rated *

DISCLAIMER: Not my characters (except Tony and a couple at the school). Not my song either…but I’m using them all with love and no harm will come to any of them. More following this story…

KCOS
California
August 28
11 PM

"You have one message."

Wearily the freckled and callused hand reached over and pushed the play button.

 

"Um, Jim, it’s me, Trixie. I have a few minutes before the plane to Barcelona boards. I wish you had been able to be at the airport in New York City when I left, but I understand that it was opening day at the school. California is a long way to travel -- and we did see each other a few days ago."

The voice paused and sighed, "This is going to be hard, but we’ll make it. It’s only for a few months. Then I’ll be home. You know why I had to go, don't you? For the same reason that you need to be at that school -- our dreams. I miss you so much already."

She paused again, "I love you."

There was a click as the connection thousands of miles away ended.

 

Jim pounded his fists on the table in his small cabin. He really felt like screaming and throwing things, but he knew that the sound wouldn't be one that he'd be able to pass off as a "normal forest night sound" to his staff.

Oh, how he wished that he had been home for that phone call. He was dying to hear Trixie’s voice -- no matter how expensive or how distant she sounded.

Semi-conscious of his actions, he prepared for bed. As he lay there in the darkness, listening to the crickets, owls and other sounds of the Northern California mountains, his thoughts focused on Trixie.

He loved her like no one else. She had been the only one for him for almost a decade. It had been years since they had lived in the same place, but it seemed worse just knowing that she was on another continent. Sometimes he just couldn’t understand how she could do this to him -- to them. Especially now, just as he was beginning to finalize plans for his -- for their -- future. How is it that some of their dreams kept interfering with others?

He knew now, with a surety, that he wanted to marry Trixie and be with her forever. And yet some days he couldn’t see how it would ever work.

If I see you next to never
How can we say forever

Heathrow
August 29
1 AM (5 PM Aug. 28 Calif.)

Trixie’s heart sank as she heard the machine click on. It was a disappointing sound normally, but now it seemed to echo dismally across the thousands of miles between them, almost taunting her.

"You have reached..."

Gulping, she slammed down the receiver. She wasn’t prepared for the pricking sensation that filled her eyes and throat at hearing Jim’s voice -- even a recording. She rested her head against the cool glass of the phone booth for a moment.

"Get a hold of yourself, Beatrix," she muttered

With an unsteady hand she picked up the receiver once more and connected with an international line. Her heart gave a queer little jerk as she listened to Jim’s recorded voice -- no matter that she had heard it countless times before. His voice always sounded good -- on a machine or live. Heck, he even sounded good when he had a cold.

The greeting ended and she began to speak, not sure of the words, but hoping that they made sense.

In the distance she heard the boarding call for her flight to Spain. She didn’t want to hang up, but she had to. Softly she choked out, "I love you," and gently hung the receiver.

It had been so long since they’d been together for more than a couple of weeks here or there. They’d been holding tight to a long distance relationship for years.

For a while the distance hadn’t been far -- just Sleepyside to New York City. Then Jim had received a scholarship to a university in California. The university had promised access to a school program like the one he had dreamt of for as long as she had known him. It was becoming more and more rare these days to find a functioning outdoor school -- and somewhere in the mountains of Northern California one existed. From how he described it, it sounded so remote that she couldn’t believe people sent their kids there.

And now that Jim had graduate school completed and only an internship to finish to receive his degrees, she had decided to go to Spain for nine months. Once again, they would be separated. Who knew what the future would bring, because if Jim’s internship went well, he might stay and run the school in California.

Trixie brusquely wiped at the tears that had slid down her cheeks and picked up her carry-on bag. This would not do. She was thrilled to be going to Spain. She’d wanted to return there for years…and this study program was perfect for what she wanted to do with her life.

As she stood in line, waiting to board the British Airways flight, she thought about how much Jim meant to her. He'd been "the most wonderful boy in the world" when she met him nine summer ago, and he had grown into "the most wonderful" man in the world. He was the man that had filled her daydreams for the longest time. Actually, if she was honest with herself, he had been in her dreams since the day she accused him of trespassing.

