Gary abandons the rowboat and I sigh with relief. I’ve puked so much in the last day and a half that I don’t think I have anything left in my stomach other than the gross green bile. My relief is short lived as Gary bounds up the sand in some two seater dune buggy racer thing. I can practically feel my stomach being left a mile behind as we race toward the hotel. He unceremoniously lets me off on the beach in front of the hotel.
The first thing I see when I straggle up the sand is Allie in knee length purple dress, arms crossed over her body as she paces nervously on the deck of the restaurant, staring out at the ocean. She obviously doesn’t see me because she doesn’t call out, wave, or acknowledge me in any way.
As my feet hit the dock, I call to her. Her head swivels and when she registers who I am, she gasps. Immediately she comes running down the stairs at me, arms open wide.
“Mommy!” she squeals, as she tosses aside an item that was in her hand. When it hits the deck, I can see that it’s a small bouquet of daisies. In fact, it looks suspiciously like the one I saw Roger give to Victoria yesterday. Or was it the day before? God, it’s so hard to keep track of the time when you’re getting kidnapped and all.
“Allie!” I throw my own arms open and Allie practically falls into them.
“Thank God you’re okay!” she says as I feel her squeeze me tightly. “I was so worried about you, Mom!” Because she’s at least six inches taller than I am, her chin rests on the top of my head. I feel moisture pooling in that exact spot. Pulling back, I see that she’s crying. Like mascara running down her face kind of crying.
“Allie! Are you okay? We were only gone a little bit…” I can’t believe my daughter is actually crying because she was concerned for my safety.
“Are you kidding? It felt like years taking care of those cretins,” she says jerking a thumb behind her. There’s a tented area on the deck and I see my other three children running around the chairs set up. They are also dressed up—Lexie in a purple gown that matches her sister’s and both boys in cargo shorts and purple button down shirts. The kids look a bit disheveled, their shirts untucked and their hair wild, but still, they look like they are ready for the vow renewal ceremony. .
My heart nearly swells with pride for my children, especially Allie, who was undoubtedly taking care of the younger ones when Roger and I were missing. That is until she opens up her mouth and says, “God, I was so worried I’d be stuck taking care of them forever if you guys never came home. You do have a will or something, right? And Aunt Beth or Aunt Joey gets them?”
I grimace as I roll my eyes. “Nice to see you, too. And yes…Aunt Beth gets all of you.” I swirl my finger around and point at her, to let her know that I still do consider her a child.
“Where’s Daddy?” she asks, biting her lip. “He’s okay, right? They wouldn’t tell us what happened. Only that you guys had an accident and the police were going to bring you back.”
“Who? Who told you that?” I am curious to find out who finally realized that Roger and I were missing and our children needed care. I’m sure it had to be my sister or my mother or—
“That blonde lady that Daddy was talking to in the restaurant the other night,” Allie tells me.
Victoria? What?
I must be wearing my sour lemon sucking face because Allie backs away a little and feels the need to further explain. “Yeah, she came up to the hotel room last night and said that you were supposed to be having a vow renewal ceremony on the beach, but she couldn’t find you or Daddy. This was right before we were supposed to meet Daddy at the restaurant. Remember?”
Oh, I remember, all right.
I simply nod and Allie continues to explain. “She was very worried. It was supposed to happen at sunset and it was a surprise, but it was almost sunset and neither of you had showed up. She wanted to reschedule it for today, so she called Grandma…”
“Wait, she had Grandma’s number?” I am perplexed. “How did she get Grandma’s number?”
Allie shrugs. “Idk. Maybe Daddy gave it to her?”
I roll my eyes at her text speak, but at the same time I’m thinking, Roger knows my mother’s number? Wow, he really did go all out for this vow renewal.
“Amy!” Speak of the devil.
“Mom!” My mother is standing on the deck, her hand nervously clutching my father’s arm. Despite her beautiful ankle length purple dress, matching jewelry, and her shoulder-length hair done up in a tasteful chignon, she looks awful. Her face is blotchy and her eyes are bloodshot—she’s obviously been crying. My father doesn’t look much better—there’s a roadmap of lines crossing his forehead that I swear wasn’t there when I saw him last week. In his other hand he clutches a glass filled with amber liquid. Scotch on the rocks.
