Island Cultural Center

by Marilyn Foxworthy

  I sat on a lounger beside the pool but then moved to the beach a hundred feet away. There was some shade from the palm trees and after a while, I must have fallen asleep. I woke up as someone sat on the edge of the lounger next to my leg and touched my forearm.

  Charlotte said, “Sir, it’s time for dinner.”

  I said, “Oh, OK. Thanks. I guess I took a nap.”

  She said, “Take a few minutes to wake up if you like. Do you need anything?”

  I assured her that I was fine and after a minute or so, I was ready to head to dinner. Charlotte took me down the sidewalk to the beach cafe there. Instead of seating me at the open-air side looking out at the beach, she took me upstairs to a private table that overlooked the indoor waterfall and grotto. We didn’t bother to talk to the hostess. Apparently, the arrangements were already made. There was iced tea and water on the table, along with a plate of hummus.

  Charlotte left me there by myself, saying that “my guests” would be arriving very shortly. Three minutes later, I saw them ascending the short staircase to the table.

  Brenda rushed to kiss me first. Lisa nearly pushed her out of the way to get to me, kissing me hard on the lips.

  I stood as Tom and the three women who accompanied him shook my hand and made introductions. There was Pamela, who I had met earlier, and the other two were introduced as Ellen and Francesca.

  Sitting down, Brenda said joyfully, “Ellen and Francesca and Pammy are just like us. Married and everything. They were so nice to us. I can’t wait to show you. We got the works. There wasn’t time for shopping.”

  Charlotte approached the table, now wearing an apron, seemingly our waitress for the evening, and Tom gasped loudly.

  I said, “Charlotte, this tea is delicious!”

  She smiled and said, “I’ll make sure that it’s available for you. I’ll have a cooler made up for the pool staff to have ready.”

  Tom exclaimed, “Charlotte! What?”

  I said, “Oh yes, forgive me. This is Charlotte. She has been um, loaned to us I guess, by Tom as kind of a personal assistant while we’re here. And, I guess as our waitress for the evening. Charlotte, this is Brenda and Lisa. Do you know everyone else?”

  Charlotte smiled and said, “Yes, Sir. Hello everyone. I have already told the kitchen what you will be eating this evening, but can I bring the rest of you something other than water to drink?”

  Tom said, “Charlotte, what are you doing here?”

  I said, “Didn’t you send her?”

  Charlotte smiled and said, “Hello, Tom. I’m working for Mr. Jackson while he is here.”

  The woman called Francesca laughed and said, “Tom, you poor thing. I guess we know who Robby loves most now, don’t we?”

  Charlotte grinned and asked again about drinks. She listened to the requests and left us.

  Ellen said, “Tom, you have Sarah, and Sarah does things that Charlotte won’t, I’m guessing, so you can’t really complain.”

  Tom said sullenly, “The bastard. I was…it was me that was going to do the magic stuff this time. Geez, I give him a magic carpet and Robby comes along and trumps me with Charlotte. It isn’t…forget it. I’ll spoil our evening.”

  I was bewildered and so were Lisa and Brenda. What were they talking about?

  Francesca grinned and said, “She called you Tom.”

  Tom said, “I heard that.”

  Ellen said, “She has never called him Tom before. It’s always Mr. Jensen, Sir. She called our Roland Sir, but poor Tommy gets demoted to Tom. I love it.”

  I wanted to ask what was happening, but Brenda beat me to it.

  Ellen said, “Charlotte is…well, I better back up. Robby, Tommy’s brother…”

  I said, “The man of mystery.”

  Ellen said, “The very one. He has a personal assistant. A woman even more mysterious than Robby himself. She lives in another part of the States and Robby has never even met her face-to-face. He kind of inherited her. She takes care of things. Nothing is too big or too small. She never calls Robby on her own unless she thinks it’s what the two of them call an ‘eight zero problem’. That means at least a hundred million dollars. But Robby said that when she first introduced herself she told him that if he wanted a piece of chewing gum delivered by an A-List actor or actress, that she would arrange it. And believe me, she can. She handles all of his travel arrangements and who knows what else. It doesn’t have to be a big thing, just something that she can do for Robby.”

