Fifteen years agoCharlotte and I strolled back home from Westlake High, bantering about our day at school. It was her birthday, and everyone at school had left her confectionery and sweet letters in her locker in celebration. I had not given her her gift yet as I set it to be a surprise, pretending as I had forgotten it. She did not seem concerned about it, and if she did, she was camouflaging it with the happiness she felt.“Think you could share that bar with me?” I asked her as she unwrapped a bar of dark chocolate. She looked at me sternly, totally ignoring my plea and biting into it. “Ouch!” I feigned pain. She had every reason to be upset with me as best friends did not forget each other’s special day, but I had her gift planned, and telling her about it would spoil the surprise.“What, Lucas?” she asked with an angry tone laced in her voice.“I have never thought of you as a selfish being. Why would you have the entire chocolate while I have no sweet thing in my mouth? That’s
Lucas and I woke up in my bed every morning for the next three days. We had already packed our bags for the Bahamas, and we were ready to travel for a short staycation before going back to Atlanta. I had taken a small leave from work as I did not desire working when a beach was all I could think about.“Good morning, sunshine,” Lucas groaned as he wrapped me in his arms. I ran my finger over his hair, brushing away the strands of hair that fell on his eyes.“Good morning, my love. Slept well?” I asked him.“Not really,” he said sternly. “You wouldn’t let me hold onto you the entire night. Don’t you love me as much as you claim to, Charlotte Manning?”I laughed loudly. He was unbelievable!“Baby, I make unconscious moves when asleep, just like every other human does. That should not be a measure of how much I love you. That’s just a poor test!”“Mmh, I don’t know,” Lucas joked. We chuckled in harmony. I kissed him on his lips and withdrew as I got out of bed despite his loud groans.“C
The weather was warm and welcoming. One could easily smell the beach from the Nassau Lynden Pindling International Airport. A crowd of people was screaming and out of the airport, possibly here for the same reason as Lucas and Charlotte – a beautiful sandy getaway.Jacque had already arranged for their pickup from the airport which was a thirty-minute drive to the ship harbor that would offer a boat to sail them to Lucas’s private island. He had purchased the island recently just for Charlotte, but he had not mentioned the details of their trip to her.“I already love it. It’s beautiful here,” Charlotte said as she watched the palm trees sway from side to side, dancing to their welcome.“If you want, you can actually live here forever,” Lucas spoke casually. His left hand was holding Charlotte’s while his right hand held onto his phone which had most of his attention. He was on the phone with the staff at the island, confirming that everything was fine, despite Jacque’s reassurance. H
Five years ago“When are you settling down, Lucas?” Aunt May asked me for the umpteenth time as she walked around my mansion. She opened every door that was built inside and peeped in every crevice, clearly on a mission to find something that would deter her from ever stepping foot in my house again. But Jacque had ensured every tile in this house was sparkling clean of my sins and crimes. I was Aunt May’s good old boy.“Aunt May,” I cried out as I followed her steps carefully. “I will settle down when I need to settle down. Right now, my head is just in a different space.” I defended myself. Barely did Aunt May ever fail to remind me just how alone I am. Whenever she visited me in New York, she would exaggerate the size of the mansion and how no number of staff would ever be enough to fill the void inside my heart. I knew all that, I just did not wish to remember.“Mmh,” she scoffed quietly as we entered my room. “I am not saying that you need to find a wife and tie the knot immediat
“You have arrived at your destination, sir, and ma’am,” the captain alerted us as soon as the ship came to a standstill. I looked around in amazement, feeling elated about the next few days that would free my mind from the noisy buzz of the cities.The island that Lucas owned was enormous, the green area extending to form an almost complete circle of land. Most of the land bore large trees with sparse palm trees lining the edges of the island. On one end of the island, a wide villa stood strong and independent, overlooking the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean.Lucas alighted first as he bid the captain goodbye. I accepted his help alighting the ship and walked beside him, enjoying the feel of the warm sand in between my toes. The villa had a design similar to ancient Roman architecture, and the road leading to the entryway was paved with white crystals of sand and decorated with shells. Flowers blossomed around most of the trees, coloring the earth with their petals.I was unsure o
The dolphin scare from a while back had seemed like the perfect escape sent from above to run away from the anxiety that was quickly crawling up my skin. I knew deep down from the first moment I had laid my eyes on Charlotte that I wanted her to be with me until we were old and ugly, but the thought of saying the right words in the right way at the right time seemed to be choking me. Unlike the wish I had to get swallowed by a Caribbean reef shark before I messed things up, all we got is an adorable dolphin to welcome us to the island.I had planned what seemed like the perfect engagement ceremony for Charlotte, something I hoped she would appreciate. I had received help from our families and friends, and out of all of us, Jacque had done the most in ensuring all the people were in the right places at the right time.Jacque had contacted the best chef in George Town who happened to be his friend from culinary school in France and had him prepare exotic dishes for us to use while at th
“Bitch!” I shouted at Rita when I entered the room she had chosen for the staycation at George Town. “You couldn’t give me a heads up that you were coming to the States?” I asked, my surprised voice laced with immense enthusiasm and a bunch of indescribable emotions.“Okay, first of all, honey, surprises don’t work that way. If I had told you about me coming back, I am pretty sure you would have connected the dots pretty fast, you and your incredibly smart brain cells,” she said as she hooked her swimwear on the cloth hangers.“And secondly, Lucas bribed us all with first-class seats and the joy of zucchini tart and fine whiskey made me forget to contact you. I am sorry boo, but have you slept in the Emirates’ silk pajamas? You will never dream of reaching home,” Rita said, her eyes lighting up as though she was reliving the moment once again.“So much for nothing will ever keep us apart,” I said sarcastically as I helped her arrange her skin care products in the bathroom.“Babe! Don’
“How do you feel now, soon-to-be Mrs. Benjamin?” Lucas asked Charlotte as they walked down the coastline towards the other end of the island. Their hands remained interlocked throughout the entire walk, and they barely stayed two feet away from each other.“Well, Mr. Benjamin, I already love it here,” Charlotte responded with an enthusiastic tone. “This must be the first surprise I am actually in love with.”“Yeah, Jenny warned me severally,” Lucas said with a chuckle. “Well, you have always been the woman my heart is in love with, so I had to make everything perfect for you. I will always try to make everything perfect for you,” he added.Lucas pulled Charlotte closer so that his arm was on her shoulders. Charlotte snaked her arm around Lucas’s waist and they walked that way until the ocean calmed. Then they turned to go back home.“Where would you like to have our wedding?” Charlotte asked. She felt Lucas’s body stiffen in her touch as a light gasp escaped his lips.“Oh, wow! Well,