St Maarten/January 1985
Sitting on a lounge chair watching the calm waters of the Atlantic Ocean pulling and pushing the surf on the sandy beach, Jay Messina began to drift into a warm slumber.
"Papa! Papa! Wake up," his daughter shouted out to him.
"Maria, why is it that you always wait for me to nod off before you start calling me?" he asked his daughter.
"I am sorry, Papa, but you are always nodding off," she responded.
"Well, what is it now?" he asked her.
"Mama is calling you," she informed him.
Jay got up and looked around toward the house, and sure enough he could see Emelia waving at him to come. "Oh crap, what does she want me to do now? Can't a man have a peaceful nap every once in a while?" he complained to himself.
Waving back he started towards the house as she acknowledged and disappeared inside. "Emelia, what is it you want?" he shouted out as he entered through the double glass doors. As he came through the house and turned left into the dining area he stopped cold. "Holy mother of Christ," Jay said as he found himself staring at his old friend Theo Gresco standing next to his wife.
"Hi, Jay," Theo said.
"Theo. Is it really you?" he asked with his mouth still opened. Jay walked up to him and gave him a big hug. "Boy, I thought you were dead," he told him as a big grin appeared on his face.
"Not yet," was Theo's reply.
"Come in. Come in," Jay said repeatedly.
"I am already in," Theo said.
"Of course you are. Oh my God. I can't believe it. You look good for a man who should have drowned in the East River." Jay said laughing. "Where are my manners? Emelia this is a very good friend of mine. Theo Gresco, meet my wife, Emelia Messina," Jay said.
"We've already met," Theo said.
"What? Of course you have," Jay said laughing. "I got to get use to you all over again," Jay said. "Emelia please set up one of the spare bedrooms for my friend here. He will be staying for as long as he wants," Jay said to his wife.
Emelia smiled at Theo and said, "I have heard a lot about you Mr. Gresco. You are welcome in our home. May I get you something to eat or drink?" she asked him.
"No thank you, ma'am," Theo responded.
Theo, now tanned and dressed in a white shirt with brown khaki shorts, and wearing sandals, blended in with the locals very nicely.
"Come. Come let's go out and sit on the beach while we chat," Jay told Theo. They both exited the house through the double glass doors and headed down toward the beach where a few lounge chairs awaited them.
"I want you to know that I am very happy you are here Theo, but I need to know why you aren't with your wife. And what about your kid?" Jay asked.
Theo sat quietly for some time while Jay sat patiently waiting for his response. He remembered his old friend, remembered that he was never quick to answer.
"Sylvia is dead," Theo said. "As for my son, Tyler, I imagine he is currently enjoying the benefits of my hard work, so to speak," Theo responded.
"I am sorry about your wife. Wish I could change the way things turned out. I should have gone with you and Nick. Maybe things would have been different. Maybe they both would still be alive," Jay said now sitting over the side of the lounge chair staring at Theo.
Theo turned to Jay and smiled. "And maybe you too would be dead, and I would have no friend to turn to or call," Theo said in a calm voice.
Jay turned and sat back into the lounge chair as they both stared out at the water. Theo was exhausted, and in just a matter of minutes fell into a deep sleep. Jay watched him for a few minutes before retiring into the house.
The next morning Jay found Theo sitting on the same lounge chair, looking out into the sea.
Theo had been awakened by a small voice. "Good morning," he heard. It was a little girl about five or six years of age.
"What's your name?" she asked him.
Theo stared at the little girl for a few seconds, wondering where she came from. He looked about and saw no one. "Where'd you come from little girl?" he asked her.
"From my house," she said pointing to Jay Messina's house.
"That's your house?" Theo asked her.
"Yes. My mommy and daddy live there with me," she said.
"Your father is Jay Messina?" Theo asked her.
She stared at Theo for a few seconds and then said, “No, his name is Daddy Messina and I am Maria Messina," she replied.
"I see. Well then, I am a friend of your daddy's," Theo told her.
"Are you going to stay with us?" she asked him.
"Just for a while," Theo responded.
"Good. Then you can be my friend and you can play with me, OK?" Maria looked satisfied.
"Don't you have other kids your age that you can play with?"
"Sure I do, but you're brand new and you don't have friends, so I am going to be your first friend," she answered him.