Most of the time she felt that as long as she was with Jim, everything would be "perfectly perfect." She thought she wanted to be with him forever, but did she? It had been so long since they had seen each other on a day to day basis -- were the old feelings enough to base her life plans around? That was one of the reasons she had felt compelled to apply for the study program. To see if her forever was really tied to Jim.

KCOS
August 29
1 AM

Wherever you go
Whatever you do
I will be right here waiting for you

With a groan, Jim flopped back down on the thin mattress. It seemed as if hours had passed, and yet it was only fifteen minutes since he had last looked at his alarm clock. He had to get some sleep! He needed to be up at five to make sure the kitchen staff arrived on time and had no problems with the equipment. The students wouldn’t be arriving for another two days, but he had orientation meetings to run with teachers and aides -- along with making sure that all the supplies were delivered and organized. He had worked at Kidder Creek Outdoor School during the past fall and spring as part of his graduate program. This year he’d been scheduled to do an internship, and there had been talk of his running the school the following year if all parties were happy with the internship.

However, things changed. On the day of his return from New York the local school board had approached him. After an exhausting early morning flight and a two-hour drive down from the airport in Oregon, the last thing he had expected was a welcoming committee made up of the school board.

Needless to say, he had been shocked to learn from the school board that Frank had resigned. Frank had run the environmental school for almost a decade. Jim had known that Frank had wanted to devote more time to other things, but had believed that the man was going to wait one more year. Poor Jim had been even more surprised when the president of the school board had asked him to take the position. Jim wasn’t sure if he should be flattered or frightened. Two days later, after many calls to his advisors at the university, the state teacher’s credentialing office, and the school board, Jim had accepted the job. His internship would be completed in December now, instead of May; and he would be the sole director of the environmental school.

He hadn’t told his parents, or his sister, about his new position. The only person he wanted to tell was Trixie. But by the time things were finalized, Trixie had been soaring across the Atlantic. He was scared about all of his new responsibilities. Not that he didn’t think that he could maintain the reputation of the school, but still he was only 24 years old and just a grad student. True, Frank hadn’t held a graduate degree of any sort, but he was from the "old school" as his dad called it.

When Kidder Creek Orchard Camp had switched from being a summer camp to an environmental school 15 year ago, it had been closely affiliated to the local elementary school. Only students from the three surrounding towns used the facilities. Now it was known throughout Northern California and Southern Oregon as a great place for groups to go and learn about the environment and how to care for it. It wasn’t year round yet, but if Jim decided to stay, he was going to work on that aspect. He would eventually have full time students there, not just two groups a week during the fall and spring months. The place had a lot of potential, but he didn’t want to make any concrete decisions until he knew where things were going with Trixie.

Trixie…it didn’t matter what he thought about, he always came back to her. He knew that she had been apprehensive about what to do with her life for quite awhile, but still, this program in Spain had surprised him. He didn’t have this need to go half-way around the world and experience something new and different. He wanted security and stability. Trixie had grown up with that; she should know how important that was to a person. Well, he’d be here when she got back, waiting for her to come home.

Sants
Barcelona, Spain
August 29
Noon (3 AM Calif. Time)

‘Should I call him again?’ Trixie asked herself as she waited for her train to arrive. The southbound Talgo wasn’t due for thirty minutes. She had hardly slept all night just tossed and turned in her hotel room -- her nerves wouldn’t let her rest. She could hardly believe that she was back in Spain. It had been six years since her other visit with her friends and brothers. She smiled slightly; at least now she could communicate with the Spaniards. She’d been taking Spanish classes almost since the day she had returned from the country.

The other reason she hadn’t slept was because she couldn’t get Jim out of her mind. She kept reliving the week that they had spent together in Sleepyside. They’d gone riding and had picnics in the game preserve. They’d gone to the movies with Trixie’s brothers Brian and Bobby. They’d had dinner with Honey and Dan. And of course, they’d celebrated with other friends and family the marriage of her "almost-twin," Mart, and Linnie Moore.

