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But wait, there’s more!

My secret guest speaker never showed up, and then Matt happened. He’s already in the middle of a heated love triangle. Two women threw down in the auditorium in front of hundreds of guests. They rumbled in a full-blown, hair-pulling fight. Over him! The jackass has only been here for forty-eight hours, and the ladies have gone wild. I truly don’t understand the attraction.

If something could have gone wrong, it did. A lot of it was my own fault because I was in my own head when I should have been connecting with the audience. Instead, I was trying to solve a problem—a Sophia problem.

When I presented the deal to her earlier, I thought it was a win-win. We could work out a schedule where I use the house when she’s out with the car. We’d only have to see each other to exchange keys. Once in the morning and once at night.

She flat-out said, “No,” claiming she didn’t trust me, even though I pointed out she could have another set of keycards made. I still haven’t figured out how she switched the reservation.

No matter which way I argued, Sophia rejected all scenarios. The part of me in awe of her sinister methods understands. She wants to hold on to her victory. As much as I hate it, I admire her.

But if she thinks this game is over, she’s mistaken. My next move is coming with a vengeance, as soon as I figure out what it is. I’m this close to a breakthrough. I can feel it.

Sophia will come around to negotiations, or I’ll continue messing with her until she does.

So, sue me.

“You have a lot of nerve stepping back on this island,” a voice calls.

I stop in my tracks. In the dark, Tina appears on the path coming from Sophia’s bungalow. My bungalow. She’s followed by the funny farm, an assortment of animals from her menagerie. Jaz rounds out the back of the crazy train.

Smiling wide, I take Tina in. “You know I’m your favorite.”

I’m refilling my memory tank, needing to save up for when I miss her, which is all the time. The space between our reunions is too long these days.

Jaz chimes in. “You wish.”

“Punk.” I try to stop her for a head noogie, like when she was younger, but she jumps out of reach and somehow smacks me instead.

Jaz walks backward with a confident teeter and flashes me a shaka sign, extending her thumb and pinky from her fist. It’s a gesture that typically means “Hang loose,” “Right on,” or “Take it easy.” In her case, I take it as a “Nice try, motherfucka.”

I touch my cheek to Tina’s in a honi greeting. Then she squeezes me in a tight hug, lifting me from the ground a few inches. It’s harder for her now that I’m so tall.

“What trouble are you into tonight, Aunty?” I tilt my head in the direction of the bungalow. It’s lit like fifty tiki torches.

“The worst kind,” Jaz calls from ahead. “Meddling.” She moves down the path with the animals.

“No trouble here, just talking stories,” Tina says, denying all wrongdoing. “Only getting to know some new friends. Amelia and Sophia are lovely.”

“If lovely means satanic.” I reach an arm around her shoulder as we stroll.

“I think you started it, Gio.”

I grunt in disagreement.

“While you’re fighting Sophia, I choose to spread the aloha,” Tina says with an outstretched palm.

“How exactly?” I’m scared to ask.

“You’ll see.”

When she snickers, my stomach turns.

We exit the lobby and round the valet stand toward the parking lot. Up ahead, Jaz loads the animals into cages in the back of a shiny new truck.

“Where’d you get that?” I stop in my tracks and stare at the vehicle.

“Borrowed it from a friend,” Tina says.