“I finally get that Caribbean vacation.”
She looked from the window to the Roxy. “I can barely stand it.”
“I do wish, however, we were staying at a resort. One of the Sandals places, where the couples do three-legged races in the commercials. I’d like to wear my bikini and stun them all.”
“You’re a mess.”
“It’s about time we got here.”
That was true, Lynn thought, as the jet came to a stop. I’ve counted the days, the hours even, to come here.
They walked down the aisle of the private jet and waited as the flight crew prepared the stairs.
“I hope you enjoyed your flight, Mrs. Roseworth,” said the pretty flight attendant. Like all the staff, she wore a green hologram of a Q on her lapel.
“I certainly did. Thank you. This is incredibly nice.”
“It is Mr. Martin’s favorite jet, after all,” the woman said. “And we’ve come to enjoy making this trip. Looks like we’re ready for you.”
They walked out the door and down the stairs. The sunlight was almost blinding, the air tasting as beautiful as the crystal blue sky above them. It took her a moment to adjust to the brightness, to see the woman standing before the Jeep.
She waved, her long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. Lynn and Roxy returned the gesture as she hurried across the dirt towards them.
Jane hesitated. “Is it OK to hug someone you only met once, inside a helicopter?”
“You are my family,” Lynn said, bringing the woman into her arms.
As Jane stepped back, she wiped tears from her eyes.
“And I may not be blood, but I’m part of the circus,” Roxy said.
“I hear you’re the star attraction,” Jane said, hugging her as well. “William says he was raised by two brilliant grandmothers. He can’t wait to see you.”
“I can hardly wait,” Lynn responded.
As the flight attendants went to pick up their bags, Jane motioned to the ragged Jeep. “You’ll have to forgive your transportation. You know your grandson.”
“It’s his preferred mode of transportation,” Lynn said. “His grandpa was the same way.”
“And let me just say,” Jane said, taking her hand and leading her to the passenger side. “I’m so sorry that it’s had to be this long before you could come. William has just hated it.”
A familiar sting of anger flared. I’ve hated it too.
Hated that she’d had no contact with William in the past three, long years. She thought of him every day, and longed to see him for a million reasons. She wanted to hold him, run her hands through that thick, unruly red hair. See those eyes, the brilliant color of blue.
Blue.
“I know it’s impossible for your mother to make the trip,” Jane said, hurrying over to help Roxy inside.
“Her health isn’t great. But she’s made the transition to Tennessee really well. Anne is staying with her while we’re here.”
Jane settled into the driver’s seat. “It’s remarkable, isn’t it? That she’s even still alive. I would like to meet her. But I suppose that will probably never happen.”
No. It hurts to realize it, but no.
It had all happened so quickly that day. She’d come out of the strange trance to find herself feeling light, as if a burden the size of a grand piano had been lifted off her shoulders. Stella, Roxy, and Kate had surrounded her, repeatedly asking if she was OK. They told her that her eyes had rolled back in her head and she hadn’t moved. She’d replied she was fine, and asked about William.
They didn’t know. Then came the excited cries from the tents nearby.
Not long after, the helicopters started taking off, carrying the others, still under heavy guard despite the overwhelming proof pouring in across the globe: The disasters had stopped, almost immediately, all over the world.
Lynn had insisted that she remain, but the general was not having it. The danger was still too real. Roxy actually sat herself on the ground, stating that she would not move her considerable behind until she knew William was safe.
After an hour, the general had stridden over with his phone, telling them all to gather around. “Our drones can go in now,” he said, pointing to the screen.
His finger extended to the video of a red-haired man walking towards the Jeep. Holding his hand was a little girl who looked remarkably like the one who’d been rushed away with Quincy.
With that, the general summoned the soldiers to have the women taken to a helicopter. “I don’t have time to deal with you,” he said, practically shoving them all inside. “What our crews found inside that rock formation… Not to mention that thousands of people around the world have suddenly returned.”
For two days, Lynn and Roxy were kept in quarantine at the nearby military base. They had wisely kept Roxy with Lynn rather than face her wrath. All the women could do was watch television, news reports of how the government had swept in to gather the returned in order to study them and make sure they posed no threat, and to handle the growing throngs of family and loved ones who rushed the hastily arranged confinement centers, to see if they could locate their missing.
When Kate finally arrived, with a furious Stella in tow, it was with news that they could leave. When asked where William was, Kate’s face had just turned sad, handing her a piece of paper.
“He doesn’t want us to know,” she said.
There was no question it was his handwriting.
You’re together, and that’s what matters. Aunt Kate said that Steven gave you a flash drive. I’m sorry you have to find out this way, but you have to read it. And then find a man by the name of Rudd in Florida. Ask the Researchers.
Give me some time. I love you. Nanna. You were right. You were right all along.
So, of course, she had read what was contained in the files. The next day, after she conferred with a man named SJ Rudd, her entire family had arrived in Florida to make the discovery that had stunned them to their very core.
Still, in all her joy, William was gone.
Every month or so, they would get a message delivered to them by a government official. Always in William’s handwriting, stating that he was somewhere far away, and had to make sure he wasn’t a danger—
“Are we ready?” Jane asked, buckling her seatbelt.
“Bags are all in,” Roxy said, sliding in. “I hope my back doesn’t give out riding in this thing.”
Quincy had warned her about the conditions of where William and Jane were living, when he’d first broken the news to her over the phone. “Me and the girls went to see William, Lynn. Now, don’t be mad. William’s just testing the waters, to see what would happen if he was around more of the others, besides Jane. Everything was fine. And when he’s up for more visitors, you are going to take my plane. No questions asked. But I’ll warn you, it’s remote. Seriously remote.”
Lynn had demanded to go immediately, but Quincy said he was sworn to secrecy. William had not reached out. Then, six months later, Quincy Martin himself had come, with those darling girls in tow, and asked Lynn to summon her entire family.
“I suppose I should say congratulations, first,” Quincy had said, holding out a picture of a baby with a fuzz of red hair. “You’re a great-grandmother, Mrs. Roseworth. William and Jane had a son.”
He’d then turned to the woman in the wheelchair. “And that means you, Miss Blue—”
“It’s Freda, Mr. Martin. It’s what your great-grandfather called me.”
“Means you’re super, super old.”
They’d been outraged and thrilled all at once. William’s father and brothers had practically flipped the table, they were so angry that no one knew. Quincy had just held up his hands. “William knew you’d all be mad. But he’s still not convinced he isn’t a threat. Even though the world has stopped being a crap show for a while now. But my plane is ready for you, Mr. and Mrs. Chance, and your sons. But for now, that’s all William wants as visitors.”