Distant Thunder

         The sun cast a soft orange glow that danced off the waves. Rick turned the radio on, and settled down for the evening, he had just finished a long day at work, topped off with the most horrid drive across town. The soft sound of classic country drifted from the cabin of the sail boat, and seemed to blend unabated with the lapping of the waves against the hull of 'Princess Amy'.
         The cell phone rang, shattering the serenity. Rick dashed down the steps of the cabin, grabbing the receiver just as the voice mail started to pick up.
         "So, are you coming over or not?" the voice asked. It was the ex, she never really gave up.
         "I don't think so, I have had a really rough day besides, I think we need some time apart."
         " Just because we are no longer together does not mean that we can't go out."
         " I am just going to stay here and rest."
         " Whatever."
         'Why can't she just get over it,' Rick thought to himself. He hung the phone up, and returned to the deck, and watched the golden orb slip behind the horizon. The stars began to emerge and city lights began to stretch across the waves. The reflections looked like fire flies floating on the waves. A warm tropical breeze blew across the bow of the boat, and caressed Ricks bare feet. He stood up and walked toward the hammock that was tied between the mast and the the cabin. It appeared to be a night for sleeping under the stars, lucky enough tomorrow was Saturday, and work was two days off. He sat down on the side of the hammock, leaned back and lifted his tired feet up on to the braided rope of the hammock. Sliding the pillow underneath his head he felt his eyelids began to get heavy. Rick lay there, listening to the sound of the waves, intertwined with the drums from the music, and slowly drifted off to sleep.
         Night turned to day and the sound of seagulls woke him from an enjoyable slumber. The morning sun was barely above the horizon Rick stood and stretched against the mast, feeling every muscle come alive as oxygen and blood rushed in. He stepped into the cabin and looked around, man what a mess he had left this place in last night. He knew that he had to clean it up, or he would not be able to live with himself. He started in the galley, cleaning the two plates, and couple of eating utensils. He dried them put them away, and then started to clean the common area, then the sleeping quarters, finally the latrine. After he finished he returned to the sleeping quarters, and searched for something to wear for the day. He settled on the eighties stone washed levi's, and a plain white tee shirt.
         After he showered, and cleaned himself up, Rick got dressed and headed out the door. As he stepped up the stairs he checked one more time to make sure that he did not forget anything. He closed the hatch, locked it and turned his attention to getting off the boat. Just as he stepped of the deck, and onto the dock, a girl caught his attention. She was beautiful, dark brown hair, golden skin, and a smile that seemed to light up the morning sky. He started up the dock and reached the the gate just in time to see her get into a small truck and drive away. He could have kicked himself, he did not even think of getting the license plate number.
         Rick walked over to the car, and noticed a small piece of paper stuck behind the windshield wiper.
         'Man what rule have I violated now,' Rick thougt out loud, as he unfolded the paper.
         'Just thought I would let you know that I noticed you looking at me, sorry you couldn't keep up, better luck next time.'
         Rick felt the smile on his face grow enormous. She had seen him, but why had she not spoken, and how did she know what he drove?
         Rick slid the note into his pocket, opened the door, and pulled the trunk release. Locking the door as he closed it, he headed for the trunk of the car. His motorcycle helmet and jacket were there, and he had decided that today seemed like a nice day for a ride.
         The motorcycle hummed beneath him as the wind blew across his skin, it always felt good to get away for a while. He rode into the country side, up into wine country. The local vineyards were a very relaxing place, besides he was part of the family. The road twisted and turned as it meandered up the hillside. 1500 ft above the Napa Valley floor, was the pride of the Antinori family, The Atlas Peak Vineyards, a winery famous for its many wines. Rick stopped at the gate, and peered inside the gaurd shack.
         " Good afternoon Bob."
         " Oh, excuse me Mr. Antinori, I was emersed in my daily activity reports that I did not even notice you arrive."
         " Bob, please call me Rick, Mr Antinori sounds so formal."
         "Yes sir, Sorry."
