Cynic, Surfer, Saint (Scenic Route to Paradise #1)

by Andrea Aarons

  Todd and Sonya were each twenty years old. The cultural difference was vast but even more so was the actuality that at the time D’Almata was emerging from its own middle ages. The islands are doubly isolated. First from the mainland, but because of years of oppression and war the nation had been caught in a time warp, also. Mishael was only five years old when his father, Todd snuck off the royal island one night – never to return.

  Sonya divorced him according to the D’Almata legal system and Todd took the precaution of divorcing her according to the American courts. Celina emphasized, “Sonya’s parents are alive and healthy. She has become a global citizen; rarely on the islands these last few years. Understand, Todd’s child will be the next monarch – absolutely not Mishael’s mother, Sonya.”

  Apparently, Todd worked to maintain his fatherly duties by meeting with Mishael for one or two weeks annually. Sonya and more specifically, the royal family allowed the father-son relationship to develop as they viewed Todd’s influence beneficial to Mishael’s eventual reign.

  When Todd married Celina and a year later Misha was born, Todd was ordered to the palace Almata by the royal watchdogs but he knew enough of their archaic ways to make excuse and therefore, not go. An emissary was sent to him with reams of paperwork for Todd. In the following months, the Nelson’s lawyers unraveled the meaning. The gist of the legalese concerned Todd’s willingness to allow Mishael to one day rule the island nation. In the complicated laws of D’Almata royal hierarchy, the firstborn son rules but if the father has another child he or she may be appointed as the next ruler according to the father’s discretion. There was no precedent or provision for a case like Todd’s and Sonya’s.

  Celina kept looking at the time on her cell phone. Finally, she said, “I am going to have to cut this short. I absolutely wanted you to know the unique if not odd group Todd and I have been dealing with for the last several years. It’s important.” She added, “The file does have limited confidential information included. That’s why I mention that if you decide against this fabulous opportunity, that you return it unread, please.”

  Licking her lips nervously, Toni nodded. A few minutes earlier she had retrieved a pen and notebook and had jotted down some notes as Celina spoke. Toni said, “I’m certainly trying to digest all this information. What an amazing story.”

  “I suppose it’s a bit incredulous… It’s all true although there is a lot more drama – if you know what I mean,” Celina confided with a roll of her eyes. She said, “Todd worked out a deal with Sonya and her family. He would appoint Mishael if they would allow his direct involvement in his upbringing and education. They agreed.” A blue fingernail tapped her cell phone to see the time.

  “Okay, the job description,” Celina said. She smiled at Toni and then continued. “Mishael has been to America several times but he has always been with us. We went to Disney World and skiing – things like that but he was with us and he was absolutely isolated from… Well, from everything. He is now 17 years old and on tour.”

  Toni blurted out, “Mishell is 17!”

  Celina responded without emotion. “Certainly and it’s Mish-shay-el. Yes but he is a very young 17… D’Almata didn’t have television until two years ago. Don’t get me wrong. Mishael is sophisticated and intelligent but he is not at all jaded… You may find him refreshing, actually.” She sniffed again.

  Toni mumbled “17” but Celina continued. “You see, he wants to see real America – not Disney and most importantly, he wants to learn to surf!” She paused, a wide smile lingered. He eyes sparkled knowingly at Toni and she added with a sniff, “Mishael is an excellent swimmer by the way.”

  Numb, Toni nodded and said. “Well, now…” She repeated this again before Celina said, “Job description? We would like to offer you the position of chaperoning him and teaching him to surf. You handled yourself exceptionally the other evening with Misha and your credentials are excellent.”

  Toni looked at Celina Nelson in bewilderment. Yes, I handled myself right out of a perfectly comfortable and flexible job… but credentials? Since Vance passed away, Toni felt she had no credentials. For the third time Toni said, “Well, now…”

  Celina responded. “This is a great opportunity for you. It certainly pays well and it is limited but Todd is hoping to offer you something else when Mishael goes back home at the end of summer.”

