After Carl and Tyra finally left, a pall hung over the early afternoon. Both Cindy and Mattheus felt rattled and neither wanted to go on an outing, and it was hard to chat. The grim situation hung between them and there was little they could say about it.
“I’d love to go play some golf,” Mattheus said after a while, “it steadies my nerves. Would you mind that?”
“Not at all,” said Cindy.
“Great,” said Mattheus. “There’s a well known golf course a few miles away. Afterwards, I’ll come back and we’ll go out on the town.”
“Sounds perfect,” said Cindy, and it really did. Her nerves were frayed as well, and she needed some time to walk alone on the beach and absorb what had happened.
Instead of going to the beach in front of the hotel, Cindy chose to go to Eagle Beach, a few minutes away, easy to get to, and less crowded. She would enjoy the quiet and calm after the unexpected wave of turbulence they’d run into.
*
Eagle Beach was considered one of the world’s most beautiful beaches. Cindy loved it. The pristine sand was soft, white and very clean, the waves weren’t too big and the water was a brilliant turquoise. Cindy could see clear ahead for almost two miles.
Cindy put her things down and began walking along the edge of the ocean, feeling the water run through her toes. It had been a wonderful idea to come here alone. The sound of the gentle surf on the sand and the endless vista before her opened her mind. She looked into the water and up at the sky as she walked.
After walking for a while, Cindy sat down at the edge of the surf and gazed at the horizon as the soft water rolled up over her legs and down. It was good that she and Mattheus both enjoyed time apart. When they returned to each another they usually felt settled, eager to be together again.
As she looked out into the horizon, Cindy watched some seagulls flying overhead, and listened to the fleeting song of other birds that drifted by. Some landed for a short time, sang their song, and flew away. Others lingered a little longer at the ocean’s edge. It made Cindy think of both Clint and Kate, who had come down to these beautiful beaches, seeking happiness and love. They’d both found it for a little while, and then an unexpected current came in, bringing a huge and dangerous wave, that snatched everything away.
It had been especially unsettling to meet Kate’s mother and uncle. Cindy wondered if Kate’s father was still alive. Were her parents divorced? Had her father heard about what happened? Carl seemed to have taken on the fathering role. Cindy found Carl powerful and interesting. There was no way he was going to let the investigation slide. That thought comforted her for a moment, but she also knew how tricky it could be to work one’s way through the Caribbean police system, to get beneath the layer of pleasantries and reassurances and discover what was really going on. There was a dark underbelly here that Cindy and Mattheus knew how to navigate. Cindy was sure that Carl didn’t, and once again was struck with how badly her services were needed.
Cindy sighed and leaned back on her elbows as she dug them into the sand. The warm breezes from the ocean flowed over her, undoing the knots that had formed in her body and mind. Mattheus was right, this was their time to make things work between them. The case was not their concern. But Cindy could not shake the strange feeling that destiny had other plans, was weaving its own web. Whatever she and Mattheus thought, whatever they’d planned, Kate and Clay had been brought right to their table, sitting side by side. Kate’s family had also been brought right over to them as they lounged at the pool. Cindy had wanted to tell Mattheus that a bigger plan seemed to be working, but she’d been afraid. She didn’t want to dislodge the harmony and joy they were finally experiencing together again.
Laying here on the beach now, Cindy realized that in the past, it had been too easy to dislodge the harmony between her and Mattheus. Many things had been able to easily disrupt them. Cindy thought about relationships and how much work and attention they demanded. Was every relationship like that? She didn’t remember it being that hard with Clint. Things seemed to flow so much more easily between them.