My mother drops my father’s arm and comes running at me. I haven’t seen her move this fast since I accidently rammed our brand new station wagon into our fence right after I got my driver’s license when I was seventeen. And she certainly wasn’t wearing heels that day.
“Amy!” she screams, throwing her arms open and practically falling on Allie and me. She squeezes and Allie lets out a choking noise.
“Jesus, Grandma! You’re squishing me! Why are you even hugging me? You’ve been with me all day and night!” Allie’s voice seems strangled and she coughs dramatically. I hope her asthma isn’t flaring up. You would think it would improve on a tropical island.
“Oh, it doesn’t matter!” my mother says, her voice muffled, strands of Allie’s hair shoved up against her mouth. “I’m just so happy, happy, happy to see my Amy!” She actually bursts out in tears, a walking contradiction.
“I’m happy to see you, too, Mom,” I tell her as I attempt to break free from her grasp. But I can’t seem to shake her off. Either I’m extremely weak from not eating for twenty-four hours, or my mother has been doing the weight lifting that Beth has advised me to do.
“Where on earth is Roger?” she asks as I squirm.
“Well, he’s at the hospital,” I explain, biting my lip because I don’t want to tell my mother why he’s at the hospital. I just know that she’s going to overreact.
“What!” In her typical overreaction fashion, my mother grips my arm like a vice with one hand and grabs at the front of her own dress with the other. “Why? What happened? Amy, they wouldn’t tell us anything! They just were searching your room and the kids were upset and oh my…” She shakes my arm, causing my teeth to rattle. “What happened to Roger?”
Knowing that she is eventually going to find out the truth, I grit those rattled teeth and say, “Well, he got shot.”
“Shot!” my mother and Allie squeal at the same time.
“Who got shot?” Lexie peeks over the side of the deck. Her corsage flops off of her dress and onto the sand.
“Daddy got shot!” Allie wails.
“Daddy got shot?” Now Colt’s head pokes over the side and he is screaming in unison with Lexie.
“Is he dead?” Colt asks, panic all over his face, something chocolate all over his shirt.
“He’s not—” I start to say, but another little voice cuts me off.
“Who’s dead?” This time it’s Evan that’s wandering into the conversation. As he approaches I see he’s missing a shoe.
“Daddy!” Colt tells him as I open my mouth to correct him.
Evan’s eyes widen and he screams, “Daddy’s dead? Why’s Daddy dead?”
“Because he got shot!” Lexie cries. “He’s dead because he got shot!”
Colt and Evan throw themselves at their sister, and she envelopes their crying, sniveling little bodies underneath her arms. I use this break in the drama to interrupt the touching scene.
“Daddy is not dead! He got shot in the foot. He’s at the hospital getting his little toe bandaged. He is fine. He is not going to die from being shot in the toe. The only reason he’s at the hospital at all is because the rescue boat was out of Band-Aids. Jesus, you people love to blow everything out of proportion.”
“I wonder where we get it from,” Allie mumbles under her breath as she allows her youngest brother to jump from the steps of deck into her arms. He’s obviously recovered quickly from his trauma.
“How did he get shot in the foot?” Lexie asks as Colt detaches himself from her waist and takes several steps away from her, brushing his hands over his body as if hugging his sister has given him a case of the cooties.
How did he get shot in the foot, Amy? Hmmmm? Wanna share that fun story with the kids? You might as well—you know they’ll ask Roger as soon as they see him and he’s probably going to give them the truth.
“Um, I sort of shot him by accident,” I mumble, covering my mouth with my hand, hoping that nobody will hear me and they’ll drop the subject.
“What?” All four kids and my mother yell at me.
“Amy, what did you do?” Mom accuses, her nearly wrinkle-free brow furrowing.
“Yeah, Mom, what did you do?” Allie adds, planting her hands on her hips and glaring at me accusingly.
