New Beginnings

Chapter 2

Alex took a deep breath as soon as he stepped off the boat that had brought him to Amare. He closed his eyes and looked up, welcoming the sun's warmth on his face with a smile.

It had been a long journey from New York to this little island. First, he had to go on a plane that took him from the John F. Kennedy Airport to another airport. That flight alone had taken four hours but was relatively quiet and uneventful. The worst thing on that flight was the man snoring right behind him. He could have sworn that man had swallowed a special speaker specifically to amplify his snoring.

Then he had waited another two hours before he took off on another plane. He had swapped his first-class seat with that of another woman who was travelling middle class. She had looked pale and he had overheard her complain quietly about a horrible migraine. Ever being the gentleman, he offered her his ticket so she could have a quieter area.

That journey took another six hours and had been much more...well, how could he describe it... fun and tiring at the same time. He found himself seated next to a single mother with a two-year-old who fussed and cried at first. Seeing the mother struggle and getting embarrassed, he offered to take the child in his arms and within minutes, the toddler had quietened down and simply laughed at all the funny faces he ended up doing to entertain her.

The mother had ended up dozing off, probably too exhausted to stay awake. He played with the toddler until she also fell asleep on his chest. He hadn't slept, afraid she would fall if he did. Instead, he held her closer, securing her while he listened to music through his headphones until her mother woke up again. The two of them had sparked up a conversation until the flight was over and he hopped into a taxi that took him to the harbour.

Fortunately enough, he didn't have to wait long for the boat that took him from the mainland to Amare's harbour. The ride was about an hour long and he sat down and continued to read the crime novel he had started just a few days ago.

As soon as he had arrived, he could not help but feel free. As crazy as it sounded, he felt as if he could almost taste freedom in the air. Maybe it was because of how suffocated he was back home. He shook his head, not wanting to think about home just yet. He opened his eyes once more and picked up his luggage. He took a couple of steps, walking down the wooden ramp until he reached the pavement.

He could see the bus stop close by with a bus already there. It probably was timed along with the boat arrivals. His eyes darted around just as a tall, dark-skinned man jogged toward him. He was young, probably around his age. He looked slightly out of breath as if he had been running, but that did not remove the smile from his face.

"Hey man, are you Alexander Darwin?" he asked. Alex nodded as he extended a hand.

"I am, you must be Daniel Thorne," Alex replied, shaking his hand in a friendly manner.

"Yep, that's me, but call me Danny. Daniel just sounds too formal," Daniel replied.

"In that case, call me Alex. That's what everyone calls me anyway," Alex replied with a laid-back shrug as the two men began walking together.

"I'm really glad you're here and I'm sorry for being late but finding parking here just when the boat arrives is a nightmare," Daniel explained, but Alex waved it off.

"Nah, don't worry about it, dude. It's already a lot that you're picking me up yourself, without even knowing me," Alex said.

"Hey don't mention it. You're soon going to be an official member of our firefighting family," Daniel replied as they arrived next to the car.