by Tracy Kiser
Lana shook her head; she wouldn’t allow herself to think like that. There was a chance she could still find her Dad, and as long as there was a chance, no matter how slim, Lana knew she had to take it. She wiped the tears off of her reddened cheeks and turned toward home.
Chapter 10
Lana sat on her bed with a pen and her spiral notebook. She scribbled down hygiene items at the bottom of her list of supplies. The list of things she would need on the trip steadily grew. Lana knew she would have no problems with most of the things on her list. The only item she was worried about was a boat. The trip would require a sailboat and Lana definitely didn’t have one. If Uncle Danny wasn’t so against this trip, she could have used his. However, the way things were, she’d have to find another way. The debit card and checks for her inheritance were supposed to be arriving any day.
Lana breathed in deeply. She would have to spend a large chunk of the money her dad left her to buy a sailboat. She wondered if she needed a license to own a boat. She had absolutely no idea. She’d worry about that if the time ever came. Her cell phone let out a beep and Lana leaned over to her nightstand to pick it up.
The text read, “Are you Okay? Where have you been? Text me or call me.”
Aiden. Lana hadn’t talked to him since before she went to see Uncle Danny. She let out a deep sigh, looking at the words on the screen. Aiden hadn’t thought she was deranged when he helped her figure everything out and piece together the clues that they had found. But she couldn’t take another person telling her she was crazy to believe that her Dad was still alive. Lana knew she was alone in this.
Lana placed the cell phone back on her desk without replying. Sorrow crept up her neck. She resisted the urge to call Aiden and instead, pen in hand, continued making her list of supplies.
* *
Lana parked her car in the lot at the Bayside Marina. There had to be some boats that were kept here by owners who wanted to sell them. She hoped that she could find a used boat for her trip. With her satchel bag hanging at her side, Lana walked across the lot to the pier. She examined the yachts and sailboats as she passed them. A couple of boats seemed perfect for the trip she was planning. She saw a smaller yellow one with white sails and orange paint on the starboard side that depicted a sunrise, brief strokes of pink and purple added to the glory.
Lana walked the wooden pier towards the marina’s main office watching the ocean kiss the planks. She knocked on the door gently before entering. A man three times her size with a straw hat atop his bald head sat at the only desk. His sunglasses hung down to his stomach on a nylon cord. Stacks and stacks of papers surrounded him, a single radio buzzing behind him.
“Why hello there missy,” the man said clearing his throat. “Joseph Collins the third, you can call me Joe, missy. Now what can I help you with today there girl?”
Lana straightened her back, finding her courage. “I’m looking for a boat to buy. Preferably used, are there any here that are up for sale?” She tried to make her voice sound strong, so the man wouldn’t question her age or why she wanted to buy a sailboat in the first place.
“Why missy, yes. Yes, I believe there are a couple. Let me just have a look here.” The man shuffled through papers scattered about his desk, a small whirlwind of white. “Here we go, here we go. Space 42 and 63 are both for sale. Number 42 looks to be priced at $49,500 and number 63 is at $55,700. They are both docked up if you want to go have a gander and come back to let me know what you think there missy.” He finished speaking and adjusted his straw hat so that it wasn’t centered but cocked to the right, revealing a little bit more of his bald head.
“Uh, thank you, um, Joe. I’ll go ahead and look at them. I’ll be back in a few.” Lana left the office giggling to herself at the man. She walked towards the docked boats that were for sale, her hands in fists, nervous as to the condition of the boats she would have to choose from.
* *
The boat towered in front of Lana. The masts beamed in the sunlight. Lana bent down and ran her hand along the wooden side of the boat damp with salty water. The boat showed its age, but Lana believed that this was the boat she’d need to find her dad. Large light grey sails and a murky teal paint job. This boat had sailed, a lot. Lana looked up and down the boat knowing that this wasn’t going to be easy to sail by herself.
“Lana?” A soft voice rang out behind her. She heard footsteps echo against the wooden dock, her muscles tensed, her mind screamed to run, but she couldn’t. Lana knew she couldn’t avoid her boyfriend forever. She turned to see Aiden rushing toward her. Lana stood up to face him.
