Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience. Sun and Sea 13 A James Gang Story by Mike C Feedback is welcome - but please keep it constructive. Address: mikec (at) nspace.net = = = = = The tantalizing smell took us to an opening in the trees above the beach, where Donnie was tending an open wood fire in a pit three feet wide and six long. A pig, cut up in large hanks and covered completely with the dark jerk coating, sat cooking on a long low grate over the wood. Another dozen or so similarly treated chicken halves were cooking further down. Way in the end were more chicken roasting on electric spits. "Smells delicious, Donnie." I inhaled deeply, "We have something called blackened meat where we come from, and it's a bit like this, lots of pepper!" "Pepper is most important, and to make jerk you must use the Scotch Bonnet, the strongest there is. That is what we grow here..." He indicated the shrubs and low trees around us and down to the bay, "And of course the Allspice tree. We use the green Allspice berries in the mix, and I put their branches with the meat when it starts to cook. Then I cover with this." He indicated huge lids, made from oil-drums that had been sliced lengthwise. "They keep flavor in and saves coal and wood." He picked up a piece of meat and started cutting it into small bite-size pieces. He pointed to a piece on the grill, "That's the best cut, from the shoulder." He grinned at me, "You get your other food, and I bring you this piece in a while." "Deal!" We continued to the buffet table where the night's fare had been arrayed. "Whoa, there's like fifty dishes here!" Sherri marveled. "We do this every Saturday night, to say goodbye to our departing guests and welcome the arriving guests." Smiled Eva, who was on hand to help and to explain the dishes to us. "This is a very interesting salad made from green papayas, or pawpaws. It is julienned and has a sweet-peppery dressing..." Eva said, but I was drawn to the mounds of animal flesh further down. "OK, there's too much food, we have to divide and conquer," I told the girls, "We each get what we want, and you add what I've missed." "Meaning, we have to get your veggies for you?" Brenda asked. "Unless you think I've overlooked a meat dish." "See what I mean about high maintenance?" Sherri said to Eva. Along with the jerked pork, they also had conch and fish fritters, grilled fish, crab cakes, deep fried shrimps, chops, sausages, roast chicken, lamb stew and my other favorite, curried goat. Out of deference to the girls, I also got helpings of the shrimp and lobster salad, just minus the salad. With the girls leading the way, we made our way to where Amanda was waving to us. She glared at my overflowing plate, "It's a buffet! You're allowed to get seconds!" "Oh I will! But it's only fair I try some from every dish..." "Of meat." Amended Brenda. I turned and raised the glass of wine set in front of me, "Thank you Mr and Mrs Bentel," They were sitting at the table beside ours, along with a middle-aged couple. "You set a truly amazing table." "It is our pleasure!" Smiled Colin, "Enjoy yourself, young man. It is refreshing to see such zeal for life! And I also want to thank you for sharing your delicious sashimi and the wine!" "Here," Amanda pushed a plate with a dozen pieces of raw fish towards us, "I saved you some." "I'd like you to meet our good friends and neighbor, the Andersons." Colin continued, introducing the man and his exotic-looking wife. "We met this afternoon," Brenda said, "Robb and Fran invited me over to their island. And these are my friends, James, Amanda and Sherri." We shook hands and Fran looked at Sherri, "Ahh, I know you - you're Ralph's new girl, aren't you? We met at the Summer collection!" To Anne she explained, "You may not know it, but we are graced with Polo's new teen star!" "I'm overwhelmed the 'Supermodel of Brasil' even remembers me!" Sherri laughed, "You're going by the name of Fran now?" "You'll find that most people living in the out islands don't give a damn about who you are on the mainland - around here I'm just Rowdy Robb's wife, although Francesca IS my middle name." Fran suddenly grinned at her, "So you're the one who impressed the hell out of the ferryboat of tourists today?" "Leave them be, dear," Robb said, "They don't need your cross-examination." To us he said, "Excuse my wife, she doesn't know how to be subtle." "I'm sorry," Fran smiled, "I suppose after twenty years in the business, I've forgotten how to be civil! My apologies." She inclined her head. "How did you find out about the ferryboat?" Brenda asked. "Once the tourists disembarked, the news spread. Paparazzi went to check you out and saw your boat going around to our island, so they assumed it was us!" Fran replied. "Then they gave us the third degree!" Robb grinned, "But your secret's safe - we enjoy a bit of notoriety ourselves!" "Besides her modeling career, Fran helps Robb run a very successful line of swimwear in Miami." Anne added. "We'll send some to you," Fran said to the girls, "They look good and are very comfortable - and it's not because I'm the owner," She smiled at her husband, "The first time I tried them, I could tell Robb was special. 