  Francesca continued saying, “But hey, she won’t live forever, right? So Robby decided to do some succession planning and asked this woman to see about training some replacements so that she could retire in luxury at some point. She was the one who recruited Pammy in a way. Well and me and Ellen too, but for different jobs. Not as the kind of magician that she is. So, she says that if Robby wants that, then she’ll get it done. Charlotte showed up on Robby’s doorstep a few months later after spending time being trained by the woman without a name.”

  Pammy said, “Her name is Marilyn.”

  Francesca said, “Party-pooper. There seems to be a few more of them as well. Every one of them is named Charlotte. They might be clones. Or maybe they are all called Charlotte as part of their job title. No one knows.”

  Pammy said, “And Tommy is jealous. He doesn’t really need a Charlotte because of Sarah, but it bugs him that he can’t have one.”

  Tom sighed and said, “Robby is the only one with a Marilyn or Charlotte. You can’t even give them a title. She told you ‘personal valet’, huh? It’s more like Genie in a bottle who grants wishes. But even more powerful.”

  Ellen said, “They aren’t all named Charlotte, but that’s the joke.”

  I said, “Then how did I rate having her on loan or whatever?”

  Tom sat back in his chair and folded his arms in a huff.

  Then he said, “You don’t get Charlotte, she gets you. Forget it. Ask her yourself.”

  Suddenly, Charlotte was at my shoulder saying, “Ask me what, Sir?”

  I waited for Tom to speak, but he scowled and said, “She’s talking to you, Sir. I’m just Tom.”

  I said, “Um, Charlotte, Tom and the others were just telling me how wonderful you are and I asked how it happened that you were assigned to help my family while I’m here?”

  Charlotte said, “I have appetizers.”

  She set several plates in front of us and then said, “Did I say that I had been assigned. I may have misspoken. Let’s say that I chose this assignment.”

  Tom said, “Sarah, connect me to Robby!”

  He was communicating through his ear-piece, apparently.

  After a short pause, he said, “Robby, is this permanent or just temporary! It’s not fair! I want…” but at that moment, Ellen, Francesca, and Pamela all jumped toward Tom.

  Francesca was the fastest. She hit Tom hard with her palm, slapping him and nearly knocking him off his chair.

  It seemed that she had the in-ear device as well and said, “Sarah, Dear, Tommy just choked on some water. Go ahead and hang up and we’ll let him recover before he talks to Robby again. Thanks, Beautiful. I know. You are perfect and we know you know it. But still, yeah, he’s a little insane because he needs a reminder from Pixie about how to act sometimes. We love you Babe. I know, of course you wouldn’t get your feelings hurt. That doesn’t make it OK. Tell Pixie to plan to explain it to him when we get home.”

  When the call ended, all three women glared at Tom fiercely.

  Tom pouted and rubbed his cheek and said “What?”

  Pamela said, “Tom, it sounded very much like you were about to tell everyone, Sarah included, that you wanted Charlotte as your magic Genie instead of Sarah.”

  Ellen said, “Shame on you! This thing between you and Robby has to stop. Now! Someone almost got hurt.”

  Tom said, “That was me. I’m the one who got slapped. Hard. Thanks for holding back, by the way. That stings. I think you hit harder than Pixie.”

&nb
sp; Francesca grinned and said, “I have bigger hands and she doesn’t usually have to stop a catastrophe the way that I just did.”

  I said, “Where is Charlotte?”

  Tom gathered himself and said quietly, “She appears and disappears on her own. She works where she wants to. She has never taken an assignment like this before. I was just shocked. And to tell you the truth, I was thrilled for you. I wasn’t really jealous. I was incredulous. It’s like seeing a mythical beast and finding out that it’s real. I knew that Robby and Marilyn had said that Charlotte would decide for herself what her job would be but I guess I never believed it. I’ve seen so many inexplicable wonders in the past year or so that you’d think that I’d be used to it.”

  Charlotte was beside me again and Tom looked at her and said, “Charlotte scares me.”

  I felt her hand on my shoulder as she said, “How do I scare you, Tom?”

