by Roy Glenn
“Excellent. I’ll take that and now I need some swimwear for both of us, preferably something in black,” he said, trying to stay in character. Lulu picked out a black and green bikini for Shy and a pair of matching trunks for him. Lulu bagged it, and Mike was outta there. As he walked to the cab, he realized that in his haste to end the shopping experience he forgot to get something for himself to wear. Mike turned around and cruised the Bazaar for a moment when he saw an outdoor vendor with a black short set. It was his size, but he was apprehensive about buying it because it had a yellow bird on the shirt, similar to the one he had bought for Shy. He decided to go with it. “She’ll think it’s cute.”
Black returned to the room to find Shy coming out of the bathroom, with a towel wrapped around her. “Hello, Cassandra.”
“Hi baby. Where you been?”
“Did you miss me?”
“Yes.”
“You been up long?” Mike asked.
“No. I woke up thinking that I was gonna get some.”
“Sorry. I had something I had to do.”
“So I got up and took a shower. Since you wouldn’t let me bring any clothes, I rinsed out the essentials. Which brings up another point. Where are my clothes?” Shy asked as Mike sat down next to her on the bed.
“I sent your clothes to the laundry. Then I went to the International Bazaar and bought something for you to wear.”
He was about to show her the dress when Shy said, “Time out … you went shopping? … But you hate to shop. Nevermind, let’s see what you bought,” Shy said, prepared to see something black and was pleasantly surprised. “Black, I love it. It’s beautiful. What else did you buy?”
“I got us some swimwear and some shorts for me,” Mike said, showing her the swimwear.
“Thank you, baby. This means more to me than anything else you’ve done. You hate shopping, but you got up and went shopping for me. That is so …” Shy was unable to complete her sentence when she saw the short set he bought for himself. “No you didn’t buy us matching outfits.”
“No, yours is white mine’s black,” Mike said.
“You know what I’m talking about. They both have yellow birds on them. That is so romantic,” Shy said as Mike got up and began to undress.
“I started not to get it, but I knew you’d say that.”
“Think you know me already, don’t you.”
“No, but I’m learning more every day. I’m going to take a shower so we can get out of here.”
“No you’re not. We’re going to take a shower,” she said, following Mike to the bathroom.
The shower was small, but that was all right with them. It gave them one more excuse to be close to each other. They took turns bathing one another and then toweled each other down. Mike got dressed while Shy pondered what to do with her hair.
“This has all the feel of a ponytail day.” Shy put on her bra and reached for her panties.
“You don’t need those,” Mike said taking them away from her.
“Why not?” she asked.
“They’ll just be in the way,” he said with a smile.
“There goes that slick West Indian smile again,” Shy said putting on her dress. “Zip me up, please and we’ll be ready to go.”
“What do you want to do first, Cassandra?” he asked as he zipped up her dress.
“What do you think? I want to eat,” she said turning around. “So how do I look?”
“Outstanding as usual. Now let’s get outta here. We have just enough time to have lunch at the Princess.”
Another cab ride passed quickly, and they found themselves at the Bahama Princess Hotel. By the time they arrived, most of the crowd had departed, so they requested a table by the window. They were seated, and before long a waiter arrived. Naturally, Mike ordered champagne to go with their meal.
“Dom Perignon of course,” Shy said in anticipation of his order.
“No, this seems more like a Bollinger type of day. What do you think?” he asked turning to the waiter.
“Excellent choice, sir.” he remarked.
Sampling items from the large variety of foods, Shy came across something she couldn’t identify, but tried anyway. “This is good? What is it?”
“That my love is steamed conch.”
“What is conch?” she inquired.
“Shell fish. This is conch chowder and that is conch salad.”
“You must like this stuff?” she said between mouthfuls.
“As a matter of fact I love it. It’s a legendary Bahamian aphrodisiac.”
“I don’t think either one of us need any help there.”
In the ensuing period following lunch, Mike asked what she wanted to do next. Shy answered sheepishly, “I wanna play tourist for a while and go shopping.”
Mike looked at her. “Okay,” he said. “On two conditions: one, that we go to one other tourist spot; and two, that I don’t have to go with you.”
Shy frowned and folded her arms. “Why can’t you go with me? I promise I’ll go easy on you.” Mike folded his arms and frowned.
“Baby, please, I’ve already done the shopping thing once today. And besides it will give me a chance to make some arrangements.” Shy agreed after Mike promised to go shopping with her before they left the island. They arranged to meet in an hour. Both of them knowing it would be closer to an hour and a half.
He left Shy at the Bazaar and went to see a friend of his named Percival to make transportation arrangements. Percival was a handsome man in his early fifties, who had a way with women. He ran a charter boat service and rented cars on the island. Mike asked Percival to borrow a car for a couple of days. Also Mike wanted him to meet them later that afternoon on the beach in Williamstown to take them out in his boat. Percival told Mike that it would be no problem to take them out on the boat. However, he didn’t have a rental available.
“What about the Benzo?” Mike asked.
After Percival talked a little trash, he handed Mike the keys to his Mercedes Benz 450SL Convertible.
