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

by Andrea Aarons

  Toni departed with more information to add to the folder, the travel itinerary, car rental info and lastly, the beach house agreement.

  Jan explained that the original plan was to have Rifta, Mishael’s man stay in the apartment over the garage at the house that had been leased for the summer in the smallish beach town known for its good surf in North Carolina. However, now that Toni was the “companion of sorts” as Celina and Jan described her, differing from the original plan of hiring a man, she rather than Rifta would stay in the carriage house apartment. Once they arrived at the shore, the three men would be staying in the main house. Jan confided, “This is a better idea anyway, after all Rifta is in reality Mishael’s bodyguard. Mr. Nelson vetted and hired Rifta himself. You see, the tour is an entire year of traveling about and Mr. Nelson didn’t want his son without some protection… besides that of Mishael’s pompous cousin.”

  “Merry, I’m glad to have you here while I’m gone to hold down the fort but I’d rather have you coming with me,” Toni told her daughter over a late lunch at a favorite restaurant of theirs off the plaza. She was working her over in hopes that Merry would join her for a few weeks. Merry knew a lot about surfing.

  “Mom… It sounds sweet actually, but this is your escapade not mine,” she said with a wink. “You have one young and handsome prince, his Bosnian bodyguard and a fabulously wealthy and therefore, snobbish cousin… How do you do it? Honestly, I don’t know anyone my age that has a mother who has crammed as much life as you have into a mere 50 years. Three young and gorgeous foreigners and my Mom gets to hang out on the beach with them all summer long!” Merry dramatically shuddered with pleasure.

  Toni looked about self-consciously. “Well, if you put it that way… Its better you don’t go with me. It could ruin your reputation. I suggested it because you’re a talented surfer and you understand all the important details like wind, water and weather,” Toni said. Their food came and once they got settled, Toni added, “The apartment assigned to me is huge – three bedrooms and two baths. It is right on the beach. I could get someone from the church to stay at my place and watch the dogs for a week or two.”

  Merry finished her bite. “Mom, I made over $500 in three nights, waitressing this week,” she said. Toni was shocked and she said so. “Wow, things sure have changed since I worked waiting tables at Mama Mia’s during college!”

  Merry said, “Yes, I’m thinking about a career change… J.K. Just kidding! It’s sweet to put some cash away before I go back to school in the fall.”

  Toni couldn’t argue with that reasoning. With Merry staying at the “cozy cottage” taking care of Blondie and Blue everything seemed to be falling into place.

  Wanting to expound about her job duties, Toni realized it would be awkward. Besides, Merry would feel compelled to call her older brother, Dale. Then Kate would be called and all the details of the extraordinary job would be discussed. In fact, Toni decided she had better call her other children herself before Merry added her own mischievous spin to the information.

  Toni changed the subject to what Merry needed to do if the alarm at the big house went off and where the dogs’ veterinarian was located.

  As they pulled from the curb in front of the restaurant, Merry sighed, “Cell phones, Mom. If I have a problem I’ll call you. Hey! That’s where I work,” said Merry pointing with her arm and hand flung out through the opened driver’s window. Toni glanced at the restaurant but she was thinking about Merry’s comment.

  Toni said enthusiastically, “Merry, Merry… quite contrary! You gave me a great idea. I can call you! You can get online… Your father used to do it whenever he was planning a surf trip. He would check out all the stats on wind and wave currents, heights, speed, tide – everything and he would make his surf plans based on the water conditions. Yippee! Why didn’t we think of this before! What do you say?”

  Merry looked at her Mom and Toni saw admiration reflecting from her face.

  Merry is such an easy read.

  Nodding approvingly, Merry said, “That’ll work. I can do that.”

  When they got home, Toni using her laptop pulled up the beach area where they would be staying in North Carolina and searched the surfer’s report of the local beaches. Merry looked over the information and after some time, she decided there was a surfable swell. Next to test their guesstimate, they pulled up a live camera that was set up in front of a boardwalk surf shop. The web page showed the water and what was happening on the beachside of the store. There were several people on the beach and half a dozen in the water. Two were on surfboards and there were waves but the wind was making a mess of the swell.

