Rage Of Angels Part 43

"That's in Mexico," he announced. "On the west coast."

"That's right."

"Can we go to a topless beach?"

"Joshua!"

"Well, they have them there. Being naked is only natural."

"I'll think about it."

"And can we go deep-sea fishing?"

Jennifer visualized Joshua trying to pull in a large marlin and she contained her smile. "We'll see. Some of those fish get pretty big."

"That's what makes it exciting," Joshua explained seriously. "If it's easy, it's no fun. There's no sport to it."

It could have been Adam talking.

"I agree."

"What else can we do there?"

"Well, there's horseback riding, hiking, sightseeing-"

"Let's not go to a bunch of old churches, okay? They all look alike."

Adam saying, If you've seen one church, you've seen them all. If you've seen one church, you've seen them all.

The convention began on a Monday. Jennifer, Joshua and Mrs. Mackey flew to Acapulco on Friday morning on a Braniff jet. Joshua had flown many times before, but he was still excited by the idea of airplanes. Mrs. Mackey was petrified with fear.

Joshua consoled her. "Look at it this way. Even if we crash, it'll only hurt for a second."

Mrs. Mackey turned pale.

The plane landed at Benito Juarez Airport at four o'clock in the afternoon, and an hour later the three of them arrived at Las Brisas. The hotel was eight miles outside of Acapulco, and consisted of a series of beautiful pink bungalows built on a hill, each with its private patio. Jennifer's bungalow, like several of the others, had its own swimming pool. Reservations had been difficult to get, for there were half a dozen other conventions and Acapulco was overcrowded, but Jennifer had made a telephone call to one of her corporate clients, and an hour later she had been informed that Las Brisas was eagerly expecting her.

When they had unpacked, Joshua said, "Can we go into town and hear them talk? I've never been to a country where n.o.body speaks English." He thought a moment and added, "Unless you count England."

They went into the city and wandered along the Zocalo, the frenetic center of downtown, but to Joshua's disappointment the only language to be heard was English. Acapulco was crowded with American tourists.

They strolled along the colorful market on the main pier opposite Sanborn's in the old part of town, where there were hundreds of stalls selling a bewildering variety of merchandise.

In the late afternoon, they took a calandria calandria, a horse-drawn carriage, to Pie de la Cuesta, the sunset beach, and then returned to town.

They had dinner at Armando's Le Club, and it was excellent.

"I love love Mexican food," Joshua declared. Mexican food," Joshua declared.

"I'm glad," Jennifer said. "Only this is French."

"Well, it has a Mexican flavor."

Sat.u.r.day was a full day. They went shopping in the morning at the Quebrada, where the nicer stores were, and then stopped for a Mexican lunch at Coyuca 22. Joshua said "I suppose you're going to tell me this is French, too."

"No, this is the real thing, gringo."

"What's a gringo?"

"You are, amigo."

They walked by the fronton fronton building near the Plaza Caleta, and Joshua saw the billboards advertising jai alai inside. building near the Plaza Caleta, and Joshua saw the billboards advertising jai alai inside.

He stood there, wide-eyed, and Jennifer asked, "Would you like to see the jai alai games?"

Joshua nodded. "If it's not too expensive. If we run out of money we won't be able to get home."

"I think we can manage."

They went inside and watched the furious play of the teams. Jennifer placed a bet for Joshua and his team won.

When Jennifer suggested returning to the hotel, Joshua said, "Gosh, Mom, can't we see the divers first?"

The hotel manager had mentioned them that morning.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like to rest, Joshua?"

"Oh, if you're too tired, sure. I keep forgettin' about your age."

That did it. "Never mind my age." Jennifer turned to Mrs. Mackey. "Are you up to it?"

"Certainly," Mrs. Mackey groaned.

The diving act was at La Quebrada cliffs. Jennifer, Joshua and Mrs. Mackey stood on a public viewing platform while divers carrying lighted torches plunged one hundred and fifty feet into a narrow, rock-lined cove, timing their descent to coincide with the arrival of incoming breakers. The slightest miscalculation would have meant instant death.

