The Key to Paradise (7 page)

“We don’t allow soliciting.” I quailed beneath her no nonsense tone.

“What part of meeting don’t you understand?” Lily said bristling as much as possible when one stands under five feet tall. “Call her, now.”

The woman evidently hoping to avoid a scene picked up the house phone and dialed. Her eyes couldn’t hide her surprise as she directed us towards the elevator.

It was a long ride up to the 23
rd
floor. As soon as the sleek mahogany doors slid silently closed I turned to the group.

“Alright, now listen up. Let me do the talking. I need to convince this woman I’m a serious business woman she can trust with her husband’s legacy.”

“Don’t worry, darling. We’ll let you do your thing.” Nana said smiling.

“We would never do anything to embarrass you, dear.” Ellen said smiling brightly. I closed my eyes and counted to ten to stop from saying what I was thinking.

The doors slid open and we stood in front of Emily Bannister’s door, the woman who held my future in her hands. As I hesitated, Lily reached around me a rapped smartly on the wood.

Mrs. Bannister was not what I was expecting. She was tall, thin and elegant. Her face had matured from what must have been lovely as a young woman to a ravishing beauty. Her eyes were a bright hazel, her white hair cut into a stylish bob. She was wearing loose slacks and an airy white blouse against the heat of the day. There was no hint of a nubby Chanel suit or pearls.

“Olivia, welcome.” She said warmly kissing me on the cheek in the manner that was common down here.

“Mrs. Bannister, thank you so much for seeing me.” I was so nervous my words came out in a rush.
Mrs.Bannisterthankyousomuch…

“Please, call me Emily.” Her smile seemed warm and genuine. I introduced her quickly hoping that each of the Bingo Betties would stay quiet. “Come in, come in.” She waved us into a formal living room with windows overlooking the wide turquoise ocean. Thunder clouds darkened the horizon, a forbidding omen.

“Have a seat, dear.” She said motioning us to chairs that I couldn’t buy with an entire year’s salary. “I know we’re supposed to start business meetings with pleasantries but I’m dying to know, how is she?”

“She?”

“The Sea Watch.”

A dark part of me wanted to lie, to exaggerate what was wrong with the place in the hopes of lowering the price. But the truth was, I could never be that mercenary. I had to hope that I could be a business woman without losing myself.

“It—she’s beautiful. Everything is still in fantastic condition aside from some small repairs and updating. The patios overlooking the ocean, the wood ceiling in the lobby, the teak front door…it’s all perfect.”

“Oh, thank God. I worry about her down there all alone. It would break my heart if she’d fallen into disrepair.”

“I used to work there, you know.” Lily added while Nana elbowed her violently but I shouldn’t have worried; Emily’s eyes lit up.

“Did you? Do you remember her well?”

“Of course, what I remember most were the parties on the beach. I told Liv when she opens it back up we have to have the parties on the beach. Every Friday night just like before.”

Mrs. Bannister—Emily’s—eyes grew distant as Lily spoke. A bittersweet expression suffused her regal features. I wondered if she was remembering revolving slowly in her husband’s arms, her bare feet sinking into the cool evening sand, the crinkle of crinoline as he pulled her against him. What can I say? I’m a romantic at heart.

“That would be lovely.” She finally managed to say. “But look at me, I’m being such a rude host! Can I get you ladies anything to drink?”

“I’ll just have a water.” I said still trying to appear as a consummate professional not a former hostess at TGI Fridays.

“Can you make a martini?” Ellen asked and I wanted to smack her.

“I make a fantastic martini actually,” Emily answered smiling. “Slightly dirty with blue cheese stuffed olives. I’ll make us all one. My husband used to say that a business deal wasn’t complete until it had been sealed over drinks and cigars. Until that point it was still in negotiations.” She leaned over my chair and placed a warm hand on my shoulder. “I was never one for the other aspects of pseudo-macho bonding but that was one maxim I could get behind.”

“Emily, I like your style.” Verna said smiling wide.

We took our drinks out on the stunning balcony where the ocean stretched as far as the eye could see. The beach was nearly deserted at this time in the evening. All the tourists were back at their hotels getting dressed for the night and slathering aloe vera on their lobster red skin.

“It’s a beautiful view.” I sighed as I leaned back in the lounge chair soaking up the last rays of the dying sun.