“Oh God, Lana. Where have you been? Why haven’t you been responding to my texts or answering my calls? I’ve been so worried.” Aiden paused and looked at the large blue-green monster of a sailboat bobbing behind her. “What are you doing here?” Aiden inquired.
“Hey, Aiden,” Lana said in a hushed tone. “I’m sorry, I’ve been, er, really busy.” Her eyes stayed on the planks of the piers. She couldn’t meet Aiden’s eyes, not after she’d been ignoring him for the past few days. The guilt wrenched at her heart.
“That’s a B.S. excuse. What’s going on Lana?” Aiden demanded, knowing there was a reason behind why his girlfriend had been doing nothing short of pretending he didn’t exist.
“I’m…uh…looking at boats.” Lana motioned to the boat looming behind her.
“For what?” Aiden probed, hoping she wasn’t about to say what he thought she was.
“A trip.” Lana said quietly. Her hands came together and she knotted her fingers.
“Lana stop it. Just tell me what’s going on. Did I do something?” Aiden asked bluntly. He couldn’t imagine what he had done to deserve this kind of treatment. He’d been there for Lana throughout their entire relationship, especially recently. He had put everything into this theory that she had and then after they had found the final piece and saw the bigger picture, Lana had dropped him. Not even bothering to return a text message.
Lana looked up at Aiden’s tanned face. “I’m picking out a boat to go find my dad.” Lana squinted her eyes against the sunlight, raising one hand to cast a shadow over her eyes.
“You’re what? You’re going to go find him?” Aiden sounded exasperated.
“I don’t see anyone else trying to go find him. So that leaves me doesn’t it?” She answered harshly.
“Lana, you can’t go sailing to the Bermuda Triangle all by yourself.”
“I don’t really have a choice. My mom hates sailing now. And even if she didn’t she doesn’t want to go through this again. Uncle Danny thinks I’m going crazy and trying to chase dead people. So that leaves me.” Lana pointed to her chest and broke away from Aiden’s gaze.
“Damn it, Lana. I won’t let you do this alone,” Aiden looked down at the pier shaking his head. He watched men climbing off their boat with a large net of fish and deep sea fishing poles.
“Which is why I didn’t ask you. I can do this Aiden, even if no one believes I can,” her voice broke. Lana realized that she had tears in the corners of her eyes. She felt one slide out and roll down her cheek, a cool line erasing the heat of the sun.
Aiden’s voice softened, “I didn’t say I don’t believe that you can do it. I’m saying I can’t let you do it alone.”
“I already told you – there’s no one who will help me. I really thought Uncle Danny would but…”
Aiden interrupted, “Lana, let me help you.” Aiden stepped closer to Lana and took her hands in his.
Lana froze. Her eyes widened. Did he really just offer to…?
“You actually want to come with me?” Lana whispered.
“Yes, Lana, I do. You’re my girl and if you want to be ‘crazy,’ as you put it, then I want to be crazy with you.”
“Are you serious?” Lana let out an awkward laugh letting herself move closer to Aiden. She couldn’t believe that he had just offered to sail into the Bermuda Triangle with her. She knew it sounded crazy, and she had seen his fa
ce when they had discovered where her dad had disappeared to, but he had offered…for her…
“One hundred percent. I don’t know how we’re going to pay for it, we’ll need quite a few supplies but we can use my family’s boat.” Aiden moved his head to show that his family’s sail boat was just on the other side of Bayside Marina.
“I think I have a way we can afford everything we’ll need.” Lana wrapped her arms around Aiden’s neck and moved her lips to touch his. She kissed him with all the hope and love she held in her heart. Another tear ran down her cheek. Lana couldn’t believe that Aiden had just offered to come with her. She could feel herself moving closer to finding her Dad.
* *
“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Aiden said as he and Lana walked down the supermarket aisle. Lana was pushing the cart and Aiden was trying to hold her hand as they ran down the things on Lana’s list of supplies.
