I hate to admit it but I like Tyler. He’s not just handsome. He’s funny and smart. But then he has to be smart to build a company from scratch and get it to be as big as it is although he tells me that it’s really a family company more than anything. He claims that he only made it onto the celebrity radar after an avalanche hit Annapurna and a photo of him recuperating at base camp was posted on social media. All of a sudden, everyone wanted to know who ‘the hunk’ was, with get-well notes pouring in from all over the world. Two women even proposed to him.
Yes, he’s that good-looking.
He also has rock hard abs to die for, and if only the production didn’t monitor all our calls and text messages, how I wish I could text Tiffany about how much better he looks in person. But I can’t, so I have to keep those facts about Tyler to myself until I return home.
I just hope I come home with a tan, because if Les had his way, there is nothing much for me to do but socialize with the girls and look pretty in my wheelchair in the short time that I’m here. He didn’t think I could hear him talking with someone from the main office the moment he ended our interview, but I heard enough to know that I’m only here for a few days before Tyler is supposed to send me packing.
She’s in a wheelchair, for crying out loud, Les had said. I would have taken an ugly girl any day as the Wild Card, but one in a wheelchair? Even the crew is nervous, and now we don’t know what to do with our plans for zip lining and everything else. We’ll have the disabled community up in arms if we let her go that quickly but we have to, if only to avoid any accidents. What if she flips over on the trail? You know what, I’m going to tell Tyler he’s got no choice but to send Miss Simmons home instead of Marilyn during the ceremony. Heck, send them both!
Marilyn would be the girl with the cropped purple hair who reminds me of Tinker Bell every time I see her. She’s also pretty funny. While the other three women—Bianca, Camille, and Presley—mainly stuck together throughout our first meeting in Gazebo 2 to talk about shoes, clothes and Tyler’s abs, Marilyn sat right next to me and seemed genuinely interested to learn more about me. She told me that she got to parasail with one other girl who, sadly, got sent home a week ago. She also got to do some snorkeling using one of those handheld propulsion thingies (she loved to say ‘thingie’ a lot), go horseback riding and so much more although the camera crew tagging along required some getting used to.
I hope you get to come along with us when we’re scheduled to go zip-lining day after tomorrow, she tells me after dinner. I’m sure they can adapt it for you.
I hope so, too. Though if Les isn’t about to let me have a little bit of fun on this trip, it wouldn’t hurt to ask the owner himself, Tyler Drake. And so I did. I can still remember the frown that crossed Tyler’s face when I asked about the water activities, but he assured me that he’d see to it that I’d get to do whatever I wanted.
I don’t know why, but watching Tyler, I get the feeling that he really isn’t too thrilled to do the show. I can’t really blame him. I hear that part of the resort is off-limits to regular guests, and everyone acts like they’re counting the days till it’s all over. Maybe it’s just the stress of running a live reality show that’s getting to people, or the tensions between the remaining women, so thick you could cut through it like a knife.
I wish circumstances were better, but since I’m already here, I’m counting on Tyler to pull through with his promise.
And he does.
My second day at the Aida starts with a helicopter ride with Tyler. It’s my first time to ride on one and as scary as it initially sounds, I also can’t wait to get started. I get to smell his cologne when he lifts me from my wheelchair to the helicopter seat and it almost makes me swoon. He smells amazing—and feels amazing, too. I’m actually afraid of heights but all that’s forgotten the moment he holds my hand as we take off. He even made me forget that I’m actually afraid of heights the moment he held my hand the entire time.
Jan, our pilot, grew up in Saint Lucia and his knowledge about the island is so extensive that my head spins with the magnificent views from above that go with his information. For the next hour, we fly over Castries, Marigot Bay, the Pitons—which has been classified as a World Heritage Site—and the Soufriere volcano. He and Tyler tell me about the island’s history, having been a colony of France, and then England, and is now one of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles. Tyler’s grandmother, who was English, had been born here and she met his grandfather while attending college in Connecticut.
By the time we return to the resort an hour later, I can’t wait to explore the island from the ground, eat bananas and cassava, and even check out the rum. The only disappointment was to learn that Tyler had to leave me to return to Les and the other contestants because he had work to do.
“You mean you actually work while the reality show is happening?” I ask, feigning a shocked expression. “And here I was thinking you just hung out with all the beautiful women all day and night!”
“I do, but right now, I have a few unhappy guests who find the presence of the camera crew bothersome, and so I’ve got to help Archer put out a few fires.”
“I’m sorry you have to do that.”
“Don’t be; it’s not your fault. I’m the one who signed on the dotted line to play Prince Charming, not you.” Then he laughs and squeezes my hand. “Don’t worry, I’ll see you again this afternoon. Just make sure you’ve got your swimsuit on.”
“Really?”
“And sunscreen. Never forget sunscreen.”
Tyler doesn’t disappoint. After I spend the rest of the morning smiling till my cheeks hurt, he shows up at Gazebo 2 and much to Les’ annoyance, announces that he’s taking me away from everyone for the afternoon.
There’ll be two people tagging along with us with cameras, but I don’t mind it. It’s what I signed up for and just as Tyler told me in the morning, I’m ready with my swimsuit underneath a batik romper I bought at the resort boutique.
