Forties Club Finalist #54

The Vacation of a Lifetime
by Dottie Taylor


Three days on the beach and so far, all I've seen is the inside of my hotel room.

“Come on, baby.” I whine pacing the room, my body bikini clad.

“Go ahead, Juls.” The muffled response comes from behind the closed door.

“Aren't you feeling any better yet? It had to be the oysters.” I glance at the white walls, white bed, white carpeting. Possibly the most boring room in existence.

Ben retches, the toilet flushes.

“No... please, go. Enjoy yourself.” Water splashes as Ben groans.

“Okay,” I slip on a shear wrap, knotting it at my hips. “I'm just going to peek at the beach.” Sliding open the door, I lean out into the near dusk of the sea air, perfection. The Bahamas was our second chance. I shrug, his loss.

Grinning, I race down the steps to meet the rolling waves and the crystalline sand. The water greedily sucks at my toes as I squish sand between them. When the wave recedes, a ruby red stone is left in it's wake. As I bend down, a shadow falls across my body, then a thud and nothing.

Floating as if with the tide, my eyes find darkness. Wriggling my hands, I reach out and my fingertips brush a coarse texture, a splinter jabs the pad of my ring finger.

Screaming, terror rifles through me, no one can hear. My nails rip as I claw the moist wood, sand seeps in. Divorce Bahamian style.