protest, Jake was on his cell phone
calling someone called Maxwell.
“Who
is that?”
“At
the book signing did you see a nerd wearing a bowtie?”
Tammy
nodded slowly.
“That’s
Maxwell, my agent.”
“How
is he helping us get to the caves?”
“He’s
still on the ship. Touring is not his forte, anyway, he’ll make it happen. We
just need to sit tight for a little bit.”
Tammy
was not used to things happening that way. She had never known anyone that was
famous enough to snap their fingers and just have whatever they requested
presented to them. She glanced at Jake’s profile. He seemed completely at
ease. He didn’t seem impatient and testy. He had made that phone call for
her. Maybe she shouldn’t be so quick to judge.
“Hey,
there’s a café. Let’s sit at one of the tables and enjoy something cold.”
The
little café was more outdoors than in, but it was shaded. Jake and Tammy
enjoyed shaved ice with lime flavoring. It was a tasty way to cool down. Jake
glanced at her as he plunged his spoon into the ice again.
“Were
you offended that I made that call?”
“Why
should I be?”
“I
don’t know, a woman like you might find it pretentious.”
Tammy
laughed. “And what kind of woman am I?”
“Down
to earth.”
She
liked being called down to earth. It didn’t mean boring, and it didn’t mean
“gold digger”. She gave him an appreciative nod of the head.
A
car cruised slowly towards them and stopped near the table they were sitting
at. A tall man got out of the driver’s seat and called out to them. “Mr.
Butler?”
“Yeah!”
He responded and stood. “Do you want to finish your ice?”
Tammy
shoved a final spoonful in her mouth quickly and handed him the near empty
container with a shake of the head.
The
driver made pleasant conversation with them as they travelled to the cave
park. Maxwell had made a few quick calls and had ordered the car and driver.
Luckily he was a native Puerto Rican, and not a ship employee. He definitely
knew the roads.
When
they arrived, Jake handed him a folded bill. “I’ll have another one of these
for you, if you wait here for us.”
They
man palmed the bill and smiled. “Of course.” His English was impeccable.
Tammy
waited for Jake to buy their tickets while the driver explained that they would
tour the park by trolley. “You won’t be disappointed.”
“I’m
sure I won’t. Have you ever seen them?”
“Si,
many times.”
Jake
returned and handed her a ticket. “Next trolley leaves in fifteen minutes.”
“We
were just in time!” Tammy smiled.
Tammy
wished she had brought her camera with her. It was sitting in her suitcase
doing absolutely no good. The things she saw in the caves were interesting and
beautiful. Her favorite was the “fountain of youth”. It was a fresh spring of
water that some people found good to drink. Neither she nor Jake partook from
the water for fear of dysentery, but it was delightful to watch some of the
native children splashing the water in their faces with glee. At that moment
Tammy missed her children being small. She missed the innocence; the joy found
in such a small thing.
By
the time they returned to the car, Tammy was exhausted. It was only three
o’clock, but all she wanted was a nap.
“Tired?”
“Yes.”
“Take
a nap on the way back. There’s still so much to see.”
“I
may sound like a stick in the mud, party pooper or whatever, but all I really
want to see right now is the inside of my cabin.”
Jake’s
face went slack. “I was hoping to take you to a place I know about for dinner.”
“I
thought we were just seeing the sights together.”
He
nodded. “Yeah, and this place is one of the sights I would like you to see.”
Tammy
couldn’t help but smile. “Where is it?”
“Close
to port. I’m sure Jay here would