Emerald's Secret

CHAPTER 5 - EMERALD

At the Emerald C's Resort, in the Upper Keys, lights sparkled on the surface of the pool. Golden shafts spilled down a full 70 feet from the tops of gently swaying palm trees. The slender, graceful palms lent an aura of romance to the faux tropical forest bordering the huge faux lagoon.

In daylight, cabbage palms and blue concrete would not seem so romantic, but under the Florida moon, with drinks on the table and music playing, poolside was magical. Emerald Ciano and her former boyfriend reminisced over a candle-lit table, in their formal clothes, with their shoes off.

Emerald sighed as she replaced her champagne glass on the table. "I haven't danced that much since the senior prom. Remember?"

"Who could forget?" the boyfriend said, smiling. "That was the night Greg Hallstead caught the wrestling coach in the locker room showing Becky Smathers a few moves."

They both laughed, and Emerald drew an open champagne bottle from a silver ice bucket and refilled their glasses. She had waved a solicitous waiter away, to enjoy the illusion of privacy.

Emerald said, "Well, let me tell you, Becky Smathers may have pretended to be the prim and proper Miss Future Farmers of America, but I went to enough Four H meetings with her to know she was probably the one teaching the choke holds that night. Poor naïve Greg. Wonder what he said when he found them."

The boyfriend lifted his champagne and chuckled. "Not much, if I know Greg. Rumor was that he just opened the door, got an eyeful of the two of 'em all tangled up on the mat, and said, 'How's your wife, Coach?'"

He nearly dropped his glass, and he sloshed champagne down his shirt collar, when a voice like thunder boomed from behind him.

"How's your wife, by the way?"

The boyfriend's grip snapped the stem of his wine glass, and his chair tumbled backward as he stood and spun to ace a large man built like a television wrestler. The man in the size XXXL white dinner jacket was Teddy "Big C" Ciano, husband of Emerald and owner of the Emerald C's Resort.

Emerald smiled at the new arrival, but the boyfriend went pale and fidgeted. He did try to smile at Teddy Ciano, and if he had consumed a lot more champagne, he might have succeeded. As it was, he managed two-thirds of a smile as he answered.

"My wife? My wife is, ah, she's fine, Mister Ciano, ah, thanks, thank you for asking. She, ah, she turned in already. We're, we've got an early flight back to Missoula tomorrow."

"Please. Call me 'Big C.' Almost everybody does." Big C watched the boyfriend bend to pick up the fallen chair. The chair almost fell again when Big C added, "And how's my wife, while we're on the subject?"

Emerald's frown showed her disapproval of Big C's conduct.

The boyfriend summoned a very great deal of courage and sucked up like a trouper. "Emerald? Wh--, w--, she's beautiful. Beautiful as ever. She looks, she hadn't changed a--, hadn't changed a bit since high school. Well, I gotta be going, it's a long trip to Montana, and we – that is, my wife and I – we're, ah, we'll be gettin' an early start. G'night. Great place, Mister—I mean, Big C. We had a great time – my wife and I, I mean. Well, ah, g'night."

He left like a jackrabbit with a coyote in pursuit – with hardly a look at Emerald.

She watched him go, then turned her disapproving frown on her husband. "He never laid a hand on me."

"He's walking out on his own two legs, ain't he?"

Emerald smiled at her husband and moved to stand against his chest. She stroked his wavy, black hair with one hand and untied his tie with the other.