Dancing at their reception, Trixie had felt all of her feelings for Jim boil up. She loved him so much! It had broken her heart to say good-bye to him, once again, at the airport. She knew that all she had to do was say, "Jim, I’m not going to Spain," and the pain would leave. Yet, if she did that, she would never really know who Trixie Belden was. She had to be someone more than "Jim Frayne’s girlfriend" or "Mart and Brian’s kid sister" or "Bobby’s big sister" or "Honey’s friend" or "Peter and Helen’s daughter." Sometimes that was all she felt like and that made her need to leave the security of her childhood and strike out on her own.

The creek
29 August
3 AM

Having finally given up on getting any more sleep, Jim had gone for a walk. Thanks to the bright moon, there was no need for a flashlight. After a year here, he was familiar with the paths that wound around the camp and their destinations. In a few moments he found himself on the bank of Kidder Creek. ‘Crick, not creak,’ he told himself automatically, ‘I’ve got to sound more like a native.’ He’d never considered himself having an accent until he’d moved out here. The semester that he had lived in Utah didn’t count. There were so many college students from all over, between the University of Utah and BYU, that his Eastern way of speaking hadn’t stood out as being so different. Things were different in little, self-contained Scott Valley. Whatever it was that made his speech so odd often made others turn and stare. Whenever he went into the store, people always looked at him in surprise. He hoped that after another year he’d be able to blend in and be more of a part of the small communities in the valley, especially if he chose to stay.

He seated himself on a large boulder that jutted part way out into the water, or at least it would if there was more water in the creek. Late summer meant that most of the snow farther up the mountain had already melted and irrigated the fields of the valley. Which was actually kind of good, the kids could wade and study water life. In the spring when the snow pack was melting, it was too swift in most areas for the students to do any studying.

Jim watched the moonlight reflect off the rippling water. He really did want to fit into the Scott Valley way of life. It hadn’t been so hard to fit in when he’d moved to Sleepyside, in fact, after a few weeks of living at the Manor House he felt that he’d been there for months. Much of that was due to Trixie and her brothers. Both he and Honey had been new to the area, but the Beldens had been there for generations. Their friendships had helped the adjustment to a new life immensely. Stupidly, he’d thought that they would all be together for years. They hadn’t; life changes as you grow older. There had been so much change and upheaval in the first fifteen years of his life that he craved stability. Not that he was against spontaneity it was fine, just as long as he could plan for it.

Sants
Barcelona, Spain
August 29
Ten minutes later

"I have to do it!" Trixie muttered, and marched over to the phone booth. ‘Cabina,’ she reminded herself, ‘I’m in Spain now!’ She knew that it wasn’t much past three in the morning in California, but she felt sure Jim would forgive her for interrupting his sleep.

Moments later she heard the same recording that had made her weep in the airport the day before. Knowing that Jim was a heavy sleeper, she didn’t get too worried at his not answering the call. Quietly she left him another message and hung up.

There were still fifteen minutes until her departure time. With a sigh she returned to her suitcases and sat down. Automatically her mind began to play the video of memories that she’d created since she had met Jim.

There had been so many fun and exciting times. She smiled as she relived finding Jim and seeing him change from a scared and lonely runaway, to a happy and secure son. Pleasant memories of their many trips with their friends quickly followed. Of course, there were some sad times -- she could still taste the salt from the tears she had wept when Jim had left for college. He’d never done more than hold her hand or give her friendly hug, but that hadn’t changed her feelings for him. She’d been sure that he’d come home at Christmas with a girlfriend. Luckily, that hadn’t happened. A few months later they had begun dating and Trixie had been on cloud nine.

Her smile grew broader as she remembered their first kiss amid the midnight Valencian fireworks during her first visit to Spain. Their years together had been full of ups and downs, but they’d managed to stay together, even when living apart. If they’d made it this far, how was it that Jim seemed so incredibly far way now?

"Perdón, Señorita, ¿estás esperando este tren?"

