Coming Together: Special Hurricane Relief Edition (18 page)

"I
didn't tell anyone where you went," Della assured her. "Not
a soul."

"Appreciate
that. I really do. When this is over, I'll buy you dinner with my
big-ass bonus check," Stormy promised.

"Deal,"
Della said, hanging up with a laugh.

Stormy
opened her e-mail inbox and browsed through the hundreds of messages
that had accumulated during her absence, deleting the SPAM as she
scrolled. One message caught her eye and she opened it immediately:

Landed the
contract to publish the
official
travel guide for Costa Rica!
They tell me we'll be working very closely with the winning ad
campaign team. Sounds promising. Arriving Pittsburgh late Sunday. See
you soon.

That added
incentive was all Stormy needed to get right down to work. Abandoning
her e-mail, she got out her sketch pad and pencils.

* * * *

A palpable
tension filled the office on Monday morning. Thirty-five proposals
rested on easels around the vast conference room, each covered by a
top sheet. Their owners hovered nearby, making sure no one got a
sneak peek, although the time for revisions had passed. Everyone
seemed on edge; even the most senior staff appeared cagey.

An entourage
of business suits arrived shortly before nine o'clock, and Stormy
caught a glimpse of Charlie—looking much as he had in the
Charlotte airport only one week earlier. One tumultuous week. So much
had changed.

At precisely
nine o'clock, a hush fell over the room. Everyone took their places.
They planned to circumnavigate the room, viewing the proposals one at
a time. Stormy, thanks to the "luck" of the draw, was first
in line. Best to get it over with, she told herself, since an anxious
sweat already trickled down the back of her neck.

The group of
a dozen suits approached, expectantly. Stormy briefly looked each in
the eye, getting a discreet wink from Charlie—who brought up
the rear—before throwing off the cover sheet to reveal a
detailed sketch of a woman's back from neck to thighs. A wet sarong
clung to the curves of her ass, and a hand rested on the small of her
back. In the background, the outline of a map of Costa Rica could
just barely be discerned. Above, one word:
Come
. And beneath,
the slogan:
Wetter has never been better
. In small print at
the bottom, the address www.rainyseason.com, which Stormy had the
foresight to reserve over the weekend.

A stunned
silence filled the room. No one moved. Stormy could hear the ticking
of the clock. The two suits in front glanced at one another, some
indeterminate signal passing between them. A hand was extended, then
another and another. Her colleagues—one by one—began to
applaud as they symbolically removed their offerings from the easels,
ceding to Stormy's breathtaking effort.

"Congratulations!"
Charlie said when he could get close enough. "Ready to go back?"

~
~ ~ ~

Katrina
Dances

©
Moonlight Elf (Luna Fae)

Katrina
dances,

Celebrating
her birth,

A
daring and beautiful force

Caught
up in her own state of bliss.

She
jumps; a wave rises.

She
twirls; a waterspout appears.

Her
reckless dancing angers her mother, Gaia

And
drives her to tears.

She
prances unaware of where she is

Closer
and closer to land she dances

To
the domain of humans she comes

Arms
outstretched in innocent joy.

In
horror, watched the masses

As
the hurricane approaches them

Destroying,
mystifying, murdering

Danced
the daughter of mother earth.

In
desperation her mother cries out

Katrina
hears, and she stops her dance.

But
it's too late.

It
rains as Gaia weeps with sorrow.

~
~ ~ ~

Nouveau
Soleil

©
Rebecca Leah

Looking
down at the crescent nail marks gouged into my hand, I made a rueful
mental note to get Jina drunk before we took off next time. Turning
my face towards the warm sunlight streaming in the window, I sighed.
It had been far too long since I had been back. I could see the
islands growing bigger across the clear bright aqua water. My parents
started their second marriages together in front of a
four-foot-five-inch island priest from The Island Church of the Heart
on the porch of a small villa here on St.John.

They
had returned twenty years later, after retiring, to buy the same
tropical bungalow. Now that they were up in the States visiting my
sister and spending time with their new granddaughter, it seemed the
perfect chance to come back. I hadn't been here since they moved five
years ago, but I could still remember the feel of the soft sand of
Cinnamon Bay between my toes and the smell of the garden after it
rained. I wanted Jina to experience the same blissful feeling I got
here, and I knew I would love it even more with her here, too.

Kissing
the top of her head as it rested on my shoulder, I debated about
waking Jina to see the picture perfect beauty out the window. Yet,
remembering what take off had been like and her fear of heights, I
figured it would be better to let her sleep. Hopefully she'd be out
all the way through the landing. The captain's voice came over the
loudspeaker informing the passengers that we would be landing in
about twenty minutes. Smiling into Jina's soft brown hair, I
calculated that all the Jim Beam minis would probably keep her out
for at least that much longer.

Feeling
Jina's head move a little in her sleep, I reached up to run my
fingers through her hair to quiet her, loving the soft sigh that
escaped her slightly open lips. As my fingers brushed the ends of her
hair, resting on the tops of her round breasts, I regretted not
having the chance to induct us both into the Mile High Club. Perhaps
she'd be used to flying by the time we headed back to the States, and
I'd be able to keep her awake to cuddle under the blanket. I was
pretty sure if I got that far, I'd be able to convince her to come
with me and squeeze into the bathroom. Images of Jina sitting on the
counter as I knelt between her spread legs flooded my mind. For the
moment though, I could set aside my need for her in the interest of
her mental state.

