CHAPTER TWELVE
Daphne looked out at the ocean and grinned. “Toes in the sand and a drink in my hand make this a perfect Saturday.”
Bryce squeezed her hand and winked. “Do you remember the first time you saw this place?”
Lifting her drink, she took a sip of the tart margarita and felt the familiar sting of the bittersweet memories that filled her mind. “I do, as a matter of fact. Selah and I were nine and our grandmother had just brought us back from Nicaragua.”
“Is that where your parents were doing their missionary work?”
“Yes.” Feeling his eyes on her, she decided it was now or never. The longer she kept the stories of her childhood to herself, the harder it was going to be to let them out. “My parents met in an AA meeting when they were both twenty and decided to join an evangelical church as part of their recovery.”
“Doesn’t seem like a typical choice.”
Hitching her shoulder, she nodded. “They traded one addiction for another.”
“You don’t have to tell me yet if you’re not ready.”
She ran her finger over the condensation on her glass and then squinted her eyes, so all she could see were shards of color. “The church they became involved with had a missionary program and they both decided to give it a try. Looking back, I can see how it would appeal to them since neither of them was interested in school, and all they had in front of them were menial jobs.”
“Do you think they were true believers and wanted to preach the gospel or was it a way for them to avoid reality for a while?”
“I think, in the beginning, it was an adventure they couldn’t pass up, and eventually the experience turned them into true believers of the mission. Turns out their addictive personalities were perfect for evangelizing the word of God. Moderation was never something they learned, and it didn’t take them long to swap drugs and alcohol for religion.”
“The good Lord is not a bad thing to be addicted to.”
“I think that depends on the person who’s addicted. Religion is like many things and can be easily turned into something dark and unforgiving. The faith that my parents adopted was strict, and the scripture they preached was filled with brimstone and hellfire.”
“I’m guessing there was no loving and benevolent God in their sermons.”
“You would be correct. They also were not that interested in Selah and me and turned out to be neglectful parents. Some of my earliest memories are not of them, but the women in the villages where we were living. Luckily, a lot of them were loving and cared beautifully for Selah and me.” She took a sip of her margarita and then leaned forward. “Honestly, if it wasn’t for those women, I’m not sure how we would’ve survived.”
“Is that why your grandmother brought you back to the States?”
“Yes, she had been trying for years, but my parents had refused to let us go. Which is weird when you consider they didn’t do much to take care of us. My grandmother traveled to wherever we were staying twice a year and, finally, when we were nine, she no longer tried to convince them, she told them she was doing it. We were in a remote area of Nicaragua where there was a lot of guerilla fighting, and many people had been killed.”
“Jeeze, why the hell would your parents put two small girls in danger?”
“According to them, we were not in danger at all because God would ensure our survival.”
“Bullshit!”
“My grandmother’s sentiments exactly. The day she arrived is the day we left. She had hired private security and didn’t waste a minute arguing.”
“What happened when you arrived in San Diego? You must’ve been in culture shock.”
“That’s putting it mildly. We had spent our lives roaming all over South America and had no formal education, very little experience with American customs, and were used to a fair amount of freedom.”
“Did your folks at least give you some access to school?”
“Yes, we went to the local schools and my grandmother made sure that we had the full curriculum for the grade we were supposed to be in. By some miracle, we had both absorbed enough that when we tested for school the summer we returned, we were in decent shape.”
“No miracle there, clearly you both are smart and somehow survived.”
“Yes, I guess you’re right.”
“How long did it take you both to acclimate?”
“It didn’t take me long because I loved what my grandmother was giving us. I loved the comfort of knowing what to expect and the affection she lavished on us. Not only were we living in a clean and comfortable home, but I didn’t have to pray a million times a day. For the first time in my life, I didn’t think of myself as a sinner on the verge of falling into the devil’s hands if I watched a program on TV.”
“What did Selah think of it?”
“She loved that we didn’t have to pray, but she didn’t like the schedule that we had to adhere to. Where it made me feel comfortable and safe, it made her feel controlled and rebellious. I liked the routine of going to school, being on a sports team, and doing homework and she hated it.”
“Did she ever settle in and accept it?”
“She did and then…” Slipping her hand away from his, she twisted hers together and cleared her throat.
Did she need to tell him more?
Maybe it wasn’t important.
