First Class Farewell (7 page)

Leslie, the older of the two girls, had asked to speak with
Matt privately over the weekend.

“Jackie and I have been talking, and, we know where Dad
would want his ashes spread.”

“Okay,” said Matt. “Is there something that you need me to
do?”

Leslie nodded. “We loved him, and we know he loved us, but,
you should be the one to take care of it. I know he would have wanted it this
way.”

Matt nodded. “Anything you need.”

“Will you take him to your house in the Bahamas and spread
his ashes in the ocean? He loved it there. He spoke of the peace he felt there
and how he thought he might like to retire there one day. It should be his
final resting place.”

“Of course,” agreed Matt. “But why don’t you do it? It would
be…”

“No,” Leslie interrupted. “He loved you like a brother. You
were with him every day. Please?”

So it was agreed that Matt would take Ray to the place he
loved most.

It had taken almost four weeks, but it was decided that the entire
family would travel to the Bahamas to say goodbye to their friend. The annual
fundraiser was behind them, school had just let out for summer break and work
projects were put on hold. Schedules were rearranged and the flight booked. It
would be a bittersweet trip. Who didn’t love a couple of weeks in a mansion on
a tropical island? Yet, they weren’t going for fun.

Peter and Maureen were the first to step onto the plane
bound for Freeport. Each day Peter shook off a little more of the guilt he
carried with him, but it was difficult for him knowing that Ray had given his
own life in protecting him. Peter had thought of him as a surrogate son and his
heart had broken just as it would if it’d been one of his seven boys.

Settled in their seats, the rest of the family piled onto
the private jet. It was the first family trip they’d taken together since the
Caribbean cruise several years before.
How things have changed since then
,
thought Maureen, as she watched her children, their spouses, and all the
grandchildren fill the cabin of the aircraft with laughter, chatter, and in
some cases, wailing.

Joseph was very unhappy with the current seating arrangement
and made his feelings known. He wanted desperately to sit near Alex, which
meant Charlie had to be moved because he didn’t want to sit by Isabelle. With
great diplomacy and tact, Rory convinced Isabelle that she should sit with
Annie, so her little cousin wouldn’t be scared, and then Adam took Lisa with
him and Shelby moved over by Amanda.

Chaos ensued for several minutes until all were seated,
belted in, and ready for take-off. It was going to be a long flight.

*****

The house was ideally situated near Freeport on Grand
Bahama. It sat just a couple of hundred feet from the water with a mile of
private beach. It boasted over fourteen thousand feet of living space but with
eight families, plus Adam, Tyler, Derek and Shelby, it felt slightly cramped.

The billiard room, den and music room were turned into
bedrooms, with a few of the older grandchildren sleeping on air mattresses in
the family room. Adam called dibs on the pool house and was happy with the
private accommodations. Tyler wanted to share with him, but Adam adamantly
refused. With everyone unpacking and grabbing snacks, Adam took the opportunity
to grab some alone time, as he closed the French doors behind him after
entering the pool house.

It was a large room with a small seating area and flat
screen television on the wall, a dining table and four chairs, a small compact
kitchen, a large bed full of decorative pillows, and a bathroom that contained
a sink, toilet and large walk-in shower. The idea of being slightly separate
from the rest of the family was appealing to him for many reasons.

He loved kids. He wanted children of his own. But he was
around them all day being a pediatrician and this break from work was needed.
He’d recently lost two of his patients to leukemia and it had taken a toll on
him. Some relaxation was what he needed, even though that was not was this trip
was all about. He loved all of his cousins, but he also needed a break from
them. The pool house was a perfect place for him to hide.

When the knock came on the door, he almost didn’t answer,
but then he saw her and jumped from the bed and opened the door.

“You’re smart to claim this first,” Shelby chuckled. “I wish
I’d known it was here.”

“Is this your first time here?”

She nodded. “It’s magnificent. I can’t imagine ever wanting
to leave here and go home. The weather is perfect. The house is incredible,
and
the beach is just right there!”

“You know I didn’t grow up with any of this type of stuff,”
Adam said, waving his arm around the luxury they stood in. “But it sure is a
nice way to spend a couple of weeks.”

“I know,” nodded Shelby. “This a vast contrast to the house
I lived in with my mother.”

The statement sobered Adam. He didn’t want to say anything
to cause her pain as she remembered the unfortunate events of her childhood.

