Zero Day

by Jan Thompson

  Yona had no idea when he would get out of jail. It had been a very long five years. He still had another three years left to go, even with all the sentence reduction.

  Sometimes she wondered if she should move on. There were some cute guys at Dmitri’s office who were interested in her. She had gone out with one or two of them in the last three years, but it hadn’t worked out.

  It didn’t help that all she could think of was that she’d better wait for Kelvin.

  Sitting on a bench outside Tereza’s house, Yona laced up her favorite pair of hiking boots. Those soles could handle the cobblestone sidewalks better than her regular walking shoes. She preferred walking because she could slow down by the river and take in the scenery, especially at this time of the day before the tourists flooded the city.

  She wished she had a walking companion. However, her work kept her too busy to make friends. When she had free time, she would take Tereza to the doctor, to run errands, shopping, and so forth.

  Yona felt sorry for her because her children hadn’t come back to visit her in three years. In a way, Yona had become her surrogate daughter.

  It was fine with Yona because she needed something to occupy her free time, in addition to reading books.

  Being single was both easy and hard. Easy to schedule anything on a whim because she alone made all the decisions. Hard because she felt lonely sometimes.

  Very lonely.

  Sometimes she wished she dared to write a letter to Kelvin. Or that he would write her as frequently as he used to do in his first three years behind bars.

  They had moved on with their lives, and whatever they’d almost had was in the past, except for Mordecai the cat—once a street cat, now a pampered house cat.

  For the last five years, Yona had taken care of that senior cat. She took him to the veterinarian. She trimmed his nails, combed his hair, sang to him, and fed him all his favorite food.

  Walking along Vltava River, under those pretty streetlights, Yona passed by people jogging in pairs. Some of them looked happy together.

  Yona still didn’t speak Czech, but some of the joggers spoke English. She didn’t mean to listen in, but she wasn’t wearing her earbuds. She wanted to immerse herself in the real-life environment she was in.

  People came here for vacations. And she had lived here for five years.

  She checked her watch and quickened her strides. Turning onto Charles Bridge, she came to a complete stop.

  There, standing in front of her, was none other than Kelvin Gallagher.

  Stunned, she had no words.

  Clean shaven, he was in a pair of jeans and distressed tee shirt.

  Please don’t tell me you broke out of prison. “What are you doing here?”

  “Meeting Dmitri.” He glanced at the tall man standing next to him. The man nodded.

  Was he a guard? Yona couldn’t tell. “Dmitri? That can’t be right. He’s in Paris today.”

  “For real? I received a message after they let me out that I am to meet him here at nine o’clock,” Kelvin answered. “Do you think he forgot?”

  “No. That’s not possible. Unless…”

  Kelvin laughed. “Unless he set us up.”

  The man next to him frowned.

  “Considering I walk at this time on Saturdays,” Yona said.

  “Alone?”

  “Alone.” Yona realized that she had become too predictable these days. She should change up her schedule so that no one could be expecting her at precisely the same location every time.

  “I gather Dmitri is not coming.”

  “You gather right.”

  “May I walk with you then?” Kelvin asked.

  “Out here in the open?” Yona wondered.

  “Dmitri didn’t tell you?”

  “Tell me what?”

  “Because of the amazing work I have done for various you-know-what entities, they are allowing me to serve the remainder of my sentence at home.”

  “House arrest?” In exchange for lending his expertise to the CIA, FBI, NSA, MI6, INTERPOL, and other government entities.

  “I can’t go past the city limits though, and I have an ankle band.” Kelvin lifted the hem of his jeans to show her his ankle monitor.

  Yona pointed to the guy that had accompanied Kelvin to the bridge. “Who is he then?”

  “He’s here to make sure nobody takes me out.”

  Yona thought that made sense because Kelvin had made enough enemies over the years. Thanks to Yona’s report, the Mossad didn’t consider Kelvin an enemy though.

  Speaking of the Mossad, Yona hadn’t received a single word about Reuel. Five years. Where could he have been? Dead, perhaps?

  Dmitri had promised to help her hunt him down. How long was this going to take them?

  “Well, Kelvin, here we are on an open bridge,” Yona asked. “Is this a good idea?”

  “I wanted to see you right away. I’m on my way to my new apartment—flat.”

  “You can’t leave town,” Yona repeated. What kind of a non-freedom was that?

  “But I can invite you to a concert in town if we want to go.” Kelvin paused. “If you don’t have other plans. Or anyone.”

  “No one. Dmitri has kept me so busy the last five years that work was all I did. No time to date.” Yona said it without hesitation, surprising even herself. “I would love to go to a concert with you.”

  “Classical or jazz?”

  “Classical.”

  “Have you eaten breakfast?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Coffee or tea?”

  “Tea.” Yona smiled. “What are you up to, Kelvin?”

  Kelvin stepped forward. “I’ve prayed about this for the last several years. Altogether I’ve waited for nine years to ask you out. If I don’t ask now… God hasn’t promised us tomorrow.”

  “Didn’t I say yes to a tea and concert?”

  “I know. It feels surreal that you would.”

