3 Weeks 'Til Forever (8 page)

Never one to push and mindful that
theirs was a business arrangement for all intents and purposes on this trip,
Redmond let the matter drop.

“Do you wanna go for a quick walk on the
beach? I’m not sleepy and it’s hours before daybreak. A little moonlight walk with
some fresh air could be just what we both need,” Redmond said.

This was just the type of off-the-cuff
thing Janey liked to do from time to time.

Sensing that he needed to get himself in
check before climbing back into a bed beside her, Janey realized that she felt
the exact same way about climbing back into one beside him. So, she readily
agreed.

During their half-hour walk, Janey
peppered Redmond with questions about the region, which would allow her to
write a richer account of the area. He readily answered, giving her so much
detail that she wished she had a recorder to remember it all.

He was not just a taxi driver she
thought; he really knew ‘his’ island – everything from its history, to the
types of plants and foods
Sol y Besos
produced, to the main types of
commerce conducted.

While the flames of unfulfilled
lovemaking stilled burned brightly between them, the ease with which he
respected and accepted her decision not to give into it fully – at least this
evening – was not lost on her.

They silently entered the room again.

Redmond kissed Janey squarely in the
middle of her forehead and said, “We’re going to go a bit further up into Hill
Country tomorrow, so sleep tight. We have another long day ahead.”

And to her surprise, that’s just what
she did.

Chapter 11: The Wait is Over

           
Janey
and Redmond were on the road by 10 the next morning, riding along in
companionable silence.

           
“I’m not much of a morning talker, especially before I have my first cup of
coffee. Seems like you’re not either,” Janey said, glancing at Redmond from
behind her Jackie O-sized sunglasses.

           
“It’s ok. I kind of sensed that. As you know, we kind of go with the flow here
on
Sol y Besos
, so no problem. Did you want to stop and grab another
cup? I know many of you Americans are addicted to your caffeine.”

           
“That would be great. Thanks.”

By
noon, Janey was sitting in front of her next interviewee, a farmer who grew
everything from coffee beans to pepper.

She
had been clued in by Redmond about the wide variety of food items the island
produced, so it was a real pleasure to interview a local farmer to get
first-hand accounts of how most independent farms on the island operated

After
the interview, Redmond took her to an off-the-radar lagoon. It wasn’t on any
tourist map you’d find. He told her that many locals didn’t even know about it.
It was off the beaten path, behind a run-down, long-abandoned farmhouse.

Janey
had learned to always pack a swimsuit whenever she went to the tropics. She
practically lived in one, often wearing it under her street clothes. This came
in handy when it got too hot because sometimes she would take her overshirt off
and walk around in just her bathing suit top with whatever bottoms she had on
if she needed to cool off.

When
they reached the lagoon, she was glad she’d worn a bikini under her shorts and
t-shirt. The day was hot, so they lazed around in the cooling waters for well
over an hour.

“How
did you ever find this place?” Janey asked.

“When
I was little, my dad brought me here. He knew the family that lived on this
farm; his family and theirs often went to market together to sell their crops.”

“So
your family were farmers?”

“Are
farmers,” Redmond corrected.

“My
mom and dad split up years ago, but they’re still friends and still farm
together. I have tons of uncles and aunts and cousins; they’re all farmers.”

“Where
is this family farm?” Janey asked.

“On
the western part of the island. My parents bought it when they first got
married and moved away from here. It’s about four hours from where you are in
the center.”

“Is
that where your daughter is? She’s obviously not with you – at least not every
day.”

“Yes,
my daughter lives with my mother because of school. It’s better for her as far
as consistency is concerned. I get her almost every weekend and go to see her
at least once during the week. The only time she’s not with me on the weekends
is when I have an away trip; like the one we’re on now.”

“Does
your wife ever see her or talk to her?”

“No,”
was all Redmond said.

Janey
sensed that it was a closed topic, so didn’t ask any more questions.

Soon
after that, Redmond said it was time that they pack up and get something to
eat. It was gonna be dark soon and he wanted to get back to the hotel before it
got too late.

They
hadn’t had anything since the farmer’s wife insisted that they eat with them. Janey
smiled when she thought of the remark the kind woman had made. She’d said,
“After all, what kind of farmers would we be if we didn’t share our food.”

Grilled
vegetables and rainbow fish, which was also grilled, had been served. It was
delicious and had Janey licking her fingers.

The
real coup de gras, from a work standpoint for Janey though, was the muscadine
wine that had been served with the meal. She’d never had anything like it.

This
had added another hour to the interview, as the farmer’s wife had gone into
great detail about how the wine was made, how the muscadines were grown and how
they were harvested.

This
had Janey’s head spinning a million miles a minute about the food and drink
series she’d been dying to expand on her travel blog’s network.

Janey
was lost in thought over this when Redmond hit a big pothole that literally
stopped the van. Glad at that moment that she didn’t follow most islanders
penchant for not wearing a seatbelt, she jerked forward violently.

Redmond’s
arm immediately shot over to steady her, and he asked, “Are you alright?”

Assuring
him that she was, he got out of the van to assess the damage.

With
night and a light rain starting to fall, he came over to her side of the van
and said, “Unfortunately, this can’t be fixed right now. I need a part.”

“This
means we have two options. We can walk back about five miles to the village
we’ve just come from. Or, we can hunker down for the night in a little cabin
about an eighth of a mile up the road that I happen to know about.”

