TWENTY-SEVEN

A Man Escaping (Which is Completely Different than Manscaping)

Harrison

It was not a good idea to come out here to escape from my life. I honestly don’t know what the hell I was thinking because for the past few hours, everywhere I look, I see Libby. Especially right now. I’m standing under the waterfall in hopes of letting the cool water wash away everything I thought I knew about Ms. Dewitt, but instead it’s just making me think of us having wild waterfall sex here on this rock. And in the pool it leads to…

I step out from under the spray and shake my head like a dog, then climb onto a large boulder so I can lay down in the sun and relax. Closing my eyes, I force myself not to see her face, not to feel her body against mine, not to hear her laugh or taste her kiss. She’s nothing to me. Less than nothing. She was the means to an end — one I didn’t want to see coming, but one that’s barreling toward me nonetheless.

I called Stewart earlier, but his housekeeper said he’d taken Matilda to the Virgin Islands. He’s supposed to call me tomorrow when he gets back, and I guess that’s when I’ll tell him he can have Paradise Bay. As much as it kills me to sell him the property, he’s not a bad person and he has enough cash to keep it going for a long time, which is what the staff needs. Still, the thought of no longer having the resort is like a punch to the nuts…

Kind of like Libby’s nasty report.

Standing, I decide to make my way back to the cabin to have some dinner. I brought a can of beans, some hot dogs, and a whole lot of rum with me. Man food.

See? A plus side to being single, already — no woman to fail to impress.

As I walk along, I spot a mango tree near the trail and stop to pick a ripe one to add to my supper (hey, I’m a man, not an animal). When I turn around, an iguana is watching me. I jump a little, then laugh at myself.

“Are you the same guy from the other night?” I ask.

He responds by sticking out his tongue at me.

“If you’re looking for that woman I was with, she’s not here. Oh, you probably want some mango…” I sigh, sitting down on a fallen log and grabbing a thin, jagged rock off the ground. Slicing the mango open, I then separate the two halves and set them on a large stone a few feet from where the log is. Settling back down, I say, “Go on. It’s ripe. But don’t think we’re going to make this a habit. You’re supposed to get your own food.”

He sticks his tongue out a few times in the direction of the mango, then walks over, standing on the far side of the rock so he can watch me while he eats.

“You won’t see her again, by the way. By now, she’s probably somewhere over Europe. Maybe she landed in Germany already, I don’t know. Doesn’t matter.” I pause and watch him eat for a bit. “It’s for the best. She and I weren’t exactly what’s known as a good match in human terms — we’re total opposites. It’s all fireworks and earth-shattering sex at the beginning, but it never works out in the end.”

Libby’s smiling face pops into my mind without my permission. Then suddenly the image shifts and she looks devastated because I’ve just lied to her and sent her away. My gut churns at the memory, but then I remember that she’s the one who lied first. She’s the one who pretended. Not me. Well, not until I had to, anyway.

Forget her, Harrison. She’s halfway to Avonia by now, and she’s never coming back.

“On the plus side, I’ll never have to see her again either. I guess that’s also the downside, isn’t it?” I rub my hand on the back of my neck. “You know what? I should just go back to the cabin, get wasted, and forget all about the fact that tomorrow, life as I know it will end.”

I think about the staff and my family, and the realization that I can’t save them from this just about guts me. Then Libby’s list of my flaws comes into mind. Hero complex. She wrote it like it's a bad thing. How is helping others a flaw? I guess because I ended up here.

My shoulders drop, and I let out a long, deep sigh. “You know what? Screw everyone else,” I say to the iguana, jabbing one finger into my knee to emphasize my point. “I'm through with all this hero business.”

The iguana makes eye contact while he chews, which I take as a sign of his complete agreement.

“My entire life, I've gone from one situation where people need rescuing to another. Maybe it's time I do something for myself for once. And not just a couple of nights away from everyone I know. Something big. Who knows? Maybe I'm not too old to give the circuit a try…”

I notice the iguana is no longer chewing. “Shit, you must have been starving. You made quick work of that mango. Do want another one, buddy?”

I stand and retrieve another mango, then cut it open and serve it to him.

“Oh, who am I kidding? I can’t compete again at an elite level after taking so many years off. So maybe becoming a world champion surfer isn’t for me, but I am still 100% through with the hero business. The only person I’m looking after from now on is Harrison Theodore Banks.”

I give him a firm nod, then realize the iguana isn’t eating the mango yet. “Did I not cut that open enough for you?” As I reach out, he snatches up the fruit and takes a big bite. “Oh…you’ve got it, I guess.”

I watch him eat for another minute.

“Yup. No more helping anyone ever. It’s me first from now on. Feels good.”