Whispers of Goodbye part 2

Samuel and Morgan saw Eve and Linda embracing one another. They did not have to guess what the conversation had been. Samuel knew, even before he spoke, Morgan was going to shred the moment. Friends since 1st grade and business partners for 15 years, Samuel knew his life-long friend all too well. Opposites in every way, Samuel was tall, with a head full of cold black hair and eyes that whispered to every woman that looked in to them. His exterior was as intoxicating as his inside. He always had a kind word and a smile. His gift of navigating by the sky and the ability to find fish any-where was his part of the business. He was a gentle giant and had befriended Morgan while fighting off several "bullies" in grade school. Only Samuel's love for Eve was greater than his love of the sea.

Morgan was everything Samuel was not. A few inches shorter than Samuel and light brown hair, he was merely average in looks. His contribution to the business was his savvy for money matters. He could stir up ten thousand dollars from baren banking ground and turn it into ten times that amount, nearly over night. His loud, aggressive arrogance covered the lack of character that he wished he had. He would spit out foul or harsh words as if people were going to enjoy them. He met Linda less than a year after graduating, who fully believed you should marry for money and that love would come later. He was alright with that as long as she tolerated his need to feel important. She would always be near him as long a the money was good. It seemed to work for them well enough to have made a child together.

"Hey buddy, if we could find a way to hook those two up, we could have ourselves a really good time."

Samuel stopped and stared at Morgan. Unspoken words told Morgan he was going some-where that he should not. Samuel shook his head in disgust. If not for Eve and Linda's friendship, Samuel might have left the business after the children disappeared.

"She comes out here a lot, Sammy. Linda says she is here when we are out with clients."

"I know she is, Morgan. She still believes that the children are out there, waiting to be found."

"Do you believe that? No one saw a boat, Sammy. She is the only one that saw it. Do you think someone came to the beach and snatched our kids, right out from under our noses?"

"What I think is irrelevant, Morg. Eve believes it and until she is proven right or wrong, this is our life. The babies bodies were never found and she had those calls from someone claiming to have seen the little ones."

"A freak, Sammy. Some cruel bastard that read about the incident in the paper and decided to be cruel. That was all it was. You know that, right? It's been three years now and the kids would be seven years old. Don't you think that someone, somewhere would have seen them?"

Samuel walked towards Eve and Linda, no answer spoken. They reached the ladies and Samuel hugged Eve to his chest. She cried softly as his arms held her closer. She looked up into his eyes and gave a gentle smile. He knew what her beautiful eyes were asking of him. He had been in love with Eve since junior high and the day they married was Samuel's most precious memory. Her dark hair, tinted with streaks of red, reaching down to touch her lower back accentuated the sensual eyes that stared at him. He believed that he fell madly in love with her over and over, every single time he looked at her. She asked for very little and he would deny her nothing, ever.

"Tell me again, Eve, what happened that night."

She kissed him and smiled again. "Thank you for that, Samuel. I love you. We all six were here for a cook-out. You and Morgan had gone to the lighthouse to finish some paper-work before we ate. Linda and I were here on the beach, watching baby Mikey and Lauren play in the sand. There was a loud sound, like a car backfiring, that came from behind the coral wall. It scared Linda and I and Linda said she was going to see what the noise was. I heard her scream so I ran to see what had happened. The babies were far enough from the water that I wasn't worried. They never, ever wandered towards the water."

"This is Not my fault, you know! I slipped. My leg got wedged between some coral and I could not get it out."

Eve looked at Linda, giving her a gentle smile. "Linda, you are not to blame at all. I should have brought the babies with me. When I was trying to pull your leg free, you fell backwards and hit your head. You were out cold and I was trying to wake you. That is when I heard little Mikey cry out. "Mommy, mommy" he kept yelling." Eve put her face in her hands and sobbed. Samuel rubbed her neck, trying to comfort her.

"If it is too much, Eve..."

"No Linda, I need to finish. I saw the boat, raising and lowering with the waves. Two men and a woman were in the boat. I saw Lauren and Mikey on the boat, the woman holding Mikey and one of the men holding Lauren. The babies had their arms stretched out, crying out to us. I left you where you fell, Linda, and ran down to the shore. I was calling out for you and Morgan, Samuel. I was begging you to save our babies. The boat was gone before you got to me. Linda, you had woke up and walked to me. I could still hear Mikey calling out to me, crying "Mommy", but it was like a whisper. And then, oh God, I heard him saying "Bye, bye, Mommy."

"Eve, Sweetheart, the police and the Coast Guard searched for days but they never found anything." Linda was now crying and Morgan simply stood by her, never once reaching out to touch her in any way. "They said the children must have been washed out to sea by a huge wave. That was it, Eve. The children were taken by the sea, not some men in a boat."

"You are wrong, Linda! I saw the boat... I saw the people and watched as they took our babies away! Damn you all, I know what I saw! I can still hear them calling for us. I can feel their warmth when the water touches me. And the man on the phone said they were alive! We can not ever give up looking for them. They need us to find them."

Samuel pulled her to him again. He kissed the tears from her eyes and held her. "My darling Eve, I don't know where to look or how to locate the boat. I wish I did and could, but I can't." The tears streamed down his face. "We will keep looking for them, Eve, I promise you that."

Eve touched her feet to the ocean. With her head held up, facing the sea, her hair blowing in the breeze, she listened to the waves. "We are coming to get you, babies. Please, feel my love."