Randa (13 page)

“It’s nothing serious Dad. We just happened to meet at Noel and Wade Anderson’s party. She is the best friend of Fox’s goddaughter, Taylor.”

“Ah yes, Taylor. I remember meeting her when she was a little girl,” Buck replied and looked at John with a puzzled expression, but he didn’t question why it was nothing serious when Randa was spending a week with him in Anchorage when no other female had before or even on the ranch for that matter. Randa returned to the table and she and Buck fell into conversation about the songwriting business. John quietly observed while in his mind, he was chastising himself for saying that his relationship with Randa wasn’t serious when it obviously was. His father continuously warned him over the years not to fall in love or he too would likely get hurt. John wasn’t able to go against his father’s advice and stand up to his fear of failing at love. He would worry about what he must do when he had no other choice. For now, he wanted to enjoy every single second of his time with Randa to the utmost extent that he could.

The next month John flew to Nashville to surprise Randa. They shared a delightful dinner. Once back at her apartment, he took her coat and then he took off his own as well.

John asked Randa to sit on the sofa and close her eyes, so she did. Placing something cool in her hand, he added, “You can open your eyes now.”

Randa looked down and she saw an exquisite pink charm bracelet. “Oh John!” she whispered. Looking closer, she saw that the bracelet was made up of pink diamonds cut into the shapes of hearts. “I can’t believe this. It is so beautiful. Thank you so much my love.”

“You are very welcome Randa. It is not nearly as beautiful as you are, but I wanted to give you a gift and I know how you feel about the color pink.”

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Randa remarked.

“I had it custom made for you. The diamonds are graded a 1P.”

Randa fell silent, knowing that diamonds graded a 1P were the most intense pink diamonds. She hugged and kissed John. He reached into the jeweler’s bag and pulled out seventeen small boxes wrapped in pink with white ribbons around them.

“What in the world?” Randa asked.

“It’s the charms,” John told her. “Even though your bracelet has diamonds, charms are between each diamond.” He explained the meaning behind each charm that he was giving to her as she opened each wrapped box. “The golden key is because our love is pure and golden. The song note is because you write songs. The OU charm since Oklahoma is your alma mater. The snowflake signifies our week together here in Alaska. The ruby red heart represents my heart, which you have. The world globe because you are the most beautiful woman in the world. The full moon charm because you always wish upon them. The horse charm signifies our love of riding horses. The Letter R since it’s the first letter of your name. The shooting star is self-explanatory, because you are one. You know what the baby calf represents.”

Randa nodded.

“The butterfly symbolizes beginning a new life which we both seemed to have received when we met. The pink and silver purse because it’s hip. The cowboy boot because it is a nice contrast to the pink high-heeled shoe! The locket charm for you to put a tiny picture in some day. And last of all, the dove stands for peace, since inner peace is so important to you.”

“John, how did you ever find some of these? I’ve never seen anything like them.”

“When I started looking for the bracelet, I wasn’t finding one that I liked. I wanted it to be pink for you. So, I found a jeweler to custom make it for me and each of the charms was made by him. I know there are quite a few charms. Once I started thinking of charm ideas for you, I just couldn’t stop. So, feel free to choose your favorite pieces and wear those.” Randa shook her head in awe at John’s generosity and the amount of thought and effort that he put into the gift. “Oh, I love them all. Thank you! I love you so much!” Randa exclaimed as she hugged him.

“You are very welcome.”

For John’s next visit, he made reservations at a hotel and he took Randa there. After getting settled in, the couple relaxed.

“Would you like something?” John asked as he got himself a bottle of beer.

“No thank you. I’m giddy enough without any alcohol,” Randa giggled.

John laughed. Walking out onto the balcony, John gazed in every direction. Looking out over the Nashville skyline along the banks of the Cumberland River, he was hypnotized by the golden lights and dark blue water. Randa stepped beside him and they both merely took in every bit of the gorgeousness of the night.

