Days of Destiny

by Aiden Vaughan

  Daniel, on the other hand, was determined to pursue a career as a professional musician. He had already assembled a first rate band along with all the equipment they needed and their own recording studio to rehearse in and make demo CDs. He had a major contact in the music industry in retired rocker Ethan Savage and even had one of Ethan’s custom made guitars to perform on. [Editor’s note: the complete story of how this came about is contained in Double Fugue, the second Hunter & Holmes mystery.] Some local agents were interested in taking a look at Daniel’s band due to the great success they had performing Nick Feraducci’s Requiem for the Lost Children last October at the California Theater along with the Merriam High School band, orchestra, and choir. That experience was the band’s first major performance in a large venue. The subject matter of the performance itself was quite emotional and the band came through with an outstanding performance. Daniel still got goose bumps sometimes thinking about what it was like to sing the gut-wrenching lyrics to the songs Nick composed.

  Now the band was under a lot of pressure to come up with a CD of their original music for the agents to hear. They still had a lot of work to complete in their studio to put together enough quality material, a task made more difficult with the demands of school and of course Diana, family, and friends.

  That was one reason why today was so special. It was a day to get away from all of the outside pressures that were weighing on Daniel and spend most of the day with Diana. The day was sunny and clear, but early February temperatures would be cool for most of the day. Daniel normally liked to ride his bike wearing just a tee shirt and shorts, but today he put on sweat pants under his shorts, and a zippered, hooded sweatshirt over his tee shirt. Daniel then put on some white crew socks and laced up his black high top chucks. He completed his outfit with a black baseball cap that had his band logo embroidered on the front, a gift from Jason when they got their first performing gig. After downing a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice, Daniel got out his bike, put on his backpack, and headed on over to Diana’s house.

  Diana answered the door. She was wearing a white tracksuit with blue stripes and her blue low cut chucks. “Hello, lover boy!” she said in a cheerful voice. “You look ready for the cold weather. I think I would like you to warm me up a little.” Diana embraced Daniel in a hug, and then gave him a long passionate kiss.

  “You sure know how to get me heated up!” Daniel said in reply after they kissed. “Maybe we should just forego the bike ride!”

  “I think you need a ride outside to cool yourself down,” Diana said with a laugh. “There is plenty of time for romance. Let’s get some exercise first!” She brought Daniel inside and into the kitchen, where Diana’s mother was working on some baked goods. “Have you had breakfast, Daniel?” Diana asked.

  “I had some cereal and juice at home before I left,” Daniel answered.

  “Hello, Daniel! How about a nice bran muffin?” Mrs. Miglione said offering Daniel a plate of warm muffins. “These are fresh out of the oven.”

  Daniel picked out a muffin and quickly ate it. “Umm, this is great, Mrs. Miglione. More temptations to stay inside!”

  “You two get out of here and go on your bike ride. It might rain later,” Diana’s mother continued.

  “I’ll take good care of Diana,” Daniel answered. “We’ll do our best to stay out of the rain and cold!”

  “Bye, Mom,” Diana said giving her mother a small peck on the cheek. Diana then picked up two bags of food and drinks that she had packed for their journey. “Here, put this in your backpack,” she told Daniel as she handed him one of the bags.”

  Soon they were making their way to the same park where they had first declared their love for each other. The ride over to the park, located at the edge of the foothills to the Santa Cruz mountains, took about forty-five minutes. Traffic on the roadways and bike trails was light, and they made good time. After arriving at the park, the two rode around for a while, scouting out a place where they could relax, have their lunch, and be alone. After ten minutes of scouting, Daniel spotted a picnic table located in a thicket of trees. They parked their bikes and took out the contents of their backpacks. Each of them had brought a blanket in addition to their bags of food.

  Diana and Daniel spread out one blanket on the ground, then sat down and put the other blanket over themselves to keep warm. Soon they were hugging and kissing each other, a prelude to a half hour of lovemaking. When they were finished, Daniel said, “I love you so much, Diana. We have such great times together.”

  Diana held onto Daniel and gave him a long kiss. “You are as delicious as any one of my recipes, Daniel. Hold me some more. I love being in your arms.”

  They snuggled together some more, and then decided to eat their lunches. Diana had made egg salad sandwiches, homemade chocolate chip cookies, and had packed some cut up vegetables and two tangerines. They ate their food in quiet contentment. As they were finishing, Diana said, “You won’t believe what I heard from Laura earlier this week.”

  “What did she say?” Daniel replied, taking the bait.

  “She said that she had a long talk with her mother about her relationship with Jason, and that her mother gave her some very good advice about how to deal with things. Her mother told her that in human relationships, things are always going to change, that no one should try to be too controlling of their partner in a romantic relationship, and that she should just let Jason be Jason. After all — and you know this better than anyone, Daniel — Jason is going to end up doing what he wants to do no matter what anyone says.”

  “Laura actually said that to you?” Daniel said in an incredulous voice. “I can’t believe it. Jason must be ecstatic. But I haven’t heard him mention anything along those lines lately.”

  “That’s because she is telling him about this today. It’s like a special Valentine’s Day present for him.”

