Harry
It was our last weekend on the island, and I figured it was up to me to resolve the unease that Charley was still feeling about her mom and me. She obviously didn’t want us to meet, although I think her concern was for my sake, not her own.
But I was okay with what had happened. The anger I’d felt at the airport when I’d realized I was face-to-face with my former boss had cooled. I was a few years older now, and a lot more mature. I’d fucked up. I didn’t bear a grudge.
Besides, I was going to have to meet Adele again sometime. She and her daughter were close. This thing with Charley was working. Even though we’d only spent a little over a week together, it had been fantastic, and I don’t just mean the sex. She and I fit together in all sorts of ways. I could imagine the future stretching out in front of us. No matter how I looked at it, I liked what I saw.
When I went to get my girl that evening at her resort, I showed up early, parked in the lot out front, and walked around the building to the beach side where her mother’s timeshare was.
Charley’s mom was outside on the condo’s patio arranging tropical flowers in a vase. There was a big orange cat prowling around, tail high, with two kittens prancing behind her. I noted a saucer on the patio. Like many of the resort guests, Adele must have been feeding the local felines.
She looked up as I stopped on the path beside her glass-topped patio table. “Beautiful flowers,” I ventured.
“They are, aren’t they?” She smiled and nodded at me. The first level of recognition dawned. “Oh. You’re here for Charley? I saw you at the airport…” her voice trailed off. Another level must have kicked in. “Wait. I know you, don’t I?”
I held out my hand, which she took automatically. “You knew the man I used to be. The kid, actually. Harry MacCallum. I worked for you once. You fired my ass.”
“Harry MacCallum. No wonder you looked familiar. Wait. So you and Charley—”
I nodded. “Yep. But I swear, I no longer do the wild and crazy stuff I was stupid enough to pull at the age of twenty-three.”
She put on her severe Principal’s face. “I certainly hope not.” But then she softened and grinned at me. “You were the talk of the faculty lounge for quite some time, Mr. MacCallum. Lucky for you, there was no video. If there had been, you might have ended as a social media sensation.”
No, dammit, I didn’t blush. I have a little sunburn, that’s all.
“You and my daughter met on the plane? And she gave you a false name?” She was rapidly assembling the pieces. “Then at the airport, when you saw us together, you realized who she was and who I was and—”
“Yeah. Sorry for being rude. It was a bit of a shock. But I’d always liked your daughter—well, that’s not to say—I didn’t go after students back then, no matter how reckless I was in other respects.”
“I know, Harry,” she said tolerantly. “Believe me, after what happened I had a lot of uncomfortable discussions with the staff. If you’d been messing with students, I would have heard about it.” Her eyes twinkled the same way Charley’s did. “Believe me, I heard all about your antics.”
I seriously doubted she’d heard all. But there are some things that are best forgotten. “I’ve changed. I’m a responsible citizen now.”
She rolled her eyes. “You were quite the player a few years ago. Am I supposed to be happy that you’re playing around with my daughter? Is this just one of those hot vacation flings?”
Just then, the sliding door opened and Charley, looking amazing in a bikini, stepped out onto her mom’s patio. “Harry? You’re kinda early.”
“I wanted to meet your mom.”
She was blushing in that cute way of hers. She looked back and forth between her mother and me. I could tell she was reading the situation, and, as usual, she read it well. She propped her hands on her hips and gave me a mischievous look. “Well? Answer the question, Mr. MacCallum. Is this one of those hot vacation flings?”
She already knew the answer to that, the little minx. Right in front of her mom, I grabbed her wrist and jerked her into my arms. “No way, girl. This is something special.” I kissed her on the forehead and then tucked her against my side. “No one’s firing me this time. This time I’m here to stay.”