Amanda
“What are you thinking?” Sally asks as we sit under the shade of a big umbrella.
Our table is one of many on the beach. My toes continue to wiggle in the sand as we sip mimosas and enjoy the atmosphere. Malcolm and Brian told us to meet them at the seaside restaurant after our massages. I have no idea where they went or what they have planned. But I think that’s how kidnappings are supposed to go. I think the kidnappee is bound to do whatever the kidnapper says. Though I’m really not well versed, I’m also not arguing.
“I feel like I’m playing make-believe,” I finally answer.
Sally laughs. “I admit that this is pretty cool.”
We both look out to the horizon. Just beyond the sea wall is the beautiful water. Malcolm may have said it isn’t the ocean, but it’s the most beautiful body of water I’ve ever seen. The blues are stunning as they change color from light to dark as they come together with the blue horizon. I try to imagine a sunset like he described with reds and oranges that flood the sky. I read somewhere that there’s a flash of green for just a microsecond when the sun hits the water’s edge. I don’t know if that’s true. It’s not as if the sun actually makes contact with the water, but I’d love to watch and see.
I reach out to Sally’s hand. “And we’re both here. Doesn’t it seem like a dream...like it’s surreal?”
“Just remember that tomorrow we’ll both be back at work, and you’ll be dealing with Cruella.”
I scrunch my nose and drop her hand. “Why? Why would you ruin it?”
“Because saying that isn’t ruining it. It’s reality, and even though this all seems too good to be true, it isn’t. We’re really here. This is really our reality.”
“I don’t know when I’ve been this happy...well, not happy. I’m happy a lot. Jase makes me happy...so does my family...and you...and maybe even my job.”
“Yes, yes. You love saving puppies.”
“I do. And over the years I’ve remembered how to laugh at movies, TV shows, and books, and how to enjoy my life again. But this is more. This doesn’t feel like my life. I think the word I’m looking for is carefree. For the first time in...I can’t remember how long...I feel carefree, and it scares me.”
“Do me a favor.”
“What?”
Sally moves her sunglasses up so she can see me clearer or maybe it’s so I can see her. Either way, her hazel eyes peer from under the tinted lenses. “Enjoy it. Don’t overthink it. Don’t analyze it. Don’t even try to understand it. Just enjoy it.”
“Live in the moment?”
“Exactly.”
I sigh, letting out a long breath. “That’s exactly what I keep telling Malcolm that we have to do.”
“Then heed your own advice. I mean, eventually you need—”
“No.” I lift my hand. “Don’t eventually me.”
“Okay, honey, the moment.” Sally takes another drink. “If I would have told you years ago when we were, like, ten and sneaking into Alec’s room to snoop around that one day we’d be sitting together on some beach, drinking mimosas after a marvelous massage...” We both sigh at the memory. “...with two hot, sexy ex-jocks, you would have told me I was crazy.”
“Because you are crazy. You’ve always been crazy.”
She laughs. “It’s one of my most endearing traits.”
I tilt my head. “You’ve got a lot of great traits. I love you.”
“I love you too, and I can’t wait to tell your mom how happy you’ve been all weekend.”
My brow furrows. “Is it bad that I feel guiltier if she knows?”
“You know that she wants you to have fun too, right?”
I nod, knowing she’s right. Even Alec is supportive—ridiculously overprotective but supportive. Taking a long sip of my drink, I watch the way the sunlight dances on the waves.
A moment later, without any sound, or perhaps mingled with all the other sounds, I somehow know Malcolm is there. It is a shift in the air or maybe his cologne. I don’t know how, but somehow the small hairs on the back of my neck stand in anticipation and I know...and then, before I can turn, his large warm hand lands gently yet possessively on my shoulder a second before he speaks.
It’s a funny thing that he does, his way of needing to be connected, to touch. In the two months since our first night, I’m surprised at how accustomed I’ve become to it—that touch before he speaks. His deep voice brings a smile to my face.
“Hey beautiful.” His lips graze my cheek.
“Hey.”
Brian is giving Sally a kiss as I turn my attention to Malcolm, watching as he pulls up a chair and sits beside me.
“I know we’re leaving tonight,” he begins, “but while you two were getting your massages, we pulled a few strings.”
My lower lip disappears behind my teeth. “Malcolm, I have to be back tonight, before late.”
He shakes his head. “Our reservations for our flight are for six o’clock. That means we need to leave for the airport by four. With the time difference, you’ll be home and to your son by eight.”
