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I watched as the little lady put her tiny fingers to her mouth while she pondered. It was as if I could see the wheels turning in her brain. “Oh, I know,” she said as she clapped her hands in pure excitement. “If you like a show, go to the Lost Colony. Yes, you should go there. Oh, what a lovely place it is. I’m sure your hotel will have brochures on it.”
Her enthusiasm had me excited to check out this Lost Colony. “Thank you so much. That is exactly what I’m doing this evening.”
She reminded me so much of a grandma that I wanted to hug her, but thought better of it. These days I never knew how one would react to my spontaneous impulse to connect.
We said our farewells as we exited the plane and headed our way. It only took me moments to find the sign that readCarolineon it, my code name in public, held by a man in a suit, waiting in a near-empty airport the size of a mall back home. As I adjusted my baseball cap, I walked towards him, doubting anyone in such a small town would recognize me. He took my bags, and I followed him to the town car that idled out by the curb waiting on us.
Once inside the car, I ripped off the baseball cap. My damn scalp was itching and hot and after scratching like I was a fucking animal, I grabbed a miniature bottle of wine and settled in for the ride. I didn’t know how long it would take to get to the hotel, having never been there before. It was a small town, and for September, it was cold. At least, I thought it was cold.
We passed Jockey’s Ridge, which had the largest sand hills I’d ever seen. I needed to check them out; people were climbing the sand to the top. They slid down, some ran, some on their asses, while others hand glided.
Before I knew it, the driver came to a stop, opened my door, and motioned for me to follow him.
“A man of few words. Alex, is it?” I teased as we headed towards the elevators.
“Yes, it’s Alex.”
“Will you be driving me to the ferry tomorrow, Alex?” I asked, emphasizing his name.
“Yes, I have an adjacent room. I will be nearby the entire six months you’re on the island. I am not only your driver, but also your yoga buddy.”
Alex was built, with a shaved head and a tattoo of a dragon scrolled up around his neck. He was hot in his own way, a mysterious man with a nice body.
The elevator came to a jolted halt, and the door strained to open. My eyes met those of the mysterious man standing next to me, and we both waited for the doors to open. We quickly walked into each other as we hurried through the elevator doors, which caused me to lose my balance and almost fall on my ass.
“Sorry, ladies first,” he said in a deep voice, holding the doors back to allow me to exit as the elevator dinged again.
He examined the signs with numbers and arrows. “This way,” he said as he turned toward the left, me in tow, and we headed toward our room, which happened to be at the end of the hall. I was tired and frustrated, and my feet hurt from the thigh-high, five-inch black leather boots I had on.Bad choice,I thought as I opened the door to yet another musty-smelling hotel room. I immediately plopped down on the bed and said a silent thank you to God for the expensive mattress the hotel had chosen.
He cleared his throat, intruding into my thoughts. “I’m going to leave your bags here.”
“Fine,” I said to the empty room. He was gone quicker than I could sit up and speak.
I jumped in the shower, which felt amazing, and I gave more thanks to God for the water pressure as the water ran down my sore body.
I knew I had abused my body with drugs. During my detox back home, I’d learned a lot about the strength I did and did not have, and by day three, I thought I was going to die. However, the doctors and staff assured me that I was not going to die after all, not even close. I did, however, have a long road to recovery ahead.
I washed my hair, inhaling the scent of lavender, peppermint, and vanilla, as the suds and scent momentarily washed away the day's stress.
My hair was wrapped in a towel. I wore a pair of black joggers with one of my favorite gray, white, and black Nantucket hoodies. I answered the phone beside the bed. “Hello,” I said with a yawn.
“I hear you’re settled for the night?”
“Yes, Victoria. Thank you, I’m all good. Just out of the shower and getting ready to crawl into bed and crash.”
Taking the towel off my head, I shook it to loosen up my damp hair. It cascaded halfway down my back in clumpy curls.
“Don’t forget to eat! You’re going to need your strength,” she said and took a deep breath. I imagined her tapping her pen on her desk or pacing with a drink. It then dawned on me that I hadn’t eaten since last night, almost 24 hours ago.Shit.I supposed I should eat, even if I wasn’t hungry.
“Okay, I will.”
“I sent Alex out to get you something. He should be back any minute now, by my calculations.”
Sure enough, there was a knock on the door. I laughed at my over-controlling, micromanaging agent and said goodbye.
“Come in,” I yelled as I headed towards the bathroom to run a comb through my hair.
“You shouldn’t leave your door unlocked or tell strangers to come in!” Within a microsecond, Alex had his large hand around my throat, backing me up face-first into the glass of the shower door; I was pinned before he even spoke a word.
