Page 65 of The Summer Island Swap
Out of nowhere a sob rose up my throat. For that single moment he couldn’t have been less like Dad whose ego had relished the low self-esteem of anyone around him, family included.
‘Not only have you helped give the beach huts a spring clean and changed all the sheets, you’ve worked into the night on the website. Creating an online platform for this… that’s massive. You’ve researched activities on Tortola and talked to Malik about him taking the group on a shopping trip and boat tour, plus dropping them off for a dolphin-sightseeing trip – don’t think I haven’t noticed.’
I’d also been working on an idea, in private, for the longer term – a way to make Seagrass Island even more appealing. However, I wasn’t sure what Rick would think.
I withdrew my hand and brushed hair out of my face. ‘It’s not just me. Jonas and Benedikt led that team of volunteers to clear up the beach where the boats come in. There’s not a scrap of seaweed on the sand now. And Malik bought those sunbeds at cost price from that friend of his who supplies hotels. I love Nia’s idea to provide a beach waiter service. You tell me she’s great at making rum cocktails?’
‘Second to none.’ Rick stood up. ‘Did you just deflect a compliment?’
‘Might have. But let’s see how good you are at accepting one because I’ve been truly impressed. I know your heart isn’t in this scheme. But you’ve put your opinion to one side – for the moment anyway – and totally invested in getting ready for these guests.’
‘Come on. Brandon’s making us his famous fried chicken and waffles,’ he said gruffly.
‘For breakfast?’ His cheeks had flushed. That was enough to tell me he’d taken on board the compliment.
‘You complaining?’
‘Nope. I might just have to come on holiday here myself.’
‘Don’t wait for me. I’m just going to see Jackie for a moment.’ Deep lines formed in his forehead. ‘To check that—’
‘No. You must eat. Jackie will be fine. She’s the expert on animals and Amy is helping. Even you aren’t indispensable,’ I said, remembering what Amy had said to me when I’d worried about coming away.
In silence we entered the house and I stretched my back before we collapsed onto the sofa. Brandon brought out two plates on trays.
‘At least the cinema room is ready, if we happen to have a bad night’s weather,’ said Rick in between mouthfuls of crunchy chicken and the lightest of waffles. ‘They can download movies and watch in luxury.’
‘There’s the gym for early birds and if the guests have an empty afternoon I wondered if Nia might be prepared to a cocktail-making session. Or a cookery lesson and teach guests how to make an authentic Virgin Island dish? It needn’t be complicated and could be something they could eat in the evening, so it wouldn’t cost you any extra money. If it was a success you could add that activity onto the website. The cooking ties into another idea I’ve had.’
Rick shook his head.
My spirits sank. ‘Of course, you may think that wouldn’t appeal and Nia—’
‘Sarah – you’re a superstar. I love it and will ask Nia as soon as she has a free moment. No, I was shaking my head in amazement. You must drink from a secret fountain of inspiration.’
Reenergised by his positive attitude and the comforting food, I got up and followed him outside again. We sat down on our respective benches.
‘How do you come up with all these things?’
‘At some point in the future—’ right now, in fact, but for Amy’s sake I’d keep that to myself ‘—I aspire to move into the luxury side of the hospitality industry. I’ve spent many hours surfing the websites of high-end hotels across the world.’
‘How is our website coming along? I mean the bones of it – I don’t expect you to have—’
‘I put the finishing touches to it last night. Obviously this is a temporary site that will need refining if this business takes off… do you want to take a look?’ I added, cautiously and picked up the laptop.
Rick shuffled up nearer to me. A dragonfly hovered in front of us. I admired the iridescent body and fragile-looking wings. I flipped open the laptop and pressed the power button. Moments later Rick was studying my design. It reminded me of Mum and my first weeks at High School before she died. She always took enormous interest in my homework, never doing it for me but pointing out areas where ‘I might want to look at that again’. She’d ask questions about my lessons and knew all my teachers’ names – and their nicknames.
At first, I was going to edge the pages of the website with green and turquoise, to give it a fresh, island feel. However, that would have made it more like the Seagrass Conservation website, instead of a look that shouted luxury. Therefore, I’d used a colour in between beige and mustard that provided a sumptuous gold theme. The background was white. Each page was headed with a shot of the front of the house, which had powder puff trees either side. Yesterday I’d taken photos for the gallery including several of Chatty on Rick’s shoulder, plus the animal enclosures, getting beautiful shots of Wink, the snakes and seabirds. Since Monday I’d photographed meals Malik or Nia had made – apart from the fish soup – and, importantly, the beach huts inside and out, plus the pool.
Rick gasped. ‘I have no idea how you put this together in a matter of days – even the reservations page.’
‘That was tricky. The last time I looked at my watch, last night, it was 3 a.m. I messaged a friend from the web design course I went on. We’ve kept in touch on social media. Fortunately, thanks to the time difference, she was up, back in England, and more than happy to help me out.’ I rubbed my eyes. ‘In fact, she took a quick look at the whole website and on the back of that I improved several elements. The bookings process is basic at the moment but that can be altered in time.’
‘It’s bloody fantastic, that’s what it is.’
‘Once search engines pick up the site you’ll be in business, so to speak. I’ve connected with Margot on LinkedIn. I hope you don’t mind. I messaged her before falling asleep and sent her the link to take a look.’
‘And Lee?’
