“How long ago?” asked Abel, intrigued.
“Around the turn of the century, the twentieth century,” replied Faviola.
Abel was incredulous. “What the—so how old is she?” he exclaimed.
“Realistically, not any more or less than you, I suppose, but as to years on Earth, she is well over one hundred.”
Abel just shook his head. “The more I find out about that woman—”
“She is a most unique treasure,” said Faviola.
She paused for a moment, then resumed her narrative. “I was horrified when Fat Monti started to talk about making her home a tourist attraction, but then he’d send people there, and they’d never return, and later he sent men with guns, but they never returned either. When she finally revisited me after all those incidents, she asked me if I wanted to know what happened to them. I told her no. I didn’t want to think of my Rimi as being—you know . . .”
“She definitely knows how to take care of herself,” said Abel.
“She is so much more to me than my friend, mi amigo,” continued Faviola. “She is mija, like the daughter I never had before my poor Alfonso died. I’ve invited her many times to come live with me, but she always politely refuses, even though she talks so much about how lonely she is. She says that her friends the animals are better companions than most of the people she’s met. How can I disagree?
“But then,” said Faviola, this time with her more familiar snarky tone, “one day early this week she came to me and told me of this amazing man who had come to her island, and how he was not like the other men who had come. On and on she went. She couldn’t stop talking, and her face glowed like moonlight. Imagine what I thought when she told me that the man’s name was Abel-er-Caleb Forrest?”
“That I truly can’t imagine,” said Abel through his crooked smile.
Faviola smiled like the cat who’d caught the canary. “I just told her to take good care of you—she said that you were injured—that I knew you from the inn, and that I thought that, even though you are a scalawag, you just might be the perfect companion for her.”
“Aw, shit, Favi, you got to be kidding. You got me weeping over here.”
“Actually, I’m not,” replied Faviola, a twinkle in her eye, “but if you ever hurt her, I’ll kneecap you with my pistola just like I almost did to Fat Monti the other night.”
“What was he up to?” asked Abel.
“That’s the other news I have for you, and it is much more serious. The investor that is coming tomorrow night to look over the island is a Colombian. I am sure that he is no ordinary investor. I felt like shooting that fat idiot right there in my office. If he makes a deal with the Colombians, you know what will happen with this place! You are with the DEA! They will never let him continue to operate. They will take him out and the Colombians as well, and the whole town will be caught in the cross fire, not to mention what it would mean for you and Rimi. What will you do? They will be coming to your island the day after tomorrow!”
Abel stood with the warm Pacific lapping at his bare feet, frozen both in mind and body. This was terrible news, though not totally unexpected. He had never actually thought Monti’s investors were legitimate, but the fact that they were Colombians made it potentially much worse for him personally.
“Did he give you a name or anything?” he asked.
“Sí,” said Faviola, “a man from Cartagena, Vicente Galvan. He’ll probably be staying in the beach house right next to yours.”
“Shit!” Abel cried, then instantly calmed himself, his SEAL training once again coming to his aid. “This is all really nasty stuff, Favi, but we’ve got a bigger fish to fry first. Rimi’s dying . . .”
“What?”
“Some nutrient that her body needs that we don’t have on this—well, this planet. She’s running out of it. She’s only got a couple weeks left. She knows that the ship her parents were in has a lot more of it, and we think we know where the wreck is.”
“Where is that?”
“Off an island I’ve been to just north of Jacó. We’re going there tomorrow morning in the Jeep. Once we get there and hopefully get the stuff, we’ll get back here and figure out something about the next day. Do you know anyone with a dock up the coast?” asked Abel.
“Yes. A friend of mine runs a scuba school just a few miles from here. They have a boat and a small pier.”
“God, you’re a lifesaver. Maybe we can borrow some gear from him, too. We’ll have to do some diving,” replied Abel. He gave Faviola a big, heartfelt hug.
“I’ll call him tonight and make sure all is ready,” she said. “Abel—that is your name, correct? What if you don’t find anything there?”
Abel looked into her worried eyes and smiled. “We’re not crossing that bridge yet, and neither should you. We’re going to go there, get what we need, and then probably end up kicking some Colombian asses somehow.”
“So you know this Galvan?”
“To put it mildly, yeah,” replied Abel. “Let’s just say he’s the reason you’ve got to call me Caleb Forrest when we’re around literally anyone else, even though my name’s really Abel.”
“I’m confused,” said Faviola.
“It’s a long story.”
“Perhaps later we can talk more.”
Minutes later, as Faviola hurried back to the main building, Abel plopped down on his bed and lay back on a pile of pillows, staring at the ocean. He couldn’t imagine anything worse than Don Vicente Galvan climbing back like some unkillable cockroach into his life at this very moment. The gods did not seem to be smiling, and depending on how things went, they could all be weeping very soon as well. But hard times bring out the best in men—and women. That’s what the SEAL attitude was. A mountain is there to either be climbed over, bored through, detoured around, tunneled under, or blown up, and it was the SEAL’s job to figure out which ones to try, and then execute that plan.
