The morning sun filtered into the room through the small gap in the drapes. Roni had slept really well, but she’d had strange dreams. Lying on her back, watching the light brighten, she flipped through her memory to try and put them together. Devin had been there at one point, on the dock, just the two of them on a crystal blue day, turquoise water spreading beyond until it hit the horizon. She could see the love now in his eyes that Lacy had mentioned, and she wanted to ask him about it in the dream, but she knew better. She felt that tightening in her heart in the dream, that moment when you realize someone loves you in a romantic way, and you love them that way too. She imagined Devin’s eyes, the way he looked at her sometimes, a longing she speculated. It didn’t matter anyway she thought and pushed forward with remembering. Mack was in another part, and the kids, but they were younger versions of themselves. And then there was the roller coaster. She’d felt herself lean backwards and go up, up, up, the chain ratcheting underneath the car. As she got to the top, and just before she dropped down the other side, she tightened her stomach muscles. When she went over, she could see the track running straight down and then straight up again, then twists and turns and spirals ahead. Throughout the ride, as the coaster spun her this way and that “She’s So Cold” by the Rolling Stones played loudly in her head.
The thoughts of Devin and love were from the talk with Lacy last night, as no doubt were her thoughts of family. Roni tried to identify her feelings for Devin. She loved him, but not in a love-love way, the way she loved Mack. I do love him, don’t I? She enjoyed Devin as a person. He was so many different things wrapped into one and he made her laugh. Be honest… In another time and space, maybe, there would have been a possibility for something different. It was nice to have someone who openly made her feel special, pretty, and wanted. Mack wasn’t so good at that, never had been. The roller coaster ride was obvious, it was her journey, and it didn’t surprise her in the dream to find herself alone in the roller coaster car when it stopped. She’d had to take this journey alone in order to think things through. Thank you Mack for knowing. The Rolling Stones song confused her however. She sort of hummed the tune in her head, trying to remember the actual lyrics. “I’m so hot for her, I’m so hot for her, and she’s so cold”, perfect, that was it. Lacy’s idea that Devin loved her. Roni kicked off the sheet and sat up on the edge of the bed. She looked over at Jenny and jumped slightly when she realized Jenny was lying on her side, facing her with her eyes open.
“How long have you been awake?” Roni asked.
“Long enough to watch you stare at the ceiling for a really long time,” Jenny teased.
“I was thinking,” Roni said.
“Really?” Jenny mocked. “I couldn’t have guessed.”
“I had weird dreams, I was trying to figure them out,” Roni said.
“And did you?” Jenny questioned.
“Pretty much,” Roni said, not wanting to go into the dreams and their suspected meanings. “Beach or pool?”
“Either is fine with me,” Jenny said, rolling onto her back.
“I think the beach, but we’ll ask the other girls,” Roni said.
“What time did Devin leave?” Jenny asked, sitting up in bed.
She rolled her shoulders, stretching, and then redid her ponytail. The light through the curtain slashed across her arm as she moved.
“Around midnight, you missed the goodbye hugs. We all got one,” Roni teased.
“Aww,” Jenny said.
“Let’s get coffee, maybe cook some breakfast,” Roni said as she pulled on very short jean shorts and a blue cotton knit tank.
“No running?”
“Hey, a girl deserves a break now and then.”
The girls went to the kitchen, and Roni wrestled with the coffee pot.
“Do we have any breakfast stuff left?” Jenny asked.
Roni opened the refrigerator and bent down to look.
“Eggs, a little bacon, but not enough for four. It could work if we just had eggs and toast. It’s not sounding great, though,” Roni said.
“You know, what we need is a Bloody Mary,” Jenny said.
“Thanks for that, Jen, you just made our decision. It’s Green Turtle Club for breakfast. Let’s get the girls up.”
Tara and Lacy were awake, just not moving yet, and they were all over having breakfast out.
“A little coffee first, check email, scrub a toilet, whatever, then we’ll head over,” Roni said as she left their room.
Jenny had dressed and was sitting at the counter trying to get to her emails. The smell of coffee now filled the kitchen.
“Damn, I think the Internet is down,” Jenny said.
“It does that. Same with the electricity. You’ve seen the wires along the road, kind of third world,” Roni said. “Bring your laptop to the club when we go, they have Internet.”
She pulled out four mugs and poured coffee into two. Roni watched as she shut off the modem and turned it back on, trying again to get online.
“Remember the days we didn’t have all this shit? When you were out of the country, you had no contact except a really expensive phone call, so you didn’t call. Now we can connect all the time, where ever,” Roni pondered. “It’s sort of sad. Our kids will never know about having to search for a pay phone or use an encyclopedia. You want to know about something, Google it. It’s awesome in so many ways, but really truly getting away is hard when we know it’s just a click away.”