  Surfing? I cannot surf… but can I teach someone else to surf? Toni started to say, “Well, now” however, Celina interrupted her dithering. “Mishael needs to have someone about him that understands this country and also, someone who can protect him in a pinch. He has been traveling with a bodyguard and a distant cousin but Todd is uneasy about his son being in the States for an extended amount of time. I suppose he’s correct – a lot of things can happen in ten weeks.”

  Continuing, Celina said, “Toni, without going into all the details, Mishael is arriving from overseas next weekend. He is doing what D’Almata calls, a Tour-before-Duty. You see he starts rigorous training to be the next monarch immediately after his 18th birthday... If nothing untoward happens. His father, Todd and the royal watchdogs allowed him to take the traditional “tour” as they call it. In the old days, young wealthy D’Almatans would travel for six months or a year or even two before settling down to learn the family business or whatever.

  “Mishael’s tour is over in late August. It’s supposed to be a coming of age sort of thing. Their culture has its own peculiarities and from what I’ve seen and from what Todd has told me…” Eyes on the ceiling, Celina stopped and sniffed, “But I won’t go into all that.”

  Celina called the waitress over and asked Toni if she wanted anything more. The table was cleared and only the folder was left, as well as Toni’s pocket size notebook.

  “I have a lot of questions…” Toni began.

  “Of course you do but I absolutely do not have time to answer them at the moment. I do have to go. You can call me. Although, I need your answer before I leave today. You see, Todd is out of time and he wants to finalize these concluding months of Mishael’s tour… Most of all, Todd does not want to worry about Mishael!”

  Toni didn’t see how it could possibly work and she wondered if the Nelsons hadn’t mixed her up with someone else but she said, “Let me think on it and I’ll call you in an hour.”

  Celina had hoped for an immediate answer. She said pointedly, “Toni, if you take this job – you will start tomorrow.” She was scooting away from the table. Toni picked up the folder and notebook before pushing away too.

  By the time they reached the parking lot, Celina had given Toni her immediate instructions if she was on board. Toni was about to turn back to the street where her truck was parked when her phone buzzed; it was Jack Crespin from the jail. Toni didn’t answer it but instead, whipped around and hailed the departing Celina. Toni sprinted to her car as Celina’s window glided down.

  “I can’t believe I forgot to tell you! Celina, I saw that man that tried to kidnap Misha…” Toni told her. Celina’s forehead wrinkled and Toni added, “I saw him at the airport. He was going into the terminal to catch a plane… I suppose.”

  While Toni nodded Celina shook her head, asking, “Are you sure about your facts? I can’t believe they released him. Todd contacted the police on Saturday to find out what we needed to do but I don’t know what became of it. I’ll talk to Todd, thanks.” Her window went up as she sped away.

  Toni called Jack. He didn’t answer. She left a message.

  Toni needed to think... to pray.

  Driving up Artist Road, Toni eventually stopped at the entrance of a oft trodden hiking path. She took only her truck keys, pepper spray and the folder with a pen attached as she hiked up and away from the road.

  After a few minutes, Toni veered right following a narrow but fast moving stream. Another five minutes and she was making herself comfortable in a grassy sunlit knoll, guarded by a circle of mature Aspens. Her back pressed against a cold boulder. The chill was refreshin
g after the vertical, sweaty climb.

  Toni prayed.

  Opening the folder, she realized there was insufficient time to read the entire package. Rather than reading, she flipped through several pages stopping at a map: D’Almata. Twelve oversized green rocks and the smallest island was an entire city… the royal city of Almata. Toni flipped to the next page and there was another map. This second map was of the Adriatic Sea including the southern mouth where the Mediterranean is met. She pulled the page back and squinted.

  Where is D’Almata? She scanned the page not finding the twelve but her eyes kept traveling back to the Dalmatian Islands off Croatia. There was a definite connection, she decided. She flipped back to the opening page.

  Toni read.

  Toni dear,

  Todd and I are appropriately grateful for the courage you conveyed Friday night. It revealed a selfless and intelligent personality. Misha is none the worse for the experience which makes us realize that it was your level-headed response in an emergency which left her undisturbed by that extremely unpleasant incident.

