Castaways Ch. 09

"Sorry, that is all the information we can provide for now," the Captain concluded. "More will be released by the Martinique police and the United States Coast Guard in conjunction with the French government in the near future. Thank you all for coming."

The Captain exchanged parting greetings with John, Em and Emily Cure' before they were escorted down the gangway. The reporters and cameramen jammed the area at the bottom of it but several policemen held them back to make room for the departing trio. Em noticed one of the microphones said Fox News and another NBC. Several people were yelling questions in French which John could only assume were directed at Emily. Their bags were being carried by crew members behind them.

A police captain approached them and bid them to follow him. When John looked to where the seated party had been, he noticed that the seats were now empty and the party was nowhere to be seen. He thought that odd until the police captain led them into a building on the docks. Inside a small restaurant and gift shop were now seated the family of Emily Cure'. The restaurant was empty except for the family, their attendants, and a few policemen.

The police captain led the trio right to a gentleman not much older than John. Next to him was a woman probably in her forties, stunningly beautiful, and extremely well dressed. She had her eyes on Emily nearly the whole time and they looked to be about to cry. Two others looked like siblings of Emily's, an older brother and a younger sister, maybe sixteen years old. As soon as they entered the restaurant the young sister broke free from the pack and ran to hug Emily. They hugged and tears flowed as they conversed away in French.

Em, John, and the police captain stood somewhat aside as the whole family greeted Emily and tears flowed from all but the father and the bodyguards. Even several of the servants hugged Emily and cried as they spoke with her. After several minutes of greetings and hugs the mother and father finally brought the conversation around to John and Em. Emily introduced them and walked over to hug Em. She said something in French to Em which John didn't understand.

In perfect English Mr. Cure' said, "It is a great pleasure to meet you, Mr. Morrison, and you too, Meredith. We are eternally grateful to you for helping to save our beloved daughter and returning her to us. You should be commended for your heroism and bravery."

"Thank you, Mr. Cure'," John said shaking his hand. "We are very happy too that Emily is safely back with her family."

"I have another matter to thank you for even though it pales in significance to your returning my daughter to me. You see," and he snapped his fingers and the silver suitcase appeared courtesy of one of the bodyguards, "this case held quite a bit of money I was transporting to Martinique for a business deal I had here."

John and Em watched the guard open the case which was stuffed neatly with Euros. "Your help with the United States Coast Guard helped me find this suitcase the pirates stole. It contains the equivalent in Euros of close to one million of your U.S. dollars. I feel it is only fitting that you share in the good fortune of its return and that of my daring daughter. Therefore, I have a check here for you in the sum of one hundred thousand dollars. I hope you find that fitting compensation for your efforts in returning my daughter to her family and also this sum of money."

"Gosh," John said stunned. "That's not necessary."

"Oh, on the contrary, it is," Mr. Cure' said. "If my wife had her way she would gladly give you the whole suitcase for being instrumental in the return of her daughter. I, alas, am fortunately the businessman and not her. But, please, Mr. Morrison, take this small amount as a token of our joy for your help."

"Well, we really appreciate it," John said taking the check.

"We also wish that Meredith and you join us, as our guests, one of these days in France so we can thank you properly."

"Gee, I don't know what to say," John effused.

"Just say you will come," Mr. Cure' said and his wife nodded too before hugging Em.

The remaining time they were together involved talking and dining with the Cure' family. It was a joyous occasion and Emily seemed to adjust quickly to being back with her family. Other than occasional discussions off to the side with Em, John didn't notice any lasting effects of her capture. Emily's brother spoke fair English too and wanted to know all about their crash landing on the island. John filled him and Mr. Cure' in on many of the details including their planned exit on a raft.

They all finally left the restaurant in the early evening. After good byes, Em and John were taken by one of the bodyguards in a car to a very nice hotel called Hotel Cap-Est Lagoon Resort and Spa. Their room was actually a suite and completely paid for by Mr. Cure'. They were booked for three days according to the hotel clerk. They also could charge everything they did at the hotel to their room.

