Page 56 of Juicy Pickle

Then, a few seconds later, another one.

It’s big, whatever it is. But there can’t be any large predators on this island. It’s too small. But a wild boar? Wild pig?

No, they wouldn’t be easing through the trees. They are prey. They’d crash through the underbrush like Pumba inThe Lion King.

I’m not sure if I should call out or be quiet. I think the pee is done, but then a muscle twitches, sending another spray going.

Great. The sound is like a signpost in the quiet, and I can’t shut it off.

There’s another quick snap. I don’t know if I should turn on my light. I could scare off whatever it is.

My pulse quickens. Whatever lives on the island isn’t used to having humans here at night. That’s for sure. Nothing about this place is set up for it.

Mercilessly, the flow of urine finally stops. I’m about to tuck things away when I’m blinded by a bright light.

“What the hell?” I call.

Bailey shrieks. She gasps. She fumbles with her phone. Light skitters through the trees, illuminating fallen branches and brush. “Sorry! So sorry!” The phone drops to the ground, and she squints her eye as she picks it up, the bright glare in her face.

Then it’s off. I can’t see anything other than splotches of gray where my eyes were seared by the unexpected brightness.

Then I say, “Are you okay?”

I don’t think I’ll address whatever body parts she might’ve seen.

“You…left me. Alone. On an island. At night.” Her voice wavers.

“I’m sorry. The bathroom hut is?—”

“No. I get it. I get it. I’m sorry. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that. I’m just…” She still breathes hard. “Overwhelmed, I think. This is a lot.”

“What can I do?”

“Give me a second.”

I wait her out. I can’t see her at all.

Finally, I say, “I’m gonna flip on my light for a second so we can get back to the beach. There’s moonlight there, but here we can trip over things.”

“Okay.”

I lead us out of the brush. We pause at the edge of the sand, letting our eyes adjust to the dim moonlight.

I decide a change of subject might be best. “Tomorrow we might want to prioritize making a path through the debris. We don’t want to get injured.”

“Okay.” Her voice is still breathless as she glances back at the trees.

Before I can think of how embarrassing this question might be for her, I ask, “Do you need to go?”

She shakes her head furiously. “I’m waiting for daylight. We don’t know what’s out there.”

“I don’t think there’s anything out there, but if you can wait, that’s not a bad idea.”

We walk along the beach, picking our way around lounge chairs and palm leaves.

“You could always go in the ocean, I guess,” I say. This is the weirdest conversation I’ve ever had with a woman.

“I guess so. It seems weird, but it’s a lot of water.” Then she stops. “It wouldn’t attract sharks, would it?”

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