  Now as for Mishael D’Almata, Todd’s son-

  I hope my explanation has brought you up to date on what is happening and what we need from you.

  The information here is thorough – over 80 pages and it’s confidential. Mishael after all is soon to be a head of state! Please guard this information carefully, as we know you will.

  Part I – Please, find your job description

  Part II – History and cultural specifics of D’Almata (Important!)

  Part III – Your contract must be signed and returned to my personal secretary by June 9th as Mishael and his entourage arrive on the 10th.

  Toni opened to the section on her job description. There she found three pages, small print! The first paragraphs incited her to close the folder and close her eyes, leaning her head against the cool stone. She was going to be 50! Not a military 50 or a professional 50 but a widowed, empty-nester, Bible-thumping 50.

  This is utterly ridiculous!

  Not speaking to anyone, not to herself and not even to God, she said, “I can’t do this. I’m almost 50 years old!” The sound of the birds and the stream rushing past not 10 feet from where she was seated, soothed her. She thought of checking her cell phone to see the time but then remembered there was zero reception in her hideaway and therefore, she opted to leave it in the truck. A breeze came down off the ski basin area, rustling the Aspens harmoniously and also, stirring the heat of the day. The sun against her arms and face was instantly cooled.

  Suddenly, she awoke. Toni jumped up. Celina Nelson! She told Celina she would call her within the hour. Surely, an hour had come and gone! Toni grabbed up the folder but missed her pen. It was actually Vance’s space pen... his lucky pen. She felt her front pocket. Ah, there it is.

  Normally, Toni would have a lingering goodbye to her beloved glen but today she scrambled down the hillside and then jogged the path to her truck. Driving down the mountain road she came around a bend to roll to a stop on the shoulder. There was excellent cell reception here, she remembered. Toni pulled her phone from her purse. Two minutes to spare! That is odd. Surely, I slept longer than that. She poked in Celina’s number.

  “There you are!” Celina gasped. “We’re at the airport, already.”

  Toni smiled in spite of the situation.

  They must have taken a helicopter to be at the airport so soon... We were having lunch together only an hour ago!

  “I’ll take it, Celina. Let Mr. Nelson know that it will be my privilege to be a ‘companion of sorts’ for the next few months to his son,” Toni told her.

  Celina was silent for a moment. Then she said, “Indeed? Well, absolutely… I mean who would turn down that salary?” Toni didn’t respond; she had glanced but not examined the contract and she didn’t know what her paycheck would be.

  “We’re at the curb! I have to go. You know that you start tomorrow? My personal assistant will call you later today – say 5pm. Gotta go.” She hung up.

  Toni looked at the silent cell phone while wondering what sort of pile she stepped into this time.

  Chapter 6

  Merry came through the gate that opened onto Canyon Road breathing hard, her hair damp with perspiration. Toni sitting Indian-style on a patio chair greeted her daughter with a raised cup of hot tea. The dogs expecting Merry’s return ran to greet her. They had their walk before the sun came up as Toni couldn’t sleep. Hours before, she took her daily run and the dogs went along as security guards.

  After Merry continued inside to shower and to get some breakfast, Toni returned to the folder. At the moment she was working on her contract. It was obvious to Toni that it hadn’t been drawn up specifically for her and indeed, the Nelsons originally had a male in mind for this position. Also, Celina’s rhetorical question, “who would turn down that salary?” took on new meaning when Toni read the agreement. There was a 10% bonus for satisfactorily instruction with the result of Mishael actually surfing which was offset by the termination of the contract “if _____________ (staff member’s name) was killed or accidentally incapacitated while working as a staff member” for the Nelsons.

  Toni had never seen such a contract. The salary and bonuses for ten weeks were more than Vance made in a full year.

  Last night after she returned from volunteering at the county jail, Toni had called her pastor, Guy Miles. She told him all about the job offer and why she had accepted it. He said, he probably wouldn’t be seeing much of her for the rest of the summer but the congregation would pray for her and for Mishael and for D’Almata.

