Sunscreen & Coconuts Read online

  I exited the bathroom just as Kate finished putting on her own pajamas. A neon green sports bra appeared beneath a light grey tank top and similarly colored shorts. With her white blonde hair, she appeared nearly monochromatic if not for the bra.

  “Still think it’s rustic?” she teased her living situation and me.

  “You don’t have a shower?” I questioned.

  “It’s outdoors,” she explained. “That’s pretty typical for around here. And I brush my teeth in the kitchen sink.”

  I didn’t want her to think I was judging her, even though I privately was. She was being unnecessarily generous to share her space with me.

  “It’s very efficient,” I praised. “You’re ahead of the curve. People in the States consider tiny living to be all the rage.”

  “Tiny what?” she laughed.

  “You know—selling all your things so you can live in a 400 square foot house that attaches to your car.”

  Her features wrinkled. “Like an RV?”

  “Kind of. But it’s your actual house.”

  She shook her head. “And everyone back home thinks I’m the crazy one.”

  Kate flopped down on the two-cushioned loveseat and pounded at the decorative pillow to fluff it up. Her legs hung over the edge of the furniture.

  “Oh, l can take the couch,” I offered.

  “Nuh uh. I told you I had room. It would be rude to make you rough it on the couch.”

  “But it’s your house.”

  “Exactly. You’re my guest. So turn off the lights and don’t fight me on this.”

  I didn’t anticipate the mattress on the floor being any more comfortable than the narrow loveseat, but I kept those thoughts to myself.

  I turned off the overhead lights and managed to shuffle through the darkness without knocking into anything. The mattress was firm, without any noticeable lumps or sinkholes. Despite the heat of the evening, the bedding was surprisingly cool to the touch.

  “Thank you again,” I said as I settled in.

  “Don’t mention it,” Kate dismissed. “By the way, do you snore?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  I hadn’t had anyone spend the night in several months, but I’d been sharing a hotel room with Racy. She hadn’t mentioned anything about me snoring, which seemed like the kind of thing my friend wouldn’t let pass without mention.

  “Good. It might attract bears.”

  “Bears?” I worried.

  The room was dark, but I could hear her unsuccessfully trying to stifle a giggle.

  “You’re lying.”

  “You didn’t really believe there were bears on the island.”

  “No—but you said it so matter-of-factly!” I complained.

  “I was kidding. You don’t have to worry about bears—just the snakes. They shouldn’t be able to get in here though,” she assured me. “The gaps under my doors aren’t too wide.”

  I pulled the bed sheet up under my chin. “That’s very reassuring,” I deadpanned.

  “Sweet dreams, roomie,” she sing-songed.

  CHAPTER SIX

  The scent of sea salt and sand perfumed the air. Sunshine warmed my face and a light breeze ruffled the wisps of hair around my face. I was so comfortable, I forgot where I was. I opened my eyes, expecting to see the interior of the hotel room I shared with Racy, but I didn’t see my friend or any of the resort’s furnishings.

  I hefted myself up on my elbows and peered around the one-room house. My hostess was missing. The couch upon which Kate had slept was empty, and I didn’t see her elsewhere in the small house.

  I’d slept surprisingly well despite sleeping in a stranger’s house on a mattress on the floor. My exhaustion from the stressful evening, combined with the rhythmic sound of waves against the shoreline, had lulled me into a deep and restful sleep. It had been too dark the previous night to notice how close to the ocean Kate’s house was located. The windows that faced the water were open, and a slightly cooler breeze carried the scent of salt and sunshine into the tiny, one-room house.

  I turned my head at the sound of a door opening. The back door quietly creaked, and my missing hostess silently slipped inside. She had a towel in one hand and flip-flops in the other. Her silver-blonde hair was wet and slicked back from her face. She’d changed into a baggy t-shirt, much like the one I wore, and blue board shorts. Like the collared, flowered shirts I’d seen her wear, her current outfit was far too large for her wiry frame. Her thin arms and legs stuck out of the oversized clothes like the stick figures my students drew.