Finally, Randa broke the silence, “What are you thinking about?”

“Let me first say that being with you and loved by you has been one of the very best things that I have been blessed with.”

“I feel the very same about you John.”

Our relationship allows me to elevate my performance at work or as I like to say, ‘shattering the ice.’”

“That’s what happy, healthy relationships should do!” Randa replied.

“Mission accomplished then!”

“So what else are you thinking about?

John, unsure about this conversation, but feeling that it was a necessity, began. “My dad has been grooming me to take over the company almost since I was born. I didn’t make my first trip to Prudhoe Bay until I was thirteen years old. My mom thought that I might be too young even then, but Dad and Foxy taught me to be quite an outdoorsman by then and of course I have a natural affinity for it. Dad never missed coming home to Oklahoma every deer season and he and Foxy started taking me to deer camp with them from the time I was eight years old.”

“So, Dad assured Mom that nothing would happen to me while I was on the slope and that I wouldn’t be put in harm’s way. I was so excited at the possibility of going to see my dad’s company and all of the important things that they did.”

Randa smiled on the inside as he continued, because she could just sense the mighty respect that John felt for his father.

“The next summer I boarded a plane and met Dad in Anchorage for the last leg of my trip to the North Slope. We stayed in the town of Deadhorse, Alaska in one of the man camps.”

Randa raised an eyebrow in wondering what a man camp was.

“Deadhorse only has an actual population of about 25 permanent residents, so these camps were especially built to house people working on the slope which can number in the thousands.”

“At first the cold and just the way of life was a bit of a challenge for me, but Dad fully outfitted me from head to toe in the finest workwear suited for the region.”

“I was wondering how you first endured the cold,” Randa stated.

“I did experience some raw conditions outside in the wild for long periods of time when I went Elk hunting with Dad and Foxy in Colorado, so I was not too terribly taken aback by the conditions.”

Randa nodded.

“The average temperature during my time there then was 40 degrees. I was tracking it each day. I was very fascinated with everything. I thought that it was so cool because I was there during the ‘Land of the Midnight Sun,’ you know, the natural phenomenon, which occurs in summer months, because the sun remains visible at the local midnight. On the North Slope, it is continually daylight for up to 63 days each summer. During winter months, generally from November thru January, the opposite occurs which is known as ‘polar night.’ It is constant darkness 24 hours a day also, up to a maximum of 63 straight days.”

“I absolutely loved the splendor of the white snow which I saw plenty of it, especially since we don’t get that much in Oklahoma. However, there was just something so surreal about being above the Arctic Circle. The luminous white landscape seemed to leap up toward the dazzling blue sky, which cascaded downward. Layered in between them, the glowing glint of the sun provided a spectacular visual delight to my eyes and it truly left me in awe.”

“Your description makes it sound so beautiful.”

“Randa it is. That’s all I can say about it. Pictures don’t do it justice. Even with the noisy machines running, there is a peacefulness there that pervades my senses every day I am there.”

“Then during the summer thaw, Dad took me to the Arctic Ocean during its summer thaw. I got to see large herds of caribou and many different kinds of birds and other indigenous wildlife including arctic foxes, polar bears, musk oxen, and arctic hares during my stay. When it was time to return to Oklahoma, I didn’t want to leave, but it gave me an understanding of why Dad loved it there so much and I needed to know that at that age. I needed to know why he spent more time there than in Oklahoma with his family. I could finally understand what his company was all about and why it was so important to him. Anyway, the men who worked for my Dad gave me a ‘going home’ party. It made a great impression on me. Over half of those men are still employed with the company. My Dad believes in hard work from his employees and he pushes his people, but he always treats them with respect and he makes each one of them feel important no matter their position.”

“You see Randa, I’ve been groomed to run this company, and I will do it well. I have no doubts about that. Heck, I already run it. Dad is rarely in Prudhoe Bay now. My only fear is that having a successful life with you might be impossible because of my absences. I just don’t know. My parents certainly failed. And even though my mother was the one who had the affair, my father deserves part of the blame.”