  “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “Because I’m still a convict. I’ll be a convict for the next three years.”

  Yona reached for his hand. “Five years passed by quickly. The next three years might fly by too.”

  “I’ve dreamed of this moment for a long time.” Kelvin lifted her hand. “Do you remember when we were in Reuel’s castle?”

  Yona nodded. At their meals three times a day, Yona and Kelvin had conversed and plotted their escape. They had whispered in each other’s ears.

  “Five years ago, and it’s still vivid in my mind,” she said.

  “I remember how much I wanted to…” He eyed Yona’s lips.

  She knew that he wanted her to respond. She ran a finger across his chin. “I’m glad you shaved.”

  As he smiled, she pressed her lips against his chin. Then the edge of his lips.

  Suddenly realizing their guard was watching them, she stopped.

  Kelvin took over, molding his lips on Yona’s. His lips felt supple and smooth. And tasted like fresh toothpaste and clean water.

  I like a clean man.

  He was a good kisser.

  But did he have a good heart?

  Funny how a word could trigger a memory. Yona recalled a verse she had memorized. Luke 18:19.

  And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? None is good, save one, that is, God.

  Only God was good.

  Man was sinful and continued to battle his sin nature for the rest of his life on earth.

  Then again, God called His people to do good deeds in Luke 19:17.

  And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.

  Yona prayed that she and Kelvin would be faithful to God over everything.

  “I have something to share with you,” Kelvin said as he wrapped his arms around Yona. It was the first time they’d finally kissed. The first time they’d hugged.

  Yona waited.

  “I have a long way to go, far beyond
the next years,” Kelvin said.

  “Okay. Shall we walk?” Yona held his hand and led him down the bridge and along the river.

  “I’ve been studying the Bible a lot. I’ve been reading through the Bible every year, memorizing key passages.”

  “That’s impressive. I want to read through my Bible every year, but I haven’t actually done it.”

  “It’s refreshing to read His Word daily.”

  “Right.”

  “Speaking for myself, if I want to be a better Christian, I must spend time in God’s Word. Only He can teach me about Himself.”

  “Good.”

  “I want to be the best man God created me to be—in spite of my past sins.”

  “We have all sinned, as you know. We are all still learning.”

  Kelvin nodded. “Someday, I also hope to be the best husband God can make me.”

  Husband?

  When you know, you know.

  “What do you think about my goals?” Kelvin asked.

  “As with all noble goals, only God can help you get there.”

  “True.”

  “I will pray for God’s perfect will to prevail in your life…and mine too.” She hadn’t let go of his hand.

  “Good prayer.” He lifted her chin. “You haven’t changed all these years. Your face is still as lovely as ever.”

  “It’s not me.” She laughed. “I believe in Jesus. I have peace with God.”

  “I can see the peace of God in your face.”

  “Yours too. You have come to an understanding. You look like you do have the peace of God in your heart.”

  Kelvin’s eyes teared up. “I have asked God to forgive me. I am halfway through reaping what I sowed. But my soul is well. I am finally at peace with God.”

  Kelvin had grown so much spiritually. Perhaps that had been why God allowed him to be punished for his crimes this way. In jail, he’d had time to study God’s Word and prepare for life outside of prison.

  Yona couldn’t speak. She wanted to cry, but no tears came.

  Kelvin leaned toward her ear and whispered, “I love you.”

  Yona’s lips trembled.

  And he calmed her with another kiss.

  Those warm lips.

  She felt she could get used to it. “Do that every day?”

  “Tell you I love you and kiss you?”

  Yona nodded, tears welling in her eyes.

  “Yes, for the rest of my life.”

  Chapter 27

  The more Kelvin assisted law enforcement agencies in Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the more prison time he was able to chip away. As another year progressed, he became more confident that it would be over soon.

  Then he could fly home to the United States to put some flowers on his mother’s grave.

  His modified house arrest was going well. It was the best deal his attorney could negotiate for him. Five years served in prison and two years under house arrest.

  The last two years of his five years at the prison had been some of his busiest years. If the CIA didn’t want something from him, the FSB did. If neither did, then MI6 or INTERPOL had questions. And the cycle continued for twenty-four months.

  And then he was under house arrest.

  That was a big deal to Kelvin because he could work for Dmitri—right in the same office that Yona worked in. Dmitri had vouched for him, which meant all the world to Kelvin.

  Every day, as long as he was either at his small flat or at Dmitri’s office complex, he was fine. Once a week, he could take Yona out to a dinner and theater or concert. Other days, he ate his meals either at work or at his apartment. They let him walk along the river and on the bridges as long as he didn’t leave the Prague city limits.

  In spite of all that, he still had to check in with his CIA handler every day, not to mention his assigned prison officer. He got used to that fast, because breathing fresh air out here was better than inhaling stale air inside that prison, as historic as the place might be.

  The rest of the time, Kelvin was busy working for Dmitri, who had feelers in many governments. Even though he had rounded up Ulysses’s colleagues for the CIA and FSB, they still called him for other things. It gave Kelvin a chance to ask them if they had found Reuel.

