Chapter 12
With head in hands, Tina sat on his bed as Chuck looked at her pleadingly.
"Are you telling me the truth, Chuck?"
He sat down beside her and took her hand in his. "Yes. I am telling you the truth." He searched her eyes as she faced the volleyball on his nightstand.
It was quiet for a moment and then he spoke again. "I didn't tell you about this before, Tina, because..." he looked down and sighed. "Because I didn't want you to think I was crazy. I haven't told anyone."
She considered the note of desperation in his voice. "So is Wilson, um… is he speaking to you now?"
Chuck shook his head. "No, he doesn't speak to me constantly. Mostly when he finds things that are objectionable."
She stood up in a huff. "Does Wilson find me objectionable?"
"No, no, Tina," he got up and faced her. "Wilson thinks you're hot."
"Wilson thinks I'm hot," she repeated. A giggle escaped from her lips. "A volleyball thinks I'm hot."
Deflated, Chuck turned away from her. "I knew I shouldn't have told you. I should've just kept it to myself."
She approached him and laid her hand on his shoulder. "No, Chuck, I'm just kidding," she told him and laughed again. "I don't think you're crazy. I think it's a miracle that you were able to come away from that island with any sanity."
He turned and looked into her eyes, his own countenance shadowed with vulnerability. "So…are you sure you're not going to try to have me committed to some mental institution?" he asked her quietly.
Tina looked up thoughtfully. "Well, tell me this," she said with a hint of a smile. "Will Wilson tell you to step in front of a speeding vehicle?" Chuck shook his head.
"Or …tell you to jump off a cliff?" she asked. Again, he shook his head. "Or murder me or my pets in our sleep?"
"You're mocking me."
Her arms slid around his waist and she met his eyes. "No, these are important questions. You have to ask yourself when and why he speaks to you."
"Wilson says he's looking out for me. He doesn't want to see me get hurt again."
It was quiet for a moment as Tina stood watching Chuck, weighing his words carefully in her mind. Chuck felt as though he'd been holding his breath as a look of understanding appeared on her face.
"Well, I think that's a pretty good friend right there," she finally responded.
"Well, thank you, Tina."
Chuck breathed a sigh of relief and drew her into him with a smile.
"What?" she asked him.
"Wilson thanks you."
Tina pulled from Chuck's embrace, glanced quickly at Chuck, and approached the volleyball on the nightstand, facing it. "Thank you, Wilson, for watching out for him. And I have no intention of hurting him, now or ever."
It was silent and she looked over to Chuck who was gazing at her admiringly. "You are amazing, Tina," he told her, taking her into his arms and kissed her tenderly.
After a moment she pulled away and asked, "Well, did Wilson say anything?"
With a warm smile Chuck told her, "He has no objections."
Kelly Frears-Lovett was the perfect wife and mother. She was attractive, well-educated, a good friend to those who knew her, and well-respected in her community. She had the perfect home, the perfect husband, the perfect daughter, the perfect life. She was the envy of all her friends. Indeed she had the kind of life many women could only dream about.
As her husband, Jerry entered their home with another bouquet of roses for her, she couldn't help but smile. Jerry was in fact, the perfect man. A doting husband and father, a wonderful provider with his thriving dental practice, he was sensitive to Kelly's every need.
He approached her with a smile at their solid oak dining room table as she sat doing the bills. Charming and suave, he handed her the roses. She responded to him with a kiss.
He was everything a woman could want in a man. Devastatingly handsome dressed in his suit and tie he was also sweet, thoughtful, and sexy; these were the things that attracted her to him.
"Hey, you're home," she told him looking at the clock. It was lunchtime.
Jerry retrieved a vase from the kitchen, put the flowers in the large glass container, and filled it with water. "Just thought I'd pop in and see my favorite gals," he told her with a smile and set the vase of roses on the table in front of her as she gazed at them appreciatively.
"Katie's taking a nap."
