Broken (Endurance) (2 page)

Max watched his wife as she put their son to sleep. He enjoyed seeing the gentle motherly affection she showered on the boy.  It was soothing, leaving him to sometimes wonder who was really being put to sleep.

Drenched in sweat from working so feverishly, Max took off his shirt.  “I’m going to go rinse off.”   He walked towards the ocean and dove in.  After a quick dip in the cool salt water Max returned to find Mei and the baby missing. Maybe she needed to relieve herself, Max thought. He fought the urge to go looking for her. He knew he tended to be overprotective and didn't want to drive her away. He’d promised himself he would back off.

He sat in the sand trying to change his focus when he heard Mei scream. His heart pounding, he bolted up and ran in the direction of her scream. Tearing through the foliage as he entered the forest he yelled her name until she answered back.

"Max, don't come any farther!" Mei screamed. She stood motionless on the edge of a saltwater marsh, her son gripped tightly in her arms.

"What's going on?" Max questioned nervously.

Mei didn't want to answer him. She didn't want to tell him she’d just been bitten by a snake and she was sure an alligator had his eyes on her. "Um… just trust me, Max."

"That in no way answered my question," Max growled with impatience.

As Mei began to nervously take a step backwards, the alligator quickly crawled onto the bank and came into Max's view.

He panicked and swiftly made his way behind the alligator, jumping on its back and closing its open jaw. "Mei run!" he yelled.

"Max, no!" Mei screamed.

"Don't argue with me. Go back to the camp!" Max yelled as he struggled with the alligator.

Mei held onto Uriel tightly as she took off for the beach.  Tears blinded her as she ran into the clearing. In all the excitement Uriel began to cry and she could not console him. Mei fell to her knees and began to pray.

Hawaii

Makayla lay awake staring at the alarm clock. She always got nervous before a big photo shoot, making sleep almost impossible.

Tamarius lay beside her. They had been seeing each other for the past year and he still dumbfounded her with his untainted love and support. Although she held back, reluctant to let her heart fall completely in love with him, she knew she was only kidding herself. She would marry him in a heartbeat if he proposed. In her heart she was certain he was the one for her.

"Can't sleep?" Tamarius mumbled.  He turned over and wrapped his arm around her waist.

"You know me."

"Don't be, you’ll do great tomorrow," he said.

"Do you think you can handle it?" Makayla smiled. Tomorrow she would be posing with a few handsome young Hawaiian male models.

"Don't worry about me. Just focus on the shoot." He didn't want to think about other men touching her. He also knew she wouldn’t be able to focus if she was too concerned about his feelings.

"Okay," Makayla whispered.

"Now go to sleep before I make you." Tamarius smiled.

"Make me?" Makayla laughed.

Tamarius bit her neck softly as she released soft moans. Tamarius' eyes were wide open now as he pulled down the silk strap of her night gown. Sliding it down he kissed her in the places that made her scream then made love to her. They lay together, breathless, before slowly drifting off to sleep.

It was 5:15 in the morning when the alarm woke them from a peaceful sleep. Tamarius hurried out of bed and headed for the bathroom to turn the shower on for Makayla who ran around the room searching for an outfit to wear.

"Kay, just jump in the shower and relax. You’re not going to be late," Tamarius said.

"You’re right. We can't be late. It's only five minutes away." Makayla conceded as she stripped off her robe and stepped into the shower.

Tamarius chuckled to himself as he brushed his teeth.

"Are you coming in?" Makayla asked.

"Thought you'd never ask." Tamarius rinsed out his mouth and slipped off his boxers. He stepped into the shower and yelled. "Is it hot enough for you?"

Makayla laughed and turned down the hot water. "I like it hot."

"I got something hot I'm sure you’re gonna love."

"No, we’ll be late. What time is it?”  She reached out to glance at her watch on the counter.  ”Crap, I'm going to get dress." She jumped out of the shower leaving Tamarius speechless.

They made it to the photo shoot on time. Makayla gave Tamarius a quick kiss before running off to her trailer.

"Would you like some coffee, Mr. Martinez?" A young female voice purred.

He turned to see who was speaking. A young girl offered him a flirtatious grin as she held a tray of coffee to him. Being cordial he accepted a Styrofoam cup filled with dark Hawaiian coffee with a smile. "Mmm, the good stuff."

"Enjoy." She blushed and walked away.

Makayla sat in a chair getting her makeup put on by Gina, her makeup artist. A wave of nausea crept over her. She pulled out her cell phone and texted Tamarius, asking him to come to her trailer.

Less than five minutes later he was there.

"Still nervous?" he asked.

"I feel nauseous."
             

"Do you need to throw up?" Gina asked.

"I don't know.  I just feel a little off."

"We didn't eat breakfast. Let me get you something to eat." Before she could argue, he ran out of the trailer.

Makayla got worse and by the time Tamarius returned she was in the bathroom vomiting. He was concerned about her and the photo shoot that was about to start.  She looked a mess and he wondered how she was going to pull off looking fabulous in barely five minutes. He placed her breakfast on a small table and walked over to the trailer's bathroom. Gina was there holding Makayla’s hair back as she knelt before the toilet.

"I got her," Tamarius told the makeup artist as she helped Makayla to her feet.

Makayla leaned over the bathroom sink trying to catch her breath. She turned on the faucet to rinse out her mouth and brush her teeth.  Gina made her way out of the restroom and pulled Tamarius aside.

"Is she pregnant?" she asked.

Tamarius was baffled by her boldness. "No, no that’s... no."

