In the Golden Triangle

Chapter 26: Sunburns and Spanish Moss

The house was deceptively small. Its brick façade was accentuated with sea foam green shutters and white vinyl. A large yard sloped down to a spacious front porch where several mismatched chairs were gathered around a tattered looking wooden railing. An older model grey sedan was parked on the cracked driveway in front of the garage.

It looked homey and sweet—complete with a rotted tire swing hanging off the branches of a large live oak tree. There was no breeze to speak of and Kitt could feel the sweat building up on the back of his neck. He lifted his hand to shade his face from the midday sun and take in the home in front of him.

Well worn, but well loved. Like a favorite t-shirt that had been patched too many times, but it was too soft to throw out. The lawn looked well maintained with clean cut lines and a emerald green color that was only possible in the depths of summer. Scraggly looking Spanish Moss clung to the trees and gave the scene a strange fantasy look.

Kitt realized he had been standing on the street in front of the house for five minutes just staring. His bag was weighing heavily on his shoulders, but he couldn't move. Everything looked perfectly normal, but he felt like he stuck out like a sore thumb.

Getting on the plane had been easy. He spent the entire flight staring at his hands and wondering what he would say. Everything fell flat—they were just words that didn't adequately describe the hurricane in his heart. It felt like a dream. A half-baked plan that spun out of control and before he knew it, he was standing in the middle of customs trying to explain to a surly looking customs agent just exactly what he was doing in the US.

Was he going to tell the agent, who was surprisingly grumpy for someone wearing sparkly eyeshadow, that he had gotten on a plane with hopes that he could find a woman he had only known for a couple weeks?

She stamped his passport and sent him into the flurry of the airport. If it wasn't for John's specific instructions he would have been completely lost. As it was, it took him twenty minutes to find a cab that was willing to take him to a bus station. From there, he had to catch a bus north to Devon's hometown of Homosassa. Then he was in another cab which dropped him off five minutes ago.

In hindsight, booking an international flight to a country he had never been to probably could have warranted with a little more planning. But Kitt couldn't wait. There was an urgency he couldn't explain. It had already been two months without her, and as the moments ticked by his desperate need to see her increased until he couldn't sleep or eat. His thoughts were consumed with what he was going to say to her, and even with all that time he still felt wholly unprepared.

John had said she was spending time at home with her family. But that didn't guarantee she would even be here.

Kitt had never taken a risk in his life. So, it tracks that the first time he did, it would be with all he had. There was no going back. He had no backup plan.

He adjusted his shirt and took a step forward, then another. Once he started it wasn't so hard, he just let his feet carry him until he was stepping up into the shade of the porch. The front door was painted a similar shade to the rest of the house, garishly green in a way that should be off putting but for some reason it worked.

His heart was hammering in his chest and before he knew what he was doing he had pressed the doorbell. Panic rushed through him and he felt lightheaded. His arm felt like it belonged to someone else. Kitt felt like a spectator in his own life, like he was watching another man nervously shifting on a foreign front porch.

The deadbolt turned and he took in a deep breath. Should he drop his bag? Was he too close to the door?

It was too late. He was hit with a blast of cold air as the door opened.