Chapter Two
By ten-thirty, the champagne had been drunk, the music had turned softer and we girls were sitting down again in a close circle. I was on the couch with Ruby, May sat in the easy chair opposite us and Daphne was perched on a cushion, on the floor, at the head of the coffee table. The chat had been idle for a few minutes, just a quiet discussion about anything new that had been going on.
“So, is Josh giving you a break from the kids over the summer vacation?” Daphne asked me over the top of her empty glass. She didn’t seem in any hurry to refill it anytime soon.
“Actually, yeah,” I said. “He and Clare are taking them to Disney World for a week. But I don’t think it’ll feel like a break. I’m going to miss them so much and this place is going to feel so empty without them.”
“On the other hand,” smirked Ruby, without opening her eyes or lifting her head up, “It’s an empty house for you to bring home some stud that will do you right here on this coffee table.”
I and the other two girls eyed the flimsy-looking piece of furniture skeptically.
“Nope,” I said firmly. “I’m not prepared to bring anyone home just yet. Not home to where my kids live.”
Nodding sympathetically Ruby suddenly sprang back into life. Her head popped up and she grinned around the room. “Ladies,” she smiled, “are you all thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Lord, I hope not,” drawled May, picking up the cocktail she’d mixed for herself earlier.
Ruby flipped her the bird. “Let’s all get away; a girly vacation for the week, somewhere hot and sultry. We can all recharge our batteries and Sarah doesn’t have to sulk about living in an empty house, obsessing over her kids.”
“Mm mm!” moaned May with a straw in her mouth. “I know just the place in the Caribbean. George and I went there two summers ago. The resort is hot, the beaches are hotter, the food is sublime and the men are even more incredible!”
“I’m in! Sign me up!” Daphne raised her hand excitedly.
I opened my mouth to say something sensible but, for once, I just couldn’t find a reason to object. It sounded good and, just maybe, a change in location might help me lose the nerves I had about meeting another man.
“So, that’s settled then?” asked Ruby “In…?”
“Hmm…? Oh! Five weeks,” I remembered.
“In five weeks, we’re hitting the beach!” Ruby continued, standing up and cheering “Whoop, whoop! Look out Jamaica, you ain’t seen nothing like us!”
The suggested destination was, in fact, the island paradise of Aruba, between six and seven hundred miles southeast of Jamaica, just off the coast of Venezuela. May just didn’t want to undermine Ruby while she was cheering.
I squared it away with my boss who was more than happy to give me the time off. I hadn’t taken so much as a personal day in more than six months and she told me the break would do me good.
I didn’t feel the need to tell Josh where I was going, or why. I just made sure he could get in touch with me in case of a child emergency, and then helped myself to a good chunk of the air miles he’d racked up over the years. I wondered, to myself, how many of these travel rewards he’d gathered on his trips to see the woman he’d had the affairs with, and then pushed the thought out of my head.
The day seemed to take forever to arrive. On the one hand, I was unbelievably nervous about taking a trip without my family. What if something happened to me? What if I had a miserable time and spoiled the other girls’ vacations? What if I cracked under the pressure Ruby was bound to put on me to get laid?
However, from another angle, the anticipation was almost mouthwatering. I realized I almost felt as stuck as I’d been before I discovered Josh’s infidelity. I worked, I took care of my kids, then I woke up and did it all again. This divorce was supposed to be a chance to take charge of my life. Only, what had once felt liberating was now threatening to become stale, and this vacation could be just what the doctor ordered to help with that. Plus, late at night, a small and usually quiet part of me would come alive. It would start as a throbbing longing for the touch of anyone but myself, but would soon grow into a wild fantasy involving sunshine, sand, random beach bodies and some wild and very hot sex. Maybe I needed this trip even more than I realized.
*****
With very little sleep the night before, I sat in my kitchen sipping coffee. My packed, black, rolling suitcase stood eagerly by the door as I waited for my ride to the airport. Ruby had not texted long ago that they were on their way, so it was just a matter of waiting. I’d swept, scrubbed, and cleaned the whole house until it sparkled; done every ounce of laundry I could find, emptied the dishwasher, picked up in the kids’ rooms… anything I could think of to try and lessen the guilt I was feeling about going off and enjoying myself alone. I knew I shouldn’t feel bad about living a life away from my children once in a while, and my girlfriends would totally agree with me. But that didn’t make it any easier.
My eyes kept darting from my coffee cup up towards every car that passed, or any outside noise, until a honking horn drew my attention to the driveway outside. There was the airport shuttle and, inside, my traveling friends were waving and pulling silly, excited faces. It was still only seven-thirty and our flight left at ten. I really hoped they hadn’t begun drinking already.
