Some Like It Hot
“Wait here,” Tolly says as he stands, and walks towards the stern. She hears him talking to Marco, but the wind takes the words.
The boat slows further as Marco cautiously navigates to a jetty. Tolly moves about, dropping fenders into the water and readying ropes. A gentle bump and he jumps onto the quay to tie them in. Only when the boat is moored does he rejoin her, offering his hand to help her down.
His baseball cap is back, hiding his gorgeous, dishevelled hair and shielding his face. He keeps hold of her hand until she is once again on dry land. Marco follows behind them as they walk along the jetty. At the end, Tolly and Marco exchange a few words and Anna realises they are speaking in Spanish. Then Marco heads off alone and Tolly turns back to her.
She plasters a smile on her face, even as she anticipates the worst. “Where to next?”
So she is relieved when Tolly directs her in the opposite direction to the casino. She hopes they won’t be walking too far, though. The sun is beating down on her and she is regretting not bringing a hat.
She need not have worried. They have only walked a few yards when Tolly stops in front of a covered area with glass-topped tables and chairs. “First, coffee,” he says.
Anna takes advantage of the restroom to freshen up and finger-comb her hair back into a more orderly style. By the time she returns to the table, two coffees have been set down in tall, narrow, white china cups. She is relieved to see a pot of real dairy cream sitting alongside. Tolly obviously hasn’t completely abandoned his European roots.
“So, what’s on the itinerary?” she asks, stirring the cream into her coffee and hoping for something to quieten her doubts.
But Tolly leans back in his chair with a smug smile. “You’ll see. It’s more fun if you don’t know what’s coming. But stock up on energy. We’ll need it this afternoon.”
Anna is not entirely convinced of his assertion. She definitely prefers to know what is coming. Especially when it’s on a gurney inches from death. But she is inclined to let him have some fun. Up to a point.
She leans back, sips her drink and watches the hustle and bustle, like any other tourist. The area is pedestrianised and fronts directly onto the harbour. When her coffee is half drunk, Tolly stands. “I’ll be back shortly,” he says. “You’ve got your phone?”
Anna pulls her phone from her pocket and places it on the table. He exits the coffee place and walks away. Crossing the road at the end of the pedestrian zone, he turns a corner and disappears. Anna sits back and tries not to think of anything at all, for fear of spiralling.
A few minutes later, her phone rings. Sexiest Man Alive. “Walk forward,” he instructs. “Now turn.”
At the end of the pedestrian zone, Tolly is waving widely. She hurries to meet him.
“Your chariot awaits.” Tolly sweeps his hands towards the golf cart pulled to the side of the road behind him. “And there is a present for you on the seat.”
It’s another baseball cap. Anna sets it on her head before clambering in. Tolly sweeps them straight on to the correct side of the road and they head off. A short while later, he pulls to a stop. “Lover’s Cove,” he announces.
“Ah!” Anna says. “Your romantic is showing.” She looks around. The beach is rocky and uninviting. “It doesn’t look particularly suited for lovers, though.”
“It’s actually a marine reserve. There’s a kelp forest and loads of fish. You can snorkel here.”
They take off again. From time to time, they are overtaken by other carts, as Tolly isn’t driving particularly fast. They stop at a viewpoint where a horde of other carts has also parked. Tolly pulls his baseball cap down and slips into his West Texas accent as he points out landmarks. Although Anna realises he signed up to be an actor, the need to adopt another persona every time he ventures outside of his front door must be irksome. She considers how poorly she would handle it, for she is very much a what-you-see-is-what-you-get person.
It forms the pattern for their morning. Avalon, nominally a city but with a population about the same as some of England’s larger villages, is pretty and quaint. Their route includes lots of switchbacks because Avalon is hilly. At one point, Tolly pulls the cart up outside the casino and Anna decides she has to say something.
“Please, no,” she says. “It’s such a lovely day. It would be a shame to spend it inside gambling.”
His eyes are hidden behind tinted glass but there is no mistaking the smirk. “It’s a theatre. And a museum. It’s also a nice example of Art Deco, with murals on the walls. There’s a ballroom at the top, but we don’t have time for a tour today.”
“Oh,” she says. She can’t work out whether he deliberately misled her or she has just fallen into her own trap of thinking of him in stereotypes.
“Anyway, I’m not much of one for sitting around. I prefer to be active. You’ll see.”
Again, Anna cannot work out if it is a threat or a promise. Or maybe both. After a stroll around, they are back in the cart, ticking off Avalon’s destinations. Finally, they pull up back at the cart rental. Tolly disappears inside to hand back the keys. When he re-emerges, he guides her to an open-top jeep waiting on the street. The driver sets off as soon as they are inside, heading out of Avalon. Tolly sits beside her, leaning over, bringing his disturbingly enticing body closer to point out points of interest. Then the driver slows to a stop. “Look,” he says. Tolly stands and holds out a hand to pull her up, but Anna is already unsettled enough. Somehow being in a confined space with him is more affecting than in the open air, like he’s emitting pheromones that are slowly overcoming her senses. She stands by her own effort and then stiffens. “What on earth is that?”
“Bison,” Tolly mutters in her ear, sending vibrations down her spine.
She stares at the great, hulking animals in surprise. “They look like something out of the Ice Age. What on earth are they doing here on an island?”
“They used to make movies here. Someone left them after a movie – turned them loose rather than pay the freight back. There are now ten times the original number. I think they like it here.”
As the herd lumbers off the road, the driver moves on. The interior landscape is rugged. To Anna, it is reminiscent of Sicily. They stop for lunch at the Airport in the Sky. Anna stares, finding it unbelievable someone built an airport here, over sixteen hundred feet up on the top of two peaks. The approach must be terrifying. The control tower looks like a couple of Mexican haciendas plonked on top of one another.
