Page 6 of Wishful Thinking

Chapter Five

Island Escape

Sal got back to his loft and stuffed a suitcase. He had two hours to make it to the small municipal airport in Venice. Packing light and grabbing the bathing trunks last, he couldn’t recall the last time he’d been in the ocean. Brightneon-blue palms printed on the material made him smile. The trunks stirringup the memory of when he’d purchased them years before for a weekend getaway with Angela to Aruba.

The history of his lovelife unfolding as another one bit the dust, just likeeach girl before Tink, and after her. His heartholding spacefor only one. No other measured up to his cravingfor the blond beauty. Angry at first, the broken-hearted girls neverknew why, but felt the sense of her. Sal, unable to eradicate the ghost of the girl he loved, closed his heart off to each one. Leaving for the tripsolo, he drank thelong weekendaway, and spent most of the time hungover in the King sized bed, channel surfing. The bathingsuit had never seen sunlight. Sal hoped the trip was about to change that.

The continuous drone of airplane engines filled the air as the Uber dropped him off near the entrance. He tipped the guy five dollars and grabbed the two bags. Moving through the doors, he approached the young man who stood bored behind the counter. Startled, the youthful man set his cell-phone asidewhen he saw Sal approaching at a fast clip. Sal handed the kid his credentials and waited forprocessing while gazing at the tight man-bun perched high, thesmall bulge resembling a sad bird on his head. The dude’s cell-phone jingled, and he plucked it up, handed Sal his paperwork back, and gesturedat him to head down the passageway. Sal looked at the double doors from where he stood and suspected they ledout onto the airstrip.

Sal went out into the intense sunshine and shifted his Ray-Bans up his nose to block the glare. A large muscular black man stood beside a nice-sized Cessna and waved at him. When Sal made it to the airplane, he ushered him up the steps.

“Name is Jeremy Toth. I’ll be flying you to your destination. The trip will take about an hour and a half, please, make yourself comfortable. Drinks are in the mini-fridge. Pleasebuckle in when we take off. I’ll let you know when we’re about to land. We’ll be there in a blink of an eye. Enjoy your trip.” Sal tried to place the man’s accent, figuring him to be Jamaican or Haitian. As long as he could fly the plane and get him to his destinationin one piece, he couldn't care less.

Sal walked through the small craft and chose the seat in between the three rows. The plush leather enveloped him like a hug. Pulling out his cell-phone, he turned it to airplane mode out of habit. Uncertain if this category of plane bore the same regulations as the commercial kind, Sal wasn’t about to take a chance. He stretched out the seatand closed his eyes. The door sealed and latched, the whirring of the motor grew louder. The airplane moved forward at a modest pace, lulling him with the quiet sound, and he drifted off before it reached a thousand feet.

Sal jumped as the plane hit the runway. He pulled his seat up from the reclining position and glanced out the small porthole window. Palm trees were swaying in the breeze. It surprised him;He had felt little turbulence. Grabbing his bag, he stowed away his jacket and waited for the plane to taxi up to the building. The motors wound down, and from the cockpit, Jeremy smiledat Sal.

“Not a dreadful trip, assumed it would be harsher, you must be a good juju passenger, mon. You got beautysleep, huh? Checked back half-way through and you were snoring. Thought I was ferryinga lumberjack cutting the wood. Bet that pisses the ladies off at night, eh?” Sal rubbed his eyes and smiled.

“I’ve never been here, hope it’s easy to navigate. Have you been on this island before?”Jeremy nodded.

“Oh, a few years ago, but the taxi’s buzz the front of the airport looking for tourist bread. Where are you heading?”

Sal fumbled in his pocket and pulled out the address written on a business card from Bob. Jeremy took it, nodded at him, andhanded it back.

“Just take a taxi. Don’t let them charge you over ten bucks. They’ll try for twenty, but going rate is ten. Hold your ground, mon, and you’ll be fine. Just watch out at night. Gangs of kids shake down the old farts wanderingout of the compounds. They can get a little unruly, but you look like you know what you’re doing. Be good, my friend, see you when I see you.”