  Kate didn’t look in my direction as she re-entered the house. She tiptoed around the room, apparently worried she might wake me up, but not noticing I already was. She hung her damp towel over the back of a chair at the kitchen table. She made another silent, careful move towards the kitchen sink, but I heard and saw the table shift when she unintentionally came in contact with one of its legs.

  She hissed in pain before clapping her hand over her mouth to muffle the sound.

  “Are you okay?” I asked from my position in bed.

  Her hand fell away from her mouth when she finally looked in my direction. “I didn’t mean to wake you,” she apologized. “I was trying to be quiet, but I think I broke my goddamn toe.”

  “Let me see,” I encouraged.

  I was no medical expert, but I’d seen my share of bumps and bruises from reckless behavior on the school playground.

  Kate hobbled across the length of the room, gingerly putting pressure on her injured foot. She flopped down on the end of the mattress and maneuvered her leg closer to me. I threw back the thin sheet under which I’d slept and shifted onto my knees to get a better look at her foot.

  Her legs were thin and lightly bronzed. Droplets of water still clung to her ankles. I couldn’t tell if she’d gone for a swim in the ocean or had taken a shower outside. The top of her foot was colored with distinctive tan lines from the thong on her flip-flops. I hadn’t noticed tan lines elsewhere on her body, particularly her shoulders, which made me inappropriately curious about her tanning habits.

  She sucked in a sharp breath when my fingers first brushed against the top of her foot.

  I reflexively jerked back my hand. “Is it really that bad?” I worried.

  “No, I’m being a baby,” she grit out.

  “Which toe is it?” I asked.

  “All of them.”

  I tried again, gently laying my hands on her injured foot. This time she remained silent while I tested her joints and the movement of her toes.

  “You’ll survive,” I decided after a moment. “There doesn’t seem to be anything broken, but an ice pack or even a bag of frozen veggies will help keep the swelling down. Do you have any of those?”

  She nodded towards the kitchen. “In the freezer.”

  I hopped up from the bed, happy for the task. A thick layer of ice crystals coated the inside of her freezer, choking out most of the space where food would have been. The freezer was relatively empty beyond a few oven pizzas, but I was able to retrieve a bag of peas that had frozen into a giant block.

  I noisily smashed the peas in her sink to break them up in the bag. “Thank you for loaning me the use of your bed,” I said.

  Kate watched me from her bed, experimentally flexing her foot. “It’s no problem. Happy I could help.”

  I returned to the bed and laid the bag of peas across the top of Kate’s foot. I adjusted and rearranged the bag of peas until I was satisfied with its location.

  Like an obedient patient, Kate waited and watched me work. “What are you plans for the day?” she asked.

  “Chew out my friend for locking me out of our room. Make her grovel for my forgiveness.”

  A low chuckle rumbled from Kate. “Remind me not to make you mad.”

  I sighed into the room. “I should probably get back to the resort. My friend will be wondering what happened to me.”

  In truth, I didn’t know if Racy remembered I was on this vaca
tion with her. Her behavior from the previous night suggested otherwise.

  “Do you want me to give you a lift?” Kate offered. She made a movement as if to stand from the bed.

  “No, no,” I insisted, waving my hands. “You’ve done more than enough already, plus you should take it easy on that foot.”

  I wasn’t looking forward to walking back to the resort by myself, but I didn’t want to continue to rely on the kindness of strangers. I also wasn’t too keen to get back on Kate’s moped.

  They were still serving breakfast by the time I made it back to the resort. The walk from Kate’s house had been long, hot, and dusty, and I was still in the polka-dot dress I’d worn on my disaster of a date. I was fairly confident Kate would have let me borrow the clothes I’d slept in, but my debt sheet was getting too long.

  I considered dropping by my room for a change of clothes and to freshen up, but I couldn’t be sure of what I’d find there. Racy might have still been entertaining her date, and I was too hungry to deal with all of that on an empty stomach.

