Call It Paradise

Chapter Two

The following day was humid. Though the breeze was refreshing, the clouds hadn't completely moved away from the island. This, combined with the blazing sun, created an almost unbearable atmosphere if you weren't on the water--and so, of course, I wasn't. I peered out at the sparkling blue ocean as I followed my aunt obediently into the local marketplace.

It was the early weeks of June and our summer vacation had just begun. My aunt and her family had joined mine during our stay in Antigua, meaning this was the most of our extended family we would be seeing throughout the whole trip. Typically, the family would come along in the beginning, but then eventually grow tired of the sand between their toes and return to their city lives.

Understandably, most people would describe living with multiple family members in one house as difficult. It was especially so for me this year--all the more so because of my aunt. But if I could survive our vacation without anyone bringing up the big question, I would consider it a success.

Coming from a well-to-do family wasn't always easy. Yes, I appreciated that I had grown up having a good childhood and was well provided for. I was even promised an inheritance, in addition to what a husband could provide for me. But that was the problem I now faced. My family counted on that too much, holding onto traditions I didn't want to conform to. They all knew I was in my prime, ready to be courted--especially by a boy named Thomas Huntington.

I fluffed the front of my blouse with one hand and wiped my forehead with the other. If it had been up to me, I would have worn something cooler--not a thick, straight skirt and tight belt. But my aunt insisted that I dress decent and ladylike as I walked through the marketplace to explore the Antiguan culture.

"Stop that," she said, lightly batting my hand away from my face. "At least use a handkerchief if you're going to do that." She paused to inspect a plethora of souvenirs in front of a local vendor's store and her attention immediately left me.

Standing by her side, I took the opportunity to glance around the crowd. People milled about everywhere, a small congestion building up underneath the canopies as we all attempted to stay cool under their shade. However, with as many people as there were, it was doing anything but that. Locals stood outside their shops, peering into the crowd for prospective buyers and ready to grasp anyone who paid any attention, while tourists sauntered carelessly by.

And then something caught my eye. There he was. As the bustle of people continued around me, there was only one person my eyes focused on now.

He had already spotted me in the crowd, gazing from about thirty feet away. Standing outside the canopy area, he propped his foot up against the wood-paneled wall of a shop while trying to stay out of the sun. He held something in his hands, cylindrical and shiny but which I was unable to identify, and fumbled aimlessly with it. He took his eyes away briefly as he looked at the object and rolled it softly in his hands. Then he lifted his eyes back to me.

I averted my gaze and pretended to be interested in whatever item my aunt was holding up. But I was too distracted to even say what it was. I could only focus on what was in my peripheral vision, while awkwardly following my aunt along the storefronts.

"Hello there," came a voice behind us.

Startled, I turned around to meet my uncle's beaming face. His complexion was red and sunburnt and beads of sweat glistened across his forehead but otherwise, he was as cheerful as always. I wondered how he could endure it so well. But then I remembered he had been married to my aunt for years and concluded he could endure just about anything by now.

"Charles, I didn't think you wanted to come with us," my aunt said.

"Oh, I decided to brave the heat and see what was so fascinating to you women," he said, glancing around at the items for sale. "Interesting little contraptions, aren't they? Kathy, whatever you like, we'll pay for it--a gift for my favorite niece." He grinned broadly at me and I couldn't help but smile. I was his only niece.