Part 381: Return to Sender

August 26th, 2006

Dutch turned down the long stretch of road and made it to the suburb entrance. It had been a month since he seen Hal for a long time so he was glad to hear he was throwing a cook out to celebrate the ending of the summer. He also knew a lot of the other survivors would be there. The surfer missed them too but not as much as he missed Karleigh. He often wondered if she thought about him.

Dutch pulled his Beemer into the corner of the driveway, where a ton of other cars were there already. The surfer stepped out and pulled out the bag of stuff, he was asked to bring. He slung the white plastic bag over his shoulder as he walked to the side of the two story house. Libby had been living with Hal ever since they came back from the Island. Dutch smiled as he could smell hamburgers and hot-dogs. He was hungry since he skipped breakfast so he hoped that everybody would get out of his way when it came time to eat. Hal was by the grill making sure the food was cooking to perfect. “You know,” the surfer laughed, “For a cop, you make one hell of a cook.”

“HEY, DUTCH!” Hal laughed, hugging his friend, “How you been, boy?”

“Just fine, Hal. It’s good to see you.” The surfer grinned, then sighed, “I should visit more often.”

“Oh, forget it, kid. You got those beautiful waves to look forward to every day. How is the fishing business by the way?”

“Not bad. Me and dad are helping out the China Town market especially. Even Jin comes by on Fridays to pick up fresh fish for the restaurant.”

“Excellent. I’m glad it’s all working out.” The cop then motioned to the other people, “Go say Hi to everybody and get yourself a beer.”

The surfer patted his friend on the back and proceeded to walk toward the backyard, overlooking the community lake. Amid the lawn chairs and patio furniture, sat a few of Dutch’s friends from the Island. Tony was sitting with his wife Marita and McKay was standing near them, sipping on a beer. Seth was talking with Flower and Andra, while Shannon and Sayid were laughing; placing old fashioned Horse Shoes. Taylor was sitting with Mandy and Alexander on a patio couch. Mandy was just leaning her head on the blonde young man by her side, wearing sunglasses. Before Dutch could say anything, he was greeted by a hug from behind. “Hey, Dutch,” Libby laughed.

“Libby,” he replied to the abrupt embrace, “How you been?”

“I am so glad you have come. Hal has missed you.”

“Seriously?” the surfer laughed, “I don’t think he would admit such a thing.”

“And lose his tough guy image? Of course, not,” Libby said, taking the cookies that he had brought.

“Hey, Libby . . .how . .how is Mandy?”

“Recovering.” The therapist smiled, “I’ve been seeing her on weekends. We’ve been talking and using hypnosis therapy. Its been difficult for her to come to grips with the loss of her daughter. But then again, any mother would be. I am just so glad she is no longer mad at Alexander.”

“Mad at . . .why would she be mad at him?”

“The kidnapping happened on a night when she and him finally declared their love for each other. She felt it was some sort of Karma punishing her for no longer mourning Boone. It took her a week to see how silly that was and they are back to loving each other again.”

“That’s good,” Dutch sighed.

“Speaking of loving each other, have you heard from Karliegh?” the therapist grinned.

“I was wondering when you were going to mention her,” the surfer smirked, “We talk on the phone once every two weeks. She sends post cards every few weeks like clock work. The pictures of New York are amazing.”

“Ever thought of going over there?”

“Yeah, I have. It would be cool to the see Central Park and maybe even check out the waves at Cape Cod and-“

“No, Dutch,” Libby said, crossing her arms, “have you ever thought of going over THERE?”

Dutch paused when he understood what she was getting at. He rubbed his cheek and scooted his left room back in the soft grass. “Libby, we’ve talked about this,” he sighed, “Her world is made of concrete, sky scrappers and cars. I got the ocean and fresh air. I don’t belong her world.”

“That’s funny. She said the exact same thing about you and California.”

“Huh?” he gasped, “Wha . ..WHEN did you talk to Karleigh?”

“I can still be a therapist over a phone, Dutch,” she said, handing him a beer,” She misses you. And I’ve never seen two more people in love. When will one of you make the sacrifice that could strength you both?”

“I ain’t ready to complicate my life, Libby,” he said, gulping the beer.

“What would be more simple than true love, Ian?” she smiled.