The
thought of a five mile hike on muddy roads, in sandals, in the rain, in the
pitch-black dark that descended in Hill Country was not appealing to Janey at
all.

However,
spending the night in a grungy cabin with probably no facilities wasn’t either.
Add to that the fact that she was starving, and Janey felt like she was
literally trapped between a rock and a hard place.

Having
faced far worse on her travels though, she knew that complaining would get you
nowhere and to leave decisions like this to the experts. So she responded,
“What do you think we should do?”

“I
think it’d be best if we spent the night in the cabin. Even if we made it back
to the village tonight, I wouldn’t be able to get help to get the van fixed
until the morning.”

“And,
there’s no hotel there. I know a couple of families who would gladly put us up,
but we’d be sleeping on the floor or in a barn somewhere.”

“Believe
it or not, we’ll definitely be more comfortable in the cabin, and it’s not as
bad as you’re probably thinking.”

“It’s
a farmer’s cabin that all the locals use from time to time, like when they get
caught in a storm on the way to or from the market. Many of the locals around
here don’t have reliable transportation and some still use a horse and buggy to
get their crops to market believe it or not. So,, that’s why the little cabin
comes in handy.”

“If
we’re lucky, nobody will be occupying it tonight. It’s not big, but it is clean
and will do for one night.”

 As
the rain started to come down harder and it was almost pitch black, Janey said,
“Ok, let’s do it.”

Until
then, Janey hadn’t realized that Redmond was holding his breath. He exhaled
visibly and said, “I’m sorry Janey. The roads around here aren’t the best and
this happens from time to time. Luckily, I know exactly what’s wrong with the
van and I can get the part and we should be on our way by 10 in the morning.”

“That
will actually put us a little bit ahead of schedule because since we’re staying
in Hill Country tonight, we don’t have that hour and fifteen minute drive to
get up here tomorrow.

The
last person I scheduled for you to interview is not far from here, and
hopefully you can knock that out and we can be back at the hotel by late
afternoon. That should give you plenty of time to rest before going out
tomorrow night.”

“By
the way, my contact called and said our reservation has been confirmed. It’s
high season and the place is usually booked, but she said she pulled some
strings and got us in.”

After
all the trouble he obviously went through to make sure that she got to do
everything she wanted on this trip – and then some – Janey wanted to assure him
that she was fine.

She
said, “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me on this trip. You seem to
know everything and everybody; I wish I’d met you a couple of years ago.”

So
do I
,
Redmond thought,
so do I
– but for completely different reasons.

.
. .

Both
soaked to the bone, Redmond pushed the door to the little cabin open. To
Janey’s surprise, he was right, it was clean – really clean. But most important
to her at that moment, it provided shelter from the rain.

At
night, even though it was the tropics, the temperature really dropped in Hill
Country. Before taking their clothes off to lay them out to dry, Redmond
located a sheet for her to wrap herself in and he put on a pair of oversized
overalls he’d found.

Janey
found herself shaking in the sheet and Redmond suggested that she get under the
covers before she caught cold. It was cold in the cabin and Janey felt funny
about hogging the bed, but she did not want to share a bed with him, not after
what had almost happened at the hotel last night.

“Where
are you going to sleep?” she asked, surreptitiously making it clear that he was
not welcome to share the bed with her.

“Don’t
worry about me Janey, I’m fine. I’ll be okay right in that chair over there.”

“But
will you be warm enough?” she couldn’t help but ask, even though she still
didn’t want him in the bed with her.

“Yes.
I’ll find a few more things to wrap myself in and I’ll be fine. I don’t know
about you, but I’m beat. I’m starting to feel the day’s exercise. That little
sprint we did to get to this place after swimming this afternoon, along with
the driving today, has made me sleepy and hungry.”

“Since
I can’t do anything about the hunger part, what do you say we call it a night
so we can go find some grub first thing in the morning? Our clothes should be
good and dry by then, and hopefully the rain lets up so we won’t have to slog
our way through mud piles back to the village.”

Knowing
that he was trying to ease her apprehension about being naked under the covers
and sharing this small space with him, she readily agreed and adopted his
humorous tone.

“Okay.
Sleep tight. Don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

Redmond
doused the light from the oil lamp he’d lit earlier and she heard him settle
into the chair. As she huddled deeper under the covers, the springs on the bed
creaked . . . loudly.

Janey
took note of this and sent up a silent prayer that she didn’t do her normal
tossing and turning tonight. Otherwise, neither one of them would get any
sleep.

.
. .

“Janey,
wake up. Wake up. You’re having a nightmare.”

Janey’s
eyes dashed open. She was bathed in sweat and shaking a little.

“Thank
God it was just a dream. Something was after me, I was running but it was about
to catch me. I was so scared,” she said, laying her head on Redmond’s chest.

“I’m
sorry I woke you up. It seems you can’t get a good night’s sleep with me near.”

“You’re
right about that,” Redmond said, “but not because of what you’re thinking. It’s
because all I want to do when I’m near you is this.”

Redmond
put one hand under her chin, turned her full lips to his and when he felt the
warmth of her breath, took full possession of them. Like the storm raging
outside, he unleashed on her, letting the feelings he had for her guide his
moves without saying a word.

The
sexual tension had been building since the first time they laid eyes on each
other and Janey knew there was no stopping it now – and she didn’t want to.
That night was the first time they made love and it was a night Janey would
never, could never, forget.