BACK HOME TO KEY WEST.
Where I believe I left my heart.
The small plane I boarded in Miami, eased onto the Key West International runway with plenty of room to spare. The sign on the terminal was lighted with the words, “Welcome to the Conch Republic” painted in bright red. Our plane taxied toward the terminal entrance marked “Arriving Passengers” where I saw Edy sitting outside on a bench near the door.
A small set of stairs was dropped onto the tarmac below our exit door. The four of us passengers, who never even spoke to each other throughout the flight, thanked the captains, (and I quietly thanked God) as we deboarded as our suitcases were being put on a cart and taken inside the terminal for pickup. It was a warm stary clear night. I could smell the welcoming salt air as I stepped onto the tarmac and got a whiff of tar that still held the heat of the hot sun of the Island.
Edy arose and came to greet me. “Hi stranger,” she said as she gave me a welcoming hug and took my carry bag. “So happy to see you again. The Grunt Bucket and I have missed the First Mate.”
“Oh, so I guess I’m still just a First Mate. I’d hoped you would be calling me Captain by now, since I did, after all, get my Captains license if you will recall,” I retorted with a grin.
“Okay well we’ve had this discussion. Grunt Bucket is officially owned by me, which grants me Captain’s rights by ownership,” she said.
“Well, maybe I could be Co-Captain then?”
“Let me think about it. I will definitely take it under serious consideration.”
I picked up my luggage off the steel rack inside the building and we headed out to Edy’s car and placed the bags in the backseat of her unique Saab. I carefully placed the mesh dive gear bag on the floor, so I didn’t get sand on the seat. “I see you brought some sand back in your dive bag…is that your Caribbean souvenir?” she asked as we settled into the car for our short drive to the Beach Club where I would be a temporary guest. “Gee, I guess it is. Actually, this is what I brought back,” I said as I held up my index finger with my new gold dolphin ring that shined in the car’s overhead lights.
“That’s beautiful. I guess you took advantage of their duty-free jewelry down there,” she said.
“Yes, I was shocked at how inexpensive it was. This would cost over $200 in the states. I paid around $75 for it. I wish I’d had more money to spend, but I had to be pretty frugal down there, as we pretty much ate out all the time….and, uh, drank.”
“So, how the hell are you? Did you fall in love with the Caribbean?”
“You know….I did. There is something very captivating about it. The more I realized how far away I was from civilization, the more I seemed to appreciate the term “Paradise”. People in the Caribbean act as they have been hypnotized. They are not bothered by anything. No one watches the TV or discusses politics or any news at all actually….well, except the NOAA weather report. They just live and let live, seemingly having no specific direction in their lives….which run from beach to beach. My past seemed to have fallen away. I became a new person that I had to learn about. The attitude I felt there is ‘be kind to each other’ and it seems to be working for the most part. But there was an eerie feeling of being lost there, too, as I really only knew the couple of people I lived with.
Something felt a little off. My family was so far away. The health system isn’t what it is here. I didn’t feel I had some real cushions I could fall back on, or anyone to go to if I needed to talk about my feelings. I began to feel lonely, I guess, in an odd way.”
“You have friends here you can talk to. You know that don’t you?”
“I do know that, which is why I came back here. Well, and of course, my car is here,” I admitted.
“Marilyn is happy you are coming back. I’m pretty sure she and Jim talked and she wants to give you some part time work again,”
“That’s awesome! I knew Jim would be happy to get some of his ‘me’ time back. He told me when I first met him that he would never work full time again. Marilyn had offered him full time work there several times, he told me, before I started there.
When we arrived, Edy opened the electric black iron gate of the Key West Beach Club entrance with her plastic entry card. She pulled into the parking garage on the left and parked. I spotted my van parked in the back corner under a distant florescent garage light. “I see my van. She looks good,” I said.
“I took her out for exercises about once a week like you asked me. She ran just fine. Sometimes we drove around in the garage and out around the circular drive. Sounds good. Didn’t have any trouble with her starting. I even ran her up the street and put some gas in. She was under a quarter of a tank.”
“Thank you, Edy. I knew I could count on you. She and I got to know each other quite well after travelling several hundred miles together. It’ll be nice to pull out some other clothes to wear. I’ve pretty much lived out of my suitcase the whole time I was in the Caribbean. I only bought a couple of new shorts and shirts there. We spent most of our time in swimsuits snorkeling.”
