Once Upon an Island

2

There’sno luck in the world.

None.

I roll my little fuchsia carry-on case behind me as I walk across the runway. I’m a little wobbly and slightly dizzy, but I swear that the two men standing by the small plane are Declan Fox and his friend Percy Oliver.

I turn to Kate and try not to stumble over my heels. “You said this was a girls’ trip.”

I notice it comes out sort of slurred. That’s because when I got to the airport I took one of my super-duper prescription-strength anti-anxiety, knock-you-out-cold pills that I only take when I dare step onto an airplane.

Kate gives a little wince. “I may have agreed to show some properties to Mr. Fox.”

“Nooooo,” I say.

I start to turn around and head back to the terminal, but Arya grabs my arm and swings me back around.

“Don’t worry, Isla. You can count boobies all day with me.”

“I don’t want to count boobies.”

I try to pull away, but Arya has a ninja grip on my arm. Apparently, Renee is way smarter than me. She turned down the overnight “girls’ trip” to Rosa Island in favor of working an eighteen-hour day. Smart.

Rosa is one of the closer islands to us. We live on the main island, Mariposa—we have the town, the beach resorts, the restaurants and the annual Ascia butterfly visit in the spring when thousands of butterflies fill our skies. It’s magical standing in the middle of hundreds or thousands of butterflies dancing around you.

But the outer islands have that “you’re alone on a tropical island” sort of charm. Rosa has about forty year-round residents, miles of pristine pink sand beaches, and a booby nesting ground. Perfect for a girls’ trip. If it’s just the girls.

“You tricked me,” I say to Kate. “That’s totally beneath you.”

Kate frowns and pulls down her sunglasses. “La-La, there was no trickery involved. You have two articles due, an eco-tourism piece on the boobies of Rosa Island and a piece on luxury beachfront housing. This is killing two birds with one stone. You get to work on your articles and Arya and I get to work on landing rich husbands.”

I frown at Arya. “You were in on this?”

She blushes, “My boss asked me to count boobies on Rosa. It’s a work trip for me.”

“I’m showing properties. It’s work for me too,” Kate says with a wink.

I scowl at her, but the effect is ruined by my swaying. My prescription pill to “fly without fear” is hitting hard.

Kate pats my arm. “Don’t worry. It’s just a trip to the nesting grounds and a few home tours. After that we have the whole afternoon and night to spend together. Just us girls.”

“Ha,” I say. Because if I know Kate, and I do, she’s planned some way to get together with Declan and Percy tonight. That’s fine. I’ll just hole up in my room and work on my articles.

“I don’t think you should chase after these guys,” I say. “Just because they’re loaded doesn’t mean they’re good marriage material. Remember how jerky Declan is?”

We all take a moment to stare at Declan and Percy. They’re inspecting the plane. Percy bounces on the balls of his feet, pointing out features of the tiny propeller plane, looking way too enthusiastic for eight in the morning.

Declan, on the other hand, looks just like I expected. His arms are crossed, and he frowns and shakes his head, then says something that I’m sure is cutting. When he turns and sees us looking at him his frown grows even more.

“See?” I point out. “Imagine marrying that. Imagine having sex with that. You’re trying to get it on and there he is, frowning at you, judging.” I put on his deep clipped voice, “Eww, your face. You’re not good-looking enough for me. I can only get off to a picture of myself. Here, wife, hold this poster of me while I whack off.”

Arya holds back a laugh and Kate scoffs.

“I’d hold a poster for him anytime,” Kate says. “Imagine. A billion dollars. Come on, girls, work and then play.”

I sigh. My friend is mercenary.

We walk to the plane and I try not to trip over my own feet. If I’d known that Declan and Percy would be joining us I might have held off on the prescription. As it is, I’ll just have to deal with the slurred speech, double vision, and sleepiness. It’ll wear off in a few hours.

No problem.

A drop of sweat trickles down my chest. It’s humid and the black tarmac of the runway soaks up the heat of the sun. I’m in a puffy tropical leaf-print skirt, a cropped top, espadrilles, and a wide-brimmed straw hat. I considered wearing khaki pants and a button-up shirt for the booby preserve hike, but decided against it. I figured I’d stay on the boardwalk. Now, I’m glad I did. At least, this time when I see Declan, I’ll look cute.

I notice that Kate is in tight white silk pants and a cleavage-baring tank. I should’ve realized what she was up to when I saw that. That’s not a girls’ day outfit, that’s her man-eater look.

Arya, though, is wearing her usual get-up. Boots, khakis, a long-sleeve polo shirt and a bucket sun hat. She looks adorable in a science-y naturalist kind of way, but it’s definitely not the outfit you’d wear if you’re on the prowl.

Good. At least she’s still kept the sense she was born with.

“Good morning, gentlemen,” Kate says when we reach the plane.

Percy and Declan turn to us. Declan’s jaw tightens noticeably at our arrival, but Percy takes us all in and beams.

“Good morning, good morning!” Percy says genially. “Don’t you all look fresh and lively. I didn’t know this was a party. The more the merrier, isn’t that right, Declan?”

Declan doesn’t say anything. He glances at Kate, then Arya. When his gaze lands on me, I imagine by the tightening of his lips that he recognizes me. But instead of responding to Percy or even saying hello, he just lifts a single eyebrow then turns away.

Wow.

Isn’t that special?

“Wonderful. Just wonderful,” Percy says, ignoring his friend’s rudeness. Maybe they’ve been friends so long that he no longer realizes what a jerk Declan is.

Kate gives us a proper introduction and we all shake hands, then Percy gestures at the plane.

“Shall we?” he asks.

The pilot, Jimmy, is at the front of the plane, running through his final checks. “All set Jimmy?” I call, hanging back as everyone else climbs up the ladder.

Jimmy is one of the few charter pilots on the island. He’s been a pilot since the early eighties and has crazy stories about flying celebrities, famous bands, heads of government, and even people with very questionable backgrounds.

“Looks good,” he says. “Perfect morning for flying. We’ve got some weather later this afternoon, but right now, we’re all clear.” He pats the metal side of his plane and gives me a reassuring smile. “Don’t you worry, Isla. It’s all smooth sailing.”

“What? Me? I’m not worried. I love flying.”

Jimmy snorts. He went to school with my mom. But unlike my mom, he couldn’t stay away from the islands. He’s an old family friend, and the only person I trust to fly me anywhere.

He knows of my phobia, but he’s nice enough to pretend it doesn’t exist.

“Go on and get settled in. We’ll leave in a few.” Jimmy goes back to his check and I slowly climb up the steps to the plane.

There are only five passenger seats. I thought I’d be sitting up front by Jimmy. That way Arya and Kate could sit with Declan and Percy. Instead, Kate has already claimed the front seat. Arya and Percy are sitting across from each other.

“Tell me more about the booby habitat, this is fascinating. I often go bird watching on the Farne Islands. I love the puffins,” Percy says.

Arya has that happy-place gleam on her face that tells me she’s found someone to share her love of birds with.

“I’ve always wanted to go there. Was it amazing?” Arya asks.