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There
was a whole afternoon ahead so going to downtown Basseterre
sounded like some fun. It was warm that's for sure, about
90 degrees but that breeze was like a natural air conditioner.
Locals offered directions to the circus, a duty free mall
where I picked up some nic nacs with a nautical theme. There
were a lot of locals liming about many wearing strange combinations
of clothing. A stream of traffic was also strolling in from
the cruise ship at the end of Port Zante so the place was
getting a little crowded. I decided to head down Fort street
to the museum to see a little of the culture they managed
to capture. The Caribbean accent on color was interesting
and there were numerous 18th century Georgian style buildings
and gingerbread houses dotted about. I could see the big
fort up in the distance, so what the heck, it probably has
a good view of the island.
A couple
of green velvet monkeys were watching me from the trees
but they didn't seem inclined to move at all. Deep inside
a scruffy patch of bamboo grass, a purple-throated humming
bird buzzed an unusually large red flower and Mount Liamuiga
the old dormant volcano, loomed in the distance. I wish
I could paint because the color and wildlife was something
Robert Bateman would have paid for.
Main
Road was long and I was going to walk the whole way until
a fellow driving by offered a lift. He was headed to the
Brimstone Hill Fortress too. We walked about the refurbished
fortress viewing the remains of battles of Frenchman and
Englishman from centuries passed. The guide there spoke
of lengthy battles with frigate ships offshore and almost
a century of repairing before the big battle of 1782. A
rich history that included marauding pirates and slavery
and an extravagance enjoyed by the very wealthy in Nevis,
the other island, in the late 19th century. High up on the
fort walls, there were some great views of neighboring Nevis,
St. Martins, Antigua. Walking the whole way back was just
the exercise I needed, but what a relief it was to get out
of the blazing afternoon sun.
The
cool, evening Caribbean breeze sweeping the open-air restaurant
at the resort made everyone's meal that much better. I had
a very palatable blue marlin dinner finished with a taste
known only to St Kittitians, and I tipped the waitress generously
for a fine meal. A face flashed out of the corner of my
eye but when I looked there was just a bunch of people milling
about. Maybe that landing rattled me after all. Better go
light on the alcohol tonight.
Eternal
flames burning like fire, come to me, can't you feel my
desire.
The
casino bar at the Jack Tar Village was full, unusual for
a casino bar. A few people danced to the beat of fast calypso
music. The tropical heat was still intense so you should
stay hydrated, at least that's what the sign above the bar
said. I could see Jake playing at the blackjack tables and
he was laughing so he must be getting an edge on the house.
If not, he must have found some women to take note of.
"Paul, come on in and get in on the next game here."
He shot out amid a row of smiling faces.
"Okay." I gave the dealer a twenty. It was a five-dollar
table thankfully.
"Hey, everybody, this is the bronc rider I told you
about." He said to the others. "Paul, this is
Samantha, Samuel and Juanita." They all said hi while
examining my facial wounds.
The
dealer quietly awaited our bets. Everyone was conservative
with $10 bets to make the evening last. Jake decided to
split his tens and I decided I'd wisely stand on an eight
and a king. The others had hands pretty close to 21 so they
must have been pretty content.
Dealer
busted and I won. What a wonderful game. Too bad there wasn't
a progressive jackpot. Jake wasn't having much luck with
his old man's system, but he kept on trying. Despite an
interested look from Juanita, I decided to get up and walk
around, see the rest of the casino and the people here.
There
were voices from around the globe all together like a family
gathering of sorts. The casino was nicely furnished and
put a lot of the casinos in the US to shame. The Baccarat
table looked like the place to be so I joined in. James
Bond territory, but the minimum was low. I wondered about
people who play a game no one else knows about. A pretty
woman sat down beside me, well dressed and reasonably sure
of some sort of positive outcome.
Her
dress sure made a quick impression. It was an elegant beige,
brown satiny see through that wrapped her beautiful figure
all too closely. Her face was the last thing I saw.
"Hello"
"…Hello" It was her. My mind went blank but
I managed to blurt out "How have you been." Her
eyes still sparkled yet they now had a knowing calmness
and sincerity I could understand. "Okay. I can't believe
you're here. Are you living here?"
"Yes, I came back and have lived in Basseterre for
years. I like the weather and atmosphere and it's a nice
gentle place." She avoided my eyes now. "Are you
visiting?"
"Ya, I'm here for a week and it's especially nice to
see you again." I said with a desperate casualness.
"It's nice to see you too." She said.
"Do you play Baccarat?" I wondered about her involvement
in an expensive casino game.
"Yes, it's an elegant game and the rules are straightforward
and I don't have to think too hard. I can have fun and enjoy
the moment."
