A/N: Enjoy the next chapter on the first day of 2025!
Out There Part Two
Chapter 10
January 2020
Two thousand miles from the nearest large land mass, a clear blue sky, no clouds, no haze; the air was clean with a light breeze blowing from the Pacific Ocean. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Sara Grissom appeared unaware of the perfect weather and her surroundings as she read from a laptop screen. Her forehead wrinkled as she tried to process what she was reading.
The sound of a laugh so similar to her own caused Sara to lift her head from the computer screen and look outside. Hidden within a tall flame tree surrounded by ginger and hibiscus plants another laugh came, a high-pitched giggle as familiar as her own. Her children were playing in a "secret place" they had discovered in this new and temporary home.
They had been here nearly four weeks, leaving California after Christmas for two days in Hawaii before another flight brought them to one of the most isolated places in the South Pacific Ocean. As she moved from the table, Sara thought about how she and her family had arrived here.
It began with a phone call from someone who knew someone who knew Gil Grissom. A request—would he be interested and willing to be interim director of a whale research center for a few months. Two or three months while the current director took a medical leave; the position included housing, a car, and, of course, his family could travel with him. It would be primarily paperwork, scheduling researchers and equipment while living in an island paradise.
Without hesitation, they decided to leave a comfortable home; how many of these far-away positions would be offered, they said. With small children, too young to be in school, it was an easy decision. Pack for three months, they decided, which included two new foot-propelled scooters for the kids. Pack for summer, they were advised, where the sun was warm, the sand was white, and the ocean was bright blue. No building was taller than the palm trees.
As Sara stepped onto the porch that ran the length of the house, she heard more giggles—guilty giggles, she thought. She leaned over the banister. "Anthony! Elizabeth! What are you up to?"
Her boy-child crawled out from under the lush vegetation, his hands and fingernails dark with dirt and a suspicious smear around his mouth. "Mom, did you know this soil tastes good—like salt water but not liquid."
He stood in front of her; at nearly four, he was stocky, strong, with the face of his father. His blue eyes were wide as he opened his hands to show his mother damp crumbs of soil.
Elizabeth, his twin, appeared to stand beside her brother. She was as tall as her brother but slender, longer legs, and a spattering of freckles across her nose. A mass of dark curls surrounded her oval face and, while her brother had cornflower blue eyes, Elizabeth had electric blue eyes, like the deep ocean sparkled with bright stars.
"I told him not to eat dirt," Elizabeth said. Her eyes blinked twice looking at her mother with uncompromising intelligence.
"Well, it won't kill you but it isn't good for you either," said Sara. Waving for them to come inside, she added, "Let's wash hands and go get a shave ice—much better than eating dirt." She needed activity to get away from what she'd read on the internet.
Sara had been surprised at the easy welcome they had received on arrival. Their neighbors were employees of the whale research institute; nine were considered long-term but twelve were researchers from around the world with time at the institute varying from two to six months. There were three older children who had taken the Grissom twins as their responsibility to show them the important areas of the neighborhood. The first being the nearest shave ice shack; the second being the local beach a few blocks away.
Hands and faces clean, helmets on heads, scooters out, and a reminder to stop at the corner, the three set off for a frozen treat two blocks away. The kids chattered the entire way about the dozens of flavors and colors available; Elizabeth decided purple was her favorite color.
"I'm getting two colors," Anthony said. "Yellow and red—or red and blue."
The kids had slowed and stopped at the corner and waited for their mother to catch up.
There was little traffic in the neighborhood which was well away from tourist areas and resorts. Across the street, several children were kicking a ball in a small public park. The shave ice 'shack' was an old truck with a generator keeping ice frozen and a row of bottles filled with colored liquids. Sara tried to point out real juices instead of the bright-colored sugar flavorings but today, she let Anthony order one named "tiger's blood" while Elizabeth decided on the purple one, made from ube, a purple yam.
They sat on the bench, slurping mouthfuls of the sweetened icy treats; both children talking about the next visit and what they would try next time. Both were articulate, noisy at times, yet calm and curious and intelligent. Sara marveled at how they learned from each other, quickly picking up on adult conversations, combining what they heard to work out meanings with child simplicity. Sara continued to be amazed that she was a parent, that her young children were delightful every day; smiling as she thought about the way she and their dad were developing into capable parents, not to strict, setting occasional boundaries, knowing as older parents, they could enjoy their young children in ways younger parents could not.
"Can we go to the beach when Daddy gets home?" Elizabeth asked before she tipped the melted juice into her purple stained mouth.
"We'll go earlier—Daddy went out on the boat today and probably be home after dark."
"I bet he found whales. I want to go see whales, too. A pod! And a baby!"
A sound came from Sara's left where Anthony sat. Turning in time to see her son maneuver his mouth under the paper cone, she realized he had bitten the bottom off, making the cone a funnel. He giggled as cold red liquid drained into his mouth, overflowing and running down his chin, onto his shirt.
His sister squealed, "Anakoni!" Pronouncing his name as the local kids did, she ran to the truck for paper towels. Anthony coughed and laughed harder, causing more of a mess as red bubbles came out his nose and mouth.