“Technically, it was your idea,” Lana teased. Replaying the romantic gesture at the marina. Lana was overjoyed that her plan to find her dad was coming to life. A few more days and they would be setting sail.
“Of course it was. I just love, love,” he repeated with more emphasis, “crazy adventures,” he laughed.
Lana had received her debit card in the mail that morning. After finishing the list of all the supplies they would need, Aiden and Lana had decided that they needed to start collecting them. Their cart was full to the edges with essential items they would need throughout the entire trip.
Aiden had determined that the trip to the Bermuda Triangle would take five to six days. They would stay in the area for three days while they looked for Lana’s Dad. Then they would return, hopefully, with Lana’s Dad.
The whole trip should last thirteen days. Lana decided the amount of supplies that they bought should be for three weeks, as a precaution. Just in case they needed more time to locate her father or a storm hit and it took them off course. Aiden tossed a couple of emergency medical kits into the cart for first aid use if anything unfortunate should happen and the couple continued through the aisles.
When they had gone over the list thoroughly and double checked that they had successfully gathered all of the necessary supplies, Aiden and Lana walked to the check-out aisle. Lana slid her new debit card through the credit card machine and typed in her PIN number. ‘Approved’ flashed across the screen jolting her nerves. She briefly wondered what her dad would think if he knew that Lana was spending her inheritance on supplies for a trip to save him. She figured he’d probably find the irony of the situation quite funny.
In the parking lot, Lana and Aiden loaded all of the bags into Aiden’s SUV. He would drop Lana off at home and then drive to the docks to put the supplies in his family’s sailboat. He had already taken care of the story with his parents. Aiden and his friends would be going on a little sailing trip before Aiden left for college in the fall. His mom and dad had just smiled and nodded when Aiden had asked them for permission. It did help that he was the baby of the family, the fourth in a line of boys.
* *
Sarah stood in her studio dipping a paintbrush into murky water when her phone rang. She placed the brush on a small paper towel and picked up the receiver eyeing the line she had just painted.
“Hello?”
“Sarah? It’s Daniel.”
“Hey, Danny,” Sarah smiled at his voice. “How have you been?” She twirled in a little circle, goose bumps running up her arms. Why did talking to Daniel always do this to her?
Daniel ignored the question. “I need to talk to you about Lana,” he said hurriedly.
Sarah could hear the anxiety dripping in his voice. “Daniel, what’s going on?” She stopped moving and placed her free hand on her hip. Positioning herself so that she could easily see the house from her studio.
“I’m not sure what she’s planning exactly but she thinks she knows where Tom is.”
Sarah’s throat dried. “Are you being serious right now?” She felt as if a bomb had just been dropped on her little quiet life. Her hand left her hip and went to her hair, slightly tugging it in nervous frustration.
“Completely. She got a logbook in the mail, apparently one of Tom’s and she’s been reading it.”
“No, I threw it away the day it came in. It was a really sick joke and I hope I never find out who did it.” Sarah was shaking her head. Her daughter couldn’t have read it. There’s no way. Lana understood what this would do to Sarah.
“Sarah, she still has it,” Daniel continued. “And she found more logbooks hidden somewhere.”
“There’s … more?” The surprise entered Sarah’s voice. Her hand dropped from her hair and her entire body froze with disbelief.
“Yea, Lana said she found them in the antique coffee table. Sarah, she thinks Tom’s stuck in the Bermuda Triangle.” Sarah took a moment to try to comprehend what Daniel was saying to her. There were more logbooks and it showed that Tom was in the Bermuda Triangle? The place with the vanishing boats and messed up sailing instruments?
“What? Lana thinks what? How the hell did she get that crazy idea?” Her voice shook the thin walls of her makeshift studio. She picked up her paintbrush off of the paper towel just to throw it at the window facing the house.
“Apparently it was written in one of those logbooks she found,” Daniel explained.
“This is absolutely insane. She is out of her mind. I swear, I don’t understand what has gotten into her. Does she not realize what she’s doing?” Sarah’s mind was out of control. She kept seeing flashes of Lana’s face the morning the logbook had come in the mail and then flashes of the morning her husband left on his last trip.
