3 Weeks 'Til Forever (6 page)

Chapter
9: Road Trip

Redmond
arrived 15 minutes early and Janey was running her customary 15 to 30 minutes
late on the morning of their trip to northern part of the island.

She
blamed her penchant for being tardy squarely on her mother, who could never
seem to be on time for anything – from birthday dinners to church services, her
mother was always, always, always late.

Usually,
her father could be found sitting patiently in his favorite frog-green
La-Z-Boy, waiting for her.

For
some reason, a piece of advice he gave her when she was about 9 or 10 years old
came to her as she rushed around the room piling last-minute necessities into
her travel bag. 

“Janey,
if a man can’t wait 30 minutes for the woman he loves, then you don’t wait 30
seconds to toss his ass. A good woman is always worth waiting for. Remember
that.”

Even
when she was small, her father always talked to her like an adult, much to her
mother’s chagrin, especially when he used curse words. On that day though,
instead of telling him to mind his manners because she was a child – a girl
child – she didn’t say a word.

Janey
remembered dating Jamal and how impatient he used to be with her sometimes. She
always had a bit of nerves in the pit of her stomach when it was time for him
to pick her up because she knew that he liked to be on time.

Internally,
she acknowledged that it wasn’t fair to keep him waiting – and she usually
didn’t beyond 10 or 15 minutes. But she remembered her father’s words of advice
on many occasions, and now realized just how cherished her mom must have felt
because her dad was never impatient waiting for her. He treated it almost like
an honor.

Although
the concierge had rang and alerted her that Redmond was downstairs at 8:45, he
waited to come up at 9 on the dot.

When
she still wasn’t ready, he told her to take her time, offered to help and went
onto the balcony to look out over the ocean when she told him that there was
nothing she needed him to do.

Packed
and ready at last, Janey stole a look at Redmond as he stood on the balcony,
arms laced behind his head as he stared out to sea.

He
had large hands and the short sleeve of the pale yellow tee-shirt he had on
stopped just above the well-defined muscles in his arms. A leather band with a
two tiny seashells was visible on his left wrist.

He
seemed to prefer simple, natural jewelry instead of that tacky, in her eyes,
gold that so many men on the island wore.

Beige
cargo shorts and thick, dark brown leather sandals completed the casual look.
The look was so simple and common, yet uniquely … him.

Seizing
control of her thoughts, Janey called out, “I’m ready.”

Redmond
turned, gave her a wide smile and said, “Your chariot – and bell hop – await,
milady.”

.
. .

Sol
y Besos
was only 123 miles long and 37 miles wide, so you could easily traverse it in a
day if you had to.

Redmond
took the coastal route, which meant the ocean would be visible almost the
entire trip, until they started to climb into what was known as ‘Hill Country’
on the northern part of the island. 

This
part of
Sol y Besos
was inundated in all kinds of exotic woods and plant
life like  bamboo,
Chechen (Caribbean Rosewood),
Scorpion Orchid
,
Yucca and
wild banana (crab claws, lobster claws). It all grew
completely wild for as far as the eye could see in most places, which made it
all the more breathtaking.

Janey made sure to pack the extra battery for her digital camera
so she could take all the photos she needed without fear of her camera going
dead.

The day couldn’t have been more beautiful for the approximately
six-hour drive. Janey had only had coffee before they set off, so about an hour
into the trip she turned to Redmond and asked, “Are we going to stop for
breakfast? I’m hungry. Did you eat yet?”

Redmond replied, “I only had papaya juice, so yeah, I’m feeling
some hunger pangs too. I know a little spot about a half hour up the road. Can
you wait that long?”

Smiling, Janey replied, “Sure, that sounds perfect.”

Pulling into the little country roadside restaurant almost a half
hour later on the dot, Janey and Redmond seated themselves.

There was no air conditioner, which was common in many
establishments, especially once you left the main tourist areas. It was already
quite hot and the two ceiling fans in the restaurant only seemed to be pushing
the warm air around, not providing a lot of relief from the heat.

A southern girl, Janey didn’t mind warm temperatures. She’d rather
be hot than cold any day. And as Redmond was a native, the heat didn’t bother
him any either.

They placed their breakfast orders, each requesting a coffee,
which came while they waited for their food.

“So do you go to the northern part of the island often?” Janey
asked.

“Actually, no. As you seem to know, it’s a bit more remote and
most of the tours I do take me to the western part, where there are more
tourist attractions, though they’re more outdoorsy than what you find in the
main tourist areas. So I go maybe once every three or four months at most.”

“I could come more often, but I only drive this far if I have a
group of at least five. Most of the time when I come, I’m coming with regulars
who return to the island year after year and like to make the same excursions
with friends and family.”

“So what made you want to come to this part of the island, and
have you ever been before?” Redmond asked.

“Yes, I have. Only once though, and it was a few years ago. I only
stayed overnight and always wanted to come back because it is so unexplored by
most tourists who come to
Sol y Besos
. Most of them stay behind the
walls of their hotels in the main tourist areas.”

