by M T Stone
“So you understand what it’s like when that happens to me early in the morning.”
“Yeah, I get it.”
“So you won’t get mad if I get out of bed early?”
“No, I won’t get mad. Just remember… balance.”
“Alright, I’ll try to work on it. Now, how about giving me a lap dance?”
Hmmm, I thought that was funny.
~~~
Kate
Sitting in the back of the ship watching the wake we were leaving behind was very symbolic. It perfectly summarized what I felt was going on in my life. Every aspect of my life was changing for the better. Dad was basically gone, which I was learning to accept. My mom was getting on a better path. Jackie hadn’t bothered me in weeks and now my creative flow had returned. Most of all, Jack loved me and wanted to make it official. For some reason I suddenly had the thought that things couldn’t get much better. What goes up must come down. That was one of Mom’s favorite sayings.
“Let’s go up to the Lido deck. I’d rather focus on where we’re going instead of where we’ve been.”
“I’m sensing a little symbolism in that statement,” Jack replied, reaching for my hand.
“I’m ready to look straight forward and leave the past behind.”
“That’s good! I’m ready for that too.”
The Lido deck quickly turned into our go-to spot once we were done working for the day. It offered the perfect combination of sunshine and privacy. The weather cameras had been repositioned, no one could see us from above or below and Jack got a Do Not Disturb sign that we could place at the bottom of the staircase. It was a fun and relaxing place to sunbath, take naps and occasionally make love. The whole point of owning a private yacht is for the privacy right?
Jack
After dropping anchor in the bay just south of Ponce, Kate went inside to clean up and get ready for dinner. Anthony had called a few times during the day, so I took the opportunity to call him back.
“Young one has been hitting on me for the last three days,” Anthony joked when he answered my call.
“What does he want?”
“He’s having a party this weekend at his beach house. He’s wants me to come down for it. I think he would be a little shocked if I actually showed up,” Anthony laughed.
“I think you should show up. Why the hell won’t he leave Kate alone? He has to know we are in a relationship.”
“He’s used to getting whatever he wants Jack. He doesn’t give a rat’s ass about you or anyone else. It’s all about what he wants and apparently he wants Kate.”
“Then it’s up to you to convince him that Kate is not available. I’m not going to have some young punk pestering us or harassing Kate.”
“Now what’s going on?” Kate asked as she came up behind me.
“CW has been calling and texting your phone for the last three days. He’s having a beach party on Friday and is insisting that you be there,” I quickly summarized for her.
“Alright Anthony, I’ll leave this up to you,” I said before hanging up the phone.
“What is he going to do?” Kate asked anxiously.
“He’s going to do what he does best.”
“Which is?”
“Take care of the problem. Here comes Tommy, let’s go have something to eat. I’ve been waiting all day to see what Panchi has on the menu. Did I tell you he’s a culinary genius?”
“Yeah, you mentioned that a few times. I’m not really feeling all that hungry anymore.”
“Oh, don’t let that rich punk bother you. I guarantee he won’t be a problem once he meets Anthony.”
“But what about CW’s dad? He’s got connections up the wazoo!”
“He and his son barely speak, so I’m not so sure he will be rushing to get involved. Besides any rational man would have to admit that CW has been acting like a damn jackass, even if he is his father.”
“Yeah, good point,” Kate conceded.
Kate
I felt sick to my stomach as we lifted off and took a short flight to Ponce. Anthony is going to do what he does best? Hopefully he’s just going to scare him or something. It wasn’t until I was about a third of the way through my tender, flaky fish that the knots in my stomach finally began to ease. By the time Jack and I finished sharing the blueberry and crème filled crepes any thoughts of CW had taken a back seat in my mind. I wasn’t sure why it had bothered me so much. I guess everything was going so well, that I didn’t want CW or anyone else to ruining it for us. What an idiot. I’m not sure what he is thinking. We didn’t even have a real date. He must be a borderline sociopath or something.
