Hazel looked around. They were on Keith Decker's medium-sized yacht. He had invited them the night before to join him and his crew for a photo shoot with Adele and a couple of other girls.
They had arrived at the Morgan's Harbor Marina at exactly six. It was amazing to her that Kenzy was the one who had to shake her awake and who had been most excited about the trip.
Keith Decker had greeted them in the half-light. He had a cap firmly drawn over his brow and he was in a half-buttoned checkered shirt. He looked just as handsome dressed casually as he did in his suit the previous night.
"Welcome to the Wendy," he had said. "I hope you girls have fun today. We have lots of food and drinks and the cay should be all ours; it's a Monday."
And now here they were on the way to the Lime Cay.
She held on to the railing of the yacht and watched as the sea sprayed itself into foamy froth along the side of the vessel. There were about thirty persons on the boat. Photographers, assistants, a lady with a tape measure around her neck and someone in a chef’s hat who had come above deck shortly before they took off.
The girls, who were obviously models, were dressed skimpily in their little sundresses showing off their legs. They were looking forward to the shoot. They were sitting round in clusters and laughing and talking with each other. Their excitement was infectious.
Hazel had never been to the cay; she had heard several persons talk about it. Most of her high school crew had gone to the cay at some time or the other and they had always described it as the most beautiful beach on this side of the island.
The sun was almost out too. The day was going to be bright and windy. Keith Decker was talking closely to Adele, who was leaning closer and closer to him, her lips in a pout.
"I thought she was engaged," Hazel said out loud.
Kenzy sat beside her with a plop. "Who?"
"Adele." Hazel snorted. "Look how she is cozying up to Mr. Decker."
Kenzy laughed. "So your old man crush lasted the night?"
Hazel shifted uncomfortably on the seat. "I guess. He doesn't look old."
"But he is and he is married. The boat is named after his wife," Kenzy whispered fiercely. "Wait until you see his son, the young one, Curtis. Ooh-la-la. Scrumptiousness on two feet. Gorgeousness personified. No one, and I mean no one, can hold a candle to his magnificence."
Hazel laughed. Kenzy had described her latest crush, Omar Mendez, in the exact same way. And Omar was good-looking too, but not like Keith Decker.
She would have to get her very inappropriate crush under control.
They arrived on the cay a little after twenty minutes. Breakfast was served buffet style on the yacht by a grinning chef who had laid out quite a spread.
"It's too early for me to eat." Hazel got off the boat and admired the expanse of white sand beach and the sheer emptiness of it all. Keith Decker was right. There was no one else on the beach, just the people from the Wendy. It was like they were on their own private island.
She found a tree, spread her towel under it and rolled up another towel to use as a pillow, and prepared to get lost in a book for the day. She could see the yacht from where she was lying, so she could go for refreshments and use the bathroom when necessary.
It was perfect. She could hear the waves lapping the side of the sea, like a soothing rhythm. Her sisters would love this. Caitlin would go all poetic about the shades of blue of the sand and sea. Della would join her with a silly grin on her face and Brigid would be the first to run in the water and splash around.
She missed them so much. Getting away from Magnolia House was not really that fun without them. She shrugged off her sudden melancholy and watched as the photographer’s assistants set up their equipment some distance away. When she got tired of watching the photographers, she pulled out one of her gigantic romance novels with a longhaired guy on the cover. Maybe Kenzy would describe him as gorgeousness personified.
"Spoil sport!" Kenzy sat beside her in a huff. "Are you going to just sit here and read all day?"
"How was breakfast?" Hazel asked, looking up from her book briefly.
"It was good. The models didn't have any, so there is a lot of food. But here's the thing, I heard Keith on the phone with his son Curtis. He told him to come on out here and join him. Seems as if they have some sort of feud going on. Keith was talking about reconciliation and forgiveness and how he was weak but he loved him, yada–yada-yada. If Curtis comes by he might come with his friends. I so hope Omar comes with him."
Hazel snorted and went back to her book. "Omar, the epitome of magnificence."
"If he gets here remember that I am twenty-one."
"Got it. We need to maintain the fiction." Hazel went back to her book.
Nearly two hours later she was snoozing over her book when Keith Decker came to her tree.
"This was a good choice of trees," he said. "The shade is here all day."
"Yes, and it is comfy under here," Hazel said sleepily.
"So," he cleared his throat, "I thought it would be a great idea for you to do some test shots for us. I have been looking at you. You could be very photogenic, Michelle."
"My friend Kenzy was the one who suggested it," Hazel said hesitantly. "I am not really into the whole modeling thing."
"But think about it," Keith said earnestly. "You could pay your way through college. It's a great way to make some money. Hair and makeup are waiting on the boat for you. Don't protest, have fun with it. When we discovered Adele she was reluctant at first and look at her now—one of the biggest international models on the scene. Come on." He held out his hand to give her a boost up and Hazel looked at it. "Your future awaits."
He gave her one of his high-watt smiles.
She took his hand and jumped up. He grinned at her. "You won't regret this."
She headed to the yacht to do hair and makeup in one of the rooms downstairs. She had not gotten a tour of the interior and she was now marveling at how big it was.
