Bella
I've been living off a steady diet of sangria and buffet food for the last three days since arriving at the resort in Turks and Caicos. I'm not much of a drinker usually, but I figured this was as good a time as any. They offered me a cocktail as soon as the shuttle dropped me off at the lobby, and I haven't really stopped. There's a waiter passing by, and I stop him to ask for a bottle of water. He nods and walks away with my half-drunk wine.
I need to clear my head.
Sitting in the shade on a pool lounger people watching, I realize I need to make some plans for the rest of my time here on the island. I have 12 more days, and there's plenty to do; I don't want to do nothing the entire time. The waiter returns with the water and a sympathetic smile. I'm certain all of the staff here knows what happened.
It seems crazy since there must be over a thousand people working here, but I keep getting these sad smiles and everyone asking if I'm all right, and not in an "am I enjoying myself" kind of way. I'm leafing through an activity brochure when a dark shadow looms over me.
"Is this lounge taken?" The man's face is cast in shadow, but I can tell he's taller than six feet, even with his slumped shoulders.
"Be my guest." He lays out his towel and settles in as a waiter comes by to take his drink order, and I get back to the brochure.
"I'll just have a beer, thanks." He sighs deeply, like he's exhausted.
I glance over to see him leaning back with his eyes closed. His cheeks are pink, and his hair is unruly. I can't tell what color it is, and when the waiter comes back, the man catches me staring at him.
"What? Is there something on my face?"
I laugh. "No, sorry. I can't figure out what color your hair is." I wave myself off. "Sorry. Enjoy your beer."
He's quiet for a few minutes. "I guess it's auburn. My mother's hair is like a dark brown; it's a really rich color. My dad's hair is bright blond. I ended up with this. It's not brown, and it's not red."
I look over at him again as he shrugs, taking a sip from his beer. "Have you been trying to figure out how to word that this whole time?"
"This is the most adult conversation I've had in the last two days. I'm here for a huge family vacation, and I'm already over it." He angles toward me slightly.
I smile gently. "I'm sure your wife and kids would be thrilled to hear that." I pull my sunglasses down to give him a pointed look.
"I wouldn't bring my wife to a beautiful island like this with our kids in tow. I'm not married, and I don't have kids; I'm the sad middle child who hasn't married or had any kids yet. Mom and Dad are celebrating their fortieth wedding anniversary and planned this trip for everyone," he explains as I angle toward him, listening raptly.
"Do you think that makes me sound like an asshole? I love my family, but being stuck on an island, even a beautiful tropical island, isn't my idea of a good time. Individually, they're all great, and I enjoy holidays when we're all together, but this …" He huffs out a breath, running a hand through his hair, and I laugh.
"I don't know you from Adam, but I'd say it might be a reasonable response." I sit up, swinging my legs over the side of the lounger and adjusting my shorts. "Do you love your family? Don't answer that; you must. You came on this trip after all. Have you been pulled in every direction by your nieces and nephews? Are you the favorite uncle?"
He smiles broadly. "I think I might be. I have two nephews and three nieces, and they've run me ragged the last two days. To be fair, they ran my parents ragged too while we gave their parents a break, but yes, I love my family."
"Then enjoy your respite at the adults-only pool and relax. Your family obviously loves you, and you're lucky to be here with them." I stand up, stretch a little, and smile. "It was nice talking to you." I begin to walk away when he calls out to me.
"Hey! I didn't catch your name." He flashes me a dazzling smile, and my gut flips a little.
"It's Bella."
"I'm Edward. See ya around."
"So, what have you done so far?" Lauren's voice is tinny, but she's smiling from my iPad screen as I sit on my tiny terrace overlooking the beach.
"Nothing really. I've eaten a lot and drunk like ten gallons of sangria." I sigh out a laugh. "I have a massage tomorrow afternoon, but I'm going to try jet skiing in the morning. How's everything going?"
She winces a little. "Things are fine. I got the locks changed at your place and had the garage reset. Your car is all set up; Mike did that."
"Thanks, and tell Mike I said thank you." She's not telling me something; I can tell. "What else?"
"I don't want to spoil your trip." She shakes her head slowly.
"You don't want to ruin my solo honeymoon? Lauren, what's going on? Did something happen with Mom and Dad? Did Garrett turn up?" I lean forward, eyeing my sister's face through the screen.
"Okay, number one—and I want it known that I told Rose and Alice not to do it, but you know they never listen to me—they set up a GoFundMe for you to try to recoup some of the money and hopefully pay back the loan sooner." Lauren rolls her eyes, but mine fill with tears. "And Garrett finally spoke to Mike."
"Okay," I drag the word out, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
"I don't know the whole conversation, but he doesn't want to talk to you. I'm sorry." My sister waits for me to respond, but I just sit back and stare at her for a long moment. "Bells?"
"Okay."
"Okay? Bella, I know that neither of us are much for confrontation, but what the hell? Aren't you mad or hurt or something?" Lauren is gawking at me like I've grown a second head.
"Oh, I'm furious, and I'm beyond hurt, but what am I supposed to do? I'm not going to chase after someone who obviously doesn't want me." It's pathetic to be left at the altar, but isn't it more pathetic to pine after someone who isn't interested? If Garrett fell out of love with me or realized this wasn't the life he wanted, then he can just stay gone.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, it sucks. I hate it, but it's nice here. The kids aren't too loud, and there really aren't that many couples. I even talked to a guy by the pool today." I laugh lightly.
