Chapter 2                   Tracy

 I tried many times but Karen wouldn’t return my calls. I really felt badly so I cancelled the reservations for sailing. After a couple of weeks I decided to go anyway and Aruba was my consolation prize. I thought it would be different and not remind me of lost love. It was a long, lonely flight before I reached the hotel and checked into a large comfortable room.

            My balcony looked over the Caribbean Sea where a full moon floated like a giant golden balloon. It seemed to be smiling as if to say everything would be fine. I felt better, filled my glass and gazed on the moonlight sparkling in the waves splashing the beach beyond the trees. Music drifted in the fragrant air from the outdoor bar on the ground floor below and couples strolled along the Malecon.

            Why I thought of my daughter, Carol, I don’t know. I’m sure she was enjoying her newly married life but then I thought of another girl, one of whom we didn’t speak. Carol didn’t know she had a sister and I was sure she would be very upset if she found out. She’d probably never speak to me again. It’s amazing how fear can distort your thinking and make you do things that are not in your best interest. It certainly had done that to me but Karen had saved me. She knew my secret and gave me the love I needed to bury my demons. I know now how she felt about me, why didn’t I get it then?

            I stood and stared at the sea until the rum and fatigue pulled me to the bed where my questions drifted into the blackness.

            The sun burst into my room like a blast furnace. I had not drawn the drapes when I collapsed into the bed and was wakened early. I could have stayed longer but what was the use. The idea of chartering a boat and diving on some of the wrecks on the south side of the island removed all thoughts of sleep. A voice reminded me that you couldn’t do it lying in bed so I was up and soon in the breakfast lounge. It was there that I first glimpsed Tracy, her long blonde hair, green eyes and a smile that warmed the sun. A beach jacket and a barely concealed halter-top supporting a pair of the most gorgeous mounds were next. Maybe the order was reversed but red, orange and turquoise colours seemed to say “look at me, I’m gorgeous”. It said it to me anyway and as I glanced her way chewing a fruit cocktail a man came to her table with toast and coffee. He didn’t look like a waiter or the type that should be with a beautiful woman like her. Our eyes met during one of my glances and she smiled. I was flustered and grinned in return. It was a schoolboy reaction to the pretty girl in the second row and I felt stupid. I forced myself not to glance at her again.

            After breakfast I went out through the lobby and she was standing in the front with the man. I had to pass directly by and said a meek “hi” as I passed. She returned the hi and said, “Jerry and I are going into Oranjestad to visit the casino. Would you like to share a cab?”

            I thought for about sixty milliseconds. “Yes, I’d love too. I’m Hilton Christopher.”

            “Pleased to meet you, Hilton, I’m Tracy Barrett and this is Jerry.”

            “Hi.” Jerry was a big man with an ugly pocked face.

            Waiting for the cab I learned we had arrived on the same flight from Miami. She had noticed me but how could I have missed her? I decided it was because I was tired and depressed but today was to be much different.

            The cab was small and sitting so close made my blood pressure rise. Her perfume was Albert Sung and very seductive. Surprisingly, after travelling only few blocks sitting beside Tracy I felt as if we were intended to be together. She seemed equally as comfortable and wore the look that only a woman who is happy in the moment can. I’ve only ever seen it a few times, usually in photographs.

            “Do you like to gamble, Hilton?” she asked as we pulled into the casino.

            “I sometimes take clients to the racetrack but I don’t get much of a charge out of the slots or tables. I like more active diversions.”

            “Oh, what might they be then?” I thought the question was rhetorical and didn’t answer as we entered the casino and the rush of bells and the chugging sound of the slot machines overwhelmed my ears and sensibilities. It was a gorgeous room with expensive fixtures and a sweeping staircase leading to the tables where croupiers waited for early customers. We went up the stairs and she found a Black Jack table.

            “I’ll play here,” she said authoritatively. Jerry frowned and went to buy chips. “Do you want to play?”

            “No, not now but would you like a drink? I’ll go to the bar.”

            It was still early but we were on vacation so I brought her a screwdriver with beer for Jerry and one for me. She played skillfully and was ahead when I felt the need for some sunshine. I took my leave and invited her to join me in the hotel lobby later for lunch. She agreed and played a split hand beating the dealer’s nineteen both times.

            It was good to get out into the sun. I walked to the marina and envied the fleet of beautiful boats tied to the rows of docks. Many of them were huge and represented wealth beyond my imagining. It didn’t seem fair that some people could have so much but there was no sense worrying about it. A poster advertised cruises and diving trips drew me to their office determined to get on the water as soon as possible.

