by Kim Hornsby
“How did you know that’s what I was thinking?” Milton said.
“No hocus pocus needed. I know how you think. And remember this on your way to the base doctor. There is no such thing as someone’s time to go. The future is changed all the time. If anyone knows that, it’s me.”
Two days of driving around Puerto Vallarta, searching every parking lot, side street, beach, restaurant and hotel had turned up nothing. Tina and Jamey posted photos of Kevin, Rose, and Wyatt all over town, offering a reward for information leading to the safe delivery of the child. According to the two phone calls that came in, they were last spotted days ago. It looked like if they’d been staying in the white apartment building, they hadn’t returned.
On the third day, Tina convinced the superintendent of the building to admit they’d been staying there. “Not here today but they paid to the end of the week,” the man said in broken English. Tina told him that they had a medical emergency and the woman had to fly back to the United States with her husband and son. “If you can let me in, I’ll get everything they left,” she said.
He looked at her questioningly as if to size up her truthfulness.
“Okay. But I go with you,” he said.
They took the elevator to the fourth floor and down an outdoor hall to the end. The Super knocked like he wasn’t sure the place was empty, then opened the door with his key. With Kai in a stroller, Tina entered the sparse apartment and looked around. They hadn’t left much. Maybe because she was nervous with the Super standing there watching her, but Tina didn’t get any reading except the verification that Kevin, Rose, and Wyatt had been here.
Jamey was waiting downstairs by the clock, not trusting that she and the baby were entirely safe without him. They’d agreed that a woman with a baby was more likely to gain entrance to the apartment than just Jamey, and even though he hated being left out of the foraging mission, he’d agreed Tina’s plan was better.
The only indications a child had been with Kevin and Rose was a transformer toy that changed from a truck into a robot and a few pieces of clothing. There wasn’t even a child-sized toothbrush in the bathroom. It all made her wonder how they treated Wyatt. Not just making sure he brushed his teeth, but caring for him, loving him, and making him feel wanted, not just filling some woman’s crazy need for a child.
For a week now, she and Jamey had placated themselves by saying Kevin loved the boy and he’d be well taken care of. But what if he wasn’t? What if Kevin was only using him to get back at Carrie’s threat to cut him out of Wyatt’s life? In the small bedroom a book lay open on the bedside table, a thriller, and Tina put it in the bag. There was also a pen that advertised a local restaurant but not much else that wasn’t clothing. Brochures touting local attractions littered the living room coffee table and Tina threw those in the bag. When the Super wasn’t looking, she even emptied the garbage into the bag. With a black garbage bag hanging from her baby’s stroller, she thanked the man, took the elevator downstairs and met Jamey at the clock.
Back at their condo, they sorted through everything, trying to get a feeling for what went on in the lives of these three before they took off. Their bathroom garbage looked maddeningly normal—some food wrappers, dirty Kleenexes, a candy bar wrapper. Then she saw it in the bottom. Picking up the stick the first thing she noticed was that there were two minus signs. No positive. Not pregnant. Rose was trying again. She found the box double-bagged in the kitchen garbage.
When Kai went down for a nap, Tina sat in the quiet bedroom and tried to summon something from the personal belongings she’d collected. When she held a blue cotton top to her face and inhaled, a clear picture of Rose presented itself. A wisp of something sad drifted through Tina’s consciousness. Rose desperately wanted to be a mother and was heartbroken after her last miscarriage. That wasn’t news to her, but Tina also picked up a feeling of power; Rose was manipulating Kevin with this tragedy. She was pleased that she’d been able to convince him to claim Wyatt as their own. Rose’s justification was that Carrie had many children and they had none. It was only fair that she share.