“Roni, what are you talking about? You’re an addict,” Tara said, coming into the kitchen. “Laptop, iTunes, Kindle, iPhone…you have it all.”
“I know. I haven’t missed it, though.”
“Are we ready?” Lacy asked, emerging from the bedroom.
“Unless you want coffee,” Roni said.
“If everyone’s ready, I can wait.”
“Internet is out, so if you want to use your laptop, bring it with,” Jenny said.
Everyone but Tara brought their laptops. She figured she could use Roni’s to send Michael a quick email.
“We were just too busy being fabulous,” Tara sang as they bounded down the road, making the other girls laugh.
––––––––––––
“Anywhere ya wanna set,” Sally said as the girls walked into the screened-in eating area.
As usual, the club was not overly busy, so the girls chose the table closest to the bay. The chairs scraped on the tile floor as they sat down making a screeching sound. Sally cringed slightly.
“Another beautiful day,” Tara said as she placed her napkin in her lap.
“Sally, will you get four Bloody Marys for us? We want to start our morning off right,” Roni teased.
Sally smiled shyly and placed a menu in front of each girl before she disappeared.
“She has Devin’s smile. A that little hint of mischievousness,” Jenny said.
“I told you about Sally that one night, didn’t I? That was the funniest thing,” Roni chuckled.
“When she passed out on the dance floor?” Lacy asked.
“Yeah, shh, she’s coming,” Roni hushed.
Sally set the Bloody Marys on the table and set her tray on the empty table next to them as she pulled her pad from her pocket.
“Ya ready ta order,” she asked.
“I’m ready,” Roni said.
“I’ll go last, I’m still thinking,” Lacy said as she continued to look at the menu.
“I’ll take the Green Turtle breakfast, eggs scrambled, bacon, and sourdough toast if you have it.”
Tara went next, than Jenny. Lacy was still looking at the menu when Sally got back to her.
“Come on, Lacy, it’s not like you have fifty billion choices.”
Lacy shut the menu and looked at Sally.
“I’ll do the same thing Roni’s doing.”
Lacy was somewhat distracted, she was thinking about her and Roni’s late night conversation. She was surprised that Roni had not yet shared her travel thoughts with all the girls. She did think it was a good idea. Their trip had been steller so far.
“Tell the girls about your idea, what we talked about last night,” Lacy encouraged.
“Oh, that’s a good Bloody Mary,” Tara cooed.
“You make the best, you would know,” Roni said, taking a sip of her drink. “Um, it is good, great suggestion, Jen. There wasn’t much breakfast stuff at the house and then Jenny said it would be better with a Bloody Mary. I concurred.”
Lacy shot Roni a look that said tell the girls.
“I’ll get there,” Roni whispered.
“Ya gals like dose?” Roe asked, poking her head into the dining room through the opening from the bar.
“They’re great, Roe, just what the doctor ordered,” Roni said.
The conversation was shifting quickly and she didn’t want to just throw her idea on the table suddenly.
“Wha’ doctor, doctor Dolan,” Roe chuckled, shook her head, and then retreated.
“How’s she get her hair to do that perfect little bun?” Lacy asked.
Roni tilted her head, shooting Lacy a questioning glance.
“What?” Lacy said.
“It’s fake,” Roni said quietly. “Many of the locals wear wigs.”
“Really?” Lacy asked, leaning forward.
“Honest. Roe slicks her own hair up and then attaches that bun to the top. You’ve seen black hair. It’s not easy to grow or get straight like that bun,” Roni said.
Lacy chewed on her lip gingerly, contemplating Roni’s new information. Tara couldn’t help but chuckle, watching her.
“I guess I’ve heard that before, but I’ve never given it much thought,” Jenny said.
“I can just see it now, we’re going to go from the ‘sexy skanky’ routine to real or fake,” Tara teased.
Sally came bringing their food, which halted the conversation. After breakfast, the girls went into the Dollar Bar to have another Bloody Mary. It was empty so they sat at the bar in order to talk to Roe.
“Wha’ ya gals gin do taday?” Roe asked as she made their drinks.
“Beach after this, probably some reading. Nothing going on tonight, so we’re going to have a quiet evening. We’re headed for Nippers tomorrow. We rented a boat with a captain. I think his name is Ty, he’s taking us over,” Roni answered.
“Ah, Ty. He a good boy. He’d a rough go, but he come out okay,” Roe said, placing the drinks on the bar.
She moved back to her stool and rested her big bottom on the edge, and then she wiggled her large frame up onto it. Lacy could not stop staring at Roe’s hair, and Jenny finally nudged her in the side. Roni caught it and laughed.
“She doesn’t care,” Roni said. “She told me.”