Trixie snapped back to present immediately, "Sí, sí, el Talgo a Cartagena. Gracias, Señor." Why did the voice sound so familiar?

"Permitáme a ayudarte, Trixie."

"¿Cómo?" Trixie looked at the person behind the voice and her tone of wary surprise turned to pleasant shock, "Tony!"

 

Oh, can't you see it baby
You've got me goin' crazy

KCOS

3:30 AM

"Dang it!" Jim exclaimed as he re-entered his cabin and saw the red light flashing on the answering machine. At this hour it could only be Trixie.

"You are such a sound sleeper!" Her voice floated across the miles, "I just had to call you. I’m in Sants, remember the train station in Barcelona? I’ve made it this far safely no crazies like last time."

He could hear the laughter mingled with relief in her voice, "My train to Cartagena leaves in about fifteen minutes that’s going to be one long ride almost eight hours! Jim, I can hardly believe that I’m back here!" Now her voice was filled with excitement and anticipation; it somehow made him feel somewhat lost, "I’d better go. I’ll call you again when I’m in my apartment, er, that is my piso gotta’ start practicing the correct lingo."

There was a deep sigh. At first Jim wasn’t sure if it came from the recording or from himself, then he heard Trixie continue, "I hope that all goes well with the beginning of school at least you don’t have to do it all on your own." He bit back a laugh at the irony of her comment so that he could hear the end of her message, "I love you lots, Jim, I really do."

Once again, he flopped down on his bunk. He was glad to know that she had arrived safely in Spain and that there were no complications like on their first visit to the country. However, her mention of her piso in Cartagena reminded him all too sharply of the real reason he hadn’t wanted her to go to Spain Tony Caldéron. The young Interpol agent they had worked with on their prior visit had shown far too much interest in Trixie for Jim’s comfort. The knowledge that he emailed Trixie occasionally was a bushel of thorns in Jim’s side, but he’d kept that from Trixie. It had never been easy, especially when Trixie had told him that Tony was also living in Cartagena. Not only that, but he’d found her a small piso with affordable rent. It was in a good area of the city and was even near the university extension where she would have most of her classes. He’d tried to act pleased, for Trixie’s sake, but it nearly drove him insane to think that Tony would be closer to Trixie during the next nine months than he had been in years.

‘Maybe I should’ve proposed before she left,’ was his last thought as he drifted off to sleep.

Talgo

1300 horas

"I am," Tony returned, smiling widely, "I’m getting off in Valencia and picking up my car. I’ll be in the Cartagena station when the Talgo arrives, don’t worry, nena."

"Nena?"

"Look it up later. How was your trip?" Tony was glad that they were in facing seats; it gave him a reason for staring at her. She had changed some in the past five years, but all the changes were good ones. He liked that fact that she had let her hair grow a little longer; it looked beautiful.

"How did you happen to be in Barcelona?" Trixie asked as she ended the description of her trip from the States. She had a feeling that Tony hadn’t heard a word of what she said, and had proof when he response to her question was,

"You had no problems getting here, that’s good."

"That’s how you happen to be in Barcelona?" She stifled a laugh at the expression on his face.

"What?" Tony had the bad feeling that he had missed something in the conversation while he had been taking in the changes from seventeen year old Trixie to twenty-two year old Trixie.

"I asked how you happened to be in Barcelona at the same time that I was there?"

Oh, can't you see it baby
You've got me goin' crazy

Tony knew that he turning a pale shade of red. He didn’t want to tell her the truth, which was that he hadn’t been able to wait any longer to see her. He’d taken the night train to Barcelona, telling his parents that he’d pick up his car in the afternoon. Then he’d slept in the train station until daybreak and kept watch for her throughout the morning. She’d think he was crazy like his parents had. Instead he told her the partial truth, "Well, I thought that you might want to see a friendly face in all the strangeness of a foreign country. I was already in Valencia, spending a few days with my parents, so I just hopped a train up here." Was she going to buy that?

Trixie nodded, "That was really nice of you, to go out of your way like that. Thanks."

