Grace...

Chapter 2

'How was the flight Miss Coswell' says Toby rather formally once we have pulled out of the airport car park. 'Please, call me Grace. It was alright, only a little turbulence overall it was fine.' I try to sound calm and not like a shaky girl terrified of flying!
'Very long flight, but at least now you are here and it's time to relax. Your villa I wonderful! It's right on the beach and you have a pool in your back garden plus there is a pool just down the road if the one at your villa doesn't accommodate your needs. You will love it there! Are you meeting a friend here?' Toby asks inquisitively. 'No', I reply abruptly, 'I mean, I prefer to travel alone.' I add realising how rude I must of sounded.
'Is something wrong, it's just that you seem annoyed?' Asks Toby. He sounds genuinely worried unlike everyone back home. ' I'm fine, just tired'.
'I wasn't born yesterday Miss Coswell.' Says Toby. 'Please, it's Grace, I insist.'
'Did you know that taxi drivers in St. Lucia are notorious for giving the best advice in the world?' Toby edges on. I can't help but giggle.
'Tell me more about my villa'. I had seen it online and had scrutinised the travel company to tell every detail about the property but I felt that I should change the subject and it was the first thing that came into my head.

'It is so beautiful', starts Toby, 'the best on the island some would say! It has 2 bedrooms one is en suite. There is a large open planned entertaining area with a dinning room, kitchen and living area there is also your very on deck around the house with an outdoor seating area on the side! The pool isn't that big but you have the sea just outside your front door. The view is beautiful and you wake up to the sound on the waves softly landing on the sand only a few feet from your bedroom. There is also a balcony outside the patio doors in the master bedroom where you can sit and watch the sun go down. It truly is the gem of the island. Plus the area of beach in front on the house is private. It's yours to use explicitly.' Toby rattles on with such passion and wonder. He has made me rather excited to see the villa and I couldn't wait!
'How long until we get there?' I ask. 'Maybe 20-25 minutes, there isn't much traffic on the island so we don't need to worry about that.' Toby says with a smile.
I smile back. I want to know more about Toby and I have 20 minutes to find out! ' how long have you been on the island Toby?' I ask. 'Ah well since I was a young boy. I used to live in Barbados but my mother brought me here with my younger brother and three sisters. My father was a fisherman but his boat was lost at sea in a storm. The bodies of him and his crew were never found. A year after the storm my mother brought us to here, St. Lucia. We built up a new life, new house, school, friends, everything had changed but It was for the better. We have a good life here, a safe life.' Says Toby.
'What was your father called?' I couldn't help but ask. 'Raymond, but everyone in our neighbourhood called him Papa Ray. He was like a father to all of us, always helping someone out. He was my hero. You see this?' Toby points to a shiny gold pin on his shirt. 'This', he continues, 'this is the badge he received when he graduated from naval academy. After the summer of the year of the storm I was supposed to be going to the same academy he went to. I remember how he had told me to be brave and to stand up for what I believed in and I would make it through my training. He gave me this pin to ensure that I never forgot him. That was two days before he died.'
'That's terrible' is all I'm able to say. I feel my eyes watering over this man I barely know.
'We have a good life her though, a big house, good jobs great friends. My fathers death was awful but we try not to remember his death in a negative way we celebrate his birth and death every year with a huge party. We get our relatives over from Barbados and we eat and drink and be merry! This way our father lives on if not in person then in spirit and in here.' Toby puts his hand over his heart covering his fathers pin. 'We celebrate the anniversary of his death on Friday, I would be delighted if you wanted to come. You could meet my family and hear stories of my Papa Ray'.
'I would be honoured to join you, your father sounds like a good man'  I smile and Toby returns the gesture. His smile is warm and friendly and I feel as if I have a friend on the island already!
' ah here we are. Your villa' announces Toby.