         Bob pressed the gate button, and the large iron gates started their slow, backwards journey with a groan. As soon as the gates had parted enough that he could pass Rick eased the motorcycle through and up to the large Tuscan style building. He loved the look, it reminded him of the trips he had taken to Tuscany to gather the best wine seeds. He stepped to the top of the stairs, skirted the front door, and strolled into the vineyard. The large vines formed a canopy of stems and giant grape leaves above his head, large drops of moisture sprayed tiny rainbows on the golden sand as the large purple orbs dangled over head. Rick reached up and gently plucked a few of the engorged fruit from the vine, and popped them into his mouth. As his teeth pierced the delicate flesh of the fruit a wave of warm, sweet juices burst forth onto his eagerly awaiting taste buds.
          He walked a ways further, turning the leaves as a he walked, checking for insects, infections, or disease.
         "Can't help but to check can you?"
         "You know what they say, you never really leave. How's mom?"
         "Worried."
         "About what," Rick asked as he plucked a lady bug from one of the leaves. Its orange wings flittered, and the little bug crawled over his hand.
         " You, Ann called last night, and said that she has had enough, and would no longer be around."
         "Good."
         "Maybe for you, but it will put the company in a bind? You know she is going to be impossible to replace." Harry said, kicking at the dirt.
         " Look at you, acting like a child sulking because he parents said that he had to get rid of his favorite toy. If it will help at all, I will take care of finding her replacement."
         Rick and his father walked on for a while, and both agreed that Rick would be responsible for the new hire.
         "So, why don't you come back? You have always been the so good at knowing when the grapes are ready."
         " Dad, I love this place, but to work here would take the fun out of all of it. I enjoy what I am doing. Speaking of enjoying things, I hope you enjoy getting wet."
         As Rick finished his sentence, the high pressure sprinklers kicked on, and the spray drenched both of them. Harry made a run for the end of the row, where the covered walkway was.
         " You know that was going to happen, why didn't you warn me?"
         " You looked as if you could use a little cooling down."
         Harry walked away grumbling, soaked and little worse for wear, but unharmed except for maybe his pride.
         Rick walked down the covered path way, and made his way to the cafe. He had always loved the little cafe, the had the best Chicken Carbonara. He walked on to the terrace, and took a seat. He stared out at the vineyard and watched the irrication system dance across the canopy of grape vines, lost in a world of thought.
         Rick was so deep in thought that he was unaware of the waitress, only by chance did he see a shadow on the deck. He turned to place his order, only to be caught at a loss for words.
         "Sorry for interrupting your day dream Mr. Antinori, but I was wondering if you would like some water?"
         Rick was staring into those beautiful toffee brown eyes. He now knew how she had known so much about him.
         "Water would be fine."
         "would you like it in a glass or shall I just hose you down again?"
         "A glass would be nice, I think I had my daily shower." He tried to play it, but the pit of his stomach was shaking uncontrollably. It might have been the coolness of the clothing against his skin, or the closeness of her.
         'My God, I don't even know her name,'he thought. Rick let his gaze break, simply to see if he could find a name tag, or a doodle with her name, but turned up nothing.
         "You are not going to find my name that easy. I figured that you would know by know, or at least remembered." The girl smiled, her nose wrinkling just a little, and those dimples, they made her look like an angel.As she walked away he noticed that she had a habit of chewing on the end of her pen. Her hair was a dark brown, almost the color of milk chocolate and reached the middle ofher back, the curls whipped with each step, something about her made him feel like a teenager again.
         A few minutes passed and the girl returned with his water,she sat the glass on the table and smiled.
         "Would you like a menu, or do you just want the Chicken Carbonara?"
         Rick stared at her, lost at her knowledge, and still not sure who she was. Thoughts of past girlfriends danced through his mind, followed by girls he had met whiel out partying, but nothing seemed to ring a bell.
         "I can see that you are still thinking, so I give you a few more minutes."
         "No, I'll have chicken. But I have to know, how do you know so much about me?"
         She smiled slyly, and winked at him.
         "That is for me to know and you to find out."
