Chapter 11Jack
Chapter 11
Jack
She wanted to get away from me.
She walked out of the restaurant without even looking back.
Ophelia tugs at my hand. “Uncle Jack, they are soooo cool. They can hold their breath underwater for hours, the nice guy said. Maybe he’ll be there.”
“He knows everything about green sea turtles,” Jasmine adds, turning over her shoulder to look back at us.
Ophelia nods happily. “He is like the smartest person I’ve ever met. He knows everything.”
“Wow… everything,” I say. “That’s a lot of stuff to know. Cool.”
Hazel doesn’t care that we kissed.
It meant nothing to her.
If she cared, she would’ve brought it up.
Instead, she talked about work.
The walkway curves. Up ahead, I see the cloudy, dark waters of the resort’s saltwater lagoon. The seaweed and algae in the water give it a viscous, forest-green appearance.
Somewhere in the distance, a parrot squawks. “ Jack is handsome. Squawk.”
Ophelia giggles. “Did a birdy just say you’re handsome?”
“Nah. It did sound like it, though.”
She giggles, then breaks away from me and scampers to catch up with her sister. I shove my hands deep into the packets of my khaki shorts.
Maybe Hazel Thorpe hates me.
Maybe last night was no big deal to her, and she can’t wait ‘til this week is over so she can put it all behind her.
Put me behind her.
I thought we had chemistry, but what do I know?
I got the situation with Jess all wrong.
I’m probably reading Hazel wrong, too.
When I catch up to my nieces, they’re leaning way over the wooden railing. Ophelia’s feet rise off the walkway as she swings forward.
“Yo! Lia, careful, or you’re gonna be swimming,” I say.
Even as I talk, my mind’s still on Hazel. She didn’t even look back.
And why does that even bother me?
I shouldn’t care that Hazel just walked away… but I do. A lot. Maybe it has something to do with the connection I felt with her yesterday.
Ophelia swings again until her feet touch the path.
“Great,” I tell her. “We can swim later in the ocean, but there’s no way I’m jumping into this slime to get you if you go for a dunk.”
She giggles. “Yeah, right, you so would.”
“Okay, I would.”
Jasmine points. “There’s one! A turtle! There are supposed to be two… where’s the other one?”
Ophelia looks up at me. “Uncle Jack, these turtles have to stay here until they get big. Like, a hundred pounds. Then, they go into the ocean. They don’t have babies until they’re like twenty.”
“That right?”
She nods studiously. “Yep. Me and Jazzy learned it all from that nice man, Akoni, with the bucket. He let us feed them dried-up seaweed and carrots.”
Jasmine leaves her spot at the railing and starts walking. “Come on, Lia, let’s look for the other one.”
They make it about ten paces before they get distracted by a lizard. Soon, they’re crouched by a bush, totally fascinated by this green lizard.
“He’s doing push-ups!” Jasmine giggles. “Uncle Jack, come see!”
I squint at the bush. “I see him. Cool.”
Man, to be a kid again. I remember how lizards and frogs used to fascinate me.
I watch my nieces marvel over the critter, then let my gaze wander back over the dark green water. That sea turtle moving through the depths is sort of cool-looking…
The sun’s strong today, getting hotter by the minute. I look around to see if there’s some shade to step into while hanging around here. I promised Corinne I’d have the girls to the dolphin area by ten, but that’s still fifteen minutes from now.
The only slice of shade I can see is over by a maintenance shed, but that area is roped off.
“Squawk! Jack is handsome.”
Okay, that bird really did just say my name.
That’s strange.
I wander toward the shed, wondering if there might be a way to squeeze into the shade from this side of the rope. I wouldn’t mind seeing the parrot, either.
As I get closer to the little building, I pause… and squint.
I’m pretty sure those are Hazel’s bare legs poking out from behind the shed. I recognized her flip-flops, her delicate feet, and even the maroon nail polish.
I can see my nieces from here, so I’m not neglecting my uncle duties. I amble up to the rope, trying to get closer to the shed. What is she doing back there?
