by Joy Redmond
The day Tori packed and returned home with her parents was a happy and sad day for me. The sparkle in her eyes warmed my heart, but I didn’t want to let her go. I miss her dreadfully, but I realize I have to turn loose and let her get on with her life. She’s a grown woman now. It’s hard for a grandmother to accept, but I know I have to. I find myself longing for the days when she was a tiny baby and I was holding her in my arms and singing lullabies as we rocked.
I am troubled by Tori’s change in moods for the past few days. I sense that something is eating at her. She doesn’t confide in me as she has always done, but I figure she wants to assert her independence and make her own decisions as a grownup. It’s strange, but she doesn’t mention Wes when we talk on the phone. When I see her, she puts on a happy face, but I know Tori. Something is amiss.
This has me a bit concerned. Maybe I’ll see a vision. Maybe I’ll pick up strong feelings about what’s bothering her. Maybe I’ll wait until she’s ready to talk.
Anna West-Morgan
Chapter Ten
Tori called Jill to tell her a plan she had cooked up, and being a good friend, Jill first tried to talk Tori out of it, and then finally gave in and agreed to become her accomplice.
That fateful morning, Tori was again thankful that her parents usually left for work before she got up. As soon as she heard their car pull out of the driveway, she jumped out of bed – fully dressed, her makeup perfect, ready to embark on what she was sure would be the greatest adventure of her life.
She ran across the floor and peered through the curtains of the window, waiting for Cliff and Rose Moss to back their cars out of their driveway and head up Maple Street.
She immediately called Jill. “Are you ready?”
“Are you sure you want to go through with this?” Jill asked.
“Of course!” Tori replied. “Now get over here. I don’t want to be late for my flight.” She hung up and dragged her suitcases outside, and then hurried back inside to scribble a note to her parents.
A few minutes later, Jill’s Pinto was parked in front of the house, and Tori hurried out to meet her. Tori wore a forest-green mini-shirt, a light green middy top, and sandals that exposed her coral-painted toenails that matched her fingernails. “How do I look?” she asked, spinning around so Jill could check her out from every angle.
“Perfect,” Jill answered flatly, as she picked up a suitcase and tossed it into the back seat. “But this is a dumb idea. Actually it’s stupid, just plain stupid! I’m as mad at Wes as you are, but running away like this isn’t going to solve anything. Why don’t you just have a face-to-face with him?”
“I’ve already had the face-to-face with him, and you see where it got me. It got me divorced! He’s done with me and I’m done with him. He could have stopped the divorce, but he let it go through – and he didn’t even contact me. So he can kiss my happy ass, as far as I’m concerned,” Tori said, fighting the urge to break into tears. She looked Jill squarely in the eyes. “I think he has a girlfriend, if you want to know the truth. Well, he can stick his girlfriend up his butt and sit on her!”
Jill didn’t comment on the girlfriend, and that reinforced Tori’s hunch. It didn’t matter at that point, and she didn’t push Jill. As Jill opened the car door and slid behind the wheel, Tori said, “I left a note on the kitchen table for Momma and Daddy.”
“What does it say? ‘I’ve run off to join the circus.’”
“No, smart aleck,” Tori replied. “It just says I’ve gone on a little vacation and that I’ll call them later.”
It was the only way Tori could make her escape without causing her parents to have a conniption. They had no idea what she was going through. After all, they’d never lost the love of their life. Their love had always been secure, so they couldn’t possibly know what it was like.
Jill threw both hands into the air. “You know something? You’ve got to be the most stubborn, pigheaded person I’ve ever known. Once you set your mind to something, it would take an act of congress to change it!”
“You got that right. Now let’s head for the airport – and freedom!”
“You’re making a big mistake. And to quote Grammy – those who won’t listen have to feel!” Jill said.
When they reached the stop sign at the end of Maple Street, Tori glanced out the window and saw Tommy Hill on his usual morning jog. She stuck her thumb in the air, and said, “Go Tommy, go!” Then she mumbled, “You little ferret-face-nerd-turd.”
