Chapter 19
Chapter
Nineteen
Sunjiya: About to board
Akeem: I still wish you would wait for me to come back.
Sunjiya: I told you that doesn’t make sense. I’m going to pack up what I need. My place is furnished so I don’t have to move any furniture. I just have a few boxes. I’m going to pack and ship them. I’ll be back in Austin before you. I got it.
Sunjiya: You just be safe.
Akeem: Always but you too. If it’s too much in ATL, wait for me. We can go back together to get your stuff.
Sunjiya: It’s not. I gotta go. I love you.
Akeem: Love you 2
Akeem left the beach house in Fort Lauderdale for his job at five o’clock this morning.
Sunjiya’s flight wasn’t until two, so she slept in and spent the rest of her morning stressing and eating ice.
She lied to Akeem about her true destination.
It isn’t Atlanta, she’s heading to confront the person behind the texts.
As soon as Sunjiya unplugs her phone from the charger, the Federal Airlines International gate agent starts the boarding announcement.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Federal Airlines International flight seven seventy-one with service to Antigua. We are now inviting our passengers who need special assistance, families traveling with young children, and first-class customers to begin pre-boarding at gate twenty-three,” the woman says.
Once her phone, book, and cup of ice are in her tote, she places her travel pillow around her neck and rolls her carry-on bag to the gate.
Her journey ahead is long but necessary.
Because she booked it less than forty-eight before departure, she was unable to find a straight flight.
She has a seven hour and twenty-five minute flight with a one hour and four minute layover in Charlotte.
The lie to Akeem about her flight, the conversation she’s dreading having once she lands, and the flight itself all have her nerves frazzled.
Ice alone isn’t going to calm her. As the pilot turns the seat belt sign off, Sunjiya scrolls the airline seatback screen.
She bypasses the flight map, music, games, and movies, and presses for service.
She orders a canned, premade tequila drink, a shot of tequila, a cup of ice, and a bag of trail mix to have something in her stomach to welcome the much-needed liquor.
About ten minutes after placing her order, an airline attendant brings her items. The shot is first, straight to the head, followed by the trail mix and drink.
The tequila fulfills its intended purpose and halfway through her bag of trail mix, Sunjiya’s anxiety starts to subside and she dozes off.
She doesn’t reopen her eyes until the wheels of the plane touch the tarmac.
Between deboarding the plane, making a pit stop in the restroom, and making her way to the gate for her connecting flight, Sunjiya’s layover flies by and she’s on her final flight to Antigua a few minutes after five. Another drink is needed to keep her sane and calm for the last hours of her trip.
Antigua is an island paradise with pristine, white sand beaches, turquoise waters, and immense culture.
It’s known for its relaxing vibes, picturesque coastlines, savory cuisine, and warm hospitality.
A great added bonus, it’s a tax haven. Zero personal income, capital gains, or inheritance taxes for residents, making it a top choice for tax-efficient offshore accounts.
Although it is almost eleven at night, the temperature is in the eighties, hot and humid.
At the airport, Sunjiya erroneously hopped in a taxi with no working AC.
The twenty-five minute journey to The Inn at English Harbour is a scorcher and she’s dying to shower, change into something lighter and comfortable, and see who she flew here for.
“Whey ya stay?” the driver asks in his thick creole dialect. He nods toward the main entrance then points toward the back.
“In the cabanas,” she responds and he drives out of the main entrance and heads toward the beach.
Nestled in Antigua’s Nelson’s Dockyard National Park, The Inn is a secluded luxury hotel.
The hotel’s cabanas are right on the beach and offer complete privacy in the middle of paradise.
Exactly what she needs. “The middle one. Right here is fine,” she tells the driver and he stops.
“An dem?” he asks. Although not a hundred percent on what he’s asking, she assumes he’s confirming her request so she merely nods. The driver kills his engine then gets out. After opening her back passenger door, he treks to the trunk and retrieves her bag. “Goo’ night,” he tells her.
“Good night and thank you,” she tells him before handing him sixty dollars, for the ride and a tip.
Being this close to the beach has its perks.
The breeze coming off the water cools the night air, the beautiful trees swaying.
She takes it all in and exhales her stress into the air as she journeys down the small walkway to the cabana.
