The thumping of the rotor blades could be heard long before the helicopter came into view. Max was on his way up the hill from the river, and sprinted for the house. Alexis leaned out the back door and called to him, "Hurry, Max, this is it. Here they come. I'll go get the sign." Alexis dashed for the sign in the spare room while little Jordan ran to the front door."Biti Jammy, Biti Jammy," Jordan cried, pointing to the sky. It took Alexis a moment to figure out that he was saying; she smiled in amused indulgence when she realized he was saying “British Army.”
“C'mon, Jordan,” she said, taking the little boy by the hand. “Let's go out and wave to the soldiers." Just then Max caught up and together they ran out of the house, across the yard and up to the grassy knoll. Alexis held up the large piece of cardboard with the capital T written on it, hoping they would understand the invitation.
"It's working. They're circling a second time. I think they're going to land."
For a moment it looked like the men in the chopper had changed their minds. The aircraft rose above the height of the western ridge where it hovered for a few minutes, then made the approach to the H shaped landing pad. The noise and wind were tremendous as the whirling blades came closer to the ground and flattened the tall grass.
“Hello," said the very English voice as the man jumped out of the helicopter. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Captain Tony Martin, Army Air Corps,
Worcester and Sherwood Foresters. How do you do?"
"Alexis Lord," she replied, extending her hand. "This is my husband, Max, and my son, Jordan. Nice of you to drop in."
"We saw your sign and, quite frankly, we were charmed by your thoughtfulness as well as your innovative invitation. This is my copilot, Lieutenant Hugh Worthington."
"See, Max?” Alexis said radiantly. “I told you they'd get it."
From that time on the Lord family became good friends with Her Majesty's Forces. The pilots not only stopped for tea, they indeed bought the jewelry that Alexis made, grateful for something original to take home to England. Alexis had always assumed the English were very proper, but she quickly found out that they were quite fun with a wonderful dry sense of humor.
Soon the British began to come on a regular basis. They arrived in helicopters or Army jeeps on a Sunday afternoon, sometimes six or eight at a time, bringing their friends or wives to socialize or go swimming in the river. The officers were not only great guests, they brought copious quantities of steaks, hamburgers, and legs of lamb, complete with mint sauce, beer, twelve-year-old Scotch, and chocolate bars. After spending over two years in Belize, Max and Alexis had long ago given up vegetarianism; the repetitive diet had taught them to be grateful for any kind of variety. On one such visit Captain Martin brought a special gift for Alexis. It looked like the thin branch of a tree with a hard white material encrusted on the surface."It's called black coral," Tony said. "Apparently it's not a true calcium carbonate coral, but more like a dense underwater wood, and it grows only in very deep water. The local chaps out on Ambergris Caye use it to make jewelry." Handing it to her, Alexis examined the piece minutely and showed it to Max. "I realize it doesn't look like much now,” he continued. “But when it's sanded and polished, it becomes black and lustrous. They make beads with it and carve it into sharks and dolphins and crosses. Some of their stuff is lovely. I just thought maybe you'd like to try working with it."
"That's very kind of you to think of me. I'd love to experiment and see what I can come up with. Thanks, Tony."
Her creative mind was already racing with possibilities.