A hairdresser introducing herself as Megan and a makeup artist did such a thorough job of making her up and straightening her hair that when she looked in the mirror she didn't recognize herself.
"Contour makeup, baby," Megan said. "No need for Photoshop and all of that jazz. When I am done with my clients it’s just up to the camera man to do a good job. This is the wardrobe."
She held out a swimsuit in tie-dye colors. "You are going to wow them."
After being waxed and primped and buffed and shined, she had to admit that she had liked the process.
Even Kenzy was slack-jawed when she walked off the yacht with her hair blow dried and flat ironed. It almost reached her waist. She flipped it around her shoulder expertly and made a pose for Kenzy.
"So what do you think?" She asked Kenzy.
"I think I am jealous," Kenzy whispered, "I want a photo shoot too."
*****
Two tiring hours later, after posing and waiting while the photographers adjusted lighting, she was free to go. They showed her one of the pictures and she could scarcely believe that it was her. Her own sisters could look at it and not know that it was her.
"Very nice," the photographer said.
"That is his stamp of approval," Keith said, grinning. He was sitting under a tent they had set up beside the equipment. He was surrounded by the adoring models like a king in a harem.
Hazel nodded shyly at his praise because he was looking at her with admiration.
Did he like her? Should she care? Should she even be asking herself that question?
She went back to her tree and was surprised to see that there were five guys under there. Another boat had moored beside the Wendy.
She groaned. She needed her stuff. Obviously she had to move. When she got closer she could see that one of the guys was reading her book.
His friends were laughing and talking and he was lying on her towel with her book in hand. How dare him!
"Wow!" one of the guys said when she stormed over to the gu
y on the towel.
He lowered the book slowly and looked over at her. He was really good-looking, too, and had the same shaped eyes as Keith Decker. She instinctively knew that he was the gorgeousness personified, Curtis Decker.
"You are on my towel," she snapped. She had no idea where the hostility came from. Maybe because he had nonchalantly sat on her towel.
"Sorry." He got up and stretched, with her book still in his hand.
She was transfixed by him stretching. He had on a shirt but it was unbuttoned all the way down to the end and he was in khaki chinos which fit him snugly on his hips. He looked like he should be the one posing up a storm in front of the cameras, and he wouldn't even need makeup either.
He was looking at her too, lazily running his eyes over her like she was some sort of display on a store shelf. She was really happy that she had pulled on her beach dress over the swimsuit because his look was like a caress and it had her hyper aware even though she thought she had gotten over the shy feeling after the first hour of modeling in bathing suits that bordered on the indecent.
"Hi, my name is Curtis," he said to her solemnly, "and these are my friends. Sorry we hijacked your tree. They were just leaving to observe the goings-on at the model tent."
The guys got up and grumbled good-naturedly but they hurried toward the model tent, almost outrunning each other to get there.
And she and Curtis were left standing to face each other.
"So aren't you going to tell me your name?" he asked her flirtatiously.
"Haze...Michelle..." she stumbled over the false name that she and Kenzy had cooked up.
"Michelle," he said, sitting beside her towel. "You are a model, huh?"
"Yes, er…well, today is my first time modeling." She tentatively sat on her towel, which was beside him. Interestingly, it now smelled like him—a faint coconut lime scent.
He laughed at her and held up her book. "You were in the middle of a love scene."
"Yes." Hazel blushed, her ears turning red.
"How old are you?" Curtis asked abruptly. She assumed it was because of her very juvenile reaction to his comment on the love scene.
"Twenty-one." The lie slid out without second thought.
"Which university do you attend?" Curtis asked, settling down beside her.
"Er...I...go to UTECH. I do the culinary arts." Well, that was her dream anyway, and what she imagined twenty-one year old Hazel would be doing.
"A pretty chef." Curtis grinned at her. "I'd like to taste something you make."
"And maybe you will," Hazel said flippantly. "What do you do?"
"Just graduated." Curtis sighed. "I did my master’s in architecture. It's a subject I love and I have a job to go back to at the end of August."
"Where?" Hazel was watching him speak. He really was pretty to look at. He lay down beside her, quite relaxed, looking up into the leafy canopy.
He glanced at her sideways before answering. "Canada."
Their gazes locked and held for a long time. Hazel couldn't look away. The air was rife with tension.
And that's how Keith Decker found them. Looking at each other with rapt attention.
"Hey son," he said to Curtis, "sorry you can’t steal this particular model. She's with me. Come along, Hazel. I have a wedding dress that has your name on it."
Hazel got up jerkily. "Sure."
"It's a trash the dress shoot," Keith said to her. "We think you'd be perfect for it. She'll soon be back, Curtis."
Curtis sat up and looked between her and his father. "I don't know. She may choose to stay with you."
"For the love of...when are you going to forgive me for something I had no control over?" Keith Decker ran his hand through his curly hair and then heaved a hefty sigh. "You know what? Come with me; we need someone to be a groom."
*****
"Hazel, is it okay if I go into the swimming pool? Bernice said I should ask you first, and that I can't go in unattended."