  “Wow, that is incredible!” Daniel exclaimed. “I am so happy for the two of them. I guess Laura finally is getting some of her priorities straight. And in the long run, she is very smart to do that. Now Jason will end up being more devoted to her than ever!”

  “It’s wonderful when two very nice people can work out their differences,” Diana replied. “Just like Jason, Laura is very headstrong. This really is a major change for her!”

  “I guess anything is possible when you put your personal fears aside and look at the big picture! Now tell me, Diana, what do you think the big picture is for us?”

  Diana gave Daniel a quizzical look. “Why are you asking that, honey? I didn’t know that we had any major problems to work out. I haven’t been on your case about your adventures with Jason, or all of the time you spend on your band. I know that stuff is important to you. It seems to me that you are doing a lot of good in this world!”

  “I didn’t mean that in a negative way, Diana. I couldn’t ask for a better girl friend than you. I think we demonstrate our love for each other all the time. I certainly felt that earlier. I guess I am the worrier in our relationship. Sometimes I feel that this must be a dream. All of a sudden my life is full of this happiness and contentment. Then I think of the future and I fear it is all going to come crashing down!”

  “Whatever do you mean by that comment, Daniel?” Diana said in a somewhat pointed tone.

  “It’s nothing against you, Diana. It’s just that our lives seem to be going in very opposite directions. You want to be a professional chef. Most likely that means settling down in one location and spending just about all of your time there. I, on the other hand, want to be a professional musician. If my band continues to develop and acquire bookings, we will be touring on the road a lot. Another thing I want to do is cash in Jason’s college scholarship grant and get a music degree somewhere. How can these goals not have an impact on our relationship?”

  “Well obviously they will, if things go according to your plan or your sense of how things will be in the future. And I disagree that we are going in totally opposite directio
ns. After all, isn’t a great chef an artist just like a great musician?”

  “Well, when you put it that way, I would have to say yes,” Daniel replied.

  “Daniel, I think you should worry about the future when you get to it. Even if we are separated for a while, we won’t be the first couple to experience that. If a life together is what is meant to be for us, I believe it will work itself out. But why stress about it now? Can’t you just love me for who I am today, and not worry about who I will become tomorrow?”

  “Of course I can, Diana. I love you very much and I feel so contented and happy when we are together. That’s why the future seems full of dangers to me!”

  Diana took Daniel’s hand and held it. “You are a very special person, so thoughtful and concerned about your friends like Jason and me. But it’s not your job to take on the weight of the world, silly! Now no more of that talk out of you, Daniel Holmes! I think I would much rather lie on that blanket again and have you hold me in your arms. That’s what today is about, not the future!”

  Without saying another word, Daniel gently took Diana by the hand and guided her down onto the blanket. After pulling the other blanket over the two of them, they once again were in a lover’s embrace.

  Diana gave Daniel a kiss and rubbed noses. “That’s more like it, Daniel. Just keep holding me!”

  Chapter 9

  A Romantic Afternoon

  (February 12)

  After Jason and Laura finished their lunch, Jason said, “This is a special time for us, Laura. I feel that a whole lot of weight and pressure has been taken off of me! I hated not being able to tell you some of the things that I was doing through the foundation or with Daniel. When we were at the beach house together, for the first time I was able to open up my inner feelings and fears to you. Our intimacy was not just physical; it was spiritual, too. But lately I felt I had to hide details of that side of my life because it seemed to be so upsetting to you!”

  “I realize that now, Jason, and I am sorry that I put up barriers between us. And don’t think I won’t still worry about you; that is my nature. I don’t like it when you take chances, but now I understand that what you are doing is for the greater good. Mother made me think about that. Saving Jonathan Kowalski from that horrible man was much more important than my dinner party. And what you have done for our other friends like Eric, Nick, and Tim was so righteous. The world is a better place because of you and your foundation. It was stupid of me to interfere.”

  “No one is perfect, me included,” Jason replied. “I know I have done some very risky things and broke a bunch of rules doing them. But what you just said was my guide. When it comes to these dramatic interventions, I realize I am an amateur jumping in where angels fear to tread, as the saying goes. But I felt I had to take those chances!

  “When Daniel, Joe Connor, and I brought Eric up to stay with his aunt and uncle, I thought he was safe. Boy, were we foolish in not realizing that his predator stepfather would track him down and grab him again. Luckily I was able to make Eric understand that he could fight back against a stronger and more brutal adversary despite the odds against him, and that is what ended up saving him. With the clues Eric left, we were able to track him down that day so Captain Garcia could send in a SWAT team and take Eric’s evil stepfather out. I’ll never forget the outrage we felt when we discovered Eric strung up in that predator’s torture chamber — with only a bathing suit on, gagged and shaking with fear — and how elated we felt because we were about to bring him back home again.

  “Rescuing Tim and Cody was probably the best-organized operation we completed. I used what I had learned from that experience later when Daniel and I went after Jonathan. The reason we were able to find Jonathan in that mountain hideaway so quickly was because I had given him that cross with a tracking device in it.