“There’s something about the ocean down here that just calls to you, doesn’t it? My daughter wanted me to live close to her in Pinecrest when I left Tamarind but after all those years at The Sea Watch I couldn’t bear to wake up without the sound of waves lapping against the shore.”

She was right. There was something haunting about the ocean here. It crept its way into your soul. Every time we passed a body of water from a small canal to the sweeping Biscayne Bay my eyes were drawn to it and my heart felt a little lighter.

“So tell me a little bit about yourself. I know this is all very unconventional but you have to understand, my husband and I loved The Sea Watch. We always called it our third child. I’m a woman torn. The idea of selling it makes me sick to my stomach but the thought of leaving it to molder in ruin breaks my heart.”

I could understand how she felt. The Sea Watch had pulled me in from the moment I first saw it rising like a mirage from the cracked and ruined parking lot.

“I’m afraid I’m not terribly interesting. I grew up in Northern California, moved to Boston for a few years. I had a…bad ending to a relationship and came down to Tamarind to spend some time with Nana. To be completely honest, Emily, I came here determined to show you what a savvy and experienced businesswoman I am but that’s a lie. I’m young and I’m inexperienced. My experience with hotels begins and ends with staying in them on vacation...and those weren’t even nice ones. I know what a huge risk I am—both for you and for me—but I am hardworking and…determined, to put it nicely. The first time I saw The Sea Watch it took my breath away. I had never seen a place so beautiful and elegant but still a part of the nature around it. For the past few weeks I’ve been getting a crash course in the Keys. I’m coming to understand what a fine line it is to walk between sharing such a gorgeous place with the world and preserving it. I really want The Sea Watch to walk that line. I picture it as a small boutique hotel with all the amenities on site, a chance for people to see the real Florida Keys. I’m not looking to become a millionaire or to fix it up and sell out to a hotel chain. I want to create something that is mine: a place for me in the world.”

I hadn’t realized I was giving a speech until I had finished speaking. All eyes were on me and Nana was looking at me with an unreadable expression on her face.

Suddenly I felt the cool touch of Emily’s hand over my own. “Make sure you invite me to the Grand Opening, Olivia.” Tears stood out clearly in her bright eyes but she was smiling softly. I couldn’t find the words to respond. My throat was tight and my own eyes were suspiciously damp.

“Well, that’s taken care of.” Lois said cheerfully. “So Emily, who do
you
think is hotter: Lebron or Dwayne Wade?”

Chapter Nine

Joan

To celebrate I took all the girls out to dinner at The Rusty Pelican. The large back patio looked out across Biscayne Bay to the skyline of Miami. The sun was setting and one by one the lights in the high rises were blinking to life. We had finished our dinners quickly and took seats in the Adirondack chairs around the fire pits to enjoy the scenery and nurse our drinks.

“You’re awfully quiet, honey. You should be whooping for joy.”

“I am. It’s just a complicated feeling. There’s so much more to be done. So much work and I don’t know if I’ll fail. But right now that doesn’t seem to matter. It feels like I’ve accomplished something pretty great already and that’s enough for now.”

She had such an air of quiet contentment it made my heart happy. Slowly, as the evening wore on the girls would coax her out of her solitude—as they always did with a joke or scheme. But right now I was perfectly fine to just let Olivia be with her own thoughts.

“I think we need to start talking about staffing plans.” Lois said turning towards me. “The Sea Watch is going to need a lot of employees: bartenders, lifeguards, busboys, lifeguards, waiters, lifeguards. We should start interviewing right away.”

We spent the night in a beautiful hotel on South Beach before driving back in the early morning. Liv was back to her regular self, explaining to Lois again and again what a sexual harassment lawsuit was and why it was best to avoid it. But there was something that had been weighing on me since Emily Bannister had promised Olivia The Sea Watch.

I dropped Olivia off at the house and told her I had promised I would pay Myra Evanson a visit since she’d been under the weather.

“She’s just hung over,” Verna called as she boarded her scooter but I gave her a look and she quickly shut her mouth. Olivia didn’t seem to notice. She just smiled distractedly and went inside for a nap. I was thankful she wasn’t her normal sharp, suspicious self.