  “Oh look,” said Toni. “We missed the wind strength.”

  They spent a couple hours going over the mechanics of what information was needed and the necessity of knowing the beach geography to accurately predict whether or not the swell was right for surfing.

  “Mom…” said Merry drawing the word out. “It’s not an exact science, as you well know.” Merry added, “Just wait until you get there and then we will begin to work it.”

  Merry was right, of course. Toni understood that for the most part surf forecasting was conjecture and also, being in the right place at the right time was how surfers got the waves.

  Merry left for work while Toni got online to find an easy read beginners surfing manual. She ordered three, shipping them to the beach address.

  At sunset, Blondie began whining for a walk. Toni put on her sneakers and leashed the dogs because Canyon Road would be busy on a Saturday night – even Upper Canyon Road. She walked two and a half miles and then jogged back mostly downhill to her house. By the time she arrived at her drive, it was thoroughly dark and typically dangerous on the narrow road although the traffic was not as thick as she had expected. She was winded. Letting the dogs through the gate, something fluttered to the ground. The street light revealed a note settling at her feet as she stepped into her compound. Toni slammed the gate abruptly behind her and set the bolt. Her yard was inadequately lit but the dogs were her eyes and they were not perturbed.

  She hadn’t been alert. She wasn’t paying attention at all.

  How foolish.

  Had Mr. Nelson wasted the classes on her? Staying alert! Being observant was drummed into her head and sometimes, into her body for the previous four days. The focus of numerous lessons was launched from this principle which worked concurrent with her post-missionary paranoia brought home from Africa. Yet, here she was not twenty-four hours later, blithely jogging along inattentive to everything but two dog tails wagging in front of her.

  Stupido!

  The note was probably insignificant but it served as a sobering reminder, she surmised.

  Toni stooped and picked it up. Walking briskly to her door – like someone whistling through a graveyard, she unlocked it and the dogs came in at her heels. Pulling the blinds, she filled the electric kettle in the gloom, as the dogs lapped noisily at the water dish. Switching her reading lamp on, she looked at the paper.

  Toni pursed her lips as she read the scrawled phrase: Watching you

  Two words and she was ready to call 9-11 begging the SWAT team to clean-sweep the neighborhood.

  Calm down, Toni commanded herself.

  She drank a glass of water while the herbal tea steeped. Toni decided she needed to think; needed to pray. Read the Bible first! That is what she would do…

  Blondie climbed up on the bed, as normal in the other room but Blue laid on the floor at her feet. Toni began flipping through the pages. Her daily reading had her in the Psalms but tonight she opened the book, stopping at the story of Elijah running from the murderous threats of Queen Jezebel, 1st Kings 19.

  Toni read the whole chapter and then, re-read the first verses. The queen sent a message but her threats eventually proved empty. Still, when God’s servant saw the message, he fled in fear. With this in mind, Toni began to pray and before long the tranquility of God permeated her mind and soul… It seemed to her
, He filled her house with calm.

  In truth, a message has been sent but the threat is virtual not reality... God is able to protect His own.

  Composed, Toni decided it was a perfect time to be diverted by calling her son, Dale. At six-foot two eyes of blue, their son resembled her family which had a smidgen of these traits but his personality was genetically inspired from his dad, Vance. Dale was intelligent, motivated, serious and he feared God. He was extremely musical, as well and this gifting wasn’t found in the genes. The Merriweathers didn’t know a clarinet from a trombone while Toni and her ancestors couldn’t differentiate between a baritone and a monotone.

  Dale was the exception. His younger sisters were envious for a while. Eventually, Kate shrugged and cultivated her own gifting. Merry began putting her efforts and prayers into disciplining herself to prove that talent wasn’t always a “gift” but that God could and would bless hard work. With this conclusion in mind, she began taking voice training and singing lessons.