Roe looked from Roni to Lacy making Lacy blush.
“I tol’ ya wha’?” Roe asked.
“You told me about your hair.”
“Wha’ ‘bout my hair?” Roe asked, raising her hands up to smooth it.
“That the bun is not real,” Roni said.
“Ah dat, errybody know dat,” Roe chuckled.
“What do you do at night when you sleep?” Lacy asked.
Tara shot Roni a look that said here goes Dr. Lacy with the questions. Roni smiled.
“I puts a net on it. Keep it from gittin’ too messed up, or takes it off.”
She crossed her arms and rested them on her big bosoms.
“I don’ wan’ no one messin’ wif my hair,” Roe said.
“Except your husband, maybe,” Lacy questioned, her curiosity driving her.
“I ain’ got no husban’.”
“Boyfriend?” Tara asked.
“Some boyfrien’s erry naw an’ den,” Roe said, smiling coyly.
“Roe, are you a wild one?” Roni teased.
“Kin be, but don’ touch my hair,” Roe said, smoothing her hair again. “He kin do wha’ever he wan’, but don’ touch my hair.”
The four girls started laughing, and their laughter seemed to encourage Roe.
“Nuttin’ I gots up here gin he’p him wif any thin’ down there. He git dat by hissef,” Roe said.
The girls laughed harder as Roni wiped tears from the corners of her eyes with her pinky finger.
“Roe, you’re killing us,” Roni choked out.
Roe sat on her stool, smiling like a Cheshire cat. The sun was bright as they exited the bar and they quickly fumbled through their bags to find sunglasses.
“Roe says right under this tree is the best spot for Internet reception,” Roni said, setting her laptop and bag on the metal table under the Buttonwood tree.
She tried to think who it was that had told her what kind of tree it was and couldn’t. New York suddenly seemed like another lifetime, and she wondered how it would feel to go back. In three short days, she would find out. She could envision her large corner office, hear the bustling in the hallways, and feel the tension that had surrounded her…every single day. How did I endure it so long? And why? She pictured Devin’s dock and small office, the calmness, the lack of pressure, the beauty that surrounded it. Roni opened her laptop and logged on finding the network and asked for the password that she typed in, “GTC69”. She figured some young employee probably came up with it, finding it humorous. Lacy was concentrating on her computer, as was Jenny. Tara had picked a chair in the sun to sit and wait with her face tipped up, her eyes closed, and her long, dark hair falling over the back of the chair.
The prospect of starting something totally new made Roni nervous, but excited her at the same time. She hoped Mack would like her idea. There were so many diverse aspects she could pursue. People loved to travel and when they did, the majority of the time they were happy and having fun, getting away from the stress of real life. Her off-the-beaten track theme would be appealing, especially to women like her and her friends. Roni felt something fall on her shoulder and she brushed it off, thinking it was a leaf. She typed out an email to Mack telling him about breakfast and the funny conversation with Roe. She asked him how work and the weather were. He hadn’t said much about her coming home, and she almost asked if he was looking forward to it, then decided against it. She had hoped he would give her some indication of his feelings, how they were going to resolve the fight. Something dropped into her hair and assuming it was another leaf from the tree, she flipped her hair a couple of times. She’d started an email to her daughter when a little white thing fell onto her keyboard. She went to wipe it away when it moved. She looked closer, and it was a very tiny worm.
“Oh, god, bugs,” Roni shrieked, jumping up.
She shook her head from side to side, flipping her fingers through her hair, realizing the things that she thought were leaves were worms. Her shriek made Tara sit up and look.
“What is it?” Tara asked.
“Little worms are falling from the tree,” Roni said, standing. “I felt a couple things hit me, but thought they were leaves…ah.”
Roni made a face and picked up her laptop, moving from beneath the tree. Lacy, grossed out by the thought, also picked up her laptop.
“I haven’t felt anything,” Jenny said, looking over her reading glasses.
As Tara watched, Roni continue to flip her hair, and she started to laugh.
“Come here, I’ll see if there are anymore,” Tara said.
“They’re so tiny,” Roni complained. “I could have lots of them on me.”
“Oh stop,” Tara said as she looked through her hair. “I don’t see anything. We’re going to the beach. You can get in the water, rinse your hair out, and you’ll feel good again. I can wait till the Internet comes back up at the house to email Michael. Between the bad visual of Roe with some man trying to touch her hair and your bug dance, I’m ready for sand and sun.”
“I’ve just got a couple more emails and then I’m finished,” Jenny said, pecking away at her keyboard.
“What’s your visual of Roe?” Lacy asked.
Tara cocked her head.
“Are you kidding me?”
Lacy smiled back at her.
“I just wondered if it was the same as mine.”