First Love..again

Chapter Six: Boarding Boats

As the jet landed on the very top of the mainland, Brian looked around at his peers.

Most of them seemed capable enough.

He felt proud of the job that they were about to do. They had a valuable purpose!

Tommy Todd stood up in front of his troop and told all of the volunteers that they now had to board two small boats to take them to the largest of the Helios Islands...there were three in total.

“The trip in total should take about 45 minutes. It won’t take long. Gather your belongings and follow us,” he gestured to his wife.

Brian walked up behind Madison. “Can I help you with your bag?”

Madison smiled briefly up at Brian. She then gave him a small nod that she was ready on her own.

“I’ve got it, thank you, though!”

Does he think I need someone to help me. I’m not helpless. Far from it!

Maybe I’m being too hard on him. After all, it was a kind gesture, she contemplated.

Each of the twelve volunteers and the two boat captains grabbed their suitcases, along with all of the supplies, and began boarding the two boats.

“Are you ready, friend,” Victoria came in between Madison and Brian and addressed him specifically, practically ignoring Madison.

Madison left the two and headed to chat with one of the boat captains.

“I am. Safe travels.”

Benjamin did everything he could to avoid Victoria this leg of the trip. The jet ride was more than enough exposure for a lifetime. Fortunately for him, he boarded the last spot on the first boat, knowing that Victoria wouldn’t be able to join him.

Madison was in the second boat as well. She had followed the captain on after their discussion.

Sitting on one side of the boat, she could clearly see Victoria pouting as she had to hop on board Madison’s boat. Internally, Madison was chuckling! She wouldn’t let it be known though, that would have been rude.

On Madison's boat was Charlotte Stiles, the host, and her husband Tommy Todd. Madison made sure to join in on conversation with them on the boat ride over. She wanted to know exactly what to expect the first day of this relief mission.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Stiles," Madison sat next to the two. "Can you tell me what day one looks like," she asked curiously?

"Why yes, Dear," Charlotte said kindly! "First thing is we dock the boats. We leave the supplies on board, and only take them off as needed because we'll have other islands to visit as well," Charlotte explained. "So once we dock, we set up our tents in our designated area for the night," Charlotte added explanatory. "The first thing tomorrow morning we start going to the villages. Each family will get a relief kit with all of our supplies! Possibly two, depending on the size of the family,” she followed up.

"That is great. Thank you for mapping out the game plan for me," Madison said a bit intrigued. "I appreciate it! This is my first mission, you know. I’m a newbie!”

"You're very welcome, Dear," Charlotte added! “We were all newbies once!”

...........

On the other boat, Benjamin had gotten better acquainted with some of the other volunteers too. He was happy to know that there were a wide variety of people on the mission, and that they weren't all as annoying as Victoria.

She took a huge toll on his mental state on the flight. He wouldn’t make that mistake again. He vowed to be the first to board the jet on the way home!

Ben had also been hoping that Madison would have been on his boat. He was looking forward to catching up with her. “Well, hopefully they'll be another time,” he thought, as he surrounded himself with other interesting conversations to be had. He was even able to get to know more the gentleman that had tried to talk to him at the Chamber Event and he had rudely bit unknowingly ignored. His name was Nelson.

...........

After about 45 minutes from taking off, the largest of the Helio Islands came into sight. It was breathtakingly beautiful. It was however obvious, even from afar, that natural disasters had taken a toll on this place. Trees were down everywhere and what little buildings that you could see from afar didn't appear to be in the best conditions.

The two boats boarded the shores and were immediately greeted by a local villager who helped guide them in.

He introduced himself as Paulo. He was a very tall, thin, frail man, who seemed quite happy to see them dock. Beside him was a small child, a girl of about 3 or 4 years old. She clung to her Father's leg, but admired the new guests with a watchful eye.

Brian noticed that Madison had immediately went up to the young girl and got down on her level to say hi, while Charlotte Stiles and her husband, Tommy Todd explained to the villager the intent of the crew's relief mission.

"Hi there! I'm Madison," she said warmly to the young girl.

The child smiled a small smile behind her Father's leg, not wanting it to be obvious.

Madison dug into her pocket and handed the girl the contents. You could tell she was nervous around strangers, but her face lite up when she saw that Madison was trying to give her a candy bar. The frail girl's big brown eyes looked up at her Father for permission, and waited patiently until he nodded with his approval.

Taking the candy bar, Madison asked," What is your name, Sweetie?"

Devouring half of the candy bar, the small girl managed to get out, "Kita." Her name was Kita.

"That's a beautiful name," Madison replied and then stood up to face the father. “Your daughter is beautiful!”

