by Rachel Hanna
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Why does Bennett do this? I mean, he’s a gazillionaire. He could do or have anything. Why does he choose to be here with these older people and no social life?”
She looked taken aback a bit, but Danielle could tell she was trying not to show it. “Bennett is the most giving person I know. Money hasn’t changed who he is at his core. To be honest, we all have our baggage. Wisteria Island is a great place to leave that baggage behind.”
Danielle could understand that very well. Although she was curious about Bennett’s baggage, it was probably best to leave that alone lest he want to know more about hers.
“Thanks for meeting me, Naomi.”
“Can I drive you home?”
Danielle looked down the street. “No, thanks. I think I’ll walk home and try to get more familiar with the island.”
“Okay. Well, have fun!”
As Danielle walked down the stairs and started toward her house, she wondered what surprises awaited her on Wisteria Island. She had a feeling there was a lot more going on there than met the eye.
As Danielle walked along the road going back to the cottage, she looked around at all Wisteria Island offered. It really was something to marvel at, with its adorable buildings and clean streets. She passed the coffee shop, aptly named “Mugged”, and then the salon, the bakery and what appeared to be the spa.
Many people she passed along the way said hello and waved. Some gave her dirty looks, while others whispered. She wondered what they thought of her and of the other nurses who had come before her and disappeared again.
As she neared her cottage, she saw a small pathway leading toward the beach. Maybe this would be a good time to go sit by the water and gather her thoughts. She started her office hours tomorrow, and the day would be a long one. After all, she had to set up her new office, figure out a filing system, and probably see at least a few patients.
Looking at her watch, she still had a few hours before dinner, so she figured it would be a good time to enjoy the ocean view. Although she could’ve just gone down to the water from her own beach, she decided to try this one and see if the view was different. The marsh was close by, so maybe she’d see some wildlife.
“Where are you headed?” a woman asked. She was standing at the edge of the sidewalk, her yappy little white dog on a leash. She definitely didn’t seem to like that Danielle was there.
“Oh, sorry. Is this not a public access point to the beach?”
The woman stared at her like she’d lost her mind. “Yes…”
“I was just going to take in the view. I’m the new nurse here.”
“Oh. I see.”
“Just wanted to see some of the local beauty, maybe see something I haven’t seen before.”
The woman laughed under her breath. “Well, you’ll definitely see that. It’s a unique part of the beach, for sure. Have a good time.”
As the woman walked away, Danielle got the distinct impression she was making fun of her. She decided it wasn’t worth getting into an argument over and turned toward the beach.
She could feel the warm breeze as soon as she made her way between the two houses. There was just nothing like an ocean breeze to wash away the cares of the day. Well, maybe except for a bottle of wine. She’d washed many cares away with that. And chocolate. And a hot bath. Actually, wine with chocolate while taking a hot bath wasn’t a bad way to wash away just about anything.
As she pondered the idea of having all three of those things later that night, she finally made it up onto the beach. She turned and looked to her right, toward her cottage, and saw very few people on the beach. One woman was sitting in a beach chair by the water, dipping her toes into the lapping waves. A man was walking further down with a metal detector, apparently looking for some treasures buried beneath the sand.
She wondered what the woman meant by it being a unique part of the beach. Nothing seemed particularly interesting here. On her left was a large stack of rocks that stretched from the house on her left, all the way to the water. Off in the distance, she could also see the marshland that surrounded part of the island. Maybe she should take a walk in that direction, she thought. There was probably a lot of interesting stuff heading toward the marshes.
She remembered when she was in middle school and they studied marsh ecology. Her teacher was from the low country of South Carolina too, and he’d been a wealth of information. Of course, being a kid, she hadn’t been all that interested and remembered very little of what she was taught. It would’ve come in handy right about now.
Danielle turned toward the rocks and slowly climbed up onto the stack. Surely there was an easier way to access this part of the beach. Older people would bust their heads left and right if they came this way. Maybe she’d missed another access point during her walk.
She finally made her way to the top, turned around and climbed down backward so she wouldn’t fall flat on her face. When she felt her foot hit the sand below, she was relieved to have made it and was determined to find a better way back to the street. When she was done with her sightseeing, she’d look for another way home.
As she turned around, Danielle never expected to see what she saw. In fact, her eyes bugged out of her head so hard she feared she would have to chase them as they popped out and rolled toward the sea.
Laid out before her were over a dozen naked senior citizens. Some were lying on towels, taking in as much sunshine as a body can take. Others were standing in groups, chatting like they weren’t letting everything God gave them hang out for the world to see.
She’d seen her share of body parts as a nurse, but she’d never happened upon a blatant display of things flipping and flopping about. She stood there, her hand on her heart, completely frozen. What did a fully clothed person do when she came across a naked village of retirees? Was it rude to be wearing clothes? Should she run? What if she tripped and fell face first into a mound of human flesh she couldn’t identify?
