“Yes, and sometimes I believe that is the best way to meet someone. I’m talk’n reaching out and making that psychic connection,” I added, as I stared at her for a long moment.
“Well, you certainly reached out and I am glad you did,” she purred, a smile spreading across her lips.
“I’m glad as well,” I added, satisfied with how well the night had gone.
“Listen, Marcus….”
Chapter Five
Like Vegas magicians, Miles and Iris appeared out of nowhere and before Leïla could complete her statement. The two had decided to check on us to see how well things were going. Surprised that we were hitting it off so well, they vanished just as quickly as they had appeared. But before they did their disappearing act they made us promise to return to the ballroom as soon as we were done getting acquainted.
“You wanted to say something,” I said, as I recaptured the moment.
“Oh, yes,” she beamed. “I was wondering what brought you here to St Thomas.”
“Just doing some scouting for my uncle’s business,” I answered. “My job is to look for property we may be interested in and buy it if the price and location is right.”
“What kind of business are you and your uncle in?”
“The restaurant business,” I came back.
“Sounds like an interesting trade.”
“It is,” I quipped. “And may I ask how it is that you happen to be in St Thomas? I thought you were from the island of Antiqua. And when I last saw you at the airport, I thought you were heading there.”
“I am from Antiqua as you noted,” she said with a light chuckle. “And I was on my way there when you last saw me. I just returned from there this morning. But I am also attending the university here on the island. Besides, my cousin Iris lives here as well.”
“That’s right, I almost forgot that Miles said that you were an engineering student,” I said rubbing my hand through my hair. “I just never connected the two; that is the engineering field and your beauty contest fame.”
“Well, I am both,” she uttered with a playful gaze. “Didn’t Miles tell you anything about me?”
“Only that you were a very nice young woman,” I replied, noticing for the first time that soft music was being piped through several outdoor speakers strategically hidden about the outdoor garden. “I’m curious, just how did Miles and Iris meet?”
“Much like you, Miles was checking out property in Antiqua when he first met my cousin. She was working at the tax office as a receptionist at the time they met there.”
“I see.”
“As you may already know, Miles is from the States, Michigan I believe. I imagine he traveled down this way one too many times on business, fell in love with the climate, the food, and then my cousin. He’s been here ever since.”
“I see,” I repeated, wondering if that was going to be my fate as well.
“They have been together for nearly two years and are planning to wed in the spring of next year.”
“Well, I have no doubt they are going to make a great husband and wife team.”
“I have no doubt either,” she affirmed.
“So, what are your plans after you finish your studies here?” I inquired, sipping at my drink for the first time since arriving outside.
“The university has a great exchange program and that’s one of the things that attracted me here. I am enrolled in what is known here as the 3-2 Engineering Program. Through this program, students attend University of Virgin Islands for three years and in the fourth year transfer to one of several reputable U.S. universities, including Columbia University and the University of Florida. There is one or two more but I cannot think of their names at this time.”
“So, what year are you in?”
“I’m finishing up my third year next month,” she said leveling her eyes with mine.
“In May, huh,” I murmured.
“At the end of it,” she answered with a prolonged gaze.
“Where are you going after your time is up here?”
“The University of Florida in Gainesville,” she replied.
“Oh, UF,” I said nonchalantly. Yessss! I sighed inside, feeling relieved. I thought she was going to say somewhere that was far from Florida.
“Are you familiar with UF?”
“Matter-of-fact, I am. I completed my undergraduate work there a few years ago, and then went on to attend the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia,” I answered.
“Wow, I’m impressed,” she almost sung.
“Not as much as I am with you,” I injected, turning up my charm a couple of notches. There was no question that I was intrigued with her accomplishments
“What was Philadelphia like, might I ask?” she said.
“Well, there certainly were no palm trees, passion fruit, or balmy breezes to be found there and the only coastline belonged to the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers,” I said in jest. “But historically, there’s nothing like it. It’s the birthplace of our Constitution and surprisingly, many of the important buildings of that period still remain standing.”
“I’ll have to visit there someday.”
“I am sure you will Miss Antiqua,” I quipped full of hope.
“So, how long are you here for?” she asked, taking a sip of punch from her glass.
With that line my heart went into panic mode, realizing that I had already made arrangements to depart the island the following day. I would have to cancel that reservation when I returned to my villa. With that settled, I said, “My stay is for three weeks. One week to work, two weeks to enjoy the island.”
“And two weeks for me to enjoy your company,” she injected softly, her eyes and smile radiating outward as though she was enveloped in an aura.
I found myself floating a foot off of the ground with that statement. My spirit buoyed beyond expectation, I could not believe that this was a dream come true. But I managed to stay grounded long enough to say, “Thank you. And I look forward to enjoying your company as well.”
“Look, I’m off tomorrow,” she began. “Would you like for me to pick you up and show you around the island; I’m talk’n parts most tourists never get to see?”
My eyes lit up with that suggestion. “By all means,” I replied, “I think that’s a wonderful idea. Besides, I haven’t really seen a lot since my arrival here.”