He raised his eyebrows and grinned devilishly. "Well, I guess I have you all to myself then," he said coming up behind her, brushing her blond hair away, and kissing her on the neck.
Kelly Frears-Lovett was a woman in love.
Sadly, it was not with her husband.
It would've been easy for her to be happy with Jerry. She had every reason to be. And she might've lived happily ever after. If only-
If only Chuck hadn't come back.
Saying goodbye to him was the hardest thing she'd ever done and not a day passed that she didn't regret it.
When she bumped into Stan the past week over at the video store, she'd been shocked to receive the latest news about the former love of her life.
Despite Chuck's request Stan had told her about Chuck's accident, that their truck had been totaled, that he'd survived. He also assured her repeatedly that Chuck was okay, that he was recovering, that a friend was caring for him, that he was happy.
How could that be, Kelly wondered. How could he be so happy, when I'm so miserable?
Kelly pulled away from her husband separating his lips from her neck and took his hands in hers.
"Jerry," she said to her husband nervously, her amber eyes pleading. "We need to talk."
"...Drifting out in the open seas for days, Noland all but gave up hope of rescue until a Russian naval ship spotted him in his makeshift raft that he'd fashioned from tree trunks, rope, and video tape, using a door from a port-a-potty as a sail. "I was determined," Noland stated, "that I was either going to get off that island, or die trying."
Upon his miraculous return to Memphis, Noland was received by friends and his Federal Express family with a heroes welcome. "It was great seeing everyone again, but things had changed. I was a different person. I couldn't go back to my former way of life." Noland added.
Still a dedicated Fed-Ex employee at heart, Noland took it upon himself to return the fateful package to its recipient hundreds of miles from Memphis and delivered it to the small town of Shamrock, Texas. When asked what was so special about the package, Noland answered, "It was the wings," he stated simply. With a tight grip on the package, he proudly points to the winged symbol with his finger. "This package saved my life," he added.
The recipient of the exceptional package turned out to be Texas' native Bettina Peterson, former wife of Dick Peterson, of Peterson Dairy Farms, a popular chain throughout Texas. Ms. Peterson was unavailable for comment.
Noland's adventure didn't end there. A deadly head-on collision while trying to leave the small town left Noland incapacitated with a mild concussion, a broken arm, and a broken leg.
These unfortunate circumstances led him to Peterson's care and have kept him in Shamrock where he currently resides.
Yet he does not dwell on the many hardships he endured. Noland possesses a strong spirit, and with odds stacked against him, it truly takes an extraordinary individual to have survived his many near-death experiences. With a broad smile he celebrates his triumphs and his second and third chances at life. "Not everyone gets so many opportunities to start over. Everyday is a new day." When asked what his next move would be, Noland responded with an inspiring grin that his future was uncertain but stated, "You never know what the tide will bring in,"" Tina finished, set the newspaper down, and smiled at Chuck sitting across from her.
"Wow, Chuck, what an amazing article," she told him as he sipped his coffee and threw her arms around him. "Truly inspiring," she said affectedly and kissed him.
"I've gotta hand it to that Gloria from the Pampa News."
"What a great picture too! Such a handsome fellow and who'd ever thought that my package would've been so inspirational?" Her eyes beheld the likeness of Chuck holding the package in his hands and she traced the image of the wings in the picture lovingly with her finger.
"Yeah, it's a good thing you saved it."
She nudged him. "Did you know that this newspaper will probably make it out all the way to Austin? People all over the great state of Texas will be reading it!" she remarked and laid her head on his shoulder skimming the article again.
"So are you hungry?"
Tina looked down. "Yes, I am, but Chuck, I could make something here and then we could go to your appointment." Her gaze met his just in time to notice the suspicious look he was giving her. Quickly she changed the subject. "Today's the day, Chuck. You're finally gonna get that cast removed. You must be excited!"