  “Offering myself as bait to those evil predators who had kidnapped Nick and all of those other poor kids was risky and foolhardy, but it worked! All I know is that Nick would have been tortured and killed if I hadn’t done that! That would have happened to me also if I didn’t have an escape plan that managed to work, although not initially the way we thought it would work!”

  Laura rested her head on Jason’s shoulder and held his hand. “You have been so incredibly brave fighting against those kidnappers and child abusers. You really are a hero, Jason!”

  Jason blushed a little after Laura said that. “I don’t think of myself as a hero so much. Being all puffed up about my accomplishments is the wrong way to be! My motivation is not glory and publicity! Being a crime victim gave me all the motivation I would ever need. There is nothing worse than being the helpless victim of kidnappers and predators. I hate those people more than anything in the world! They took away my innocence and that of every other kid they put their filthy hands on! I can’t even explain to you how difficult it was to get those traumatic experiences out of my head and return to being the normal kickback Jason I like to be.”

  “I realize now that helping you to forget those horrible things you experienced through good times and loving support is something I can contribute,” Laura said in a soothing voice. “That normal kickback Jason is who I fell in love with!”

  Jason turned to Laura with newfound respect. “Thank you for saying that, babe. All this action/adventure and wealth is meaningless when it comes to the important things in life — family and friends. I am forever grateful to Daniel for pointing that out to me at critical times in the past. And I am so happy that you are here for me, Laura! Our love is so incredible!”

  Laura gave him another kiss. “Yes, it is, dear, yes it is. But I think we had better get out of here. People are starting to stare at us!”

  “Well, let them!” Jason exclaimed. “But you are right, let’s get out of here. This day is just for the two of us! No cases, no foundation work, no basketball games — I am totally free and want to spend it with you, Laura!”

  After paying their bill, Jason and Laura got up and walked outside. “What’s next, Laura? Some shopping at the mall, or would you like to do something else?”

  “Let’s stop at the mall for a little bit,” Laura replied. “I think we should get something to remember this special day, don’t you?”

  “Great idea! You lead the way!”

  Fifteen minutes later, Laura and Jason were wandering through the corridors of the mall. They were passing a store that sold athletic shoes when something caught Jason’s eye. “Let’s look in here, babe,” Jason suggested. He went over to a counter display that had little trinkets. Among the items was a tiny red high-top Chuck Taylor shoe attached to a keychain ring. Jason lifted it off the stand. “This is a perfect remembrance of me, Laura,” Jason said.

  “How cute,” Laura replied. “Yes, this is you, Jason. I can never remember a time when you didn’t wear those shoes!”

  “Yeah, they are my favorites, and I don’t intend to stop wearing them,” Jason said, shrugging his shoulders.

  “Then we should definitely get this. It will make it easy to find any keys in my purse attached to this little red sneaker.”

  Jason went to the cashier and paid for the key ring. “Now what about something to remember you by,” Jason remarked as they were leaving the store.

  “I think I know just the thing!” Laura exclaimed. “This way,” she said grabbing Jason’s hand and leading him down the mall corridor to a store that sold all kinds of necklaces and jewelry. Inside the store was a display of puka shell necklaces.

  “Whenever we are lying by the pool, I look over at you and think how cool you would look with one of these necklaces on. Then I could imagine us sunning ourselves on a Hawaiian beach.”

  “I don’t know, Laura. I think of someone like Cody wearing a necklace like this. Plus they are expensive! Way more than the little key ring I just bought you.”

  “It’s not like I am poor or anything,” Laura answered. “You have been paying for just about everything when we are together. Now I would like to spe
nd some money on you! Do you not like the necklace?”

  “It’s very beautiful,” Jason said. “Are you sure you want to spend that much money?” But Laura had already made up her mind and asked the sales associate to measure Jason’s neck so that they could pick out the right length. The salesman suggested that they get a length that was a little loose, because Jason’s neck would be thickening in the new few years. Soon the necklace was purchased and Laura put it on Jason’s neck.

  “You look great with this necklace on, Jason,” Laura said with a smile. Now you have something to remember me by.”

  “Thanks so much, babe,” Jason said giving her a little kiss. “Whenever I wear this I will be thinking of you!”

  After leaving the mall, Jason suggested that they go to a nearby park where they could walk around together for a while. After parking the Explorer in the parking area, they strolled down the park pathways together, hand in hand. Then they began to feel raindrops falling on them, which gradually developed into a light rain storm.

  “I have a better idea,” Jason exclaimed. “Come with me!”

  They hurried to his Explorer and got inside. Jason drove through the rain to the town of Los Gatos. After driving through the town proper, he guided the Explorer up a road that took them up into the foothills southwest of town. When they came to a lookout point, Jason pulled off the road and parked. Before them was a panorama view of the entire south bay. They spent some time pointing out landmarks to each other.

  Soon the landmarks they were pointing out were on each other. “I love your eyes, Jason,” Laura sighed. “They have such a beautiful blue color.”

  “And I love the freckles on your face,” Jason answered in a dreamy voice. “I can imagine what you looked like when you were five years old!”

  The couple made out for a while in the front seat. Then Laura said, “I wish we could do this outside, you know lie on the grass and cuddle.” But the light rain outside continued to sprinkle onto the Explorer.