  It sounded almost like a threat. Charlotte wasn’t concerned about Tom’s feelings. She seemed to be challenging him. In the sweetest way possible.

  Tom said, “Like a really sharp knife. It’s not dangerous by itself, but in the hands of someone like Francesca, it is lethal in ways that normal people can’t picture. Like a huge priceless diamond. There’s nothing dangerous about it but I’d be really nervous to have it in my pocket. Or even sitting around my house.”

  Charlotte said, “Do you feel that way about Marilyn? She’s a lot better at this than I am.”

  Tom said, “I doubt that. Marilyn is a myth. I’ve never seen her. Robby’s never seen her. Marilyn is the wind. We see what happens when she blows around us but we don’t know where she comes from or where she goes and we don’t know she’s been here except for the trees bending in her wake. We don’t know where you came from but we see you and move out of your way the same way any mortal would.”

  Charlotte continued to hold onto my shoulder and said, “Tom, you know exactly where I came from. Marilyn created me. She found me dead and gave me a new brain and resuscitated my body and made me what I am. Are you more afraid of my powers or of Francesca, Ellen, and Ginger? Who scares you more, me or Kat? Who has more influence over you, me or Pixie or Sarah? Who would you die for? Would I kill for you? I make things appear and problems disappear. I don’t deal with danger. I’m not killer elite.”

  Tom said very quietly, almost whispering, “See. You aren’t even supposed to know those things about Ellen and Ginger and Fran. We fear what we don’t understand. My invisible angels sit beside me and hold me on the Earth. Robby is a man of mystery to people who don’t know him.”

  Charlotte squeezed my shoulder, perhaps involuntarily, perhaps deliberately, and said, “You fear my secret identity and my power. It makes you wonder to whom I will eventually reveal myself and in what manner. I’ll bring your food,” and she turned and disappeared.

  I said uncertainly, “Well that took an unexpected turn.”

  Brenda said, “I like her. A lot.”

  Lisa said, “I do too.”

  When Charlotte returned, she set out the plates that she had chosen for us and was gone again for just a few seconds, during which Tom whispered, “See? How does she know what we’re supposed to eat? Yeah, ‘supposed to’. Like I believe that what she bring's me is what I’m supposed to eat. But it’s perfect. It isn’t even on the menu here. She freaks me out.”

  When Charlotte came back, she had a chair with her and sat between Brenda and Pammy and joined us for dinner without a word or an invitation.

  Chapter 13 - Vows

  The meal was incredible. Every bite. No one ever came to our table. The minute before we needed something, Charlotte disappeared and then reappeared with whatever we would have wanted. Charlotte took part in the conversation as if she were the hostess of a dinner party, not a servant at one. After a while, Tom relaxed and it was as if the whole discomforting episode between him and Charlotte earlier was completely forgotten.

  At one point, Tom said, “Charlotte, what do you know about the Afra?”

  Charlotte didn’t look up as she said innocently, “The Afra? I’m sure that I couldn’t say, Tom.”

  Tom said, “Oh, I was just wondering. It’s this dinner club that Roland and I are members of. Robby too. I just wondered if you’d heard of it.”

  She smiled and said, “I really wouldn’t be able to tell you anything about that, Tom.”

  Tom passed it off and went on to other topics. The fact that Charlotte insisted that she couldn’t tell him anything rather than that she didn’t know anything wasn’t lost on me. And it told me that there was no point me asking her either. Of course, I didn’t want to know anything. My club was what it was and I didn’t need to know any more than that. I suspected that the difference was that Tom was a little younger than I was. I would guess that he hadn’t gone through his midlife crisis and the transformative changes that midlife brought about in a person. You learn to flow more and ask only important questions and only take on fights that truly mean something. To me that meant that I went to the club and had an exceptional meal and a once in a lifetime conversation and paid whatever they asked for that night. At the club, you didn’t order: they chose your meal for you. Just like Charlotte had done this evening, come to think of it. But I wasn’t inclined to ask questions. Let Charlotte be what she was and I didn’t need to understand how the Genie worked her magic at all.