Jill chuckled. “Tori, when are you going to let up on that boy. He’s been in love with you since kindergarten.”
“How well I know!” Tori said. “If nothing else, I’ll give him credit for being consistent.”
When they reached the airport in Trent, Jill helped Tori lug her bags into the terminal, then kissed her goodbye and made Tori promise to call as soon as she was settled into her hotel room.
“I will,” Tori said, “Now get out of here before you’re late for class. Stop worrying. I’ll be okay.”
Tori watched Jill walk through the revolving door, and then she turned and waved. As Tori returned the wave, an eerie feeling crept up her spine, as if she were seeing Jill’s sweet face for the last time. Tori shook it off.
She checked her luggage and collected her boarding pass. It was her first time to fly and she was excited but also nervous. She remembered to put gum into her mouth to keep her ears from popping as the plane ascended and descended.
Finally, it was time to board and Tori’s heart pounded as she found her seat next to a window. She listened intently as the stewardess told them how to find the exits, how the cushions could be used as floating devices, how to use the oxygen masks, and how to fasten their seatbelts.
Tori held her breath as the plane taxied down the runway and lifted off the ground. She gazed out the small window as the plane rose higher and the things on the ground got smaller. When they flew over the highway she was aghast. Cars looked like ants marching up a string. Then she saw nothing but clouds, so she settled back, closed her eyes, and tried to imagine what the future held. There was life beyond Madison – and beyond Wesley Asner – and she was going to find it.
She opened her eyes and looked around, wondering where the other passengers were headed, wondering what they might be running from or running to. Some of them looked sad and some looked tired. What kind of tragedies had they known in their lives? Were they, like her, on the plane in search of a better life? If so, she wished them good luck. Tori closed her eyes again and dozed off. When she awoke, her ears were popping as the plane descended toward Atlanta.
* * * *
She waited for all the passengers from the back to pass, and then she joined them as they walked down the aisle and descended the steps that had been rolled to the side of the plane.
Her heart raced as she entered the terminal. The place was huge. Almost the size of Madison, to her. She walked what seemed like twenty miles to get to her gate. After she found it, she was happy to see a snack bar close by.
She had an hour before her next flight, so she grabbed a cheeseburger, fries, Coke, and a cherry pie. After she ate, she browsed through a bookstore, fantasizing about being a famous author and signing books all over the world. She jolted from her reverie when she heard her flight number called for passengers to board.
The next plane was three times the size the one she had taken to Atlanta, and she was happy that she had been assigned a window seat. She was excited, but thoughts of Wes still lingered in the shadows of her mind. She knew she would always love him, but he was out of her life. He’d made his choice and she was determined to move on – and this adventure was the perfect way to start. She was soaring through the wild blue yonder, free, excited, and awed. The thought made her smile.
The plane bounced as its wheels hit the runway in Tampa and Tori gasped, hoping they weren’t about to crash. She gripped the armrest until her knuckles turned white. Finally they pulled up to the terminal and she was able to breathe n
ormally again.
Inside the terminal, she watched the luggage carousel until she saw her two suitcases. She grabbed them, and then found her way to the car rental area. After filling out a mountain of paper work, the man behind the counter handed her a set of car keys and pointed her toward her car – a blue Volkswagen Beetle, the cheapest car she could rent.
She had to use her savings sparingly. Her parents and grandparents had worked hard for the money they’d deposited in her account through the years and she wasn’t going to blow eighteen years of savings that was supposed to have been used for her education. Well, her education was about to begin – although it wasn’t going to be exactly what they had hoped for.
She unlocked the car and threw her luggage into the backseat. The Florida humidity had wrapped itself around her like a heavy wet blanket and she was dripping with sweat. She rolled down the windows, drew in a deep breath, and turned the key.
“Okay, world, here I come!” she said above the roar of the Beetle’s engine.
