Island Cultural Center

by Marilyn Foxworthy

  When I did go back to the table, I was ready to see what would happen next in my latest book. I knew a lot of aspiring authors. Well, a handful. We spent too much time at the coffee shop every day, typing away at our keyboards. Or chatting.

  I knew one who was working on her sixth unpublished novel. She considered herself an expert because she had written six complete novels. She didn’t consider the fact that she hadn’t made a dime from their writing. The ones in her camp considered themselves successful on the outside; on the inside they knew that not getting their works picked up by a big traditional publisher was a crushing failure. These, mostly women, didn’t write for the fun of it; they wrote for the affirmation that they thought would come from being recognized as an author. And to them, the only valid recognition had to come from a publishing house.

  I knew another “coffee house author” who was working on her second novel. She had recently thrown the first one away. She thought that it was good. I believed her. But it was a personal story that she had used as a vehicle to explore her most painful experiences as a teen. When it was done, she decided that she didn’t need it anymore. She deleted it. I had watched her wrestle with her characters and her outlines for over a year. She’d been working on it for five. And in the end, both of us felt that it was a success. For her, success was having done it. She was working on another now and didn’t know if she would publish it or not. She was working more on building up her reputation as an editor for other independent authors.

  And then there were the academic authors. The two that I knew had both been published by traditional publishers. And both wrote about very niche topics, both theological. It didn’t seem like they made hardly anything from their books, but they weren’t in it for the money. They were in it for the academic endeavor, the research, the expression of ideas.

  Me, I was in it for the adventure. I was still learning as I went, but I enjoyed it all. I self-published my books. And people bought them and read them. And I had fun with it.

  When I went back to the table, my characters started speaking to me and I started writing down what they said to me. And I kept at it for about two hours. That wasn’t very long for me. I could have kept going for most of the day, but it was time to go see if the girls were awake and to make plans for the day. I had come here to Kauai by myself, to write, but now I was with others and I was here on vacation and needed to do vacation stuff. With my real-world people, not my storybook people.

  Packing up my bag, I started back to the suite. I was surprised when Charlotte didn’t appear out of nowhere as soon as I was ready to go. That’s what had happened most often for the past 24 hours since she had popped into our lives. My life.

  When I got back to the suite, Brenda and Charlotte were out on the balcony setting out breakfast from a cart that had been brought. They were working together and there was no hint that Charlotte was insisting that she handle all of it while Brenda sat by being served. They both took part in the preparations. It seemed strange. I found out later that it made perfect sense from both of their perspectives.

  I kissed Brenda and said hello to Charlotte and they showed me to a chair at the little table.

  Brenda was wearing shorts and a blouse, tucked in at the waist. It looked like she was wearing a bra. Charlotte was wearing a short-sleeved straight hostess dress like one of the resort workers would wear. It looked like maybe she had showered since I’d see her earlier. Brenda told me that Lisa was still in bed but had been informed that breakfast was ready.

  We were all sitting down when Lisa appeared at the big glass door, wearing her Baby Doll, similar to the one that Brenda had worn for me the day before.

  Brenda took one look at Lisa and said calmly, “Lisa, go put on panties, Dear.”

  Lisa smiled and took a step onto the patio, not paying attention to Brenda. Yes, clearly, Lisa was not wearing panties. Again, just like Brenda had done yesterday morning.

  Brenda said quickly, “No! Go back inside and put on panties.”

  Lisa smiled and said, “Bren, I told you that these don’t need panties and no one can see me and Charlotte won’t mind and I don’t really care anyway,” and she started to take another step.

  Brenda frowned and said, “Stop right there! Lisa, you will go back in and put on panties this instant and if you don’t, you are not to come out here.”

  Lisa looked hard at Brenda but eventually spun on her heels and went back inside. She reappeared a minute later scowling at Brenda but wearing panties under her negligee.