Tony gave himself a mental pat on the back. She didn’t seem to think there was anything out of the ordinary with his actions. Good. He didn’t want to scare her by professing his love for her right away. She probably had no idea that he had been dreaming about her since the day that they had met. He kind of wanted to keep it that way for a little while, there wasn’t a need to rush things. They had almost a year before she would be leaving unless he could convince her to stay.

There was only another hour until they arrived in Valencia, so he settled back and asked her questions about her brothers and other friends that had accompanied her to Spain. She never said much in her sporadic emails about anyone. She never mentioned Jim, so Tony was hoping that he was out of the picture now. Suddenly his heart fell as he heard her say,

"Jim wasn’t thrilled about me coming back here for so long I think that was the hardest part about leaving -- leaving him. I think he understands why I needed to come, but it wasn’t easy for him to be understandable. Does that make any sense?" Trixie knew that she had kind of garbled that sentence, but she hoped Tony knew what she meant.

She had been slightly attracted to him five years ago when he had inadvertently gotten involved with the Bob-Whites and one of their mysteries. It had only been natural -- an incredibly handsome foreigner who was also a spy, it was like a movie or TV show. However, at almost seventeen, his 24 years had seemed kind of old, and she’d had Jim. She was happy to say that what she felt at seeing Tony now was just like what she felt at seeing Spain again, a welcome face after a long absence, but nothing romantic.

It seemed all too soon, especially for Tony, when the train pulled into the Valencia train station. With the promise of meeting her in Cartagena in four hours, Tony quickly departed.

Fifteen minutes later he was behind the wheel of his car, heading south. ‘Well, I’ve got four hours to work on a plan to make her forget Jim Frayne and see me as somebody besides a friend…that should make the trip go quickly.’

2 PM KCOS
or
2300 horas Cartagena

"Mr. Frayne, that call that you were waiting for has come, the one from Spain."

Jim had stopped in mid-sentence in the explanation he’d been giving one of his teachers when the school secretary had walked into the recreation hall. When he’d left his cabin that morning he’d changed his answering machine and left the main office number with specific instructions for Trixie to call that number and have him found no matter what. Then he’d left just as specific of instructions with Anne, the secretary, to have him found whenever a call came in from someone named Trixie who would be calling from Spain. He’d had two hikes planned that day, showing the new teachers the outdoor teaching areas, but had postponed those until tomorrow. He wasn’t taking any more chances of missing her call he’d be beyond crazy if that happened.

"John, I’m sorry, but I have to take this call. It most likely will take me awhile, so why don’t you go ahead and finish getting settled in and explore the school. We’ll finish this after dinner." Not waiting for a response, Jim took off at a run toward the main office. Once there, he had Anne transfer the call to his extension and he closed the door to his tiny cubicle and picked up the receiver.

"Trix?"

"Finally!" Trixie was exhausted, but she knew that she wouldn’t be getting any more sleep than the previous night if she didn’t talk to Jim. "I’m so glad that you left a number that I could reach you at. If I had had to talk to your dumb machine one more time…"

"I know. That’s why I left it. It’s wonderful to hear your voice." He sank down into the old desk chair he’d found in the storage shed and basked in her voice. "Tell me about your trip."

"It wasn’t anything spectacular. That was the longest train ride I’ve ever experienced though -- eight hours! But I’m here, and I’m in my apartment. It’s actually about the size of the one Hans and Juliana had in Valencia, so there’s plenty of room for me and my stuff."

"It’s nice and everything? You didn’t have any problems finding it?" Jim knew he shouldn’t have been concerned, but he had been worried about her getting settled in a foreign country.

"Tony met me at the station and brought me straight over here. He has some friends that live across the hall, so he knew it was a safe place or they wouldn’t have been allowed to stay there. He dropped me and my luggage off and said he’d be back tomorrow morning to show me where the stores and the university are. I’m glad he didn’t want to do that tonight, I’m too exhausted. I don’t know if I could even find my way back down the stairs!" She laughed.

"So Tony met you and helped you. That’s nice. How is he?" Jim tried to keep any hints of jealousy from his voice -- he didn’t want to make Trixie mad during their first phone call.