Feeling his arm go around her shoulder, she knew that she should. “Our parents begged us to visit the summer we turned thirteen. They were living in Columbia outside the capital and, by some miracle, missed us. Gram was adamantly opposed to it, but Selah campaigned hard, so she relented.”
“Why did Selah want to go if all you were going to do was pray and be ignored?”
“She thought we’d have a lot of freedom because our parents were not known for their ability to stay engaged. She figured that after the initial reunion, they would go back to their old ways, and we’d be on our own for the summer. She was so boy crazy and my grandmother hadn’t allowed us to date, and she figured that being in Columbia would give her a chance.”
“What about all that fire and brimstone your parents were known for?’
“She figured they’d lecture us in the morning and then forget about us by lunchtime.”
“Does this have a bad ending?”
“Yes.” Taking in a deep breath, she let it out. “Thirteen-year-old girls should not be running around Columbia without protection and that’s exactly what we were doing. Selah was flirting and flaunting all her youthful beauty and, unfortunately, caught the wrong man’s attention.”
“No man should be paying attention to girls that age.”
“Selah didn’t look or act thirteen, and I now see that all the things my parents tried to fill our brains with totally backfired with my sister. We were told that we were sinners so often that she decided to embrace it and show exactly how un-godly she could be.”
“Self-fulfilling prophesy.”
“Yes, and unfortunately our inexperience put us in a very dangerous situation where we barely escaped being raped.” The moment the words left her mouth, she was back there in that filthy room, fighting the man who was attempting to take her and Selah’s souls. Shivering, she wrapped her arms around her middle and fought the memories as they tried to engulf her.
“Oh, fuck,” Bryce mumbled.
“We were lucky and were saved by a good Samaritan. An older woman heard our screams and brought the police just in time.” Raising her eyes, she was surprised to see understanding and not revulsion. “Turns out, God saved us after all because the fact that we escaped being brutalized that day is nothing short of a miracle.”
“Jeeze, Daphne, for you to survive that and turn out as amazing as you have is incredible.”
“I’m not incredible.”
“Yes, you damn well are. You have taken a horrific experience and turned it into strength and grace.”
“That’s a lovely thing to say.”
“I mean it.”
She took his hand and lifted it to her mouth and pressed a kiss against his knuckles. “Thank you.”
“Have you seen your parents since that summer?”
“They came to our high school graduation and it was about as fun as you could imagine. My grandmother never forgave them for what happened and how they handled it, so the two days that we all spent together were uncomfortable and not at all pleasant.”
“What do you mean?”
“After we were rescued, my parents blamed Selah and me for being attacked and said that’s what happened to sinners. I knew it wasn’t true, but I’m not sure my sister ever did. My grandmother must’ve sensed that everything she had tried to give us was wiped away that day for Selah, and it made her incredibly angry.”
“Have you been in contact with your parents since then?”
“I hear from them about once a year and that’s more than enough.”
“I’m sorry, honey.”
“Me too, but I consider myself lucky that we had an amazing grandmother. She saved our lives and if it wasn’t for her, who knows what would have happened.”
“That’s what God gave you: a guardian angel.”
“Yes, I believe you’re right.” Sitting back, she let out a sigh. “The God I know is a loving and benevolent force, and I believe the tenet of any religion is meant to help us live our best lives. Unfortunately, what my parents have done with their faith has little do with that.” She looked around the beach and realized that she had taken a perfectly beautiful afternoon and turned it into a confessional. “I’m sorry I got so heavy.”
Taking her hand, he laced their fingers together. “I want to know you; there is no heavy or light when it comes to us. There’s just real, and that’s all I care about. I feel damn lucky that you’ve trusted me enough to share your story, and I hope you keep doing it until there’s nothing that we don’t know about one another.”
“Next time, it’s your turn.”
“Absolutely.”
Feeling lighter, she was relieved that the story was out of the way. “Let’s go over to the amusement park and see how we do on a roller coaster.”
Standing, he held out his hand. “We’re going to be amazing.” He leaned down and kissed her soundly. “As long as we’re together.”
She followed him across the sand toward the boardwalk and decided she’d like to see if it was possible.
***
Bryce put in another dollar and waited for the basketballs to come down the chute. “This is it; I’m going to dominate the next round.”
“Sure, honey, absolutely.”
Glancing over, he saw Daphne’s smile and knew she was doing her best to placate him. “How in the hell are you so good at this?”