~~~
Chapter 10
Two days later
Kate
After spending Thursday in St. Croix, we were now headed toward Anguilla where we intended to spend the entire weekend. The weather was beautiful and we were beginning to get into a daily rhythm. We would get up early and start each day with exercise and coffee. After that, we would work until lunch time and then enjoy the afternoon by having fun in the sun. It really was the perfect lifestyle.
While talking to Jayne and Brenda I clicked on Facebook to see what was new. As I scrolled down my newsfeed, my heart suddenly stopped. Several of my friends had shared a story about CW. He and his helicopter had apparently disappeared somewhere east of the Bahamas. I nervously clicked on his home page only to find a countless number of friends sending him best wishes and prayers. What has Jack done, was the first thought that went through my head. I sure hope Anthony didn’t shoot him down or something stupid.
“Kate are you still with us?” Brenda asked. Apparently I hadn’t answered one of her questions or something.
“We must be in an area that has bad reception,” I said feeling completely flustered. “Can we pick this up in an hour?”
“Sure. Just give us a call back when you have better coverage,” she replied cheerfully.
The pit in my stomach a couple nights ago was nothing compared to what I felt as I read through the story concerning CW. I went straight to Jack’s office and set my laptop down in front of him.
“Excuse me Anthony. Kate apparently just read about CW. I’ll catch up with you later this afternoon,” he said as he scanned the article that was on my screen.
“What did you guys do?” I asked as he set down his phone.
“What did we do? I didn’t do anything,” he replied defensively.
“Is Anthony in Bermuda?”
“He didn’t say.”
“Does he have anything to do with CW disappearing?” I didn’t mean to sound like I was accusing him, but my mind was going crazy.
“Hey, that kid was flying at night through the Bermuda triangle. Do you know how many planes, boats and people have disappeared over that stretch of water?”
“I’ve heard stories I guess.”
“Well, there’s a good reason why Chuck flies the long way around. He has experienced it first hand and he swears he will never fly that route again. He really didn’t even want to fly into Freeport,” Jack said emphatically.
“So you’re telling me this really was an accident?”
“Yes, it appears to be nothing more than a tragic accident.”
“Are you guys talking about CW?” Tommy asked as he stuck his head into Jack’s office.
“Good guess… Apparently his chopper went down somewhere northeast of Nassau,” Jack replied while still reading the article.
“That dumb fucker. What was he doing out there? Anyone with half a brain knows better than to fly that stretch of water at night,” Tommy scoffed.
“He apparently thought he was invincible,” Jack said closing the lid on my laptop.
~~~
I wasn’t sure what to think as I picked up my iMac and headed back to the Promenade deck. On one hand I was actually a little relieved that something had happened to CW, but I definitely hoped that Jack hadn’t been involved. I can’t imagine that Jack would do anything like that. T
here wasn’t anything I could do about any of it anyway, so I decided to push it to the back of my mind. I better call Brenda back.
Jack
That was either an incredible coincidence or Anthony is even more efficient than I had imagined. Our agreement from the beginning was that anything he did for me was clandestine, so there was no reporting back. I simply pointed out a problem and Anthony vowed to take care of it.
Our conversation that morning had been so casual, that it seemed as if he had nothing to do with CW’s disappearance. Either that or he’s one hell of an actor. I pulled out my briefcase and began pushing some papers around trying to suppress the growing knot in my stomach. There was nothing I could do, whatever had happened was done. I just have to go on as if we had nothing to do with it.
After a few minutes of pretend paperwork, I got up and went to the back of the ship. There was something soothing about watching all that turbulent water that was being kicked up by the propeller. I had to wonder how many guys like Anthony were out there taking care of things for people like me. People disappear every day and I had to wonder how many of them disappeared on purpose.
“What are you thinking about?” Kate asked as she came up behind me.