         She walked away, and he could tell that she was enjoying his agony. The meal arrived shortly, and the rest of the lunch passed without anymore being said. But that did not change the fact that he would continue think about her. Rick finished he meal, paid the bill and walked around to the front of the building. He slipped the jacket on, grabbed the helmet and started to put it on. Only to find another note stuffed into it.
         the note read,'I get off at 8, if by then you still have not figured it out, come back and I will tell you my name.' He flipped the note over and glanced at the back, no signature, nothing.
         Rick pondered the question on the way home, 'What is her name?' The sun was hovering precariously above the horizon, almost as if mother nature herself wanted to give him extra time. As he coast the motorcycle into the parking spot his mind wandered between the many girls he had been out with, but none of the names seemed to fit her face. He slid the cover over, fastened the tie down strap, and walked slowly to the boat. The Princess rocked and swayed gently under his feet, making his mind drift to the notion that a nap might be just what he needed. Rick tossed his keys into the tray on the counter, and meandered to the sleeping cabin, his mind still filled with names and faces. As he lay on the bed about to drift off to sleep, her face popped into his mind. They were sitting on a plane, and in an instant he remebered her name, Chandra. They had met on one of his trips to Tuscany. She was a quite shy thing with an urge to probe for information. Aty first he thought it to be nosy, but eventually discovered that it was a cover for her fear of flying.
         The alarm screamed loudly, Rick opened his sleep filled eyes, and looked up. The morning sun was peeking through the cabin windows.
         'Crap,' he thought 'I missed her.'
         He grabbed the phone, dialed the number to the vineyard, and waited for the receptionist to answer.
         "Good morning, Atlas Peak Vineyards, how may I direct your call?"
         "Alice, this is Rick."
         "Oh, good morning Mr. Antinori, Your father is not in yet."
         "That is okay, I need you to transfer this call to the cafe, please."
         "Certainly, please hold."
         Rick felt as though he were holding his breath. Waiting anxiously, till the music clicked off, and a voice came on.
         "Good Morning Atlas Peak Cafe."
         "Who am I speaking to please?"
         "This is Rachel, who do want to speak to?"
         "Rachel, this Rick Antinori, is Chandra working this morning?"
         "No, it is her day off."
         "Great, do you have her number I need to speak with her?"
         "Yes, but she said not to give it to you, after all you did stand her up last night."
         "Yes, but it was all accidental. I came home, set the alarm for what I thought was 7 pm, and turned out to be 7 am, but why am I explaining this to you?"
         Rick hung up the phone, and thought, trying to figure a way to get Chandra phone number.He was not sure of her last name, so that would not be much help with information.
         'Hey I can get it off her work file.'
         Rick dialed the vineyard number again, and Alice picked up. He went throught the whole spill about what was going on and how he desperately needed to get her number and call to apologize. Apparently he plead his case to the right person, because Alice returned shortly and gave him the number. Rick thanked her several times over and hung up.
         Chandra looked at the clock, 8:15am,'God I have so much to do today.'
         She forced herself to get out of bed, and into the shower. The warm water felt good, she could feel the muscles in her body starting the wake up. They seemed to all want to stretch at the same time, she stretched her zrms toward the ceiling, interlocking her fingers and flexing every muscle from head to toe to its' max. She finished her shower, turned the water off, and stepped out.
         'Was that the phone,' she thought, straining to listen. No, her mind always plays tricks on her in the bath room, even if it was, they would call back if it was important, or leave a message. Chandra dried off, put on a pair of grey sweat pants, a blue tee shirt, and started to go overr everything she had to do. She gathered her purse, found her keys, and headed for the door. As she reached the door, she turned to look at the small apartment, and ,make sure that everything was in its' place. She scanned the room, and noticed that the answering machine was flashing. At first she thought just forget it, I will check it later. Then she realized that she had forgotten her hat, with the hair day she was having the only cure was a hat. As she walked into the bedroom, she pushed the play button on the answering machine.