"Tina, you can't stay holed up in this house forever. Remember how great it was to get out with Stan and Eileen?" he watched her as she nodded reluctantly and took her hands in his. "I'm right here with you. I'm not going to let anybody say anything to you."
Tina shot him an amused glance. "That's very sweet of you but what are you going to do, knock them over the head with your crutches?"
"Very funny. I insist, Tina. Everything will be fine."
Tina and Chuck sat at the table at Marie's Diner in town browsing the menu.
Chuck wore a bright smile as he contemplated the lunch specials.
Tina's eyes darted back and forth around the room and back to her menu as she tapped her foot nervously on the floor.
"Will you relax?" he asked her.
"People are looking over here," she whispered leaning in close to the table.
"Ignore them, Tina. Just like you always do."
"I don't invite trouble by hanging out in diners, Chuck!" she hissed exasperatedly.
"You aren't inviting trouble, Tina," he retorted. "We're just two people sitting here getting ready to order some lunch." Chuck eyed his menu again. "The French Dip sounds delicious. What do you want?"
"I want to leave."
"I'm right here, Tina. Stop worrying."
Tina nodded and looked back down at her menu noticing the decorative drawings of Texas' state bird on the front cover. Her artist's eye caught the detail of the wings on the mockingbird.
"Say, Chuck?" he looked up at her. "What was it about the wings on my Fed-Ex package that kept you from opening it?"
Chuck opened his mouth to answer when he caught sight of an older couple approaching them. With a smile he told her, "Let me handle this."
Tina looked up with dread as she recognized Betsy, the general store owner, and her husband, Sam. Tina closed her eyes and sighed and opened them up again only to find Betsy in front of them eyeing her and Chuck suspiciously.
"Well, Bettina Peterson!" she crowed. "I just don't believe it!"
"Hello!" Chuck interjected. "How are you folks today?"
Betsy's large eyes met Chuck's with a smile and went right back to Tina. "All this time, Bettina, and really you're keeping this man all to yourself," she drawled.
Tina's fearful expression turned to confusion.
"Well, young lady," Sam piped up, "aren't you going to introduce us?"
Stammering, Tina finally got out her reply. "Uh…yes…this..is.."
Before she could finish, Sam cut in, "Chuck Noland. Read all about you in the paper, son. I'd like to shake your hand," the old man told him extending his hand to him as Chuck responded with a friendly but surprised smile.
"It's a pleasure having such a fine individual here in our small town," Betsy chirped.
Tina was at a loss for words as she gaped from Betsy back to Chuck.
"Well thanks, that's very kind of…"
"It's not everyday you meet a man who's beat death three times!"
"Really, it's inspiring," Betsy added, "and we're very happy to welcome you to our small Shamrock family." The older woman leaned in towards Chuck and whispered, "Bettina has a good heart. She's single, you know?"
A slight gasp escaped Tina's lips as her already surprised expression turned to shock.
"I'm Betsy and this is my husband, Sam, and we own the general store. Come see us anytime!" she told Chuck with wide eyes as her husband nodded enthusiastically.
Chuck met Tina's disoriented gaze then smiled back at the couple. "Thank you, Betsy and Sam. I'd really like that."
Before they reached Chuck's doctor's appointment it had been confirmed that just as Tina had suspected Chuck had become a local celebrity. Several people had approached Chuck and Tina in awe just to shake his hand.
The good news was that Tina no longer had to worry anymore about their judgmental opinions. It seemed the Fed-Ex package was something of a conversation starter and they were delighted that with all Chuck had been through that he'd ended up there in Shamrock...with one of their own helping him.
The bad news was that it would still be one more week until Chuck's cast could be removed.
A/N: A great thanks to Nate and to Cat Turner for your kind reviews! I love that you are hanging in there with me. I have this story almost 99 percent written so far with still much editing to do and hope that if all goes well to post the last chapter the week before Christmas. Prior to the conclusion I hope to have many questions answered. So we still have a few chapters to go yet! I would love to hear from you! Please review!