basketball, shining below the surface of the water fifteen feet from the dock. It moved slowly toward shore. As it approached, it grew larger and rose slowly into the air.
"What do you see, Vin?"
"I'm not sure yet. Can't you see the light straight out in front of us, heading toward the dock?"
"No. I don't see anything out of the ordinary. Are you sure you're ok? Maybe you have been out in the sun too long."
"I'm all right, but if this is what I think it is, and you cannot see it, then it might be best if you wait at the other end of the dock," Vin suggested, as he began to recognize the shape the light was forming before him, vaguely manlike with a hint of wings swept up behind.
Ben complied with Vin's request and walked quickly to the other end of the dock. He set all of his fishing equipment down and stood vigil to make sure Vin was not in any danger. Vin continued to watch the light approach and assume the form of a being he had met a few times before. The winds at the end of the dock became steady though not strong. The fact that this specific being stood before him confirmed Vin's initial intuition. It had, indeed, been Caeli that Vin heard. Something was wrong!
Wrath of the Sea Queen Page 7