The first order of the afternoon is kayaking around Marigot Bay. I’ve kayaked before so it doesn’t take long to get me settled and off we go. And then there’s Tyler’s idea of snorkeling—which doesn’t just involve a mask and a nice area of reef. No, his idea of snorkeling involves two Seabob units, one for me and the other for him. It’s an electric aquatic scooter and where the Seabob is designed to go, none of the camera crew can—which is a bonus.
While I don’t go as fast as Tyler does—although I suspect he’s showing off as he speeds past me over the waves and underwater—I could have stayed in the water all day. I felt like a mermaid with the Seabob allowing me to glide over the water and then go under the surface to look at the coral. Maybe one day, I’ll get more proficient driving it but for now, it’s one thing I’m going to check off my bucket list.
We end the afternoon with a quick ride on an inflatable towable triple banana contraption called a Flyfish. I have never laughed so hard in my life, lying on my belly and clinging on the handles for dear life as the Flyfish speeds over the water. Tyler is laughing, too, for by dinner, he’s hoarse at the dinner table while I can barely keep my eyes open.
Marilyn offers to walk with me back to my suite and I’m glad that the camera crew don’t follow us, not when they’re more focused on the three women sitting around the table with Tyler.
“You got sunburnt. Do you have aloe vera gel in your room?”
“I do,” I say, yawning for the fourth time since dinner.
“I can help apply it to your back. At least you’ve got some color, and looks like you guys had a lot of fun.”
“I did,” I say, chuckling. “I don’t know about Tyler though. He only did it because Les didn’t include any of it in my schedule.”
“I think Tyler likes you.”
“Why do you say that? I just arrived yesterday.”
“It’s the way he looks at you,” Marilyn says as we pause in front of my door and I fish out my key card from the pocket Tiffany had sewn to hang off the side of my chair. “He’s never looked at any one of the girls like that before. And I’ve never heard him laugh like he does around you. He’s usually very reserved. But with you, he’s actually more… more likable. Not at all aloof.”
I shrug. “If you’re worried that—”
“I’m not. But the other girls are.”
“They don’t have to be worried. Tyler will be sending me home two nights from now.”
Marilyn frowns. “How do you know that?”
“I overheard Les talking to some studio bigwig, and he’s going to convince Tyler to send me home.” When Marilyn opens her mouth to protest, I reach for her arm. “But it’s alright. Really, it is. Just me getting out of Seattle was fun enough.”
“But that’s not fair, Daniela. Is it because you’re in a wheelchair, because we can totally contact some lawyer—”
“Whether it is or it isn’t, does it matter? I’m the Wild Card, remember? I’m the girl some computer picked out to make the show stand out from among all the other shows out there. But the thing is, I never entered. My sister, Tiffany, entered my name, so it’s no loss to me. I never even knew who Tyler Drake was until my sister told me I’d won.”
“But it’s still not right,” Marilyn says, opening the door for me just as we hear the sound of another door closing down the hall. “If they do send you home because of your disability, that’s discrimination.”
“And if they have me stay longer than they planned all because of it, then I’m just here to make them look good and all PC. And I don’t like that. I don’t want the viewers or anyone to take pity on me and vote for me to stay all because I’m in a wheelchair. I’m more than my wheelchair,” I tap the armrests of my chair, “and that’s what I want people to see. Me.”
“Tyler sees you,” she says.
I shake my head. “Tyler’s only being a hospitable host. I think he honestly feels bad that Les didn’t have any activities planned for me more because of liability issues than because I arrived late.”
I wheel myself to the dresser and reach for a bottle of aloe vera gel. I definitely overdid it today because my back feels quite warm, but at the same time, I have no regrets. I had so much fun that I’m sure it managed to piss Les off.
Marilyn smiles wistfully. “I don’t care if you didn’t enter this contest yourself. I’m just happy that the computer picked you. You’re pretty cool, Daniela Simmons—in case anyone cares to hear my opinion.”
“Thanks. You’re pretty cool yourself, Tinker Bell,” I say, grinning as Marilyn takes the bottle from my hand.
“Alright, Wild Card, want me to rub this on your back?”
I like Marilyn. I don’t even care if her decision to accompany me is all an act because, at least, it makes me feel less alone. I’d like to believe that with the cameras gone, it means that the masks are off.
On my third day, Tyler ignores his work schedule and spends the day with me. We go zip-lining through the rainforest, with him right behind me the entire time. I loved the feel of the wind against my face and the sound of our laughter echoing through the trees. Afterward, he takes me to a former sugar mill where we eat cassava pies and he insists on buying souvenirs for me, Tiffany, and my Mom.
Tonight, while Tyler has dinner with Bianca in front of the cameras, I retreat into my room and pack my bags. A feeling of sadness hits me as I remember the last two days and I realize how right Tiffany was. Whether I snagged myself a billionaire or not, I just had the time of my life.
Too bad it’s ending too soon.
There are no activities planned for tomorrow. We’re supposed to get ready for the flower ceremony and Tyler sends two women home. That would be me and Marilyn. But in the meantime, we’re supposed to hang around in one of the two gazebos assigned to us and confess our feelings in front of the cameras. And if not in the gazebos, there’s also a blue-walled room if we want privacy. But I don’t really know what to say other than I’m having such a great time.
“Being picked as the Wild Card is such a huge blessing, and I couldn’t be happier,” I say out loud to myself in front of the mirror, and that’s all I plan to say.
For even though I do like Tyler Drake, I also have to protect my heart. So I tell myself that I’m only here for the all-expenses paid vacation and now, I’m ready to go home.