  I piled my plate high with silver dollar pancakes, sausage links, and fresh fruit. A cup of coffee and tall glass of orange juice framed my plate. No sooner had I settled down at a table for two, when I found the vacant seat across from me suddenly filled.

  “Thank heavens,” Racy exclaimed. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. You had me worried sick.”

  I ignored my friend for the moment and continued to carefully chew my food. I washed down my large bite with a gulp of fresh orange juice. I wiped my mouth with my napkin and carefully considered my next words: “Are you still on your date?”

  “No.” Racy leaned forward and lowered her voice conspiratorially. “But it lasted until this morning, if you know what I mean.”

  I wrinkled my nose. “Gross.”

  I pushed away my plate; I no longer had much of an appetite.

  “Where is your Romeo now?” I wondered.

  “His name is Mark,” she needlessly reminded me, “and he had to get to work. He sells timeshares in Willemstad.”

  “That must have been quite the hard sell to convince you to lock me out of the room,” I remarked.

  “Oh, you’re a clever one when you’re pissed off,” Racy chuckled. “Where did you spend the night?” She seemed to have just realized the missing detail.

  “That’s not important; just don’t do it again.”

  + + +

  I was feeling more forgiving and more like myself after a long shower and a change of clothes. We decided to spend our fourth day on the island exploring the hotel’s property beyond the bars, restaurants, and pools. As an all-inclusive resort, water sports like sea kayaks and stand-up-paddleboards were included, along with beach volleyball, shuffleboard, ping-pong and a giant chessboard. We passed on the more physical activities to go shopping in some of the boutique stores located near the open-air lobby. In addition to the brick-and-mortar shops, the resort also hosted local artisans in a marketplace like one would find near the cruise ship ports in Willemstad.

  A large, open courtyard at the center of the resort grounds was populated with vendors from the surrounding area. Most of the pop-up shops sold trinkets that were probably mass-produced in Asia, but some of the carts contained handmade items. I watched an elderly man make wide-brimmed hats out of palm fronds. His tan, gnarled fingers worked with amazing dexterity despite his visible age. A woman wove embroidery thread into decorative table runners. Still another vendor sold hand-painted miniature ceramic buildings that resembled the brightly colored structures in downtown Willemstad.

  Racy and I walked along the marketplace at a leisurely pace with no other plans or places to be. We stopped and chatted with some of the vendors whose wares appealed to us, but we were only window shopping and not serious buyers. I allowed myself to zone out and simply enjoy the sunshine and the people, until I heard a voice calling across the marketplace.

  “Hey, roomie! Over here!”

  I couldn’t help looking in the direction of the loud voice. I spied Kate, the woman with whom I’d spent the night, waving wildly from across the market. Her silver blonde hair stuck up in the back like she hadn’t done anything with it after her morning shower. Her boxy Hawaiian shirt was so oversized it nearly fell past her faded red board shorts.

  Instead of acknowledging her presence, I ducked behind the cart of a man selling counterfeit designer sunglasses.

  “Long time no see!” Kate continued to call to me, drawing the attention of other vendors and tourists.

  I grabbed a pair of neon orange sunglasses from the display and slipped them on.

  The man who owned the cart misinterpreted my actions as interest in a purchase. “Do you like those?” he asked. “I’ll make you a deal.”

  “No, thank you,” I waved him off. “I’m just looking.”

  I kept the neon sunglasses on while I continued to hunch behind the glasses display.

  Kate, however, would not be deterred. “Hey, over here!”

  Racy appeared at my side. “Mercy, I think that woman is talking to you.”

  I continued to feign interest in the collection of sunglasses and avoided looking in Kate’s direction. “She’s just trying to sell us something,” I said. “Don’t make eye contact.”

  I didn’t take my own advice and glanced in Kate’s direction. She caught me looking and waved her arms above her head like hailing a cab. “Hey, Mercy. Yo, Mercy.”

