Johnny Winchester: River Hunter (11 page)

“Johnny?” she said, in a voice mixed with recognition
and perplexity.

The men stopped.  Johnny looked at her, first with
surprise, then with complete humiliation; he hung his head and shook it
slowly.  When he looked up again, he pointed towards the young stranger
who had saved them. 

“This is your son?” he asked with disbelief.

“Yes,” she answered.  “He said he had a group of
fishermen with him, but I had no idea that it would be you guys.  Are you
all okay?  They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

“No,” Johnny answered.  “Thankfully they decided to
go get Ewan to come talk to us.  But then Ewan was a day late and wasn’t
there to meet your plane.  For that, I sincerely apologize.”

“No need to apologize.  As long as you’re all
safe.”       

Ewan, with his brow furrowed and perplexity in his
voice, interrupted, “You know these guys, Mom?”

“They are the ones that rescued me after the plane crash
in Alaska.  Johnny stayed with me to help out and the rest of them helped
with the search for the plane and the…other passengers.”

“Huh!” Ewan replied.  “What are the chances of
that?  The same guys that find you in the Alaskan wilderness are the ones
I find captured out in the middle of nowhere in Tibet.”

“I know,” Suzi replied.  “It sounds like something
out of a cheap romance novel.”

“Well,” added Johnny, “I’ve seen a lot in my day, and I
suppose you have, too, Ewan, and fact is definitely stranger than fiction.”

“I for one could use some rest,” Suzi said.  “And
every one of you could use a shower!”

“I’ll have Ming call for some cars,” said Ewan. 
“We’re staying at the Marriott, is that okay for you, or do you want to go
somewhere else?”

Johnny had wondered how he could manage to spend some
time with Suzi, so he was thrilled at Ewan’s question.  “The Marriott
would be fine,” he said, trying to sound casual.

Walking over to the dilapidated counter that served as
Ming’s workspace, Ewan said something to her in Mandarin and by the time Johnny
and his crew had gotten all their equipment off the plane and somewhat
organized, the cars had arrived.  Loading all the people and all the gear
took a bit of wrangling, but they finally were off.  Check-in at the hotel
went smoothly and, finally, Suzi found herself lying on a luxurious bed with a
fluffy pillow while Ewan took a long, hot shower.

They all met in the dining room for a late dinner where
the men, as men will, recounted all the details of their exploits, adventures
that became more elaborate with the telling.  Though it was obvious that
the River Hunter and his crew had been in mortal danger, Suzi found the stories
and the testosterone levels amusing.  The following day had been a
scheduled day of rest, recovering from the long trip, while Ewan attended
meetings; Johnny and the crew spent the day on phone calls with their production
company and considering their mortality.

The next day, however, Ewan went off to his meetings and
the crew busied themselves, with what neither Johnny nor Suzi knew, leaving the
two of them free.  Johnny wasn’t going to let the opportunity slide by, so
he got the front desk to put together an itinerary and asked Suzi to go
sightseeing with him.  It was a little awkward at first; both wanted to be
with the other, but each was trying to convince themselves otherwise. 
Occasionally, as will happen when two people walk together, their arms touched,
making both of them step quickly away in the same manner as two magnets of like
poles resist one another.

“According to this,” Johnny said, holding the itinerary
in his hand, “it’s time for lunch.  Are you hungry?”

“Famished.  We’ve done a lot of walking.”

“I can’t tell how far a walk the restaurant is, but
we’ll just go see.  I told the desk to keep the walking to a minimum.”

It wasn’t very far and they were seated right
away.  Fortunately, the waiter spoke English, or an adequate version of it
anyway, and helped them order.

“Who would have thought we’d be here having lunch
together?” Johnny asked as they waited for their meal.

Shaking her head, Suzi answered, “Certainly not
me.  I knew you were in China, but it’s a big country.  It’s not a
place you expect to run into someone you know.”

“It’s good to see you, though.”

“It’s good to see you, too,” she answered, looking down
at the table.  “It’s scary to think about what might have happened to
you.”

“Scary is a brilliant word, but terrifying might
describe the last few days a wee bit better.  If it were just me, that
would be one thing, but what if I got any, or all, of the other chaps
killed?  That would destroy me.”

