Chapter 9
Tom and Margo didn't emerge from their cabin until mid-afternoon the following day. Tom appeared briefly at the door to accept a room service delivery, but for the most part they remained tucked away in their little cubicle on the sea. It was their day to just relax and let their impulses and possibly their stomachs dictate their schedule – slow and unplanned, not exactly what they are used to.
That afternoon they took a long walk around the ship, ate ice cream, shared a couple exotic drinks, and even played a round of miniature golf (while Tom took every opportunity to help her perfect her swing). Later, while they were lounging by the pool Margo happened to notice a happy couple preparing their two young boys for a swim. She watched the mom diligently lather sunscreen all over them and the dad blow up and adjust arm floaties. She couldn't help but feel a twinge in her heart and a tightening in her throat. It was that indescribable feeling of remembering great joy while at the same time being immersed in guilt and sadness. She couldn't help but think of how wonderful things were when Adam and Casey were little, when they didn't have a care in the world and their toughest decision was whether to wear a Cubs or a Power Rangers t-shirt.
When Tom spotted the family he immediately looked over at Margo. He knew right away what was going through her mind. He knew that she was desperate to know what had happened to her oldest son; that she would give anything to go back to the time before he left town without a trace and do whatever she could to prevent him from leaving. He wrestled with whether to say anything or wait to see if she would. After noticing her trying to secretly wipe a tear from the corner of her eye he got up, walked over, kissed her cheek and rubbed her shoulders from behind. Then he leaned in and whispered, "I know sweetie."
She turned toward Tom and said, "Tom, I just don't understand why he doesn't at least call."
"I know honey," said Tom, "but you said you weren't going to torture yourself anymore."
"It's easy to say that, but I just can't help it," said Margo. "Look at him. Doesn't he look just like Adam did at that age? My little banana… where is he?"
Tom sighed.
"Didn't we always tell him that there was nothing that he couldn't tell us?"
"Yes honey, we did, but…"
"And haven't we always been forgiving with the boys?"
"Sweetie," Tom took Margo's hand, attempting once again to get her mind off of Adam.
"No, Tom," she persisted, "Look at Casey. We could have kicked him out, disowned him after he returned from prison or after he was expelled from school, but we didn't. Maybe if Adam knew that he'd…"
"Margo, stop…" Tom pleaded. She was hiding her face, but Tom knew that she was crying. He sat down beside her and wrapped his arm around her. Leaning his temple against hers he continued, "Honey, please stop blaming yourself. It's not your fault that Adam can't face whatever he's done. Come on, we've been through this and through this."
Margo sighed and wiped her cheeks. Then she stood up and said, "I know I need to stop. I hate it when you get mad at him after I get upset."
"Yeah, I am mad at him. And why shouldn't I be? He's got to know what this is doing to you, to both of us."
"Tom…" Margo pleaded this time.
"Well, it's true," demanded Tom, "he's a coward. I thought I knew him. I thought he had more fight in him – at least he used to."
Suddenly their wonderful, romantic vacation was becoming anything but that right before their eyes. Margo felt guilty for allowing her emotion to show, especially when she knew how Tom would react. Tom was not only angry at Adam, but also at himself for allowing his anger to erupt in front of Margo like that when they had been having such a perfect day. But they both knew that they needed to find their own little ways of getting past this moment in order to go on with their day.
Tom finally stood up and faced Margo. He lifted her chin with his index finger and said, "I'm sorry."
Holding back tears Margo said, "Tom, I'm sorry too. I just can't help my emotions sometimes."
"I know," said Tom, wiping a stray tear from her cheek, "and I shouldn't allow myself to get so upset. You have every right to your feelings."
They were able to get through the moment and find a way to move on. They left the pool area and went on with the rest of their day. Although they both tried very hard not to think about it after that, the conversation still lingered in the back of both of their minds for the remainder of the day. However, neither of them brought the subject of Adam up again.
The following morning brought with it their ship's final port of call. They docked early in Ensenada, a large tourist city about seventy miles South of TiJuana, Mexico. Since the cruise ship would be docking back in San Diego the next morning they wanted to make the most of this day. They made their way off the ship early, planning to find a coffee or pastry shop on the mainland for their breakfast, which wasn't difficult, since there were many popular American fast food places on the main strip.
The highlight of their morning was a horse-drawn buggy tour through downtown Ensenada. After the tour they found some quaint shops and then walked around the marina, playfully picking out which yacht would be theirs if they had one. Near the marina they found a Mexican seafood restaurant with plenty of outdoor seating where they decided to eat lunch.
After they had been seated Tom looked up and thought he recognized the man being seated at the table next to them. He couldn't quite place the face, but he knew he'd seen him before. When he pointed him out to Margo she looked and said, "Oh, you know what, I'm pretty sure that he's the magician from the show the other night. Marvelous Marvolo, or something like that, is that right?" After giving him the once over Tom decided that she was right.
Fairly soon two people showed up to join him. Interestingly enough, they were the honeymooning couple from their dinner with Mr. Longnecker. After they sat down Tom decided to get up and say hello. They talked briefly among themselves. The young man, Brent, introduced the magician to Tom and Margo as his cousin. Brent explained that he and his wife would forever be grateful to him for getting them their trip at an extraordinary deal. Fairly quickly their waitress came by to take their order, so they returned to their seats.
They had a great meal, enjoying the fresh air and scenery. As Tom was asking the waitress for their check there was a sudden commotion over at the magician's table. Looking over, it was clear that Brent was choking. His wife was screaming, and the magician was yelling from across the table, but neither was attempting to help. Immediately, Tom's instincts took over and he rushed over, grabbed him up from his chair by his armpits and thrust his clasped fists into Brent's stomach. Two attempts were all it took and the lodged shrimp made its way up and out.
Margo was now standing beside Tom as he held onto Brent making sure that he was okay. Brent's wife, Sidney, was overcome by the ordeal and was finding it difficult to stand. Margo pulled her chair back up to her, as in her panic to get up it had tipped over. Things calmed down rather quickly and Brent was able to talk right away. He didn't quite know what to say, so he just kept saying, "Thank you, thank you."
Sidney was sobbing softly with her face in her hands, so Margo asked her if she was okay. She nodded, but that was about all she could do. The magician had been frantically pacing around the tables, but was now finally calming down. Tom helped Brent back into his chair saying, "I'm just glad I was here and could help." After it was apparent that everyone was calming down, Tom and Margo made their way back to their table. They kept a close watch, but felt more comfortable doing so from their table instead of hovering at the other table.
Finally, after a reasonable amount of time the Hughes decided they should go. When they got up from their table Brent stood and thanked Tom one last time and then they left. Tom's adrenalin was still running high and he found it difficult not to talk about the incident while they walked. Margo understood. She was also wound up, but not as much as Tom.
They decided to make their way back to the ship around 2 PM. The ship was set to depart at 4 PM and they didn't want to be caught in a long line of passengers waiting to board. They made their way up the gangplank and Tom slid his room card into the electronic card reader. He pulled it out and went to slide Margo's when he noticed that his hadn't been read properly, so he slid his again. That's when the attendant asked them to step aside with her.
"Sir," said the attendant, "I'm afraid there's a problem with your card."
"Oh," said Tom, "I've got my wife's card here. I was just going to try that one."
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," she said. "Your card isn't working because it has expired. We cannot allow you to board."
"Well that's impossible," said Margo. "Here," she took her card, showed her that the picture on it was her and handed it to the attendant.
"This card has expired also ma'am."
"What?" Margo asked.
She and Tom looked at each other in confusion and disbelief.