“Thanks, I promise not to dog it,” Mike said as he raced the engine and sped away to pick up Shy.
Mike arrived at the prearranged spot. However, Shy was not there. He got out and leaned on the car. Not too much time had passed before Shy arrived, with an arm full of bags. Shy got in the car and showed Mike what she had bought for them as they drove.
“So what tourist trap are you taking me to?”
“Trust me. I’m sure a rare beauty like you can appreciate rare beauty.”
Mike took her to The Garden of the Grove. They parked and entered through the gate. Mike took her by the hand, quickly pointing out the museum on his right as they went down the path on his left. A few short steps later they were standing on a platform watching the Flamingos. Shy looked around her.
“I love Flamingos. They are so beautiful. I love watching them move. It’s like they’re tip-toeing through the water.” She laughed.
“They’re so delicate and graceful, like you, Cassandra.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere, Mr. Black, Mike Black.” She smiled.
“Don’t tell me. Bond fan too?”
Shy smiled her response as he led her back down the path.
“What’s that building?” she asked as they approached the chapel.
He stopped at the door, smiled his response and led her inside. Shy scanned the room quickly.
“You trying to give me a hint?”
“I told you, not this week.”
“I know, I know. Next week maybe,” she said, turning quickly and leaving the chapel. They walked through the array of flora and color. She stopped to admire their beauty and bask in their scent. Mike stopped to admire Shy.
“You ever think about getting married, Cassandra?” He asked as they walked.
“Once. And I promised myself I’d never even consider it again.”
“Ricardo?”
“Good guess. What about you?” she asked, anticipating another sad s
tory about Regina.
“Never,” he lied quickly, smiling to himself as he thought about Bobby almost wrecking the car the last time he divulged that piece of information. He was confident that telling Shy wouldn’t produce a similar effect. But why risk it?
Shy paused on the bridge to look at their reflection in the water.
“Your smile,” he said. “You look extremely happy, Cassandra.”
“That’s because I am,” she said quietly as they continued down the path. “I’ve never done anything like this before. Just up and go like this. When I was a little girl I used to say I was gonna make a lot of money so I could travel, see the world, and shop, of course. Well I got the shopping part down to a science. I’ve been to Aruba with asshole. I’ve been to Jersey naturally, LA, Miami and New Orleans, but I’ve never done anything like this.”
“Why not?”
“I got a business to run.”
“So do I. That never stopped me.”
“I’m not spontaneous like you are. I’m a planner.”
“So am I. That never stops me.”
“So I guess I have no excuse.”
“What good is having money if you don’t enjoy it?” Mike laughed out loud when he said it.
“What so funny?”
“I asked myself that same question a couple of weeks ago. Then I met you.”
After leaving the Grove, they proceeded to the beach. Shy enjoyed the scenery as Mike drove. Although she was having a good time, her mind was still on business. Who would want to do this to her and why? She knew that she would have to deal with it when they returned to the city. Deep down inside Shy wanted Mike to handle this entire matter for her. She looked over at him.
He always appears so in control of everything, she thought. Shy admired his strength.
Not wanting to allow it to get in the way of her enjoying herself with Mike, she forced her problems to the back of her mind. For the first time in a long while she was happy. Still, she was curious about why he hated drug dealers. She was about to ask him when they arrived at the beach.
They changed into their swimsuits in the car, resisting the temptation to make love. They got out of the car and walked toward the water. There were a few people on the beach. Some kids running around playing in the sand. Mike spread out a blanket, and they sat down under a tree.
Mike stood and picked Shy up, cradling her in his arm. Shy screamed; but she was loving every minute of it. He ran into the water then stopped and threw her in. Shy seemed to enjoy getting dunked, so he went for it again. Mike swam under the water and came up under her, picking her up, kissed her and then threw her in. For an hour or so, they played in the water like children. Mike told Shy to look up so she could watch someone parasailing. Shy said that she would like to try that before they left. Mike saw a speedboat approaching; as promised Percival had come to take them out on the ocean.
“Come on, we’re going,” he said to Shy. While they gathered their things, Percival stopped the boat in the shallow water.
“Percival, this is Cassandra.”
“Hi, Percival.”
“You didn’t tell me she was a goddess, Black,” Percival said kissing her hand.
“You’re right. Why do you think that is?” Mike said helping Shy into the boat.
“I’m disappointed, Black,” Percival said while he loaded their things into the boat. “You’d think that you didn’t trust me ’round your woman.”
“Right.”
“Where are we going?” Shy asked as they sped away.
“Nowhere fast,” Percival replied.
They cruised around the ocean for a couple of hours. Percival brought along a gallon jug of Bahama Mamas. Shy said that it tasted like Kool Aid. Mike tried to warn her that it will sneak up on her so be careful.
“Bahama Mamas will get you fucked up,” Mike said, but she didn’t seem to care.
The afternoon passed quickly and was filled with laughter, good conversation, and plenty of Bahama Mamas. They got quietly drunk.
When Percival returned them to the beach, most of the people were gone. Shy told Mike that she was in the mood. “For more conch that is.”
