Page 74 of Gulfside Girls
An Uber had pulled in, and Faye had popped out. She was simultaneously waving goodbye and hello.
“Baby Sister!”
“Big Sister!”
The two embraced, and Ali was so happy to see her face. This was the longest she’d ever gone without seeing Faye. She realized her quick visit had turned into three weeks.
“Who were those families?”
“Well, we had two guests here in the cottages this week. There’s only one in the hotel, and today is move-out day.”
“You sound like you own the place.”
“Ha, yeah, well?”
Ali helped Faye with her bag, and they strolled the little paths that made the Sea Turtle Resort look more like a village than a group of cottages.
“Oh my gosh, is this Yucca? And this might be Passiflora!” Ali didn’t know what Faye was talking about, but she was running from plant to plant. “Passiflora, passion flowers, I cannot imagine what it would be like to grow in this zone all year.”
“You’re being generous. This place needs some serious landscaping.” Through Faye’s eyes, though, Ali started to have a new appreciation for the overgrown foliage.
“Oh, for sure.”
Ali watched Faye get distracted by the palm fronds that drooped low over the deck of the Mango.
“I’m going to put you here, second best view of the beach but best mattress.”
“This is so cute; I can’t stand it. Like I cannot stand it.”
“Well, don’t fall completely in love. The water pressure isn’t great, and I’m pretty sure that four of the six light fixtures need replacing.”
“Nitpicking, that’s your attention to detail that we all, uh…love, that’s it, love.”
“Ha, ha.”
“Seriously, what in the world? How did we not know this was ours? It’s like Fantasy Island or something!”
“Dad, he knew. He was the one who packed up all that stuff of Mom’s. He had secrets from us, and this was the biggest one.”
“Let’s have this conversation out there, yeah?” Faye’s eyes were on the beach.
Just a few days prior, the water had pulled Ali’s gaze out there in that same hypnotic way. She was glad to see she wasn’t the only one affected by how stunning it was.
“Yeah, I’ve got snacks. Meet me out there after you get changed.”
A short while later, Ali and Faye sat with their toes in the sand. Ali was so glad to be able to talk to Faye. Faye’s reaction to this place was the same as Ali’s. She watched her sister take a deep breath of the sea air.
“I’m so glad you’re getting to see this, and when you meet Jorge and Didi, you’ll fall in love with them, too.”
“The two that let the pool turn green?”
“It’s just bad luck. He had a hip thing. She seems like she’s near 80. This is a lot to manage, I think.”
“You seem to be doing just fine.”
“You know, I love this kind of thing. It’s sort of like the convention space. Still, instead of worked-up vendors jockeying for position and complaining about the sound system, I have been able to help families have a luxurious vacation on a reasonable budget.”
“Um, what you did for Frogtown all those years—heck, for me and Blair too, for that matter? This is your gift, making magic for other people.”
