Vacation Plans

(Nerina’s P.O.V)

Present Day

“Can’t believe that we only have three days until our girl’s trip! Are y’all as excited as I am?” I screech out while on a Zoom “happy hour” with a few of my friends.

“I know! I’m so fucking excited! I cannot wait! Sun, drinks, and dicks!” Nikita sings out.

“Jesus Nikita, can you be any foul mouthed?” Cordelia laughs.

“She probably could, to be honest, considering she has to be all prim and proper for her gubernatorial duties.” I say, with a snort.

            Kita, as we sometimes call her, is not only the first female Governor of California, but also the youngest AND the first person of color to hold the office. She’s the group's Persian Princess, her long, thick black hair always perfectly styled, her deep brown eyes always highlighted with the perfect makeup, and her tawny-beige skin always has a subtle glow to it.

“Now shush your faces! I can easily kick your asses back into coach and enjoy the luxuries of first class all by myself.” Nikita threatens.

“Alright, alright, we’ll stop. I’m not missing my opportunity to fly in the lap of luxury.” Cordelia sighs in defeat.

            My smallish group of friends take a yearly girl’s trip with one another and this year we are heading to Bermuda to celebrate my 30^th birthday.

“Are you ready to be a part of the old lady club?” Cordelia laughs.

            She’s only 27 and is seriously a walking-talking-breathing Barbie doll with her blonde hair, blue eyes, big and perky tits, and an amazing figure. Bitch.

“Watch it whore, I will cut you if you call us old again.” I threaten, teasingly.

“Yeah, just because you’re one of the babies doesn’t mean you can be a bitch about it.” Nikita agrees.

“Well, if we are done making threats, we are catching the same connecting flight from Miami right, Nikita?” Cordelia asks.

“Yup! You, Nerina, and I are all on the same flight to Bermuda. We will be meeting Ashe and Anne there in Bermuda at the villa they have rented. In addition, before you ask Nerina, yes you are getting the master bedroom to yourself. Ashe has already worked out room assignments for the rest of us lowly peasants who are not celebrating a birthday.” Nikita sighs.

“Why thank you Princess, I appreciate the consideration and the sacrifice that you are making in order for me to spend my birthday in the lap of luxury.” I joke.

“Whatever.” Nikita says, rolling her eyes.

“Anyways, do we have any solid plans while we are there or are we basically going to be beach-bumming it the whole time?” Corie asks.

“Oh, we have a few things planned but other than that we are going to be beach-bumming it as you put it.” Kita laughs.

“Are we going to be privy to these plans or are they top secret?” I ask.

“Of course! We have a scavenger hunt planned and we have a few reservations at some swanky restaurant near the villa we are staying at. Also, we do have plans to visit a nightclub or two while we are there.” Kita replies.

“Woohoo!! Paaaaaaaaarty!” Corie yells out.

            We continue our Zoom happy hour talking about random things going on in our lives and about the trip, when I get a text from my mother that she found out some interesting familial history. She’s a serious history and genealogy buff, particularly about her side of the family.

“Alright ladies, I need to call Mama Char. I’ll see you guys in a few days!” I squeal out.

“Bye Ne!” They reply together before hanging up.

            I close my laptop and grab out the notes I’ve been taking for her during these phone calls about her side of the family. So far, we know that Charlotte and William are family names, and that a tradition of our family was that we name the first-born son William. Why? We have no idea. My brother whose name is, you guessed it, William, has always been curious as to why his name was handed to him with no thought put into it. I FaceTime my mom, and she picks up on the second ring.

“Hey mama, what is it you wanted to tell me?”

“Hello darling, I was able to trace the family all the way back to Bermuda!” She squeals.

“What!? You’re kidding!? Tell me where so that I can look for it while the girls and I are on vacation!” I say excitedly.

            She goes on to tell me that her name’s sake, my many great’s grandmother Charlotte LeBlanc, lived most of her life in Bermuda before she ended up pregnant. She sailed to the United States from Bermuda while pregnant and gave birth to fraternal twins, William and Lottie, shortly after her arrival. There was no information on William and Lottie’s father though I assume that William was their father’s name. Apparently, Charlotte was murdered when the twins were about sixteen while she was on her way home from work one evening.

“Can I just say that this whole naming the first-born son William has caused a cluster fuck when trying to figure out who is related to who and how they are related?” My mother quips.

“Mom! You just cursed!” I say as I clutch my fake pearls.

            Mom NEVER cusses and hates it when my brother and I do.

“Oh, please Ne, it’s not like you and Will never curse. Same goes for your father.” She snaps back.

            My father, Nick Onasis, came to the United States from Greece when he was sixteen with his family: all twelve brothers and sisters, parents, and his grandparents. He met my mom during their second year of college at USC where they both majored in architecture. Dad runs a successful construction firm that my mom co-owns with him. He originally wanted to name my brother Kristos but mother, following tradition, put the kibosh on that and named him William Kristos.

“Yeah, but we never hear you curse.” I point out.

“Well, there’s a first for everything, plus you’re almost thirty now so there’s no need for pretense.”

“Now, are you going to tell me where Charlotte was from in Bermuda or not?”

“Yes! She was from Hamilton, which is the capital of Bermuda.”

“Oh! That’s where we are going to be staying! Did she have any siblings or family that stayed in Bermuda?”

“That’s just it Ne, there’s no other information about any family for her. She was, allegedly, a prostitute at one of the taverns near the docks.”

“Oooooh, a saucy wench, was she?” I quip, while wiggling my eyebrows.

“Yes, that’s where you get it from.” Mom snaps back.

            Woah, did my mother just call me a whore?

“MOM! What’s that supposed to mean!?”

“You’re going to be thirty in a few days, and you aren’t married, don’t have a boyfriend and every time I come over there’s a new man leaving your house.”

“Mom, I’m an FBI agent. I don’t have time for that shit.” I practically yell out.

            This has been an on-going thing with my mother. I work for the FBI in their Behavioral Analysis Unit, working in crimes against children. I don’t have the time or inclination to date, so I literally just fuck around.

“I know dear, I’m just worried about you. William is settling down with Olivia and they are planning their wedding and I just want the same for you. That’s all.” She says, quietly.

            Ugh, I hate it when she lays on the guilt.

“Fine mom, you can set me up on a date when I get back from vacation.”

            I knew that’s what she was aiming at, and I already KNOW that she has someone waiting in the wings for me.

“Oh honey! Thank you! You will not regret it, I promise! Athan is a wonderful man; he works under your father at the firm.”

“Oh hooray, another misogynist male for me to shack up with.”

“Nerina Anthea Onasis! I swear on the Gods and Goddesses of your father that I will whoop your ass for that!”

“What!? All the men you set me up with from the firm are all pig-headed and say that WHEN we get married, I need to quit my job! They don’t say IF, they say WHEN, and we won’t even talk about their presumptuousness.”

“I’m hanging up now before this turns ugly. You, my daughter, will give Athan the benefit of the doubt here considering you’ve never met him before.” She states before hanging up.

            Oh, I cannot WAIT for this vacation.