“I didn’t do anything! You’re father just…well, he got in the way,” I stammer.
“That’s real nice,” Allie says. “After everything he did for you, planning this ceremony and all.” Allie sweeps her hand toward the tent. It’s then I notice the altar set up with the incredible view of the ocean, the rows of chairs lined up, and the bouquets of daisies everywhere. Off to the side, a dance floor is laid out and I see several familiar faces milling about. It’s obvious how much work Roger has put into this affair.
Squinting, I can make out my sisters, my niece and nephew, and my friend Laura and her brood of rough and tumble boys. Laura’s daughter Kaitlyn is also there, leaning up against a pillar, chatting with the handsome waiter who is obviously much older than sixteen year old Kaitlyn. But I’ll let her mother deal with that. Right now, I’ve got to calm my family down before they lynch me for shooting their father.
“I know Daddy went through a lot of trouble to put this together, Allie,” I say as I drape my arm over her shoulder, which is quite difficult since she’s a half a foot taller than I am. “But I assure you, I didn’t shoot him on purpose.”
“Why did you have a gun then?” Allie asks, ducking out from underneath my arm, still glowering at me.
“How did you have a gun?” my mother adds, crossing her arms over her chest.
“You shot a gun?” Colt stares at me in awe. “Can I shoot a gun?”
“No!” I shout in unison with Allie and my mother.
I sigh and run my hands through my bedraggled and windswept hair. “Listen, Daddy and I got in a little bit of a situation. There were some bad guys and we ran into them in the alley and they thought we were cops. So they…” I grimace as I look at my children and aging mother. I don’t want to upset them. Nor do I want them to get angry or scared or…hell, I don’t really want to tell them what happened. Because it’s entirely my fault and after all I’ve been through today, I don’t really need to be grilled by my gaggle of children. And my mother. Can’t forget my mother.
“Your mother saved my life from the bad guys,” a voice on the deck calls out. The kids whirl around and I lift my head to see Roger limping onto the deck from the restaurant.
“Daddy!” Evan cheers happily. “You’re not dead!”
“Dead? Why would you think I was dead?” Roger asks as he grips Evan’s arms and swings him over his head to rest on his shoulders. Evan squeals and claps his hands with delight.
“Mommy said she shot you,” Colt explains, staring longingly at his brother on top of Roger’s shoulders Roger gallops around in a circle, giving Evan a thrill. Colt definitely wants a piggyback ride, but he’ll never ask for one—one of his sisters might call him a baby, and Colt is very sensitive about “things that might make him a baby”.
Roger laughs and swings Evan down to the ground. “She shot me to save me,” Roger claims, smiling at me.
What? He was furious with me on the boat over here, crying about never being able to wear sandals without socks again. He made me shudder just thinking about him wearing socks with his sandals!
“Really?” Allie asks doubtfully, eyebrow cocked.
Roger bobs his head. “Absolutely. The bad guys would have shot me if she didn’t. She did it to distract them. After they saw her shoot my foot, they were startled and Jason and River were able to take them down.”
Well, that’s sort of what happened. You left out the part that I actually thought you were one of the bad guys and thank goodness my aim was so bad that I didn’t shoot you in the stomach like I originally intended.
“Jason and River are here?” Allie asks, eyes brightening, a little color on her cheeks. She has a teensy bit of a crush on River. I’ve repeatedly told her that he’s too old for her, but only half-heartedly. He’s a good kid and my daughter could do a lot worse. Hell, she has done a lot worse. I shudder thinking about her boyfriend of last year, Fang. Kid rode a motorcycle and cleaned out under his nails with a pocketknife. But I digress…
“Yeah. They gave me a ride back from the hospital,” Roger says, jerking his head toward the back of the restaurant. “They’re with some FBI guy right now, but they should be here shortly. Jason said they had a lot of paperwork to do after the bust. Hopefully they’ll be here in time for the ceremony. That would be crazy if they flew all this way for it and didn’t get to come.”