            She was waiting when I returned to the hotel for lunch. “I was worried about you, Hilton Christopher,” she said as I came through the door. She was alone; Jerry was nowhere to be seen. “Don’t worry about him. He’s got business to look after. We can have lunch, if you like.”

            I liked and we went to the garden restaurant. She took my hand as if we were already a couple; her skin felt smooth and soft. I think it was the only thing that was soft at that moment. “How did you do at the table?” I asked as I helped her into a chair.

            “My luck went with you. I lost my stake and we left. I hoped I might find you. Where did you go?”

            I told her about the sailing and diving activities on the island. I described my walk about through the Schooner Market and a visit to the museum at Fort Zoutman. She seemed interested but the waiter interrupted to take our order before she could comment.

            “When do we go diving?” she said as soon as the waiter left. I was surprised by the question. “Don’t frown, Hilton. I have an Open Water Certification.”

            “You are a lady of many surprises. Why not tonight? There’s a trip to the wall leaving at seven sharp.” A stated time means almost anything in the Caribbean but it didn’t matter to us at the moment.

            We had four glorious days of diving, sailing, touring, fishing and romance. One particularly lovely evening we watched the sunset and enjoyed a candle light dinner under the stars on a beautiful catamaran. She told me that she and Jerry worked for the same organization. She didn’t like him but he was useful. I didn’t like him either.

            “Don’t worry about Jerry, dear,” she whispered in my ear as we danced on deck. “You’re the man I need.” She rubbed her hips against mine and bit my ear tenderly. I was on top of the world.

            Mourning doves cooed outside the screened window. The tropical sun blazed red over the blue Caribbean Sea and streamed into the room through cracks in the blinds. A warm ray fell on my face and I opened my eyes to the golden glow of her hair on the white pillow snuggled tightly beside me. I gazed at her delicate features feeling her body warm against mine. I kissed her cheek. Her eyes opened and she smiled. “Hi, Hilton, do you love me?”

            “I love you.”  I kissed her mouth and then her breasts. She squirmed and said something like “not now” but I persisted and soon tasted all of her body. Enveloped in early morning musk, she opened herself to my every touch and movement without restraint or reservation giving her body completely to my care. We drifted on a hazy white sea alone in a world of bronze skin and warm tongues, a dream that would have gone on forever if the damn phone hadn’t rung.

            She picked it up. “It’s for you.” Oh, shit, what now, I thought.

            “Hello, Hilton, I’m glad I found you.” It was Mike Carron, my plant manager at home.

            “Mike, what’s up?”

            “Sorry to bother you boss. It’s the sensor assembly contract. They’re putting us on one hundred percent inspection and doing a recall at our expense.”

            “What’s the problem?”

            “The capacitor we call C2 fails sometimes.”

            “That’s the one were getting from China now, isn’t it?”

            “Ya, part of the cost reduction program.”

            “Have we any of the original capacitors left?”

            “There are a few thousand and we can get more from your old supplier. I want you to give me the go ahead on that.”

            “Yes, do it right away, tell the customer what we are doing and send Jenny Chong to China to find out what’s happening over there. I’m stuck here for a few more days.”

            I hung up and turned to Tracy. “Stuck here, is that what this is?”

            Oops, I had used the wrong words. Thinking quickly I said, “Come here, baby, I’ll show you what stuck here really means.” She forgave me by about mid morning.

            We had an early brunch in the outdoor restaurant. Red and yellow hibiscus bushes sheltered the tiny birds and parrots that flitted among the branches. Warm sunlight filtered through the Royal Palms standing high overhead and I felt very happy although the possibility of a financial disaster took away from the pleasure of the moment. Tracy looked so beautiful in this tropical garden that I hated the thought of ever leaving.

            “You are worried, aren’t you dear?”

            I nodded. “I really should go home and see what I can do to straighten out the problem. Mike is good but he needs my authority when talking to the customer.”

            She looked disappointed for a moment but brightened up.

            “I have an idea. We’ll go skiing after you settle things in Toronto. I’ll take you to my home in Aspen. Its beautiful and you’ll love it there.”

            Tracy’s ability to surprise was her greatest charm and the thing that finally destroyed her. Thinking back I should have realized that only special people make snap decisions, such people are very unpredictable. Indeed, I surprised myself for I’d never before brought home a vacation romance. This would be something new and who could have guessed the outcome.

            We were on a flight the next day. I was with her when she told Jerry we were leaving together. He was furious and must have followed us to the airport because as we passed through security I looked back to see him talking on his cell watching. His face was twisted in rage, an image that burned into my brain. It is still there.

Chapter 3

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