"A guy? Bella, what's going on?" Lauren is my older sister and has always looked out for me.
"He was just a guy who sat next to me at the adult-only pool. He was escaping from his large family vacation. Look, I love you and thank you for everything. I'm going to take a nap before dinner." I give her a little wave and she says "bye" before I end our Zoom call.
I send a quick message to both Rose and Alice, giving them grief for the GoFundMe. That's not the kind of attention I want in my life. When I'm done, I curl up on the chaise and take a quick nap in the sun.
I wake up about an hour later, feeling so relaxed that I consider skipping dinner and just going down to one of the quick places to get some snacks and fruit to bring up to my room but decide that I really want to be around people. I change into some more appropriate clothes than my cutoffs and bikini top and make my way down to one of the nicer but still casual eateries.
Most of the casual places at the resort are buffets, and I love it. I'm trying so many new dishes and things that are just not a part of my normal cuisine. I've found plenty of things that are familiar, and that's perfect too. When I arrive at the restaurant, the host informs me that a large party has been seated just ahead of me, and if I want to wait, I can be seated away from them, or I can join them on the patio.
"I didn't realize the seating was family style," I say nervously.
"Oh, it's not, but we're only seating a limited number of people on the patio now because of the group." The host looks to me as I try to figure out the best course for the evening. Honestly, the noise will probably keep me company. I'm happy to be here on my own, and I brought a book, but even three days in, I can admit I'm feeling a little lonely.
"I don't mind sitting out there with them. Thanks!" The host leads me to my table with a smile, and when I sit down, I only see a few people sitting at a large set up of tables pushed together.
After ordering something to drink, I make my way inside and start moving through the various stations. It isn't until I'm mulling over some seafood dishes that I realize who the large party must be when I hear my name. "Bella, right?"
"Edward. How are you?" I smile and try to recover when my mouth goes slack-jawed at the mountain of popcorn shrimp on his plate.
"Good. Dinner with the family tonight. How about you? Are you here with friends or something?" He's smiling at me as a freckled-faced little girl runs up to him, grinning.
"Uncle Edward, Mom says I need an adult to walk with me through the restaurant. Can you help me?" She's looking up at him with big puppy dog eyes, and I watch as his resolve slowly crumbles.
"Sure, Carmen. I'll stay with you." His head whips back up to me. "Good to see you."
"You too." I give her a little wave as she drags him off, probably to find ice cream, and head back to my table. I'm a little way away from Edward's family, but their voices carry, and I enjoy hearing them interact with each other.
I'm deciding on how many of the tiny desserts I can possibly fit on one plate when the same little girl, Carmen, runs over to my table. "Uncle Edward was talking to you before. Are you by yourself?"
"Um, yes, I am. Do your parents know you're over here?" I look over to the group where so many people are talking over each other I have to wonder how anyone is hearing anything.
"MOM! I'm talking to this lady!" Carmen lets out an ear-piercing yell, and everyone stops to look over at us. I freeze as a woman stands up and walks over to my table quickly.
"Carmen!" she admonishes her daughter. "I'm so sorry. She's outgoing. I'm sorry if she was bothering you."
I laugh, waving off her apology. "Not at all. We barely got to talk to each other. I was talking to your brother earlier. Edward? I think she was just curious."
"Are you Becca?" She smiles gently, smoothing a hand down Carmen's hair.
"Bella and yes; it's nice to meet you?" I trail off, waiting for her to introduce herself.
"I'm sorry. Jessica. I'm Jessica, Edward's older sister. He mentioned meeting you when he snuck off earlier today." She covers her daughter's ears lightly. "He gets a little anxious with all of us around."
Smirking, I tap my nose. "I get it. You guys have quite the entourage too. Is Carmen your only? I heard there were multiple kids?"
Jessica shakes her head, gesturing to the empty chair across from me before sitting down. "No, but she's the oldest by about four years. Carmen is eleven, her brothers are the twins over there; they just turned seven. Their cousins, the redhead over there"—she points to a girl sitting on an older blond man's lap—"and the dark haired one"—a little girl with droopy eyes in another woman's arms—"they're three and half and five. So, Carmen is feeling a little lost."
I nod sympathetically. "I have a sister, but she's only two years older than me. It's rough with a bunch of younger kids around, huh?" I look over at Carmen, who nods a little. Looking back to Jessica, I smile. "Carmen is more than welcome to visit while you all are still out here. I was just going to get some dessert."
"Can I go too?" Carmen looks between me and her mother. I would completely understand if Jessica said no. I'm a total stranger, taking her daughter out of her line of sight, even if we are in a restaurant on an island with no means of easy escape.
Jessica hesitates for more than a moment, so I jump in. "Why don't you go ask your Uncle Edward to join us? We're old friends."
Carmen jumps up and runs over to their large table. Jessica smiles at me. "Thank you. I didn't want to say no to her but—"
"I wouldn't have judged you either way. She seems really sweet, and I can't imagine how hard it is to be here in paradise and still be on mom duty." I watch as Jessica's shoulders loosen a little.
"Thank you again. Who are you here with? Friends? Your own family?" She's smiling with curious eyes just as Carmen and Edward appear at my table.
"Uncle Edward said he could carry two plates full of dessert!" Carmen giggles, and I laugh.
"Sounds like we're in for a treat then." I stand up, and my gut does a little flip when she reaches out for my hand and pulls me into the restaurant with Edward trailing behind us.