Abel’s gaze strayed to where the island and its volcano stood off the coast like a sentinel. That was home to him now, and the one person he now lived for called it her home as well. They were now his trigger, and tomorrow he’d pull it as they dived for the wreck, and the next day, he’d pull it again and again and again, as many times as needed. He would not die during these days, and neither would Rimi, for he simply would not allow either event to happen.
***
As the sun set behind the volcano, Rimi, with her small knife sheathed by her side, stood on the eastern beach of the Green Cathedral. She pulled the weapon out. It was unimpressively small, but its pulsating blue glow gave it an exotic and dangerous look.
“I sense that I may be needing you soon,” she whispered to it. “I know you won’t let me down.”
Replacing it in its sheath, she stared across at the mainland, its beach, its shops and pier, the river mouth, and the inn. She had told Bibi she’d be gone for a day or two, that she and Abel were going to find the wrecked spaceship and the pills she needed to stay alive. Bibi had questioned her. Hadn’t Abel said he’d return to get her the next day, and then they’d go? Yes, she had replied, but she had a surprise for Abel, so she would have to leave tonight.
She smiled now, then looked to the sky and leaped high out over the water into the sunset just as she’d done so many times before when she went to see her dear friend. But this time, she was going to see a more special friend, the man she was going to spend the rest of her life with, whether that was many years or only a couple of weeks.
***
Abel was dozing in his bed after having dinner with Faviola at the inn’s restaurant. There, for two hours, he’d poured out the whole story of the dizzying and much misguided last few weeks of his life. As he’d talked of his many foolish actions as well as all the second chances he’d been given by people like Victor Garza and Colonel Ochoa, he was appalled anew at his foolishness and arrogance
. But then, amid repeating the same sins, he’d been hired to rid the evil presence from Isla del Diablo, and that had led him to Rimi and, finally, the complete change that occurred. He now not only appreciated the beauty around him both in Rimi and her island home but also felt an acute sense of both gratitude and shame—gratitude that he’d been spared time and again from the deadly clutches of Don Vicente Galvan and finally found things to live for so much more valuable than money, and shame that he had neglected to thank any of those who had helped him along the way, not his commander Victor Garza, the Panamanian Colonel Ochoa, or even the Uber driver who had gotten him out of Cartagena. He was determined to do right by them all finally, to help Rimi find what she needed to live, and then do whatever was necessary to protect Playa de Palma from whatever Don Vicente Galvan and Fat Monti were cooking up, and free himself and Rimi from the specter of this man forever.
All these things Faviola listened to without question or comment. Then, she spoke.
“When I first heard of you, I thought you must be some arrogant ass like so many of Monti’s guests, and that is why I brought the family down that you were displacing, so you would have to face them. You did not seem so arrogant after that, and you even had a sense of humor. But then you did something that I found very extraordinary. You asked for my opinion about what Monti had offered you. Why is this so extraordinary, you ask? Simply this: Regardless of how much progress Costa Rica has made in comparison to other Latin countries, there is one thing that is true of any of them. That is that no man cares what a woman thinks, except maybe if his shirt and pants match or silly things like that. I know you are not Latino, but to this woman, who has spent almost her whole life in this little town, it is still quite shocking to be asked such a thing from a man. And not only did you ask, but you listened to what I had to say. It was at that time that I knew you were different. And that was confirmed a few days later when you didn’t come back to the motel. Instead, mija came as I told you, glowing like a full moon and carrying on and on about you, even though you were injured. You can learn a great deal about an arrogant ass when they are injured. One is if they stay an arrogant ass, or if they allow themselves to be changed by their experience. From all I could tell, you were the second type, and I was glad, because mija was truly happy, and I had come to enjoy you as well.” Faviola sat back and looked Abel in the eye.
“So here is what you’ll get from me in this present situation. It will take great courage from all of us to put a stop to this evil man who seeks vengeance against you and our fat friend who wants to invite him here. But before that is dealt with, you must find what Rimi needs to continue to live. I will call my friend with the pier and the scuba gear as I said, and I will drive my Jeep from here to there so that you and Rimi can stay on your boat once you leave her home and not have to come back. Rimi can drive the Jeep if you need, but you’ll feel like you’re going to die the whole time she does. It will also help me cover for you here. Your Jeep will be here where it should be if you’re out on the island as they think.
“And I leave the rest to you, mi amigo, you and mija. There are no two people anywhere in the world more capable than you two of ridding this town of the cancer that has infected it ever since that fat man showed up here from Mexico.
“Now go—shoo! You have a long day coming up, and you’ll need your rest. And I have to close down the front desk.” The two stood and embraced. “I’m glad that mija has found a man of honor and courage,” said Faviola, and then she left after asking the maître d’ to put the meal on her tab.
***
All this gave Abel great comfort and encouragement as he went back to his beach house, threw off his clothes, and plopped onto the bed, his mind in a place of peace and clarity that he’d seldom been in save when staying with Rimi on La Catedral Verde.
