Page 2 of Turbulent Fires

We quickly finish dinner, which is delicious even though I barely taste most of it, then walk down the hill to town. We have golf carts at the house, but prefer to walk. There’s never any trouble getting exercise on the island since the town’s built on a hill, so there are a lot of ups and downs and more stairs than a person can count. I love it.

We arrive at The Marlin Club within ten minutes, and I smile. The place hasn’t changed in years, with dim lights, sticky floors, great music playing, and summer tourists crowding the small space. Both locals and tourists enjoy this friendly place.

“Hey, Mario,” I greet as he stands at the swinging half-doors. He’s the bouncer, though I don’t think he ever needs to bounce anyone. Another great thing about this island, crime is almost nonexistent. The criminals have nowhere to run if they try anything, so for the most part, people behave.

I look around, seeing a lot of faces I don’t recognize, and a few I do. Cindy is sitting next to Eddie, each with a guitar on their lap as they strum along to the eighties rock song that’s playing over the speakers, while she flirts with the love-struck tourists most likely buying her drinks and hoping to take her home...which won’t happen.

Josh and Ziad are in the corner playing foosball with some unlucky tourists who are going to lose. They take the game far too seriously and love smoking the tourists. Laurie’s on the stool at the bar talking to Janet as they shoot looks Josh’s way. That’s a romance gone wrong, but they keep being drawn back to each other. Now, it’s gotten more complicated as Josh and Cindy seem to be sneaking off together every once in a while. If a person wants drama all they need to do is come to this island. There’s more than enough to go around.

Will walks up to Laurie and whispers something, making her glare at Josh. This makes me chuckle. He doesn’t mind getting his buddy into trouble, and if that means stirring up some drama so he can sit back and watch, he’s more than willing to do it.

Mary, one of the siblings who owns the Glenmore Plaza Hotel, the second oldest hotel in California, is sitting in the corner laughing with a group of men vying for her attention as she throws back her long black hair.

This is why I love coming back here over and over again. I love the people, and love that most are always excited to see us. It’s a place we can be ourselves, with the troubles of the world fading away the second we land on the island.

Drake makes a beeline for the music station while Jayden grabs the last available table in the place. I head over to the pool table, which shockingly is available. In the tight space, the shots aren’t easy to make, but it’s always a great time. I put in my coins and rack the balls.

“Fancy meeting you here,” a deep voice says. I look up, and a grin breaks out on my lips.

“Well, if it isn’t Cooper Armstrong. What in the hell are you doing here?” I ask as I lean in and give him a handshake. Cooper and I have flown many jets together, but it’s been well over a year since I’ve seen him. We’ve both been busy and neither of us are flying commercially too often.

“My wife hasn’t been to the island before, so we rented a place and came for the weekend,” he says. She’s with her sisters-in-law for a girls-only dinner, so I headed down for a drink. Good timing,” Cooper says.

“Well, my brothers are taking their sweet time, so let’s have a drink while I kick your ass at a game of pool,” I tell him.

He throws his head back and laughs before nodding. He moves to the bar, grabs some beer, then comes back in time to see me make a perfect break.

It doesn’t take long for my brothers to make their way over to us, then we’re all chatting about piloting, life, chaos, and more. All of us live on the edge, so it’s not hard to share a conversation that has others listening in, wishing they had even a quarter of the adventures we do.

“Life without brothers would be boring,” Cooper says with a laugh.

“Yep. We can sure fight like hell, but nothing will ever come between us,” I say.

“I know what you mean. The older I get, the more I realize how important family is,” Cooper responds.

Cooper lost his father at far too young of an age, and it sent him and his brothers off a steep cliff like it did with me and my brothers, but they pulled it together just like we did. The difference is they had their Uncle Sherman. It would’ve been nice for us to have another family member step up. We’ve managed to find our way, though, and have done quite well in spite of the devestation.

“I think I keep flying because it’s the only thing that keeps me sane most of the time. I can get into the skies and outrun my grief,” I admit.

“I’ve been there more times than I can count,” he says.

“It doesn’t always work, but the view is much better from the sky.”

“Amen to that, brother.”

We finish our first game, which he wins... with luck. We rack up to play again with him wearing a smirk that I’m about to wipe from his face.

“You settle down yet, Wolf?” he asks.

I shoot him a glare. He’s trying to throw me off my game.

“Not interested in that,” I tell him as he makes a beautiful break. It’s okay. I’ll still take him.

“Why not?”

“I like being free,” I casually say.

“Or maybe it’s cause you’re afraid if you commit, you might crash and burn,” he says with too much cockiness.

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