“I can tell. Your Key West tan turned into a combo Caribbean tan. The dark shoulders and red neck give away your snorkeling ventures.”
“Closest I’ll ever be to a ‘red neck’,” I muttered.
We headed up the steps with my luggage. I dropped my dive gear outside her door so as not to bring the sand inside her condo. “If I can have my van keys I’ll take the sandy dive bag out to the garage and put it in my van. I’d also like to get some different clothes out of there to wear,” I said.
Edy reached up on her kitchen wall and handed me my keys off the key rack by her door. “Don’t get anything too fancy, now. This is Key West after all. The ‘come as you are’ Republic,” she kidded.
“Not to worry. I’m still part conch by association.”
When I returned from the van Edy was making sandwiches. “Thought you might be hungry. No peanuts on your flights up here, I bet.”
“No peanuts….no bathroom. No First Class, for sure. However, I did get to sit right behind the pilots on each flight. Listen, would it be okay if I took a shower before I eat? I’ve been taking cistern showers the whole time I’ve been away,” I asked.
“Wow! Boat showers? I forgot, the Caribbean pretty much only has cisterns due to the high cost of water there. Help yourself. The bathroom is right across from your guest room. Feel free to use any shampoo or anything you might need that you see in there. I put out some clean towels on your bed.”
“Just like the Ritz! Only with a better view. You’re the best, Miss Edy. I’ll be out soon.”
“Hope you like ham and cheese sandwiches. Also, I have some chips and fresh mango.”
“Cool, Mon!” How I love Mango. Right off the trees in the Keys. I headed toward my room and pulled out some clean shorts and tee shirt and other personal items. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I saw Edy in the kitchen making sandwiches. The shower was heavenly. I could have spent the night in there it felt so good.
I flipped on the hair dryer when I got out and did the best I could. My hair has a mind of its own, however so I’m trying to learn to just let it do what it does and not be so vain. It changes by weather patterns, temperatures and humidity. I used to fight it, but I gave up. It is what it is.
“I feel like a new woman,” I said when I finally came back to the kitchen. Edy had the table set with the nice light meal on her tropical color plates. She had a small colorful flower arrangement on the table from flowers I recognized from the garden below. It was so inviting, and I recognized the familiar welcoming scent of Jasmine & Gardenias.
“What would you like to drink?”
“Actually, milk sounds good if you have some.”
I ate like I just came off a fast….not that I ever got on a fast….but it must have felt something like this moment. I told Edy about my flight into Miami and tried my best not to snarf down my food. Why do sandwiches always taste best when someone else makes them?
We stayed up and ate some chocolate chip cookies that Edy made. I was exhausted, but never too tired to share my experiences on the Caribbean. She absolutely loved the John Travolta adventure! “I can’t believe you didn’t realize who you were with?!” Edy laughed.
“I’d give anything to have that 15 minutes of my life back. I wished I had known and had talked to him at least. How could I be that close to someone that good looking and not take a good look at him?? However, it was pouring rain in my face…but, still….John Travolta! Oh my God!”
“Your loss ….but a great memory for sure! And, you can say honestly, ‘John Travolta picked me up in St. John’” she said.
After we visited for about an hour or so, I decided it was time to hit the hay. “I’ll give Marilyn a visit tomorrow morning,” I said.
“I’ll have coffee ready in the morning and I stopped at the bakery and got us some donuts. I’m glad you’re here because it gives me an excuse to bring them home. Marilyn’s anxious to see you, and so is Jim. He will be here working in the morning. Once you get your life in order, we can go fishing. Sound good?”
“Sounds perfect. Business first. I need to line up two jobs if I can. Thanks for everything, Edy. You made this trip so much easier for me.”
“I’m glad you’re here, especially since I’m alone this week.”
“My absolute pleasure. Such a lovely place to stay. Thanks for sharing your home. I want to pay you for the gas and babysitting my van.”
“No, you won’t,” she said as she pushed my money back to me.
When I went to bed I can’t remember when I’ve felt so comfortable, and so tired and relieved. Edy’s condo is immaculate. Everything is new and nice and tropical and the view is indescribable. I’m back in paradise where I can drive on the right side of the road again. I’m home….for now….