"Actually he met me in the Barcelona station and rode the train as far as Valencia. He’d been worried that I’d get lost or something. Then he drove on down to Cartagena and beat the train and took me to my piso. He seems to be fine. Looks pretty much the same was when we saw him last. I’m not sure why he’s in Cartagena, but I don’t think he’s working with Interpol any longer."

Jim held his hand over the receiver and took several deep breaths. He knew that Tony would try something, but not quite this soon. He had to count to ten a few times to keep his famous temper under control.

"Jim? Are you still there?" Trixie was puzzled, Jim hadn’t spoken for several seconds and she couldn’t even hear him breathing. "Jim?"

"Uh, sorry, I dropped something on the floor and had to pick it up." Lame excuse, but hopefully she’d buy it.

"Oh. Well, that’s all for my adventure, how about yours? How is school coming along?" Trixie wondered if Jim’s silence was really due to something falling on the floor, or if it was because she had been talking about Tony. He had seemed jealous of the Spaniard before, but Trixie didn’t know why he still would feel that way.

Jim laughed; he’d almost forgotten that he hadn’t told her yet. In fact, he’d have to call his parents that evening and tell them now that he was able to tell Trixie. "You are now speaking with the head of Kidder Creek Outdoor School."

"What? What about that other guy? Fred or Hank or whatever?" Trixie was stunned.

"Frank. He resigned. I found out about it the day I got back from the wedding. The school board was waiting for me as I drove up to the school. They offered me the position before I was hardly out of the car. That’s why I didn’t call you the night before you left…I’m sorry."

"You must have been busy. Anyway, Bobby was on line for five hours that night no on knew until Honey finally came down the hill to see what the problem was. No one got through that night." Wow, this was a surprise. Jim’s dreams of running and owning a school were suddenly not so far away any longer. "So, how are you liking it?"

"Honestly? It’s kind of scary. I had to fill out tons of paper work with the state and get an emergency credential and all kinds of garbage. The upside is that I’ll be done with all university requirements in December now instead of May. And I think I’ll know for sure by the time you come home if I want to stay out here and invest, in this place or strike out on my own."

"Jim, that’s wonderful! If anyone can do it, you can. What did your parents say?" She knew that the Wheelers would be so proud of Jim. He’d done so well.

"I haven’t told them yet. I wanted to tell you first, but the paper work wasn’t finalized until about the time you were flying across the Atlantic. I’ll call them tonight and tell them."

After a couple more minutes of just chatting and enjoying each other’s voices, Jim suddenly looked at his watch. "Trix, we’ve been talking for over half an hour, this is going to give you a horrendous phone bill!"

"You’re worth it. But I’ll probably have to email or something instead of call a lot." He heard the sadness in her voice.

"Same here, but I will call. You just have to give me your number, and your address. I’m not much of a letter writer, but as you said, ‘You’re worth it.’"

After he had written down the information she gave him, it was time to say good-bye. There was a long silence as they both realized what they needed to say.

"I miss you a lot already Jim."

"Me too."

"I love you."

"Me too."

Trixie giggled, "You sound like a recording!"

"Me too," he whispered before he started to laugh with her. "Okay, I’m serious now. I love you Trix. The months will go fast, right?"

"Of course they will, then we’ll take things from there, okay?"

"You’ve got it."

"Good luck with school, Mr. Head of Everything."

"Hmm, nice title, maybe I should have a plaque made and hang it on my door. What do you think the other teachers will say?"

Trixie began to laugh again. Jim wished he was recording their call so that whenever he really missed her he could just play her laughter over and over again and it would feel like she was there with him.

"That might not go over too well, Mr. Frayne." Her voice softened, "I’d better get to sleep, and I’m sure you’ve got work to be doing. I love you, James Winthrop Frayne the Second."

"I love you, Beatrix Helen Belden, the one and only."

"See you in less than nine months," Trixie tried hard to keep the tears from falling, but she couldn’t.

"I’ll be right here waiting for you, Trix, always."

Trixie Belden Fan Fiction