Dutch sighed; rarely did anybody call him by his birth name. He smiled at Libby, toasting her with the beer. He then proceeded to walk over to join the rest of the group. He smiled at Seth, making a silly face and making Flower and Andra laugh uncontrollably. The surfer smiled as he always did seem to have a way with the ladies. He waved to McKay as the Australian greeted him in passing. “What the hell made you trade in your truck, McKay?” Tony asked.

“Actually, it was Taylor,” he smiled, toasting his wife, “I was getting little bit homesick for the outback. Crazy as that sounds, so she convinced me to trade in the truck for a jeep.”

“And that helped?” Sayid laughed.

“Actually it did. I just have to keep the windows down.”

“Except when I am writing with him.” Taylor pointed, “You are not going to be stinky around me, mister.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He said, pretending to be meek.

The group got a good laugh out of the joke. The wind blew from the nearby small lake, caressing the group. A grouping of ducks could be heard in the distance. “Tony?” Mandy whispered.

The blind man tilted his head up, surprised to hear the young woman speak. In fact, it surprised most of them. “Yes, Mandy?” he inquired.

“How is your book coming?” she asked.

“Not too bad. I still have to talk to my agent to get to the thing edited.”

“You and Jilly should go on a book tour together.”

“That’s funny. She and I have actually talked about it.”

Mandy took a deep breath and then leaned her head toward Alexander. The young man could tell she was upset but he had not idea what brought it on. Tony was about to say something but Marita squeezed his arm. “Mandy, what’s wrong?” Taylor immediately asked.

“Those ducks,” she started to cry, “Bridgett . . .would always . .laugh at ducks.”

McKay took a deep breath. There was no way for it to be easy for Mandy to not see anything in her daily life that didn’t remind her of her lost daughter. Libby overhead what she said and immediately walked over. Alexander slowly helped the crying woman stand up. Libby suggested they take her inside so she didn’t have to hear the ducks. Hal walked over toward McKay looking at them as they led her up to his side entrance of his house. “Mandy okay?” he whispered.

“Sadly, Hal,” McKay finished his beer, “I honestly don’t think she’ll ever be okay.”

“Yes, she will,” the cop replied, “It’s going to take a long time but she will be okay.”

The Australian then caught himself; realizing that Hal was talking about his deceased son. He winced and rubbed his head. “Hal, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-“ he tried to say.

“Forget it. I know, man,” Hal said, not being insulted, “Listen, we’re running out of beers. There is a grocery store about 20 minutes up the road. You wanna go get us a reload?”

“Yeah, sure,” he said, putting the bottle down.

“I will accompany you.” Sayid said, standing up.

As the two friends started to walk away, Seth quickly jogged up to them. “Hey, guys,” he puffed, “You guys heading somewhere?”

“Yeah, we are heading to the grocery store to pickup some extra beverage,” the middle easterner replied.

“Perfect! Let me go with you. Andra, Flower and me were talking about Jelly Belly jelly beans and they never had any. So let me go with you to pick some up.”

“Okay. Sure, why not?” McKay agreed.


The ride to the grocery store was short. None of the men said anything to each other. McKay pulled his jeep into the parking lot and drove up to one of the empty slots in the middle. Seth kept his eyes on him the whole time. The Australian looked like he was sinking into a deep depression. Sayid stepped out of the passenger side door and then looked at McKay who wasn’t moving. “Are you not coming in?” he inquired.

“Naw, you . . .you get the beers. I’ll just wait out here.” He replied.

Seth patted him on the shoulder. The Australian looked at him and the young man smiled. “It will pass, McKay,” he assured him, “Hal is right. This pain will fade in time.”

“I know, Seth,” he whispered with a smile, “But I am still hoping for a miracle.”

Seth patted him on the shoulder again and jumped out with Sayid. They closed the passenger side door on the jeep and proceeded toward the entrance to the massive Food Lion grocery store. The establishment was busting with activity; typical for an earlier Saturday afternoon. A local boy scout trouble was trying to sell raffle tickets, while another group of people were giving away free puppies. Sayid walked in first as the sliding door gave with Seth in tow. The young man politely took the coupons from the old woman passing them out at the door.

Sayid proceeded to walk toward the alcohol isle. Seth eyed some Mikes Hard Lemonade and helped himself to some. “Hey, Sayid,” he got his friends attention, “How are things between you and Shannon?”

