Evelyn bounced on her daughter’s bed. “I know, but we’re expecting a full house today.” Autumn slid her arm off her face and caught her mother’s giddy look. Her eyes twinkled. “To think, this place up and running at full capacity. If we can just make the Cayo Hueso the best hotel they’ve ever been to, then I bet they’ll tell their friends. It will certainly dilute those bad Vacation Rater reviews. And should help us secure a new business loan.”
The sunlight streamed in through the gauzy curtains. Autumn sat up and yawned. “This is going to be a great ten days. You’ll see.”
Her mother patted her daughter’s leg. “If things go well and the Cayo turns a profit, we can talk about college in the northeast.”
Autumn didn’t know what to say. Somehow, her mother insisting she go to college in Florida solved a problem she didn’t want to face. Did she want to stay here for Liam or not? One thing was for sure, she was curious about Fantasy Fest.
Evelyn bounded to her feet. “Get showered and dressed. I need you to run down to the florist for a fresh bouquet for the lobby. And please sweep the patio. I swear those palm trees drop those massive leaves to annoy me.” And just like that, the mother-daughter bonding moment was over as Evelyn submitted a list of chores for Autumn to do before breakfast.
Once Evelyn left, Katie appeared in Autumn’s room. Autumn gave her a friendly smile. “Well at least she’s happy.” Autumn cocked her head to the side and examined the ghost’s eyes. They weren’t blue anymore. Instead, her irises were black orbs.
“You okay?” she asked Katie.
Katie blinked slowly. “Inez is sucking up my energy. Like a vacuum.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” Katie could barely glide over. “Bad hotel reviews are the least of your mom’s worries.”
Autumn approached Katie, who hovered cautiously near the window. Katie put her hands up and squinted at the bright sunlight. “What do you mean?”
“Inez has plans,” Katie said. “Big plans.”
But before Autumn could ask what Katie meant, she disappeared. Autumn felt a rush of cold air caress her skin, and she shivered. Autumn whirled around in a circle. “Katie?” But she’d barely had time to ponder the situation when Evelyn called her down to work.
Ten minutes later, Autumn descended the stairs, her hair still damp from her speedy shower. Her mother greeted her with a paper list.
“What would I have done had you had school today?” Evelyn asked, shaking her head.
Autumn shrugged. For some reason, the charter school let everyone have the week of Fantasy Fest off, even though most, if not all the events were for the eighteen and over crowd, which was something Evelyn reminded Autumn of frequently.
“Remember,” said Evelyn. “Check-in is typically at three, but I’ve agreed to let guests arrive early so that they may uh . . . partake in the festivities.” She handed Autumn a dust rag. “Please dust the rooms, except for Mr. Fletcher’s. Do his room after he leaves for the day.”
“What’s this?” came a male voice. Evelyn spun around and smiled. If Autumn didn’t know better, she’d think her mom was blushing. Mr. Fletcher had appeared from the small dining room, carrying a newspaper under the crook of his arm and sipping a cup of Cora’s freshly brewed coffee in an I Heart NJ mug.
“I was just telling Autumn to clean the April room after you left for the day.” Evelyn smoothed down her hair.
“Oh, no need.” Mr. Fletcher tucked the paper under his arm. “I wouldn’t want her to miss out on the Goombay Festival.”
The Bahama Village Goombay Festival was the kick-off event for Fantasy Fest located in the Bahama Village, off Duval and Petronia. From what the girls at school said, it was a fun street fair, and there wouldn’t be much nudity. It was the nighttime festivities and barely clad revelers that would make Autumn blush.
Evelyn dismissed this with a wave of her hand. “Autumn’s not going to that.”
“What’s this I hear about the Goombay Festival?” Aunt Glenda entered the lobby wearing a gauzy, coral dress and grasping a blue feather duster. “Evelyn dear, I do hope you won’t work Autumn to the bone. She should go.”
Evelyn’s mouth hung open and she sputtered, “Ab-absolutely not. Fantasy Fest is ten days of . . . of . . .”
Autumn put her hands on her hips. “Ten days of what?”
“Debauchery,” she said finally.
