Page 51 of Vitamin Sea
“Picture this—Clara in a red sequin thong bikini gyrating on the Rat King like it was Saturday night at a strip club.”
Jack started laughing. “Sounds like quite the cultural experience. Kind of like how we put our own spin on Chinese and Mexican food in North America. They gaveThe Nutcrackera Latin twist.”
Chloe smiled and had a sip of her drink.
Suddenly, the salsa music stopped, and a voice came from the speakers.
“Bienvedidos damas y caballeros!”
She and Jack turned towards the stage where a Costa Morpho staffer in a black suit stood with the microphone.
“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen!” he repeated in English. “To Costa Morpho’s talent night! How’s everybody doing?!” he said enthusiastically. There was a smattering of clapping and a few hollers from the crowd.
“Tonight,” he continued in accented English, “we have some very special talents to show you from Costa Morpho guests. So, please sit back and enjoy the show! For our first act, I would like to call up on stage a Señor Diego Guzman!”
The audience clapped and a heavy-set Latin-looking man stood up from his chair and ambled onstage. The MC handed him the microphone and Diego Guzman stood in the spotlight in all his naked glory. His black hair and mustache looked like they had been combed with grease, and his girthy midsection covered up his groin.
For that, Chloe was thankful.
Seconds later a song that sounded classical in nature started playing and Diego, quite unexpectedly, accompanied it with his baritone voice. His opera singer’s vocals cut above the music and his body tensed and quivered as he hit different notes. It was actually pretty impressive.
Chloe, who had no idea what to expect from Costa Morpho’s guests, clapped along enthusiastically when Diego took a bow.
She looked at Jack; he was also clapping.
“I have to say,” he said in a low voice. “Opera isn’t my thing, but he has a great voice.”
A middle-aged woman took to the stage next with a flute and played a Top 40 song mash-up from the previous decade. Following her, a bald man juggled oranges while delivering a monologue fromHamlet. That one was a little weird, but at the end, Chloe clapped politely along with the rest of the guests. Following that, a trio of ladies showed off a salsa dance they had learned earlier in the week.
She and Jack applauded politely along with the rest of the crowd and chatted between performers. Just as the woman wearing a pink wig stepped on stage, Jack leaned over to Chloe.
“I’ll be right back,” he said, setting down his beer. “I have to run to the washroom.”
“Okay, but hurry back!” Chloe implored. “You don’t want to miss the guy with the top hat—I think he might do some magic tricks.”
Jack shot her a grin and headed out.
Three performances later Jack still hadn’t come back, and Chloe was starting to worry. He should have been back by now—the bathrooms were just around the corner. Had he gotten lost or had something happened? Her mind wandered and it popped into her head that there was also the possibility that he hadn’t really enjoyed their day, and he had decided to ditch her. The cringeworthy talent show might have just been the final straw.
She dismissed the thought as soon as it entered her brain, but there was a small feeling of unease in her stomach. She hadn’t known Jack very long and she didn’t know him very well. She thought she had known Liam inside and out and look what had happened with him. People were full of surprises.
If Jack had ditched her and gone back to his resort it would sting. But she also knew she could deal with it. After all, if she could make it through a devastating heartbreak and have the courage to venture out into the ocean two days after nearly drowning, she could handle being stood up.
She was pulled from her thoughts when the MC walked on stage and took the microphone from a gray-haired lady.
“Let’s have a round of applause for Señora Bridges,” the MC said, clapping as best as he could with one hand. Chloe joined in the applause with the rest of the audience. “Gracias Señora Bridges!”
The lady returned to her seat and the MC continued.
“Up next, we have a very special performance,” the MC said playfully. “A last-minute entry from a Señor Jack Fraser!”
Chloe gasped as the audience burst into applause again and the MC went behind the curtains. The giant spotlight was trained on the empty stage and there was silence as the crowd waited for the next act.
Jack had signed up for the talent show? Her Jack? He was seriously going up on stage?
Suddenly, Jack’s voice, amplified by the microphone, came from somewhere behind the curtain.
“Testing, testing,” he paused. “Can everyone hear me?” The crowd responded with a muttered “yes” and Jack continued.