“They are wonderful,” he said, picking up a case in one hand and a case in the other, “She took was distraught by the loss of Bridgett but she was able to accept it and move on.”

“Unlike Mandy.” Seth sniffed, “I don’t see how . . .she’s been able . . .”.

“Bridgett was her daughter, Seth. What would you expect?”

“I wasn’t expecting her to accept it. I was just . . .pointing it out.”

“Now that you have pointed it out, lets go get these jelly beans you mentioned.”

The Middle Easterner turned abruptly and started to walk down the aisle. Seth took a deep breath and followed him. The two friends walked through the crowd of various housewives, frat boys and screaming kids. They made it toward the candy aisle and as Seth hoped, there was Jelly Belly dispensers of various flavors. Sayid paused as Seth put down the alcohol that he was carrying and grabbed a small plastic bag toward the right hand side. He opened up to one of the dispensers, allowing the candy to flow into it. The Iraqi looked at the selection and blinked with a slight confusion. “Popcorn jelly beans?” he whispered, “How insane.”

“I hear ya,” Seth chuckled, “I’ve only been able to tolerate the kiwi beans recently.”

“Indeed,” Sayid said, hoisting up the beer slightly, “Seth . .you have not mentioned Tanya your whole visit here, no why she did not join you. Is everything okay with her?”

Seth put more jelly beans in the bag and proceeded to get a twist tie to tie it up. Sayid was waiting for a reply but the young singer was not giving it to him. “Seth?” he pondered, “Tanya is okay, isn’t she?”

“Yeah, she’s fine. In fact . . .she’s pregnant.”

Sayid then coughed and nearly dropped one of the beer cases. He then started to laugh. “Seth, that is wonderful!” the Iraqi chuckled, “Congratulations.”

“Thanks, man,” Seth said, picking up the liquored lemonade.

Sayid immediately noticed that his younger friend did not seem happy about it. “Normal men would be happy about such a thing, my friend.” He mentioned.

“Oh, I am happy. In fact, I am beaming. It’s just . . .I wish I could tell everybody.”

“What? Why haven’t you?”

“Cause of Mandy, Sayid.”

Sayid closed his eyes and shook his head. “Ah.” He whispered, “You don’t want to share your happiness with Mandy because it will only remind her of her happiness that she lost.”

“You couldn’t have said it better.” Seth started to walk past him.

“I respect your decision, Seth. But this is not just about Mandy; it is about you and your wife. You deserve to have people fawn over your expecting child.”

“Maybe.” He said, trying to find a line that didn’t have many people in it.

“When we get back, you should tell her. Tell her that you want her to be happy for her. And that we’ll never give up hope that Bridgett will be found one day.”

“I guess you might be right,” Seth said, standing behind a brunette woman.

“I am right. Mandy needs happiness. And this will help her.”

“I hear what you are saying, dude but I can’t help but hope she gets her miracle one day.”

The young woman turned around and looked at both of them. She was a cute, Latina woman probably no older than 23. Seth smiled at her, still being a helpless flirt. All it did was make Sayid roll his eyes. “Excuse me, “ she smiled, “I have to run and get some toilet paper. Can you hold my spot for me?”

“Of course,” Sayid politely bowed.

“Don’t forget the peanut butter.” Seth chuckled.

The Latina girl giggled and then turned right around. “Stay put, little nina. I’ll be right back.” She said.

The girl then left, toward the far corner of the grocery store. Seth’s eyes followed the contours of her body as she left their side. Sayid couldn’t help but look as well. “You are married,” he pointed out, “You are no longer allowed to flirt.”

“Oh, come on, man,” he smirked, “I can look, I just can’t touc-“

Seth froze as he turned his gaze back on front of him, which held the woman’s baby in his gaze. What made him do a double take was that the child looked exactly like Bridgett. The only difference was that her hair was jet black. Sayid then froze as well. He too had known the child’s face and the similarity was remarkable; if not dead on. The girl looked at both of them and smiled. It wasn’t just any smile; it was her smile. Bridgett’s smile would allow her dimples to come out and her eyes to squint. Seth’s heart raced; he had no idea what this meant. However, he had to make sure his brain could comprehend what he was seeing. He slowly leaned forward. “BreeBree?” he whispered.

“Snuggle-puss!” she pointed.