Mr. Fletcher held back a laugh, although unsuccessfully.
“Nonsense,” Glenda said. “The Goombay Festival is the tamest of all the events during Fantasy Fest. At worst, all Autumn will see is a half-naked man.”
Mr. Fletcher nearly choked on his sip of coffee.
Evelyn’s voice grew shrill. “There will be thousands of people there. It isn’t safe.”
“Mom!” Autumn said, mortified.
“You can’t keep her cooped up in the Cayo all ten days,” Glenda said. “Let her go with Liam after everyone’s settled.”
Evelyn’s eyebrows shot up. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“How about this?” said Mr. Fletcher. “I’ll accompany Autumn and Liam to the festival later if that’s all right with Evelyn.”
“That would be nice. Thank you.” Evelyn grinned at Mr. Fletcher. But then they heard the sound of glass shattering in the kitchen. “I better go see what that is.” She darted away from the lobby.
Autumn accepted Mr. Fletcher’s now-empty coffee mug. “You don’t have to babysit me.”
He set the newspaper inside a brown leather attaché case. The kind Autumn’s father had once upon a time. “If anything you’ll be babysitting me. I have no idea where this Goombay Festival even is. I figured I should see something of Fantasy Fest before I get too submerged in my research.”
“What are you working on?” Autumn asked.
Mr. Fletcher shrugged. “I’ll let you know when I dig up something interesting. Right now, it’s just a lead. What time do you want to leave?”
“Liam is done with his shift around four o’clock. I’ll ask him to come.”
Mr. Fletcher nodded and tipped his hat, an old-fashioned gesture Autumn found charming. She now understood why her mother blushed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Liam walked alongside Autumn, his hands deep inside his pockets, and stared at the sidewalk. Mr. Fletcher flanked his other side, whistling with a file of papers tucked under his arm. It would’ve been such a casual walk had it all not felt like an awkward, chaperoned date.
Liam had not planned on going to the Goombay Festival after his shift. He’d attended so many times before, having come here when he was ten years old, dressed up as a zombie pirate, chasing the other boys from his school in and out of the tourists’ legs.
A man wearing a pink rubber octopus on his head accidentally brushed up against Liam as they entered Bahama Village. He apologized and tipped his drink in Liam’s direction.
Autumn rubbed her arms. “I feel so out of place.” She wasn’t wearing a costume, just a blue tank top and jean shorts.
Liam chuckled. “Truer words have never been spoken, Jersey girl.”
Autumn didn’t laugh, and Liam worried he had offended her. “If I had known we’d be here, I would’ve dug around for a get-up. Usually Fantasy Fest is exhausting, so I don’t go out until midweek.”
“No big deal,” Autumn said.
They passed red and white tents serving up tart lemonade. Liam inhaled the aromas of jerk chicken, fried fish, and conch fritters. His stomach grumbled, but he didn’t have much cash. Liam moved aside for a member of the Junkanoo band, clad in bright blue and orange, wearing a tuba around his neck and torso. The music had always been Liam’s favorite part of Goombay. At any given moment, he could hear calypso, reggae, and even 90s alternative in various parts of the festival.
A woman in a string bikini and blue body paint smiled as she sidled past Mr. Fletcher. He cleared his throat. “A tame event, huh?”
“This is nothing,” Liam said. “Wait until
later in the week where practically everyone is naked. Anyway, you come to Goombay for the music and the food. There’s nothing like it anywhere else in the world.”
“That may be, but this is where I leave you,” Mr. Fletcher announced.
“Fantasy Fest not your scene?” Liam asked.
The man shook his head. “I’m forty-five years old, and I’ve just bumped shoulders with a thousand people in only sixty seconds. I’m going to find a quiet place to do research.”
“Good luck,” said Liam.
Mr. Fletcher gave him a pained nod and hunched his shoulders against the thick crowds.
“I don’t really understand what he’s doing in Key West during Fantasy Fest if he doesn’t want to be in Key West during Fantasy Fest,” Liam said.
Autumn stared after the man. “He said something about his editor forcing him here. I guess he should’ve researched Key West a little better before booking his trip in October.”