"Wow, this is unbelievable," Em said as she checked out the luxury suite. "John, come see this bathroom."

He did and it was bigger than his bedroom at home with marble everywhere and a huge Jacuzzi tub. Their suitcases were already in the room and when John opened Em's the money was still there. John pulled the check from his pocket and looked at it just as Em reappeared.

"Wow, can you believe it," Em said. "We have two hundred thousand dollars."

"Incredible," John said, still staring at the check and the money.

"How are we going to get through customs though?" Em questioned like their previous discussion.

"The gift from Mr. Cure' makes it easy," John said reasoning aloud. "We arrange to deposit the actual money through the hotel concierge. They know Mr. Cure' is paying for the room and we can tell them it was a reward for helping recover Emily, which it was, only not that hundred thousand in cash. We then simply bring the check back with us to the States."

"Gosh, that just might work, huh," Em agreed.

"With the reward from the Cure's, not likely anyone will question where we got the money from," John added.

"This is fantastic," Em said running and jumping on the huge king-sized bed. "Oh, god, this is so soft! Come here, my hero."

John did and they made mad passionate love once more before falling fast asleep afterwards. They slept till eleven o'clock the next day. The sun was blazing high in the sky when John finally rolled out of bed. He wanted to take care of depositing the money and looking into airplane flights to New York. Em was still dead to the world so he showered quickly, put on some shorts and a pullover shirt, and took one of the suitcases with just the money in it, and headed down to the concierge.

As John approached the concierge desk, he noticed a pretty brunette seated behind it talking to someone. The nameplate on the desk read Penny Morale'. John stopped several feet short of the desk to await his turn but as he did the conversation ended between Ms. Morale' and the other party and they left.

"Can I help you, sir?" Penny Morale' said with a cute smile in his direction.

"Yes, please," John said stepping forward.

John explained the situation with the reward money and wanting to deposit it in a U.S. bank for safety rather than carry it back home. Ms. Morale' was eager to help but was mildly surprised when John produced the money in cash.

"Oh, sir, that is a lot of cash," Penny Morale' said.

"I know, which is why I would like to deposit it here versus carrying it around," John offered. "Can you suggest which bank I should go to?"

"I see. Please wait a second and I will speak with the manager," Penny said and moved from behind the desk to a back office.

John waited several minutes for her return and began to believe he had made a terrible mistake when Ms. Morale' and a man in a suit appeared and walked over to him.

"Mr. Morrison, this is the hotel manager, Mr. Torres," Penny introduced him.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Morrison," Mr. Torres said shaking his hand. "I've heard of your heroics in saving Ms. Cure' and her father talked to me personally about making sure you were both comfortable during your stay. I am surprised he gave you such a large reward in cash but none-the-less we will be glad to help out. If you will accompany me in the back I believe we can handle this matter to your satisfaction."

"Certainly," John agreed, hoping they didn't have a security officer back there ready to arrest him but also feeling stuck now he had to see this through or draw suspicion.

John followed Mr. Torres into his office. Mr. Torres hit an intercom and asked a Mr. Charles Blake to join him in his office. When the man arrived Mr. Torres introduced him as their controller. He also quickly explained the situation to Charles Blake.

"So," Mr. Torres said, addressing John, "If you would be so kind as to let Mr. Blake count the money I believe we can arrange through the hotel to make the deposit for you so you can be assured everything is handled properly. I intend to uphold my agreement to Mr. Cure' of taking care of everything for you while you are staying at the hotel. Will the Misses be on the account?"

"That won't be necessary," John said, opening the suitcase and with the help of the controller stacking the banded packs of hundred dollar bills on Mr. Torres desk. Em and he had discussed keeping her out of it in case something went wrong with the transfer. There were twenty packs and John knew from counting them on the island that there were fifty new bills in each pack. John nearly gasped aloud as he noticed a few particles of sand fall out of the packs as they were stacked. Neither of the other men seemed to notice the small specks of sand.

John watched intently as the controller picked up the first pack. He examined the top bill closely and John realized he was making sure they were good currency. He examined the bottom bill closely too before counting the number in the stack and examining a few more. Charles Blake randomly selected several more packs and examined them the same way. John was beginning to wonder if he intended to count every bill when Mr. Blake finally spoke.