  Brenda said sweetly, “Oh Lisa, you look lovely. You really are a very beautiful woman. I love that nightie on you. It looks so sexy. And so see-through. Charlotte, doesn’t our Lisa look nice like that? Like a sexy lingerie model. But more like a woman in love.”

  Brenda actually stood up and kissed Lisa on the cheek and led her to a seat.

  Charlotte smiled and said, “She does indeed. Very beautiful.”

  When Lisa was seated, still angry at having been sent back inside to change, Brenda said, “Darling, I know that you said that the panties don’t go with that nightie, but that was an indoor rule. Out in the open, even if no one can see you, and it’s almost a shame that no one can, but out here on the patio, you will wear panties for meals. Unless Ronny tells you otherwise, you wear panties for outdoor dining.”

  Lisa softened but didn’t quite give in.

  Brenda said, “Lisa, Sweetie, are we clear?”

  Lisa said, “Yes Ma’am.”

  Brenda said, “Thank you. You are sweet to go along with me on this.”

  Charlotte laughed and said, “And I suppose that rule applies to me as well?”

  Brenda grinned and said, “Do rules apply to you at all?”

  Charlotte said, “They will when I want them to. Shall we eat? I am wearing underwear, by the way.”

  We started on breakfast.

  As we ate, I said, “Charlotte, I have some questions.”

  Charlotte said, “Sir, I’ll be happy to tell you exactly what you want to know.”

  And without pausing for me to say anything, she went on, “You want to know who I work for. You want to know how the decisions about what I do and how I decided to do what I’m doing for you came about. You want to know if I have any connection to your supper club or only to the Jensen family. You would like to know what interactions I have with the Jensens and in what capacity and how Tom recognized me and under what circumstances we had met before. You would like to know why Tom thought that I worked for his brother and that his brother had sent me, but it seems like that might not be the precise situation. You did, for the first time, start to wonder about my underwear, but I have just answered that question. You wonder what’s so special about the car that Tom is loaning you. You have a few more questions, but those are the most pressing. I don’t know what is special about the car.

  Charlotte went quiet and started eating.

  I said, “Um, and?”

  Charlotte looked at me and smiled and said, “Isn’t that what you wanted to know? I was pretty sure that it was. And I promised to be honest with you so I told you what you wanted to know and didn’t hold anything back.”

  I frowned and started to ask what she was talking about. She hadn’t told me anything.

  Lisa jumped in laughing before I could say anything and said, “Ronny, she told you exactly what you wanted to know. Those are the things that you want to know, aren’t they?’

  Charlotte said, “Actually, he wants more than that. He’d also like to know who I am, where I come from, what I mean about being resurrected by Marilyn, and what I look like in a swimsuit.”

  Lisa said, “Charlotte, do you cook? Was that you that made the meal last night?”

  Charlotte said, “I do cook. And yes, it was me. I had the staff prepare the salads and dessert, but the main dishes were me. Breakfast came from the restaurant.”

  I said, “Charlotte, do you want to answer any of those questions that I have?”

  She t
ook a bite and said, “Yes.”

  After a period of silence, I said, “And?”

  She said, “And, we can’t always get what we want. But if we try, sometimes we can get what we need. What’s on the agenda for today. How can I facilitate?”

  Lisa said, “I think I need to go to work. We didn’t work out any different schedule for the shop, so I have to be here. Charlotte, Ronny said that you want me to take you shopping. What kind of clothes do you need?”

  Charlotte leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs and said, “Everything. I need a whole new look. Assume that I have nothing.”

  Lisa gave her a once over with her eyes and said, “Will you wear what I think is best for you?”

  Charlotte smiled and said, “The way that you eat what I think is best for you? Yes. I will.”

  Lisa said, “Brenda, we should start from the ground up. Toes and fingers first. All the way up. And the hair. No sense dressing her up before she has her foundations laid. We’ll take her to the spa right now. You get her started and bring her to the shop when she’s done. I’ll start there. Just a few casual things. As soon as I get off, we’ll go into town. I kind of need to see her before I know what to do, but I’ll do that when I see her in a swimsuit. I better get dressed.”

