Whispers (12 page)

D
uring the next four days, Teri had lots of time to think. The doctor who had removed the fireworks stick from her foot had left her with eight stitches, a bottle of antibiotics, and strict instructions to stay off her foot for a week. She followed all his instructions and faithfully applied the gel from Annie’s aloe vera plant to help the healing. Her grandmother had taught both of them this old remedy.

What Teri thought most about was Scott. He didn’t come by on Wednesday, the day after the accident. At first she was miffed. Then she remembered his phone conversation that she had overheard the night before. He had said something about working that night at seven. Yet Dan had said Scott had to be at work early that morning. Teri assumed that he was working a double shift and that he would call her or show up with a bouquet of flowers as soon as he could. But he didn’t call or show up.

Teri finally heard from him Thursday evening, when he
phoned. He said he had made plans to sail on Friday morning, and he knew she would understand. She did. Sort of. Everyone else’s life shouldn’t come to a standstill just because hers had.

Annie wasn’t the best company. She was struggling with nausea in the mornings and was exhausted if she didn’t nap in the afternoons. In between she was furiously pecking at her computer keys, trying to keep up with her deadlines.

Teri camped out on her couch-bed and became well-acquainted with the variety of shows on daytime television. By Friday night she was begging Danny to bring home a video for her—a whole stack of videos.

All Anita wanted was Chinese food, morning, noon, and night. Both Dan and Anita had their restaurant jobs on Friday night, but Danny came home early with Chinese food and six movies.

“You’re my hero,” Teri said as she popped the last of an egg roll into her mouth. “I’m going crazy doing nothing. I’ve read three novels, slept until I feel I’ve rested enough for the next two years, and memorized every commercial on the island.” To prove it, she switched into a pirate’s voice and recited a slogan from Blackie’s Bar.

“Okay, okay, we believe you,” Anita said, putting down her chopsticks and heading for the door. “Come on, Danny, I don’t want to be late. See you later, Teri. Don’t wait up, and don’t let any strangers in.”

“I won’t. You two have a good time, too!”

They left in a flurry, and Teri settled in to watch the first movie. It was a plotless, karate-type movie, and she gave up on it in less than ten minutes. “I should have guessed what kind of movies Dan would rent,” she mumbled. “I hope they’re not all this cheezy.”

She rummaged through the stack and found four macho movies. Then she laughed when she came to
The Sound of
Music
. She hadn’t watched it since she was a kid, and even then she didn’t know if she had seen the whole movie.

Teri popped in the cartridge and settled back as Julie Andrews frolicked in the Austrian Alps, singing her heart out. When Julie Andrews’s character, Maria, ran back to the convent, Teri realized she missed walking. And running. And being mobile.

She fell asleep before the movie was over and woke when Dan and Anita came in some time after midnight. She was instantly disappointed. Scott hadn’t called or stopped as she had secretly hoped he would.

After Dan and Anita went to bed, Teri lay awake, thinking of how Scott had more or less abandoned her on the night of the accident when he had let Dan take her to the emergency clinic. It seemed odd to her that Scott could drive to the other side of the island to take some guy from work to the hospital two nights earlier, but he could hand her over to Dan without hesitation. Why couldn’t he come by to see her when he only lived three blocks away? In the four days since the accident, all he had done was call her once.

Teri phoned Scott early on Saturday morning. But he was already gone, and his answering machine was on. Her message was simple. “It’s Teri. Call me sometime.”

He finally did on Saturday night. “What a week!” he began. “I’ve wanted to come by so many times, but it didn’t work out. I hope you’re all recuperated, because I’ve made dinner reservations for us.”

“Scott, I’m supposed to stay off my foot for a week.”

“How long has it been?”

“Four days. Four very long and lonely days.”

“And that’s exactly why you need to get out of the house. Come on. Don’t you have crutches or anything?”

“No.”

“Okay, then we’ll go to Plan B. I’ll bring dinner to you. What sounds good?”

Teri started to relax. Scott was trying to be supportive. “Anything is fine with me. I appreciate this, Scott.”

“No problem. Are Dan and Anita home? Should I bring enough for them?”

“That would be great. Annie’s into Chinese food lately.”

“That’s easy. I’ll be there in an hour.”

Teri hung up the phone and fought the apprehension she was feeling. The last time he had said he would be there in an hour he had arrived almost six hours later. What was it about men like Scott that exempted them from having to operate under the same time constraints and commitments as everyone else?

Teri wasn’t sure she liked that. Yet it was part of who Scott was. Maybe she was being too judgmental, like he had said on the sailboat.

Scott arrived within an hour with his arms full of Chinese food, flowers, videos, and a box of chocolate-covered macadamia nuts. It promised to be a fun evening.

And it was. Scott was his charming self, he and Dan conferred about the tamale home business, and even Annie seemed to warm up to him a bit when he handed her a little white box filled with her latest craving, sweet and sour shrimp. Everything seemed normal, like it had last Tuesday night at their tamale dinner. Teri erased her anger toward Scott that had built up during the last four days.

“You’ll be back to normal by next Friday, don’t you think?” Scott said.

“I hope so. I go to the doctor’s on Tuesday.”

“Why don’t we plan to sail again? Fridays are the best days for me, as long as we’re back before noon.” Scott had settled into the chair next to the couch. He had on a white T-shirt and
deep purple shorts. His hands were folded behind his head, and his blond hair stuck out a little on the sides. He looked comfortable, as if he belonged there, as if he and Teri were already a couple and were going over their plans for the next week. She liked the feeling.

“Hey, Dan,” Scott called out to Dan, who was around the corner in the kitchen, “did I tell you I have those days off for the backpack trip?”

