Saturday Night – 10:00 pm
Alex finished changing and feeding Charlie and moved to the bed. She picked up her phone and put on the soothing playlist she used for bedtime, and held her baby next to her chest as she leaned back against the pillows. Charlie's hand grabbed onto Alex's shirt and pulled lightly and would let go continuously. Steady as a heartbeat. Alex looked down to see Charlie's brown eyes wide open and alert, but she was calm and rested her head against her mother.
Alex rubbed Charlie's back and hummed along with the music. Alex's outward posture was calm and relaxed, but her mind was racing. The events of the past few months bounced through her mind like a pinball game. She replayed conversations and analyzed motives over and over again. She was pulled out of her thoughts when Charlie let out a big yawn and closed her eyes. Alex ran her fingers through the brown hair slowly and finally closed her own eyes.
Saturday Night – 10:30 pm
Charles plopped into the middle of his bed and picked up the TV remote. He clicked through the channels until he happened upon an episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus. He immediately laughed at Eric Idle dressed as a lady and speaking with a high voice. He turned up the volume and pulled up the blankets as he leaned back against the pillows with his hands behind his head as he continued to laugh at the comedy sketch.
When the show was over, he rubbed his hands over his face then adjusted the pillows down flat. He reached behind his head and pulled off his shirt, and tossed it to the chair at the foot of the bed. He beat his fist into the pillow and wrapped his arm around it as he laid down. He envisioned Sondra lying next to him and fell asleep.
Saturday Night – 11:00 pm
Hugh sat in the large chair in the corner of his room with a copy of Great Expectations in his hand. He read over the words for the umpteenth time. With the book in his right hand, he leaned over to the table and picked up the spoon with his left, and stirred his tea. He then picked up the cup and took a tentative sip of the warmed beverage. He closed his eyes to savor the flavor.
He read until he hit a stopping point, then pulled out a picture he had carried with him for a number of years from the back of the book and put it on the page where he left off. He stared at the candid picture of a young Korean man laughing and holding up a red Solo cup, then closed the book. He placed it down on the table and got up, and moved to the bed. He lifted the sheet and blanket and folded them perfectly across half the bed, then slipped in. He pulled the blankets up to his chest. He flattened the sides around him with his hands to smooth out the edges. He then interlocked his fingers and rested his hands on his abdomen and closed his eyes, and willed sleep to come.
Saturday Night – 11:30
Reid stood with his hands on his hips while he stared at the wall in front of him. He had taken over the small office behind the bar since they arrived on the island. He hung pictures and data on the wall and wrote theories on the mirror with the broken frame that leaned against the wall. He ran his fingers through his hair with exacerbated stress. He focused on the page in the middle, which said, "Who is the real mole?" He then wrote 'motive?' and circled it three times.
Reid looked to his watch, "oh shit!" he exclaimed as he picked up the paperwork and put it into a messy pile, then ran out of the office. He stepped off the elevator to his floor of the hotel and headed down the hall. He pulled his room key from his pocket. He opened the door quietly, hoping not to disturb anyone. He took a quick peek and smiled. He shut the door and locked it, then headed directly to the bed where Alex was asleep. Her body was still sitting up, but her head was leaning to the side. Her hands were firmly clasped around Charlie, who was asleep on her chest. He picked up the baby and put her in her bed, then kicked off his shoes and slid into bed next to Alex.
Sunday Morning – 5 am
Reid heard Charlie's waking cry and jumped out of bed and rushed to pick her up. "Hush, mommy is sleeping."
He prepared a bottle while holding her in one arm then sat down in the large sitting chair. He played a concerto by Bach then leaned back in the chair while she fed. Her large round eyes intently staring up at him. He looked back down at her and began reciting nursery rhymes. "You see, Jack and Jill teach an important lesson. What goes up must come down. That's Newton's third law of motion. But we will go into that more another time.
Sunday Morning – 6 am
Hugh opened his eyes and rolled over a moment before his alarm rang. He turned it off and sat up in bed. A few minutes later, he stepped out of the bathroom just as there was a knock on the door.
"Good morning, Mr. Barlow. Here is your breakfast. I hope you enjoy."
"Thank you very much, Mari." Hugh brought the tray to the table in the corner of the room. He poured himself a cup of coffee from the silver pot, then picked up the folded newspaper and flipped it open.
He tapped on his phone a few times and pressed play. The enchanting duet Sull'aria from The Marriage of Figaro filled his room. He allowed a pleasant smile to cross his lips, then, with cutlery in hand, he sliced into his eggs benedict.
Sunday Morning – 8 am
Charles felt the sun on his face as it pierced between the slats on the plantation shutters. He rolled over and pulled the blanket over his head. After a few minutes, he let out a sigh and pushed back the blankets. He rolled onto his back as he stared up at the ceiling. "Fine, I guess I'll get up," he mumbled to himself.
He sat on the edge of the bed and stretched his arms above his head. He then held down the button on his phone. "Play morning workout playlist." As the beat to Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra began, he felt himself moving along. He jumped from the bed, then landed flat on the floor and went straight into doing push-ups. Over the next forty-five minutes, he had moved from one set to another, working out various parts of his body. The routine he did every day while on the run was second nature to him.
Sunday Morning – 8 am
Charlie was stirring in the playpen then began to let out soft cries. Alex moaned and rolled over in the bed. "Isn't it your turn?" Alex mumbled into the pillow. She then opened her eyes to the empty side of the bed. She sat up and scanned the room as Charlie's cries became more persistent. "Oh, baby, I'm sorry." Alex got out of bed and picked up Charlie, then looked at the clock. "Oh, daddy already took care of your five am feeding. How sweet of him."
With Charlie changed and fed, Alex put her in the middle of the bed, surrounded by a fortress of pillows. Alex sat at the table and unrolled a leather case. She lifted the flap and admired the dozen blades for her to choose from. She looked over to her phone and pressed play. She nodded her head along with the music as she pulled a knife from the slot and held it up to look for any imperfections. She rubbed a cloth along the edge and flipped the knife in her hand. She watched it spin several times then caught it. She got up from the chair and flipped the knife around her fingers. Alex quickly turned and threw the knife at the back of the door. The knife landed between the eyes of a picture of Kiefer she pinned to a dartboard. She turned to Charlie while humming along to Queen. "Remember, fat-bottomed girls make the rockin' world go round!"
Sunday Evening
The group gathered around the bonfire just as the sun was melting into the horizon. "Here you go, Uncle Charles," Alex said as she handed Charlie over. "She needs some time with her name-sake."
"Sorry, we didn't think Hugh was a good name for a girl," Reid said in jest.
"That's fine; Charles took care of that just fine. I don't mind it being a middle name," Hugh said. "How are Anthony and Cassie?"
"I spoke with Sondra this morning, and they're doing well. As much as I love being here, I can't wait to finally be able to go home."
"Here," Reid said as he grabbed Charlie from him. "I'll swap you." He held out a guitar in front of Charles."
"Oh, it's been a long time," Charles protested.
"Go on," I hear it's like riding a horse," Hugh said.
"Are you sure that horse has been tuned?" Alex asked with a smirk.
Charles ran his thumb down the strings. "Sounds pretty good to me," Charles said. He then strummed loudly, making a blaring noise. He stopped as he turned to see Charlie fussing. "Okay, seriously now," Charles said. He straightened himself up and held the guitar properly. He began picking a slow and familiar tune.
Reid sat down with Charlie and held out his hand out towards Alex's chair. She took it and then turned back to Charles as he began to sing Dust in the Wind. Alex turned back to Reid. "I could spend every night like this."
Reid squeezed her hand. "Me too."