  Speaking of Dmitri, he had moved his entire European operation to Prague. His business partner remained in the States, but Dmitri hardly went home anymore.

  Kelvin liked Dmitri’s new office complex in Prague. He could see Yona almost daily. Sometimes several times a day when she was in town.

  This early spring morning was special because Kelvin had finished praying about it and felt in his heart that the timing was right.

  It had been right for a while now.

  He was especially grateful to God that Yona agreed to have dinner with him once a week. Sometimes they ate lunch together at the office. Takeout from the cafeteria.

  Yona had given Kelvin the impression that they were an item. He enjoyed their strolls by the river and the sweet kisses that followed.

  Yona had not judged him based on his criminal past, but had been fair to him. She had focused on his present-day redemption and what he did with the second chance that God had given him to lead a new life.

  Kelvin wasn’t going to let God down.

  Or Yona. Who respected him as a human being, in spit of his past foibles and foolishness.

  Kelvin could tell that Yona had warmed up to him over the past year, not because they were two lonely people in Prague or that they had a history together, but perhaps because they both wanted to start over and have new lives.

  And at this moment in time, God had seen it fit to bring them together.

  There must be something more than coffee and kisses.

  Would she have kissed someone she disliked? Probably not.

  Kelvin glanced at the clock. It was 7:50 a.m.

  Five more minutes and Yona should be coming through the elevator doors and heading to her office.

  At precisely 8:00 a.m., she would be at her desk, logging in to her computer.

  Kelvin wondered how she would react to the multicolored tulips on her desk and the note he’d left for her. He had bought the flowers and delivered them himself.

  Kelvin started to get nervous, which was highly unusual.

  He hadn’t been nervous when they sentenced him to seven years in jail and three years of house arrest.

  He hadn’t been nervous when his cooperation from behind prison walls reduced his sentence to five years in jail and three years of house arrest.

  Now he was nervous to the bones.

  The elevator door opened.

  7:55 a.m.

  Kelvin braced himself.

  From his cubicle, he had a direct view of the hallway and the bank of glass walls. In the middle of the row of offices, Yona unlocked her door. She was carrying a cup of coffee in her hand and a backpack on her back.

  She was dressed in all black leather, and her hair was tied up in a bun behind her head. She was dressed to leave.

  Kelvin’s heart sank. He was hoping to talk things out at lunch, but she looked like she might not have time for him today.

  Yona put the coffee down and stared at the flowers and note. She opened the envelope and pulled out the note.

  Kelvin held his breath.

  She turned and faced the glass wall and looked directly at Kelvin.

  He froze.

  He shouldn’t have been staring. Now he had no chance to pretend like he wasn’t.

  Yona crossed the hallway in her combat boots, Kelvin’s note in her hand.

  Her lips reached his before their arms intertwined.

  There must be some office policy, but Kelvin couldn’t remember what.

  When she came up for air, she said, “My answer is yes. Now ask me properly.”

  Kelvin looked around. There were at least half a dozen people staring at them.

  “Now?” Kelvin could feel the shudder in his own voice. “I was going to ask y
ou at lunch.”

  “I’m leaving in thirty minutes.” Yona stepped back. “If you don’t ask me face to face, is it even valid?”

  “In private?”

  Yona waved her arms. “There is no privacy here. It’s an open space.”

  “Uh…”

  “It’s okay if you want to wait three months.”

  “Is that how long you’ll be gone?”

  Yona nodded. “Or longer.”

  This is it! Help me, Lord.

  Kelvin knelt down on one knee. A ring magically appeared in his hand. Actually he somehow retrieved it from his pocket, but he couldn’t remember when he did that exactly.

  “Yona Epstein,” Kelvin said. “You’re the most forgiving person I know apart from Jesus. You look past my sins and see what God could make of me. You helped me to see my potential in Christ. Much more than that, you waited for me all these years and listened to me when I shared with you all my fears and failures.”

  Tears streamed down Yona’s eyes.

  “Even after knowing all about me, you still went out with me. Even when all I could afford was an apple strudel to share between us or homemade sandwich or merely walks by the river.”

  Yona wiped her eyes.

  “I enjoy spending time with you, and I want to be with you the rest of my life, however long or short a time God gives us. Will you share my life with me? Will you be my wife and walk with me through life?”

  Yona nodded.

  “I promise to love you all the days of my life—through happy and hard times, through good times and bad. Will you marry me, Yona Epstein?”

  Yona drew a deep breath. “Yes, again.”

  It was a good thing that Kelvin had prepared her by popping the question—albeit abridged—in the note that went with the flowers. If she had decided not to accept him, she wouldn’t have come across the hallway to make him ask in person.

  It would have spared both of them any embarrassment, as the question wouldn’t have been asked aloud.

  Here they were.

  Kelvin nearly dropped the ring as he slid it onto Yona’s ring finger.

  “When do we marry?” Yona asked.

  “In a hurry, are we?” Kelvin handed her a tissue paper to wipe the tears from her eyes. She seemed to be wearing some makeup that Kelvin didn’t want to mess. He wasn’t sure how one wiped tears from a face that had makeup on it.