Hazel sat up in bed and then looked around, feeling a bit disoriented. One minute she was at Lime Cay and the next she was staring at her son, an earnest little expression on his face.
"What time is it?" Hazel asked hoarsely.
"Seven o'clock," Sebastian said, looking at her old fashioned clock on the wall. It had stopped giving a chime on the hour ages ago and it was pretty touch and go with the timing. She had kept it because it was cute. It had a intricately carved landscape for a background.
She grabbed her watch. She needed to focus. It was eight-thirty! What kind of mother was she? Still in bed while her child starved. He must have woken up a good while ago!
"Wait, are you hungry?" she asked Sebastian.
"No," Sebastian said, heading for her window and looking over at the pool. "I had toast and eggs and Bernice forced me to eat papaya. It's yucky."
Hazel nodded. She was going to have to thank Bernice for coming to work on time for once.
"Let me get a shower and we can both hang out at the pool." Hazel kissed him on his forehead and went into the spacious en suite bathroom.
She stood under the shower, not caring if the water wet her hair, though she had no intention of washing it. The chief thought that was swirling in her head was that she remembered something more.
She remembered Curtis! She knew him from before! And he hadn't said a word to her.
She was getting impatient with the little scraps of memory that she was getting. It was frustrating. She could fully sympathize with Casey now. She remembered how utterly frustrated she was when she had dreamt bits and pieces of her background.
She wished someone would just tell her what really happened that summer!
Closing her eyes and wishing hard wasn't doing it for her. She forced herself to relax. Later she would play that CD again and see if she could shake out some of those memories that were held so deep in her subconscious.
Chapter Fifteen
Hazel's first visit to Helen with Sebastian was turning out better than she thought it would. The three of them were family. Hazel still found it remarkable. Helen was extremely chipper.
"I haven't been on my medication for two whole weeks!" Helen told Hazel. "And the truth is I don't think I need it, but we'll see."
Sebastian took to his grandmother quite well and she adored him.
"He’s like a little Nick!" Helen had proclaimed when she first saw her grandson. "It’s a miracle." She couldn't stop hugging Sebastian, and Hazel was really grateful that he tolerated all the fussing over him.
They were sitting on separate stools before their blank canvases, listening to classical music. Helen was tutoring Sebastian about landscapes and the rule of thirds. And he was listening aptly.
Hazel curled up on the settee and fiddled with her phone. She was dying to talk to Curtis but for the past two days their conversations were pretty brief and only about Sebastian and his settling in.
She decided to text him. It was near one o'clock, which would be two o’clock his time; surely he would be on a lunch break by now.
Hey. She texted him and waited for his reply.
Hey, was just thinking about you.
She smiled and settled down into Helen's super comfortable chair.
Good thoughts?
Deep thoughts. You are always on my mind.
I remembered something after listening to your CD two nights ago.
Oh.
I remembered meeting you. She waited for him to reply but he didn't.
When her phone rang two minutes later it was him.
"Really?" he said into the phone. He sounded as if he was breathing hard.
"Yes." Hazel sighed. "Did I tell you sorry for duping you about my name and age?"
Curtis sighed down the phone. "I think you should remember without any interference from me."
"Wait, don't brush me off too," Hazel groaned. "Obviously we knew each other before. You pretended as if you didn't know me, though. That was dishonest."
"It will all come back to
you." Curtis murmured, "and then we'll see who was dishonest, Hazel."
"For goodness sake. Why can't I just remember?"
"You are remembering," Curtis said tightly, "and that is a good thing. Where are you now?"
"At Helen's place. She and Sebastian are bonding over the easel. I probably should leave them and meet my sisters for lunch somewhere. I am obviously the third wheel in this new mutual admiration society."
"You sound bored," Curtis said gently. "I can ask Manuel to let you into his kitchen at Rizzle for a while. You can learn from him."
"Really!" Hazel breathed. "You'd do that for me?"
"Sure, why not? Just let me know when you'll be ready to go."
"Thank you," Hazel said shakily. "You do realize that when I start my own restaurant I will be competing with Rizzle?"
Curtis chuckled. "No problem, it will be all in the family. I have to go. We are meeting with the client in a moment."
"Wait, what do you mean by all in the family?" Hazel asked, her heart pounding in sharp staccato notes.
Was he going to mention the large elephant in the room? The topic that she was trying to skirt around with him because she was plain scared to hear who was Sebastian's father?
"Talk to you later." He hung up before she could get an answer and she gritted her teeth in frustration.
*****
Hazel and Sebastian had a full week. He spent Monday with his aunt Casey and Tuesday with his aunt Caitlin, who insisted that he call Hazel Mommy. Brigid used him as her question master for her exam. He couldn't call some of the words on her study cards but it was hilarious to watch.
Nick carried him to a basketball match sponsored by Sunrise Medical on Thursday, where all the guys thought that he had a son.
"By the way," Nick said when he dropped off Sebastian, "I have never seen Aunt Helen so normal. I don't know what you are doing but keep on doing it."
"I did nothing," Hazel said, laughing. "I don't know where you guys got the notion that she was crazy. She seems normal to me."
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