Part 6
The couple returned to their private paradise the next day. Bill went exploring and Betty resumed her station,taking the sun. She had removed the bathing suit entirely, (The only gal this side of Monaco with cheeks of tan.) There was a disturbance in the forest, (Well I’ll be darned. I refuse to believe more smugglers.) She frantically jammed her legs into the garment.
A uniformed policeman stepped out and saw her pulling up the top. He politely turned his back and asked, "¿Señora, hablas Inglés?"
"Si, Estados Unidos. Okay puede ver, Señor." (okay to look)
He turned to her sternly, "Immodesty is not permitted in Mexico, madam. Are you alone?"
She didn’t remember what Bill was wearing but envisioned him running bare-ass through the jungle with the smut patrol out and about, "Si . . . yes . . . I mean, no. My husband is down the beach."
"I warn you strongly, madam, nudity is forbidden. The shame of immodesty is for Anglos, not Mexicanos."
Betty emitted a castigated whine. (That’s a slap in the face.) "¡ Mi pesa ! I didn’t know." she lied, "I will never do it again, I promise." she lied again.
"Very well. We are searching for contraband that may have been discarded in the forest yesterday. If you see boxes, packages, guns, please report them."
"Gracias, Señor, gracias."
Here came Bill and another cop around the bend. Bill was completely naked with his only article of clothing clutched in one hand. The policeman herded him along.
The official with Betty advised her, "¡ Uno momento, Señora !"
The cops conferred. Bill had shed his shorts to take a swim but now desperately wanted to put them on. "You certainly should want to cover yourself, sir. You have, how you say, indecent nudity. You may don your pants."
The gringo should have kept his mouth shut, "You mean, indecent exposure."
"You admit it, then? Indecent exposure is what Americans of the north do, in their own land, in front of children and grandmothers. You are both under arrest, come with us."
The Dodge Omni was in sight where the group entered the road, and Betty grasped at a straw, "We have diplomatic immunity, political protection. The papers are in the car."
A policeman examined the document and proclaimed, "Sir, this certificate is expired. Your government will not excuse your shame." Betty grabbed a long sleeved shirt to wear over her bathing suit. Bill wore only a hillbilly hat, T-shirt, and cutoff jeans.
They were marched to town barefoot and charged with nudity. SLAM, the iron gate clanged behind them. They found themselves in the company of a drunken German, a prostitute, and two men who looked as though they had been in a knife fight.
"They got us for nudity." Betty was talking to the woman, "What you in for, honey, manslaughter?" she pretended to be tough.
"I show chiche to a man, and policía see it." She displayed to all occupants by peeling one cup down, "It is nice tit, no? Good way to sell. Su husband?" she asked about Bill.
Betty bristled, "Si, my husband, mi hombre." and the other woman covered herself out of respect.
Bill shook the bars and shouted, "No hick jail can hold us. We are Bety y Bil, international desperados." He screamed with insane laughter, "Hyah, har, haw! We have friends in the Mexican Mafia. Hee, ho, wheeze. You will not awake tomorrow." he threatened. That solicited a guard’s attention.
Bill had his ear, "Just yesterday, we discovered smugglers and gave their ship to police." The guard had heard about the excitement. "Our clothes were stolen by criminals as we escaped." That was possible, the guard supposed. "Captain Aliandro is our friend. Ask him about Guillermo ‘Bil’ Fréngin y esposa Señora Bety. Go, find him and see. Drug Cartel Internationál will slit your family’s throat in the night."
(Lordy, Bill, you go too far.)
Captain Aliandro was not available and the Americans spent the night incarcerated. Betty shared a bunk with the "hoe" and Bill, poor Bill, lay on the stone floor with the German, who felt no pain. Breakfast wasn’t bad though; chilis, tortillas, and coffee. The German went to court, the other men were transferred to a "volunteer" work gang, and the prostitute was released.
The captain appeared later. He apologized for the misunderstanding and told the Americans about the speedboat, captured two days before. The craft was registered to a fictitious party. The authorities could keep the vessel, had it been legally registered, but in this case, it fell under international salvage law and belonged to the Franklins. Aliandro guessed the couple knew little of the legality and volunteered his help, registering it in their names. The cost would be low, about 50 pesos. A permit to cruise Mexican waters would cost more, 500 pesos. They could then use it to tour the coast, take it to the U.S., or sell it.
"I hate the idea of maintaining it and the gas mileage is probably terrible.", "We don’t need the aggravation or the money we could get out of it.", "Can’t take it cross country. We need a four-wheel drive worse than that thing."
"We don’t really want it, Captain. Would it be of use to your department?" Aliandro became very excited because he had only one cruiser and this one was faster. It was bigger too; his entire force could joyride on it.
"Ah, Mister and Missus Fréngin, It is so great a gift. What can we do for you?"
The Americans were afraid to ask for sanction to be depraved on the beach, so they asked the Captain to keep an eye on the young people, Pablo and Rosalita, living in the woods.
"Let’s sleep for a week." they fell into their bed for ten hours. The schedule was relaxed. They visited Pablo on his new job and later had a beer on the tourist beach, asking specifically that the skinny, pretty girl wait on them.
Late in the afternoon, they visited a taberna for a bite to eat and were joined by a Mexican couple who wanted to visit the United States. Their English was good too. They talked of border-crossing hassles, the cost, and places to visit. Bill wrote a letter of introduction to the Rahns with instructions that the visitors could use Franklin’s home. They were distracted, from an otherwise pleasant evening, by boisterous ruffians at the next table.
The new friends noted, in case the Americans hadn’t caught it all, "Did you hear those men brag? They have abducted the daughter of Ruben Conceptión Mixchunche y de Leon. They are negotiating for 500 mil pesos and are confident to get it."
"That’s a lot of money. Who is Señor de Leon?" Bill asked.
"He is the businessman for the Indians and is wealthy. I think Señor Leon was himself kidnapped several years ago."
"Yes. He was held for many months and became skinny. He is fat now."
"If it’s true, they sure are stupid to talk about it in a public club." Betty read the slogan emblazoned across one of the men’s jacket, "La Mujer Gorda de la Muerte, The Fat Lady of Death. That’s original."
A couple of peaceful tourists watched salmon-colored bands of cloud turn to mauve as the sun went down. Betty looked to the east where a full moon hung in the sky, "Let’s go for a moonlight swim."
The lovers waded into the waters of the cove and stood arm in arm, facing the moon. A sparkling lunar highway extended before them, its deep-indigo borders stretching to the horizon. The universe twinkled with stars, contrasting the silhouette of palms on either side.
Their lips joined, one reaching upward, the other down. They slipped into deeper water, following the silvery river closer to the pale disc in the sky. Her face shone in the moon’s glow. He said, "You are lovely."
"Yes," she replied, "we are beautiful." Palms swayed in the distance and the jungle called, they are beautiful. Stillness returned, and they receded further into the cradle of the earth. A soft moan harmonized with the tropical song. Their faces searched one another on the shimmering band of brilliant darkness.
A quetzal cried in the night, a man’s voice echoed, "Ah. . .hh." A woman’s voice, "Oh. . .hh." The ocean moaned in response, oh. . .hh, ah. . .hh. A very human voice whispered, "I love you." another, "I love you." The jungle sighed, we are complete.
The pair retrieved their huaraches and sneaked back to town, some articles of clothing having been donated to the goddess of life.