  Before we were done for the night, Tom taunted Charlotte again with some comment about not knowing what she was.

  Charlotte took a sharp knife from the table and made sure that Tom was watching as she calmly pricked her finger and a spot of blood appeared. Tom looked surprised, as did the others. To me, it made some kind of sense. Whatever Charlotte did now seemed perfectly reasonable to me for some reason. I trusted her. If she thought that she should prick her finger, there was some really good reason for it.

  Smiling and excusing herself, she left the table.

  Ellen said, “For goodness sake, Tom! What’s wrong with you? We know that she isn’t a non-biological. She isn’t an Elf. Stop teasing her. She’s a woman. An incomparable woman. And take a look at her face. She’s sweet and kind and smart and she’ll be as loyal as we are. And she has absolutely nothing to do with you. This is none of your business. If you end up dealing with Charlotte, it will because she calls you, not because you want something from her. You don’t call Marilyn, Robby does. You call Sarah. Get your head on straight.”

  I said, “Um, Tom, I’m sorry, but I don’t know how this works and stuff, and if this is inappropriate, forgive me, especially for bringing it up in front of the ladies, but are you attracted to Charlotte?”

  Pamela said, “Oh, good point. Tom, get back on track. We are supposed to be helping our new best friends understand the ins and outs of our lifestyle. This is important. Explain whether you are attracted to Charlotte or not.”

  There was no teasing in the way that she said it. She was sincere and the conversation now was serious.

  Tom smiled and said, “Yeah, we need to get back to how we can help Roland and Brenda and Lisa. Oh, Lisa, I have taken care of your condo and your car and as soon as you have any personal effects removed, I’ll have a housekeeping deal with the rest for you. Just give me the keys when you are done with the place.”

  Lisa wiggled in her seat for a second and pulled her keys out of a pocket. She handed the whole ring to Tom and told him that she was already done with both the condo and the car.

  Tom laid the keys beside his place at the table and said, “I’ll take care of it all. You have been one of our best managers and I am talking to Roland about the possibility of having you continue to work for us from your new home. You and I will talk soon when I have an idea. But to the question. Roland, I am not attracted to Charlotte in any way that would lead to her being part of my family. My assumption is that Brenda and Lisa found you. You didn’t woo them. Pammy, Ellen, and Francesca were drawn to me. They talk about there having been a prophecy and knowing that it had come true whe
n I um, appeared.”

  Lisa said, “That’s how it was for us. Brenda and I were waiting for him. The girls told us about how it was for them and it was just the same. It was love-at-first-sight, except that it was kind of like before first sight.”

  Tom said, “That’s what we’ve come to expect. There’s no magnetic pull between me and Charlotte. Attraction is a force. There’s no attraction between me and Charlotte.”

  Brenda gasped and said, “But there is for Ronny!”

  Ellen said, “Maybe.”

  Lisa said, “There was for me. And for Brenda. Ellen, how many women are in your family?”

  Ellen said, “Eight.”

  Brenda said, “Oh! So how do we know? About others?”

  Francesca said, “You just know. And you might know even if Roland doesn’t. Men can be slow. And he might need help to believe.”

  Brenda said, “So is Charlotte one of our wives?”

  Ellen said, “No.”

  Pamela asked, “No? Are you sure?”

  Ellen said, “She’s not because she doesn’t have a wedding ring. If she gets a ring, then she’s a wife. Until then, until you know, you wait. You might suspect, but until you know, you don’t know.”

  Lisa said, “But you know, right? Whether she is or not?”

  Ellen said, “Hell no! I don’t know anything. The attraction is between you guys, if it’s there. I can’t feel it. I can’t look at circumstances and decide it. I can’t take clues from what’s being said and know anything. Except that it’s not between Charlotte and us.”

  Brenda said, “I do like her. We’re talking about a whole polygamy thing. I can’t believe it. But I love Lisa so much. It would be evil to keep her from being married to Ronny.”

  Lisa said, “Ellen, you said that it’s because, well, that you know because there’s no wedding ring. I don’t have a wedding ring. And we just kind of said we promised each other in kind of our own ceremony last night but is that enough?”