Before she could decide on whether to run, cover her eyes or call the authorities, an older man came toward her. She didn’t know exactly how old he was, but she had a flash in her mind of science class in elementary school when the teacher said you could find out the age of a tree by counting the rings inside the trunk. Could she count wrinkles and figure out this man’s age? If so, she guessed one-hundred and two years old.
“You alright, honey?”
She stared at him. No, sir, I’m not alright. You people are naked as jaybirds and something is wrong on this island. She thought about it, but she couldn’t say it.
“I… uh…” Was it possible to swallow your tongue? “I seem to have stumbled onto the wrong beach.”
He laughed heartily, and things started to jiggle and shake. She quickly decided that looking at his ear was her best chance of avoiding that visual again. “This is Wisteria Island’s nude beach, dear.”
“Yes, I see that now,” she said, avoiding his gaze like a dog who’s gotten in trouble for digging through the trash.
“Care to join us?”
“No, thanks,” she said, unsure of whether he was being sarcastic or serious.
“Want to get out of here as soon as possible?” he asked, obviously sensing her discomfort.
“Yes, please.”
“Can you at least make eye contact with me, hon? I need to point you in the right direction.”
She slowly looked back at him. “Sorry. I just wasn’t expecting… this.”
“It’s not for everyone. Anyway, go right down there between the pink and yellow houses. That’ll take you back out to the main street.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m Peter, by the way,” he said, reaching out his hand. She stifled a very immature laugh and shook his hand.
“Danielle. The new nurse.”
“Oh, nice to meet you! I’ll come see you soon. Got a rash I can’t identify.” She dared not look down to see where said rash was.
“Great. Looking forward to it.”
Without further conversation, she quickly made her way back to the street, stopping long enough to take some deep breaths, wipe the sand off her feet and then laughed all the way home.
Chapter 4
Danielle was almost scared to walk into the diner after seeing so many of the residents in their birthday suits. She would never look at some of them the same way again. Thankfully, she barely knew anyone’s name on the island anyway, but she could certainly point out people who had birthmarks in certain unmentionable areas.
“Good evening, Dani girl,” Eddie said as she walked through the doorway. Tonight he was wearing a white suit, a black dress shirt with the collar up and white fake leather shoes.
“Hi, Eddie. What on earth are you wearing?”
He laughed loudly. “It’s disco night! I’m John Travolta!”
“Sure you are,” she muttered under her breath as she continued walking toward the food. She was hungry and just wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. She’d speak to a few people, gobble up her dinner and hide out in her cottage until tomorrow.
“Are you the new nurse?” a woman asked from behind her. She scooped the mashed potatoes onto her plate and turned around. “I am. My name is Danielle Wright.”
The woman smiled, and Danielle finally felt a bit at ease. None of the residents, other than Eddie, had been overly welcoming so far, but this woman actually seemed nice.
“Oh good. I’m Gladys.”
Danielle smiled. “Nice to meet you, Gladys.”
“Want to sit with me?” she asked, pointing at her table. It seemed she was sitting alone, and Danielle felt bad for her since everyone else was sitting with other people. Maybe she felt as left out as Danielle did.
“Sure.” She followed Gladys to her table and sat down. At first, there wasn’t much conversation between them. Gladys munched on her dinner roll while Danielle scarfed down her meatloaf. It wasn’t bad. In fact, she’d have to ask Bennett who did the cooking on Wisteria Island because it was quite good.
“Are you staying here?” Gladys finally asked.
“Pardon?”
“Well, everybody else leaves pretty dang quick. Are you staying?”
Danielle wasn’t sure how to answer such a pointed question since she didn’t know what she was going to do. She still had one foot on Wisteria Island and the other on that boat docked near her cottage.
“I certainly plan to.”
Gladys giggled. “That means no.”
Danielle cocked her head to the side. “Does it?”
“Nobody wants to stay here with us.”
“I heard some nurses left. I’m sorry about that.”
“We need somebody who will stick with us.”
“I’m going to try my very best,” Danielle said, not sure she really meant it.
“Have you seen the aliens yet?”
Danielle almost choked on her mashed potatoes. “Excuse me?”
“The aliens. They come at night-time. Usually on Tuesdays.”
“I… um….”
“They land on the marsh and then walk the island looking for seashells. I think they study them.”
“Okay…”
“Bob is the nice one. He brought me a moon rock, but I lost it.”
“Gladys…”
“Oh, I see you’ve met dear Gladys here,” Bennett suddenly said, seeming to come out of nowhere. He put his hands on Gladys’ shoulders from behind and smiled at Danielle. “She’s got quite an imagination, hasn’t she? That’s why she does so well in creative writing class.”
Gladys smiled proudly. “I got an A on my essay.”
“Creative writing class?”
“We believe keeping the residents busy and challenged helps to preserve cognitive function. Gladys takes part in just about everything we offer.” He gave Danielle a look that indicated Gladys had some challenges with cognitive function.
“That’s wonderful, Gladys. Keep up the excellent work!” Danielle said, trying to sound encouraging.