Jeremy gave a wave and Sal walked down the few steps and on to the hotcrackedblacktop. Thedecrepit building resembledmore a house, notan airport. Sal hefted his bag over his shoulder and headed for what he hoped was an air-conditioned room. The screen door swung closed behind him and he glanced around at the plastic chairs dotting the waiting area. An older man decked out in tangerine-colored shorts and a sweat-stained white shirt stood by a counter. He nodded at Sal as he moved towards him.

“Taxi? You need a taxi? I’m your guy.” He held out his hand to take Sals bag and Sal pulled it back.

“How much to go to Ave 19 S?” The man smiled and nodded. “Oh, that’s pretty far, going to cost you at least twenty. Others would charge you twenty-five, but my special rate today is twenty dollars, cash. That doesn’t include a tip. Are you ready?” Sal smiled and shook his head no.

“That’s steep. I was thinking maybe ten? Yeah, ten sounds about right. I’ll go out front and see if someone will do it for that. Seems a mite slow here, someone must need cash today.”

He moved past the man who thrust out a hand in front of him, slowing his movement.

“Eh, you strike a hard bargain friend. Yes, I could make do with ten, ifa tip, too? I know a shortcut so it’ll shave some fare off, yes? Deal?” Sal smiled and pulled out his wallet, found a ten, and tucked it in his shirt pocket.

“You get the ten when I get to the address, not a moment before, deal?”

The man nodded and motioned Sal to follow him. The front glass doors opened and the heat from the sun felt like an oven.

“Christ, it’s hotter than hell here. I hope to God you have air conditioning in that car of yours.” The man nodded and rushed forward, opened the door. Sal threw his bag in and slid onto the scalding hot plastic-covered leather seat.

“Shit, it’s hot. Get me there quick before I die in this oven.” Sal wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve and unbuttoned his shirt. The man jumped in the front and fired the car up. He pulled through the cars that dotted the parking lot and moved out on to the dirt road. He had the front windows rolled down and Sal realized he’d never gotten a response about having air conditioningin the car. Now he knew why. He rolled his window down and moved his head to the edge, trying to capture any breeze that might venture in. They drove for twenty minutes, through wooded areas, then fields, beneath canopies of mango trees, and turned down a small road. Houses lined the street, and he could see the blue of the ocean through the towering green brush that lay on each side of the road hiding the houses beyond. The driver pulled in to a small turquoise home. A woman was out front pulling weeds and trimming back the palm fronds in front of the door. She saw Sal and waved.

Sal got out of the car, handed the driver the ten, then fished around for an extra two bucks. He didn’t want to tip for the lack of a/c. After hesitating, figured the people here were scrambling for a wage, it was the decent thing to do. He nodded to the driver who smiled and pulled away, waving and sportinga wide smile.

The woman’s skinwas tanned and brown, effects of the sun lining her face with wrinkles upon wrinkles. He figured she must have lived here forever beneath the baking sun. Her eyes twinkled as she held out her hand.

“You must be Sal. I got a call from Bob that you were coming in today. You’re lucky this place was available. Mrs. K has been renting it every year since forever but she had a heart attack last week and had to give it up this time around. She’s a snow bird and always leases for at least six or seven months. You can stay as long as you’d like, but if you have an inkling when you’re gonna head out, just let me know. Bob said you’d need it for at least a month, but it is open for longer, I’m just saying.” Sal smiled at her and held out his hand.

“Yes, ma’am, I’m Sal, and thank you, you are?” The woman seemed flustered. It occurred to him she had rambled at himin a flirting manner, seeming to grow a crush at first sight. He laughed.

“Oh Lordy, yeah, guess I forgot to tell you that. Pardon me, but I’m Stella. I own blue house here, and I also own pinky on your right, whitey to the left, and Yella fella down yonder, that’s where I live. The big pink house at the end is BB’s mansion, not quite a mansion, but compared to these, as close as you can get. Come on in, I’ll show you around.” Sal hefted up his bag and followed Stella in to the quaint cottage. The air conditionerwas on and it felt good. Exhaling, Stella turned and raised her eyebrows.

“Figured you were one of those softtypes. I crankedit up high before you arrived, but it becomes a little pricy. If you don’t need it this chilly, make my day and turn it up a few degrees. I think I set it at seventy-five.” Stella walked over to the wall and pointed to the thermostat.

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