“Well, now you have a personal tour guide.”
We quickly exchanged cellphone numbers and decided we’d better head back to the ballroom to join Miles and Iris and the other party revelers on the dance floor.
After a polite but engaging phone call to the airline I was able to cancel my travel plans and return my schedule to its original timeframe. I cringed at the thought that I had nearly blown this rare and serendipitous opportunity by way of a hasty and early withdrawal. Lightning like this was seldom captured in one place or bottle. But I was thankful. Someone up there was looking out for me, I gathered.
Next on my agenda I called my Uncle Kurt. I could deduce by his greeting that he thought that I was calling to say that I wanted to return to Florida. He was pleasantly surprised when I told him that he had been right all along and that I had decided to remain in St. Thomas for the duration of my planned visit. The wise one that he was, he quickly concluded that I had met someone endearing. Just the same, I let him know that I had.
After I told him what little I knew about Leïla it was case closed. He was pleased that I had listened to his advice and given it a little more time. He signed off by wishing me well and telling me to have a good time. He also told me to relay to Miles that he would be calling in a day or two to discuss the deal I had negotiated and to give it the green light for taking it to the next phase.
After taking a shower and turning on the stereo I laid across the wide bed on my back and looking up at the ceiling with my cellphone in hand. I thought about my time with Leïla and relived some of tonight’s events, all centering
on her. I was smitten, no doubt. But where this was going I had no clue. So far, so good, though. The emotional high that I was on was such that I would pursue her and this budding relationship to the South China Sea, if I had to. But I wanted to know, and needed to know, if she was feeling the same emotions that I was feeling. I needed to know if she was feeling what I was feeling, craving the same things I was craving, and on an emotional level. She had given the appearance that she was. But I needed more than just appearance. Time would tell, I told myself.
I was tempted to call her that moment but I did not want to seem desperately lonely and love deprived, though in reality I was both. Instead of calling, I decided to savor the moments we both shared and relive them in a dream that night. Tomorrow we would touch the Milky Way with our beating hearts. I sensed inside that she was the one. But I needed a sign. Perhaps there would be a light rain the following day. Perhaps, just perhaps, some spectacular cosmic rainbow would appear over us signaling that the two of us were destined by a greater power to go forward in life, and in matrimony, as one. God, I had not felt this way about a woman in a long time. Slowing my thoughts, I pondered whether I was getting way ahead of myself. After all, we had just formally met. I imaged it was true what people always said, that love can make you crazy. I don’t know how true the statement was, I just knew that I was crazy about her.
Rolling over on my stomach with an outstretched arm, I placed the phone on the walnut end table and turned out the light with an appliance remote. Tomorrow promised to be even better than tonight’s outing. Regardless, I could not wait.
There was nothing like watching the rising sun from the mountainous hills of a tropical island as it slowly ascended into the ether from beyond the vast ocean’s horizon. Sunset was the one exception.
As I stretched and yawned, I watched the sun’s ascension from my private patio until it was halfway into its assigned position in the sky. After that I embarked upon a short martial arts session. To me, there was nothing like a good Gung-fu workout to start one’s day.
Though I had turned in around one in the morning, and it was now 6:45AM, I felt reasonably rested. I attribute my early rising to my eagerness to get the day started. I figure the sooner I got on with the program, the sooner our paths would cross, Leïla’s and mine’s.
Once dressed, I headed out for breakfast over at the elegant Ritz-Carlton Hotel adjacent to the vacation villas. In the lobby, just before you entered the main cafeteria area, there stood a tall stand with a very talkative parrot named Captain Billings perched on it. Fascinated by this exotic bird, I spent several minutes in conversation with him before signing off with a hand salute. His last crackling words to me were “Baarrahhh! Be a good sport now, mate.”
Breakfast consisted of Canadian bacon, Eggs Florentine, English Muffins, Philadelphia Cream Cheese with Strawberries, cold cereal, and a tropical mango-orange-pineapple blend in a pre-chilled glass. For additional potassium I had a banana. Before I completed my blend, I popped two vitamin D pills, one vitamin C pill, and two fish oil liquid soft gel capsules. Man, I was ready for whatever excitement the day promised to bring my way. Well, almost. Back at my villa I rubbed on some sunscreen to protect me from exposure to the sun’s ultra violet rays. Now I felt ready.
Leïla arrived around 9:00AM as she had promised to. That was unique for a woman, I thought. Of the few women that I had dated, none of them ever showed up on time as agreed to. I counted this a plus for her. She was so impressed with my dwelling that I showed her around the villa before we headed for her car. She was driving a SCION. She was wearing a mauve colored shirt, opened slightly at the top, large custom made earrings, and white shorts and brown sandals. Once seated inside of the vehicle she put on a pair of lightly tinted shades. Unlike the night before, when her hair was combed back in a French roll, giving her a regal look, now she wore it shoulder length.
“So, what’s first on our agenda today?” I asked, taking into full view her shapely legs.
Facing me, she said, with a warm bright smile, “Listen, we’re going to drive over to the campus first. I’d like to show you around it. You don’t mind do you?”