Tori followed signs toward the bay and felt a renewed sense of excitement as she deeply inhaled the salty air, the smell of saltwater, fish, and other Floridian scents.
It was a straight shot across the bay. Then she followed Gulf to Bay Boulevard, over the drawbridge, and across the causeway. She couldn’t believe the beauty as she drove. Flowers were blooming along the median and she’d never seen a real palm tree before. They were a little weird looking, but pretty in their own peculiar way.
She was also in awe of the huge mansions that lined the shore. She was surrounded by wealth unlike anything she’d ever seen in Madison. Many of the mansions had huge sailboats docked behind them. The biggest boat she’d ever seen was her daddy’s aluminum twelve-footer. She was getting a feel for what a country hick she really was.
She took a left at the end of the causeway, and then a right and pulled into the drive of the Caribbean Hotel. Signs directed her toward the parking lot. She could see the ocean from the car window. As she shut down the Beetle’s engine, she sighed deeply, feeling like a happy child who had just found a puppy under the Christmas tree.
Tori stepped out of the car and was surprised by the heat of the Florida sun. She was glad she’d packed a large bottle of suntan lotion, because she was going to need lots of it so she wouldn’t become a crispy-critter.
She signed in and then found her way down several corridors until she came to room 126. When she stepped inside, she was awestruck. The room was larger than the honeymoon suite where she and Wes had spent their wedding night.
She slapped herself upside the head, reminding herself that she had to wipe the memory of Wes from her mind – wipe it so far away that he would never find his way back inside her head again.
She pulled back the heavy drapes and gasped at the sight of the white sand, the Gulf of Mexico, the palm trees, and the seagulls. All of it was breathtaking – like something out of a fairy tale book. She was in Paradise, without having to die.
She crossed her arms over her breasts and swayed back and forth. “Only love can break the heart…only love can mend it again,” she sang. But she wondered if she would ever love again – or if she even wanted to.
She heaved the larger of her two suitcases upon the bed, opened it, and searched for her green bikini. It was the first bikini she’d ever owned and she couldn’t wait to slip into it. She was in Florida, and she was determined to fit in with the beach crowd!
As she put it on, she laughed as she thought of how Grammy would have fussed and told her that ladies didn’t go out in public half-naked. And in her mind’s eye she could see Wes about to have a purple cow – but she was free from Wes. Or at least she was working on it.
Tori admired herself in the mirror on the back of the bathroom door. She had gained a few pounds, but still only weighed one hundred and seven, which wasn’t bad for her five-two-inch frame. She had long, shapely legs and her bust, waist, and hips measurements were thirty-four, twenty-three, thirty-four. “Perfectly proportioned.” She was ready to go make a few eyes pop.
Her plan was to catch a big, handsome hunk, and then throw him back like a too-small fish. She didn’t want a keeper at the moment, she just wanted to experience the thrill of reeling one in.
“Payback is a big, warty witch, Wesley Asner,” she whispered. “You just keep taking the bows, big boy! But I’ll take no more blame.”
She generously smeared her face and body with suntan lotion, slipped on sunglasses, then grabbed a beach towel and dropped her room key into a small change purse containing a few dollars.
She was giddy as she shut the door behind her and strutted down the halls. Stepping through a back door and out into the bright sun, she walked across the blazing-hot sand, which immediately made her realize she should have worn her flip-flops. She hurried to the wet sand by the water’s edge, and then turned in circles, drinking in the new world that surrounded her.
She hid her change purse under her beach towel, dropped her sunglasses on top of it, and slowly waded into the ocean. When her body adjusted to the cool water’s temperature she waded further. Then she swam a few strokes, but it was nothing like swimming in a pool. The saltwater stung her eyes and when some of it ran into her mouth, she coughed and spit as if she’d swallowed poison.
She didn’t want to fight the current, so she waded back to the water’s edge and sat down to let small waves wash over her. She sat for several minutes, splashed her body, happy as the carefree child she had once been.