“... it’s not like confidence is a bad thing,” I hear her murmur. “I just want to…”
Wait… is she talking?
To whom?
I only see her legs, no one else's. Maybe she’s on the phone.
Yeah, she’s probably on the phone. She’s having a private conversation, and it’s none of my business.
“Squawk! Jack is handsome,” the parrot pronounces.
Hazel’s gentle, quiet laugh bubbles up. “Can you keep that down?”
Hmm… she might be talking to the parrot. I can see the colorful bird now, perched up in a tree at the edge of the lagoon.
A sea turtle lazes on a rock not far from the shed.
The next thing I know, a leaf of lettuce flies through the air. It lands on the rock that the turtle is on. The thing bows its head to nibble.
Interesting.
Her voice is so quiet that it’s barely audible. “... never had that kind of confidence, and maybe that’s why it sort of intimidates me. And he’s too good-looking, so that’s intimidating too. But also sort of alluring. And I don’t know, he’s exciting. And…”
Another leaf of lettuce shoots out from behind the shed.
I step over the rope.
Gotta do it.
I have to see what’s happening here for myself.
When I step around the shed, her eyes fly open.
She pops up to her feet. “Will you quit sneaking up on me?!”
Unless she is wearing the tiniest earpiece in the history of all earpieces, she was not on the phone.
I look out toward the water.
I can’t help smiling. “Are you…” I gesture to the turtle sitting on the rock, then back at Hazel. “Is this… some kinda girl talk?”
“He is a male turtle. At least—the nice staff guy said ‘he.’ His name is Chester.”
“The staff guy’s name is Chester?”
“No, no, I mean the turtle. At least, that’s what I’m calling him.”
“Chester.” I nod. “Okaaay…”
She lifts her chin. “I thought I had some privacy here. This area is off-limits.”
“Except to you.”
“Akoni said I could be here. The nice staff guy.”
“Okaaaay…” I return my hands to my pockets. I step back and peer over my shoulder to check on my nieces. They’re still in lizard lala land.
I swivel back to Hazel.
Her eyes flash. She props her hand on her hip. “How much of that did you hear, exactly?”
The parrot chooses this moment to launch off the branch and swoop over our heads. From up in the air, he delivers one last line. “Duped! Duped… Rug gets pulled. Squawk! Jack is handsome!”
Hazel pulls her oversized black sunglasses out of her purse and slides them on. “This week needs to end.”
I chuckle. “Wait, so you think I’m handsome?”
“Oh, come on. You know you’re handsome.”
“No, this is news.”
She walks past me and gives me a little push as she goes. “No, it is not. Quit messing with me.”
I chuckle. I know women think I’m good-looking. I am messing with her.
But I’m also thinking…
About that confession I just overheard.
She finds me alluring. Exciting. Isn’t that what she said?
Maybe that kiss wasn’t as forgettable as she made it seem back at the restaurant.
She tried to plow straight past it with work talk, but it must have meant something to her if she holed up back here and talked to a turtle about it.
“I gotta know—why Chester?” I manage to catch up to her, even though now she’s walking fast.
Instead of stepping over the rope barrier, like I did, she carefully unclips it.
After we both pass through, she fastens it again. “I don’t have to tell you.”
“You don’t have to, but come on… why not? Humor me.”
“You are just like my friend Alexis, you know that? She always pries things out of me.”
“It seems like that’s what it takes. It’s either ask you a bunch of questions or wait for you to pass out again so I can catch you and sunbathe with you. You were sort of chatty when we were lying on that towel together.”
She turns to roll her eyes at me. “I was chatty because I didn't have enough blood flow to my brain. I felt like the ground was moving under me, and I was trapped there for ten minutes.”
“Okay, so now that you’re not trapped, you don’t want to talk to me?”
“That’s not it.”
“Well…? I’m just trying to be friendly here.”
“Fine. I called him Chester because he’s bald. Like my therapist. And I had to try to articulate my emotions because otherwise, they’d just be a mishmash inside me.”
“So… you’re pretending the sea turtle is your shrink.”
