"How"s Janet? Kaylie"s been out of her mind with worry."
Dev and Donnie stared at Jack as a slow smile lit up his face. They"d never seen him smile that like before. h.e.l.l, they"d never seen him smile period.
He downed his ginger ale and nodded. Then he walked out of the clubhouse. An odd out of tune sound followed him as he left.
Dev glanced at Donnie who was staring at Jack with his mouth open.
"Dev, please tell me I"ve lost my mind...."
Devlin laughed at Donnie, who seemed to be at a loss for words for once in his life. He wished he had a camera to capture the awestruck look on Donahue"s face.
"Is Jack humming?"
"He is. G.o.d help us all, he is."
and Kisses.
Juliette Jaye.
I looked out the window as the captain announced we were about to begin our descent into Georgetown.
"Crazy," I muttered to myself as I looked out the window at the turquoise ocean, glistening in the early afternoon sun, like nothing else I"d ever seen. "I can"t believe this is happening to me."
Suddenly the plane lurched downwards, and I quickly snapped my seatbelt back on, driven out of my reverie. Looking around, however, no one else was panicking. Well, the pilot did say we were going to descend I thought to myself.
It was my first time on a plane, ever, and I didn"t really know if I liked it or not. This was a day for a lot of firsts, in fact. First time on a plane, first time seeing the ocean, first time leaving the country, first time going to a hotel that cost more than $100 a night. And the best part was I wasn"t paying for any of it.
A few months earlier my sister Anna, a nurse at a local hospital, had encouraged me to enter one of those "win a house" charities that benefited the children"s hospital. I mean, when someone tells you to buy a lottery ticket that goes straight to kids with cancer, there"s no real way to say no, is there?
Of course, I dreamed about winning the house, knowing it was totally not going to happen. And it didn"t. But I did get a phone call telling me I"d won the second prize, an all-inclusive, all expenses paid trip to the Grand Cayman Islands. A full week at a luxury resort without having to pay for any of it. I didn"t even know where the Grand Caymans were! I mean, I knew they were in the Caribbean, but that was it. I had to look up Georgetown on a map.
The prize was for two people, and seeing as I, Julia Marley, have been single for way longer than I"d like to admit, I automatically invited Anna to come with me. She accepted, of course, then three days before we left found out her best friend was having her baby just a little bit early, and decided to stay behind instead.
So that"s how I ended up alone on a plane to the Carribean, being whisked out of the sky towards the beautiful ocean. Growing up in Columbus, and never really travelling more than the two hours it took to get to my grandparent"s house when I was a kid, as well as one family trip to Chicago when I was twelve, meant I had never seen the ocean, never been one of those kids whose parents took them to Hawaii.
Now I was twenty four years old and studying to be a nurse like my older (and much wiser) sister Anna. I"d always wanted to go into medicine, but while my grades were good, they weren"t the exceptional that I needed to get into pre-med, and I didn"t want to rack up hundreds of thousands of dollars of student loans, either.
So instead I started working retail, and when I realized at twenty three that there was no way I could do that for the rest of my life and actually support myself, I started asking Anna about nursing school.
The more I read about it, the more I loved it, and after enrolling and being accepted into a program and starting my studies, I realized I loved it even more than I thought. I still worked retail part-time to make some money, though I did have to get some loans to pay tuition and some of my bills. Not that one room in a three bedroom apartment, a pre-paid cell phone and a diet that consists mainly of Ramen noodles costs a lot.
Of course, this trip was just the cherry on the cake. As soon as I found out when I was going I put my two weeks" notice in at work, and was so thankful that the trip was a month or so before exams started; I could afford to miss a week and still have time to catch up and study. This trip was going to be the perfect way to unwind after an exceptionally tough few weeks.
When I left Columbus that morning it had been 35 degrees and overcast, threatening to snow. Of course, being a good midwester, I had on my heavy jacket and a thick pair of gloves, which now sat on top of my carry-on bag, with me wondering why I thought that was a good idea. The pilot announced that it was a beautiful eighty five degrees in Georgetown, and I didn"t need him to tell me there wasn"t a single cloud in the sky.
As the wheels touched down on the tarmac, I knew it was going to be an amazing week. Little did I know just how amazing it was going to end up.
When we got off the plane I picked up my bag and looked around. I was told someone would be there to pick me up, and sure enough, I saw a darkly tanned man in a suit holding a placard with my name on it.
I went up to him, wondering how I was supposed to introduce myself, but I guess I made it a little bit too obvious that I was heading towards him, as he instantly smiled and said, "Ms. Marley?"