  Lisa left the patio and went indoors. I liked the nightie. If she hadn’t been in a hurry, I would have followed her.

  Charlotte began clearing the breakfast and once again, Brenda helped her. When Lisa was ready, I went down with them.

  At the elevator, Charlotte said, “Lisa, what is going to be done to me?”

  She asked confidently, gathering information, not worrying.

  Lisa said, “Haircut, nails, pedicure, bikini area.”

  Charlotte pulled out her phone and called the spa. She gave some kind of code and told the person on the other end of the line the list of appointments that she needed and then mentioned that she had no more than two hours and would prefer it to be done in just 90 minutes. The spa was directed to arrange to have as much done in as short a time as possible by working on several areas at the same time.

  When she had hung up, she said, “Sir, I will be back before lunch. We will go shopping then.”

  I said, “You can go shopping without me, I’m sure.”

  Charlotte smiled and said, “Sir, like the exercise, the shopping needs you in order for it to do its job properly. If you aren’t available, we can do it when it is convenient for you.”

  I tried to protest, but Lisa said, “Oh! She’s right! Yes. Having Ronny in the room changes the dynamics and what I choose. How weird. I never realized. If Ronny isn’t there, it changes everything. Charlotte, so you want that? What it will be with him there?”

  Charlotte nodded and said, “Otherwise, I could shop on my own. The point is to see how you dress me in this context, not a solo context.”

  When we came to the veranda, the girls went one way and I went back to my outdoor office in the garden.

  Chapter 15 - Silent Influence

  Sure enough, about two hours later, Charlotte and Brenda came strolling up to my table. Charlotte took my computer and said that she would run and drop it off at the suite and come right back. Brenda would wait with me. We sat next to each other on the little sofa and held hands.

  Brenda said, “She did fine. They really had to hurry. There were girls working on her hair, feet, and hands, all at the same time. Her hair isn’t much different. I sat and read a magazine most of the time. She’s sweet, isn’t she?”

  I agreed that she did grow on me moment by moment.

  When Charlotte returned, we headed to Lisa’s store.

  Brenda said, “Charlotte, you seemed very comfortable at the spa. I’d never done anything like that and I was pretty nervous, especially about the laser.”

  Charlotte said, “I’ve been through most of it before. It’s nothing to be nervous about. The manicure and pedicure aren’t the most comfortable things in the world but it’s not that bad.”

  Brenda said, “But why do you need new clothes?”

  Charlotte said, “I want to see what Lisa will do. Maybe I need a new look.”

  Brenda said, “Your hair does look good that way. It isn’t much different.”

  Charlotte said, “Where did Lisa get the nightie that she was wearing this morning?”

  Brenda said, “Oh, here’s a nice store she took us too. I have one just like it but in a different color. We aren’t quite the same size or else I’d say that we should just share all of our clothes. Are you going to get a nightie? You should.”

  Charlotte ignored the question and said, “You need exercise clothes. Yoga pants and a top. And some barefoot running shoes. For running on the sand. Mr. Jackson will get some as well. I’m a certified personal trainer. In the mornings, you and Lisa will go to the gym here and do weights and cardio. Afterward, I’ll take Mr. Jackson running. Before dinner, we will all run together for a bit.”

  Brenda said, “Oh. I guess I could stand to lose a few pounds. The last year has been…”

  Charlotte smiled and said, “It isn’t about a few pounds. It’s about stress reduction, getting more oxygen to your body, and increasing your physical stamina. You look great. You will look just a little better when you feel better. I won’t kill you, I promise. I want you to feel like you are living, not dying. Do you have a good sports bra?”

  Brenda said, “Lisa made me get one. I haven’t used it yet.”

  As we walked through the door of the shop, Lisa dropped what she was doing and ran to greet us.