Next, Tina held the toy truck and thought of the little boy with the strawberry blonde curls and fondness for all things Star Wars. Breathing in and out she pictured Wyatt the last day she’d seen him after their wedding a year ago. He’d been playing with Jamey’s daughters, Jade and Jasmine, at Pops’ house on the Tolt River. Tina was walking with Pops, talking about her pregnancy and how excited she was to have Jamey’s baby. Wyatt was angry that the girls wouldn’t throw the ball to him. “I’m telling Mama,” he’d said storming off until Jade ran up to him with the ball. Tina and Pops had stopped to watch the three children work this out on their own. Jade was the more patient of the twins, always eager to smooth things over. And she loved her little brother with a protectiveness that reminded Tina of Jamey. That day Jade had appeased Wyatt and prevented Carrie’s intervention. When both girls made Wyatt giggle at something, Tina and Pops headed for the house marveling at how sweet all the children were.
That summer, Wyatt had been particularly needy, especially where Carrie was concerned. He was always a mama’s boy, clinging to his mother, holding her hand, not a fan of playing at anyone else’s house. The family joked about how attached he was to Carrie, but according to Jamey, Wyatt was starting to branch out having found a new best friend. Even Pops said on a phone call a month earlier that Wyatt was doing better, gaining a bit of independence. Not complaining as much when he went for sleepovers with Kevin. He no longer needed Carrie in his sight as much. Tina cringed at the thought of how Wyatt must be adjusting to life without his Mama these days.
She took the toy truck and attempted to transform it into the robot. It took a minute to figure out but when she completed the task an idea popped into her head. Or rather a feeling. It was a clear emotion that Wyatt didn’t particularly like Rose. He wanted his Mama, but he had to be patient. Kevin had told him that soon they’d all be together at a hotel with a big swimming pool. It would be a special surprise for Mama and Daddy and his sisters Jade, Jasmine, Mango, and even the new baby, Harley. Tina was sure that Wyatt had been told his family was at a hotel. They’d left without him when he was with Kevin and forgot to buy him a plane ticket. That’s why he and Kevin had to drive so much. All these thoughts swirled through Tina’s mind as she fingered the toy, concentrating on Wyatt. When Wyatt saw his Mama, he was going to be so mad that she forgot him. He wasn’t going to speak to her for one whole day. This thought of Wyatt being told his family forgot him made Tina’s heart hurt. Poor little kid.
She tried to get more from the toy, but came up empty. What in God’s name were Kevin and Rose going to do when Wyatt finally figured out that there was no family vacation, no hotel with his parents and siblings, and no hope of ever seeing those people again?
Tina left Kai sleeping on the bed and went out to join Jamey on the patio. She sat in the Papasan chair and told him everything she felt about Wyatt and the lie Kevin had told to appease him.
Jamey watched the marina intently, listening to the story about everyone meeting for a party, then stood and turned to her. “I just hope we didn’t have our only two chances ‘cause we sure screwed those up.”
“Me too.”
He paced the length of the patio, watching. “I feel so fricking guilty about not getting to the clock.”
She did too.
“And for not catching the truck. Letting them get away. I’ve been taking that out on you and I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
They hugged, held each other for longer than usual, and Jamey kissed the side of her head. This was a good start to getting back to where they usually were with each other.
Jamey felt terrible about Kevin’s disappearance and about not having the dream jumping abilities he’d once had, especially now that he needed them most. Did he think he’d be able to summon more if he was the jumper? Tina had assured him that she tried all the time to get into the dreams of any one of th
e three. What drove Jamey crazy was that he wasn’t in control. And that he didn’t entirely trust his wife to get the job done. Trust was his nemesis. Ever since his mother had deserted the family, trust had barely made an appearance in James Dunn’s life.
Tina had to remind herself of this fact, constantly. As they broke from the hug, she whispered, “I love you, Big Guy.”
“Me too.” Jamey continued pacing and watching the Marina. “They probably aren’t in Puerto Vallarta anymore. I’m sure after seeing me, they’re long gone.” The sun was setting behind the set of high rises that lined the coast. “We need a dream.” He looked at her intently. “We need a dream tonight, Baby. If you think you have any control over that, try to summon something.”