  “Mom, you’re going to be 50 years old in a few weeks and besides, you don’t know how to surf. The guy’s a prince? This sounds like a job for me!” Merry said with a laugh. Toni gave her daughter a thumbnail description of the job after she came outside with her toast and juice a few minutes before.

  Toni thought, If you only knew how close you are to the truth! But she said, “Merry, this job might be too much for me…”

  “Might be?” Merry was grinning and swinging her long legs at Blondie the dog, who was in turn trying to get past her legs to set the slimed tennis ball on her lap.

  “You keep interrupting and I need to leave. Let me finish,” Toni said with her most disapproving face. Her expression always worked on the children at the church but Toni’s own children were well-educated in her practiced demeanor. Merry nodded although the grin remained.

  “It’s true I am going to be 50 but as my doctor told me recently, I am ‘a young fifty,’” Toni began. “Also, I have a gut feeling about this job but logically I must admit, it didn’t make sense to accept. In any case, yesterday as I was thinking – praying – wondering if I should attempt it, I… I fell asleep.”

  Merry giggled and said, “At least you weren’t too stressed about it!”

  Toni smiled too. She said, “I was worried but I was more tired than worried. Anyway, I dreamed… Yes, and it seemed rather long and detailed but it must have been brief because when I checked the time... You know how dreams are. It must have been brief as hardly any time had passed.” Toni took a sip of her tea. She looked beyond Merry’s wavy ash-brown hair to the mountains and sapphire-colored sky over the wooden coyote fence behind her.

  Merry waited and then said, “You dreamed. What was the dream?”

  Her mother didn’t reply. “I lost your Dad’s space pen up there. It was his lucky pen. I thought it was in my pocket but it wasn’t… I left it up there above Hyde Park,” Toni said as she continued captivated by the sky and mountains.

  “The space pen…? It was Dad’s favorite but you don’t believe in luck remember? Nothing is random in the kingdom of God, as you always say. So now,” Merry said as she pulled her legs under her to get comfortable, “Tell me your dream.”

  Toni shifted her gaze and shook her head at her daughter’s simple reasoning. Toni told her the dream that had sealed the deal with the Nelsons.

  There was a woman dressed in
old-fashioned clothes maybe from hundreds of years ago. She held a baby in her arms. The woman was more than a mother to the child; she was nurturing, protecting and taking the child to a destination. Interrupting the journey, in the dream dark horsemen came riding down upon the woman and child. The woman ran from their threat but it was apparent she would be overtaken in mere moments. Then, as the viewpoint was enlarged, other women could be seen running too. All the women were hurrying toward a common destination and they began yelling at the first woman to pass the infant to the nearest runner. Initially, she didn’t want to let go but finally at the last seconds before the horsemen ran her down she passed the child on to the next runner. The child continued to be passed along the relay race of women out distancing the horsemen. Each of the women dressed in the attire of their generation and then there were only two women dressed… well, in modern clothing. These last two were a mother and daughter in the line of runners. Gripping the baby, they ran around a corner but they could hear the horsemen not far behind. Because there was no one else to pass the child on to, they decided to hide. And so, they did.

  Toni finished by saying matter-of-factly, “Then I woke up.”

  Merry’s eyes grew wide. She stood abruptly and the tennis ball fell from her lap. Merry was typically transparent when caught unawares. Toni could read her youngest like a weatherman reading the clouds in the sky. Recognition, suspicion, certainty, denial, doubt, resolve and anger – in that order. Merry turned on her heel intentionally kicking the back of the chair with her other foot as she went inside without responding to her mother’s dream. The metal chair lifted, coming down still on all fours with a harsh clang.

  Whining, Blondie brought the ball to Toni. She took the ball and Blue with ears pointed straight up, stood quivering wanting to play. Toni said quietly, “Her father used to have the same reaction given the right circumstance… hmmm.” She tossed the ball to the far side of the yard. Sipping her morning tea, which was now too cool to be enjoyable, she wondered if she should have waited to tell Merry her dream. Toni watched the dogs bantering over the ball as she mulled over the dream and Merry’s reaction.