Lost and Found: A Stranded in Paradise Romance

After Jenny's terrifying encounter with the shark, she wanted to rest for a while, and I volunteered to take the next watch atop the mountain. It hardly seemed necessary to keep a lookout with both of us settling in to our happy life on the island, but Jenny still wanted to let her family know she was alright. We felt an undeniable attraction to one another and I wondered how we'd reconcile our separate lives once we returned to the mainland. We both had marriages we'd have to untangle and then there was the complication of Jenny's children.

As a child of divorced parents myself, I knew how traumatic it could be when the relationship disintegrated and how difficult it was for the children to accept a substitute partner in the household. I'd experienced the problem firsthand when I briefly dated a divorced woman, and her children made it abundantly clear that I wasn't welcome in the family unit. But Jenny's children were older and one of them was already living away from home. Even if I had to wait for her other child to graduate high school, I'd be willing to make certain sacrifices for the sake of keeping us together.

Get a grip, man, I thought to myself, shaking my head at my half-baked plans. Who's to say she'll even leave her husband when she returns to San Francisco? And even if she does, how long will she be willing to put up with my constant business travel? It's not like we can just quit our jobs and leave everything behind to live like hermits on this deserted island for the rest of our lives. Once the genie is out of the bottle, there'll be no putting it back.

"Jesus, Dylan," I said out loud. "You're planning your entire future, and you've only known this woman for a little over a week! Who knows what she'll be like once you return to the real world? It's easy to fall in love with someone you're alone with in this idyllic fantasyland. But it'll be a whole different story when you need to balance the demands of two high-pressure jobs, two households, and two jealous children."

But somehow, none of that mattered to me. Being stranded on the island with Jenny had opened my eyes to a whole new world of possibilities, one where the size of my bank account and the brand of my car was no longer relevant. The only thing that mattered was being with someone who made my heart soar, my stomach ache, and my skin tingle whenever I thought about her. I had to do whatever it took to find a way to stay with her.

While I gazed out over the shimmering seascape, something caught my eye and I squinted, noticing a dark object moving over the horizon. I jumped up and held my hand over my brow, trying to focus through the haze, then my eyes suddenly widened, realizing it was a ship. A large freighter was passing far in the distance, completely oblivious to the presence of two castaways on this tiny dot in the middle of the ocean.

I paused for a moment then I peered down next to the fire pit, glancing at the pile of vegetation we'd stockpiled precisely for this reason. The green leaves would create a thicker smoke, and if I staggered the piling of the branches, I could produce a type of SOS signal. I leaned down and tossed a handful of branches onto the fire, and the flame suddenly swelled, sending a thick plume of black smoke into the sky. I peered out at the ship, realizing it would take a miracle for them to see us from so far away, then I picked up the flare gun, pointing it high over my head in the direction of the vessel.

But as I was about to pull the trigger, I felt my heart pounding in my chest and my breath catching in my throat. I knew that if they saw the flare, they'd send a search party to investigate and when they found Jenny and me on the island, that would be the end of our little adventure. I shifted behind a tree, hoping they hadn't seen me through their binoculars, and lowered the gun to my side, watching the ship slowly inch out of sight.

But as soon as it was gone, I instantly regretted my decision. Not so much because I wanted the two of us to be saved, but because I knew Jenny would be furious that I didn't keep my promise. And because I knew I couldn't live with myself for denying her the opportunity to finally get off the island. There were no guarantees that another ship would pass by this close again. I'd acted selfishly wanting her all to myself, and now I wouldn't even be able to enjoy that because I'd be forever more racked with guilt. I flopped down next to the fire and wrapped my arms around my knees, burying my head in my chest and rocking back and forth, trying to take my mind off what I'd done.

* * *

About an hour later, Jenny returned from her nap in the treehouse and saddled up next to me, resting her head on my shoulder.

"How goes the search?" she said, smiling up into my etched face. "Any sign of activity out there?"

"Still nothing," I lied, afraid to reveal how I'd betrayed her.

She paused for a moment, noticing the shorter pile of leaves sitting next to the fire.

"The smoke pile seems smaller than usual," she said. "Are you sure you didn't see anything?"

"I thought for a minute I saw something in the distance," I nodded, swallowing hard. "But it was just my mind playing tricks on me. Everything's so hazy out there, I think sometimes I'm just imagining what I want to see."

"Did you send the smoke signals like we rehearsed?" she said, peering at the charred branches sticking out from the side of the fire.

"Yes, but the mirage only lasted for a few seconds."

"What about the flare gun?" she said, noticing the pistol lying on the ground next to me.

"I didn't want to waste our only cartridge on an illusion," I said. "We'll only have one chance to use it, and I wanted to save it for something real. I'm sorry baby, I know how eager you are to get out of here."

"It's okay," Jenny said, threading her arms around my waist and holding me tightly. "They can't leave us here forever. We still have a few more weeks before they give up the search. We can always try the lifeboat if all else fails."

"Yeah," I said, forcing a smile. "We'll get out of here, one way or the other. Are you hungry? Do you want me to catch some more fish while you take the next watch?"

"That would be lovely," she said, kissing me on the cheek. "Just make sure you don't get eaten by any sharks."

"I'll try not to," I said, standing up and grabbing my spear.

"Before you go," she said, clutching my hand. "In which direction did you see this mirage? Just in case it was something else, I want to make sure I'm looking the right way. Maybe it was a commercial shipping lane or something."

"Of course," I said, pointing my arm in the opposite direction of the passing freighter. "Whatever it was, it seemed to be coming from the northeast."

"Got it," she smiled. "Don't be too long. I'm starting to get hungry for something besides food."

"Save that thought," I nodded, feeling a new sensation in the pit of my stomach. "I'll be back in a flash."