         " Hi this is Rick, I hate these things so I will make it short, I called to apologize, and see if maybe we could meet later for lunch or dinner or something. Nothing fancy of course, anyways, call me back."
         She could not believe it, he actually remembered her name. She had been so thrilled at the fact that he figured it out, that she missed the number, so she rewound the machine and wrote the number down. She dashed out the door, now things had to get done.
         Chandra Rushed around trying to get all of her errands done so that she would have time to get ready. She knew that groceries were a priority, she had been putting them off for nearly two weeks now, and the refrigerator was empty. Thank God for the corner market, she would have time to do the groceries on the way to the apartment, but first, the bank.
         Chandra stepped through the door of the large concrete building, and intot he coolness of the A/C. The security guard smiled as always, and Chandra returned the gesture, only this time it was an honest smile. Not one that was just pasted on. The lines seemed to be frozen in time, one person at a time would move, but it always seemed that that person had a large list of things to do than the person before them. Chandra felt like screaming,'God would you people just hurry up, others do have a life here you know.' But she knew that would not halp anything. Inside she could feel her mind screaming, ranting and raving, like a little kid waiting in line at the ice cream store. Finally she made it to the next open teller, and in an instant completed her transaction, now the only thing left was groceries.
         Chandra could do nothing more than wait for the light to turn green, the engine to the Pontiac seemed to be racing as fast as her heart. She could feel the anticpation growing as the traffic been to make its slow crawl through the intersection before picking up speed. She tried passing except that every time she got into the fast lane it slowed down. 'Murphy's Law she thought, anything that can go wrong does.' Finally, the sign marking the tiny corner market appeared up head on the right, Chandra made her way to the turning lane, and into the small parking lot. She knew this little store, it seemed, by heart. She could probably tell exactly where the bread was, and then tell you which fruit was the freshest. So it seemed surreal when she got inside, and found that she could not even find the bread.
         It seemed to take for ever, but finally the shopping was done and she was on her way home. Chandra glanced at her watch 6:15, she would call Rick as soon as she got home, hopefully that would not be too late. Chandra finally finished her errands, and zipped home as fast as she could. She was surprised to see Justin there, he had left several weeks ago in a huff, saying he never wanted to see her again.
         "What the hell are you doing here?"
         "I thought that since I am the only one that would ever love you, I had better come see you."
         "Where do you get off thinking that? I don't want to have anything to do with you. After you said that you don't love, and have never loved me, and that the only girl you had ever loved was not me, you think that I am just going to let you walk back into my life?"
         "You know that I am the only one that will love a person like you, and without me you be nothing but lonely."
         "Don't even try it, I want you to leave, or I will call the police."
         "Go ahead, it is your word against mine."
         "Chandra are you okay?"
          Chandra looked up at the window of the apartment, it was Lindsey, her neighbor.
         " No Lindsey, could please call the police, I think that I am going to need them>"
         Chandra watched Lindsey duck back inthe window, Lindsey knew the drill, she would set inside a few minutes then look out and ask Chandra her social security number for the complaint that would never be filed because she never dialed the phone.
         Justin started for the pick-up, and then turned.
         " I'll be back, you hacen't seen the last of me you bitch," he said slamming the truck door.
         The truck speed off, Lindsey looked otu again, Chandra was on her knees. Tears falling like rain drops on the warm pavement.
         Chandra sat and cried for a while, then began to slowly pull her self together, and finish taking the groceries in. Lindsey met her in the hall, and gave her a hand.
         "Why don't you have arestraining order put on the asshole?"
         "Because it would only make him that much more mad. I can't deal with him as it is, how do you think I would be after that?"
         Lindsey nodded in agreement, so she sat the bags on the kitchen table and started fof the door.
         "You know I am scared that one of these days he will seriously hurt you?"
         "I know, and thanks for the help."
         Chandra waited for the door to close then collpased on the kitchen floor. Tears streamed down her face, and her body sobbed uncontrollably. He had ruined the night she had been so excited about this morning. Finally she stood and forced herslf tothe phone, she had to at least call Rick and tell him that she could not make it. She slowly dialed the phone, her stomach jittering and shaking so hard that her voice came in either sobs or shaky unsteady tones.