A
small lurch in my stomach informed me that the plane was losing
altitude. I glanced back out the window to see the sandy beaches and
lush tropical plants of St.Thomas almost beneath us. I could already
feel the hot air against my skin—wetter and more fragrant than
the stale recycled stuff the plane was blowing on us. The captain
came back on to ask the flight attendants to take their seats for the
final descent. The ground came rushing closer, and I felt a thrill
rush through me: I knew I was almost back.

With
a solid thump, the plane touched down and Jina's head shot up, blue
eyes wide open. I could see the fear in her eyes and the tension in
her body as her nails dug into the seat. I reached over to stroke a
cheek and turn her face towards me, catching her eyes with mine.
"We're here, that was just the landing," I said quietly,
leaning over to kiss her lips softly. Pulling back, I whispered
against Jina's mouth, "Welcome to the Caribbean, love. Look
outside." I smiled as I leaned back in my seat so she could see
past me out of the window.

I
knew she was amazed when she couldn't make one smart-assed comment
about the bright sunlight. Grinning at the thought of Jina speechless
for once in her life, I turned back towards the window. Her hand
found mine and squeezed tightly, not in fear this time, but
anticipation. As the plane taxied to the gate, she placed her hand on
my knee and leaned over to look out the window.

The
neck of her tank top dipped open, and I couldn't help but stare at
the pale skin revealed, contrasting with Jina's black satin bra. I
wasn't sure if she realized what she was doing. Then my eyes shot up
to catch the devious look in hers just as a hand slid up to the
bottom edge of my short—but still decent—skirt. I
squirmed slightly in my seat as Jina's fingers lightly traced
patterns on my inner thigh, just above the hem of my skirt, out of
sight of everyone else. I guessed that now we were back on the ground
she was feeling better.

She
was still leaning over, pretending to look out the window, even
though there was nothing to see other than the airport building.
Reaching up to the nipple that was practically in my face, I gave
into temptation and flicked it gently with my nail. I leaned towards
her and whispered, "I'm going to have a hard time getting us
through the rest of the trip if you keep that up." Running my
tongue lightly around her ear lobe, I noticed Jina's fingers creeping
higher under my skirt, almost coming up to my panties.

The
captain's voice came back over the system, vague in my ears,
something about thanks for flying and have a good trip. The scuffle
of people getting up and collecting their belongings finally broke
through my hazy mind. I realized that people would start to notice us
soon and pulled away from Jina, pushing her hand out from under my
skirt. She looked slightly surprised at my movements, and I nodded my
head to point out the people now disembarking from the plane. As she
pulled back to gather all the stuff around her seat, I suddenly felt
a wave of nauseous nervousness. What if she didn't like the island?
What if she didn't like Nouveau Soleil? Hell, Jina didn't even like
sunlight with her pale skin. Catching my breath, I fought down an
urge to cry and busied myself collecting my books and other time
wasters.

Jina
heard me and glanced my way. "You okay, baby?" she asked. I
nodded mutely and her voice came again, this time full of concern,
"No, you're not. Leigh, look at me. What's wrong?"

I
waved my hand to gesture that I was fine, but she grabbed it and
pulled me around to face her. Her hand caressed my cheek; thumb
wiping away the tear that had escaped. "Sweetie, we can try
again. Don't worry. This vacation is to relax. The doctor said it was
probably stress that kept you from conceiving." She kissed me
gently and said, "We're going to have fun, baby. The rest of the
world doesn't matter for the next two weeks."

I
nodded again, but remembering how sweet the doctor had been when the
test came back negative made my eyes tear up more. I heard Jina sigh
as her arms wrapped around me. I knew it was hard on her, too; and
not least of all the work was how to comfort me. It was the third
time we had tried artificial insemination and, despite my family's
history of easily conceiving, I still wasn't pregnant. Feeling my
tears against her neck, Jina stroked my hair and held me close,
rocking gently.

"Is
everything okay, ladies?" The voice was quiet and sweet.
Recognizing it, I looked up to see the flight attendant who had
served us through the trip. We had talked a bit when Jina had been
asleep, and she was full of understanding for Jina's nerves. Now she
was gazing at me with a look of concern.

"We'll
be okay. Thanks, Elisa, for everything," Jina replied as I wiped
my eyes.

She
nodded and smiled at us. "Have a good vacation. It's so
beautiful here—and peaceful. Take care of her, Jina," she
said to my love as she walked back to the front of the plane.

Jina
turned back towards me. "Oh, I will—always. Come on, baby.
They want us off the plane and I, for one, want to get off it."
Jina's joy in getting off the plane was obvious in her voice and
forced a bit of a smile from me. She stood, grabbed her carry on bag,
and reached for my hand. "My Lady?" she asked. That brought
the full smile to my lips, and I lifted my bag as I reached for
Jina's hand. She brought my fingers to her lips and kissed them,
making me melt inside. She was right of course; this was a vacation
and we both deserved a break from our daily stress and troubles.
Leaving my sorrow behind, I walked up the aisle and off the plane,
waving goodbye to Elisa as we walked by her.

* * * *

We
immediately adapted to "island time," lazily strolling
towards the baggage claim while my fingers stayed entwined with
Jina's. We got there long after all the other people from our flight.
Predictably though, the luggage still hadn't arrived. Island time was
a beautiful thing as long as you weren't in a hurry. Jina leaned back
against a wall, and I leaned back against her with her arms around my
waist. My arms draped over hers so my fingers could toy with Jina's
rings, tracing around the edge of the one that matched mine. I let my
head drop back to rest on her shoulder and tilted my head to whisper
in her ear, "Hello, love."