“Hannah Cooper speaking.”
“Hi Hannah! It’s Ben.”
“Ben? Aren’t you on vacation? Is everything alright?” she asked with concern in her voice. He smiled.
“Yes, everything is really good. In fact I’ve had a little breakthrough while I’ve been down here.”
“Oh?” Hannah’s voice came through as cautiously surprised.
“Yes. There’s a young woman we met here by the name of Rain Palomo. She’s trained as a psychologist but she was unable to find employment in that field because she looked too young and no one was willing to give her a chance. Due to her student loans she was left in a bad financial state. We met her with a group of musicians here at the spa. She’s helped me through something I’ve been suppressing… for years. The memories- they wouldn’t stay suppressed and began to leak out. She guided me through it and I- I feel so much better.”
“That’s wonderful to hear Ben!” Hannah exclaimed.
“I’m going back into therapy with Dr. Granger when I get back. I need to resolve the rest of my issues. I- I want to feel like this all the time.”
“Oh Ben, I am so pleased to hear you say that!” she replied and he could hear she was a little bit choked up.
“I miss talking with you Hannah. I missed you,” he said as he realized he did.
There was silence on the other end of the line then he heard a muffled sound like the handset was being held against some fabric. Then a whoosh sound of the mic being moved from the cloth.
“I’ve missed talking with you as well Ben. We’ll start up our group sessions once more when you get back, ok?”
“I’d like that,” he said.
“Is Rain there now? I’d love to thank her myself,” Hannah said.
“She’s resting right now but you’re going to be able to speak to her when we get home. She’s going to live in the house I’m renovating for Karen and Penny. She may be able to help the girls with what they went through, especially Karen, and she’s going to look for a job. Hopefully something in her field. She has to pay off her student loans. If you know of any clinics that are looking for help please let me know.”
“I’ll speak with Dr. Granger. Maybe she has some contacts,” Hannah replied.
“Great! Thanks Hannah!”
“How are Trish and Rochelle enjoying the spa?” she asked.
“It’s really relaxing and they are enjoying the pampering. Rochelle met a very nice man named Thomas and they seem to be getting along very well,” Ben replied.
“Rochelle met a man? Didn’t she go down there with you?”
“She came down here as a friend so I didn’t have to come down alone. Trish joined us so I’m not alone. We also met a really nice group of people. Musicians or singers I guess. La’Shia, Dream, Killah-”
Hannah started to laugh.
“What?”
“Oh Ben, only you would go on vacation to have peace and quiet and end up hanging out with Rap and Pop music celebrities,” she said with a smile in her voice.
“They’re nice people! Well, one of their group was bad news but he died last night.”
“WHAT?”
“He attacked Trish and then he tried to attack Rain but I protected her.”
There was silence. “Did- did you-”
“What- NO! He slipped on some wet tiles and fell and broke his neck on a staircase. He was swinging a knife around, jumped at us, slipped and fell.”
“Where did he cut you?”
Ben sighed in frustration. “What makes you think he cut me?”
“Ben…”
“He didn’t cut me. I emerged unscathed,” Ben grumped.
“Good. I’m glad to hear that.” Hannah said and Ben could hear how pleased she was. “How’s your finger doing?”
He rubbed the tip of it across the edge of his lounge chair and it only felt a little numb.
“It’s definitely getting better. I haven’t done any heavy lifting though I’ve had to massage in a lot of suntan lotion since I’ve been here. That makes it ache a little but not too bad.”
“Poor baby,” Hannah said with false sympathy.
“Have you heard from Gabriella or Catherine?” he asked.
“No, but I’m not really in their circle.”
“Hannah! We’re all in the same circle!”
“I don’t mean the street,” she asserted.
“I didn’t mean that either,” he insisted.
“Well either way, I haven’t heard from them,” she said with finality.
Ben resolved when he got back he would sit down with the three of them- then he recalled that one of the three may not be there. He felt a pang in his heart.
“OK, well it was nice talking with you Hannah.”
“It was nice for me too Ben. Can I talk with Trish? Is she available?”
“Uh, well, she’s uh… resting too.”
“OK, don’t say any more. My imagination is active enough to fill in the blanks. Have fun Ben and I’ll see you when you get back.”
“Bye.”