"Mr. Morrison, if you will help me put this money back in your suitcase and carry it to our counting machine, I believe we can tally the sum quickly for you," Mr. Blake said.

"Sure," John replied helping him repack the suitcase and discreetly brush sand from the desk as he did.

Moments later they were standing before a bill and coin counting machine the large hotel used for counting its own currency much like a bank would have. One by one they placed the money on the tray after breaking the bands. With the push of a button the machine quickly counted each stack as they placed them. Each pack proved to be accurate and the sum came to exactly one hundred thousand as John had believed.

Back before the seated Mr. Torres in his office the controller told him of the sum and the hotel manager picked up his phone and hit a speed dial number.

"Is Chase Bank okay with you, Mr. Morrison? It's our bank," Mr. Torres said with his hand over the receiver.

"That is excellent," John responded knowing where a branch was on Long Island even.

John could only hear Mr. Torres speak during the ensuing conversation but it was obvious he had called a bank. The gentleman's name on the other end of the phone was Elliott and Mr. Torres quickly explained what he wanted. The hotel manager asked to have a checking account drawn up in the name of John Morrison, a hotel guest, and that all the necessary paperwork be brought over at once. He then instructed the banker that one hundred thousand dollars would be deposited through the hotel into that account as soon as it was established. Further, a deposit receipt would be needed and could be faxed over after the hotel had made its normal day's deposit which would include the hundred thousand dollars.

After a few more details, John shook hands with Mr. Torres and Mr. Blake and thanked them for their excellent assistance. Mr. Torres had signed a receipt for the money, also signed by Mr. Blake, and that was then handed to him before he left. They would call him as soon as the necessary paperwork had arrived.

John stopped by the concierge's desk again and thanked Penny for her assistance. He also asked if she could recommend which airline would be best for a flight to New York City and JFK airport.

"Actually, Mr. Morrison, I was informed by Mr. Cure' staff you would be making this request and have taken the liberty of holding several reservations which I was going to call you about later. Here they are. Tell me which one you are interested in and I will book them for you. Mr. Cure' insisted on paying too. I assumed you were both going to JFK airport. If not, please let me know," Penny concluded efficiently.

"Wow, you folks are most helpful," John exclaimed.

"Nothing but the best for the heroes that saved Emily Cure'," Penny said with a smile.

John thanked Penny again and walked to the elevators to go see Em with all the news. He was shocked by how well everything had gone. The Cure's must have incredible pull on this island, he realized.

The bed was empty when John looked into the bedroom. He had not seen Em upon entering the suite so he walked through the bedroom to the master bath. There she was with a bottle of white wine, glass in hand, and in the midst of a bubble bath. She had a big smile on her face as she noticed him enter.

"Living it up, are you?" John said jokingly.

"Why not?" Em mused aloud and with a big smile.

John checked out the wine, a 1999 California Riesling. At least she wasn't splurging too badly. The bottle was on ice and another glass sat on the tray. He poured himself one to celebrate his own news.

"Cheers," John said clinking glasses with her, "I have some good news as well."

"What's that?" Em asked.

"The hotel helped me arrange the deposit of the money."

"Really! No questions asked?" Em queried.

"Well ... they did think it strange that Mr. Cure' gave me cash but they were so intent on wanting to please him by helping us that they didn't ask anything more. The money is being deposited in Chase Bank as we speak. They will call me to complete the paperwork."

"Wow, that's great," Em effused.

"Even better, Mr. Cure's staff arranged our flights. All we have to do is pick one," John stated.

"Awesome," Em exclaimed. "When do you want to head to New York?"

"Well, I'm extremely anxious to see Nick but he was finishing exams when I talked with him. Might be best if we use the couple days we have here before heading back. How does that sound to you?"

"Fabulous!" Em exclaimed.

"I thought you'd like that idea. I'll tell the concierge to book the tickets for the morning of the tenth, two days from now," John announced.

"Sounds great!" Em professed.