And so, as he was dozing off in the darkness, it wasn’t with alarm that he heard a splash or two interrupt the steady rhythm of the waves that ebbed and flowed from the beach for a moment, and then saw a figure coming toward his beach house out of the sunset, a woman who moved with grace and complete silence. She seemed to float up the stairs to his deck, and then through his open door. It was only then that Abel could discern that the woman was Rimi. She slipped her finger down her front, loosening her garment, and it fell to the floor.
“I’ve come to give you a gift, my dear friend,” she said softly, then glided onto his bed like a soothing, seductive spirit.
Abel felt an electric-like spark of excitement tempered by an overwhelming feeling of peace and gratitude. As Rimi touched him, and he touched her, time seemed to disappear, and the two wrapped themselves around each other and enjoyed the pure ecstasy that comes when two lovers finally become one.
24
—
When Abel and Rimi woke up with the sun the next morning in the same bed for the first time, having an early breakfast wasn’t the first thing on their minds. But after considerable time, and with considerable effort, they finally managed to pull themselves apart and got ready to meet the day. Abel dressed in his camo and boots, as if ready to head back to the island for a long day of work, while Rimi found her cache of “Earth clothes” near the tree behind Abel’s beach house and dressed in a cute shorts-and-top combo with flip-flops, as if preparing for a day at the beach. Then Abel packed his backpack with work gear and made sure his weapons and ammo were all there. He saw Rimi slip a small knife that seemed to glow faintly into one of her pockets.
“Hey, what’s that—er—thing?” asked Abel, catching himself before he said words like “knife” and “island.” Damn, he thought. This place is bugged, remember? He regained his composure quickly. “Just something you like to carry around, huh?”
Rimi gave him a knowing look as she folded her jungle outfit and put it into one of Abel’s drawers. “Only if I may have need of it,” she said quietly.
Abel gave Rimi a curious look. “Seems pretty harmless,” he said as he finished packing.
Rimi shot him a glance like he’d never seen from her before as if sending him a warning. “I assure you, it is anything but harmless.”
Abel stood silent for a moment, then shrugged. “Okay. Just curious. Let’s get going.”
Rimi smiled widely and gave him a little kiss. Then they left and stopped by the front desk and surprised Faviola, who was working in the back while Javier handled guests who were checking out.
“You both look so perfect together, though the choice of clothes is odd,” she said. “Go over to the breakfast room and have some waffles or a bowl of gallo pinto, and I’ll be right there.”
“Actually, we’re headed to Ron and Elaine’s for breakfast. I told them that sometime I’d stop in for breakfast, and I figured that since I had a date to go with me, we’d go together,” said Abel. He and Rimi smiled at each other, but Faviola frowned.
“And just how are you going to explain this to locals who have seen this woman come and go for many years?” she asked sternly.
“I’ll just say that she came into town last night and we hit it off, so we decided to make a day of it today. It’s not like anyone really knows her except that they see her with you a lot when she’s here, so it all makes sense. And I’m just a tall, dark, handsome single guy that anyone would swoon over, so—”
“Ack!” spat Faviola. “You both act like pollos con las cabezas cortadas!” she grumbled. “Go! Have your fresh eggs and sausage with hash browns or whatever they call it.”
“I’m having pancakes.” Rimi smiled.
“Well, at least you don’t have to worry about getting fat. But please, mijo y mija, you must be careful. This will draw attention to you that you don’t need on a day like today. Don’t let anyone take your picture. Don’t talk to Monti any longer than is necessary,” implored Faviola.
“Don’t worry, it’s breakfast, then to the boat, then we do everything as planned,” said Abel.
The
two strolled into the All-American Diner, and Abel was quickly hit with a taste of the reality Faviola had tried to get them to understand. The place was packed, and everybody they passed as they squeezed around tables on their way to a booth off in a corner did a double take when they saw Rimi, then another to check out the man she was with.
Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all, he thought as they sat down.
His fears evaporated as he watched Rimi’s face when she first tried some pancakes slathered with butter and maple syrup. Her green eyes became even bigger. She groaned with gastric delight and cried out, “This is soooo good!”
She worked her fork like a very efficient robot whose sole purpose was devouring pancakes. Abel, enjoying his diced ham and scrambled eggs with hash browns, thought she might stuff herself so much she’d puke. She finished when he was barely half done and immediately asked for more.
“Not a chance, girl,” he said. “Let’s see if you can hold that without it all coming up, or going out the other way, then maybe some other day we’ll do more.”
Rimi pouted playfully, but finally just smiled and laughed and tried to master how to use her fork to scoop up every bit of leftover crumbs and syrup she could.
“Well, look who’s in town,” came the voice of Ron over Abel’s shoulder. “I see you’ve met Faviola’s daughter, eh, Caleb?”
Rimi instantly gave Abel an astonished look, which he quickly shook his head no to.
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