The villager gestured a nod and the proceeded to show the group to a spot near the boat where the relief crew could set up their tents.

The little girl grabbed up for Madison's hand and too, showed her around the beach.

"I see you've made a friend," Madison recognized a voice from behind her! It was Ben.

She turned around to look at him, and found him standing behind her, both hand in his pockets, and the island breeze flowing through his hair. He was today as handsome as any other.

"Yes! It seems that I have," she responded with a smile, first at Ben and then at Kita!

"You're good with kids! Ever think of having more...now that yours are older," Ben asked Madison curiously?

"No. I'm good" she replied quickly! "I want to enjoy my golden years with my grandkids and not have to worry about still raising my kids," she joked!

"Yeah! I'll be 52 when my youngest ones graduate from high school," he added! "Man that makes me feel old!"

"You're only as old as you feel, old man, so snap out of it," she joked with him!

"Yeah. It could be a lot worse," he explained!

"Exactly, you could be in the situation that these poor folks are in," Madison explained as she looked around somberly.

Kita, still holding Madison's hand was now splashing her feet in the water. She then reached up for Ben's hand. Gripping tightly, Kita held both of their hands in each of hers. She was a trusting soul to have just met them and allowed herself to be so vulnerable. Or maybe she sensed their kindness.

Ben and Madison looked at each other in shock. Although they weren't touching, this seemed to be the closest thing to it that they had encountered for an extended length of time. Somehow the moment seemed so intimate.

Madison found herself wondering if this would be what their life together would feel like if they hadn't ever parted. Would they be standing there, together somewhere with a beautiful child between them of their very own? Her thoughts trailed off for a moment. Just a moment. She only allowed a moment.

Ben could see that she was deep in thought. "Penny for your thoughts," he smiled at her softly?

"Not worth it," she responded, as she looked away toward the water!

"Now who is the one that needs to snap out of it," he joked?

She looked back toward him, not quite knowing what to say. The two stared at each other for a good thirty seconds before Madison broke the silence.

"We should be getting back to the group," and she dropped Kita's little hand. “Take good care of him,” she winked to Kita and walked back towards the group.

Standing there, alone now with just the little girl, Ben felt empty inside. He could see the hurt in Madison's eyes just now. He felt it too. He found himself aching inside like he hadn't in a very very long time. This brought back so many feelings from so long ago. But why, he wondered? It's silly. We've both moved on...

...........

That evening the group had now gotten their tents all set up for the night. The only people who slept aboard the boats were the captains who manned the supplies.

Now the group of twelve sat on logs around a makeshift fire as dinner was being cooked. Hot dogs and salad was on the menu for the evening.

Each person politely eyeing the other, with only talk of tomorrows mission on their lips. But it was the unspoken words that were left unsaid by many in the group that spoke volumes.

Madison was thinking about her recent encounter with Ben and how she had brought herself to think of what could have been. She didn’t like thinking of that. She was a realist. Reality was far crueler but still good in a different way. She had Avery and her kids. She loved them and wouldn’t trade that for anything.

Ben was very much thinking back to the times that the two had spent together in the past and how his life had gotten so far off what he had planned. Still, he had a good life. He was blessed. He had great kids and a lot of them. He also had Heather, but that was complicated.

Victoria was eyeing Ben from across the circle, trying to get him to notice her with her charm. Unfortunately for her, she was the absolute farthest thing from his mind that day.

Karla quietly sat, not speaking to anyone, seemingly feeling out of place with the group. She knew she needed to interact more but it was difficult for her.

Nelson, the old man who donated the distilled water, was rubbing his knees. Clearly his joints were bothering him. But the smile on his face showed just how proud he was to still be doing this type of work at his age.

Then there was Mia, the tube socks lady, who was busy swatting flies from her body, and Joshua, the canned goods man, who was more focused on the food than the group. Charlotte and Tommy were trying to monopolize the conversation, while the other few members were doing their best to get words in edgewise.

It was a diverse group, indeed! And yes, it was clear that there was a lot of unspoken thoughts around this circle of volunteers.

After dinner, each person went to their prospective single man tents and retired for the evening. Madison tried to message her husband via her cell phone, but not surprisingly, there was no service. So instead she laid awake for an hour, wondering what her family was doing in that moment.

Two tents away, Ben too laid awake for a while. He however wasn't so much consumed with his family at home, but was more consumed with the week ahead... Madison more specifically. He really wanted to have a heart to heart with her at some point. He felt like there was so much that they had left unsaid, all those years ago. He just hoped that he would have the opportunity to address it at some point without it being awkward. He now more than ever realized that what he needed from Madison was closure.