The sight of the island in the distance is maybe the best thing Holly’s ever seen. She stands at the front of the boat, wind whipping through her hair as she watches Christmas Key grow closer as they approach. Everything is just as she remembers it: the palm trees around the dock; the curve of the island as it wraps around and turns into December Drive in both directions; the way the sky looks as it hangs over the most precious piece of land that Holly’s ever known.
Within ten minutes, they’re pulling up to shore and docking. As promised, Fiona is there to greet her with Bonnie by her side. They both cast furtive glances around to make sure no one is watching (but someone is always watching—Holly knows this) and as soon as Holly’s feet are on terra firma, there’s a manic scramble to see who gets to hug her first. In an effort to avoid squabbles and hurt feelings, she opens her arms wide and pulls both Fiona and Bonnie to her at once.
“I’ve missed you both so much,” Holly says into their ears as she holds them close. “You have no idea.”
“We’ve missed you so much,” Bonnie says. “Don’t leave us again, sugar. It ain’t right!”
“Didn’t we find out recently that leaving the island is a bad idea?” Holly asks, pulling back and looking into Bonnie’s eyes. “Apparently I didn’t learn anything from your adventure in Clearwater.”
“Oh, let’s not even mention that nonsense!” Bonnie scolds her, swatting away any talk of her ill-fated, short-lived plans to live near Tampa with the weekend pirate she’d met on Christmas Key. He’d turned out to be not only a dud with a flair for the kinky, but his swashbuckling pirate act had been a total misrepresentation of the facts. The women exchange an eye roll as they remember the situation.
“Bonnie and I need to talk to you.” Fiona takes a step back and looks at her best friend. “I know you wanted to go home and just sleep it off for a night, but there are a few…”
“Issues,” Bonnie offers. “We got issues, sugar.”
“And they can’t wait until tomorrow?” Holly lets go of the handle of her suitcase and looks at her watch. It’s almost five o’clock, but it feels like ten at night. That—combined with the two hours of sleep she’d gotten on the plane the night before and the thick humidity that she’s swimming through once again—makes her want nothing more than the cool darkness of her own bedroom.
“It can’t,” Fiona says. “And to start with, you can’t go home.”
“What do you mean I can’t go home?” Holly frowns at both of them, panic ripping through her. Has her bungalow burned down? Flooded? “What’s wrong with my house?”
“Coco’s there.” Bonnie presses her lips together apologetically. “We tried, but she wouldn’t budge. Stubborn old mule.”
“What the hell is my mother doing at my house?”
“Well,” Fiona says, looking at Bonnie.
“Yes…well,” Bonnie says, staring back at Fiona. They’re clearly buying time and trying to avoid the inevitable.
“Spit it out. One of you.”
“She wants to build a casino.”
“What?” Holly’s voice blooms like condensation in cold winter air as it leaves her mouth. “Are you freaking kidding me? I’m gone for one second, and she’s down here trying to build a casino?”
“And it’s not just the casino,” Fiona says. “She’s looking at a much bigger picture.”
“Okay, I’m listening.” In spite of her bone-deep exhaustion, Holly folds her arms across her chest.
“Let’s go to my place, sugar,” Bonnie pleads. “I’ve got my guest room set up for you, and Pucci is even there waiting. We tried to get Coco to leave, but she said she was staying until you got back, and we didn’t want to tell her that you were coming back today.”
Holly does a quick inhale-exhale loop as she runs through a vision of her mother camped out at her house. It doesn’t do much to calm her. “Okay,” she says. Let’s go to your place, Bon.”
“We know you’re tired,” Fiona says, reaching out and putting an arm around Holly’s shoulders as they walk toward Bonnie’s golf cart. “But there are a few other things we need to talk about before you fall asleep.”
“Yeah, doll. You’ve been out of touch for way too long, and there are some things we need to talk to you about. By the way,” Bonnie adds, “never do that again, okay?”
“Never leave you and not check in?” Holly laughs at Bonnie’s emphatic tone. Even in the middle of her exhaustion and her fears about what else her friends have to tell her, Holly is elated to be home. “You got it. That’s a deal.”
By ten o’clock, Holly is exhausted and all cried out. Pucci had worked himself into a full-on frenzy at the sight of his mistress, but is now lying calm and happy at her feet. Bonnie and Fiona hadn’t been sure whether to tell her about Ray first or all about Coco’s plans. In the end, they’d started by letting her know that Katelynn and Logan had arrived safely, and that Idora Blaine-Guy was completely installed at Vance and Calista’s house on White Christmas Way. They’d given her the scoop on Gator and the Killjoys’ strange visit to the island, and about Coco’s plans for a casino, and had let her cool down from that piece of news before finally telling her about Ray’s heart attack.
Holly’s first response had been to jump up from Bonnie’s couch and demand to be taken to him immediately. “Is he back home now? Fee—did you guys take him over to Key West to be seen by a specialist? No offense,” she said in a rush, “it’s just that you’re a general practitioner, and he needs a heart doctor—”
“We rushed him to Key West immediately,” Fiona had assured her, “but it was too late, Hol. He died before we got him there.”
Holly sits between her two closest friends now, head in her hands, elbows on her knees. Her eyes feel puffy and closed up. “I’m speechless.” She shakes her head. “I was only gone for eleven days.”
Fiona and Bonnie exchange a look over the top of Holly’s head.
“Let’s get you to bed, sugar,” Bonnie says, running her hand up and down Holly’s back soothingly. “I’m sure Calista has Millie settled in for the night, so going to see her won’t do anything but get her riled up again, and since Fiona couldn’t convince your mother to get out of your house—”
“I tried!” Fiona says defensively. “After I got the call from Holly yesterday I drove over there and told her some story about how Holly wanted us to flea bomb the place, and she didn’t buy it. She told me she hadn’t seen a single flea, and she wouldn’t be leaving until Holly showed up to kick her out herself.”
“It’s okay. I’m happy to stay here.” Holly puts one hand on Fiona’s knee to calm her. “I just need to sleep. I’ll figure everything out tomorrow, but right now my head feels like it weighs a thousand pounds and I have to crash.”
The women stand up and Fiona hugs Holly for a full minute, holding her in a tight embrace. “I’m glad you’re back,” she says into Holly’s ear. “Get some rest.”
As Fiona lets herself out, Bonnie leads Holly to the guest room, which looks almost more inviting than her own bed. The top cover is folded back to reveal clean, mint green sheets, and Bonnie’s brought Pucci’s dog bed over and set it on the floor next to the dresser. The overhead fan is on, and the room feels cool and safe.
“You need anything else, you just holler, you hear?” Bonnie stands on her tiptoes and plants a kiss on Holly’s cheek. “Sleep tight, sugar. Sure good to have you home again.”
All Holly can manage is a “Thanks, Bon,” before she slips out of her clothes and into the bed. She doesn’t shower, doesn’t brush her teeth, doesn’t do a single thing before sleep overtakes her.
Bonnie closes the bedroom door softly and leaves the hall light on.