“Sarah do you think Lana would try to sail a boat to the Bermuda Triangle by herself?” Daniel’s words sliced through her reeling mind.
“Daniel, Lana doesn’t know how to sail. There’s no way.” Sarah felt her body shaking but at least Lana couldn’t sail. There was no way that she could lose her daughter because her daughter had no idea what to do on a sailboat.
“Actually…” Daniel’s voice trailed off.
“Daniel,” Sarah’s voice became firm. “Does Lana know how to sail?” Sarah stood as still as her shaking legs would allow, waiting for Daniel to answer her inquiry. She knew the answer that was coming and she really didn’t want to hear it.
“She wanted to learn, Sarah. How could I say no?” Daniel asked innocently, feeling guiltier than ever.
“Damn it, Daniel. I can’t believe this is happening right now. I’m going to talk to Lana, I’ll call you later.” Sarah slammed down the telephone and took a deep breath. Her eyes still gazed out of the studio’s window.
“What the hell is my daughter up to?” She lifted her hand to her forehead. Sarah felt the heat coming off of her face in waves. She glanced at the painting she had been working on, a profile of her daughter playing in the ocean when she was just five years old. The door to the studio slammed as Sarah rushed to Lana’s bedroom.
Chapter 11
Lana heard a knock on her bedroom door and threw her overstuffed satchel bag into the closet, hiding the makeshift suitcase. Sarah came through the door before Lana could say anything. The door slammed against the wall and Lana saw that anger had flushed her mother’s face. The red streaked across her cheeks. Fear immediately seized Lana knotting her stomach.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing young lady?” Sarah’s voice echoed in the small room. She stood with her hands on her hips and a small fire of fury in her bright green eyes.
Lana stood frozen. Her mind reeling backwards searching for some reason her mother would be this angry.
“Mom…” she slowly answered keeping her voice steady and calm, “what are you talking about?”
“Don’t patronize me, Lana.” Sarah snapped, her hand flying up to point an accusing finger at her daughter.
Lana could hear her mother taking deep breaths in through her nose, a telltale sign of how angry she truly was. “Seriously, Mom…
”
Sarah stood in the open doorway with her hands balling into fists to try to contain some of her irritation. “Your Uncle Danny just called to inform me of your outrageous plans.”
Lana’s eyes widened. She watched Sarah nod her head. The moment of recognition. She couldn’t believe that Daniel had told her mother everything. She felt betrayed. Lana would never have imagined that Daniel would do this to her. How much had he told her? How much had Lana told him? She couldn’t focus on which pieces of information she had conveyed to Daniel.
“Yea, that rings a bell, doesn’t it?” Her mother’s voice dripped with venom, enough poison to kill Lana’s dream of finding her father.
Lana stayed silent, her lips pressed into a thin line. She had no defense. She knew that she couldn’t try to lie her way out of this, not that she would dare. Sarah knew her plans and probably a lot more than she could think of at the moment.
“If you think that you’re sailing off to some unchartered island, you’re out of your damn mind!” Sarah yelled, beginning to pace back and forth in front of the open bedroom doorway.
“Mom, I know what I’m doing,” Lana interjected. Sarah’s eyes turned from green to a blazing hazel. She immediately regretted saying a single word.
“Oh really? You think you know what you’re doing. Well, so did your Dad and look what happened to him. I’m not going to stand by and watch my daughter repeat my husband’s mistakes and wind up dead. No way, Lana. It’s not happening.”
“But he’s alive. I know where, we just have to go save him,” Lana spoke before she could even think about what she was saying. She felt as if she had no control over the words escaping her mouth. Why couldn’t she make her mother understand? Then maybe Sarah wouldn’t be so against the idea, or angry.
“No. You, my dear, are not going anywhere. You may be eighteen now but you are grounded until further notice.”
“Mom, you can’t,” Lana pleaded, but the razor sharp tone in her mother’s voice told her otherwise.