“Well said.” Liam thought about the conversation he and Pops had last night.
“Tell me the truth, kiddo,” Pops had said in between sips of beer. “Do you like Glenda’s niece?”
Liam didn’t answer him right away. Instead, and without meaning to, he grinned like an idiot.
Pops scoffed. “That goofy smile tells me everything.”
Liam poured a glass of orange juice and grabbed a box of chocolate puffs from atop the refrigerator. He plunked it down on the kitchen table and rooted inside for a handful of cereal. Before popping some in his mouth he said, “Yeah, but what does it matter? She’s going back to New Jersey for college. Plus her mother hates me.”
Pops dismissed this comment with a wave and a big belch. “Eh. All mothers hate their daughters’ boyfriends. It’s a rule. Your abuela didn’t like your mother very much when she first met her.”
Liam crunched on his cereal, but it tasted like dust. Pops rarely spoke about his mother or grandmother.
“She said your mother acted like a hussy who would break your father’s heart. Man, was she right. Abuela was being protective. Just like Autumn’s mother.”
Liam swallowed his breakfast and washed it down with a sip of juice. “Yeah, well, Autumn isn’t my girlfriend.”
“How do you know? Did you ask her?”
Liam dropped a handful of puffs in a bowl. “Guys don’t just ask girls to be their girlfriends.” Liam thought about how he and Victoria started dating. They had one English class together before Victoria invited him to a party at her mansion. He drank a little, and then before he knew it, they were making out in the pool. Monday morning before the first bell, Victoria had linked her arm through Liam’s and introduced him to her clique as her boyfriend. There had never been any discussion. He probably would’ve never agreed to the relationship. But that was how he became Victoria Canton’s property. Thinking about it, he would’ve liked to have been asked.
As he strolled around the Goombay Festival with Autumn at his side, Liam really appreciated how slow and organic their whatever-it-was-called relationship was evolving. It felt natural. And that’s how Liam liked things to be.
The Junkanoo gathered in formation as they prepared to parade down the street. A band member slid his trombone while another pounded furiously on his drums. Liam tapped his foot to the music. “You’re not in a rush to go home, are you?” he asked Autumn.
Autumn turned to him and gave him a wicked grin. “Not at all. What did you have in mind?”
#
Liam scratched his head in such a way that Autumn suspected that he had no idea where to go next. “Do you want to hear music at the main stage on Emma Street?” He practically yelled to be heard above the din.
“You want to just walk to the water?” Autumn’s voice rose to match his. She winced, wondering if it was a lame suggestion. She wanted to experience Fantasy Fest, not bow out like Mr. Fletcher, but she didn’t want to compete with loud music for Liam’s attention.
Fortunately, Liam smiled and they walked to the Southernmost Point. Tourists jammed around the large black, red, and yellow buoy and snapped photos.
“So what do you think of Fantasy Fest so far?” Liam asked.
Autumn shrugged. “Not quite as raunchy as I had thought.”
He grinned. “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”
Autumn blushed and looked around. A tall blonde, dressed in a mermaid costume with a tiara, entered the cafe on the other side of the street. Autumn tilted her chin up at the cafe nearby and saw a banner that read, “Raise money for AIDS research.”
“Where’s happening here?”
Liam leaned in to Autumn. “It’s the coronation of the king and queen of Fantasy Fest. Every year they raise money for AIDS research.”
A muscular man in nothing but a white speedo smiled at Autumn before grazing past her and heading into the cafe. “Let’s go in.”
Liam spread his arms wide. “After you.”
Autumn’s eyes widened. The “cafe” was a cafe in name only. It was a gorgeous open-air restaurant that sat right on the beach. It was also packed.
“You want something to drink?” Liam asked.
“Just a soda,” Autumn said.
“You got it. Wait here.”
Autumn decided to push through the throng of people and head toward the back of the cafe and watch the waves break on the sand. She remembered summer vacations at Long Beach Island down the Jersey Shore, before her parents’ business hit hard times. Her folks would rent a beach house for a week, and she and her father would boogie board on the surf. Her mom would pack half a dozen books to read in her beach chair. They’d spend hours in the water and then at night they’d grab a table at the nearest seafood restaurant. It was her favorite part of summer. And as she stared at the warm Florida waters lapping at the sand, she wondered why she hadn’t appreciated this more until now.