“I just remember being transfixed by the unspoiled beauty I saw
there. So, I jumped at the chance to feature the area when this client said
they wanted some non-touristy content on the Caribbean.”

“I knew I could find some unique stuff that wasn’t talked about on
the one thousand and one other travel blogs, so that’s why I decided to book
this trip.”

“Thank you for rescuing my arse by the way. I can’t tell you how
grateful I am.”

“I could think of a couple of ways you can thank me for rescuing
your cute little behind,” Redmond said, staring in the general direction of her
seated bottom.

“You promised to be a perfect gentleman on this trip Mr. Hillyard,
and I fully expect you to keep your word.”

“If I recall,” Redmond responded, looking straight into her eyes,
“what I promised was that you’d never have to
fear for your safety – from me or
anyone else – on this trip. And that’s a promise I will of course keep.”

“Now
as for being a perfect gentlemen, I’ll say this, I would never do anything to
you that you don’t want me to. How’s that for a compromise?”

The
undertones of the conversation had taken a definition serious turn, so to get
back to a lighter mood, Janey responded in her trademark southern accent, “As I
said Mr. Hillyard, I expect you to be a perfect gentleman.”

Redmond
stared at her for a few more seconds to underscore that he knew what she was
trying to do, but he was dead serious about what he said.

Letting
her lead him back on to more playful ground, he responded, “As always, Ms. Coltrane,
your every wish is my command.”

There
was that damn double entendre again
, Janey thought. But she was grateful
that he followed her lead.

Keeping
a lighter tone throughout the rest of their breakfast, Redmond told her about
the people he was going to introduce her to. He offered some great insight into
what to expect, so when they resumed their drive, she took out a pad and jotted
down a few interview questions.

As
they pulled into the hotel, Janey marveled at Redmond’s diverse taste in music.
On the drive, they’d listened to everything from country, to reggae, to zydeco,
to R&B.

She
was surprised to learn that his favorite artist was Lionel Richie, not some
popular West Indian artist.

“Why
Lionel Richie?” she asked.

“It
speaks from the heart  and to the heart, and it cuts across musical genres
– from R&B to country. It not only takes skill and originality to do that,
you have to be sure of yourself. I like people who don’t doubt themselves,
especially when it’s something as organic as talent.”

There
goes that ‘summing people up’ quality I loved so much about my dad
, Janey thought.

Out
loud she said, “I love Lionel Richie too, especially for the lyrics in his love
songs. You’re right, they sound like they come directly from the heart and he
certainly knows how to speak to women’s hearts. I’d never thought about him in
that light. That’s pretty profound.”

When
Redmond turned the van off,  she hopped out and went inside the hotel
lobby to check them in while he attended to their bags.

“Hi,”
Janey smiled at the reservation agent at the front desk. “I’m Janey Coltrane
and I have a reservation for two rooms for three nights.”

The
agent quickly located her reservation. Brow crinkling, she said, “I’m sorry Ms.
Coltrane, but we only have a reservation for one room for you for three
nights.”
            Dispelling a
quick rise of panic, Janey responded, “I made the reservation for two rooms,
and even paid the deposit for two, as you can probably see on your screen
there.”

The
agent said she indeed did see it, but that only one room had been reserved and
the deposit had mistakenly been applied to her total bill for one room for
three nights, instead of reserving two rooms for three nights.

Continuing
to apologize profusely, she continued, “It’s high season and we are completely
booked. I’m so sorry, there’s nothing else I can do.” 

“Oh,
wait,” the agent said. “We do have two rooms . . . but only on your last night.
For the first two nights we don’t have an extra room. On the last night, we
do.”

The
roller coaster of emotion left Janey with a distressed look on her face. At
that moment, Redmond rounded the corner carrying their bags.

Seeing
how anxious she was, Janey quickly explained the situation to him.

He
told her that he was sure he could find someone in Hill Country to stay with
and not to stress about it.

Relieved,
but feeling guilty because it meant he’d have to bring her back to the hotel
later today after her interviews, then travel back to Hill Country probably
late in the evening, then back to the hotel the next morning, she fretted over
what to do.

Overhearing
their conversation, the agent said, “There are two double beds in the room.
It’s rather large and has a terrace, so you can share quite comfortably.”

Janey
felt that she’d be an ass if she didn’t allow him to share the room with her.
After all, that would be a lot of extra driving for him and even if he took
more pay for it – which she instinctively knew he’d refuse – it just didn’t
seem fair.

Redmond
was in the middle of insisting that it was no problem, that he’d stay in Hill
Country, when Janey cut him off, saying, “Look, let’s not make this a bigger
problem than it needs to be. If the room is big enough, let’s just share, ok?”

Not
wanting to hold up the reservation agent any longer, Redmond agreed as another
couple and a family had come in behind them and the agent was apparently alone
at the desk.