“I will. Well, I have to go to the bathroom now,” Gladys said, suddenly standing up and walking off, leaving her plate on the table, practically untouched. Bennett pushed it to the side and sat down.
“Sorry about that. Gladys is very sweet, but she has some issues that can’t be helped.”
“Are you sure it can’t be helped? I mean, has bloodwork been done? An MRI?”
“Well, no. We don’t have an MRI machine here on the island.”
“Bennett, surely you know people can leave the island and get testing done? Maybe Gladys needs that.”
“Danielle, she’s happy. Isn’t that what matters? Not everyone can be fixed.”
“But shouldn’t we try?”
“She’s seen her general practitioner, and he felt she has dementia, so we deal with it as best we can here. She’s content, she has things to keep her busy and we love her like family. Her own family abandoned her.”
Was that enough? Danielle wasn’t sure. She felt like maybe Gladys would benefit from further testing. Were her hands going to be tied when treating her new patients?
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Why didn’t you warn me that there’s a nude beach on this island?”
Bennett’s face turned red as he stifled a laugh. “I totally forgot about it. I just avoid that section of the beach. I’m so sorry. How bad was it?”
“Let’s just say I’ll never look at raisins or that guy named Peter the same way again!” She laughed so loudly that a few residents turned to look at her. It felt good to laugh. It’d been a long time since she’d done that.
“Again, I’m so sorry. It wasn’t intentional. But it’s nice to see you laugh.”
There was an uncomfortable moment between them before Danielle coughed to break the tension. “Well, I’ll know to avoid that area.”
“They’re only there between the hours of ten to four, so you’re welcome to take night-time walks without seeing anything scary other than the occasional crab.”
“Good to know,” she said, taking the last bite of her food. “Well, I’d better get home. I’ve got a long day ahead of me tomorrow, and I need to get some sleep.”
“Right. I understand. Hope the mattress works out well for you,” he said, standing up.
“Thanks. See you later.”
After Eddie dropped off her new mattress, Danielle laid back on it before even making the bed. She stared up at the ceiling, watching the fan blades go round and round until she almost gave herself vertigo.
This place didn’t feel like home.
She was homesick. Not homesick enough to go back, but homesick enough to want to cry. She wasn’t a crier. She felt weak when she cried. She wanted to cry right now more than anything.
Instead, she decided to take a long, hot bath. As she walked into the bathroom, she heard her cell phone ringing on the kitchen counter where it was charging. She trotted into the kitchen and grabbed it on the third ring right before it would’ve gone to voicemail. She should’ve let it go to voicemail.
“Hello?”
“Danielle? Where on earth are you?” Her mother’s voice was always unmistakable. It was what one might describe as shrill. Like a loud chainsaw, right outside your window on a Saturday morning.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Why haven’t you called me?”
“Because I’m getting settled into my new job.”
“And where exactly is this new job?”
“South Carolina.”
“What?” she shrieked. Danielle put it on speakerphone to preserve her eardrums. “Why aren’t you home?”
“You know why, Mom. I can’t come back there.”
“Danielle, you’re overreacting to this whole situation.”
“No, I’m not. Richard ruined my life, my career, my reputation. I’m a laughing stock.”
“That’s simply not true, Danielle. As usual, you’r
e being overly dramatic.”
Her mother had always said she was too dramatic, but Danielle knew that wasn’t true. If anything, she was too practical, too pragmatic, and too devoid of emotions. She ran her life on autopilot, and that had worked until Richard blew everything out of the water.
“Thanks, Mom. I appreciate your support.”
“Now, look, you know I love you. Men are men. Richard wasn’t doing anything that every other man on this planet hasn’t done. They’re ruled by hormones and male genitalia.”
“Don’t make excuses for him!” She wanted to hang up, but it was her mother and she felt guilty doing that.
“It’s not an excuse, dear, just an explanation. No man is ever completely trustworthy. I mean, look at your father…”
“And you divorced him. Yet I’m supposed to suck it up and go back to Richard? A little hypocritical, don’t you think?”
“Your father and I had a lot more problems than him cheating with his hussy of a secretary.”
“Maybe so, but Richard didn’t just cheat, Mom. He was engaged to me and two other women in the same hospital! And he got one of them pregnant! Do you know how embarrassing it was to look so stupid? Me? The head of ICU nursing? A respected member of the medical community? Hearing people gossip about me all the time? About how stupid and clueless I was? Knowing that some of my so-called friends knew the entire time what he was doing?”
Her mother sighed. “I understand.”
“No, you don’t. You work in research. It’s a totally different situation. I deal with people all day. You’re staring at Petri dishes. Then the whole thing became local news and then a meme on social media? I just can’t believe all of this happened so quickly.”
“Danielle, either way, you need to go back. You had a great job and a wonderful life. You can get that back. You can find someone else.”
“Mom, I’m not going back. I may not stay where I am, but I’m not going back there.”
“Honey, you’re not getting any younger. You’re almost forty-years old. When are you going to settle down and start a family? You know the odds of you having a baby…”