When I pulled out onto Gumbo Limbo Drive I turned left instead of right, following the winding back road to Captain Joe’s where I knew he would be. Just as I suspected he was sitting by himself in the back corner nursing a beer while the weekday early evening crowd was ramping up at the bar. His eyes were surprised when they saw me approaching.

“How’re you doing, Joan?”

“Alright, Landon. How about yourself?” I settled into the seat across from him not bothering to wait for an invitation. We don’t stand much on ceremony down here.

“Everything’s fine.” He was looking at me quizzically knowing I had to be there on some errand. I figured it would be better to just cut to the chase.

“Landon, I need you to do me a favor. I need you to help Liv get The Sea Watch up and running.”

I watched him suck in a breath slowly between his teeth. Landon wasn’t quick with words but that was something I respected about him. He would take his time and really think things through instead of just telling you what you wanted to hear.

“I don’t know, Joan. You know how I feel about that.” Landon twisted the rind of his lime nervously between his thick, callused fingers. I had watched him grow from an awkward, gawky boy to the confident man he was now but for the moment I felt like I was sitting across from that boy again. I reached out and patted him softly on the hand knowing he’d had far too little of that in his life lately.

“I know this is hard for you, Landon, and I wouldn’t ask unless I absolutely needed your help. But this is my girl. This is my Liv. I would move heaven and earth to see her as happy as she was when she found out she could afford The Sea Watch.”

“I understand.” Landon’s eyes were glued to the table unable to rise and meet mine. “I know some good guys who work out of Big Pine maybe I could give you their names instead?”

“It won’t do. I trust you, I know you. Besides, how long are you going to let what happened to your family define your life? I know why you’ve been scrimping and saving all these years. I know what you need the money for. Why don’t you let Liv and I help you while you help us?”

He closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair clearly at war with himself. Landon was as stubborn as they come. He inherited it from his grandfather according to the girls. I also knew he would come to the right conclusion on his own given enough time to do battle with his pride.

“Besides,” I added softly. “This would give you a chance to help make the resort as perfect as possible. USA Today had a whole article on eco-tourism the other day.” I ignored his disdainful scowl. “And it’s always a chance to get to know Liv better.”

I smiled at his shocked expression. “Oh honey, a grandmother always knows.”

Chapter Ten

Olivia

I stood in front of the huge heavy wooden doors with the keys jingling nervously in my slick palms. The sea wind ruffled through my hair and pressed against my back as if it was urging me forwards into the breach.

“What if I’m making a terrible mistake?” The words were out of my mouth before I even had time to think, a welling fear from my heart not my brain.

“I already told you you are but at this point if we don’t go inside we’re going to get wet.” Landon huffed staring up at the rapidly darkening clouds.

I tried not to imagine what the impending rain would do to Landon’s t-shirt. I had been surprised when he had shown up today with his tool box in hand. He had seemed remarkably restrained not even offering a snotty comment when we shook hands. It was shocking. He could be begrudgingly charming as long as he wasn’t speaking.

“Open it. Open it. Open it.” Ellen, Verna, Lois and Lily chanted in chorus as I sent the huge metal key home with an audible
chunk.
The great teak doors swung wide and we swept into the lobby.

Mine.
All mine.
The fierce voice inside my head had turned into a greedy little miser as I surveyed the sweeping space. I could hardly blame her, it was so grand and so beautiful my heart was nearly pounding out of my chest. I remembered what I had said to Emily Bannister less than a week ago: ‘a place for me in the world.’ Well, The Sea Watch was definitely it.

All of my dreams came flooding back; the image of me waltzing across the polished limestone floor to welcome guests to
my
wonderful resort. The problem was, it was going to take a lot of work to get there. More work than the initial walkthrough shaded by my rose colored glasses had led me to believe.

Lady Astor once described the city of Savannah as ‘a beautiful woman with a dirty face.’ It would be an apt description for The Sea Watch right now. Heavy cobwebs hung in every corner and small geckos climbed the walls with eerie gravity defying speed. It seemed my hotel was currently overbooked with every creepy crawly the island had to offer.

“Well, we better get started.” Nana said slapping me on the back. “God knows it’s going to take every spare moment until the grand opening to get it all done.”

She was right about that but I was still riding high on my wave of enthusiasm that not even the snail making his way laboriously across the front desk leaving a trail of slime in his wake was going to deter me.

