My first piece of mail from her was a radiology image of what looked like a bean. The card accompanying the image said ‘Hi, Daddy’. I was going to be a dad and I prayed for the first time in my life that I’d be there when my child was born. And I was.
Days before Penny was due I got papers saying I was going home. To this day, I stand firmly behind the fact that I caused Penny to go into labor. I didn’t tell her I was coming home and since it was only a few of us returning, the surprise was easy to pull off. I knocked on the door of our on base housing—one she had to move into all by herself—and waited for her to answer. Her belly, plump and with my child growing inside of her, was the first thing I noticed. The squeal brought my eyes to my wife for the first time in eight months. The sheer panic that spread across her face seconds later literally brought me to my knees. Within hours of coming home, I was a dad to a beautiful baby girl.
I wipe away the trail of tears falling down my face. Muffled voices above me let me know everyone is awake, and it’s only a matter of time before I hear EJ running up and down the stairs, wondering if I’m awake.
The only thing my dream and early morning recollection of Penny have done for me is remind me I need to be back in San Diego. Where she disappeared to starts from there, not here, and while I appreciate that Marley is here, I can’t stop searching for my wife and daughter.
And I want my bike. Not that I know where to find it, but I’m going to look in the last place I left it.
As my bare feet touch the plush carpet I resign myself to having to tell my friends I’m leaving. Of course, I’ll have to borrow money for a bus ticket, but they know I’ll pay them back when I can.
The laughter upstairs is warming. When I reach the top, no one stops talking and they carry on like I’ve been awake with them all morning instead of sitting in bed remembering my wife.
“Breakfast is in the oven. Do you want me to make you a plate?” Ryley asks from the dining room table where everyone is sitting.
“No thanks, I can do it.”
I make my plate and take a seat next to EJ who is patting the chair.
“Wanna play hide-n-seek?”
“Maybe later, buddy.” EJ shrugs as if it’s no big deal that I don’t want to play. I do, though, because I love spending time with him. In my mind, my time with him is preparing me for when I see Claire, although boys and girls are vastly different. Plus, she’s much older.
Once EJ is done with breakfast, Ryley excuses herself to go give him a bath, leaving the rest of us at the table.
Nate and Cara are talking about going to the cemetery to visit his dad’s grave, and Evan is talking about heading to the gun range to shoot som
e of his guns. He wants to make sure they’re working. Rask says he wants to go with Evan.
“I think I’m going to head back to Coronado,” I blurt out, interrupting their conversations. It grows quiet and eight eyes turn toward me. I feel like I’m on the stand and just confessed to a crime that I didn’t commit.
“Why?” It’s Nate who asks and not Evan like I suspected him to.
“Yeah why? I thought you hired a private investigator here?” Rask inquires.
“I did, but I feel like I should be doing something to find Penny and being here isn’t where I need to start.”
“Where will you look that you haven’t already?” This time it’s Cara asking, and her question gives me a small bit of confidence in my desire to return to California.
“When I came back I looked in only the obvious places—housing, parks—and the PI’s I hired there said they didn’t find anything at any of the schools in the area. They also said the highway patrol cameras weren’t working that night, but I don’t believe them.”
“Why not?” she asks, pulling out a notepad from behind her. It’s like all Federal agents have a supply of notebooks in their back pocket.
“It’s too convenient. Those cameras are always working, it’s how the state makes their money, and for them to be suddenly down when she’s leaving? I don’t buy it. Not anymore after learning what I have.
“Also, the more I think about the other PIs, I realize they only asked if Claire was in school or if there was someone matching her description.
“Don’t you think your PI is doing that now?” Cara questions.
“I’m sure she is, but there’s one thing I need to check.” I take a deep breath. “Every time I deployed, regardless of how long, Penny would have my motorcycle put into storage. She didn’t want it to fall on Claire if she was to get into the garage and she didn’t want it damaged. So I’d leave and she’d call a tow company to come get it and take it to storage.”
“Where’s your bike now?” Rask inquires.
“I don’t know. Honestly, I forgot about it until this morning. It’s the last thing on my mind, but I’m wondering who the storage owner sold it to because if Penny is gone, she isn’t making the payment, right?”
They all nod, but don’t say anything as Ryley walks in.
“Why so quiet?” She moves to stand next to Evan, placing her arms around him. “You guys look like you’ve seen a ghost … or three of them at least.” She laughs at her own bad joke.