She nodded. “I’ll give it everything I have.” Earlier, she’d tried to fall off into some type of slumber but hadn’t been able to lose consciousness. Not while she could hear Kai chattering away with Jamey in the next room. Instead, she’d lay there wondering if she could’ve done anything differently the day they saw Kevin at the clock, and if she had, would they be comforting Wyatt right now. She hoped he had his Star Wars sword with him. Or at least the Luke Skywalker costume he wore everywhere. What comforted her was the fact that Kevin was Wyatt’s father, Wyatt played with him, there was a genuine fondness there, if not love, and it wasn’t like the child had been taken by a stranger. He’d been taken by his birth father who he’d known for almost two years now. Ever since Kevin had come back into Carrie’s life and demanded to have visitation with his son, things had gone fairly well. Sure, Kevin had drifted in and out of Wyatt’s life at leisure and was gone for months here and there, but he had become a person Wyatt knew and trusted. Hopefully Wyatt had no idea that if Kevin went deep undercover with him, they might never be able to reunite him with his family again.
At dark, Jamey left his posting and called Carrie to report for the day. “Tina cleared out their condo and found a transformer. She got a sense from it that he’s fine, he’s happy to be traveling with Kevin, like he’s on an adventure.”
Tina was feeding Kai from a small bowl of carrots and peas that she’d pureed. She looked over to see Jamey struggling with this half-truth.
“I got a feeling that he’s enjoying swimming in hotel pools. He’s not worried or lonely that I can tell. And Tina got the impression he thinks he’s on his way to meet everyone on a big family vacation.”
As expected, Carrie sounded frantic on the speakerphone. “Oh God, Jamey. What will we do if we can’t find him?”
“We’ll find him, Carrie. It’s just a matter of when.” Next, Jamey spoke to his daughters to reassure them he was hot on the trail and would have their brother back to them soon. They had no idea that their father, or Tina, had a secret weapon to aid in the search. And as far as Jamey knew, neither girl had strange dreams themselves. He’d been watching them for years, looking for signs, but so far, nothing. “I’m hoping to get Wyatt back for your next soccer game,” he said.
His words sounded so confident, Tina wanted to cry. No one knew better than her how inconsistent and unreliable dream jumping was. Sometimes the dreams were actual reenactments of reality. Sometimes they were only sketchy ideas with concepts. And sometimes they were just dreams. Premonitions had pale colors, blurry edges and that’s what they were waiting for now. Where the hell was Kevin?
When Jamey got off the phone, he took over feeding Kai and cleaned him up while Tina did the dishes in the condo’s small kitchen. “Tina, your ability to jump is so far beyond mine. Anything seems possible,” he said. “I’m thinking tonight we’ll get something.”
She nodded, hoping to encourage him. “I think you might be right.”
***
But nothing came that night. Nothing but a brief dream about prancing horses. Jamey was beginning to wonder if they’d ever pick up on a glimpse of the tragedy that was coming Wyatt’s way. What the hell was Kevin thinking? Where had he gone with Wyatt?
Kevin would know he had to get out of town with Jamey on his tail and had probably headed away from the coast to a less populated area. If it had been him, Jamey would’ve kept driving for days. What kind of man would steal a child from his loving family? To take a young boy from everything and everyone he knows and loves was absolutely selfish. Sure Carrie had threatened to cut him out of Wyatt’s life and get full custody, but Kevin had been dealing with her for two years now. She’d been calling the shots ever since Kevin showed up back in town and wanted to play Dad.
Jamey had to wonder if Kevin now had misgivings about taking Wyatt. Was he nervous that this horrible plan was going to blow up in his face? If he realized the gravity of his actions, thought about international parental kidnapping, he’d probably be looking for a hideout. And that meant leaving Puerto Vallarta. But where? He and Tina couldn’t just drive all over Mexico in hopes of picking up a clue. It was a big country.
Clues led Jamey and Tina to believe Kevin drove straight out of town the day they were discovered. South. But they could’ve rounded and gone north and farther inland. They spent the day wandering, waiting and researching clues, finally ending up at a little Formica table at a taco stand. Tina looked determined across the table while they ate in silence. Finally she spoke. “Tonight we have to dream. We just have to. Why isn’t it coming?”
He shook his head and shoved the last bite of his dripping carnita into his mouth.