"Yes, call me Anna, hi," I replied.
"I"m Louis, your driver," he told me, and before I knew what had happened he took my suitcase from me and led me out of the terminal. As soon as we left the air conditioned building the heat and sunlight hit me, and I started digging in my purse for my sungla.s.ses. This was nicer than Columbus summers, for sure!
"A little bit bright for you?" Louis asked with a smile as he headed off to the left.
"Absolutely not! This is perfect! Paradise!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms out to the wind, making Louis laugh.
Louis led me only a few steps away to a late model sedan with plush leather seats, pre-air-conditioned, even though I was more than happy to feel the heat on my face for a little bit.
I felt like a princess as Louis held the door open for me, no one had ever done that for me before in my life! Instantly my thoughts turned to my ex, Tom. It had been almost a year and a half since we"d broken up, and I swore I wasn"t going to get into another relationship for a long time afterwards. He had started off so loving and kind though he never did hold a car door open for me and then one day changed. He started yelling at me, then hitting me. I eventually realized I wasn"t going to change him, that it wasn"t my fault after all, and I left him. But it left a sour taste in my mouth when it came to men, and I hadn"t dated anyone since.
I forced the thoughts of Tom out of my head. This was my perfect vacation, I wasn"t about to let thoughts from the past ruin it.
"So this is your first time visiting the Grand Cayman Islands?" Louis asked as he drove off into traffic.
"It is, how can you tell?" I replied "Most people do not come with winter clothes," he answered, and I cringed as I looked down at the jacket and gloves poking out from my carry on. Whoops.
"Well, the weather wasn"t quite as nice where I came from."
"Of course. You have come at a beautiful time, the weather here is not too hot right now either. I"m sure you will love the island."
"Me too, thanks Louis. Absolutely," I replied, gazing out the window at the pa.s.sing scenery.
Louis drove along the road, winding alongside the beautiful ocean. I couldn"t stop staring at it. I wondered if I asked if Louis would stop the car right here so I could go out and dip my toes in it. A part of me knew he would say yes, but I still didn"t dare do it. I had always been a bit shy about things like that. Plus I didn"t want to seem like some sort of redneck that didn"t belong, or anything like that.
Little did I know that was exactly how I was about to feel.
After about a half hour long drive, with the road getting more and more deserted, Louis drove past a subtle but elegant sign indicating the resort. Palm trees lined the long avenue as we drove in, and that was just the start.
"Oh my G.o.d," I couldn"t help but exclaim as I looked out at Corinthian columns out the front of the large building, blindingly white in the sun, and yet still not feeling out of place at all.
"It"s nice, isn"t it?" Louis replied as he pulled up to the front.
"Well, that"s definitely the understatement of the year," I replied. Louis opened the car door for me, helped me out of the car, took my bag and guided me along to one of the "reception rooms", where I had a comfy chair to sit on in front of a desk with a receptionist, like I was sitting at a bank or something.
The room had floor to ceiling gla.s.s windows, and a small pool of perfectly clear water flowed past outside. Colorful trees swayed in the light breeze behind, and through them I could see the ocean once more, so inviting in its perfection.
"h.e.l.lo Ms. Marley," the lady at the desk told me, smiling, and I wondered what wizardry was worked to make sure she knew my name without me even telling her. "Welcome to the Grand Isis Resort. I"m Leilani and I"ll be introducing you to your villa."
"Thanks," I replied breathlessly, looking around. The room was modern decor, minimalist with a few nice touches. Freshly picked orchids sat in a vase at one end of the desk, and on a table to my left stood a half dozen bottles of sparkling water and a bowl of tropical fruits. This was like something from a movie.
"Everything has been paid for already, and you"ve got a room credit of $1500 to be used anywhere on the premises, be it activities or at one of the five restaurants we have on the property. All you need to do is give your room number to the person helping you, and everything will be charged to that amount. Now, let me show you to your villa."
Leilani got up and I stood up as well, following her. We went back to the front of the building, where Louis was waiting with a golf cart, my suitcase and carry-on bag already loaded onto the back. He smiled at me as I climbed into the back of the cart and drove off, Leilani telling me all about the amenities the resort had to offer.
Spa treatments, snorkelling, gla.s.s bottom boat tours, it all felt so crazy that I could do any of it! I knew what I wanted to do for the first day though: I was going to sit on the beach, with a Long Island Iced Tea, and enjoy the water.