  At the moment, Toni wasn’t thinking of their giftings, similarities or differences. Rather, she was formulating a timeline of events and decisions and conclusions leading up to her taking this “companion of sorts” job. It was pertinent that she had her facts in order. Toni wanted to be brief without being mysterious as she knew her son once suspicious would immediately call Merry to find out all the details. Her children were always protective of her but since their father’s death, Toni determined they had become irrational. Vance had been their mother’s counter-balance and the Merriweather children understood that. Dale being the eldest child and a male seemed concerned to the extreme. Toni knew he had unreasonable guilt because he was far-away in Baltimore; he was happily married while she was a widow. Finally, he was young and full of hope and faith, besides having Toni’s only grandchild whom Toni had seen but twice – not counting the myriads of email pictures and face to face cell phone encounters. Gwyneth was now a year and half.

  “Mom! How did you know I was still up?” Dale, a freelance computer techie was often working into the wee hours on a project.

  There is a two hour time difference between Santa Fe and the east coast. It was somewhat after midnight in Baltimore. “I wanted to catch you when you could talk… I know how busy you’ve been. How is my baby, by the way?” Toni asked.

  Dale said, “I’m fine, thank you... Oh, you mean Gwyneth?” He chuckled.

  They talked about the baby, about his wife Anna and also, about a freelance assignment he was working on. After 15 minutes, Toni casually piped in that she had found new employment although it was simply a summer job. She omitted every detail that would raise red flags in Dale’s mind or inspire him to threaten to hop on a plane and come out to Santa Fe to see what was in truth going on. Also, because of his computer suave, Dale had friends – internet friends all over the world. They were an elite but varied group of wealthy and homeless, saints and sinners with the common denominator of being computer geeks. Dale wouldn’t hesitate to use his contacts to do a job that he himself wouldn’t or couldn’t do. When they hung up, both son and mother felt untroubled about Toni’s new job.

  Next, Toni called Kate. This time of year, Flagstaff was an hour earlier and she hoped Kate would answer. She did and Toni applied the same censored strategy on child number two, as she used with number one. Unlike her brother Dale, Kate was a morning person. By ten at night, she lived a full day and was ready to floss and go to bed. Tonight was no different. She heard Toni out, asked about Merry and then Kate hung up.

  Ignorance is bliss.

  Later after unlocking the gate, as Toni busied for bed, she thought about calling Merry to give her a heads up because of the ominous note. Instead, she prayed asking God to keep watch over her daughter as He had been doing these last 20 years – and doing the job flawlessly. She slept so sound that when Merry came in near midnight, Toni didn’t stir.

  Chapter 8

  Sunday after church, Toni and Merry met with some long time friends for lunch. In years gone by, Merry had given their daughter Suzette chicken pox after being in the church nursery as babies together during a conference almost 20 years previous. They laughed reminiscing as they ate and then, Toni left from the restaurant heading for the airport.

  There was plenty of time but Toni didn’t want any glitches to cause her to be late. The rental car needed to be picked up too and that would take some time.

  An hour later and Toni was catching an airport bus to the rental agency. Everything was going smoothly until she realized she was picking up a stretch limousine. It was a brand new one with all the frills. A stretch limo didn’t seem to fit the Americana experience described by the Nelsons. Toni called Janice Holmes, Celina’s personal assistant. Jan called Celina who in turn talked with her husband. Finally, Jan called Toni back.

  “The limo is out,” Jan told her. She said, “I think it was probably the snooty cousin wanting to travel in style but Mr. Nelson wants something low-key. Get something nice, really nice and big but nothing flashy.”

  This was a glitch. Toni was running out of time.

  The car rental manager assured Toni they was something available that would fit the bill for being “really nice, big but not flashy.” The car in mind was used when celebrities wanted to go incognito, he told her. She could wait or they would bring it to the airport. She filled out the paperwork and hopped a bus back to the terminal. They would bring the car to her.