Looking out at the blue-green water, she gasped as two dolphins jumped and did nosedives, as if performing just for her. In the distance to her left she saw more sailboats. Then she turned to her right and studied another strange sight. People were landing in the water with parachute-looking things on their backs.
Along the beach she could see rows of tiki huts. She cocked her head wondering who would have thought of using palm fronds to weave roofs for them. “Neat-O,” she mumbled. Then she decided it was time to sunbathe.
She waded out of the water, picked up her stuff, then walked a few feet before she spread her towel and applied more lotion. For a few minutes she propped herself up on her elbows, watching many children frolicking around her. She smiled as she noticed some of the parents were helping their children build sand castles.
Seagulls were flying and some were scampering in the sand looking for food. Tori laughed when one spunky bird dove at a man who was holding food with both hands, snatched a morsel, and then flew off.
Her neck began to ache, so she lay flat and closed her eyes. The sound of the ocean and the wonderful hypnotic waves coming and going soothed and calmed her. Peace, joy, and hope for tomorrows swept over her as the waves lapped the shoreline.
She was about to doze off when she sensed the presence of someone standing near her. She opened her eyes and saw a man with a handsome face and a magical smile looking down. He had golden-blond hair that fell to his shoulders, and sapphire-blue eyes that seemed to look into her very soul.
As he knelt beside her, she lifted herself back onto her elbows. He was probably the most handsome man she’d ever seen – and what a body! With his washboard abs, muscular arms and legs, wide shoulders, and narrow waist, he was the whole ball of wax, the whole enchilada, every girl’s dream. She could only blink. Had she been in the sun too long and was perhaps seeing a mirage?
“Excuse me,” he said. His voice was as smooth and silky as butterfly wings. “I didn’t mean to startle you.” He batted his eyelashes that were longer and fuller than most women’s were after applying mascara. “I couldn’t resist coming over and introducing myself.”
Her stomach did a triple axel, and she still couldn’t speak, as he extended his hand. “Hi, I’m Cody Baxter.”
Finally, she managed to stammer, “Um, I’m Tori Hicks.”
As he squatted beside her, his face close to hers, she could feel his warm breath. His eyes were as blue as a swimming pool and his smile was hypnotizing. He slipped his hand into T
ori’s, and smiled a seductive smile that could have made the world stop turning. “Hello, Tori. It’s nice to meet you.” His voice was like a lullaby, soft and soothing.
“Nice to meet you, too,” she managed to say. He was so beautiful. Was he a Greek god? She wanted to slap herself for thinking such utterly ridiculous thoughts. Maybe she had been in the sun too long.
“Do you mind if I join you?” he asked, still holding her hand, clasping a bit tighter, and sending electrical sparks up through her arm all the way to the top of her head.
“Yeah, sure. Pull up a piece of sand and make yourself comfortable.” Tori wanted to cringe. Why did she always say stupid things when she first met a good-looking man? She had done it with Wes back in high school, and now she was doing the same thing with Cody. Maybe he wouldn’t think her a dunderhead – or someone from the Macadamia Farm who was out on a weekend pass.
Cody laughed heartily from his belly and seated himself beside her. “You’ve got a great sense of humor. I like that. Any woman that can make me laugh can steal my heart.”
The air whooshed from Tori’s lungs. She felt like a deflated balloon. She only hoped she didn’t resemble one. Her hair was wet, she had on no makeup and her face was oily. But Cody seemed to like what he was looking at. He continued to eye her from head to toe, smiling as if he was taking inventory and she was well stocked.
“You have the most beautiful hair I’ve ever seen. I’ve always been fond of redheads, they turn me on,” he said, as he gently pulled a curl, turned it lose, and smiled as he watched it spring back into place.
Unfortunately, his playful gesture reminded Tori of how Wes used to do the same thing when her hair was wet – and she’d come to Florida to forget Wes. In spite of herself, she said, “My hair isn’t red. It’s auburn! I hate being called a redhead!”