Lost and Found: A Stranded in Paradise Romance

Reunited

After we changed into some fresh clothes and called our loved ones to tell them we were safe, I headed out to the rear deck of the ship to collect my thoughts. I clenched the guardrail tightly, watching the propeller wash of the ship trailing behind us like so many lost memories. By now, our pretty green-carpeted island had disappeared from view, replaced with an empty vista of cold blue sea. It was the perfect metaphor for how I was feeling, devoid of any emotion while we steamed toward our old lives in San Francisco.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Jenny said, suddenly appearing beside me and resting her elbows on the railing.

"Oh, nothing really," I said, peering at the sun setting over the horizon. "Just wondering what life will be like on the other side of the world."

"It almost feels like we're going to another planet," Jenny nodded, glancing at the churning wake. "It's definitely going to take some getting used to, after being sheltered from reality these past few weeks."

"Are you going to miss it?" I said.

Jenny paused for a long moment as she peered off into the distance.

"Dylan..." she said, placing her hand overtop of mine. "What we had was beautiful. But we knew it couldn't last. This world is far too small for us to hide away on a tiny island forever. There are other people who need us–"

"How are the kids?" I said, trying to change the subject. "Were they relieved to hear you're alive?"

"Of course," she nodded. "They'll be waiting for me when I arrive tomorrow at SFO."

"With your husband?"

"Yes," she said, pausing awkwardly. "Will Carol be waiting for you?"

"Hmm," I nodded.

We both peered out at the long wake trailing behind our vessel, reminding us of the thin contrails of the airliners dashing over the sky, high above our isolated island.

"So that's it then?" I said, turning to look at her. "We're just going to get on with our previous lives like nothing happened?"

Jenny glanced up at me and sighed.

"I can't do it to my children, Dylan," she said. "They'd be shattered."

"What about your husband?" I said, looking into her eyes for any sign of hesitation.

"I'm going to try to make it work," she nodded.

"For the sake of your children?"

"And him. It would be cruel to end everything after a–"

"Fling on a deserted island with some stranger you met on a plane?"

"It was so much more than that," Jenny said, turning around to face me with tears welling in her eyes. "You know that."

"You never told me that you love me."

"Dylan..." she choked, as tear drops began to stream down the front of her cheeks.

I pulled her toward me and kissed her passionately on the lips, and for a few delicious seconds, she melted into my arms and returned my gesture. But then she placed her hand between our bodies and slowly pushed me away.

"Please don't make this more difficult than it needs to be," she said.

"We can still make it work," I said, looking at her with a tortured face. "We can go slow at first. Meet at a hotel or some other remote location. Nobody needs to know what we're doing while we decide if we want to move forward together–"

"A hotel?" Jenny said, wrinkling her forehead in dismay. "Like two scoundrels cheating behind our partners' backs, then going home to share their same bed?"

"I'll do anything not to lose you," I said, clasping both of her hands tightly.

"Not like that," she said, pulling away. "That's no way for two people who love each other to live. Maybe a few years from now when both of my children are out of the house–"

"We both know that if we turn our backs now, it will never be the same again."

"Let's just savor what we had," Jenny said, tightening her jaw to fight back more tears. "It was beautiful and exhilarating. I'll never forget what you brought into my life."

"Can I at least have your phone number so I can stay in touch with you? It seems criminal to cut the cord like this."

Jenny paused for another long moment while her eyes darted over my face, then she pulled out her phone and tapped the screen, turning it toward me.

"You already have my Facebook ID," she said.

"Facebook?" I said, tilting my head at her incredulously. "You just want us to be Facebook friends?"

"You can message me if you want. But only while I'm at work. I don't want to stir things up at home."

"I'd rather cut the cord cleanly than have you only as a Facebook friend. It will just eat me up to be reminded of you and not be able to see you."

"I understand," Jenny nodded. "But I think with time it will be easier to let go. You'll get absorbed with your work and go off on your globe-trotting adventures and forget about this little distraction before you know it."

I peered at her sadly, feeling her drifting away from me like a collapsing star.

"For some of us a little faster than others, apparently."

* * *

When our ship docked at the nearest port in Tahiti, Jenny and I hastily booked the first flights back to San Francisco. We didn't even try to find seats next to one another this time, and the eight hour direct flight felt like the longest one of my life. All I could do while our plane droned over the wide expanse of open sea was stare out the window, dreading what I was returning home to. It wasn't just the discomfort of having to face my wife, knowing that I'd cheated on her while stranded on the island with Jenny. It was impossible to imagine resuming our previous relationship after falling head over heels for another woman. Not to mention the idea of fighting with rush-hour traffic to return to my boring five-days-a-week mining job.

When the plane landed at San Francisco airport and the passenger door opened to the jetway, I trailed Jenny a few paces behind through the bridge toward the boarding lounge. When she recognized her family waiting for her outside security, she waved at them and rushed into their waiting arms, clasping the three of them tightly. I was so focused on her homecoming reunion that I almost walked straight past Carol, who was waiting patiently for me on the other side of the gate.

"Thank God you're finally home," she said when I turned toward her, forcing a weak smile. "I could barely breathe waiting for your flight to land safely."

"Yes," I said, placing my arm around her waist and kissing her softly on the cheek. "It was a little less eventful than the outbound flight."

"You must be dying for some real food," she said, clasping my hand tightly and pulling me toward the exit doors. "Would you like to go out for dinner, or have a home-cooked meal?"

"Home sounds good," I nodded, glancing over my shoulder at Jenny's group walking a short distance away. "I could use a little loving after being left to my own devices for so long."

"It couldn't have been all bad," Carol said, noticing Jenny glancing in our direction. "You could have been stranded with some old fat guy instead of a hot blonde."

"It might have been easier that way," I said, brushing her hair softly. "But you know I prefer brunettes."

But as we passed through the terminal exit door toward the taxi stand, Jenny's eyes met mine briefly one last time before she ducked into a cab. The pounding heart in my chest knew it was a lie. There would never be anyone who could excite me the same way ever again.