by Jean Martino
Everyone stopped talking and looked up at him. “I want to say a few words,” he said looking around at them all. “I promise to keep it short.”
They all laughed.
“This is a very special night,” he said, “for Linda, Geoff and Carmel. Over the past two weeks they each have kept faith that one day they would see their children again. Tonight we are celebrating that event.” He raised his glass at Michael and Cindy. “Welcome home, Michael and Cindy.”
Everyone cheered and raised their glasses to the couple.
“Next,” said Scott, “We are honored also tonight to have a very special man with us, a man who did a most courageous thing to help his friend. Benny, it took a lot of guts to do what you did and prove that friendship has no bounds. I take my hat off to you, and your delightful wife, Rosie. You are the best friends anyone could ever have.”
“The best!” cried Michael, getting to his feet with Cindy following, and then the whole table rose and raised their glasses to the couple as Benny and Rosie blushed and laughed.
When they had all sat down again, Scott continued. “There are no words I can find to express the admiration I feel for what you, Michael, and Benny, did. Together you brought about the downfall of some very notorious criminals that the police have been trying to trace for years now. Michael, and Benny, I have nothing but respect for you both.”
He nodded at them as the others clapped and cheered.
“And to Cindy, his beautiful courageous wife, who stood by him and refused to take cover when the heat set in. Well done, Cindy. You are as beautiful and as brave as your mother.”
Linda beamed and squeezed Cindy’s hand as Michael put his arm proudly around his wife’s shoulders. Everyone else clapped and smiled at her as she smiled back up at Scott and whispered, “Thank you.”
“To my children, who are the love of my life, Maggie and Matt, and Dan and Jocelyn. Without your help we might not have gotten this case solved so fast. I have loved you, Maggie and Dan, since the day you were born, and Matt and Jocelyn since the day you came into my family. I have never felt prouder of you all than I am tonight.”
Maggie grabbed Matt’s hand and beamed, and Dan grinned at the smiling Jocelyn.
They all cheered, as Maggie and Dan burst out laughing.
“Geoff and Carmel,” he said, turning to the quiet couple who looked uneasy now the spotlight was on them. “Your support and encouragement to Linda when things got rough kept her from falling apart and gave her the courage to keep going. I can see now where Michael gets his intelligence and stamina from.”
Everyone clapped and smiled at the embarrassed couple.
“And, most important of all,” he said, his eyes softening and his voice mellowing as he turned to look down at Linda. “To the woman who started all this and never gave up hope that one day she would find her daughter and son-in-law, and refused to stop until she did. Linda, you are the bravest lady I have ever known, and the most stubborn.”
Linda laughed. “I just followed your instructions,” she said. “Well, most of the time I did. You, Scott, solved this case with your persistence and hard work. You are my hero.”
Everyone cheered as Scott smiled down at Linda. As he reached for her hand, the maitre d arrived and whispered something in Scott’s ear. “Ah,” he said, smiling mysteriously. “I think we have more guests.”
They all looked around curiously. Then Linda screamed out loud. “Jessica! Bill!” And she ran towards the couple wending their way through the tables to theirs, throwing her arms wide to hug them to her. “When did you get here? How? Oh God, I am so happy to see you. I tried to call you yesterday but got the answering machine. I’ve been going crazy trying to contact you.”
Cindy was on her feet also, hurrying to meet them, excited laughter and chatter filling the restaurant. “We got to San Francisco this morning,” said Jessica between hugs. “Scott had someone meet us and bring us to the hotel here where we hid out and rested before coming here tonight. We wanted to surprise you.”
“That you did” said Linda wiping away her tears. Then she saw a smiling Max behind Jessica, and his wife, Mary, who she had met two days ago. “Wow!” she laughed, reaching her arms out to them, “now everyone is here!”
Somehow they all got untangled and returned to the table and took their seats; Rosie, Benny, Michael and Cindy moving down two places allowing Jessica and Bill to sit next to Linda. Max and Mary filled the last two empty seats next to Geoff and Carmel. As Linda was about to take her own seat, Scott took her hand and stopped her, winking at her, noticing she had removed her shoes which were under the table. “I haven’t finished yet,” he said, then turned to everyone else, having to tap his glass again to get their silence.