I looked back to the table, remembering those types of moments.
"Would you like to go out for some fresh air."
I said awkwardly.
"Yes, that would be lovely."
Twinkling lights shone up off the water from boats on the
bay and the stars of the dark night sky filled the view
as we walked outside the building. She was as attractive
as ever and her walk was natural and unaffected.
"It's been so long."
"Yes, and you're as lovely as you were then."
She walked away down the veranda. I think I pushed too far
and tried to bring the situation back into balance. "I'm
sorry, it's just nice to see you after all these years."
Those last three words were a lousy choice.
There were tears in her eyes. "It was a wonderful time
we had then. If I'd only known how good it was. I think
I would have tried to get in touch with you. I actually
tried, but I couldn't find you."
"Well, I'm sorry you didn't because I've always wondered.
I thought it was just a fling and that you wanted to get
on with your life."
"You were right, I did. I'm sorry for the melodrama,
I guess life on this little island isn't as grand as where
you live."
I laughed, "Grand. Well, they try to tell us it is,
but it leaves a lot to desire."
"What sort of work do you do?" She asked to break
the stream.
"I'm in marketing. I sell the latest video game consoles
to distributors across the US, so they can give them to
teenagers to act out horrible, violent scenes…And then
I go home."
"Video games. Isn't there something redeeming about
them."
"Yes, there is good software programs available complete
with pleasant outcomes, but not top sellers. Who knows where
it's all going. Maybe we'll all take virtual trips to everywhere
instead of travelling."
She tilted her head, "That would be a shame. Would
you like to come over to my place? I don't live far from
here"
"Sure, that'd be nice."
It was a short walk of ten minutes till we arrived at this
dirt road that lead up a hill. A dog barked behind a rickety,
leaning fence lined with scruffy bushes. The road was pitted
so you had to be careful of your footing. Her bungalow was
the fourth up. It was warm inside, but the room was warm
with life too when she turned the light on. Numerous paintings
with deep, bright pastel hues hung on the wall and sat on
the floor leaning against the wall. Some of them had portraits
and beautiful beach scenes done in watercolor. I strode
over to one of the oil paintings, of a particularly beautiful
beach scene with a couple in a passionate embrace. "Did
you paint all these pictures?"
"Yes, I sell them to the tourists in my shop downtown.
I've never been able to part with a few of them though."
She was busy in the kitchen.
Over
on the wall shelf, a magnificent piece of wood sculpture
sat. It was of a professionally finished, deep reddish mahogany
fashioned into a detailed and expressive figure of two lovers
embracing, then melting upward into flames. An exquisite
piece of art that would catch all visitor's attention. At
the base, a golden, embossed plate read,
Eternal
flames, burning like fire, come to me, can't you feel my
desire
The silence of eternity holds me till the sun and waves
return to our shore
Let time bring us together and the Sun light our love forever
more
I turned
to the Conk shell beside it.
"Hey, I think I recognize this." I said trying
to steady my hands.
"Do you remember when we found that?"
"Yes, it was almost like it crawled up out of the water
to meet us. Like the sea god sent it to us express."
I smiled at her.
She came closer. "Yes, Zeus must have known something."
I put the shell back on the shelf and turned to run my fingers
through her hair and we kissed just as we did all those
years ago. Senses came alive that evening and eternity was
truly still.
The
early morning light blazed through the curtains again and
woke me. I reached over to the other side of the bed but
she wasn't there. There was a note on the dresser that said,
Do you remember the Beach?
I cleaned
up a bit, put my stuff on and headed down to that beach,
the site of my biggest highs and lows on this island. Cool,
clean ocean winds drifted up off of Frigate Bay carrying
the taste of salty ocean air and the scent of Jasmine. The
birds were the only thing moving, absorbed with their feeding
amid the morning dew. She stood alone on the beach waiting.
Before I could embrace her, she ran down the shoreline and
I wasn't sure I could catch her this time. I did though
and we had a great time rolling in the surf.
We met
Jake downtown and he commented that if I could rustle her
up, I might just really be a cowboy. We had dinner one evening
with Jake and his new female friend and we enjoyed some
genuine tall stories from Texas, which entertained us both.
It was a great.
I was
feeling pretty emotional at the airport on that unnerving
final day, but I felt as good as I ever had in my entire
life. The plane moved slowly, taxiing down toward the runway.
Jake leaned out the small window and we both waved goodbye
to him.
I'll
never forget that guy. He invited us to visit Dallas some
day and we will go. But not for a while, I'm too comfortable
right now in St. Kitts to be travelling anywhere. I was
heading down to the beach with Sara to go para sailing,
this time with a helmet on.
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