Louis sped along lightly cobbled tiles through a maze of villas, until he stopped in front of one. Leilani led me inside, and it wasn"t until I saw the size of it that I realized this was mine, all mine! I thought there had to be four, five rooms in the building, not that I had it all to myself!
My jaw dropped to the floor when I walked in. It was the perfect combination of traditional island decor with a modern touch. A fifty inch plasma TV was at one end of the living room, a plush leather sofa at the other. Leilani led me to the King sized bed in the bedroom, speaking to me the whole time, but I didn"t hear a word. My ears were ringing. Was this really going to be my home for the next week?
What immediately caught my eye, however, was the ensuite bathroom. Marble everywhere, a huge walk in shower with a rain head and to top it all off, a Jacuzzi tub. I"m a frequent reader of celebrity gossip websites, and I"ve seen more than a few real estate listings for some famous people"s multi-million dollar homes they"ve put on the market. This was exactly like the bathrooms I"d see in their homes, the sort of thing I could dream of but never thought I would imagine.
"What about the beach?" I asked Leilani when she was finished telling me about the million things the bathroom could do.
"Oh, well that"s easy. You just go out the doors at the other side of your living room, and they"ll lead out to a path. You just have to follow that and you"ll reach the beach."
A few minutes later Leilani left me to the room. Completely overwhelmed, I sunk into the king sized mattress. Memory foam. Obviously. I closed my eyes for a few minutes, then opened them again. Yup, I was still there. This was definitely actually happening.
I spent the next ten minutes exploring every single inch of my new amazing home for the next week, trying to figure out how fast I could get my bathing suit on, when my stomach started to rumble. I realized I hadn"t eaten anything all day, in fact the last thing I"d had to sustain me was a hazelnut latte from the Starbucks at the airport.
Realizing I hadn"t really listened to a lot of what Leilani had told me, I moved over to the mahogany desk sitting against the wall near the entrance to my villa. Finding a number of menus, I also found a huge guide to the resort, which kindly informed me that I could order any item from any of the restaurants to be delivered straight to my room.
Browsing the dozen or so restaurant menus, I finally settled on a cafe style place, and ordered waffles with fresh berries, white and milk chocolate shavings and maple syrup imported from Canada. After all, it was my first meal here on the island, why not treat myself to something incredibly unhealthy and delicious?
When the meal arrived, it was just as delicious as the menu made it sounds. Realizing after I"d eaten that I was completely exhausted from my travels, I made myself a hot bath just because I could (and found some Lush bath bombs to use, which made the experience that much more relaxing!) with a good book, then curled up and went to bed early. I had already decided I was going to spend the entirety of the next day on the beach, and as I lay my head down on the pillow I could hear the waves softly lapping the sh.o.r.e only a few yards away. I fell asleep with a smile on my face.
Waking up to another day of brilliant sunshine, it took me a minute to remember where I was. The previous day came flooding back to me and I sat up in bed as rays of sunlight poured through the blinds I"d forgotten to close the night before.
Feeling refreshed and invigorated, I ordered a smoothie and scrambled eggs from one of the on-site restaurants, and ate breakfast in bed for the first time in my life. Sure, it would have been nice to share it with someone, but as far as I was concerned, this was still absolutely paradise.
I took my time eating, and when I finished I had a long shower, then slipped on my bathing suit, looked at myself in the mirror and admired the view, trying not to think that perhaps my figure would have been happier if I hadn"t had those waffles the day before. Whatever, a few curves never hurt anyone, I decided as I slipped on some sandals, grabbed a towel and made my way down the path Leilani pointed out, and towards the water.
It was still early in the morning, but already as soon as I stepped outside I could feel the heat, and the sensation of warmth on my skin was so invigorating, having come from the cold winters of the Midwest, this was amazing.
Sure enough, the path to the beach wound past a few more villas then led straight to the most beautiful white sand. It was hot to the touch, and I was glad I"d taken my sandals. Finding the beach completely deserted except for myself, I spread my towel on a nice patch of sand, took my sandals off and ran towards the water, the perfect turquoise color still the same as the other day.
As I splashed in, laughing like a little kid, I realized the water wasn"t cold as I expected it to be, but more of a lukewarm temperature. It was so comfortable, I did what I was never able to bring myself to do as a kid when we"d go to the lake, and dove in, immersing my entire body all at once.
I came up laughing once more, then floated on my back for a while, looking up at the cloudless blue sky above me. Yup, this vacation was already awesome.
