Mark of a Good Man

Mark of a Good Man

Copyright
©
2012 by Ana E Ross

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotes used in reviews, no portion of this story may be used or reproduced in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or any other device now known or invented hereafter without the written permission of the author. These forms include, but are not limited to xerography, photocopying, scanning, recording, distributing via Internet means, informational storage or retrieval system.

Ana E Ross can be contacted via her website at:
www.anaeross.com

This story is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any similarities to actual events, locales, business establishments, or persons living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Mark of a Good Man

Amber stretched her slender body in the large hammock hanging on the wrap-a-round veranda, and gazed pensively out at the Caribbean Sea. The sun was heading for the horizon and soon the sky would be bursting with an amalgam of radiant colors. Of all the remarkable sights on this small island, the two she would miss most were the spectacular sunrises and sunsets. She still could not tell which was more breathtaking.

Regret nipped at her. In two days, she would leave Dulcina and return to her real life in New York City. But the thought of being reunited with her six-year-old twin daughters brought an eager smile to her face. She missed them, but she knew from their daily video chats that they were having a great time in California with their father and grandparents.

“Why are you outside in this heat, Amber, instead of inside where it’s cool?”

Amber peeked over the side of the hammock as her best friend Josie walked toward her. Josie was a native of Dulcina, and if it weren’t for her, Amber would have spent her childfree week slaving away at her flower shop in Manhattan and missing her girls even more. Instead, she’d spent the week walking along the sandy beaches, swimming in the sapphire ocean, feasting on spicy foods, and dancing in the moonlight to hypnotic reggae and calypso music at nights.

“It’s not so hot,” Amber responded, as Josie eased into the hammock opposite hers and curled up like a cat. “There’s a cool breeze coming off the ocean. “How was your nap?” she asked, eyeing Josie under lowered lids.

“Girl, don’t look at me like that,” Josie retorted, in her melodious Dulcinan accent. “It’s the heat.”

“Hmm,” Amber murmured. “It gets pretty hot in Colby’s bed at nights, I’d imagine.”

Josie plucked a slice of papaya from the bowl of fruits sitting on a table between the hammocks, and popped it into her mouth. “Hey, don’t hate me because I’ve got a man. You could’ve been having fun with Colin all week long.”

Amber sighed and looked off into the horizon again. Colin was one of Josie’s childhood friends, and an Immigration Officer at the airport. Josie had introduced them the day they arrived on the island, and Colin had been pursuing her since, but Amber had remained aloof. She’d been divorced for approximately one year, and she was not looking for a romantic relationship, not even a short-lived one. Her priority at the moment was her daughters. And after the hell her ex had put her through, she didn’t know if she’d ever be ready for love again.

“Colin’s a nice guy, Amber. I don’t understand why—”

“Why did you give all this up for New York City?” Amber pointed toward the ocean on one side of the property and a view of Dulcina Peak, a three-thousand-foot lush green mountain on the other side. She and Josie had been down this road several times. Josie was a hopeless romantic, and thought it her duty to fix up every single woman she knew, especially those she was close to. She was a real modern day Cupid.

Josie laughed. “The grass is always greener, Amber. Don’t you know that? I bet you’ve been fantasizing about selling your business, packing up your kids, and moving on down to this wonderful paradise.”

Amber chuckled as she reached for a slice of mango and placed it between her lips. As the sweet juices splayed across the roof of her mouth, bringing her taste buds to life, she closed her eyes and savored the moment. Yes, she had been fantasizing about moving to this beautiful island where life seemed so relaxed, compared to New York City. But she knew her dreams were impractical. What would she do to support herself and her kids here? “I’m gonna miss it,” she murmured on a somber note.

“Me, too. Although I grew up here, it wasn’t until after I left that I really began to appreciate the beauty of my homeland. I guess it’s true that you really never miss the water until the well goes dry.”

Amber raised an eyebrow in her friend’s direction. “Are you talking about Colby?” she asked of the high school sweetheart with whom Josie had reconnected last Christmas when she’d come home. Colby owned a local charter airline, and an elegant home on a beach close to the airport. Josie had slept at his place every night for the past week. No wonder she had to take naps during the day.

Josie’s brown eyes filled with warm affection. “Yeah, I’m talking about Colby. He is the only man for me. I know that with absolute certainty now.”

