Page 46 of Troubles in Paradise
It says:Arrived!Followed by a single kissy-face emoji. Sent at…12:47 a.m.
Cash stares at the text, willing it to say something else, something more. She was supposed to land yesterday at three in the afternoon. Why is she only texting him at a quarter to one the following morning? He checks to see if there’s a missed call from her. Nope. So this is it. Technically, it checks the box—she’s let him know she made it safely—but it feels perfunctory, like an afterthought.Oops, forgot to text Cash.Does she miss him? If the answer is yes, why doesn’t she say so? She used to text that she missed him if theTreasure Islandwas a few minutes late pulling into Cruz Bay or if he got held up in the customhouse coming back from the BVIs. This feels like a blow-off. Why did she wait so long to text and what was she doing up so late?
Cash texts back:Glad you made it safely. I miss you!
He waits to see if she responds, but there’s nothing. She must still be sleeping.
While Cash is driving to work, his phone rings and his whole body relaxes. There she is.
He’s on the dicey curve above Hawksnest so he answers without checking the display. “Hello?” He has the radio up, 104.3 the Buzz out of San Juan, which is playing Michael Franti, and he makes no move to turn it down. He wants to sound happy, busy, unconcerned.
“Cash?”
It’s not Tilda. It’s his mother.
Cash is so crushed, he nearly hangs up.
“Hey,” he says, and he does turn down the music. He’s no longer in a “Sound of Sunshine” mood.
“Cash? It’s Mom. Listen, I have some good news.”
Good news at this point would be Tilda calling to say that Dunk’s picture should be next todouchebagin the dictionary and that she can’t stand him another second and is on her way home, hotel research be damned. He can’t believe how strongly he feels about Tilda. He knew the relationship was promising but his feelings have ratcheted up to the next level now that she’s gone. Gone with Dunk. “Oh, really?” Cash says. He wonders briefly if Irene’s attorney somehow managed to get the villa back. What a major reliefthatwould be! He could leave Peter Bay and regain at least a little of his self-respect.
“Milly’s estate is through probate,” Irene says. “She had stocks that your grandfather bought back in the late 1970s that were sold for us. To the tune of a hundred and seventeen thousand dollars. Now, I wanted to split that four ways—you, your brother, Maia, and myself.”
“Good call including Maia,” Cash says. “That’s really decent of you, Mom.”
“Well, just listen. It turns out Baker doesn’t need the money. He got money from Anna. So Milly’s money will be split three ways. By next week, you’ll be thirty-nine thousand dollars richer.”
Thirty-nine thousand dollars. Cash knows he should be grateful but all he can think is that Dunk has enough money to buy an island. Buy! An! Island! This little jaunt Tilda is on must be costing nearly thirty-nine thousand dollars, if not more.
“Thanks, Mom,” he says. “That is good news. I can buy a truck.”Used,he thinks.
“Your brother bought a Jeep,” Irene says. “And he found a rental.”
“He did?” Cash says, perking up. “How big?”
“Two bedrooms,” Irene says. “In Fish Bay.”
Cash’s mood darkens. “I thought he was looking for something bigger. I can’t stay at Tilda’s forever, Mom. And what about Winnie? She’s living with Ayers.”
“The villa Baker rented is across the street from Ayers,” Irene says. “I forgot to ask Baker if he’s allowed to have pets. He might be.”
Which means that Winnie might have a home—but Cash does not. “Thanks for the call, Mom. I’ll get you my bank information but I’m at work now, so I should go.”
“Honey?” Irene says. “Is everything okay?”
Cash sighs. His mother knows him; his mother loves him. They have always been allies, and if anyone on this earth can relate to feeling abandoned, it’s his mother. Except she seems pretty happy with Huck. “Tilda went away for a week with another guy,” Cash says. “Some super-wealthy investor who’s funding this eco-resort that Tilda and her parents want to build on Lovango Cay.”
“They went away together? Like,together-together?”
“Supposedly all business,” Cash says. “Tilda said he turns her stomach.”HadTilda said this? No; this is how Cash feels. Dunk turnshisstomach. “Whatever. I guess we’ll see.”
“If it makes you feel any better,” Irene says, “she’d be a fool to leave you.”
Cash shakes his head. “Thanks, Mom.”
On the second day, Tilda texts Cash a selfie. It’s just her face. She has her mother’s sunglasses on; she’s lying back on a chaise in the sun.