“Wait, what?” I am shocked by what Roger has just said. “Jason and River were here for our vow renewal ceremony? They’re weren’t here for a law enforcement conference?”
Roger chuckles. “You fell for that? Ha! Jason said he told you that when he ran into you, but I didn’t think you’d believe that nonsense.”
I feel my cheeks flame as I recall “running into” Jason and our kiss on the beach. Touching my face, I stammer, “I didn’t really believe it. I just…I’m just shocked you invited them.” I raise my eyebrow and offer him a look only he will understand. A look that says, considering you nearly crushed all the bones in Jason’s hand with a handshake the last time you saw him, I’m shocked, that’s all.
Roger scowls. “Well, why wouldn’t I? They’re your friends aren’t they? I invited all your friends, but of course not everyone was able to get away.” I instantly feel bad—Roger was trying to make this perfect for me, prejudices aside.
“I know,” I say. “And I’m definitely thankful. I really appreciate everything you’ve done.” I offer him a shy smile that melts his hardened expression. Climbing up the steps, I met him on the deck and wrap my arms around him. “Thank you, Roger. I don’t think I say thank you enough.”
“And neither do I,” Roger whispers. “This is my way of saying thank you for all you’ve done for me the past nineteen years.” He pulls me closer. Still unsteady from my recent ride on the boat, I stumble and end up stepping on his foot.
“Ouch! Holy shit, Amy! You stepped on my bad foot!” Roger yelps releasing me and hopping around the deck.
“Crap! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” I rush to his aid, but he puts his hands up.
“It’s fine, it’s fine,” he says between clenched teeth. “I’ll just have to ice it before the ceremony.”
“What ceremony?” Evan asks, scrunching up his face.
“The vowel renewal, dummy,” Colt tells his brother.
“It’s vow renewal, moron,” Lexie interjects. “Duh. Vowels are letters.”
Colt shakes his head. “No! It could be poop, too!”
“What?” Allie shouts, obviously disgusted. “That’s gross, Colt.”
“But it’s true,” Colt insists. “I have a vowel movement in the toilet bowl. Mommy told me so.”
Lexie slaps her forehead with her palm. “Oh my God, you idiot! That’s bowel!”
“Gross, gross, you’re all gross!” Allie is shouting while covering her ears. Soon the kids are all arguing and Roger and I are stuck in the middle of it. My mother is trying to pull Lexie off of Colt
.
Roger and I exchange a knowing sideways glance and he drapes his arm over my shoulder. Cocking his head to the side he whispers in my ear in a teasing voice. “What’d you say we go up to the room and get ready for the vow renewal ceremony, Mrs. Maxwell?” He winks and adds with a sly smile, “If you catch my drift.”
I return his smile and giggle as we walk away, “Oh, I catch your drift Mr. Maxwell. And it’s the best idea I’ve heard all day.”
~Twenty-Five~
I nervously close the lid to the laptop as the timer next to my left hand dings. Well, in actuality, the timer dinged a few minutes ago, but I’m been staring at, wishing it would disappear, just like the little stick sitting on my bathroom counter. This day started out so promising, my blog article about traveling with kids practically flying off my fingertips and onto the keyboard. That is, until my world nearly came crashing down and now that dreaded thing is in my bathroom. On the counter. Taunting me.
“Come on, Amy,” Joey says impatiently, tugging at my arm. She pulls me to my feet, but I’m like a limp rag doll and I slump right back into the chair.
“I’m not ready for this,” I tell her, shaking my head. “Seriously, this can’t be happening. What are we going to do?”
Joey rolls her eyes. “We’re going to go into the bathroom and look at the little pee stick, is what we’re going to do.”
I stare at her, shaking my head. “I don’t understand how you can be so damn calm about this whole thing. Don’t you understand the gravity of this situation? Don’t you realize how much this one little thing has the potential to change lives?” I am practically screeching at the top of my lungs.
Joey waves her hands impatiently. “Will you keep it down?” she hisses as she pulls me to my feet again. “The kids are going to think that something’s wrong.”
Amy Maxwell's 6th Sense Page 22