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It takes about an hour to reach Christmas Key, and as they approach the small tropical island, Ruby feels a sense of anticipation. Banks draws himself to attention, scanning the shoreline, and Bev slows the motor, cutting it altogether as they drift right up to the small dock. Banks steps off first and takes a walk up the dock and onto Main Street, where he looks back and forth. As soon as he feels sure about their surroundings, he gives Bev a nod. Bev ties them up and then helps Ruby onto shore.
"Hello! Welcome!" A brunette in her thirties with a huge smile and a toddler on one hip approaches. She's got her long hair pulled back into a braid that spills out from under a blue Yankees baseball hat, and she's wearing a sundress with a pair of flip-flops. Banks walks up to her and they chat briefly before the woman turns back to the dock and walks up to Ruby.
"I'm Holly Baxter-Cruz," the woman says, extending a hand to Ruby. "And this is my daughter, Stella."
Ruby shakes Holly's hand and then reaches out and takes Stella's small, soft hand in hers gently. The baby looks at her with wide eyes, though she's clearly just curious and not the least bit afraid. Stella's small dimpled hands and the way her dark, shiny hair sweeps gently over her little head sends a shock through Ruby's heart. It seems like only yesterday that her own girls were this size, and every time she sees a baby up close lately, she's reminded of how quickly time slips away, almost unnoticed.
"Thank you so much for having me," Ruby says, smiling at Holly, who she already knows is the mayor of Christmas Key and the owner of the island's B&B. "I've heard so much about the island, but this is my first visit."
Holly steps back as Bev hoists two bags from the boat and hands Banks a third piece of luggage.
"Well, we are absolutely thrilled to have you here," Holly says, turning to the men. "And you must be Mr. Banks," she says to Banks, nodding at him. "I have no idea how to greet a Secret Service agent." Her smile fades and she turns to Ruby with a frown. "Am I allowed to talk to him?"
For some reason this strikes Ruby as hilarious, and she laughs. "Of course you are."
Holly looks mortified. "Oh my god. I'm so sorry," she says, putting her free hand over her mouth and shifting her daughter to the other hip. "I didn't mean to treat you like a seeing eye dog. I just didn't know the protocol and I--"
Banks cuts her off with a friendly smile, and even takes off his sunglasses, which Ruby knows that he rarely does. "Ma'am, please don't worry about it," he says, wiggling his fingers at Stella and getting the first grin from the baby that she's given since their boat docked. "I know it's weird when you see a bunch of serious looking men and women in dark glasses, and a lot of people think we're like the guards at Buckingham Palace, but we can definitely talk to the public. And we do. But when things are hectic, we stay extremely focused."
Holly relaxes. "Oh, good. I was hoping that you were going to be able to enjoy the island and get to know us. I promise we're all friendly."
Holly is about to greet Bev when a woman who appears to be about eighty-five comes walking in their direction, waving both arms in the air. She looks like she's about to tell them her house is on fire, but when she gets closer, she breaks into a wide smile and claps her hands together.
"My goodness, if it isn't the First Lady," she says with just the slightest touch of an Italian accent. "You are so much prettier in person than you were in that magazine I saw you in. They did you no favors with that boring black suit, honey."
Again, Ruby laughs. Everything that's happened since her feet touched soil here on Christmas Key has tickled her. "Believe me, I told them the black suit was a mistake," she says, walking over to shake the woman's hand. “But whenVoguetells you to wear the black suit, you wear the black suit. I’m Ruby Hudson, by the way,” she says, taking the woman's gnarled hand in her own.
"Maria Agnelli," the woman says firmly, wrapping both of her hands around Ruby's and holding on. "Listen," she says, starting to walk without letting go of Ruby, which forces Ruby to follow. "Let's have a cup of coffee—it’s on me. I want to hear everything about the White House. Did you find out who killed Kennedy while you lived there? Is there anything there on the bookshelves about Eisenhower? Did he leave any family photo albums behind?"
"Oh," Ruby says, looking back at Holly for help. "I'm not sure..."
"What a cutie that man was," Mrs. Agnelli says, guiding Ruby towards the coffee shop. "I always had a bit of a crush on old Dwight, but my husband never liked to hear about it. He thought Eisenhower looked like a frog—can you believe that?"
Holly is stifling her own laughter behind one hand when a short, round, red-headed woman in her fifties comes out of the coffee shop that's right in front of them. She throws both hands in the air, and her face becomes an animated mask of joy.
"Well, if it isn't my favorite cousin!" she squeals, walking as quickly as she can on her little wedge sandals. Bev drops both bags and opens his arms. He scoops the woman up as they both laugh and cry. "It's been too long, darlin’—I was starting to worry about you something fierce!"
"Don't you even worry, Bonnie. I'm right as rain. Fit as a fiddle. Happy as a clam." Bev sets her down and they beam at one another.
“Holly,” the redhead says, turning to the mayor. “This is my number one, all-time favorite cousin, Bev Byer. He runs a little shack of a beach bar on Shipwreck Key called The Frog’s Grog. Quite the place. And he’s an old pirate at heart, in case you can’t tell.”
Bev runs a hand over his graying mustache and winks at Holly. “Lovely to meet you, miss.”
Bonnie looks at Ruby then with a stunned smile. “Holy crow, it’s the First Lady.”
“Former,” Ruby clarifies, reaching out to shake Bonnie’s hand.
“I’m Bonnie Lane. Resident bigmouth and life of the party. Welcome to Christmas Key!”
“And this is Banks,” Ruby says, introducing him to Bonnie. “We don’t want to be any trouble at all, so please just treat us like anyone who shows up to enjoy your beautiful island.”
“Let’s get you all checked into the B&B,” Holly says, switching Stella to her other hip again and leading the way up the street. “This is Mistletoe Morning Brew here.” She waves a hand as they walk past the coffee shop. “And we have a little bookstore right next door.”
Ruby looks at the shop with interest. A Sleighful of Books is a long and narrow store, with a front window filled by a display of new releases. Next to it is the B&B, with three steps that lead up to a porch with a railing, and glass front doors that open into a light-filled lobby. Ruby stands on the porch and looks at the opposite side of the street, where Scissors & Ribbons salon looks out onto the paved road, and down near the end of the street—next to the dock where their boat is tied up—North Star Cigars sits with its front door propped open. The sounds of tropical steel drum music pour from a speaker over the door of the cigar shop.
"Our island's radio station is located just above the shop," Holly explains, looking back at North Star Cigars as she holds the door of the B&B open for Ruby. On Holly's hip, Stella kicks her bare feet and waves her arms in the air, making a happy gurgling noise. "Our resident deejay is seventeen and he keeps us entertained with all kinds of music."
Inside the lobby, Bonnie is behind the counter, tapping on the keyboard. She hands Ruby and Banks the keys to their respective rooms. Ruby had insisted that he didn't need to be right next to her—after all, Christmas Key is a tiny island filled with residents whose average age is over seventy, but he insisted.
