Lantana signed out at the front desk of the hotel. She made some small talk with the woman at the desk. "My brother is getting my things and he will turn in the key," she told the woman. She then walked away and sat down in the lobby. She read the newspaper as she waited.
"Lantana Kempton?," a female voice asked.
Lantana set the paper down and looked. "Nikki?," she asked. A smile came to her face as Nikki nodded.
Both women squealed and hugged. Michael and Sam stood back and watched, smiling.
"I heard what happened," Nikki said. "Did they tell you what I offered to you?"
"Yes," Lantana said. "But I can't stay in Miami right now. I really need to gather myself first." She looked at Michael and his team. "I'm leaving for Arkansas tomorrow with Ned," she told them. "Maybe a year, two at the most. I really need the change of scenery for awhile."
"I understand," Nikki said. She took a small notepad from her purse and wrote on a sheet of paper and handed it to Lantana. "Call me anytime and make sure you call me when you come back. I hope you do come back."
"I really appreciate that, Nikki," Lantana said. "And I will." She sighed and stood up. "Ned called some friends of his in Little Rock, which is where our family were all originally from before my father moved everyone here."
"You do what you need, Lantana," Nikki said. "Just keep in touch. I want to hear from you often."
"That will happen," Lantana promised.
Lantana then looked at Michael and Sam. "Thank you so much," she said to both of them.
"Take care of yourself, Lantana," Michael said. He smiled at her with a friendly wink.
Lantana hugged Michael and then Sam.
"I'll be fine," she promised both men. "Thank you both for everything you did to help me."
"Lantana, you ready?," Ned asked from the door. The bellhop was there with her luggage on a small cart. She didn't have much.
"One minute, Ned," Lantana said. She turned back to the team. "I'll contact you when I decide to come back," she promised them.
"Then, we'll see you later," Michael said.
"If you happen to be in Arkansas for any reason, look me up," Lantana said. She turned and walked towards Ned. She and Ned hugged and walked out the door.
END
Notes:
Note 1: I described Ned Larkin as looking like actor Lew Temple. I love when he guest-stars on my favorite shows. I hope he really does guest on "Burn Notice" one day! He is an awesome actor. He can be either funny or serious. He is great at playing either "good guys" or "bad guys"! I loved him in "Unstoppable" as Ned!
Note 2: I described FBI Agent Janet Larkin as looking like actress Milena Govich. I loved her as Nina Cassady on the original "Law & Order" (season 17). They should have kept her!
Note 3: I wrote this after seeing a TV documentary about people, mostly children, who had been kept in captivity for various reasons. I was also partly inspired by a TV movie called "To Live Again" which was about a mother who kept her daughter imprisoned in a single bedroom.
Note 4: I believe that people who abuse children in any way at all deserve a lifetime prison sentence. Children are so innocent, defenseless, and are gifts from God.
Note 5: I truly have no respect for anyone who hates children. Were you not a child once? I understand if you choose not to have your own children if it is indeed a good reason (such as not sure if you can care for the child or if you don't think you can financially support a child). If you don't want them for a selfish reason (such as not want to mess up your figure or if you are afraid that a child will ruin your social life), then I have no respect. Your figure will not last forever. Friends come and go, but family is forever.
Abraham Lincoln once said: "A person is never so tall as when he stoops to help a child." Amen!
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