“That is a sobering thought.  Don’t they have an
opinion in what you guys do?  I mean, you all decide together, don’t
you?  There were a number of discussions when I was in your camp.”

Taking in a deep breath, he let it out slowly. 
“Yes, we do.  But if it weren’t for me, they wouldn’t have been in a
dangerous situation to begin with.  Perhaps I need to be more
careful.  The problem is that it didn’t seem that risky.  We have
locals and guides tell us all the time that what we’re doing will kill us, but
they’ve always been superstitions.  I guess we misunderstood this guide.”

“I would hate to see you hurt, or worse, or dealing with
the emotional fallout of something happening to any of the crew.”  The
words tumbled out before she realized it and they brought emotions she didn’t
want to deal with.  On the one hand, the words were sincere, and therefore
troublesome, but they also exposed her feelings to Johnny, making her feel far
too vulnerable.

“Thank you for that,” he replied, relieved to know she cared,
disturbed that it meant so much to him.  “Coming so close to death really
makes you think about what’s important in life.”

“It certainly does.  Although, if you’ve chosen
well to begin with, if you’ve found your importance in Christ, it doesn’t seem
to be as big a question.”

“That’s true.  My father was a Methodist Minister
and he used to say that it doesn’t really matter what you do for a living, as
long as you’re living for God.  Of course, I always thought he was trying
to convince himself that my obsession with fishing was an acceptable living!

“Even so, the deeper question is why God so
‘deliberately,’ as you put it, saved us both.  For what purpose, I
wonder.”

An awkward silence followed, finally broken by
Suzi.  “You decided long ago what’s important in your life.  Your
river hunting.  I expect that will remain your purpose.”

“And what’s important in your life?”

“God, my family.”

“Is there anything that might change that?”

Suzi looked him in the eyes.  They were flooded
with a variety of raw emotions, each fighting for dominance.  Tightness
seized her chest as she wondered if her eyes were as transparent as his. 
This had to stop.  One of them was going to say something they would
greatly regret.

“You have your life and I have mine,” she said slowly,
her voice shaking far more than she would like.

“There’s absolutely nothing missing in your life?” 
He had thought there was nothing missing from his, until he met Suzi. 
With hope, and fear, he wondered if it was the same for her.

Hesitating, she responded: “You’ve had one of those
experiences that makes you reevaluate your life.  I’ve noticed, though,
that people who have a clear view of what they want in life usually reexamine
and then choose what they’ve chosen before.  It’s perfectly understandable,
what you’re going through, but I have every confidence that hunting fish will
win out when you’re done.”

“You’re probably right,” he conceded.  Interesting,
while her response was certainly reasonable, she hadn’t answered the
question.  But he would not get the chance to follow up on it because the
waiter brought their lunch and small talk took over.

Their schedule had several more sights to see, but after
two, Suzi was tired and needed some rest.  Johnny escorted her to the
hotel and as they were on the way to her room, he received a text message that
the production company had put them on a flight out that night.

“We’re leaving tonight,” he told Suzi as they reached
her door.  “I reckon that works out fine because Ewan’s off the next few
days, isn’t he?”

“Yes.  He has way more planned than I’ll be able to
handle!  It will be great to spend some time with him, though. 
There’s no telling when I’ll see him again.”

“I don’t think he likes me much.”

Laughing, Suzi explained, “He’s twenty-eight, he got his
Ph.D. in anthropology when he was twenty-two, and he’s already become a
respected voice in cryptozoology.  So, yes, he has a chip on his
shoulder.  Don’t take it personally.”

Smiling, showing those dimples, he replied, “Okay, I
won’t, since you say so.  I guess I won’t see you again.”

“I guess not.  Where are you headed?”

“Pete didn’t say in his text.  Our next episode is
in Ecuador, but I don’t know if we’re going directly there or not.”

“Well, you take care of yourself.  And stay out of
anything too dangerous!”

“I will,” he promised.  “I hope you have a great
time with Ewan and a safe trip home.”

“I will,” she assured.  “Thank you for today, I had
a lot of fun.”