“I’m sorry,” he stuttered. “I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s okay,” she smiled. “I think after years and years of
therapy I have come to terms with my past. I can talk about it.  Well,
most
of it. It’s almost like I’m talking about someone else…like all the terrible
things that happened…that they
happened
to someone else…not me. I’m
trying not to be that scared little girl anymore.”

“Do you think about it?”

“Sometimes,” she shrugged. “As crazy as it sounds, I think
that maybe it all happened the way it was supposed to.”

“How?” Adam was shocked. “Why would you think that?”

Shelby sat on the sofa and got comfortable. “My mom was a
drug addict. Drugs were always more important than I was. Her boyfriends were
usually men that supplied her the drugs. Basically, she sold herself to anyone
who could enable her addiction. If it wasn’t for…for what happened to me, I
would never have been brought to the Emergency Room that day and I would have
never met Katy. Then where would I be?”

“But rape is never…I mean, you shouldn’t wish…you can’t mean
that…”

“No,” Shelby answered his question. “No child should be
assaulted as I was. That’s still really hard for me to think about. And the
nightmares are still all too real. But look where I am now? Look what I’ve done
with my life? I thank God every day that I met Katy, and then Mark, and
then…you.”

“Me, too,” he whispered.

The shrieks of laughter erupted outside as water from the
pool splashed everywhere.

“POOL PARTY!” Mark screamed and cannon-balled into the deep
end.

“Time to go swimming,” Shelby grinned, and walked back to the
house to get changed.

Adam watched her leave. No. He hated that her mother’s
boyfriend had raped her over and over again. He hated that she’d been beaten to
a pulp. But he
was
glad he’d met her. He was very glad she was a part of
his life.

*****

The last time Matt and Janie had been in their vacation
home, just a few months before when they’d escaped the miserable winter weather
in Manhattan, Ray had been with them. He’d sat on the beach with them and built
sand castles. Ray had dug out buckets and buckets of sand and made a speed boat
with a steering wheel and seats and he and the children had played for hours as
they’d each taken a turn at
driving
the boat. Matt sat on the balcony
outside the master bedroom and gazed at the sand…the very sand they’d all played
in just last year. It seemed like yesterday and at the same time, it seemed
like a lifetime ago.

It had been over four weeks since Ray had left them and it
hadn’t gotten any easier. Matt often found himself reaching for the phone to
call him, or thinking he heard his voice in a crowd. He missed his friend.
Terribly.

“Kids are all asleep,” Janie smiled, as she stepped onto the
balcony and sat next to her husband. “After the flight and playing all
afternoon, they’re wiped out.”

“Me, too,” he replied.

“Have you thought about how you want to do this?” she asked.

Matt closed his eyes and sighed. “I don’t want to do it. I
don’t want him to be gone. I want him to walk through the door and say hello. I
don’t want to say goodbye. I’m not sure I can.”

Janie stood and slid onto his lap, wrapping her arms around
his neck and pulling him to her breast. If there was something she could do to
take the pain away from him, she’d do it in a heartbeat. But she felt the same
pain. Ray had been the big brother she’d never had. She loved him and missed
him. Terribly.

Somehow they’d get through it. Together.

*****

“I think I’m old enough to have outgrown the kids’ table,”
Alex scowled at his mother. Sophia nodded and he happily headed outside to eat
his lunch with Ben.

Most of the women were in the kitchen arranging the kids and
trying to get them to eat, which was always a difficulty when they were all
together. It was much more fun to play with their food than eat it.

Beth stood off to the side, watching the mothers with their
children. The last month had been the worst of her life. Now she stood in the
lap of luxury in a magnificent estate in perfect weather. Yes, they’d come to
say goodbye to Ray, and it was a somber occasion, but the family had decided to
try and enjoy the trip. Ray wouldn’t want them moping around. He’d want a
blow-out party for his send-off. But that didn’t make it any easier for her.
She desperately missed Cleo and the anxiety over the last round of IVF was
beginning to make her crazy. She’d waited until the day before they left on the
trip to have the pregnancy test. The call would be coming any time now. Had it
worked? Or would she, once again, be dismally disappointed.

“Aunt Beth? Are you gonna eat lunch?” Amanda asked. “You can
sit by me.”