“Maybe changing locations would help. Maybe we should try to rent the apartment they were in.”
“It’s worth a try,” he said. “Tomorrow, let’s see if the place is still available.” He took a swig of his beer. “That Super will think you’re crazy. Did he see you empty the garbage and take it with you?”
Tina laughed. First laugh in days. “Probably. I don’t care if he thinks I’m crazy if he agrees to rent it to us.”
Just then Kai woke and they turned their attention to the sweet baby in the stroller who provided the grounding to this very strange and frustrating situation.
Walking back to the condo, along the marina promenade, Jamey’s phone rang. Carrie.
“I just got a call from Kevin,” she said, skipping any preamble. Her voice was full of nervous energy like she hadn’t slept since this started. “He told me to call you off and he’d bring back Wyatt.”
“What did you tell him?”
“I said I would, but he had to tell me where Wyatt was and Chris would come get him. No driving home with Wyatt. ”
Jamey wasn’t sure Kevin would simply hand over Wyatt. Not after what Tina got from Looney Tune’s feelings about motherhood and how she felt justified in keeping the boy for their own. And, why would Kevin be worried about Jamey? He didn’t know Jamey was anything but a former soldier and cop. He had no idea how capable Jamey was. “So where is he dropping off Wyatt?”
“I can’t tell you. I swore I wouldn’t. Chris is on his way to the airport now.”
Tina spoke. “Let’s think about ulterior motives before Chris gets on that plane. What if Kevin’s bluffing?”
“Why would he be bluffing?” Carrie asked. “Make us go all the way down there and not give us Wyatt? To what purpose?”
Jamey wasn’t sure. “To hurt you?”
“No. Kevin sounded genuinely sorry he started this whole mess and I believe him. We apologized to each other. I sucked it up and told him how sorry I was to threaten him.”
Something told him not to trust Kevin’s offer. “Does Chris have a rendezvous point and time?”
“Yes. And even if you guess where he’s going Jamey, please stay away. For Wyatt’s sake.”
Tina was listening in on the call. She nodded her agreement to stay away but the look on her face told him that she didn’t trust this plan either.
***
Tina woke before the sky lightened and thought briefly about how she’d had a tough time falling asleep last night. There was a Japanese proverb, told to her by her former neighbor, Mr. Takeshimi, that said when you couldn’t sleep it was because
you were awake in someone else’s dream. She’d lain there wondering who. Finally, she’d fallen. And dreamed. Lately she’d been dreaming of her father, someone she missed with such passion, it hurt. She remembered snippets of the dream with her father at a restaurant table in a quaint village that looked like Spain. Sipping what looked like cappuccinos, Tina told her Dad how much she missed him.
“Me too, Krissy.” He used his pet name for her, which made her all the more wistful.
She looked around for Jamey, but he wasn’t there. It wasn’t one of those dreams and she didn’t feel a need to call him into the scene. “Mom is taking care of Mr. Boo.”
“That’s good,” he smiled widely at her. “Do you like this place?” he looked around the restaurant.
“I do. The coffee here is good.”
“This country is known for its coffee,” he said, winking, and then was gone. His chair in the restaurant remained empty and Tina regretted that she hadn’t had enough time to say more. She stood, walked out of the restaurant and took a horse-drawn carriage around a city park where she got out at a church. Inside the church, people carried a casket down a long aisle to the front. And then she was out, trying to remember the loving warmth of being with her father again.
Jamey opened his eyes and looked over. “Hi Gorgeous,” he whispered. “Is our son letting us sleep in?’ He shifted to his side and feathered his fingers down her exposed left arm.
She smiled at her handsome husband, just as sexy when he woke as always. Maybe more so because he seemed more vulnerable and sweet in these first moments awake.
They lay in bed whispering, touching each other, teasing about the possibility of something more until they shifted in, pressing hips together and then kissed. Long and deep. Jamey was rock hard and her excitement escalated. She pulled her panties off, slid on top of him and eased herself onto his erection. Bliss. The feeling of him entering her was so satisfying, so delicious that her eyes rolled back in her head and she had to stifle a moan.