Her path is lighted by the brightness from the cabana. Every light must be on.
“Here goes nothing,” she utters before using the mysterious key Akeem found in the apartment in Crescent Falls.
Of course, she knew exactly what it was and what it unlocked all along.
Guilt consumes her as she walks. Before, it never affected her.
Her life was hers and so were her necessary secrets.
They protected her, but now, things are different because of him.
The lying feels wrong. Keeping shit from him eats at her conscience and she wants it to end.
But how can I?
I’ve been doing this for so damn long, too long.
How can I stop now?
At the back of the off-white cabana, she treks through the white sand to the front door.
The beach is merely fifty feet away and she hears the soothing sound of the waves rippling under the wind.
Under any other circumstances, the night would be perfect, magical, but not tonight. Things are about to change.
“Who the fuck!” a feminine voice yells, startled, when the wind slams the door closed behind Sunjiya.
The sound of her fuzzy slippers flapping against the marble floors comes to a dead halt when she sees the intruder, her sister, her identical twin.
“Twin? I thought you weren’t coming,” she says, damn near squealing.
“Your text sounded urgent and we need to talk. After I shower though,” Sunjiya says.
“Shower then. I’m high as shit and got the munchies. I was just slicing some black pineapple to go with my leftover conch fritters. You hungry?” she asks, speaking super-fast.
“Not really,” Sunjiya utters as she walks down the small hall.
The cabana is the perfect size for two: forty square meters with air conditioning, large ceiling fans, dark mahogany marbled floors, a small living room area, a full kitchen with a small dining area, and two bedrooms furnished with queen beds and cane furniture.
There’s direct access to the beach and two large private sun beds through a veranda.
Each bedroom has a large, modern bathroom with a separate toilet and bidet, twin washbasins, and a huge, separate walk-in green slate tiled shower.
Sunjiya rolls her luggage to the first bedroom but it’s obviously claimed by her sister.
Clothes clutter the bed and a pile of shoes are scattered in front of the dresser, so she continues toward the second room.
After placing her bag on the luggage rack, she opens it and removes her needed items to shower and change.
Her phone is next. She removes it from her tote and texts Akeem.
As she types the lie, she cringes. I’m tired of lying to him.
Sunjiya: I made it. 3 hours ago but I was so tired I crashed. Up now, deciding what to pack up and leave behind. I miss you already. Hit me when you can. Love you.
As suspected, her text goes unanswered but she knows he will reach out when he can. The first days of a contract are typically long and busy for him. He has to stalk and learn his intended mark.
Before walking into the bathroom, she removes her shoes.
The moment she enters, she empties her bladder and removes all of her clothes.
She walks into the beautiful shower, turns it on, adjusts the temperature, then eases under the large, flat showerhead.
Tonight, she disregards her hair, closes her eyes, and lets the water rain through it.
Hot, soothing, and much-needed water covers her body and she takes the moment to relish it.
Her tranquility is abruptly interrupted when her sister barges in holding a bowl of pineapple chunks in one hand and a lit blunt in the other.
“It’s a good thing I didn’t have one of my little island flings here tonight. You could have warned me,” she says as she removes the stack of white towels from the cane towel stand then eases onto it.
Her voice and inflection matches Sunjiya’s. They are truly identical in every way, except the hair at this moment. Her sister sports blonde boho braids pulled into a high, messy bun.
After washing her face, Sunjiya allows water to pool into her hands, then splashes it. She stares at her sister then sighs. This is going to be a long ass conversation.
“A lot has changed; that’s why I’m here,” she begins. “Eat your food. We can talk when I get out,” Sunjiya says and her sister frowns.
No boundaries or modesty between them. They share everything and hide nothing.
“A lot I see,” she scoffs. “Do I need to be sober for this shit?”
“Actually, yes. That’s probably best. I’m tired as shit anyway. We can talk in the morning.”
“Late morning then. I’m sleeping the fuck in,” her twin says, obviously agitated, before pulling on her blunt and blowing out the thick cloud of smoke. Without another word, she stands and leaves the bathroom. Her anger is apparent when she slams the door upon exiting.
“Shit. This isn’t gonna be easy,” Sunjiya mumbles as she gets back to her shower.