“I know just the place,” Mike replied. Returning to the car, they changed clothes again and proceeded to Williamstown. Shortly thereafter, they arrived at Traveler’s Rest, home of the Annual Conch Cracking Contest. “On Easter Monday they have a conch cracking contest here,” Mike explained.
“We need to mark that day on our calendar for sure,” Shy said as they went in.
After stuffing themselves with Conch Chowder, Conch Salad, Conch Fritters, Crab and Rice and Sheep’s tongue, they drove around Williamstown. They parked the car and walked around, ending up back on the beach in time to watch the sunset. The view was absolutely breathtaking.
“Baby, this is so beautiful. I wish we could stay forever,” Shy said, watching the sun disappear from the sky.
“I’ve got nowhere to be and nothing to do. But some of us can’t say that,” Mike replied, knowing that he wanted to be anywhere Shy was.
Spending the rest of his life with Shy on the island of love was a dream and Mike never was much on dreams. However, he never expected to be in the Bahamas on the beach with a woman he loved, thinking about the future. Things change, he thought. Until recently, he thought love was something for suckers, trick boys, and weak men.
“Look at that,” Shy said walking away.
“Look at what?”
“That house. It’s adorable. And it’s for sale,” Shy said, walking around the house looking through the windows. She walked around back. “I wish we could see inside … baby … where are you?” The back door opened. Shy screamed.
“It’s only me, Cassandra. Come on in.”
They walked throughout the house as Shy played interior decorator, describing in detail what she would do with each room. “And this would be our room.”
“Since we claimed the house, we have to christen it.”
“Whatever do you mean, Mr. Black?”
“Bend over and grab your ankles and I’ll show you, Ms. Sims.”
After making one last pass through the house, they walked back to the car and returned to the hotel in Lucaya. After a shower and a change of clothes, they were on the go again. Shy wore a turquoise hand-dyed bias-cut dress in silk gauze, with scarves to match. She laid out a silk short set for him to put on. It was midnight blue; he put it on without a word. Mike put the top down on the Benz.
In honor of that afternoon’s attire, they drank Yellow Birds all night. Before the night was through, they had been to every bar in every hotel. Danced at every nightclub they could find. They even crashed a private beach party. They quickly became the talk of the party. People were amazed at how even and rich their tans were. When the lady whose party they had crashed approached them, Shy told Mike to let her handle it.
“I met John earlier on the beach, but I don’t see him. Anyway, he said it would be all right if we came. I hope we’re not imposing,” Shy said, walking away with the lady.
Mike watched as Shy laughed and talked with the lady for the next ten minutes as if she had known her all her life.
When she returned she said, “If there is one thing I learned from Chicago, it’s how to talk to people.”
“You can turn that on anytime you feel like it, can’t you?” Mike asked, ordering two more Yellow Birds from the waiter as he passed.
“I sure can. You control the conversation by making people feel like they’re in control of the situation.” They stayed long enough to finish their drinks and dance one more time. At least the band was good. The evening ended with them sitting quietly on the beach wrapped in each other’s arms.
In bed late the following morning, Mike asked, “So what do you want to do today, Cassandra?”
“Spend the day with you.”
“I’m really starting to like you, Cassandra.”
“Starting? Like? You know you love me. Why you trying to play like you do
n’t?”
“I don’t want to give you the big head. But I see it’s too late,” Mike said.
“So what are you trying to say?”
“That I love you.”
“I love you too, but yesterday is going to be hard to top.”
“Try me.”
“Okay, something romantic,” Shy said rolling into his arms.
“One romantic evening, coming up. Let’s go to New Providence.”
“Where?”
“Nassau.”
“What’s in Nassau?”
“Trust me.”
Without delay Mike made arrangements to fly to Nassau. A plane was chartered, and by 3 o’clock that afternoon they were on the streets of Nassau. Mike hadn’t spent as much time in Nassau as he had in Freeport. “So all I know here are the tourist spots.”
“Then why are we here?” Shy asked; hands placed firmly on her hips.
“Trust me.”
He didn’t know anyone in Nassau to lend him a Benz, so they had to settle for a rental car. After checking into a beach front condo at the Grand Hotel, they proceeded to drive around the countryside. Shy rested her head on Mike’s shoulder, and they just talked. They visited The Waterfall at the Sixty-Six Steps and drove around Lyford Cay. They started back to the city just as the sun began to set. He parked the car and went around to open the door for Shy. Holding hands as they walked. Shy said, “This really has been a nice afternoon. Just you and me. Kinda quiet, you know what I mean. I couldn’t think of a more romantic way to spend the day.” He put his arm around her. He never thought that something as simple as a quiet ride together would be so romantic. Still knowing that he had saved the best for last.
“I ain’t through. But what I am is hungry.”
“This is gonna sound corny, but, you took the words right out of my mouth,” Shy said, as they wondered into the first restaurant they saw and had dinner.
Leaving the restaurant after dark, they walked for a while, when suddenly Mike said, “Wait here.” And he ran off down the street and around the corner.
Shy wondered where he was going. She started to follow him or at least peek around the corner. She fought the impulse. Shy walked around the area looking in a few store windows to pass the time. When she turned around and looked up. There was Mike standing next to a horse-drawn carriage.