“Ok, first things first.” I said trying to keep the excited squeak out of my voice. “I have contractors coming on Monday to get the kitchen up to code so we need to get it emptied out and cleaned so they’ll have room to work.”

“No, first thing we need is to get the electricity and water running. It’s going to be hard to vacuum and mop without those.” Landon said scanning the room.

“I take it it’s going to be more complicated than flipping a few fuses.” I was not in the mood for practical concerns right now. I wanted to polish and scrub until my beautiful lady sparkled.

“Slightly more complicated, yes. I’ll get started on that if you want to start emptying out the kitchen.”

I led the ladies back towards the cavernous kitchen which once must have been filled with the bustle of chefs as they prepared gourmet meals for the guests. Now time and neglect had taken their toll. The once gleaming stainless steel was dotted with rust and animals rustled in the dark corners.

“Oh, it breaks my heart to see it like this.” Lily raised a hand to her mouth in shock. “Chef Sanchez was always so insistent it be kept clean and spotless. He would stay later than everyone scrubbing and washing and wiping off water spots.”

“Don’t worry, Lily. We’re going to get it back to something he would be proud of.”

Verna was already rooting around in the cabinets pulling out old dishes and glassware and stuffing them in garbage bags. “Come on girls, if it was going to clean itself it would have done it by now.”

Luckily, most of the heaviest appliances had been sold after the resort closed its doors. I was thankful I didn’t have to wrestle an industrial refrigerator out to the dumpster. Even with that one saving grace there was still a lot of hard work to be done and the constant threat of broken hips and degenerative osteoporosis made me do most of the heavy lifting. I found myself wishing Bingo was more popular among the body building set. If Nana’s club had one musclebound meathead it would have saved me a lot of agony. As it was, when we stopped for lunch I realized I should have bought stock in ibuprofen and Icy Hot before this began.

We collected Landon from the back where he was cursing emphatically at the main water shutoff valve and made our way out to the patio. Nana had brought her beach chairs from home and lined them up until the new furniture was delivered in a few weeks. I practically fell into my seat enjoying the way the ocean breeze was starting to dry the hot sweat dripping down the back of my neck.

Lois started distributing Publix subs and water bottles from the cooler while Verna fanned herself with her hand. “I don’t suppose we’re close to having the air conditioner working, are we Landon?” Luckily she didn’t see the mutinous look he gave her. A streak of rust was smeared across his forehead and his t-shirt was soaked through with sweat.

“The air conditioner is ancient. Even if I get it up and running again the most it will give you is tepid air blowing about. It’s going to have to be replaced. I already replaced the fuse box and breaker panel and checked the wiring so we should have electricity up and running. The main water valve is rusted shut so I’m going to have to get a new one and replace that. There’s also a few places where the pipes look corroded that will need to be replaced. I think I can have all that done by tomorrow morning. Until then you ladies are going to have to cross your legs if you have to go because we won’t have any functioning toilets.”

“That all sounds terribly expensive.” Lois said looking nervously at me.

“It’s ok. Landon and I have been through this before I even bought the place. I’ve already had an estimate done on replacing the air conditioner. They’re coming by tomorrow afternoon to start the installation. Until then we’ll make do with fans since Landon’s already got the electricity up and running.”

Nothing was going to ruin my mood today. Not the sweltering heat and humidity, not the rapidly decreasing enthusiasm of my laborers. To quote a cliché: today was the first day of the rest of my life. I wolfed down my sub hardly tasting it, I was so eager to get the public areas finished so we could move on to decorating the rooms.

I spent the rest of the afternoon tearing down the plywood that covered the windows while Ellen came in my wake scrubbing each pane to a spotless shine until the late afternoon sunlight glimmered across the freshly swept and polished limestone floors. Verna and Nana worked at patching and painting the walls while Lily and Lois dusted the ornate lobby desk. By the end of the day I was beginning to see a hint of who The Sea Watch would be when she was finished.

“It looks lovely, dear.” Lois said patting me on the shoulder and I just wanted to melt with pride. Doing something for myself—something this huge—was a new experience but I was determined to love every minute of it. For the first time in a while I didn’t feel lost or adrift. The Sea Watch tied me down to a future that was as bright as I could make it.

