The Siren's Code

Bear's birthday

"You have to show him what he's missing," Gabby coaxed and you look gorgeous. Cassie was standing in front of a mirror in the third boutique they'd been into, they had only started as a ploy to cool down in the aircon as it had turned into a particularly stifling afternoon, but in spite of protests she quite liked how it looked.

"Really? Are you sure?" she turned round again to look at the back over her shoulder.

"Yesssss! Get it, live a little" she grinned, Gabby had already bought her outfit in the first shop, everything looked great on her.

The Paradise Bar was buzzing by the time they arrived, some good sunset tunes fueled by Jay and Juan running a conveyor belt of margaritas and mojitos with bartender showmanship.

"Two margaritas please," Gabby shouted adding "for me and the lovely lady".

"Oh make mine a mojito please," but Jay was already on it as he looked from Gabby to Cassie spinning first the tequila bottle behind his back catching it to pour with the triple sec and then the rum."

"Hola chicas, Cassie, you look great" Juan broke the ice, putting it in their drinks with a slice and a straw and handing them over.

Thanks, this is Gabby, she's staying at the Ecotique," her voice hardly audible over the buoyant tones of the busy bar.

"Where is the birthday boy? I can't gatecrash his party without first asking if it's ok." Juan pointed behind her with a nod as he started on the next round of ice.

"Did you see that Gabby shrieked barely away from the bar."

"Gabby sshhhhhhh."

"I don't care, I'm guessing he is the one, yeah? The steely cowboy? His eyes were on storks, you nailed it girl," she gave her a high five, something Cassie always fumbled over. "Definitely still the cabrón though," she winked, taking a slug from her margarita as Yossi and Margo joined them all hugs and smiles, were they looking especially close? Cassie raised her glass 'to new and special friends' eyeing Margo quizzically to try and get a reaction but she wore an unusually good poker face.

"And to being gorgeous," Gabby replied as they all clinked cocktails.

"Guys sorry I've got to introduce Gabby to Bear have you seen him?"

"Yup over there," pointing to the decks in what was usually the reception part of the bar, Bear chatting to the DJ over a particularly garishly decorated cocktail with Hawaiian flower garland and novelty glasses to match.

"Bear!" Cassie shouted as she dragged Gabby over, giving him a big birthday hug and introducing her wing-woman with a you don't mind do you sort of slant.

"More the merrier, welcome Gabby! What brings you to Paradise?"

"Oh you know the usual," she said, making herself heard over the escalating dance track, "a journey into outward discovery and inner improvement, zen like in my exploration of the world."

Bear raised his eyebrows over the top of his novelty glasses.

"No, she laughed "that's bollocks, I'm lurching from one spot to the next like a learner driver navigating a busy roundabout. Headless chicken sort of thing.

The eyebrows stayed put.

"You're British aren't you?

"Yes."

"So you get the chicken analogy, actually I did have an epiphany today when I met your friend Cassie... think I may have made it to the other side!"

Bear relaxed, pushing the glasses back up his nose and taking a swig of cocktail, "that might be two different chicken references, but who's counting!"

"Definitely not me!" Gabby raised her glass again as Cassie whisked her round the restaurant feeding her names she wouldn't remember, but they were friendly people and she was having fun.

As the bar closed and they moved out to the beach fire Gabby found herself next to the birthday boy again, he was cute, seemed to be on her wavelength too, which was impressive considering she had no idea which wave she was truly riding.

"So Bear, tell us about your best bearday ever..." more shrieks of laughter as Gabby realised her mistake, margaritas hey... birthday! Come to think of it, how did you get your name?

Bear was used to this question but it didn't make it any easier, he had tried in the past to suggest bear like connotations but with his brother strumming the guitar and smiling knowingly at his conundrum Bear told the true story of how when he was a kid he didn't like wearing clothes. In fact he hated it, caused his mum a massive headache trying to get him to school in the morning as he would just strip off again the moment she had got his uniform on, but on the weekends she didn't care, she let him run around naked calling him her bare boy Bob – a little bit of a tongue twisters so it got shortened to bear."

Everyone laughed. "Ok ok, embarrasses me every time." What he wasn't expecting was Jay's sudden birthday toast "To the least grizzly bear we know," uncharacteristically warm as he caught the sentiment of the party.

"Compassionate, down to earth, resourceful, kind, always finding ways to bring harmony to our community."

Bear looked at his brother suspiciously, "well it ain't me bro," Jay said to a rumbling laugh.

"Wait, I haven't finished! Generous, intelligent, selfless, lest we forget, as he certainly won't flaunt it, his tech genius and the budding tech protégé's he's nurturing at the local school.

And more seriously Bear, your unwavering commitment to Paradise, something I don't thank you enough for. To a great friend and even better brother!" He raised his beer.

To Bear! To Bear! They all shouted before the music was cranked up and some started dancing while others moved logs and mats round the fire.

"What about you Cassidy," Bear broached trying to deflect the limelight.

"Huh? Seen my passport have we" she teased... "well if you must know, my parents were massively into country music, you know, the usuals Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell, Marty Robbins and some really obscure ones like Text Ritter, he has a great song about cards, George Hamilton. Anyway country singers sing about the myths of long gone cowboys like coastal folk sing about the myths of dead fishermen... and Butch Cassidy was reborn," she took a bow from her perch on the log.

"The Sundance kid!"

"No, a common mistake, I'm butch!"

"I'd say you're more of a sundance kid," Jay caught her eye across the fire.

"What about you Sam, Samwise aren't you?"

"Sure am! No guessing what my parents were into."

Their parents were the anti-routine generation; wanting to be free spirits, not tied to their jobs or even their gender, the work from anywhere digital nomad generation enabled by Covid... always a silver lining. But the less they felt they should be in an hierarchical male driven society, the less routines and parameters they gave their children. They burned their Dr Spok and Gina Ford sensible baby books and swapped them for a life of constant feeding, irregular sleep patterns, pally indecisiveness, always asking what we wanted, how did we know... and look how we all turned out, laughter erupted around the fire.

"They fuck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do. They fill you with the faults they had And add some extra, just for you."

"Who wrote that?"

"Philip Larkin of course"

The conversation ping ponged around the crackling light of the fire, dance music played over the breaking waves but Cassie was tired, she spotted Gabby chatting to Bear on the other side of the fire, head on his shoulder, should she leave her? No, she promised she would get her back to her hotel alone, that was part of the deal, what she didn't see was Jay in the shadows as she waved Gabby goodbye in a rickshaw.