John left Em to enjoy her bath for a minute and called the concierge. As expected Penny answered. John gave her the date and time from the listings of the flights to New York she had tentatively booked and Penny said she would take care of it. John thanked her again and hung up.

John ordered more wine from room service and sat back to await its arrival. He was deep in thought as Em finished her bath. His thoughts kept focusing on Nick and how he would react to Em. John worried his son would flip at the thought of Em joining the family and especially at being his wife. He was consumed by those thoughts until the doorbell rang. John answered it and tipped the waiter for the wine, another 1999 California Riesling. John wasn't normally into sweet wines but after all those months on the island the thought of something sweet appealed to him as well as staying with what Em had already started.

He was sipping his wine, still deep in thought, when Em finally emerged from the bathroom naked. With her beautiful overall tanned body, incredible figure, and long blonde hair, she looked like Bo Derek without the braids. Em was a ten by anyone's standards. Her pretty face and ample breasts were highlights on an otherwise flawless body. Any guy seeing her now, as he was, would think himself privileged. The negative earlier thoughts were immediately erased from his mind in favor of looking at her.

"More wine?" Em said reaching for the remaining glass on the tray.

"Yeah, I would have liked a nice Cabernet Sauvignon but since you were already drinking Riesling, I stuck with it," John explained.

"You could have ordered a red if you wanted. I like reds too," Em claimed.

"I didn't realize you knew so much about wine at your age?" John said musingly, chastised.

"Hey, remember, old man, I was in college," Em chided.

"Right, you were. Northwestern University would have more sophisticated tastes too, I would imagine," John retorted, referring to the prestigious north shore school.

"There were plenty of beer drinkers also," Em added.

"So much for no alcohol on college campuses," John mused aloud.

"Since when are you such a puritan?" Em commented stepping right in front of him with her filled glass.

"I just started," John chuckled as he reached for her naked hips.

"Now ... now, hands off," Em scolded backing away. "I just cleaned up and want to go out for a while. Let's check out the island some, John, please."

"Okay, give me a minute to call Nick," John explained and noticed the slight shift in her smile and stance before she left to get dressed.

John got Nick on the phone and told him the flight times for their plane. Nick agreed to pick them up and said he was curious to meet Em. He asked about her and John answered his questions to age, where she was from, and was she going to school. When John explained she was from Chicago, Nick was curious why she wasn't heading home to her family. John related that her mother had died on the flight and Em wasn't ready to go home, which was partly true.

John got updates on Nick's work at Hofstra and his schedule for his exams. He would be done by the time they arrived. Nick explained too that he had called the lawyer to tell him of his dad's survival. Nick had been working with the attorney to settle the estate when John had called the other day. He told the attorney now to stop everything.

"Dad?"

"Yeah, Nick?"

"I need to tell you something," Nick stated.

"What's that?"

"Well, I have a girlfriend. She's from Philadelphia," Nick explained.

"That's great. I can't wait to meet her," John expressed.

"Well ... ah ... that's kinda what I need to talk to you about. See after a few months, when I thought you were dead, I invited her to live with me. She moved in about three weeks ago. Her parents still think she's in the dorm. Her old roommate covers for her," Nick confessed.

"Oh, I see," John replied.

"It's okay though. You'll like her, I'm sure," Nick offered.

"I'm sure I will," John commented parentally. "How are you paying for things?"

"Well, the New Yorker Magazine paid me for your last article. I talked to your boss and he okayed it. By the way I called him so he knows you're alive. He said to call him as soon as you can," Nick continued.

"Okay, I will call him soon," John proposed.

"I also got a job, Dad. I'm working at the school part time in the mail room. It's not bad. They're paying me $7.50 an hour to start. I work about twenty hours a week and, no, it doesn't interfere too much with my studying. Mandy works there too so it's convenient. Oh, Mandy's my girlfriend. I didn't mention her name before," Nick explained.

"You're making enough to get by?"

"Well, Mandy buys some of the food," Nick said. "But it's still tight."

"Good thing I paid off the mortgage last year with that advance I got," John concluded.