Ben next called his house and got the machine. He left a message saying all was well, he missed them, and he would try again tomorrow.
He hung up and powered up his laptop. He linked it to his phone then checked his email. He spent two hours clearing away the junk and responding to a few important notes, his accountant, his lawyer, and once he was done he felt comfortable that everything was good in his financial world. His royalties were coming in as expected and there was nothing that needed his attention at this time.
He checked his chat application and saw Margaux was online. He sent her a quick hello and she responded with a request for a video call.
He made the connection and her lovely face looked out at him.
“Ben! So good to see you! I was hoping I’d be able to reach you.”
“It’s lovely to see you as well! What’s up?”
“My company is accelerating their plan to open the Sydney office. They want me to have the office up and running in six weeks. This means I have to travel there next week to get started. I’m not going to be able to visit you!” She pouted and Ben smiled at her.
“Then I’ll just have to come visit you! I have some business in Melbourne soon. Once I take care of that I’ll drop by Sydney and spend some time with you. How does that sound?”
“Wonderful! It sounds wonderful!” she said with a wide smile. “I am loving the view by the way. I think from now on you must always call me with your shirt off.”
He chuckled and bounced his pecs for her causing her to giggle in surprised reaction.
“Did you just giggle?” he asked with a grin.
She put her hands on her face in embarrassment. “No! You didn’t hear me giggle. It must be a bad connection.”
“No… that was definitely a sweet little giggle!” he teased.
“What can I say? You bring out the little girl in me.” Margaux pulled her hands from her face and smiled happily. Ben shared her smile.
“Where are you going to be staying when you’re there?” he asked.
“Initially I will be staying at a hotel near the office. Eventually an executive condo will be rented for me, again, someplace downtown near work,” she explained.
Her phone rang, she glanced at it and she rolled her eyes. “I must get this. It’s the local fellow that was hired to assist me in setting up the office. He is… most persistent.”
“If you need me to give him a poke in the nose when I get there just let me know,” Ben grinned.
Margaux gave him a hot look, devouring him with her eyes then gave herself a shake. “I will see you soon, Ben!”
“Goodnight Margaux!”
He disconnected the call then logged into the Engineering board. He saw a message for him from the company in Melbourne asking if he had an update. He responded with a quick note indicating his test results were positive and he’d get in contact with them next week.
He spotted a few other queries that looked interesting so he bookmarked them to look into them next week as well.
His mind took him back to Gabriella and Catherine. Their four days in Milan would have ended as he left on his trip. He called Gabriella’s number but got her machine so he just left a brief message saying he called to say hello and to see how it went in Milan. After he hung up he called Catherine’s line but once more he got a machine. He left the same message on hers.
Feeling unsettled by his inability to contact Gabriella, Catherine or Tina he decided to go for a walk on the beach. Back in the room he pulled his black wicking shirt on again and his sandals and quietly let himself out of the room. He had an hour before he had to get ready for dinner so that was plenty of time for a walk.
He found the beach mostly empty. The clouds had rolled in and while it wasn’t raining yet the reason for being on the beach was now hidden. It was still calming to walk along the shore with the waves lapping at the sand. He walked along for a while looking out at the waters until he felt it was time to head back. He was feeling much better as he returned along the shoreline.
Ben spotted someone sitting on a rock jutting up from the sand up ahead. They hadn’t been there on his outbound trek. As he got closer he saw the person was wearing a brightly colored tropical print bikini so it was a woman. The bathing suit was a strong contrast to her dark chocolate color skin. She was facing away so he saw her hair was pulled back and tied with a tie the same color as her bikini.
She turned her face to look out at the waters as he got closer and something about her was familiar. He tried to recall if she was one of the ladies with La’Shia but her face didn’t register as one of her friends.
Then the woman turned to face him as she approached, revealing her brilliant white teeth with just a slight part in the front.
“Naomi?”
“Hello Ben.”
“Is this a coincidence?” he asked.
“Yes. My editor sent me down to do a story on Dream and La’Shia’s secret wedding. Imagine my surprise to discover you were here too. Bonus.” She smiled at him.
Something about her smile was a little unnerving. “I’m not sure if it’s much of a bonus. I’m no more ready to speak to the press now than I was before.” Ben began walking back to the spa.