Page 20 of Kiss Me, Darling

She shrugged. “I want that for you. A place to be normal.”

But all the way on the other side of the country? There were probably other small towns where I could find the same kind of anonymity. Places that didn’t require us to uproot so much of our lives.

“How’s the sandwich?”

For whatever reason, I craved nonstop sandwiches when I was here. All different kids. Deli meats, chicken salads, paninis, subs, and more. Maybe it was the constant heat and humidity that made me crave carbs and protein.

“It’s delicious. I’ve been craving salt. This pickle is life.” She took a bite and it crunched.

“We’re surrounded by salt.”

“I know. I don’t get it!”

We ate without talking after that. Instead the sounds of waves and birds filled the silence. It was nice. Especially the gentle rocking of the boat.

“Is there anything special you’d like to do while you’re here? Any places you’ve been wanting to visit?” Maybe I was being overly optimistic about being able to move around somewhat freely, but knowing Lucy, she’d spent a decent amount of time researching the island and had some ideas.

“Well, and this doesn’t have to be now, it can be another time, I’d love to go to the theater. I’d also love to do some of the world famous shelling.”

I should have guessed she’d want to see the theater. It was a pretty unique place. Not only was it built to host theater-in-the-round, but there were so many accomplished theater veterans who called the island home, that the productions hosted were often high caliber.

“I sawAnd Then There Were Nonein the round. It was almost interactive. Really well done.”

Her eyes lit up. “Oh I’m so jealous! I bet that was fabulous.”

“It wasn’t part of the billing, so the first time the spotlight hits the audience it’s a real surprise. Since I already knew the mystery I was able to spend my time focusing on the way they produced the show. You know I love unique ways of doing things.”

“Well, now I want to go more than ever.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

After lunch we motored around the mangroves. I watched the compass, thought I knew exactly where I was, but after a little while I had to admit I was totally lost.

“Like...not at all?” The color drained out of Lucy’s face.

Shit.“I have a vague idea.” I had averyvague idea.

Lucy went into planning mode, diving into the glove box and finding a laminated map I didn’t know existed. “Okay. Show me where you think we are.”

Remember when I said I wasn’t the best at writing? Yeah, not so great at taking in visual information either. I was a verbal person. Always had been, always would be. I scratched my head as I tried to make heads or tails of the lines, dots, and numbers that covered the map.

“So this is north. This is the coastline. And here is Calusa Key. I think the house is here.” She pointed to the northwest corner of the island.

“Yes. And we went here,” I slid my finger over toward the resort, then up to the fishing hole, “and had lunch here.”

She nodded. “Okay, and what did you do after that?”

“I think we went north again here, then toward the mainland here, and around here. But I’m not sure.” I was genuinely turned around at this point.

Lucy pulled out her phone and shook her head. “I’ve barely got signal. Does the radio work?”

“It broke last week. The new one is in a box in the garage.” Now I really felt like an idiot.

“So you’re saying we’re stuck at sea? Will I have to eat you for dinner to survive?”

I burst out laughing. “How can you make fun of this? We’relost.”

She shrugged. “At least we’re lost together.”

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