  Toni realized that their plane already landed. She raced up to the security exit that arriving passengers used to make their way to the baggage area. Arriving at the tarmac, Toni was struck by the realization that she had no idea what the three young men looked like. Some people were already coming through the exit. Two men hurried along together but they were not young; one young man by himself but not three. She continued to watch until the throng became a trickle. Toni decided they must have gotten by her already. She needed a sign to get their attention.

  On her way down to baggage claim, Toni stopped at an information booth. The woman there was pointedly helpful and Toni came away with the word “D’Almata” written in black marker on a sheet of paper. On the escalator, Toni’s cell phone buzzed. The rental car was on the curb outside of the baggage claim area but the driver couldn’t sit there for long.

  “Go around twice and then call me again,” she told him.

  The correct baggage carousel was surrounded by passengers jostling luggage and sometimes one another while trying to find their stuff. Toni weaved in and out with her paper but no one acknowledged her. There were a few young men that she guessed were princely looking but they didn’t fit the “three young men” imagery. Finally, she sought a place to sit down. She would wait until some of the crowd dispersed and also, to get a better view of the travel group.

  After a moment Toni’s phone rang again. “Go around another two times,” she told the driver. When she looked again towards the circling baggage, she noticed that her view was progressively obscured by her neighbor who had several travel pieces piled almost directly in front of her. Toni stood up to peer over the mountain and as she did so, another piece was added. Again Toni could not see the carousel. She was going to be boxed in soon. Looking to her left, the narrow escape route between the seat and the towering mound was not passable. She turned right and circumvented the obstacle even as another large suitcase was thumped down next to the others.

  “Young man!” Toni said to the obvious body builder – for that is what he appeared to be with his height, muscular build and close blonde buzz-cut. “You are blocking my view… I am here on important business but I cannot see anything with all this,” she waved her paper at the mound and stomped away from him. She sat down several seats from her original position but was up again a moment later when she spotted the prince. He was standing with two other youngish looking men on the far side of the baggage carousel. Toni jumped up waving wildly to get their attention. She headed in their direction but she came up short, as one of the young men pluck
ed his bag from the carousel and then walked away from the other two. Although there were only two standing together, Toni started forward again until she realized one of the “young men” was actually a manly looking woman.

  She thought as she turned back to her seat, Confused… very confused! Out loud she mumbled, “Confused! I am very confused… where are these guys?”

  Approaching her recently acquired seat, Toni looked about for her paper with D’Almata markered on it. She tossed it aside when she got up but now the makeshift sign wasn‘t in sight. Toni went and stood at the end of the seating and looked down the row… At the far end was a young family sitting but about ten seats in, there was her paper where she left it. It was behind the huge pile of luggage that the body builder brought to town for an apparent competition. He was busily placing trunks, bags, suitcases, and a briefcase in front of her new seating arrangement.

  Toni couldn’t get to the paper because it was totally surrounded by baggage. She needed that paper!

  Climbing across seven seats, she retrieved it. Feet straddling two seats, Toni stood to see over the top of the luggage mound. Here came the fellow with another piece, a long tubular case. He was looking about for a spot to place it but instead, he stuffed it under his arm.

  Toni realized the man had actually moved the luggage several feet from the previous spot to this new local. She had an idea. Toni held up the paper, her sign, right in front of the strongman’s face as he stood not four feet from her on the other side of the luggage heap.

  “You see good up there, no?” he suggested.

  Toni asked, “Are you Mishael or Cousin Huram D’Almata?” Tossing his head to the right, the man laughed.

  He said, “Me Rifta,” which also included his surname. Seeing her bewilderment at his pronunciation, he said, “Me Rifta Smart Guy. That means my name to you.” He pointed to a sleeping figure adjacent from where they stood. “There is Mishael, no?”

  Toni saw not two men but a single smooth-faced teen not appearing particularly princely, sprawled across an airport bench.