“Great!” Dan said, popping his head around the wall. “Teri, I don’t think I told you, but another guy dropped out so you and Gordon can both come.”

“May I ask a question here?” Teri asked. “Am I the only woman going on this trip?”

Dan looked as if he mentally were going through the list. “I guess you are. You don’t mind, do you?”

“I don’t know. Are you all planning to turn me into your token female chef and wood gatherer or something?”

“No, it’s an equal opportunity bunch of hikers. We’ll all pitch in.”

“Good, because I’m not interested in being anybody’s team mascot.”

“You can be my mascot,” Scott said playfully.

Teri shot a grimace at him.

Danny returned to the kitchen as Scott said, “Have you ever thought about how differently our lives would have turned out if we had dated in high school?”

She had thought about it, a tiny bit. But she was amazed that thought had entered Scott’s mind. “First of all, high school was a long time ago. Besides, I don’t think I was your type,” Teri said.

“Of course you were. Why do you say that?”

“Well, for one, the culture thing. Not many of you white guys on the football team dated us Hispanic girls.”

“White guys? I take offense at that label.”

She couldn’t tell if he was serious or not. “What do you want to be called?”

Scott thought a minute, and with a smile creeping up his face, he said, “You can call us what the coach called Rick Doyle and me: the Wonder Bread and Miracle Whip Boys.”

“I’ll remember that,” Teri said. “But honestly, don’t you think all your traveling has made you more open minded to other cultures? I don’t think you would have dated me in high school.”

“Sure I would have.”

Teri shook her head. “Think back. What girls from a different cultural background did you date?”

Scott seemed to take a long time to reply.

“I know it’s a stretch for you, Scott. Admit I’m right. You never would have considered dating me.”

“I still disagree, but what’s your point? Do you think I have a problem with our cultural differences? I loved your tamales, didn’t I?”

“Oh, never mind,” Teri said. Their cultural differences had been one of the many concerns she had thought about during her recent invalid days. Dan and Anita seemed well suited to each other because of their similar backgrounds. Teri hadn’t thought about the differences that much with Mark since he was so quiet. She actually knew little about his background and heritage. It made her wonder though, if some of the things that seemed normal and acceptable to Scott because of his background would seem unacceptable to her.

Scott’s face took on a more serious expression. “Teri, if you’re saying you don’t think we’re compatible because your tan is always going to be darker than mine, I think you’re a little ‘loco.’ I’m very interested in you. Haven’t you figured that out yet?”

He had done it again. That soft look in his gray eyes, that low rumbling voice, and his hand now reaching across to grasp Teri’s added up to one thing: she was smitten.

“We have good times ahead of us, Teri. Loosen up a little, will you? Let us happen, okay?”

Teri nodded.

By the next Friday, when she and Scott loaded up the
Moonfish
and prepared to set sail out of Maalaea Harbor, she was still feeling smitten by Scott. For six days she had been thinking about this trip. She had seen Scott twice that week, each time for about five minutes when he had stopped by to give Dan a ride to work. She couldn’t wait to be up and about again, and this sailing jaunt was her reward for following the doctor’s instructions so diligently.

When he had checked her a week after the accident, he was pleased to see how well her foot had healed. She suggested her grandmother’s aloe vera as the reason. The doctor had smiled and suggested the expert stitches and miracle of modern antibiotics had cured her.

Feeling as if she had lost an entire week of her precious vacation time, Teri had looked forward to this day of sailing much more than she thought Scott had.

“Okay,” Scott called to her from the stern of the vessel, as he motored slowly out of the slip. She was standing on the dock. “Do you remember what you do now? You cast off the bow.”

Teri grabbed the rope that held the front of the boat secure and unloosened it quickly. Then holding tight, she walked down the dock until the
Moonfish
was in position to exit the harbor.

“Hop on!” Scott called.

She hopped and landed on her injured foot. A streak of pain shot up her leg. “Ouch!”

“You okay?”

“Yes, I’m okay,” she called back, mad at herself for being such a baby.

“Can you grab the buoys, then? Those pads on the sides. They need to be brought in.”

Teri went to work, ignoring the twinge of discomfort in her foot and trying her best to remember all the things she needed to do to get the
Moonfish
into full sail once they were out of the harbor. She worked well with Scott, and she worked hard. It took serious arm strength to hoist the sails, and although she wasn’t flabby, she wasn’t in tip-top shape either.

Teri wondered if she would be able to keep up with the men on the backpack trip. They were leaving in two days, which was not enough time to work on getting into shape.

The sky was clear, and the morning air felt warmer than it had the first time they went sailing. Teri leaned her head back and felt the playful slaps of the wind against her face. She loved the invigorating sensation. No other feeling in the world was like it. The last time they had gone out, Teri had panicked when the wind filled the sails and tipped the boat so far to the side that she thought she would fall out if she let go of her seat. Today she rode with more grace. The sensation made her feel full of life rather than fearful of death.

Teri looked across at Scott. The wind blew his hair in all directions. The smile of an adventurer was hammered across his face like an insignia.

I’m sailing in Maui with Scott Robinson. I can’t believe this! This is better than I could have dreamed
.

D
o you have any idea,” Scott whispered into Teri’s ear, “how beautiful you are?”

The sailboat bobbed gently on the calm sea. The island of Maui looked miniaturized as they drifted on the sweet blue water, halfway to Lana’i. Teri leaned against Scott’s chest and felt his strong, sun-warmed arms wrap around her. He buried his face in her hair and said, “You smell so good. I could get lost in your hair, Julie.”

Teri froze. She pulled away and turned to look at him. “Julie?”

“Julie?” he repeated, looking as if he had no idea what she was saying.