“Let me guess,” Robert interrupted. “There’s no TV and the phones don’t work.”
“As a matter of fact...”
“Don’t bother,” Robert said, waving his hand. “Give me civilization.”
The man stood up. He was taller than average with erect posture, and he moved easily, like an athlete. “Well, I’d better run along. Need to buy some provisions and make things shipshape, as they say. Nice meeting you.” He extended his hand to Robert, who responded limply without rising. When Nancy offered her hand, he grasped it firmly and said, “Have a fine vacation,” holding her hand a moment longer than necessary.
Then he turned and stepped into the café. He spoke in Spanish to the man behind the counter, something about “...mañana, Felipe,” then placed money in the waitress’s palm and closed her hand when she protested, “Demasiado, demasido.” After a wave to the Freckletons, his eyes again meeting Nancy’s, he ambled down the dusty street.
“I’m gonna find that store,” Robert announced, “get a paper, then I’m going back to our wonderful hotel, turn on that noisemaker of an A-C” — he raised his voice — “and try to figure out what’n hell’s happening.”
“Fine, dear. You should stay out of the sun today. I’m going to the beach but I’ll be back at noon with a nice lunch.”
“Yeah, okay. Bring me a couple bottles of — what’d
they call it?”
“Medalla — say med-aye-yah.”
“Why’n hell can’t they stock Hei-ne-ken?”
“I liked it.”
***
Again, the beach was nearly deserted, and the temperature had already soared past eighty degrees. Nancy laid out her things, then went for a jog. When she returned, perspiring but feeling strong, and pleased with her deepening tan, she alternated swims in the luxuriously warm water with sunbathing. Lying on the towel, when certain that no one could see, she slipped the straps of her swimsuit over her shoulders and inched the top down, ready to quickly pull it back in place if
Later, swimsuit top in place, she donned her shorts and, with binoculars at the ready, walked to the wildlife refuge. She sauntered along a trail that wove between palm trees and gigantic ferns. Delicate fragrances from a rich pastel of flowers suffused the still air; she could not resist sniffing each exotic scent. She spotted a hummingbird — greenish back, buffy breast, smaller than the familiar ruby-throats that frequented her feeder in Connecticut each summer — making her wish she had a field guide for the region. The tiny bird probed for nectar with its long beak as it hovered above a dainty, pinkish flower with satiny petals.
