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Sylvia didn’t want to be excited. This could lead nowhere, but she was proud of herself for tracking down someone who knew Thane within a few hours of arriving at the hotel. Well, the bellhop had done the difficult part, but Sylvia hadn’t wanted to walk up and dow
n the docks shouting out a man’s name and hoping the fishermen and tour guides and other dock workers would be honest enough to point her in the right direction. If not careful, she could end up in the back of somebody’s boat. She’d seen movies like Taken and Hostel and even though they weren’t based in Australia, this wasn’t the U.S. either, and anything could happen. She would not be following this Juan Diego guy anywhere until she’d spoken with Penny.
“Umm…hello?” Juan Diego said into the phone. “Mrs. Penny?”
Juan Diego whispered into the phone with his free hand cupping his mouth to muffle his voice even more. Then, he handed the phone to Sylvia and smiled.
“It’s for you,” he said.
Sylvia took the phone, which looked like one of those military satellite phones she saw in the Mission Impossible movies, and held it to her ear.
“Sylvia?”
It was a voice she knew well.
“Penny?” she asked.
“You are here!” the voice on the other end said with glee. “I can’t believe it! I thought you’d never come back.”
“Tell me about it,” Sylvia said. “I’m here trying to figure out how I can call this whole thing off and head home. Kind of hard to do with a one-way ticket.”
“Are you crazy? A one-way ticket?” Penny said. “Oh my God. Well, you’ve come this far. At least meet me for a drink.”
“I was thinking of going to the bonfire party tonight,” Sylvia said
“Aksion’s!” Penny said. “It’s a nightclub on the beach. They’re having a bonfire tonight. Thane was talking about going. But I can’t. I’m pregnant, you know?”
“You’re what?!” Sylvia squealed. “Holy shit! How could you not tell me? How could I not know?”
“I wanted to,” Penny said, “but to be honest, after my last visit, I didn’t think you wanted to know. You seemed anti-shark.”
“I’m sorry,” Sylvia said, feeling like shit that she’d ever made her friend feel like she should avoid her.
Penny was right. Sylvia had been in a horrible mindset and probably wouldn’t have provided the kind of cheer deserved for a pregnant best friend. This was a dream come true for Penny. Not long before, she’d been hanging on to life by her fingertips, and now she was creating life. This was amazing news.
“So, I probably shouldn’t be going to a night rave or bonfire or whatever,” Penny said. “But you should totally go. Maybe you’ll meet someone.”
“I guess,” Sylvia said. “I’ll check it out, but I’m really here to see you.”
“Meet me tomorrow,” Penny said. “I’ll have Juan Diego bring me to the hotel.”
Sylvia smiled and agreed to the plan.
“Listen,” Penny added. “I know it’s none of my business, but for what it’s worth, I think you’re doing the right thing. What happened last time…it…it was a travesty. But you can’t let your life be controlled by it, you know? I’m around some of the greatest people in the world right now. I know you’d love them. Give them, us, a real chance and you’ll see.”
Sylvia should have been excited, but her friend’s positive energy was bordering on becoming annoying.
What’s wrong with me? She only has my best interest at heart. Besides, she’s always been slightly annoying.
She laughed at her own thoughts, knowing if she were to voice them out loud in Penny’s presence, her friend would have joined in. That’s what made their friendship so great. It didn’t matter the mood they were in. They could be total bitches to each other and both would only shrug it off and see the funny side of their rudeness. She’d once told Penny she wished she would die. It was said in a pissed off but joking-like manner. Penny had sat cross-legged on her bed and stared at her for a second, a pissed off look on her face, and then smiled and said, “How would you kill me?”
They’d spent the next half hour plotting out each other’s murders. That was the kind of shit they would do before Penny got sick. Then things kind of changed. Now they had the opportunity to do it all over again.
Two hours later, Sylvia stood next to Doug’s Frozen Fridgesicles cart, which Doug had probably abandoned at around five o’clock, and sipped a plastic cup of amaretto over ice. She craved the smooth sweetness that came with her favorite drink and enjoyed how it seemed to add a new layer to the buzz she was nursing from the handful of miniature bottles she’d downed in her room. About fifty feet away, the fire blazed over a pile of broken furniture and old warehouse pallets. The heat wafted at her with each wave of fresh ocean breeze and she loved the warmth on her skin.
Next to where she stood was a large banner that read “The Party for Life Festival: July 20-29.” On the banner, couples danced romantically in the dark with neon pink lips and green eyelashes. Kids tossed multicolored paint into the air and a teenage boy tried to stop a girl his age from stuffing his hot dog all the way into his mouth. Sylvia couldn’t help thinking how great it would be if a single festival could change her mood for the better. She could dance in neon and throw paint and eat hot dogs. The festival was only a week away. If nothing else happened during this trip, maybe she’d stick around long enough to see what all the hype was out.
For now, she focused on the bonfire party happening in the present. All around her, couples hugged each other tight and danced to the slow techno, beachy vibes flowing from the DJs speakers. The DJ was a hot blonde in a pink bikini top, and Sylvia couldn’t help feeling proud of how far her sex had come. Boardroom CEOs, partners at law firms, surgeons, and now even DJs. The thought made her laugh. From open-heart surgery to glowsticks and lasers. In truth, it wasn’t much of a joke. She’d known a handful of DJs back home. None of whom were women. Here on the beach, at one of the country’s top resorts, this chick controlled the party and that was a lot of power in what was usually a laidback atmosphere. This wasn’t a family party. This was going to get wild before night’s end.
