Page 2 of Truly, Madly, Deeply
Tommy slipped as he stepped inside, and Annalee caught him. “Whoa!” He found his balance.
“Good thing I feel better.” She laughed. “You’re not easy to catch.”
“True.” At six-foot-three, Tommy was easily nine inches taller than Annalee. People often mistook him for a college athlete. He gave Annalee a side hug. “Just testing you.”
Dan and Donna Miller sat at the front of the boat with the guides. The goal was to catch a marlin for dinner. Austin stayed at the back with Tommy and Annalee.
They were a few hundred yards offshore when they spotted the first dolphin. Five more surfaced nearby. About the same time their captain and guide, Hans, cut the engines. “Dolphins know what’s about to happen.” Hans was a veteran fisherman. Backward baseball cap, soggy unlit cigar between his sun-scarred lips. He pointed to the choppy water near the boat. “Lots going on here.”
“Can I jump in?” Austin ripped off his shirt and jumped onto one of the bench seats. “I’ve always wanted to swim with dolphins.”
“Not on my watch!” Hans motioned to Austin. “We’re chumming the water, boy. Dolphins aren’t the only animals we’ll attract.”
Austin looked over the edge of the boat. “I hadn’t thought about that.” He took a step back. “Reef sharks, right? But I read that they don’t bite.”
“A man lost a foot to one a few years ago.” Hans raised his weathered brow. “Stay in the boat.”
The guide outfitted everyone with a rod and reel. Even Annalee. Which was a good sign. She had said she wouldn’t fish if she wasn’t feeling strong.Finally,Tommy thought to himself.She’s past the jet lag.
An hour later, Austin caught a yellowfin but it broke free from his line. Then minutes before they returned to shore, Tommy felt a sudden strong tug on his reel. “Hey! I got one!” The fish doubled his fight, and Tommy dug his heels against the inside of the boat and bent his knees. “Someone help!”
Mr. Miller rushed over. He grabbed Tommy by the waist and the two of them fought the fish with all their strength.
“It’s a marlin!” Annalee’s father was first to see the spikes along the upper part of the fish. “This is the one!”
“Reel it in slowly, gentlemen.” Hans was at their side. “There you go… that’s it!”
Ocean spray whipped their faces, but Tommy and Annalee’s father held on until the monster fish was up and over the boat railing. The two high-fived, both of them out of breath.
“I can’t believe it!” Annalee put her hand on Tommy’s shoulder. “It’s the size of a shark!”
She wasn’t far off. Tommy had seen pictures of marlin, but nothing had prepared him for the behemoth catch. Hans helped Tommy and Mr. Miller hoist the fish up for a picture. Then they dropped it into an oversized tub of ice.
Tommy was still breathing hard as he turned to Mr. Miller. “Thanks for the help!” Tommy wiped the seawater from his face. “That was crazy!”
“Teamwork.” Mr. Miller put his arms around his wife and Austin. “That is one massive catch.”
“Congratulations!” Hans measured the fish and faced them. “Biggest marlin of the year!” He grinned. “Most tourists come back with nothing. You’re a sporty group!”
Back on the beach Hans prepared the fish and cooked it over an open flame. What they didn’t eat, he would take to a nearby restaurant, where people from the village would line up for free fish.
When Hans was gone, Tommy sat with Annalee and her family at a table near the water and Mr. Miller prayed over the meal. “This day in the sun was a dividing line, Lord. I can feel it. Today we see what life is like with Your grace and goodness.” He paused. “Tomorrow we will see what it is like for the lost children of Phuket.”
The man’s words were sobering. Tommy was aware they would be working tomorrow, but until now he hadn’t thought of exactly what that meant. He looked at Annalee’s father. “You remember last summer my family and I took that trip to Africa. We painted orphanages and made bracelets with the kids.” He hesitated. “Will it be like that?”
Mr. Miller shook his head. “We do oversee an orphanage in Phuket.” His tone grew heavier. “I’m afraid another issue has taken precedence for this trip.”
“The rise in tourism has brought an increase in sex trafficking.” Mrs. Miller took her husband’s hand. “Twenty minutes from here, there’s an open-air beach market where children are sold.” She explained how Each One was working with local law enforcement officials to close down trafficking rings. “In the meantime kids from all over Asia are still brought here as slaves. We rescue them, but sometimes the young ones don’t even know where they’re from.”
Tommy thought about his younger sister. Malin was twelve now. If someone kidnapped her and forced her into… He couldn’t finish the thought. He’d do anything to protect her. “So… you rescue these kids, and then… where do they go?”
Annalee’s dad explained that Each One had recently opened a safe house. It had forty rooms and as many trained volunteers. The goal was to get the victimized children safe and fed and then to reunite them with their families. If their families could be found.
“What if the kids don’t have anyone?” Annalee’s shoulder brushed against Tommy’s. “I guess… I didn’t know how bad things had gotten here.”
Austin anchored his elbows on the wooden table. “I talked to Dad about this before we left. I asked the same thing.” He looked at his father. “What if the kids don’t have anyone?”
“That happens sometimes.” Mr. Miller was quiet for a moment. “An orphaned child is most vulnerable for this wicked business.”