"How do you know I don't have friends? Your daddy is my friend," Theo told her.
"Daddies don't count," Maria countered.
"Hey you two, come on into the house for breakfast," they both heard Emelia shout out. Theo turned to see Emelia waving at them.
As he got up to head towards the house, Maria reached up to take Theo's hand. For a moment he looked at her as if she had three heads. Then, smiling at her, he took her hand and they both walked toward the inviting aroma of a hot breakfast.
"Good morning, you two," Jay said to Theo and Maria as they entered the house.
"See you've met," Emelia said.
"Yes, Mommy. I told him who I was," Maria said.
"Young lady, go and wash your hands before sitting down," Emelia instructed.
"Yes, Mom," Maria said running off to the bathroom.
"Theo, just follow her if you wish to wash up. I left some towels and a change of clothes," Emelia told Theo.
"Yes, ma’am," Theo nodded as he went on to follow Maria.
A few minutes later, Maria came running back to the table reporting that the man went into the bathroom. In less than fifteen minutes Theo managed to shower, shave and get into the clothes Emelia had left him.
"Wow, you look better," Maria said.
"Hush," Jay scolded.
It was not till later that night, as they sat on the beach, that Theo opened up to Jay and told him what had happened since last they departed. Jay sat there quietly listening to Theo divulge the details of his life and the path he had chosen. It was well into the night before Theo was finished.
"God, you've been busy," Jay remarked. "So what are your plans now?" he asked.
"I don't have any right now," Theo answered honestly.
"So are you going to finally quit? Settle down and maybe find yourself a wife?" Jay bombarded him. "Theo, have you ever failed in any of your assignments?" he asked.
"What? Me? Never," Theo responded somewhat surprised by the question.
"Why don't you call it quits while you're ahead? Settle down here with us. You would be welcomed," Jay told Theo.
Theo stared out at the ocean, feeling the cool breeze of the night. It was as close to paradise as he could imagine. But the ebb and flow of the ocean made him realize he must move on and continue moving.
"You have a good life here, Jay," Theo said.
"But?"
"It's not for me," Theo responded.
They sat there quietly for a couple of hours before they got up and went back into the house.
While sitting on the couch, Theo was caught off guard when Maria came running up to him, threw her little arms around his neck and gave him a kiss on his cheek.
"Good night," she said to him.
"Um... Good night, kind lady," responded Theo. Maria smiled at him and ran off to bed.
Theo looked up at Jay and Emelia as they both shrugged their shoulders as if saying "We don't know where she gets these things from either."
Theo was given the spare bedroom adjacent to Maria’s. It was the second night in a row that he felt at peace.
The next morning was a repeat of the previous day as all four sat around the table having breakfast. Little Maria was telling Theo about one of her friends who she thought liked her and wanted to marry her.
"Really? And don't you think you are too young to get married?" Theo asked her.
"Of course, silly. It's not for now," Maria told him in a matter of fact way.
"Oh, sorry I misunderstood," Theo told her.
"His name is Robert. But I call him Bobby," Maria said.
"Who?" Theo asked her.
"My boyfriend. Aren't you listening to me?" Maria asked him.
"Oh...umm... I see. Yes, I'm listening," Theo responded feeling somewhat uneasy. Both Emelia and Jay stared at them as they were having their conversation, wondering what Theo must be thinking.
After breakfast, Theo and Jay both enjoyed a walk to get his mail at the local post office about a mile down the road.
"She's a handful," Jay said of Maria. Theo smiled and nodded in agreement.
Twenty minutes later they were walking back with a pile of newspapers. "What the hell is all that," Theo asked Jay.
"I subscribe to several newspapers. It helps me keep tabs on what's going on back home," Jay responded.
"Why don't you simply buy a television," Theo asked him.
"Nah, I like reading stuff. Besides the television out here only reports on major international issues. Not things that might happen on the streets of New York or Chicago," Jay said.
When they got back, Jay took the papers, laid them on the sand next to the beach chairs and started to go through them. Every once in a while he mentioned something of interest to Theo, who was occupying the chair next to him. It was four newspapers later when Jay said, "Hey Theo, here's a bit of news that might interest you."
"Yeah, what's that?" Theo asked.
"It seems Felicia Giordano has come back from the dead," Jay said.
***