  She said, “OK, I have it all planned out. First, Ronny, go sit over there. There’s a chair. Read a magazine. Don’t pay any attention to us. No arguments. I know what to do. Go sit over there and read.”

  I said, “I could walk around and shop in some of the other stores.”

  Lisa said, “No. You have to be here. In that chair, reading.”

  Somehow Lisa felt that just having me present would change things. I supposed it changed things about the clothes that she chose for Charlotte. That having a male presence made them all consider how I would be impacted by the clothing and that would impact what they chose. And it wasn’t that it would make things more alluring or sexy. Just more congruent to having me around. I sat in my assigned seat and read a magazine about Kauai and the restaurants and activities.

  Apparently, my input and approval wasn’t needed. Why would it be? This was for Charlotte. Of course, I did get the impression that Charlotte liked me, I wasn’t clueless, but so far, she had shown no interest at all in dressing in a way that indicated that she cared what I thought. At least as far as I could tell. I sat for about 45 minutes and then they were finished. Lisa put everything on Charlotte’s room, which was paid for by who knows who, and we were ready to move on.

  Charlotte had told Lisa about the need for exercise clothes for her and Brenda. Lisa knew where to go, but it would have to wait until she got off work. Until then, there was nothing to do but sit by the pool and relax. That sounded fine to me.

  On our walk back to the pool, Brenda said, “Charlotte, you looked really good in what Lisa picked for you. Ronny, we got her clothes just like us, but no dresses yet. But shorts and tops and swimsuits.”

  Charlotte said, “Brenda, why did you say that the first one was too tight? It was what I would have expected. Swimsuits are tight.”

  Brenda grinned and said, “But the slightly larger one looks really good and it’s way more comfortable, isn’t it? It looks great and you will move more naturally in it. It was just right.”

  Charlotte said, “It was all just right. I just never knew.”

  Brenda said, “It was a little thing that Ronny taught me. I can’t wait to see what we get you in town.”

  There was something wrong here. It just didn’t feel right. Something was out of whack. It took me a minute to figure out what it was. It was Charlotte.

  Charlotte was always nearby. That was fine. Charlotte was getting things done and making
us comfortable. That was great. Charlotte was planning to make me learn to paint, the way that Lisa had told me that I needed to, which I was happy about, and to get us in shape, which was great too. What wasn’t great was that everything was revolving around Charlotte revolving around all of us.

  Yeah, Brenda told Lisa to wear panties at breakfast. Lisa told Brenda what to wear yesterday. I told Brenda what we were doing the day before. All of that was working perfectly. But having Charlotte do that now wasn’t working at all.

  Who in the hell was Charlotte and what was she doing here? We didn’t need Charlotte for this. I could write like I always had. We could choose our meals the way that we always did. I could get my own tea. Was Charlotte actually adding anything right now? I liked her. But I couldn’t have her. What did that even mean? I had Brenda and Lisa. How did that happen? Right now, I couldn’t remember. This whole thing was feeling messed up. And spinning out of control. But not really. It was just spinning.

  I needed time to think.

  I said, “Charlotte, add light bathrobes to the shopping list for Brenda and Lisa. White. Maybe cotton or bamboo. Something cool and airy but not sheer.”

  Charlotte was highly intuitive and so far had anticipated my every need. This request threw her off balance. But as she glanced at me, I could see on her face that she knew exactly what was going on and was quickly adjusting to new parameters.

  She said sincerely, “Yes, Sir. I’ll add that to the shopping list. Is there any other way that I can help you right now?”

  I said, “I want one of those island kilts that men wear here sometimes. You know, kind of a wrap around their hips. I want one of those.”

  She said, “Yes, Sir. That will be very comfortable and you would look nice in that. I’ll make sure that it is on the list and that Lisa is reminded that you want one.”

  I said, “Thank you. I’m going back to the suite with Brenda for a while. I’d like lunch on the balcony in an hour. Can you let yourself in to set that up?”

  She said, “Yes, Sir. I’ll see to it personally. What would you like to eat, Sir?”