Saying Goodbye (What the World Doesn't Know) (38 page)

            “I can’t believe you’re still living with your parents after what they have done,” he remarked quickly.

            “You can’t choose your family, but you can choose your girlfriend.” Frankie lifted her head and stared at him. “Why her?”

            Alex eyed Frankie. “’Cause I can’t have you. I can only do and be as I know at the moment,” he said. “Yesterday you were gone from my life and there was Sarah. Today you are back. You are here now and it’s the time we have. What happened yesterday is over.”

            “Is it over?” questioned Frankie.

            Alex looked at Frankie intently and asked: “Have we started again? Are you back in my life?”

            Frankie rested her head on his shoulder. She knew the answer was no, and things could never be the same as before. Parents, agents, and apparently the entire world didn’t want her and Alex to be together. She wondered if they ever
could
be together the way they wished.

 

            Later that evening, Frankie and the girls found themselves at the hotel bar. Peter, Nick, and Josh were entertaining some fan girls at another table, but that didn’t deter Eileen. She led everyone into the bar to a table not far from the Dark Knights and ordered a round of drinks. Within minutes, their table was surrounded by Peter, Josh, and several other men whom Frankie didn’t know.

            Frankie saw Alex out of the corner of her eye, and rose from the table to follow him outside. He kept walking out the back of the hotel, down the wooden steps to a path through the tall grass.

            Hearing the rustle of grass behind him, he turned around. “Why are you so slow?” he asked teasingly. “Having trouble keeping up?”

            Frankie leaped forward and jumped playfully onto his back. He carried her along the rest of the path to a private beach. After twirling her around in the shallow tide for a few minutes he set her down to stand ankle-deep in the water. The sea was as warm as bathwater, the sky was filled with a million stars, and the moon hung low on the horizon. Frankie was finally experiencing the romantic evening she had dreamed of having with Alex.

            Standing in the water they stared at each other momentarily and then Frankie leaned forward and splashed him. Suddenly Alex, still fully clothed, walked out into the water and dove into a shallow wave. Not caring whether she got her dress wet, Frankie also walked into the water, turned about, screamed
Ay cara
mba!,
and plunged backwards into the water.

            Alex waded up to Frankie and rested flat on his back as the gentle waves rolled over his body. Gazing up at the stars he wished he could stay in this place forever. Life seemed so easy and peaceful, and he felt at one with the sea and sky.

            Frankie lay down beside him. She paid no mind to the waves pushing her dress above her hips, exposing her underwear. For Frankie, she felt like she was being cleansed by the sea—all the pain and shame she had been feeling seemed to wash away. It was just so beautiful that tears started to form in her eyes.

            Grasping her hand in the water, Alex said: “See, this is what I love about you.” He turned to look at her once-blonde hair, now a mess of sand and surf, and her dress bubbling around her waist. “I don’t believe any other girl could appreciate this.”

            “Are you kidding me?” she said. “You couldn’t ask for anything more romantic—you, me, and the sea.”

            Alex rolled onto his side and gazed down at her. “What do you wish for most?” he asked.

            Frankie looked upwards at the stars and then directly into Alex’s dark eyes. “Love,” she replied.

            “You’ve got it,” he said and then leaned forward to kiss her. Every moment they were together was like an eternity—this kiss alone could last forever, causing them to lose all track of time. And tonight was the perfect place. Alex pulled away from her. “Do you want to get married?” he asked.

            The question took Frankie so much by surprise that she didn’t immediately answer. She propped herself up on her elbows and stared at him. “Married?”

            “Yeah, we can elope here,” Alex said. “Get married and then everyone would be forced to change around us. Everyone would have to accept it.”

            “Do you think everyone
would
accept it?” Frankie asked.

            “They’d have to because we’d be married.”

            Frankie didn’t know what to say. She loved him like crazy, but with everything that had occurred, she wondered how a marriage with Alex would work (if it
could
work). Kissing him on the chin she simply replied: “Yes. Someday, when we can do it right. When people will truly accept us and there is no one to hold us back.”

            “I don’t want to read about you running off and marrying some other guy. That would kill me.”

            Frankie laughed. “I won’t, silly.”

            Alex laid his head back down in the surf and looked up at the sky. “So why are you in Santo Domingo?”

            “Performing with the USO,” she said.

            “I didn’t know you were into politics, or is it soldiers you’re into?” he asked curiously.

            “Neither,” she said. She was going to mention it was her parents’ idea, but she didn’t want Alex to know how much influence they actually still had on her life. “Soldiers are sacrificing themselves, leaving their wives and girlfriends far away. I guess it’s my sense of solidarity. I know how they feel, you being so far away.” She looked at Alex and then back to the stars. “Sometimes love is a sacrifice for a greater cause. You can’t always be with the one you love, so
you have to be at your best
 for those who need you.”

            “So that’s what we’re doing—sacrificing for a greater cause?” he asked.

            Frankie splashed her feet in the water. “I suppose so,” she said. “Greater causes stinks don’t they?”

            “Yeah,” Alex sighed. “I wonder what my greater cause is.”

            Dipping her head back, Frankie said: “The band, the music . . . who knows? Maybe you haven’t even found it yet.”

            “Huh,” Alex grunted. He propped himself up on his elbows and watched a small wave wash over his jeans up to his waist. He had the slight inspiration to strip down to nothing, but realized a party going on in the hotel just a few yards away and it might not be prudent.