“Hmmm, I don’t really know what I think. Two days ago Anthony and I were discussing CW… now he’s gone. I guess that’s more than a little disturbing.”
“I know, that was my first thought too! So you honestly don’t know the answer either?” She inquired with a look of disbelief.
“I don’t. I was just going over the conversation that I had with Anthony the other day. He told me that CW had been calling and texting your phone, which annoyed me. I told him that he needed to convince CW that you were off limits. I never said I wanted him taken out or anything like that.”
“Anthony didn’t give you any details of what went down?”
“That’s the funny part. Anthony acted as if he had just read about it too. Maybe it was just a coincidence… that’s what I’ve been trying to figure out.”
“If Anthony won’t tell you anything, there really isn’t any way to figure it out. Is there?”
“No and Anthony doesn’t kiss and tell, he made that very clear.”
“Remind me never to get on his bad side… or yours for that matter,” she replied with a glimmer of fear in her eyes.
“Yeah, I’m going to have to be careful what I say around Anthony. If you and I ever have an argument, I’ll make sure not to tell him about it!”
Kate
I really didn’t like CW, but the thought of him being killed was horrible. I had to continue distracting myself, so I grabbed a notepad and began sketching out some ideas for a new line of comfortable jeans. My basic idea was to create jeans that had more stretch to them as well as being available in exact sizes, just like guys jeans. I’ve never understood why they sized women’s clothes so much differently than men’s clothes. Not all size 6 women are the same height. It makes no sense.
After several hours, thoughts of CW continued to bubble up and tie my stomach in knots. My drifting thoughts were finally interrupted when my phone buzzed. It was Mom.
“Hi Mom, you must’ve sensed that I was working on something new.”
“Actually, I was just calling to tell you I have a date tonight!” She exclaimed.
“A date, with who?”
“Anthony. He’s taking me to the opera.”
“Wow, that’s great! But I never would have guessed that Anthony was into opera.”
“He appears to be a bit more sophisticated than your average Marine,” Mom laughed. “I was honestly surprised that he asked me out at all after the way I behaved the other night.”
“Oh those Marines have a pretty high pain tolerance. They are trained to withstand hours of torture without breaking down. He’s probably perfect for you!” I teased her.
“Thanks honey. Love you too.”
“Oh I’m just teasing… I’m excited that you have a date. It’s been a long time.”
“I know, it’s been too long. I’m not sure I even know how to act.”
“Don’t worry about it. Just go have a good time and be yourself. On second thought, try to be a nicer version of yourself.” I couldn’t resist getting in one more jab.
As we hung up, I actually felt a little giddy. If Anthony was in New York and going to the opera with my mother, there was no way that he was involved with CW’s disappearance. I had to go find Jack and tell him the good news. I had been absolutely terrified by the thought that I had something to do with his disappearance.
Jack
Kate seemed elated by the fact that Anthony had asked Cynthia out. I knew that she wanted her mother to be happy, but more importantly to her it meant that Anthony hadn’t been in the Bahamas. I, on the other hand, knew that even if he had been directly involved he would’ve been in and out in a matter of hours. Even more likely, he would’ve worked through one of his many contacts that he had developed during his years in the Special Forces. He had told me about a couple of mercenaries who lived in San Juan. They were always looking for side jobs to supplement their military pensions. Nonetheless, I was glad to see a relaxed smile had once again emerged on Kate’s face. There was no need for her to carry around any burden of guilt concerning CW’s fate. That young punk deserved whatever happened to him. Karma can be a bitch, especially if you spend your time messing with people.
“I’m really relieved that Anthony didn’t have anything to do with CW’s disappearance,” she repeated as she settled into her chair and got back to her sketches.
“Yeah, I’m relieved by that as well. I hated to think that we had anything to do with it,” I readily agreed with her.
After that conversation she didn’t mention CW again. In her mind, that chapter was closed. It seemed as if she had chosen to believe what she wanted to believe and that was perfectly fine with me. We had just embarked on a beautiful three week Caribbean cruise and I didn’t want it to be ruined by a guilty conscious. There are many better things to think about.