“Hey, I want to see it all,” I said as buildings, trees, and pedestrians walking alongside of the road, seemed to whiz by as we headed downhill. In a short while we arrived at the main road that would take us to the far end of the island where the university was located. To our left was a splendid view of a vast cove and the ocean that filled its basin. Some boats bobbed in the water at the furthest end of the break wall, much like toy boats in a tub. Not far from us, a large ferryboat was tying up at a pier, just a few yards from the main road we had just turned onto. It was swollen with passengers from one of the other islands, many wanting to get an early start with their shopping.
It was too early for air-conditioning so Leïla rolled all of the windows down as we drove. As we talked, I marveled at her intellect and beauty and the way the wind blew through her hair, sometimes wildly. Somehow, it always seemed to return to its original form and shape whenever we slowed down for a passersby or a red light. Her lips were painted a soft purple to match her shirt and painted fingernails. The opening at the top of her shirt revealed a fair amount of cleavage. So this is what you get when you go out with Miss Antiqua, I thought, as the wind blew through my hair as well.
“So, are you seeing anyone?” I asked, curious to know.
“No, I am not,” she came back as she brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. “And you?”
“No, I never seem to have time for a social life,” I said. “But that is primarily because I am a workaholic.”
“Wow, I’m surprised, but honored, that you found the time to tag along with me, especially since you are here on business.”
“Actually, I have just about wrapped up my business with Miles,” I replied, facing her. “I am on what you’d call a working vacation. And now that the working phase of it is winding down, I am ready to enjoy the vacation part of it, especially the part where you and I get to hang out together.”
That remark seemed to please her for she turned and caressed me with her enchanting gaze and endearing smile. She rested her hand on my leg briefly on my leg. That move made my day.
We arrived on campus fifteen minutes later. For the next half hour she showed me the grounds, which included the recreational facilities, the dining hall, the dormitories, and the student union building. All the while I kept my gaze on her as we strolled across the campus, her dark brown hair swinging gently, her curvaceous hips swaying, her shapely legs leading the way. I took it all in; the picturesque campus, the birds soaring above, students coming to and fro, and of course, Leïla’s voluptuous form.
“This is such a beautiful campus,” I said, kicking a smooth pebble a short distance ahead of us.
“I think so, as well,” she replied with a toothy smile.
“I mean, you have a magnificent view of the island and the ocean,” I said pausing. “What more could person ask for?”
“It is lovely, Marcus,” she quipped as she paused too.
“So, what kind of engineer are you studying to be?”
“A civil engineer,” she answered.
“That’s a good choice,” I said and only because it sounded like a good choice.
“I hope that it is,” she added. “I’d like to return to Antiqua and design roads and highway systems to replace our aging road systems.”
“You’ve got my support,” I told her, as we resumed our promenade.
“Why, thank you,” she smiled. “Are you ready to go see a few historical sites?”
“Sounds good to me,” I quipped spiritedly.
Unwrapping a long stick of gum, I jammed one into my mouth. A burst of spearmint flavor filled the cavity of my mouth. I offered Leïla one but she said that she already had a mint in her mouth.
We ate lunch at one of her favorite spots near the campus. The cuisine was more representative of what the locals favored eating when compared to the restaur
ants where the tourist gathered to eat, most of those places served food based on what tourists liked to eat back in their countries. Though I had offered to pay for both of our entrees, she insisted on treating me. The woman was more than a dream; she was a true companion at heart.
“So, why are you not married and to some beautiful American girl?” she asked, as we sat eating dessert. I had fried plantain and a scoop of strawberry ice cream; she had Blueberry Melba Parfaits, which consisted of raspberries, blueberries, and vanilla ice cream with lemon juice, frozen orange juice, and ground cinnamon.
“Probably for the same reason that I am not seeing anyone right now,” I answered. “That being my work schedule.”
“I see,” she said, inhaling slightly. “I was beginning to wonder how the women in Florida could be blind to such a handsome and talented man as yourself in their midst. But because you refused to find the time to come out of your shell, there is little wonder you have remained a bachelor.”
“I can’t argue with you on that. So, flipping the question, why are you not married to some handsome surfer stud from your island paradise?” I asked. “You’re smart, beautiful, ambitious, and available.”
“Actually, I never found anyone who was man enough for me,” she came back with a coyly smile.
I took another bite of my dessert on that note. Didn’t feel like touching that one right now.
“Honestly,” she continued, “the men I’ve met are so immature. They usually are looking for a mother, or better yet, a maid, instead of a companion. Others are just looking for a roll in the hay. Most are shallow and not very ambitious, at least the ones I have met. Because I get tired of being sweated, I have kept my distance with them.”
“I see,” I said rejoining the conversation. “Well, it looks like I have my work cut out for me.”
Amused, Leïla chuckled as her hand lighted gently on my forearm. Then growing more serious, said, “Look, you are different from the other men I’ve spoke of Marcus. Please, don’t ever think that I’d put you in with that group. Ever.”
Island Love Page 5