“What were they doing?” Mary had on her sunglasses and Edward could only see her brow lowering.
“I don’t know. They had two big backpacks in that shack there. Took ‘em out. Then left in their cigar boat.”
“Probably up to no good. We should stay off that island.” She picked up her drink and caught the straw between her lips.
He knew it wasn’t a suggestion. The island would be off limits from now on. In their time together he had learned that once she judged something, it was impossible to change her opinion about it.
“Why?” Edward whined. He regretted telling her about what he saw and wanted to put a worse idea in her head. “You know, Bartender Joe told me a while back that he saw a fire out beyond the island.”
“Bartender Joe? You listen to the stories that man tells? He’s the biggest drunk on the island. I think the only time he isn’t drunk is when he’s nappin.”
“I know, I know, he’s delusional, but I think he was telling the truth, and he said he saw the fire the night that man’s body washed up on the beach. There might be something to that – you think those men in the boat killed him?”
Mary turned and looked straight at him.
“That was months ago. I thought they solved that.”
“No. It’s a cold case. Still open as far as I know.”
“Well, either way, we should stay off that island.”
“Come on. Where’s your sense of adventure? MacGyver would want to know—”
“Mmh, please! If I see a tiger, I’m not curious to put my hand in its mouth. Those men are doing something they don’t want people to know about – and you don’t need to be involved in it.”
“The police never found his boat. Those Columbians could have murdered him for it. Probably took it to be refitted and used to transport drugs.”
“How do you know they’re Columbians?”
“They were speaking Spanish—”
“You could hear them?” She took off her glasses and glared at him.
“While they were there talking, I got closer. Spied on them—”
“Are you crazy?” Mary voice had risen to almost a scream. She dropped the bottle on the table, gripping it in her hand, her forehead knotted.
“Mary, it’s nothing—”
“Edward, I’m serious. Why are you sticking your nose in their business?”
“Aren’t you a little curious?”
“Did you tell the police?”
“Yes, I did actually. I told Deputy Barney Fife on the pier. But he doesn’t care. He’s too busy listening to the cricket matches to deal with things like his job. Told me I didn’t see anything of interest.”
“If you told the police, then you’ve done the right thing. Don’t go there anymore. You hear me, Edward?” Her brown eyes were wide and he could see the reflection of the sun dissolving into a brilliant dusk.
By the time they finished their sodas, people packed the main pier area either snapping photos, shopping for trinkets, haggling with taxis or drinking rum cocktails in ridiculously large plastic glasses. On the street a circle two jugglers tossed bowling pins to each other while watched by a circle of people. Crowds danced to music being blasted out from inside the clubs. With the lights strung across the pier entrance, and the entire area looking like a festival put together for no other reason than to celebrate the sunset, Edward remembered the carefree street parties that popped up around his university.
They got up and started walking to the boat. Before the pier, he grabbed Mary’s hand to stop her.
“Baby, let’s get a drink.”
Mary looked around at the mass of people and let out the smallest sigh.
“We just had a drink.”
“I mean in a club. You afraid of dancing?”
“No, I just prefer hanging out with people I know.”
“Come on – let’s celebrate.”
“Celebrate what?”
“Today. The night. Life.”
“Don’t you have to get ready?”
“I got all night to prep the houses. Just one drink. One dance.”
“You going to carry that in?” She pointed down at the grocery bag of meat Edward was holding.
“It needs to thaw anyways. Let’s go.”
A family of six stepped up to them, the father asking if Edward would take a picture of them. Edward took the camera from the man. The family lined up on the sidewalk with the bay and massive white ship behind them. Edward took three pictures and handed the camera back. Then he led Mary back across the street, through smoke that smelled of barbecued chicken, and into the biggest of the clubs. They pushed through jumping bodies, over a polished cement floor to the bar. Edward set the bag of meats on the bar top and ordered two shots of Tequila from a bartender working in front of glowing shelves of liquor bottles.
Mary untied her hair, letting it fall around her shoulders to half hide her face. It made her look younger and wilder, but he knew she had done it to blend in with the tourists – she didn’t like standing out.
When their drinks were set down on the counter in front of them, he placed one into Mary’s hand. He tapped his glass against hers and threw its contents into his throat. Mary sipped up a third of hers before being hit with a fit of coughing. She put the glass on the bar and waved air into her face with a hand. When she had regained herself, she finished the drink.
Edward ordered two more shots before Mary could protest. Again, glasses were tapped before he threw his drink back. He struck the empty glass on the bar top, and then made a fidgety arm wave, an outdated break dance move. Mary laughed. So he continued, and she shook her head in disapproval. She held onto the bar top and finished her second drink. When she put her glass down, he grabbed her hand and pulled her out to dance.
They returned to their spot after ten minutes, sweating and winded, and Edward ordered two beers. He reached into his pocket, partially pulled out the bills, and counted his money. The club drinks were four times what they were in the local convenience stores – but he was having fun, even if Mary was struggling to let loose. That part of her had been revealed five months earlier, on a disastrous trip they took to French Saint Martin and the nude beaches there. Edward had tried to pull her out of their bungalow room. He had been ready to disrobe. He had been ready to join the locals. But getting Mary to do something wild was like trying to bend rock. An argument erupted, massive and loud. She had left, taking an early ferry home. Soon after she was gone, Edward checked out, losing his deposit, and returned by himself on a later ferry.
Edward looked over the tourists convulsing on the dance floor. Most of the girls had spa perms and fashionable, brand-new beachwear. The guys danced shirtless to show off their expensive gym abs. He turned to Mary and caught her watching him. With one eyebrow raised, she glanced behind him at the four young women swaying, each wearing platform sandals and blonde hair tied up with a plastic hibiscus hairclip bought from the hawker in front of the club. When the pop song blended into the next, the four screamed and held their drinks into the air. One of them stepped back, bumping into Edward, before swaying back into alignment with her friends.
“They’re very pretty,” Mary said without humor.
Edward tilted his head down and looked at her under his brow, the disco lights glinting off her eyes. He reached out and caressed her shoulder, and leaned close to her ear.
“Baby, they got nothing on you.”
He tapped his heart and pointed at her. Her eyes narrowed to examine him from the side of her face. Edward moved to stand shoulder-to-shoulder, his hand on the small of her back, taking in the scent of her hair.
“I am the luckiest guy in the world,” he said. “I got the most beautiful girl right here. I don’t need anything else. They’re here for only a few hours. This is nothing but holiday break for them. When times up, they have to get back on that boat and go back to their internships, their parents’ homes, jobs – whatever.”