Gradually they all stopped talking. He squeezed Linda’s hand. “I want you all to join me in welcoming Linda’s sister, Jessica, and her husband, Bill, to America. Linda’s almost daily telephone connections to her sister over the past two weeks gave her the strength to keep going when the going got rough. Welcome to our side of the world, Jessica and Bill.”
Cheers and clapping echoed around the restaurant.
Finally Scott held up his hand to quieten them down, glancing at the maitre d who had been warned it could get a bit noisy and didn’t seem concerned as he smiled over at them. When they had all settled down again, he turned his attention on Max and Mary.
“Earlier,” said Scott, still holding Linda’s hand as she stood next to him, ”Linda here gave me the credit for solving this case. But I couldn’t have done it without my buddy, Max. No one worked harder on this case than Max. Without your help, buddy, we could never have done it. You are the best. And I will never forget what you did for us all here tonight. Thank you.”
Max nodded and grinned at him. “Glad to be of help,” he said modestly.
Michael stood up. “I’d like to add something to that,” he said. “Thanks is a small word to say how Cindy and I feel about what you, Scott, and you, Max, did to give us back our lives. Because of you both, and everyone else here tonight, we have a second chance at living. We will never forget what you all did for us.” Cindy stood up too and he put his arm around her. “We are proud to be Americans and to have you all as our friends. God bless you all and God bless America.”
“God bless America!” they all shouted as the other patrons around the restaurant joined in.
When they had all quietened down again, Scott said. “I just have one last thing to say before the food arrives.”
He placed both his hands over Linda’s hand as he turned to face her. “I think I fell in love with this woman a year ago when we first met on the internet,” he said. “But exactly two weeks ago today, when I first saw her in the Newporter Inn, I knew then that I had finally found my soul mate.”
Linda’s heart started beating rapidly at his statement. Everyone stared at them in total silence now.
“There’s no way I’m going to let you get away from me now,” he told her. “I know you have a life in Australia. And I have a life here. I’m not asking you to move here, or me there, but we can work it out somehow I’m sure. I love you very much, Linda. I want to walk down the path of life with you by my side, always. Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Maggie gasped. Cindy gasped. Jessica grinned teary eyed. Michael and Dan stared. Everyone else just sat there staring and waiting.
The shock Linda was feeling competed with the thrills that were racing throughout her whole body. Her mind was carrying her back to that afternoon, two weeks ago, when Scott had walked up to her in the Newporter Inn’s lobby and she had seen him for the first time in real life. She could still remember the thrill she had felt when their eyes met, she could still remember the way his arms had felt when he had wrapped them around her, and she would never forget that exquisitely wonderful feeling of his lips on hers. Those feelings she had then had never changed, only increased in intensity as her love for him had grown.
She felt suddenly diz
zy, light headed, as all the doors in Scott’s life started flying open and she felt herself being drawn through them; holding his hand as they walked through them together, his face smiling down at her, his eyes mirroring his love for her. She opened her mouth to say all the wonderful things she was feeling but only one word come rushing through her opened mouth. “Yes!” she cried, and the word echoed and echoed in her head as she felt Scott drawing her into his arms and his lips covering hers.
The cheers that broke out rocked the room. Everyone else in the restaurant who had heard Scott’s speech cheered along with the family. They were all on their feet, laughing and clapping and cheering. “At last!” cried Jessica, the tears running down her cheeks at seeing her sister who she loved so much find the happiness she had longed for. But Linda didn’t hear anything except the beating of her own heart as the world stood still for her once more, and she knew she had finally found that last corner to turn in her life; that she had at last found the place where she belonged... with Scott.
* *
A year later:
Anthony Wainwright walked through the offices of McLean’s Investment Inc with his head held high. Stock brokers nodded to him as he passed, paying their respects to the man who had brought their almost collapsed firm out of its slump and back on track again. Wainwright had lost weight, and his demeanor was relaxed. He stopped at a cubicle and waited for Benny to finish his telephone conversation.
Benny hung up the phone and stood up. “Can I help you, Mr. Wainwright?” he asked.
“On the contrary,” said Wainwright. “It’s my job to help you.” He smiled. “Benny, the board has approved your being made one of the vice presidents of this company. I want to be the first to congratulate you.”
Benny stared in shock, then smiled widely. “Wow, I had no idea you were even considering me for the position.”