“I would love to sit next to you,” Beth smiled at her niece.
She grabbed a bun and squirted ketchup and mustard on it and then added an
almost charred hamburger patty and some cheese, lettuce and tomato and a
handful of carrots and pulled up a chair in between Amanda and Isabelle.

Sophia threw her hand up to her mouth and ran down the hall
to the bathroom.

“Poor girl,” Maureen said, as she wiped up some sloshed milk
from the counter, the newest sippy cup not holding up to the marketing claims
on the packaging. “I hope it gets better for her soon.”

The other women agreed and Beth bit into her hamburger.
She’d be thrilled to have morning sickness morning, afternoon and night if it
meant she could have a baby. She wouldn’t complain one bit.

But for now, she would just enjoy her precious nieces and
nephews and pray that one day she’d get her miracle. Hopefully sooner rather
than later.

Tim watched his wife through the doorway and instinctively
knew what she was thinking by the way she looked at Amanda seated beside her.
He saw the longing looks…the sadness in her smile. She couldn’t hide it from
him. He wondered what he could do to cheer her up…to make her forget her
heartache for just a moment. As his phone rang in his pocket, he didn’t have
time to consider the answer to his question.

He didn’t recognize the number. “Hello?”

“Is this Tim Lathem?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, good! This is Dr. Ringer. I’ve tried your wife’s phone
but she didn’t answer.”

“Hello, Dr. Ringer. Ah, she probably doesn’t have it turned
on right now.  We’re out of the country. Is there something you needed?”

“Well, I needed to give you an update. Is this a good time?”

“Sure it is. Is it good news? Should I get Beth? Or should
you tell me and then I can find a way to break the bad news to her?”

Dr. Ringer laughed. “Would you like to break the good news
to her?”

Tim gasped. “Good news?”

“Very good news,” he replied.

That evening, after all the children had been put to bed,
and all the adults had shared several well-deserved bottles of wine, one by
one, each couple headed off to their rooms, Paul and Nic, and Beth and Tim
remaining on the patio overlooking the beach.

The waves gently lapped on the sand and the moon cast a
beautiful golden reflection across the water. There was a slight breeze that
was warm on the skin and Beth asked for a glass of wine for the second time.

Her first request earlier in the evening, Tim had said he’d
forgotten when he came back from the bar with a can of cola. She’d shrugged and
drank half of the can. This time she was a little more insistent.

“Please remember my wine this time,” she’d called after him,
as he strolled inside.

“I think I’m gonna call it a night,” Nic smiled. “I’m
tired!”

“Okay,” said Paul and helped his wife from her chair. “We’ll
see you guys in the morning.”

“Night,” Beth smiled, as they left her alone of the patio.

Tim returned a moment later carrying two glasses. He handed
one to her.

“This is water,” she frowned. “Do we need to get your
hearing checked?”

“I’m not getting you any wine.”

“Why not?” she said, irritation in her voice.

“Did Paul and Nic go to bed?”

“Yes,” Beth scowled as she sipped the ice water.

“Beth? I have something I need to tell you.”

“That sounds ominous,” she replied. “Lay it on me,” she
sighed.

“You can’t have any wine, or
any
alcohol, for the
next little while.”

“What?”

Tim grinned, unable to keep a blank expression on his face.
“Dr. Ringer called today.”

“What?”

“Dr. Ringer called. We’re going to have a baby!”

*****

“What the hell?” Matt exclaimed as he sat up straight.

“Somebody screamed,” Janie said jumping from the bed and
grabbing her robe.

“Stay here!” Matt ordered as he ran from the room and down
the stairs, Janie following close behind him.

At the foot of the stairs they met Mark and Katy who’d also
heard the noise. They were then joined by Andrew and Rory.

Peter stood at the top of the stairs. “What was that?” he
barked.

“I don’t know,” Matt said as he picked up one of the
children’s cricket bats that lay near the stairs.

“That’s going to defend us all,” Mark chuckled.

Matt ignored his brother and stalked through the darkened
house towards the children in the family room. All was quiet and all the
children were accounted for. As he turned, he saw a silhouette on the patio. He
tiptoed in that direction. A squeal came again and then laughing. Matt drew
back the bat and stepped outside through the open doors.

“Oh, it’s you!” he sighed with relief as he saw Tim and Beth
in each other’s arms. “We heard a scream and…”

“Sorry,” Beth grinned. “That was me.”

“Are you alright?” Matt asked, concern immediately back
again.