“Me too.  Well, I guess this is goodbye,” he said,
not wanting to drag out his anguish.  Bending, he kissed her gently on the
cheek.

“Bye,” she said as he turned to leave.  She watched
him go.  His shoulders seemed stooped and his bearing seemed
despondent.  Placing the key in the lock, it clicked, she opened the door,
put down her purse, and plopped on the bed.

Her plan had been to take a nap before Ewan returned,
but even though she was exhausted, she couldn’t sleep.  The day had been
wonderful and the conversation at lunch made her heart swell.  Had she
been looking for a relationship, Johnny’s words would have been precious; but
instead they were terrifying.  Would what she considered important
change?  She was human, she wished for the companionship of a good man,
the love of a good man.  But she had married an abusive man long ago and
it took a lot out of her to live with it, then admit it, finally walk away from
it.  And the healing had taken years, decades really. 

Over the years, she’d seen women who married abusive men
divorce them, only to marry another, and maybe another.  She doubted her ability
to recognize a decent man, yet alone entice one.  Though, reviewing the
events of the day and the goodbye kiss, there definitely seemed to be an
attraction, but she could not trust that he was really prepared to change what
was important in his life just for her.  Besides, she was too old for
romance.  In one’s twenties, maybe even thirties, but mid-fifties? 
No, that was just plain silly.

The thing was too much for her to handle.  The
uncertainty of moving forward, the level of trust that would be required,
the
resentment towards her that was all too likely to grow
were overwhelming.  Better to put a stop to it now, not abruptly or
rudely, but by slowly placing distance between Johnny and herself.  When
she returned, if she received email from him, she would take a couple days to
answer, then take more and more time until eventually the relationship would
languish.  With that thought, Suzi fell asleep.

As Johnny walked away from Suzi at the door to her hotel,
he was a tangled mass of conflicting emotions.  Before he met Suzi, he
would have had a few days of contemplating his own mortality, eventually
deciding that, had he died, he would have done so doing what he loved. 
But now, there was so much more to it.  If he were gone, who would take
care of her, who would love her as she should be loved, who would make sure she
never ran out of chocolate?  Of course, it was ridiculous, she was
perfectly capable of taking care of herself; and she had her two sons. 
Without him, her life would go exactly as she had planned, she would never know
the difference.  But the feelings in his chest would not be dismissed and
the longings he had suppressed for decades were screaming to be heard.

He was certain there was an attraction on her part, but
when he had pressed the issue, she had completely deflected it.  Not
denied, but deflected.  It was her decision, she was clearly making it in
spite of any feelings she might have, and it was up to him to respect that,
regardless of the difficulty of doing so.  By the time he’d returned to
his room, where the crew had gathered, waiting for him, he’d decided to be
civil and kind, to email her on occasion and give her the opportunity to bow
out of the relationship gracefully.  He hoped the sense of sadness and
defeat was not noticeable to the rest of the chaps; fortunately, they had to
rush off to the airport, headed for Ecuador, and there was no time for the crew
to observe his mood.

Returning to Pleasant Valley in the middle of the night,
Suzi went directly to bed.  It wasn’t until almost noon the next day that
she checked her email.  No mail from Johnny.  To her chagrin, this
was a great disappointment.  Bound and determined to conquer her feelings,
she threw herself into her work.  She had always been very productive and
considered a valuable employee, but now she was tackling the list of projects
that had been on the back-burner in addition to her usual work.

After a few days, ‘Johnny Winchester’ appeared in bold
in her inbox.  Fighting the excitement and anticipation, she opened the
email and read about his quest for El Pez Poco Loco in Ecuador.  He was
interviewing locals and gathering information, finding Ecuador, which he had
never visited before, to be a very interesting place.  Then he inquired as
to her time with Ewan and her trip back from Beijing.  Congratulating
herself on her self-restraint, she waited a full two days before she
replied.  Of course, it was a tremendous struggle, but she didn’t let herself
think about that.  For two weeks, the emails came every two days or so,
and were answered in kind.  But the third week saw an increase in activity
until they were daily, or even more often.  Suzi dealt with it by denying
the whole issue and telling herself she could handle it.