“Thanks, Lois. Thanks everyone for all your help. Why don’t you guys go get cleaned up and meet me at Captain Joe’s in an hour? Drinks are on me tonight.”

“Aren’t you coming?” Nana asked.

“There’s just a few things I want to finish up here first. Don’t worry, I’ll meet you at home.”

As soon as the great teak doors boomed closed behind them I scuttled off to a small door behind the lobby desk. It led to a narrow hallway with small offices and an industrial laundry room. I passed them by without a second glance, my attention was completely focused on the last door at the end of the hall.

This was a set of rooms I hadn’t seen since we first toured The Sea Watch but they had occupied my thoughts ever since. I walked through the door, my sneakers squeaking on the tile as I stepped into what had once been the owner’s suite. It was modest by the standards of some of the other suites here: a small living room, a kitchenette now woefully outdated, a narrow bedroom and a small en suite were the entirety of the place but it was evident how much it had been loved. Carved wood moldings ran across the ceilings and the windows had been placed carefully to catch the ocean breezes. From the bed, a person could look out across the waves as they drifted off to sleep.

This was going to be my home. My own little oasis in The Sea Watch. I ran a hand lovingly across the Formica countertops, no doubt top of the line when they were installed and tried to imagine myself making a cup of coffee in the morning and staring out across the powder sand beach.

“Planning furniture placement already?”

Landon’s voice made me jump through my skin while I inwardly cursed myself for forgetting he was here. He stood in the doorway taking up an inordinate amount of room in my little home.

“I was just thinking about getting started here so I can move in quickly. I figured it would be easier to get work done if I lived on-site.” I shrugged my shoulders as if it made no difference to me. The idea of revealing to this man, who I had so recently wanted out of my life permanently, how much having my own space meant was horrifying.

“It’s going to need a lot of updating. I think my grandmother had this stove and is that a claw foot tub in the bathroom?”

“I happen to like the claw foot tub. I was thinking of installing them in the guest rooms.” I could feel myself bristling as he picked apart my home.

“Easy there, tiger. No harm intended. It’s a nice space, easy commute.”

I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down. There was no point in picking apart his every word looking for offence. I needed his help to get The Sea Watch ready in time and that meant I was going to have to grit my teeth and bite my tongue.

“I really appreciate all your help today. I was going to buy the girls dinner and drinks at Captain Joe’s tonight, would you like to join us?”

“Sounds great.” It was such a shocking response I had to do a double take. I had figured the last thing Landon would want to do was spend his free time with us as well. I thought I had been offering a polite but insincere invitation that would be met with a polite rejection. I had never expected he would actually say yes.

He saw my disbelief and gave me a casual shrug, his broad shoulders moving with an easy grace. “How often does your boss pick up the tab? I wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity. By the way, I know a guy who does porcelain refinishing for a great price. I’ll call him for an estimate and we’ll get those claw foots shining like new.”

It almost sounded like a peace offering. Would wonders never cease?

Captain Joe’s was packed on that Thursday night with its regular cast of oddball characters. Captain Joe himself held the seat of honor at the bar and a bevy of beauties in the over seventy set fluttered around him. Sometimes since moving to Tamarind Key I felt like I was living in a David Lynch movie.

The girls and Landon had already arrived. A pitcher of margaritas and a few baskets littered the tabletop. I noticed Nana had left the seat next to Landon open and I barely resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Apparently her meddlesome matchmaking was something I was going to have to learn to live with.

I slid onto the stool and poured myself a margarita before anyone could even say hello. I was going to need some liquid strength tonight.

“We went ahead and ordered some appetizers, you want some?” Ellen pushed a basket of coconut shrimp towards me while Landon cracked a King Crab leg open for Lois. For the first time that day I had paused long enough to realize I was famished. I quickly scarfed down three shrimp and grabbed my own crab leg from Landon.

“Now that’s a healthy appetite.” Verna said grinning. I would have said something sassy back but my mouth was too occupied hoovering up everything within arm’s reach.

“Manual labor will do that to you.” Landon said. “You have to make sure you eat regularly or you’re going to crash. You’re not used to it yet.” It sounded like as good an excuse as any so I wasn’t going to argue.

“Linda,” Landon said turning and grabbing the waitress’ attention. “Would you bring a round of waters too?”