Always Just There

Marie smiled as she walked down the aisle to greet her handsome groom. Tugging gently on her arm, Dad said “Don’t run. Make him wait.” Marie’s dad was still concerned that James only wanted her for the trust fund money. Marie had never been a real looker with a great personality so Dad became suspicious when the whirlwind romance with James happened. The reception was a blur but Marie knew she had a good time because her cheeks hurt from smiling. James always seemed to be to good to be true. “Daddy thinks you are only after my money, but I convinced him that’s not true”, she teased. James seemed shocked when she said this and now had to convince her Dad that he was wrong.

Climbing into the limo that would take them off to a wedding night at the Hilton downtown, Marie thanked James for the upcoming trip of a lifetime. In the morning a flight to the honeymoon destination, the beautiful island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas. Marie had always wanted to see the Bahamas and swim in the beautiful blue waters. She was not a strong swimmer so she decided she would walk the beach and hunt for sea glass and shells instead. Having been there before, James had suggested Eleuthera and knew Marie would love it. They checked into their hotel, unpacked, went to the bar and toasted married life. After dinner that night, James pointed out the list of ‘things to do’ on the island which put them roughly 250 some odd miles east of Miami.

“Can we do some of this stuff starting tomorrow?” Marie asked hesitantly. She didn’t want to be too pushy about planning things because James always liked to do the planning. James smiled at her, “pick out what you want to do, but I really want to show you the Glass Window Bridge. I saw it once years ago and I remember it being just beautiful.” Marie giggled. “You can show me whatever you want to”, she replied while playing footsies with James under the table.

He brushed her foot away and downed the rest of his drink. “Let’s go”, James said as he pulled her away from the bar and reached for the room key in her hand. They settled in for the evening while Marie looked over all the pamphlets she had picked up in the lobby. There was one for the Glass Window Bridge which she now focused on. “Is this as breathtaking as it looks?”. James assured her that it was.

The following morning, they drove out to the Glass Window Bridge and got out of the car to explore a little. James took Marie to the point where you could see the Atlantic on one side of the rocks and the blue waters of Eleuthera on the other. “Isn’t this something?”, James asked. Marie was just standing there taking in the beauty of this place. The sound of waves crashing against the rocks was mezmerizing. James asked the question she never knew she hadn’t ever wanted to hear. “Don’t you ever wonder what really happened to Jeanne?” “Jeanne, your first wife? I thought she fell while you were rock climbing”, Marie pointed out. “Ya, well she slipped and I could have caught her, but I needed her money.” Jeanne had fallen to her death and it had been ruled accidental and up to now, only James knew better.

Marie now looked at James as the first tear slid silently down her face. The wave that washed her away was sudden and Marie never saw it coming. James had taken several steps away out of the range of the rogue wave. She floundered in the water for a moment and then was gone. James watched her disappear and said out loud “Daddy was right”.