Paper towels helped. The young woman working the shave ice shack provided water, laughing as she said, "It washes off leaving just a little stain."
Sara was learning the ways of the local people; after years in Las Vegas and then in Los Angeles, the easy-going change in attitude and manner was enjoyable. After an attempt at wiping Anthony's face and shirt, the three went to the small park where the twins rode in circles on their scooters, kicked at stones, and managed to get even dirtier.
Later, covered in sunscreen lotion and wearing hats, shorts and shirts, the three walked to the nearest beach; Sara pulled a beaten-up, faded red wagon holding beach toys, an umbrella and a small cooler of snacks and water. The beach, unknown to tourists, was a wide crescent of white sand and clear, shallow water.
As they slowly walked, the kids found a dozen reasons to stop—a rock, a flower, a shell, turning circles—and Sara thought about the first time they had gone to this beach. Even before arriving at the beach, she had decided it would be a favorite place. Flowering bushes and a small rise of dunes separated the neighborhood from the beach. When the path opened to the beach, the view still cast an intoxicating spell on Sara. The sand was blinding white with a panorama of the small bay with a clear blue sky overhead. The gentle curve of beach was sheltered by tall palms and thick undergrowth of bushes that made it difficult for anyone to enter the area unless coming from the neighborhood.
Just to make the beach picture perfect, the water was calm, clear, and in bright layers of color that would have seemed fake if not seen in person. First, the shallow water was crystalline clear blue, then turquoise before becoming blue-green, and finally a deep blue at the far edge of the bay. A few boats, spread out, floated farther out; kids fishing or sailing. And above it all, the brilliant bright blue sky.
Noise from her kids brought her out of her thoughts and back to reality. They had pulled child-sized nets from the wagon, waiting a moment for her to nod her head before both of them ran toward the water.
…It was a great Pacific day, one of those days of dazzling pure colors that made Gil Grissom a little drunk with pleasure. The intense colors and the effects on his brain would be difficult to explain but he had a feeling the others on the boat felt the same about the ocean and these islands.
A jumble of islands extended as far as his eyes could see; white sand and blue lagoons made for a breathtaking sight. Everything was peaceful; the water was as calm as a mirror. The boat glided gently undisturbed by wind or waves.
The dozen people on the boat worked easily together, joined by their shared focus on the world of whales in the South Pacific. Several were studying the highly complex social life of specific whales while others studied feeding habits, the use of bubble nets to capture fish, tagging and identifying, and water sampling of the environment. There were several drones and underwater cameras on board for specific research.
Grissom stood on the bridge watching for any break in the surface but he was not as quick as the young man standing beside him who pointed to a ripple that became a splash as a large humpback whale surfaced. Within minutes a drone lifted from the boat and headed in the direction of the whale. By the time the drone was over one whale, several more—at least four—had surfaced, blowing misty sprays from blowholes.
He grinned. It was a great day to be in the South Pacific ocean.
It was after nine before Grissom sat down at the table for dinner. His children had been asleep for a couple of hours when he had arrived but Sara had waited to eat with him. Together they had sliced yellow, green, and red tomatoes and cheese and covered with local oil and balsamic vinegar, heated rice and a blended vegetable soup, and toasted locally made bread for their meal. Grissom watched as Sara scooped rice into bowls, soup in another bowl as he talked about the day. He knew his vegetarian wife enjoyed all the local vegetables and fruits.
As they began eating, he said, "You've heard about my day—tell me about yours. Everything—not just shave ice and the beach."
"We had a great day," Sara said. "The kids love everything—playing under the tree by the porch, the beach. Wait until you hear Elizabeth call Anthony 'Anakoni' like she's a local!"
For a few moments, they ate in silence.
Grissom said, "The food is good, Dear." He forked a tomato slice and held it between them. "You really are good at this—this," he waved the fork around indicating the place she'd made their home.
Smiling, Sara leaned forward and took a bite out of the tomato. "It's easy. Hard to believe we are in such a paradise."
"There is something worrying you."
A puzzled look flashed across Sara's face before she quickly smiled. "It's nothing—I hope it's nothing. Something I read this morning—probably nothing."
"Tell me."
"Oh, it's probably nothing—but CDC is reporting a Novel-Coronavirus—pneumonia like sickness that doesn't respond to treatment. Lot of people dying in one city in China. Passengers flying into the United States from China are getting screened at airports."
Grissom placed his fork on his plate, thought for a moment, and said, "I think that's been done before—for SARS, maybe for Ebola, too."
Waving her hand, Sara said, "I'm worrying about nothing."
Gently, he took her hand. "Let's clean up—then sit outside for a while."
They talked, laughed, stared into the night, amazed at the starry sky, and breathed fresh air that tasted just a little of salt. Sitting on the steps of the porch, one made a contented sighed, then the other, happy in silence before going to bed.
A/N: Thank you for reading! A special thank you to all who review, send a message, make a comment! A few more chapters to come before Sara and Grissom get a call from Vegas!