When the exhibition was over, a boy came around to collect a donation for the divers.

"Uno peso, por favor."

Jennifer gave him five pesos.

She dreamed about the divers that night.

Las Brisas had its own beach, La Concha, and early Sunday morning Jennifer, Joshua and Mrs. Mackey drove down in one of the pink canopied jeeps that the hotel supplied to its guests. The weather was perfect. The harbor was a sparkling blue canvas dotted with speedboats and sailboats.

Joshua stood at the edge of the terrace, watching the water skiers race by.

"Did you know water skiing was invented in Acapulco, Mom?"

"No. Where did you hear that?"

"I either read it in a book or I made it up."

"I vote for 'made it up.'"

"Does that mean I can't go water skiing?"

"Those speedboats are pretty fast. Aren't you afraid?"

Joshua looked out at the skiers skimming over the water. "That man said, 'I'm going to send you home to Jesus.' And then he put a nail in my hand."

It was the first reference he had made to the terrible ordeal he had gone through.

Jennifer knelt and put her arms around her son. "What made you think of that, Joshua?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I guess because Jesus walked on water and everyone out there is walking on water." He saw the stricken look on his mother's face. "I'm sorry, Mom. I don't think about it much, honest."

She hugged him tightly and said, "It's all right, darling. Of course you can go water skiing. Let's have lunch first."

The outdoor restaurant at La Concha had wrought-iron tables set with pink linen, shaded by pink-and-white-striped umbrellas. Lunch was a buffet and the long serving table was crowded with an incredible a.s.sortment of dishes. There were fresh lobster and crab and salmon, selections of cold and hot meats, salads, a variety of raw and cooked vegetables, cheeses and fruits. There was a separate table for an array of freshly baked desserts. The two women watched Joshua fill and empty his plate three times before he sat back, satisfied.

"It's a very good restaurant," he p.r.o.nounced. "I don't care what what kind of food it is." He stood up. "I'll go check on the water skiing." kind of food it is." He stood up. "I'll go check on the water skiing."

Mrs. Mackey had barely picked at her food.

"Are you feeling all right?" Jennifer asked. "You haven't eaten anything since we arrived."

Mrs. Mackey leaned forward and whispered darkly, "I don't want Montezuma's Revenge!"

"I don't think you have to worry about that in a place like this."

"I don't hold with foreign food," Mrs. Mackey sniffed.

Joshua ran back to the table and said, "I got a boat. Is it okay if I go now, Mom?"

"Don't you want to wait a while?"

"What for?"

"Joshua, you'll sink with all you've eaten."

"Test me!" he begged.

While Mrs. Mackey watched on sh.o.r.e, Jennifer and Joshua got into the speedboat and Joshua had his first water-skiing lesson. He spent the first five minutes falling down, and after that, performed as though born to water skiing. Before the afternoon was over, Joshua was doing tricks on one ski, and finally skiing on his heels with no skis.

They spent the rest of the afternoon lazing on the sand and swimming.

On the way back to Las Brisas in the jeep, Joshua snuggled up against Jennifer and said, "You know something, Mom? I think this was probably the best day of my whole life."

Michael's words flashed through her mind: I just want you to know this has been the greatest night of my life. I just want you to know this has been the greatest night of my life.

Early Monday morning Jennifer arose and got dressed to attend the convention. She put on a full-flowing dark green skirt and an off-the-shoulder blouse embroidered in giant red roses, that revealed her patina of suntan. She studied herself in the mirror and was pleased. Despite the fact that her son thought she was over the hill, Jennifer was aware that she looked like Joshua's beautiful thirty-four-year-old sister. She laughed to herself and thought that this vacation was one of her better ideas.

Jennifer said to Mrs. Mackey, "I have to go to work now. Take good care of Joshua. Don't let him get too much sun."

The huge convention center was a cl.u.s.ter of five buildings joined by roofed circulation terraces, sprawled over thirty-five acres of lush greenery. The carefully tended lawns were studded with pre-Columbian statues.

The Bar a.s.sociation Convention was being held in Teotihuacan Teotihuacan, the main hall, holding an audience of seventy-five hundred people.