“He goes to bed—”
Sally clears her throat. “If you don’t think your mother knows Ja—”
My vigorous head shaking stops her from completing Jase’s name.
She goes on, “...that your mother knows that Jay-sus himself couldn’t keep you away. She also knows his schedule. If you don’t think she does, I’m very disappointed.”
Malcolm grins. “Don’t you know, Sally, that I’m not allowed to know his name? And that’s okay, but I know he has a great mom, and he’s in bed on school nights by eight-thirty.”
I reach out to Malcolm’s knee. “It’s not that you...it’s that—”
His lips still my answer with a kiss. “Stop. You’ll be home in time. I promise. But first, Brian and I secured an afternoon charter out on the bay. I can’t get you to an ocean this weekend, but if we hurry to the docks, I can get you to the gulf.”
“What?” Sally asks.
“Yes,” Brian answers. “We called some old friends. They used to do charters all the time for the team. Apparently, they still do. When they heard that Pep and I were looking for a last-minute boat, they cancelled some poor sap’s reservations...”
“No!” Sally and I say together.
“It’s no big deal. Something about a fiftieth anniversary...”
“What?” Sally says, her eyes huge.
Malcolm’s laugh rings over our table. “No. Brian’s exaggerating. Like he always does...”
Brian innocently shrugs.
“Really,” Malcolm goes on, “it’s not a big boat, but it’s big enough to take us out in the gulf with some wine and food and show you lovely ladies why you need to return to the sunshine state. And no one’s reservations were cancelled—just the captain’s day off.”
“I-I...” I begin, unsure what to say.
“Let me guess,” Malcolm says with a grin. “You’ve never been on a charter to the Gulf of Mexico before?”
My worries about Jase disappear. Though a small part of me still feels guilty that I won’t be home sooner, I know Malcolm won’t let me down. He’ll get me there before Jase goes to bed.
“I was going to say that since I’m the one who’s kidnapped, I guess I don’t have a choice.” When Malcolm simply looks at me, I let my smile grow. “And I’m very excited. You’re right, I’ve never been on a boat in any sort of saltwater before.” I kiss his cheek. “Thank you!”
One of the Great Lakes is the only large body of water I’d ever seen before this weekend. A few times when Alec and I were young, our parents took us to Lake Michigan. I recall as a child thinking that it was an ocean. It’s big and blue and cold, the last a contrast to this bay. Each time I’ve stepped into the waves here, the temperature is much warmer. There’s something about the salt air, too. “I can’t wait,” I confess.
“Good,” Malcolm says, laying a few bills on the table. “Then let’s go.”
* * *
I’m glad the charter comes complete with a captain and one crewman, even if we did mess up their day off. I don’t doubt that Malcolm could steer a boat if he said he could. So far, I haven’t found many things—anything—that he can’t do. Yet it’s nice to have him beside me as the boat crashes through the waves, taking us beyond the confines of Tampa Bay and out into the gulf.
While the captain drives—is that what one does with a boat?—the mate is responsible for keeping us fed while at the same time supplying us with wine and water. As plates of food continue to appear, I decide that once again, this is like nothing I’ve ever done. I almost wonder if it’s really me sailing through the blue as the saltwater sprays in tiny droplets upon my sunglasses and we move farther and farther away from Tampa. Once we pass under a giant bridge, high above our heads, Malcolm tells me we’re in the Gulf of Mexico and asks me what I think.
“Are there ever times when you can’t come up with words that are sufficient to express what you’re thinking?”
He smiles, not rushing me or pushing me to say more.
“It’s stunning,” I say, knowing my answer is woefully insufficient.
The pad of Malcolm’s thumb runs over my cheek, wiping away the sea droplets. “Are you wearing sunscreen?”
“Yes, and sunglasses, and a hat when the wind doesn’t blow it from my head.”
“Your cheeks are the perfect pink and...” His finger drops to the edge of my beach cover-up. “I can’t wait to find your tan lines.” We kiss. “Mandy, you’re stunning. This is water and sun. Over seventy percent of the earth is covered with water and the sun hits everywhere at some time. But you are...” His deep voice rumbles through me, surpassing the crashing waves and motor’s roar. “...you are...well, there’s only one of you.”
“Thank goodness,” Sally says, interrupting our private moment. “I love her, but the world isn’t ready for two of her.”
We all laugh.
As we all settle to watch the amazing view, Malcolm reaches for my hand. It’s the touch, the connection, and as our fingers intertwine, I contemplate how there’s only one Malcolm too.