I was never that happy about flying anywhere. As much as I’d loved taking vacations with the children and, when we’d been happy, my husband, the traveling had always been tiring, stressful, and no fun. This day was set to be full of surprises though. I quickly discovered that not having to worry about two bored children and their father took a lot of the trauma out of a journey. I didn’t have to organize or worry about the other ladies; I could just relax, smile, and laugh with them.
May looked as decadent and radiant as ever, but must have been still tired, preferring to keep her large dark glasses in place even though the sun wasn’t very bright yet. Daphne insisted they hadn’t started drinking yet and demanded to know what kind of lushes I imagined they were, insisting that she almost always waited until she was in the air. Ruby, of course, was her normal, bubbly and irrepressible self, despite the early hour, and began explaining to the party, in detail, just how revealing her bathing suits were and exactly what effects she expected them to have on the men of Aruba. I felt for the poor driver, who had to be listening with an embarrassed ear.
The next surprise came when we got on the plane. I was the first to board and thought I was hearing things when the attendant directed me left instead of right. Wow, I hesitated, first class? But if I’ve been upgraded, can I just leave my friends in economy?
“Don’t worry, darling,” came May’s voice. “We’re right behind you.”
I looked around to see my tall, well-dressed friend urging me into the privileged part of the plane shrugged, and headed for the seat I was being directed to by another smiling attendant. My companions followed.
“I can’t travel economy anymore,” May explained, as the attendants came around with hot towels, “and I couldn’t travel alone, so I called and had all your seats upgraded.”
“That’s too generous May,” I protested. “I can’t let you do that.”
May smiled and waved away the complaint with one hand while accepting a filled orange flute with the other. The other ladies sat down; Daphne next to May and Ruby sliding in next to me on the row in front of them. We settled into the flight, talking among ourselves, switching seats as we felt like it, and murmuring our gratitude to the staff as they offered more drinks and our gourmet meals. The trip passed comfortably and quickly and we even got to spend our ninety-minute layover in Miami enjoying the first-class lounge. I’d never experienced service like it.
As the final leg seemed to be ending, the plane dipped its wing as it banked around to line up with the runway. I looked out of the window and down at the world. Aruba was not that big, but at this height, all I could see was the western coast. However, that was enough to make me stifle a gasp. Inland, the island was filled with roads and impossibly white buildings with perfect spots of pure aquamarine swimming pools everywhere I looked but, at the edges I could make out the tops of tall palm trees around the light blonde sand that reflected the sun, beating down from the achingly clear sky. And, just beyond the beach, shimmering sapphire water that was calm and serene, it grew to deeper and deeper shades of blue as I followed them further and further out to sea. It was literally breathtaking.
Before long, and after a smooth landing and a short trip through Immigration, we girls were dragging our cases behind us towards the exit of Queen Beatrix International. The large glass doors opened as we walked out of the conditioned air inside of the airport and stepped into the humid tropical heat outside. The difference in the air caused each of us to pause for a second, panting and feeling slightly unsteady on our feet. A moment later I had my breath back and could feel the sunlight feeding into my skin and warming my bones. Yes, I said to myself, this is glorious! It’s just what I needed.
“Woo-who!” cheered Daphne.
“Now this is what I’m talking about!” grinned Ruby, echoing my thoughts and raising her hands to the sky.
“Come on, you bunch of tourists,” scoffed May, peering at us over her shades. “I see the shuttle. Let’s get to the resort? I’m dying for a shower.”
A tall, handsome man with rich dark skin and a thick Dutch accent, introduced himself as Nicholaas and took our bags to put them in the bus. I climbed in with Ruby, who elbowed me as she sat down and made a suggestive face as she indicated our driver.
“Really?” I hissed at her. “You want me to hook up with literally the first guy we see?”
Ruby shrugged as Nicholaas closed the sliding side door behind May and Daphne.
“Wait until you see the resort ladies,” giggled May, gripping Ruby’s and my shoulders from the seat behind. “I swear you’re going to die.”
As I’d expected, the road out from the airport was surrounded by mainly industrial structures, but I noticed we seemed to be heading west, back towards the stunning part of the island I’d seen from the plane. Soon enough, as we made our way out of Oranjestad, the capital city, the architecture took on a much more attractive Dutch colonial style, albeit with the gables, columns and balconies painted in tropical pastels. The beautiful blue sea appeared on our left along with various ports, jetties, docks, and beaches. I saw glistening sands, gorgeous tanned bodies baking, fantastically huge and gleaming white pleasure boats, and everything else I’d imagined I’d see in a Caribbean playground.
It only took around twenty minutes before we were pulling up to the foyer of a complex, made up of tall, terracotta colored buildings. It took just a few minutes more before Ruby, Daphne and myself were standing, dumbstruck, looking out over the beautiful crystal clear swimming pools, umbrellas, palm trees, sun-drenched decks, and the gentle lapping waves just yards beyond. Meanwhile, May checked us in and collected the keys.