“I played in high school and then shot a ton of hoops when I was in Djibouti. There wasn’t a much to do, so I spent a lot of time on the court.”
“Makes sense.” He saw her cover her mouth and knew she was trying to hide a smile. “What?’
“It’s just funny, that’s all.”
Picking up a small basketball, he rolled it in his hands and waited. “Go on.”
“We’re in an arcade playing a silly game where the best we can hope for is a bunch of tickets that might get us a small stuffed animal.”
Sighing, he looked down at his shoes. “You might as well know that I’m super competitive and hate to lose. I was a know-it-all perfectionist growing up and probably still am, so if you want to run, then I totally get it.”
Running her eyes over his face, she gave him a small smile. “I already figured that out.”
He put the ball back and crossed his arms over his chest. “How?”
“When we were in Djibouti, you asked a million questions and then made me repeat the intel twice before you made a plan for the team’s insertion, then when we played pool, I could see you fighting yourself to let me win. You’re also a little uptight, but that only seems to happen when you think you’re out of control.”
Snorting, he looked at the ceiling. “Damn, woman, don’t hold back now; tell me what you really think.”
She put her hands on his crossed arms and pulled on them until he looked down. “When I first saw you, I thought you were some kind of Captain America SEAL, capable of no wrong, but as I’ve gotten to know you, I realize you’re a regular guy with some amazing talent. “I hate perfect and, the more human you are, the more I’m going to fall for you. The fact that you want to beat me in this stupid arcade game lets me see that you have flaws just like me.”
“I feel like an idiot because if I win, then you lose, and there is never a situation where I want that to happen.”
“See there, we’ve already managed to work out something that could potentially be a source of conflict. If we were on Married at First Sight, we’d be the favored couple to make it the distance.”
He dropped his hands, circling her waist, and pulled her close. “Not sure if comparing us to people who go on a reality show is a good thing or not, but I sure like the rest of what you said.”
A group of kids approached and stood next to them, and Bryce looked down. “You guys want to play?”
“Yeah, we sure do,” the tallest boy responded.
Sweeping his arm up, he grinned. “Go on ahead; the first game is on me.” He grabbed their ribbon of tickets and then took Daphne’s hand and led her toward Donkey Kong. “Show me what you’ve got and let’s see if we can win enough to get you a stuffed animal.”
“Now, that’s romantic because what girl doesn’t want to go to the arcade and have her boyfriend win one?”
Grinning, he wove through the crowd and decided that spending a Saturday in an arcade was awesome. After all, his girl had finally claimed him and, as far as he could see, there wasn’t much more he needed. “Prepare to be amazed because there isn’t much that I’m not willing to do to give you whatever you want.”
She squeezed his hand and smiled. “I like that little bitty stuffed elephant and if we could win that, then I’d be over the moon.”
“One bitty elephant coming right up.”
***
Bryce put his feet on the table and looked over at Daphne. “What do you think? Is this show as incredible as I described?”
“Yes. Is that what the ocean looks like when you’re down there?”
“So far, I haven’t been in a part of the world that affords me a view like that, but maybe someday I’ll have a chance.”
Lifting the bowl of popcorn, she ate a few pieces and returned her attention to the show. “What an amazing world we live in.”
“That we do.” Moving closer, he ran his fingers over her shoulder and tried to figure out what exactly he’d done in his life to deserve a Saturday evening like the one he was having. Not only was the prettiest woman he’d ever laid eyes on snuggled close, but they were watching The Big Blue Planet on National Geographic.
How was that even possible?
After they’d had a sunset dinner at Mission Beach, he’d suggested a couple of clubs, thinking that’s what she would want to do and, when she didn’t seem all that enthusiastic, he threw out the movie at home thing and she was totally on board.
Freaking miracle as far as he was concerned.
Not that he wouldn’t take her dancing whenever she wanted, but he sure liked just being with her as they got to know one another.
And they sure had done that today, that was for damn sure.
Looking over at the kitchen table, he saw the little elephants they’d won and thought it was a positive sign of what they had to look forward to.
“Maybe someday you can teach me how to dive, so I can have a chance to experience the world below the surface of the waves.”
He kissed her head and nodded. “Absolutely.” When her head fell against his shoulder and her body melted into his, he knew they were going to have a hundred amazing adventures.
All they had to do was trust that it was possible.