A shrill voice rang out. “Oh my God, what are you doing here? I didn’t think you ever left the haunted hotel.” A laugh followed.
Autumn whipped her heard around. Victoria stood with her hands on her hips. Her ocean blue strapless dress barely covered her boobs.
Autumn’s insides churned. Just as she was enjoying the ocean, the sight of Victoria ruined it.
“Jeez, Victoria. It’s a free country.” Autumn felt childish using that old comeback, but it did seem fitting in this case. “Do I go around asking why you’re wherever you are?”
Victoria played with a diamond necklace that draped her swanlike neck. “That’s the difference between us. I belong here and you don’t.”
Although Autumn wouldn’t utter it aloud, this time, she felt Victoria was right.
Just when Autumn considered shoving Victoria into the ocean, Liam showed up holding two sweaty glasses filled with a bubbling soft drink. Autumn snatched the glass out of his hand and chugged the sweet liquid. It felt cool going down, but the carbonation burned her throat. She put the glass down on a bar ledge and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Classy, but she didn’t care.
Victoria stood gaping at Liam. “You came here together?” Her voice hit a high-note that sounded like nails on a chalkboard. Even Liam flinched.
“Vicky? Why are you here?”
Victoria’s eyes flamed. “It’s my sister’s coronation. She’s the Queen of Fantasy Fest. She raised the most money for AIDS research.”
“Good for her.” He caught Autumn’s eye. “Well, we’re gonna go.”
Victoria blocked Liam’s exit. “At my party, I thought you guys came as friends. But are you guys, like, together?”
Autumn didn’t know how to respond. She wasn’t sure what she and Liam were. They were friends, that she was positive about, but they also kissed. Autumn’s last relationship had progressed similarly. They were friends first and they went to the movies a bunch of times with a group. But while she assumed they were dating, the boy didn’t. Which she found out when their junior prom was announced and he had asked another girl.
“Uh,” was all Autumn could muster
.
Liam stared at Autumn, and for a moment, Autumn felt like everything had quieted down. He said in a low voice, “What do you think? Would you like to be my girlfriend?”
Heat rushed to Autumn’s cheeks. She didn’t even steal a glance at Victoria to see how she was taking it. Autumn beamed. “I’d love to.” Liam held out his hand and she clasped his fingers. Together they sidled past Victoria and into the Key West evening.
#
Liam didn’t want to say goodnight to Autumn, but he also couldn’t wait to go home and tell Pops that she agreed to be his girlfriend.
Evening rolled upon them. The sun had set below the horizon without Liam even noticing. At some point, and with his last five dollars, Liam stopped to buy Autumn ice cream, and they meandered slowly toward the Cayo. The streets were no less crowded, but the tourists were heading toward Duval while he and Autumn walked away from it.
Autumn seemed entranced with her soft-serve cone. As he watched her tongue dance around the chocolate and scoop the sprinkles into her mouth, he found himself desperate to kiss her. But then she stopped and got a faraway look in her eyes.
“You didn’t ask me to be your girlfriend to make Victoria jealous, did you?”
“No.” He leaned against a white picket fence that bordered the front of a light pink Victorian. “Do you know why I asked you to be my girlfriend?”
“Cuz you like me?” Autumn teased.
“Yes.” He laughed. “And because once upon a time, Victoria announced to everyone that I was her boyfriend. Like she owned me or bought me at some department store. She never asked me to be her boyfriend.”
“So you asked me to be polite?”
“I asked you because I like you. A lot. Asking in front of Victoria was just extra fun.” He grinned broadly
Autumn licked her ice cream. “She makes school a living hell for me.”
“Don’t let her. No one should have that much power over you.” Even as the words left his mouth, he knew he was a hypocrite. He let people have power over him. Victoria, for starters. His dad. Pops, sometimes. Hell, even Mick Canton.
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