Wainwright nodded, his expression one of seriousness now. “Since Mrs. McLean sold most of her stock on the open market and reduced her holdings, I have been given more control in the company. I’ve noticed how hard you work, the long hours you put in, and the increased activity in your accounts. I felt you had the potential to assist me in certain areas where I’ll need someone I can trust one hundred percent.”
“Thank you, Mr. Wainwright,” said Benny, thinking how Michael would appreciate that bit of information. “I won’t let you down.”
Wainwright shook his hand then walked away. Benny stared after him wondering what Wainwright would say if he knew he had been the one to help Michael bring about the downfall of those criminals and their accounts. He smiled and sat down and picked up the phone. History now, he decided. No need for Wainwright to know.
* *
The week had passed so quickly that Linda was starting to feel nostalgic, not wanting to leave, but knowing she had to. As she stood in the back garden, admiring the path Vito had laid so lovingly so many years earlier now that wound it’s way around the flower beds, she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned quickly.
“Dad did good work, didn’t he, Mom,” said Cindy.
Linda sighed. “That he did, love.” She turned to face her daughter, her eyes shining. “And he’d be so happy to know you and Michael decided to move back in here to live instead of selling the house.”
“I couldn’t have sold it,” said Cindy, bending to pick a flower. “When the tenants told me they had to return back east because of work commitments, I knew it was fate. Michael loves it here. And we’re right next door to Benny again.” She smiled as she looked at the ivy covered brick wall separating the two houses, then over at the baby carriage beneath the maple tree. “And Tania is going to love growing up here, just like I did.”
“Just make sure you don’t let her race her bike on the sidewalk like you and Benny used to do,” said Linda, the seriousness of her expression making Cindy burst out laughing.
The baby’s cries made them both rush over to peer inside the carriage and in an instant Cindy had scooped her baby daughter up and handed her to Linda. “She wants a cuddle from her grandma,” she said. “And I promise not to let her race her bike on the sidewalk. We’ll take her to the park when she’s old enough and let her ride there.”
Linda cuddled her granddaughter gently, her heart melting. She had never expected Cindy to want children for years. Now she wanted to stay near her to watch her grow and hear her childish chatter and see her take her first steps. But she had to let go now. Cindy and Michael were safe and living a normal life again, and Sacramento was not that far off that she couldn’t fly down every now and then to visit them.
She looked up into Cindy’s black eyes seeing the maternal way she was looking at her baby and knew that somehow everything was going to be alright. With Michael working now in partnership with Dan in that computing business, their family seemed to have bonded well. If only Vito had lived to see his beautiful granddaughter, she thought, with sadness. But somehow she knew that he could see her. Somehow she knew that Vito had led her to this place in her life and wanted her to be as happy as their daughter was.
Scott came out the back door and walked down the path, peeking at the contented baby cuddled in Linda’s arms. “Hey,” he said, laughing. “You’re not going to get maternal on me are you, honey?”
“No way,” said Linda, giving Tania back to her mother and taking her husband’s hand. “We have a whole world out there to see now. Let the young one’s take care of the children. We’ve earned our place in the sun.”
“There won’t be much sun in Australia at this time of year,” said Cindy. “Its winter there now isn’t it?”
“Yes, but the winter can be lovely too,” said Linda, thinking it was over a year now since the day Cindy had been supposed to have arrived there at the Adelaide airport, and how it had changed her life forever when she hadn’t. “And with Scott with me, the sun is always shining anyway.” She felt him squeeze her hand warmly and her heart filled with joy. A month in Australia, then off to Europe. It was hard to believe that she and Scott were off on a six month trip around the world together. “We’d better finish packing,” she said quickly, smiling up at him. “Don’t want to miss our plane.”
“I’m sure gonna miss you both,” said Cindy, her eyes starting to fill with tears.
“Now don’t you start crying,” said Linda, fighting back her own tears. “It’ll go fast and you’ll be so busy with Tania and Michael you won’t have time to miss anyone else. And we’ll email you every day on that new laptop Scott bought me.” Then she smiled at Cindy, her eyes twinkling. “And I’ll keep reminding you in my emails to make sure you are at the airport to meet us on our return.”
Cindy and Scott burst out laughing.
“Just make sure you are on the plane,” said Cindy.
The End