They dine on buffalo burgers while looking out over an impressive vista to the mountains in the distance. Tolly once again adopts his West Texas persona, choosing seats as far from other diners as possible. Feeling sated, they head off again. The road is unmetalled and they bounce around in the back. A couple of times she sways into Tolly, the feeling of his hard body against hers tempting her to stay there.
Finally, the driver calls, “Two Harbours.”
Anna is tempted to ask, What’s here? , but she knows Tolly will just give his enigmatic smile and tell her she’ll see.
They clamber out. Tolly claps the driver on the shoulder, and Anna sees the flash of folded money pass from one hand to another. A short walk and Tolly’s intent is laid bare.
“A kayak?” The ejaculation erupts before Anna can help herself, together with her world of doubt and dismay.
“If you don’t want to, I can call Marco. He will pick us up.” Tolly is offering her an easy out. It is enough to make her reconsider. She stiffens her spine. “No,” she says. “It’s not that. I’ve just never kayaked before. I don’t know what to do.”
Tolly’s hesitation disappears, to be replaced with one of his heart-stopping grins. Her exposure therapy is not yet working. Before long, Anna is nervously sitting in the kayak, flotation vest thankfully donned, a paddle in her hands. Tolly is seated behind her, giving reassurance as she dips the paddle, first one side, then the other. She is surprised when they move forwards. Twisting around, she sees Tolly matching his stroke to hers. Sadly, she won’t be able to spend the journey admiring the flex and yield of his muscles. But she does have a wonderful view.
“Now, if you need to stop and rest, do so,” Tolly says, leaning forward. “I can power us both to our destination, but it will be quicker with you too.” Anna nods. “It’s perfect conditions today. There’s an onshore wind and the sea is like a millpond.”
Anna breathes out a breath of relief.
“We’ll keep closer into the shore. It’s longer but safer. After all, there’s nothing between us and Japan but water.”
And her nerves return redoubled. She’ll be certain to paddle as much as she is physically able.
It’s not long before Anna finds herself genuinely enjoying herself. The conditions are indeed perfect. The sun sparkles on the water and the slightest of breezes caresses her skin. The sea is cold, but the water is clear. The air is full of the sounds of nature, of birds calling and the slap of water, and the gentle tap of the paddle as it dips and rises. Anna finds great comfort in knowing Tolly is behind her, his breaths even and regular. She trusts in his strength and skill. And that amazes her.
At first, she feels they will never make it. Every stroke seems to be an effort. But after a few minutes, her muscles seem to find a rhythm and they glide along with hardly any effort. Now and then, Tolly taps her shoulder and, as she turns, he points. A pelican sitting on a rock. Or a beautiful, deserted, sandy beach. Sometimes they rest before tackling a bluff, snacking on chocolate or peanuts or swigging water, paddles lying across the kayak. Anna glimpses fish of all sizes, shapes and colours, swimming beneath her. She likes that they are oblivious to her, going about their normal day.
The whole journey is a surprise. At one point, she laughs to herself. If her family could see her now, they would not believe it. Although she was raised in the country, Anna has never been one for outdoor pursuits beyond a ramble or an occasional hack on a horse. At school, she did a Duke of Edinburgh award and vowed it would be the last time she ever camped. The weather had been appalling, with unrelenting rain turning the hike into an endurance slog.
But here, with the rhythmic movement, the kayak gliding through the water, it is strangely calming, almost meditative. Anna finds herself thinking of wider things. She and Tolly are totally alone. There is no one, absolutely no one around for miles. How many times has that been true in her life? Probably never. Certainly not in the last few years when she has spent her time in the press and surge of a large city. This must have been the life of ancient mankind. The isolation of one man and one woman alone on the sea, utterly dependent, each one on the other.
And she realises with a burst, Tolly, the grand romantic, is showing her his real self. Not the polished product of decades of education and upbringing. Not the star of the screen. Not the cultured and urbane, wealthy gent. But the core of himself. A man who would rather row than lift endless weights in a gym, a man surrounded by people, who is unafraid of being truly and absolutely alone. Because she has no doubt that he has done this journey before, probably by himself. A man who feels a small part of this whole world and not just king of a chunk of it.
This is the value of friendship. If this had been a date, both of them would have been trying to showcase their attractiveness. For Anna, that would have been full make-up and uncomfortable underwear, lingering looks and giggling laughs. For him, it might have been tasting menus in Michelin restaurants and entry to exclusive nightclubs, funny stories and flattering comments. If this were a date, they would be talking of other people, past loves and family life. If this were a date, they would be mapping out intentions and future hopes. If this were a date, Anna probably wouldn’t be here.
Her musings are interrupted by his touch on her arm. This time his hand lingers, while the other lifts to point. A large bird is hunched at the water’s edge. Its beak lowers and rises as it pecks at something, possibly a dead fish. They float closer, carried on the tide and it launches into the air, its wings unfurling. Dark and massive, punctuated top and bottom by white head and startling white tailfeathers, it soars over their heads. Anna does not think she has ever seen anything more majestic in action in the wild.
Tolly leans forwards, his eyes still on the bird climbing high into the sky. “Bald eagle,” he says. Anna lets out the breath she didn’t notice she had been holding. Her eyes shine as she turns to him, and she can see it in his face too – excitement at the beauty of the natural world.
But Anna, though relatively fit, is not an athlete. As the sun slides towards the horizon, she knows she is at the end of her physical strength. Worries they will be stranded start to filter in. Although they are within sight of the island, there is no landing here. The land meets the sea in a sheer cliff. A tiny lick of panic thrills through her. There is a limit to trust beyond which lies idiocy, and they are fast approaching that line.