"Mmm, well I’m going to tell them she needs a little time." Gina stepped out of the trailer just as Makayla walked out of the bathroom.

"Hey, sweetie," Makayla greeted.

"Hey, do you feel better?" Tamarius asked.  His tone was distant and didn’t quite convey the concern he felt. He was consumed with his own thoughts, questioning the possibility of Makayla being pregnant.

"Yeah, what's wrong? You look as if someone just told you about a death." Makayla walked over to the table where the container with her breakfast sat.

Tamarius was speechless a moment as he turned to face Makayla. He weighed his words and finally spilled the question.  "Did you take your pill?"

"Birth control? Don't worry.  I’m not pregnant." Makayla opened the Styrofoam box letting the aroma of spicy Portuguese sausage, eggs and white rice fill the air. "This looks good," she mumbled.

"Did you take it this morning?" Tamarius asked nervously.

"Of course, Tamarius, stop it. I'm not pregnant. Don't worry. I won’t ruin your life by becoming pregnant," she snapped, suddenly annoyed by his questions. She quickly shoved a fork full of food into her mouth to shut herself up. She could see Tamarius was upset by what she had said.

He paced the trailer. He had a bad temper and had learned to control it over the years through prayer and meditation. Though Tamarius relaxed and decided to let it go for now, he didn't want to let her think he wouldn't want to have children with her some day.

"Makayla," he began.

"It's okay. I understand.”

"Kay..."

"Please, I need to focus. There’s nothing to talk about anyway." She set her fork down and walked back into the bathroom to wash up.  When she returned to the room, she walked past Tamarius trying to ignore his presence. He gently grabbed her wrist, making her stop.

"Makayla, please hear me out," he pleaded.

"I can't right now." She replied, fighting back her tears. Makayla convinced herself he wouldn't say the things she needed to hear. She pulled her hand away and left the trailer.

With a disgruntled shrug, Tamarius sat on the couch trying to figure out what had just happened.

"Relationships are never easy."

Tamarius heard the voice of his spirit guide, Mathius, say.

"Every time I think she's put her wall down..."

"Makayla has been through a lot from a very young age. Men have disappointed her for years. The last one did a real number on her heart. She loves you, however that doesn't mean she isn't going to be scared," Mathius went on.

"I'm not going to hurt her. She should know that... she's psychic."

"Yes, but emotions can make visions cloudy. You know this."

"She's the one for me."

"Yes, she is. Finally you have found the one you’re meant to be with."

"Mathius, I want to pop the question."

"Pull out your cell phone and act like you’re on it. Someone is coming," Mathius stated with calm efficiency.

Accustomed to the routine, Tamarius pulled out his cell phone and began talking into it as Gina entered the trailer to get her makeup boxes. She smiled at him moving quickly so as not to disturb his conversation.

"It is good that you want to marry her, but just remember she may hesitate. Watch your temper and continue to pray and meditate. Tamarius, remember relationships have their ups and downs."

Mathius' voiced played through the phone.

"All right. Thank you." Tamarius slipped his phone back into his pocket and headed out to find Makayla. He loved watching her model.

He found her surrounded by a group of male hula dancers. She looked beautiful.  No one would think she’d been sick just moments ago. He smiled at her as she caught sight of him.

Makayla blushed and the photographer went wild.

"That’s it! That’s the look. Over here, Makayla!" He shouted with excitement.

Makayla shifted her focus as she posed with the dancers.

Tamarius felt a bit of tension rise through his shoulders as he watched the woman he loved take on a romantic pose with a fire dancer. After a few moments he left. He had to take a walk and take some time to think. Hopping into the limo he decided to go out to a local jewellery store. He was finally ready to ask Makayla the big question. He prayed she was ready to accept his proposal.

Blind Date

Maxwell looked across the dinner table at his date. One of his friends mistakenly thought he knew his taste in women and had convinced him to go on this blind date. Maxwell had been disappointed the moment he’d been approached by a very stocky woman who looked to be in her fifties. He grunted and plotted how he was going to murder his friend and make it look like an accident. He smiled at his date as she rambled on about her day. Occasionally he would catch himself looking at his watch or checking his cell phone for messages from Max or Tamarius.

His date, Marge Witfield, was the daughter of one of the board members. Maxwell had hoped to meet her younger sister. Closer to his age she had seemed to have many of the same interests as him. Being a gentleman, Maxwell decided to see the date through. Marge was not who he had expected, but she was a person with feelings and he had to respect that.

"So how many children do you have?" Marge asked, smiling coyly at Maxwell.

"Ah tw...well one. My son recently got married to a wonderful girl and I accept her as my daughter," Maxwell explained.

"Oh, that’s really nice. I have three sons and two daughters. Justin, Jacob and Job...those are my sons. And, my daughters are Evelyn and Sarah."

"Very nice."

"Yes, they are all practically grown now. I wish your son was single.  I'm sure he would have liked to meet them." Marge giggled.

Maxwell raised his eyebrows and smiled. "Yeah, you never know," he said, not really knowing what more to say.

"And, how's your brother?"

"Tamarius? He’s out traveling with his girlfriend." Maxwell looked around for the waiter. He needed a refill on his drink.

"Your brother is a great guy.  He was single for so long I was beginning to wonder about him."

"Wonder about him, how?" Maxwell felt defensive over his little brother.

"Well, you know what happened back in college.  He never dated any girl after..."

"Did you think my brother was gay?" Maxwell asked twisting his face.

"Ah, well, no, but it's his choice. I just..."

"He is not."

"Well, I know...now."

"Gay? Just because a guy doesn't have women hanging all over him twenty-four seven,"