Eventually I decided to make my way back to sh.o.r.e, and I lay down on my blanket and let the sun heat my weary bones. With my eyes closed and my sungla.s.ses on, I almost felt myself falling asleep, then realized if I did that without re-applying sunscreen I was going to end up looking like a cooked lobster for the rest of the trip.
Instead, I decided to go for a walk along the beach to wake myself up. I walked along right where the waves met the sand, letting the warm water rush over my ankles every few seconds, the salt air blowing my hair around.
This was heaven, absolutely. I figured maybe the next day I would go snorkelling, or maybe do a gla.s.s bottom boat tour. Something like that. Maybe I would even wander over to the hotel bar and get a few pina coladas into me. I could definitely use a few stiff drinks to help me relax even more.
With a smile on my face, the thought of drinks won out, and I slowly turned around and made my way back to my things. I hadn"t really bothered about leaving them alone on the beach, I was the only person who seemed to want to enjoy the untouched splendour nature had to offer, rather than the man-made amenities of the resort.
As I walked back, thinking about the cold drink I was going to enjoy at the bar, or maybe lounging by the pool, I closed my eyes and let the sun"s rays warm my face. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my foot.
"s.h.i.t, that better not be a jelly fish," I muttered to myself as I started hopping on one foot, grabbing the other one as I willed it to feel better.
A second later, and a safe few yards away, I looked over at the spot where my foot had suddenly hurt. Whatever it was, it wasn"t a jellyfish. In fact, it looked like the corner of a phone, square and black, almost completely submerged in the sand.
"That"s weird," I thought as I grabbed it and tried to press the home b.u.t.ton. Nothing happened.
"Yup, that"s probably dead," I thought to myself. Still, I thought about my phone and how it was the lifeline to my entire world. I had the phone number to all my friends on it, hundreds of photos, memories I wouldn"t want lost. Maybe the owner of this phone felt the same way. h.e.l.l, this was such an expensive resort, I wouldn"t be surprised if it belonged to some important rich guy who needed it for business.
Taking the phone over to my towel, I carefully towelled off all the sand I could, then headed back towards my room.
I found a menu for a j.a.panese restaurant on site, and called them.
"Hi, um, this is a bit of a weird request, but could you maybe send me over a small bag of uncooked rice?"
"Seriously? Uncooked rice? I mean, yeah, I guess so," the confused guy on the other end of the line answered.
"Yeah, I found a phone that was in the water, I figure I"m going to try and save it," I explained. Sure enough, five minutes later I had a man drop off a small bag of rice, perfect to drop the phone into.
Ten minutes later, that phone was the last thing on my mind as I swam up to a bar in the middle of the biggest, most amazing pool I"d ever been in, and ordered my pina colada. I spent the afternoon lounging about, slowly moving about the pool, enjoying the amazing view of the ocean as I drank my drinks.
After around four drinks or so, however, I decided I looked enough like a prune, and still wanted to be able to find my own villa, so I tipsily said goodbye to Don, the bartender, and made my way back to my place, stopping at the front desk to organize a snorkelling cruise the next day first. Leilani was only too happy to help, and I was really excited for my cruise the following afternoon. Snorkelling! Who would have believed it?
I went back to the beach and walked along the edge, enjoying the view as the sun began to set, the sky getting darker with each pa.s.sing minute.
When night had well and truly fallen I made my way back to my room, dreaming of the animals I was going to see the next day on my cruise.
I woke up the next day to the sound of sea birds chirping away outside my window in the palms that lined the paths leading to the various parts of the resort.
Deciding to stay in bed for a few minutes, enjoying the warm comfort of the amazing king size mattress, I eventually forced myself to get up and order breakfast at the second rumble of my stomach.
It felt like a day for a big breakfast, especially since I was going to be having a big day and wasn"t sure if I"d be eating lunch at all, so I ordered an egg white omelette, waffles and a gla.s.s of freshly squeezed orange juice from one of the cafe restaurants around.
It wasn"t until I hung up the phone that I noticed the little bag of rice sitting on the table. I"d completely forgotten about the cell phone I"d found on the beach the day before, and I figured it had been long enough. If the rice had absorbed all the water, it would have done it by now.
Removing the phone from the bag and gingerly wiping off the starch residue from the rice, I held down the power b.u.t.ton for ten seconds, looking hopefully at the blank screen.
Sure enough, a minute later a logo popped up. Success! I had saved someone"s phone!
I collapsed into one of the oversized chairs as I scrolled through the phone"s contacts, trying to find the name of someone personal and close to its owner. An entry known as "sweetie" or "mom" or something.