Amber almost allowed herself to feel a little jealousy of Josie’s happiness. She would love to have a man who was devoted to her, but that kind of relationship was not in the cards for her. She had her daughters, and perhaps Lady Fate thought that was all the happiness she could handle. “I think you should stay,” she told Josie.

“Are you forgetting that I’ve offered to help out at the shop since Sarah’s leaving in a few days?”

Sarah, Amber’s best floral artist, was one of the single friends Josie had set up on a blind date with a coworker from the financial institution where Josie worked as a Marketing Director. Sarah had married the man, who unfortunately for Amber, was recently transferred to Boston.

Amber supposed Josie felt guilty for causing the loss of her most valued employee, and that’s why she had offered to give up her second week of vacation. “I can manage,” Amber said, deciding to go easy on her friend who’d been there for her when her mother died, four years ago, and more recently during and after the months of her difficult divorce. “If it gets too crazy, I’ll hire a temp.”

“Josephine! You got a phone call,” Josie’s sixteen-year-old sister, Monica, yelled from inside the house.

“Who is it?” Josie asked.

“Who else? De pilot. Why he don’t call your cell, I don’t know. Make me miss the best part a me movie.
Struuup.
” Monica appeared in the door holding the cordless receiver.

Amber chuckled as Josie jumped out of the hammock, sped across the veranda, practically ripped the phone from Monica’s hand, and raced into the house.

Settling down into her cozy hammock again, Amber gazed out across the azure Caribbean Sea and soaked up the magic and serenity of the island.

Amber’s suspicion thermostat soared from zero to a hundred in a split second. She stomped her bare foot on the tiled floor. “Josie Hamilton, are you trying to set me up?” The last time Josie set her up on a blind date, she ended up slapping the guy. It turned out Daniel was an octopus who needed his limbs tied together, or just plain chopped off. It had taken her days to forget the gross feel of his sweaty palms on her arms and shoulders.

“No.” Josie slithered to her side. “We’re dining at Euolie Beach where, as you know, the dress code is more formal than shorts and T-shirts. I just thought I should—”

“Euolie Beach!” Amber clapped her hands in excitement. “Why didn’t you say so? I love their lobster and curried conks dishes, not to mention the delicious goat water they serve. Let’s get going,” she said, walking toward the door.

“Sure.” Josie followed her inside.

After a quick shower, Amber slipped into an ankle-length, peach-colored
Batik
spaghetti-strap dress that had a full-buttoned front. The slim cut accentuated her slender figure, and with her long brown hair tumbling off her shoulders and down her back, she thought she looked very attractive. She slipped on a pair of white sandals, grabbed a small evening bag made from seashells, and walked down the hallway to Josie’s room. “You ready,” she asked through the half-opened door.”

“In a sec,” Josie said. “Go wait in the car. I’ll be right there.”

“You look nice, Amber.”

Amber turned around and smiled at Monica who was wearing a white cotton dress with a wide black belt around her waist. “Thanks, Mon. You look nice, too. Are you coming with us?”

Monica rolled her eyes. “Me, limin’ with old people? No way. Me and my friends are goin’ down to Moonshine for some Mahi Mahi and curried rice while we watch the sunset. They have a bonfire tonight too, so maybe we’ll dance a little, even catch a Star or two, who knows?”

Amber grinned. The ‘Stars’ Monica was referring to were the numerous American celebrities known to hang out at Moonshine’s, a local bar on Pinney’s Beach, situated just a stone’s throw from the magnificent Four Seasons Hotel. You name a celebrity, he or she has been to Moonshine, and Mr. Moonshine had the pictures to prove it. He also sold the best local…

Amber narrowed her eyes and wagged a finger at Monica. “Stay away from the Killer Bee,” she warned against the infamous local rum punch that was highly effective.

Just then a car horn blasted out front, and somebody yelled, “What holding you, Mon? Gotta put on you girdle?” A roar of laughter followed.

“Gotta go.” Monica dashed off.

Smiling with memories of her own mischievous teenage years, Amber walked through the living room and out on to the veranda to wait for Josie. A few minutes later, they headed north, toward Euolie Beach.

“Are we meeting Colby at the restaurant, or are we stopping at his place first?” Amber asked, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth at the anticipation of feasting on exotic local food and fruit cocktails. She was going to have to double up on her trips to the gym when she returned to New York.