A crestfallen look crossed Randa’s face and she felt her stomach turning at the thought of being without John’s love. Yes, their relationship was still in its infancy and relatively new, but their feelings for each other were very apparent. She could not resist standing up for their relationship and fighting for it, “John we are strong, and we love each other very much.”

“That’s how my parents started out too Randa. Just like this. Just like we are - so very happy,” John replied.

Randa, forlorn, wanted to shout out that they were different, but she didn’t. She felt her insides start to close up, but she resisted closing her heart to this man for whom she had waited for her entire life.

John walked over to her and put his arms around her and tilted her head up, looking into her beautiful brown eyes he was almost lost in their potential sadness and said, “I am so sorry that I even brought this up. It’s just that you are not only my love and my lover, but you are also turning into my best friend and I needed to really explain how deep my connection to Prudhoe Bay runs, but I also want you to know that I never, ever, ever want to lose you Baby Doll.”

“Then don’t,” was all that she could say. Just knowing that his words could be the bleak, harsh truth was too much for her. She refused to believe it. Her ‘rose-colored glasses’ told her not to.

“Enough of this!” John broke the silence. “Maybe, I shouldn’t have shared that. But you know what?” John asked smiling, “My parent’s lives have not one single thing to do with our future, do they?”

“No, they don’t,” Randa responded.

Atropos looked at her sister in disbelief. “You cannot give the girl more that her correct allotment.”

Lachesis returned her sister’s gaze. “You and Clotho are satisfied and content with who you are and your power. Me? Not so much. Let me live through Randa.” She continued, “Look at the beautiful life she is having. Why should that be short-lived? Why can’t she live out her life with her wonderful John? She is filled with such joy.”

Clotho hesitated, “Maybe Atropos is right. It is my duty to do what is expected of me.”

Randa reflected on how wonderful her life had become over the past eighteen months, as she got dressed. Her relationship with John had started out fast and furiously, but it continuously felt so right. Mentally and emotionally, she had waited so long for
The One,
that when they met, things progressed at the perfect pace for them. They became best friends besides everything else. Even with John’s absences while he was working on the North Slope, Randa thrived. She took care of as much of her songwriting and business during that time, so that when John came home, she would be free and they could spend as much time together as possible.

John arrived and they ate dinner. Afterwards he was relaxing in the great room when Randa walked in with a board game in her hands.

“Oh, I used to play Candy Land,” John told her.

“I did too. In fact, this is my game, but I was restless and missing you one night, so I got the idea to make it a grownup game. I hope you don’t think I’m a total goofball.”

John laughed. “Of course not Baby Doll. I’m actually intrigued!”

“Get comfortable then. I need to put on a plain t-shirt before we begin,” Randa said as she left the room. Returning, she opened two small packages. “We have to put these on,” she said and put a multi-colored candy necklace around his neck and planted a kiss on his cheek. Then she put the other one around her neck. John laughed.

“You are so much fun Randa. I love your playfulness! Being with you makes me feel young and carefree.”

“You are young and carefree John,” Randa said as she giggled and winked at him.

She took the game out of the box and set it up on the table. “The object of the game is still the same, to be the first player to find the lost king of Candy Land,” Randa said, pointing at the Candy Land Castle at the end of the path. John looked at the board. Randa had renamed all of the areas that a player had to pass through. There were now: gumdrop kisses, gingerbread nibbles, crooked old peanut brittle hugs, ice cream caresses, lollipop lips, molasses moans, candy hearts and peppermint stick licks.

“If you land on either the rainbow trail or the mountain pass, then you must do both of the colors including the one you land on and the next one you land on after you slide into place.

“What does the winner get?” John asked.

Randa laughed, knowing how competitive John was. “Hmmmm…I hadn’t thought of that. Do you have any suggestions?”

“How about breakfast in bed?”

“Okay, it’s a deal,” Randa agreed.