Page 10 of That Birthday in Barbados
“Nothing wrong with a good bourbon,” I say. “But I think you’ll likethe change of pace.”
I finish the one I’m making, set it on a tray for the waitress to pick up and start another. Once I’ve made it, I walk to the other end of the bar and set it in front of him.
He picks it up, takes a sip and says, “Too bad I had to discover this on my last night.”
“Just another reason for you to come back,” I say.
He nods. “Wish I didn’t have to leave.”
“You don’t. Have to.”
He laughs and says, “I’m sure it looks like that from your point ofview, but I live in reality, unfortunately.”
“We all do. It’s just that our choices create our reality.”
“But then you live in paradise. Easy for you to say.”
I pick up a towel and wipe off a spot of water from the bar. “Bychoice.”
“Were you born here?”
“Actually, I was born in New York. Went to school in the city. Worked in the city.”
Now I have his attention. “Wait. Aren’t you the guy teaching spin in the spa?”
“That would be me,” I say. “I fill in up here when needed.”
“What did you do in the city?”
“Wall Street for a while.”
Now he looks as if he doesn’t believe me. “Me, too,” he says.
“Different life,” I say.
“Who did you work for?”
I name the well-known Wall Street firm, note his raised eyebrows.
“That’s a fairly big transition,” he says.
“It was my dream. I worked really hard to get there, but life had other plans for me.”
“So you didn’t stay around long enough to get a pair of the golden handcuffs.”
“You hold the key, man.”
He takes another sip of his drink. “You look awfully young to cash out.”
“The sunsets here don’t have a price on them.”
A look of pure envy crosses his face. But right behind it comesresignation, and I can see that he thinks his own fate is sealed.“It’s never too late to make another choice, you know.”
“My wife would never understand. She’s gotten used to the perks.”
“If you work thehours I worked, she’s not spending too much time sharing those perks with you.”
“No, she’s not,” he admits. “Nonetheless-”