“Wow,” breathed Ruby.
“It looks like paradise,” I muttered.
“No, I mean look,” said Ruby, pointing at a bronzed Adonis rising from the tranquil pool, slow drops of water running down his lean torso from his wet, floppy hair. They watched him cross to a blue lounger and sit, taking a towel to his gorgeous face.
“Oh, yeah,” groaned Daphne, almost in rapture, “this is the place.”
I rolled my eyes. I didn’t want to frown on them for enjoying a little eye candy, but, on the other hand, it was going to be a long six nights if they were going to insist on fawning over every eligible man they saw on the island. Luckily May called us over.
“We’re all set,” she announced and led us away. Following a bellhop pushing our luggage on a cart, we met two beautiful young women dressed in grass skirts and bikini tops at the elevator. They placed a flower lei over each of our heads and then handed us all a tall glass with juice and colorful fruits in it. I was finding it hard to wipe the smile off my face as I sucked on the straw. It was a refreshing mix of tropical juices that were cool, sweet and energizing.
“Mmmm, that’s good,” I sighed, using the drink to wash the bad taste of travelling from my mouth as we rode up four floors.
“Yeah, not too bad,” agreed Daphne. “Anyone have any vodka?”
The two rooms we’d booked were adjacent, each with two queens. May slid the access card into its slot and opened the door. All four of us stepped into the first room to find it beautifully laid out. The beds sat beside each other, the furthest next to a huge sliding door and balcony. They were both done up with bright white linens and blue continental pillows to match the blue curtains and room accents, and faced a flat-screen TV mounted on the wall.
“Dibs!” called Ruby, throwing herself onto the bed by the window.
“Darling, the rooms are identical,” remarked May.
“Yeah, but this one is lucky. I can feel it.”
“I call not sharing with Ruby!” May announced. “I’m not into finding strange men everywhere, every time I wake up.”
“Well, I’m not sharing with Daphne,” shouted Ruby. “I’m not going to be stung with an astronomical mini-bar tab at checkout.”
“Bitch!”
“Drunk!”
I was almost in tears, laughing at my three closest friends. I hadn’t seen them tease each other like this since university so many years ago and it made me feel so happy. Unfortunately, I seemed to be in the way of the bellhop as he tried to bring in the cases, so I headed to the balcony and stepped out.
I could see the resort even better from up here. The view over the three levels of interlocking buildings was amazing, with curvy-shaped pools and tall green palms sprouting up between them as they spilled down to the beachfront bar and restaurant. But it didn’t compare to the scene beyond. I stared out towards the white-gold sand, to the shallow turquoise waves that lapped up against it and then to the deeper blue waters that sparkled gently off towards infinity. I smiled out over the stunning panorama, took a deep breath of the salty air, reveled in the warm sun shining down, and relaxed as the cool coastal breeze blew across my face. Could this be more heavenly? I asked myself.
“Come on, babes,” Ruby called suddenly, sticking her head out of the door. “It’s still two hours to dinner. Grab your bikini and let’s hit the pool!”
The girls had divided the rooms between us so that I was sharing one with Ruby. That suited me as we were the oldest friends, and it was always Ruby that I turned to first, whether I felt happy or sad. However, I wasn’t prepared to deal with Ruby’s swimwear, even after being warned by the description she’d given in the bus.
I emerged from the bathroom in my plain black strapless two-piece. Yes, it only hid the essentials, but it was perfectly acceptable beach wear, covering all of my breasts except for a decorous plunge of cleavage, while the bottoms concealed my butt cheeks instead of disappearing between them. It had modesty, yet still showed off my toned gym body and I felt comfortable.
Modesty was certainly not a term that could be applied to Ruby’s red bather, however. Stepping back into the room, I thought my best friend was still undressed until I saw the thin strip of material that circled her hips. The rest of her thong was so tiny it made her bountiful butt look naked.
“Help me with this?” she asked, struggling to join the clasp behind her back. I obliged, fastening it and allowing Ruby to pull the slim straps up over her shoulders. She turned to face me, and my jaw dropped to see that the front was damn near as revealing as the back. The straps on her shoulders were attached to two triangular scraps of cloth that barely covered her nipples, while the matching triangle between her legs was so small it was obvious Ruby was sporting a Brazilian wax down there. “All set? Let’s go!” she grinned, grabbing a small bag and heading out.
I picked up my dark beach wrap and threw it around my shoulders. “Aren’t you going to bring a shawl?” I called after her, grabbing my own bag and unable to conceive how Ruby could walk around the hotel and through the lobby like that.
“Nah, I’m covered,” came the reply from down the hall.