Rebecca Winters: The Tycoon's Proposition

The woman stood there wearing Richard’s yellow robe, looking very pretty and very pregnant.

“BUENOS tardes.” Terri spoke first. “Habla Ingles?”

The other woman shook her head without the slightest hint of welcome in her expression.

At this point Terri had only her two years of Spanish to rely on. “Por favor, donde esta Richard?” Heavens! It had been so long since high school, she couldn’t remember if she was supposed to use Estar or Ser.

The woman responded too fast. Terri couldn’t follow.

She tried again. “Quiero hablar con Richard.”

There was another spate of unintelligible words before the woman shut the door in Terri’s face.

If Richard had been inside, Terri was positive he would have come out to see what was going on.

The fact that his lover seemed to be angry rather than in despair, led Terri to believe Richard had to be all right. In fact, the fiery woman was probably expecting him home later in the day and couldn’t believe some strange American woman had appeared at the door unannounced and unwanted.

Only jealousy could have prompted her to behave in such a rude manner. It was more than possible Richard had never told this woman about Terri. Certainly he’d never expected to see his ex-wife again. Especially not down here in Guayaquil, which was about as far from Lead, South Dakota, as you could get.

Terri hurried back to the taxi and they left for the city. En route she asked the driver to drop her off at an upscale department store near the San Lorenzo Hospital. She needed to make a few purchases.

Assuming for the moment Richard was out of danger, Terri’s thoughts converged on the stranger who’d been lying in a hospital bed since he’d been rescued. The painful desperation in his beautiful gray eyes would haunt her for a long time to come.

How frightening it must have been to wake up in an unfamiliar place, unable to talk while everyone around him thought he was someone else!

He probably had a wife who was out of her mind with grief because he was missing. Until a relative or friend came to claim him, Terri would stay with him and encourage him to get better. It was the least she could do.

An hour and a half later she rushed inside the hospital with her arms loaded. After taking the elevator, she hurried down the hall of his floor where various helpers were serving dinner to the patients who could eat.

She stopped at the nursing station long enough to be offered a tray of food for herself, then she breezed into his room with her packages.

“Hi!” she called out in a soft voice, not wanting to jar him. As he lifted his left hand in greeting, her dinner arrived. She put everything down on the floor, then reached for the tray and drew the chair next to him so she could be seated.

“I was gone a lot longer than I’d intended. First off I went to the police station and explained the situation. Then I took a taxi to the Herrick office. I’ve been so busy I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast. Now I’m starving.

“I hope you don’t mind my eating in front of you. If the smell makes you nauseous, put up your hand and I’ll eat out in the hall.”

He made no gesture, so she had to believe it was all right.

“Earlier when you told me you knew where Richard was, I asked the receptionist at the Herrick office to give me his address. It took a little doing, but she finally complied. From there I took another taxi out to his apartment to see if he was there, and found a woman in residence. Judging by her pregnant condition, it seems Richard’s been living with her for a long time.”

More indecipherable sounds came out of the stranger.

“She wasn’t in the least happy to see me at the door. I tried out my Spanish on her, but she spoke too fast for me to understand. Later I’ll try to get in touch with Richard through someone at the office who knows him personally. In the meantime, I’m anxious to help you in any way I can.”

The chicken and beans tasted good. So did the fruit juice which was an interesting blend of peach and something else, maybe mango.

After she’d drained the glass she said, “There’s a Captain Ortiz at the police station who’s working on your case. He hadn’t heard of any accident at sea. However with the information I’ve given him, he said he’ll come up with some answers soon and hopefully find out who you are.

“If we don’t hear from him in the next few hours, I’ll call him before I leave. In case there’s no news, I have an idea.

“Since the doctor said they’d be removing the bandages on your hands in the morning, maybe with my help you could write your name or your home phone number on a piece of paper. That is, if it doesn’t hurt too much.

“Depending on your mobility, you might even be able to write down a word that will tell me Richard’s location. One way or another we’ll unravel this mystery.”

She finished the rest of her chicken, then put the tray over on the table. Eager to do something to bring a little pleasure to the man who’d been through so much suffering, she turned to him.

“Now that I’ve eaten, I’ll give your legs that massage you’ve been waiting for.”

Not expecting an answer from the stranger, she picked up the lotion and walked over to the bed.

After squeezing lotion up and down his left leg, she began to rub it in. “When I was in junior high, we once read The Invisible Man for Halloween. That’s a holiday in the States, in case you haven’t heard of it. The children dress up in costumes and go door to door asking for candy.

“Anyway, there was this scientist who’d made himself invisible. He wrapped himself in bandages so it would outline his body. But sometimes a dog or a cat would chase after him in the streets and pull the bandages away. People would scream in terror when they couldn’t see anything underneath.

“It was a really fascinating concept. Of course I love science fiction of all kinds, so the story captured my attention right off. Anyway, when I walked in this room yesterday and saw you, I was reminded of that story.

“Thank goodness when I looked in your eyes this morning, I saw life there staring back at me,” she teased. “You’re kind of a cross between him and The Mummy.

“Maybe you don’t know about this old movie. It concerns a guard of the Pharaoh who dared to love his Egyptian queen. For his punishment the other guards turned him into a living mummy. It still gives me chills just thinking about it.”

A faint noise came out of him. It could mean most anything.

“If your feet are ticklish, I’m sorry. I’ll try not to drive you crazy.”

When she’d finished with one leg, she moved around the end of the bed and started on the other. Strange how it felt so natural doing this small service for a total stranger. The darkness of the room with just the two of them added a certain intimacy, which she enjoyed.

In truth it was much easier than if it had been Richard lying here. Too much unhappy history had passed between them to have made it an enjoyable experience.

“Do you know? I haven’t the faintest idea of your nationality. Obviously you understand English, but you could be from so many different countries besides Ecuador, your predicament has fueled my imagination.

“You’ve probably never been to South Dakota. That’s where I live in the States. A small town called Lead, gateway to the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore. Fresh out of college with an English degree, I started working for the local chamber of commerce.

“In the beginning it was only supposed to be a temporary job until I found a good teaching position. However the work became so interesting to me, I’ve been with them ever since.