Cracked Dreams (33 page)

The ride to the airport was spent discussing what had supposedly happened in New York earlier that day. Ginger told Tone what her mother had told her and he could not believe it. It wasn't that the story was that far-fetched, but Tone was just the type of person that had to see the shit right in front of his face to believe it. none of the information Ginger provided sunk in to his head at all. He was content with being oblivious until they touched down in New York. He would soon find that Ginger's story was not only one hundred percent correct, but that it was only the half of it.

Only another thirty-five minutes would pass before they were pulling
into the parking lot of the Orlando International Airport. After the details of the whole story came pouring out of Ginger as they drove to the airport, it only took for Tone to be informed that two out of the three personal aircraft that were used exclusively for Time Bomb business had been seized by the feds. This is when he finally started to believe what was going on. It seemed as though they'd overlooked one of the smallest details, and that's the only reason they didn't seize all three planes, but that was all Tone and Ginger needed. After filing the proper paperwork in the airport, they were ready to take-off. In fact, everything had been moving so quickly that Gin never once considered her fear of flying. She also hadn't once even realized that this would be her first time flying without Spits by her side. Of course, she would be faced with these concerns sooner than later.

“Yeah, you can just put your shit in the back and ride up front with me,” Tone said. “You probably don't want to be alone right now.”

“You're absolutely right,” Ginger replied. “I've never ridden up front before. I just hope I can handle it. You know, I used to be terrified of flying? The only reason I can get on this plane right now is because of my baby, Spits.”

“Oh, word?” he asked. “Well, I'm gonna try and see if we can find a route around this storm. Maybe, just maybe, you'll still feel as comfortable about flying when we land.”

They both gave a quick chuckle at Tone's statement, and felt a little bit more relaxed with the trip they had ahead of them. Besides the fact that the weather didn't seem to be letting up any time soon, and despite the numerous warnings they'd received from several employees at the airport, they'd gone out anyway.

As Tone had predicted, once they climbed to the appropriate altitude, things began moving smoother than expected. He figured that they could fly above the storm as opposed to flying directly through it, and he was right. It was only 12:50 p.m., and Tone estimated their arrival in New York at approximately 3:30 p.m.

Everything was going according to schedule, and then the deafening roar of thunder and the blinding shimmer of lightning brought all of Ginger's fears rushing back to her. she tried her best to conceal it, but her limbs began
slowly trembling as her eyes grew larger and larger. She started biting her lip as her nerves began to collapse. It was almost like she felt something was about to happen that she couldn't control.
Only if Spits were here,
she thought. In fact, he would only need to hold her hand and tell her, “It's going to be okay,” for her to be fine. That's all she would need, but it was too much to ask at that point. She would just have to cope.

As the storm got worse, Tone's plan to fly above it became more and more useless. Their little insignificant jet was now being consumed by Mother Nature and there was little they could do at this point. The downpour that had formed around them was like nothing they'd ever experienced in their entire lives.

“Look,” Tone said as he began having second thoughts about their journey. “I know how important it is for you to find out what happened to Spits, but this shit don't make no sense. Now, I think the best thing would be for us to just turn around and wait this shit out.”

“Don't you understand?” Ginger asked. “We don't have enough time to just wait this out. I don't know what it is, but something inside of me is telling me that I need to be with him. I can't just ignore those feelings, Anthony. I have to do whatever I can to get back to New York. We've already come this far. Why turn back now?”

For a second, Tone was left completely speechless, then he said, “'Cause I don't wanna fuckin' die out here, that's why.” Ginger began crying hysterically from Tone's response, but he was determined to stay focused. “I'm sorry, but I don't think we can make it all the way to New York. We're going to have to turn back.”

Just as the words were out of his mouth, they heard an earsplitting boom come from the right side of the aircraft. Suddenly, Ginger became extremely numb all over as caution lights began blinking, needles started twirling around uncontrollably, and warning noises came shooting from everywhere.

“What's the matter?” she asked.

“I don't know!” Tone cried. “I think the lightning hit us!” He took a moment to try and gather himself and figure out their next move, but then he looked out the window. What he saw could only bring one word to his
mind, “Fuck!” As Ginger looked to see what had captivated Tone's attention, she too became mesmerized by the sight. There was smoke spewing from their left wing and Ginger could do nothing but stare as well. She was unable to move her body at all.

“Where the hell you goin'?” Tone asked as Ginger got up out of her seat to make her way to the back. “Sit down and put your fuckin' seatbelt back on!”

Tone's cries would fall short of Ginger's ears. She couldn't even begin to consider anything else at this point as she didn't determine the outcome of this situation. With everything that was happening, she only had one thing on her mind. She nervously searched through the bag that she had packed until she found the small velour purse she had tucked deep inside. She pulled the drawstring on the purse and turned it upside-down and dropped the small box that was inside in her hand, and then took a deep breath. She held the box close to her heart, and closed her eyes. She tried her best to imagine Spits there with her. She imagined him sitting there in front of her with a huge inviting smile on his face. She threw out her arms to give him a big hug. When in fact she was only squeezing her own torso, for a minute, she felt like he was really there with her. This was the only way that she could do what she was about to do. After all of the time that passed, she never went a day without thinking about the day she would finally open this box. She imagined over and over again what she would feel and where she would be when she opened it, but never in a million years could she have imagined that it would be like this. She didn't know how long it would take before she was ready, but it had taken the argument that she'd had with her mother earlier in the day to realize.