  Racy looked unconvinced. “How does she know your name?”

  “I-I don’t know,” I lied.

  My feet were frozen in place when Kate finally jogged over to us. “Hey,” she greeted me. She ran her hand through her wildly stubborn hair. “I was trying to get your attention. Didn’t you hear me?”

  My disguise a failure, I removed my sunglasses and returned them to their proper place on the vendor’s cart. “Oh. Hi.”

  “Look.” She hopped up and down on one leg. “All healed. Guess you were right about me not breaking anything.”

  “Mercy, what’s going on?” Racy interjected herself into the conversation.

  Kate spun on her heel to face Racy. “Hi. Kate Emerson.” She stuck out her hand in Racy’s direction. “You must be the bad friend.”

  I hadn’t known Kate’s last name or that she’d even had a last name at all. She seemed more like the island’s mascot who was only known by her first name, like Madonna or Cher.

  Racy didn’t shake Kate’s hand. Instead, she looked bewildered. “Bad friend?”

  Kate looked between the two of us. “Do I have it wrong? Aren’t you the one who ditched your girl on a tropical island and left her to fend for herself?”

  Racy’s head tilted to the side and she stared at me expectedly. “Who is this person, Mercy?”

  “Kate Emerson,” Kate repeated. She didn’t need me to speak for her.

  I scratched the back of my neck. “Kate, she, uh, she let me stay at her place last night,” I explained.

  Racy whirled her attention from Kate and then back to me. “You slept at a complete stranger’s house?”

  I took offense to her censuring tone. She’d had sex with a complete stranger. All I’d done was sleep. It was survival.

  I crossed my arms across my chest. “You didn’t give me much of an alternative. Would you have preferred I slept on a hammock on the beach?”

  Racy held up her hands, recognizing she had no moral ground on which to stand. She didn’t continue to press the topic, but she gave me a look that let me know there would be more questions later.

  “Doing a little shopping? Can I interest you ladies in some of my wares?” Kate flashed a perfectly charming smile that, for the moment at least, had Racy forgetting about me.

  “What are you selling?” Racy asked.

  “Coconuts. I paint them. Come. I’ll show you.”

  She ushered us to a nearby cart that presumably belonged to her. Arranged on the miniature shelves were a variety of painted coconuts, decorated with different
tropical scenes—a beachfront view with intertwining palm trees, a sherbet-colored sunset, a surfboard sticking out of the sand. Some of the coconuts had been painted to resemble football helmets representing different college and NFL teams. In addition to the helmets and painted landscape scenes, some of the coconuts had been fashioned into vibrant colored fish, complete with exterior fins, tails, and expressive faces.

  Racy leaned toward one of the coconut fish. “These are actually pretty cute,” she observed. “How do you do the fins?”

  “They’re palm fronds,” Kate said. “I can personalize them to commemorate your vacation, too.”

  “We’re good,” I interjected.

  “Don’t be such a party pooper, Mercy,” Racy chastised.

  A smile appeared on Kate’s annoyingly luscious mouth. “Yeah, Mercy,” she echoed.

  Racy rummaged around in her beach bag. “Do you take plastic?”

  “Sorry. Cash only.” Kate rubbed her middle and forefinger against her thumb. “American dollars are primo around these parts.”

  Racy stopped digging in her bag. “I don’t have anything on me right now. Can I pay you later when the work is done?”

  “I don’t normally do it that way, but I guess I can make an exception.” She caught my eye and grinned. “I know where to find you.”

  Rather than linger in her grey-green stare, I tore my eyes away and focused instead on one of the brightly painted coconuts.

  “Racy, do you really need a coconut?” I tapped my foot with growing impatience. “Can you even bring it back into the country? They’ll just confiscate it at Customs.”

  “You won’t find a bigger rule-follower than Mercy.” Racy tugged her thumb in my direction. “You really hung out with this wet blanket last night? Voluntarily?”