~~~
Once we were about an hour away from Anguilla I asked Tommy to take us on a helicopter tour of the island. The Captain had his opinion on where we should drop anchor, but I wanted to check things out for myself.
“We have to come here tomorrow,” Kate cooed as we flew around the north side of the island.
“That’s called Scrub Island,” Tommy replied. “It’s uninhabited and has some of the most beautiful white sand beaches in the area.”
Maybe we’ll get a little privacy this time, I thought to myself. I had been thinking about making love to Kate on a secluded white sand beach ever since Valentine’s Day. Everything had been absolutely perfect until CW had broken up our fun in that black helicopter. This time we’ll go by ourselves to make sure no one knows where we are going. I need to do that three hour mini-sub lesson with Edward tomorrow morning too. I want to be able to take Kate on afternoon cruises.
After flying back over the south end of Anguilla I had to agree with the Captain’s choice and we dropped anchor in Rendezvous Bay for the evening. Chef Jameson had been braising lamb shanks all afternoon, so once we were anchored in the bay everyone began preparing for a big dinner at sea.
“I’m going to invite a couple crew members to dine with Kate and I each evening,” I told the Captain. “If we are going to be roaming the seas together, I want everyone to feel comfortable with us.”
“Don’t be spoiling my crew,” the Captain warned. “There’s no going back once you start treating them like guests.”
“That may be true for some people, but I would really like to get to know everyone on a personal basis. If anyone gets out of line, I won’t be afraid to kick some ass,” I assured him.
“Alright, you write their paychecks so I guess you can do what you want,” he replied still seeming reluctant.
Truth be told, it kind of bothered me to have 15 people waiting on the two of us. I realize that it takes that many people t
o keep a ship like this running smoothly, but both of us were honestly getting tired of people constantly asking us if we needed anything. The ship was always spotless, everyone was doing their jobs and in my mind everyone deserved a night off and a special meal once in a while.
Kate
Against the advice of Captain Alexander, Jack indulged the entire crew for the evening and it turned out to be a well-received gesture. I know there are people out there who want to be treated like royalty on a daily basis, but that really didn’t work for us. Jack liked having meals prepared for him and expected everything to be well maintained, but we both wanted a more casual relationship with crew members. After that night, the crew’s performance actually improved much to the chagrin of the Captain, who still believed in his old-school methods.
In addition to Captain Alexander, we entertained Carla and Edward as guests at our table. They both were well traveled and had very colorful pasts. For someone who had hardly gotten out of the city for the first 22 years of her life, it was rather eye opening. Carla had grown up in Amsterdam, had gone to college in Germany for a year then she had traveled for a year before deciding to become a massage therapist. She talked about backpacking through Europe, staying in hostiles and using her Euro pass whenever she wanted to move on to a new country.
Edward had grown up in East Germany and had fled his homeland after the Berlin wall came down in 1989. He had started out as a mechanic on a cruise ship until he got the opportunity to work on a private yacht.
“There are just too damn many people on those cruise ships,” he said shaking his head.
“So it’s your job to keep the engines running?” I asked him.
“Yes, it’s my job to keep everything running. Tomorrow however, I’ll be teaching Jack here how to run the Triton sub,” he replied with a broad smile.
Jack assured Ed that he was a quick study and that it shouldn’t take the full three hours. It seemed as if Ed took pride in the fact that he would be showing Jack how to operate it. He had definitely come a long way from the days of his youth, growing up in communist Germany. As I listened to Carla and Ed talk about their experiences, it made me wonder if I ever would’ve ventured out of New York City if it hadn’t been for Jack. Those two were obviously much more adventurous than me and I had to admire them for it. I couldn’t imagine taking off on my own with only a dream and a few bucks in my pocket. Just the thought of it sent a shiver up my spine.