She narrows her eyes. “You’re making fun of me.”
We slow our pace. Up ahead, my nieces have tracked the lizard to a new location.
Ophelia spots me. “Uncle Jack, come see!”
“In a sec, Lia,” I call back. Then, I zero in on Hazel again. I feel my lip twitch, inching toward a smile.
It’s like that dark-red juice concoction I slurped down at the restaurant is finally delivering the ‘mood boost’ that the menu promised.
Or… it’s Hazel.
Standing here with her. Talking with her. Watching the way shifting light off the water plays across her features.
Yeah, it’s Hazel.
She’s making me feel good .
Happy.
Goofy.
Cheerful.
I didn’t expect this, but it’s happening. My heart’s all fuzzy, my blood’s rushing.
“Look, I’m not making fun of you,” I say, still fighting the smile. “I think it’s cute that you were talking to a turtle. And also, practical. I hash things out with my dog all the time. Animals are the best listeners.”
Her eyes remain narrowed. She studies me. “You have a dog?”
I nod. “Nola. She’s probably my best friend, after my brother.”
“Nola.”
“Border collie. Man, do I miss her.”
“You really talk to her?”
“All the time, about all sorts of stuff.”
“Like what?”
“Well… let’s see… what was the last one… Okay, so I had this tiff with one of my neighbors. I forgot to brake at a stop sign on this stretch of road in front of his house. The guy got all bent out of shape about it, way more than normal, and I felt bad about the whole thing. Nola helped me see that it was more about that dude than my driving. I ended up apologizing to the guy, and now we fish together once in a while. Mostly trout.”
“I mean, it had to be about your driving. You forgot to stop… at a stop sign.”
“I slowed down a lot. Besides, it was a mistake.”
“Nola must be very patient.” The hint of a smile hovers on her lips. She’s still keeping up the narrow-eyed look, but now it has a playful feel.
“She is.”
“So, you broke a traffic law, fought with your neighbor… and made a new friend? Am I understanding this sequence correctly?”
I nod. “Yup. He’s actually a great guy. Super skilled fisherman.”
“Wow.” She shakes her head. The smile flickers again, this time stronger.
“So, we’re cool?” I ask. “You’re not embarrassed anymore, you’re not mad at me for sneaking up on you?”
She nods.
Her eyes are beautiful .
Warmth floods me as I look at her, and it’s not just because of the sunlight pouring down on us.
In my head, I don’t know how to feel about this woman. I keep thinking conflicting thoughts.
On the one hand, she’s the pain-in-the-butt coworker I’ve been dealing with for ten months. The person I’m competing with for a big promotion. On the other hand, she seems so timid and innocent in person. She’s imaginative. She loves animals, which is sweet.
No matter how much I struggle to find some kind of stance to take, I can’t. My brain is split.
But… my body’s one hundred percent enchanted by her.
Blood rushes and thrums in my veins. This aliveness sings through me and makes everything around us look even more colorful, even more spectacular.
“Yeah, I guess we’re cool,” she whispers. “Whatever that means.”
“Great. And we’re on for our dinner date tonight.”
“It’s not a date. It’s a work meeting.”
I hear the girls’ footsteps before I see them. They’re both running at full speed.
Ophelia reaches me first. She barrels into me and hugs me around the waist. “Guess what time it is, Uncle Jack?”
“What time?”
“Ten!” Ophelia lifts her skinny wrist to tap her pink princess watch. “Time to swim with the dolphins!” She reaches for my hand and pulls. “Mom is probably already there. She said don’t be late, remember?”
I blink.
Is it really ten already?
“Sounds like you have somewhere to be,” Hazel says.
Jasmine takes my free hand and starts tugging, too.
“I guess I do.”
My last impression of Hazel is the subtle smile dancing on her lips.
My day’s schedule is packed with activities that Brett and Corinne planned. Plus, I now have to squeeze a few work calls into the mix. But this evening—in eight hours—I’ll knock on her door, and she’ll open it, and hopefully, I’ll get to see that smile again.