         The phone rang twice, and then a voice picked up, the answering service, at least she would not have to explain in person. She left her meassage saying,' i am sorry, but today sjust doesn't seem to be a good day for her maybe some other time.' Chandra did not like to let people in on her feelings, but Rick just seemed to know how to get her wanting to blurt out everything. She went about putting the groceries in the cabinets, and settling down for the night. She tried to convince her self that it would be better to go out and try to get todays events off her mind, but all she would do would be drink, and dwell on it.The sad part was she was a cheap drunk, after her second bottle, she would be really drunk. The night passed quickly, and Day found Chandra asleep on the couch. She Quickly jumped up, she had forgot to set the alarm, and now had to rush to make it to work.
         Chandra jumped from the shower, dried off, fixed her hair, and finished up her make up.
         'That will have to do,' she tought as she bolted for the door. Halfway to the door the phone rang, she glanced back, then continued out the door, she faintly heard the answering machine pick up, she would see who it was later.
         Chandra's next days flew by, she was actually looking forward to her days off. She had made plans with Lindsey to visit the lounge at the casino, maybe she would see Rick.
         Thursday morning came and once again Jusitn was at her door step. 'God, not again.' She thought, he seemed to ruin every plan she made. She walked down to the stoop, and stood on the top step.
         "What!"
         "I told you had not seen the last of me. I thought that maybe we could talk."
         "About what, you made it perfectly clear that you did not have any reason to stick around. I don't need that kind of shit in my life. Go back to your little girlfriend, and tell her that if I ever find out who she is, I will drag her scrawny ass out of wher eever she is and beat the holy hellout of her."
         Justin started up the stairs, fists clenched, anger boiling in his every move. He reached the top step before Chandra could react, and grabbed her. He pushed her against the hard concrete wall, got right in her face, and clenched his teeth so hard that Chandra could hear them squeak.
         " You just remember, you did this to yourself, and you will be sorry." Justin let go of her arm, and Chandra shoved him.
         "Don't you ever ut your hands on me again."
         Justin staggered backwards, stopping just before the steps. He looked up and saw Lindsey leaning out of the window with the telephone to her ear. He knew that she had phoned the police, and that they would there in a few minutes. He turned got in the pick-up, and sped away. Chandra, still mad, jumped from the stoop, and picked up a rock from beside the curb and lunged it after the truck, but the truck was way out of distance. Lindsey hollered down, and Chandra turned to see two police cruisers rounding the corner.
         The rest of the morning was filled with police reports, and questions. Her family showed up, seemingly on at a time. Chandra just did not want to deal with it, and her anger lashed out. She yelled at her mother and father, her brothers, and even her sisters. Afterwards she felt bad, and called her mom to apologize. Dad would understand, but she was not so sure about mom.
         A knock came to her door, and Chandra dreaded opening it, she did not want to face whoever was on the other side. But reluctantly she opened it, Lindsey stood on the other side.
         "Okay girl, we have to get you dressed, I am not going to let you set around here and mope."
         "Lindsey, I really don't think this is a good idea."
         "Oh hell no, you and I are going out tonight and we are going to completely forget about this day."
         It took some time, but Chandra finally gave in, and got dressed. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, that way it was easy to fix, and would be out of the way. She could not decide what to wear, and Lindsey pulled a pair of Blue jeans, and a pink shirt out of the closet.
         "Girl we aren't going to impress, we're going to forget."
          The two strolled out of the apartment, and got into Chandra car. The night was early, around 7:30 and still had plenty of time to froget todays events.
         They arrived at the casino, parked on the sid enearest to the lounge, that way it would not be so hard to remember where they parked. As they entered, the sound of the games almost deafening, but after a few minutes they adjusted, and then went into the lounge. The band was a local country band, so cowboy hats could be seen every where. Chandra felt a little more comfortable knowing that at least she would be able to dance. She loved dancing to country, at least with the right man.