            “What are you thinking about?” asked Frankie.

            “What it would be like to be naked right now,” he said and then laughed at himself.

            “Do you want to go back to the room?” she asked with a wink.

            Alex laid his head back down in the water and looked to the starry sky. “Not just yet. It’s too soon,” he said.

            Frankie rested her head beside his and took his hand. “Yeah, you’re right.”

 

            They woke up the next morning with the sound of Peter rapping on the door. “Get up!” he yelled. “
We’re late;
 there’s another shoot in an hour!”

            Frankie yawned and turned over, wrapping her arm around Alex’s chest. “Good Lord, how many photographs to they need for one album cover?”

            Alex laughed. “It’s some whole fucking PR campaign. I just can’t believe how much film they are wasting on our ugly mugs.”

            She tapped her fingertips on his chest. “How about you quit and become my sex slave?”

            “I tried,” he yawned, “but your father surprised me with a restraining order.” He got up and headed toward the shower.

            Frankie jumped out of bed and followed him to the bathroom. “Try again!” Naked, Frankie climbed into the shower with him.

            “Look,” he said, “I gotta get to work. It’s not helping me get ready seeing you wet and naked.” He kissed her hard and then patted her nude butt to scat.

            Frankie got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her body. She sat on the toilet seat and watched Alex’s silhouette behind the glass curtain. “When is your contract up?” she asked.

            “Not until ’66,” he said, scrubbing his armpits.

            “A year,” Frankie said to herself.

            “A year and a half,” said Alex.

            “What are you going to do when it’s over?” she asked.

            “Come to America and fuck you until you can’t stand anymore.”

            “That will be a pretty long time,” Frankie replied.

            Alex stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He wiped steam from the mirror and spread shaving cream across his face. Frankie stood up from the toilet seat and hopped onto the sink counter.

            “Need help shaving?” she asked.

            “I like my face in one piece,” he replied.

            “I have a very steady hand.”

            “No doubt,” said Alex as he ran his razor over his skin and then rinsed off the remaining foam. “I just don’t think you can stand still for more than two seconds.”

            Frankie kicked her legs back and forth. “Hmm, how well you know me.” 

            Alex stood upright and spread shaving foam all over Frankie’s face.

            “Do
I
need a shave?” she asked seductively.

            “Don’t get me started.”

            “We’re leaving this afternoon,” she said soberly with her face covered in foam. “When you hurry to leave here, you won’t see me for a while.”

            Alex splashed water over his shaved face. “Why do you feel the need to say things like that?” 

            “Because it’s true,” she said.

            Alex cleaned her face with a warm cloth and then kissed her. “I don’t want you to go. I haven’t been happier since I’ve seen you.”

            “Well, we have two choices,” said Frankie. “I can stay here with you and let the US military come searching for me, or you can come back to the US military base with me and be my prisoner of war.”

            “Prisoner of war,” he said. “That’s an interesting way of putting it. Or we could run off and disappear in the world. We could vanish.”

            “And have the whole world looking for us?” questioned Frankie. “The US Army, every girl in the world, and,” she looked him sternly in the eye, “my father and Sarah?”

            “I fear Sarah more than anyone.” he laughed.

            She put her hands around his waist and pressed her face against his naked chest. “It was so nice seeing you.”

            “When do you think we’ll see each other again?” he asked.

            “Someday,” she said.

            “I really am beginning to hate ‘someday,’” Alex said, running his hand over her wet head and kissed her forehead. “Someday has got to be the worst day ever.”

            “Someday certainly does stink,” said Frankie.

            Both returned to the bedroom and got dressed. Alex held Frankie tightly, not ready to let her go. “Expect mail from your biggest fan,” he said.

            “You too,” she said. “I gotta go.” She backed out of the room and said. “Until someday.”

            “Yeah,” Alex sighed, disappointed.

Once she was out of sight he stood frozen for several minutes. He wanted to chase after her and keep her from leaving. It would be so easy for the two of them to escape from everything and everyone right now. They could disappear amongst the islands and no one would ever know.

            Coming back to his senses, he walked out of the room and downstairs to the lobby, eluding the rest of the band, the entourage, and all the hangers-on. Not ready to deal with anyone yet, he walked on through the hotel to the back door. Proceeding fast through the tall grass, waving his palms slightly over the blades and feeling the botanical energy, he strode with blind determination, not knowing where he was going.

            The warmth of a new day provided him with a sense of purpose and the sweet smell of the tall grass gave him the inspiration that he was going in the right direction. He felt so confident; he closed his eyes and continued walking, letting destiny lead him. When he opened his eyes, he discovered he had literally come to a crossroads.

            A strong breeze blew, rustling the grass around him. Glancing upward at the sky he saw the bright white light of the sun trying to penetrate the morning haze. A sensation came upon him that gave him goose bumps, and he assumed it must be the forces of Obeah’s spell. He had never before believed in magic of any kind, but today was different. His whole world had shifted, seeing Frankie the past two days, and it had indeed been magical.

            Alex looked down the length of each lane of the crossroads, wondering which one was his correct path. One road would lead him to the beach, the other back to town and the other two around the island.
Which direction should I go?
he thought.
What will I find?
He paused there for a while and then cut back through the tall grass from where he came.

 

            The
flight
back to Santo Domingo was a quiet one. All that could be heard was the rotating of the propellers,but the lyrics to the Dark Knight’s song,
Purgatory in Paradise
ran through her mind: