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I guess the use of the nickname means they aren’t fighting anymore.
“What is going on?” I ask, getting to my feet too.
The three of them start whispering, ignoring me.
Finally Richard runs off to the bushes.
“Can you show me?” Lacey asks Tai.
Tai looks revolted. “Hell no.”
“I am a doctor.”
“Of plants!”
“Which is part of the issue!”
“What the hell is going on?” I practically yell, putting myself in between them. “Is this the Island of Secrets?”
Lacey gives me a steady look.
“We think Tai wiped his ass with some poisonous leaves,” she says bluntly.
“For fuck’s sake, Lacey!” Tai yells at her, his face darkening.
I burst out laughing.
“He did what?” I cry out, tears nearly falling down my cheeks.
“Ah shit,” Tai mumbles, covering his face with his hand and turning away from us.
“Speaking of shit,” Lacey says. She’s trying to bite back a smile. “We’ll have to see what leaves you used. This will help us treat your, uh…”
“Oh, please stop,” Tai whimpers.
I’m still laughing. Like the kind of laughing where I slap my knee and can’t breathe. I don’t know if I’m going insane or what, but I literally can’t stop. This is the funniest thing.
“I’ve got the book,” Richard says, holding a flashlight and a botany identifier book that I always see my sister flipping through. “We just need to see the leaves.”
Lacey reaches out and grabs Tai’s arms. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Show us the leaves that did this to you.”
Tai groans, avoiding looking at me. He walks off to the jungle, Lacey and Richard following.
“Do you want me to come too?” I call after him.
He shoots me a warning glance over his shoulder. “Don’t you dare.”
I giggle and sink down into the sand again, wiping the tears from my face. I’m glad I packed my diary. Once it’s dry, I’m making another log.
Log.
And I’m giggling again. I think I’ve regressed back in age about twenty-years, but as my father used to say, if you’re not laughing, you’re crying.
Or, doing both.
* * *
The next morning I wake up just after dawn. I barely slept at all.
We had unzipped the two sleeping bags, that were unfortunately still a little damp, and laid them out side-by-side. Since it’s so hot and humid here, we didn’t need a top sheet, and it was nice to have the layer of fabric between us and the ground.
I slept at one end, Tai at the other, with Lacey and Richard in the middle. When they returned from their mini jungle expedition last night in search of Tai’s evil toilet paper, Tai did a great job of ignoring me. He was embarrassed, of course, and it was quite obvious he wanted nothing to do with me.
Meanwhile, Lacey and Richard were lovey dovey all night, making up for their fight. They didn’t have sex, thank god, but the cuddling and sweet talk was enough to make me sick and wish I had the foresight to pack earplugs.
Regardless, as soon as the sun was up, I was up too.
I roll over and look at the row of bodies. Lacey and Richard are snoring away, as usual, and Tai is gone.
I get to my feet and quickly get changed into my shorts, bikini top and flannel shirt, bring my ratty gross hair into a ponytail and stick on a ball cap. Oh, my kingdom for a proper shower.
I need to brush my teeth and do my business, but after what happened to Tai, I feel like I need a little advice.
Stepping out onto the beach, I spot Tai crouching down by the charred logs, trying to get a fire going again, the morning sky fading from fiery pink to pale blue.
I especially like what he’s wearing this morning, a rich aqua shirt that matches the color of the lagoon, framing his muscles very nicely. I take a moment to appreciate his hands as they adjust the logs. Part of me wishes that Richard had never interrupted us that night, though if that were the case, we would have barrelled right into the reef while screwing each other senseless.
But what a way to go.
“Hey,” I say to him. “Did you watch the sunrise?”
He glances up at me briefly and grunts in response.
“So very caveman like,” I comment. “You haven’t been in the wild very long and you’re already reverting.”
“That’s funny,” he says mildly.
“I’ve been told I can be,” I say, hugging my arms across my chest. Even though the heat and humidity are starting to creep up, there’s a bit of a chill out here, the wind blowing lightly. “How are you feeling?”
He gives me a look that tells me to back off, but of course I don’t.
“I’m just wondering what leaves I can use,” I add. “You know..”
“Use a book,” he says, gesturing to the torn-up pages in the fire. “Makes good toilet paper and good kindling.”