At last, it was time to open the gift that Spits had given her on the day of their five-year anniversary. She kept her eyes firmly shut to keep the picture of Spits fresh in her mind until the box was completely opened. She breathed in through her nose deeply, and then she blew out of her mouth slowly. When she opened the box, she held it in front of her and imagined Spits down on one knee. She opened her eyes at a snail's pace and completely fell in love with the sight of the ring that was revealed. It was a 3.5-carat, emerald-cut, diamond with baguettes in a platinum setting. She absolutely
loved it. Suddenly, a waterfall of tears came down her face, and she wanted nothing more but to be with him. Without even thinking twice about it, she was dialing his number on her cell phone. She didn't once consider the many attempts that she'd made all throughout the day, and she just knew that it would have to go through this time. Then, indescribable excitement flushed through her body as she heard his voice.

“Daddy?!” she yelled with anticipation. “Please tell me that it's you.”

With all of the energy that was going through her body, all she could do was cry more when she realized that it was only his voicemail message that she was hearing. She was upset at first, but this was actually the closest she'd gotten to speaking to him all day. At least now she could tell him how she felt.

“Leave a message after the beep, and I'll get back at you when I get back to you. One,” said Spits' outgoing message right before a small beep.

“Daddy?” Ginger began as she let out a small sniffle. “I'm sorry . . .I'm sorry for not being there with you right now, but I didn't know. I couldn't have known. I just found out what was going on back home and all I could think about was being with my baby. I swear if I would've found out earlier, I would probably already be there with you right now. At the least we could be together though all of this. That's all that I ever wanted, was for us to be together forever. I know that now . . .”

“Ginger,” Tone cried from the cockpit. “Get the hell back in here and put your fuckin' seatbelt on! I don't know how long we have before we go down! I'm startin' to lose control!”

“ . . .I had to find that out from the most awkward of places, but it's clear to me now,” Gin continued. “I wanted you to know that I love you with all of my heart and I'll never stop loving you. That's why I had to do what I did. I hope you're not mad at me, but I wanted to tell you that I was finally ready to open your gift. It's beautiful, baby, and it's a perfect fit. I want to marry you, honey . . .now more than ever.”

Just as the words were out of her mouth, she was brought back to her reality as a tremendous wind burst sent the plane twirling downward. The sudden jerk threw her from her feet and she flew forward, hitting her back
on the cockpit door. A little dizzy, she regained her strength and got back on her feet. Still holding her cell phone in her hand, she made her way back to the cockpit where Tone was. What she saw was absolutely devastating.

The force of the sudden jolt sent Tone from his seat as well. His head got badly bruised as his body flew forward into the window, and he'd lost consciousness. He was bleeding from his head and his mouth, and the plane was falling lifelessly toward the ground.

“I love you, Daddy,” Ginger said as she cried, while the plane plunged toward the earth uncontrollably. “I love you.”

T
HE
E
ND

Michael Baptiste, born April 23, 1980, was raised, and still resides, in the borough of the Bronx. As a young'n, he wasn't always focused on his studies, and this led to him dropping out of Evander Childs High in 1996. At sixteen, he passed the test for an equivalency diploma without ever studying. His time following was spent mostly being a knucklehead, but it was not in vain. He soon realized the value of education and decided to pursue a career in computers. It wasn't an easy task, but Michael worked hard enough to graduate from college with honors. Although his experience was in technology, his passion remained in the arts. Along with writing, he produces and records music, and he is also a freehand artist.

It has been a long road traveled for the now published writer, Michael D. Baptiste. He did not always aspire to be a writer; in fact, he still juggles numerous different interests that he shares the same love for. As shown above, Michael also has a love for producing and recording Rap music. As well as his music interests, Michael has always loved sketching, which is now transforming into an urban clothing line that he would like to see take form some time in the near future. Hopefully, triumph in one of these areas will provide the proper platform for success in the others. For now he will be more than happy to accept, with great pride and dignity, to be referred to under the title of “Author.”

With much help and influence from his “Wifie,” persistence and commitment, plus a little bit of luck, Michael was fortunate enough to have his manuscript grace the eyes of the one and only Zane of Strebor Books International. With this introduction, Michael's future had finally begun to take form. The rest is, as they say,
“history”
 . . .but the future is now. When
Cracked Dreams
is released in October of this year, we will all find out just how far Michael will be allowed to expand on his accomplishments.

All inquiries can be forwarded to
[email protected]
, and thoughts and suggestions can be sent directly to
[email protected]
. To learn more about Michael Baptiste, please visit
www.onlymike.com
.

Published by

Strebor Books International LLC

P.O. Box 1370

Bowie, MD 20718
www.SimonandSchuster.com

http://www.streborbooks.com

Cracked Dreams
© 2004 by Michael D. Baptiste. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means including electronic, mechanical or photocopying or stored in a retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages to be included in a review.