Wish
You Were Here
By
Rocket
Episode
8.5: Part One
September
18th 1992, Hawaii
Aloha Mac,
Look where I am! I’m on a dance tour in Hawaii!
It’s just like on the movies, just like on Magnum
P.I. I’m dancing at this sweet little club on the
Big Island, the other girls here are just so nice and
I’m having the time of my life. The club manager
is just the best to us and I’ve got this wonderful
little apartment right on the beach so I can hear the
waves when I go to sleep.
Hurricane Iniki was just awful. We didn’t get so
much damage here, just a few sailboats sunk in the harbour,
but on some of the other islands it was terrible! I hope
we don’t get another one.
I wonder where you are? How is Sam? I would never in the
world have figured that you had a grown up son running
around – he must have been such a surprise but I
just know you’ll be getting along fine. Wow, there’s
not much room on a postcard, is there? I’m sending
this to Pete, so he can send it to you. Write me when
you get this, Mac, and tell me all about where you’ve
been.
All my love,
Penny
October
10th 1992, Hawaii
Aloha Mac,
Thank you for sending me a postcard too and telling me
all about your trip – it sounds amazing and Sam
sounds swell. You and he look so alike in the picture
you sent me! I’m sending you a picture of me on
stage in my costume. Look how shiny it is! When I shimmy,
all the sequins catch the lights and I look like a mermaid.
Or so my new friend David says. He took the picture of
me. He comes to all my shows and he says he just loves
to watch me dance. We go out to lots of places and he
has a boat! We’ve been out in it so many times and
last time we went he had champagne on ice in the galley
and we drank champagne and watched the sun set over Molokai.
Isn’t that romantic? I wish you could meet him –
he’s just dreamy! I think I might be falling in
love with him, but don’t tell anyone else! OK, you
can tell Sam. Anyway, I gotta go – I’m dancing
tonight and I have to get ready.
All my love,
Penny
November
29th 1992, East Rock Island
Aloha Mac,
Well, you can see I’m not on Hawaii any more...
You’ll never guess – David owns a whole island
and he told me he loves me and asked me to live there
with him now that my dance tour has finished! It’s
like a fairytale, Mac. It’s really rocky and romantic
and you have to get there by helicopter because the sea
is too rough to land a boat and there isn’t really
anywhere to land one anyway. I was a little bit scared
in case another hurricane came and we had to get off the
island fast but David says we don’t need to worry
and the house has caves underneath where we could go if
we were ever in danger. He wants me to stay here for Christmas
though, so I guess I won’t get to see you after
all ?. Anyway, I have to finish this letter so it can
go on the helicopter to be posted on Hawaii – no
mailman on East Rock Island!
All my love and Happy Thanksgiving,
Penny
MacGyver backed
carefully through his front door, balancing two bulging
grocery sacks and a pile of Phoenix Foundation binders,
his mail clamped firmly in his mouth. Setting the binders
down on the table and spitting out the mail, he stacked
the sacks on the kitchen counter and pulled out a can
of tomato juice. He kicked off his sneakers and sat down
on the couch, wiggling his toes gratefully. He took a
gulp of juice and leaned back, putting his feet up on
the table and leafing through the mail. Bill. Bill. Advertising.
Note from Mel thanking him for dealing with the overwintering
snake in Kelly’s kitchen. Mac shook his head, grinning.
Payslip. Postcard with a little heart shaped sticker on
the front, stuck onto the picture...
March
3rd 1993, East Rock Island
Dear Uncle Angus,
I am having a lovely time here in Hawaii, David is just
as kind to me as Monsieur Street ever was and I am happier
here than ever. It’s so nice to find someone as
trustworthy as Anton Burak. The house is amazing. Being
here reminds me so much of when we went to Parker House
that time, do you remember? Boy, that house was just full
of surprises, and so was the garden! David is really well
organised and successful and he treats me just like a
princess! I’m even thinking about growing my hair
really, really long so that I’ll look like the princess
in the story too, what do you think?
Do you hear
from Cousin Jack or Uncle Pete much? I’d just love
it if you and he could come visit me, I really miss you
all and it would be such a surprise for David. The hunting
on the island is pretty good and I know how you two love
a big target and how Uncle Pete always gets what he aims
at. There’s a range here with lots and lots of paper
targets. I found it by accident one day, when I was exploring.
Anyway, I have
to send this otherwise I’ll miss today’s helicopter
– I hope there’s room for a postcard on it
because there sure is a lot of mail going out today.
Wish you were here,
Penny
MacGyver frowned
and read the card again. Uncle Angus? Parker House? Penny
had her moments, sure, but this was odd even for her.
Maybe something was wrong. But if something was wrong,
why didn’t she pick up the phone and call? His hand
strayed to his own phone and he dialled without really
looking.
“Hello?
Yeah, Hi Jack. It’s me. What are you...? Never mind
that. I’ve had a really weird message from Penny,
would you come over and take a look at...? Yeah, I know.
Weird even for Penny.” He listened briefly and then
nodded. “Thanks Jack, see you soon.” He hung
up.
*
* * *
The door rattled
in its frame as someone pounded hard on the other side.
“Hey Mac!
You going to leave your two best friends out here all
night? Let us in!”
MacGyver put
the letter down and went to answer the door, shaking his
head at Jack and guiding Pete inside. He settled Pete
on the couch and watched Jack shrugging off his jacket
and fanning himself.
“I know
it’s supposed to be warm in L.A. but nobody said
anything about Summertime in March! I wasn’t expecting
to need Bermuda shorts...” Jack shook his head and
hung his pilot’s cap on a hook.
“Yeah,
you got me – I wasn’t expecting it either.”
MacGyver poured lemonade and took a cup back to Pete.
“Thanks,
that smells great.” Pete took a sip and wrapped
his hands round the cool glass. “So what’s
been happening, Mac? It’s not like you to get so
spooked, especially where Penny’s concerned.”
MacGyver handed
Penny’s postcards to Jack and sat down next to Pete.
“I’m
not sure, Pete. The first few postcards I got from her
– thanks for sending them on, by the way –
were regular, holiday stuff. Having a great time, dance
tour’s going well, stuff like that. She’d
met this guy and they seemed to be getting along and...”
He caught Jack’s eye and nodded. “Yeah, well,
you know Penny...” Mac reached for the last card
and turned it round in his hands. “And then there
was this one. Let me read it to you.”
Jack and Pete
listened, looking more and more confused. Pete shook his
head, frowning.
“That
makes no sense. Uncle Angus? Monsieur Street? I don’t
get it.”
“Yeah,
Pete. I don’t get it either. But she doesn’t
sound happy and I’m worried about her. Trouble just
seems to find her, we all know that. Just look at that
time when...” MacGyver tailed off, looking again
at the postcard he’d tossed onto the table.
Jack’s
eyes widened and he snatched up the card.
“Mac!
Pete! It’s a code, it’s got to be. We gotta
work it out, Penny could be in trouble.” He stared
round at his friends, the prospect of adventure lighting
his eyes.
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