'Here is a man,' I told myself, 'Who KNOWS how to coddle his women!' " She raised her wine and toasted him. "You were the one playing Bach's 'Toccata and Fugue'?" Anne asked Sherri, "That was wonderful! Where did you learn to play the organ?" "Sherri's taking music in university." Fran answered for her. "Not yet - I'm still waiting for an answer!" "According to Polo, it's a done deal." Fran nodded, "They know the marketing potential this gives them, and I'd be surprised if they haven't approached your university about the benefits for them as well!" "Still, they've not told me officially..." Sherri sighed, "Which means I'll have to go to my appointment in two weeks." She looked around, "I will miss this..." "Celeste will look after you, honey," Brenda consoled her. "We'll fly you to Orlando, then we can stay here until Sunday." "That's their seaplane in the marina," Colin pointed out, "You must've seen it when you were coming in." "We did," Robb nodded, "And we wondered how you suddenly got yourself such a classy group of clients." "Brenda runs Regan Boats, Robb," Anne gushed, "She dropped everything to fly here to help us out, and we are ever so thankful." "Colin was kind enough to let us use his resort as a base while we test a new boat," I interjected, "but we've been so overwhelmed by the beauty of his place that I'm afraid we haven't been doing much work." "And already they've shown me improvements," Colin continued unabated, "And Amanda is going to help us fix the Carvers!" "I just suggested to Zack that we can swap the engine from one boat to the other to get a more reliable one." Amanda said, "You end up losing the 28-footer!" "I would prefer one good boat to two pieces of junk anytime!" Colin said, then to Robb, "These people are the brains of the boating industry, and they're still so young!" "Young indeed!" Robb agreed, "How many people do you employ at Regan's?" "Just over 400," Brenda answered, "Not including our sales force and affiliates." "And they work for you?" "All of us work at building good boats," Smiled Brenda, "I think I have the best R&D team in the industry so I let them bounce ideas off me; and sometimes I get lucky," She looked at me, "Like when I let James brow beat me into starting a new line of boats when the numbers didn't seem to support it." "Then what happened?" "The design team came up with a dozen gems, some of them truly revolutionary. So we have now two models which can replace five from the older line. And when the market upheaval forced a general rethink of purchases, we were able to step in and offer better options with better economy. It's what we call 'Return on Opportunity', where the results cannot be predicted by General Accounting Principles." Colin nodded, "Regan boats are always leading the industry in technology..." "Yes," Brenda replied, "but technology is actually fairly low in Regan's priorities. Think about it, the idea of radically new technology usually scare buyers away. What Chuck Regan wanted was for people to associate Regan with quality and reliability. You KNEW if you bought a Regan it'll last you for a long time, and it'll have a residual value higher than the premium you paid for it, so over time, it's worth whatever extra you had to pay!" "What about the price shoppers? Won't you'll lose their business?" "Not necessarily. On the one hand, we don't want the customer who cannot even look after his own car to buy our boat. When things go wrong, usually through his own fault, he'll blame the manufacturer - so we would much rather he buy from the competition. "On the other hand, we want the smart shopper, limited budget or not - he's the guy who will maintain his boat properly and speak to others intelligently about it. That is why we offer more training for our dealers, so that the pre-owned Regan is every bit as desirable as a new boat." "What about the market slowdown? How did that affect sales?" "Its effects are still being felt by everyone in the industry, but we have a lot more depth and liquidity than most of the competition, and, because we have the Sabre series, our inventory commitment has been greatly reduced, so we may actually gain grounds on the others." I turned to Amanda when they started getting into the economy, and the outlook for recreational spending, "C'mon babe, you still don't have any food, why don't I help you?" I took her hand and led her to the buffet, "That was a good move sharing the sashimi and the wine!" "I liked the Zinfandel from this afternoon, so I figured it'll work for them too... Besides," She grinned, "I was afraid they'll realized we weren't joking about your appetite and decide to toss us off the island!" "Not a chance, now that Colin realizes how much you can do for them! Here, the Green Pawpaw salad is quite good, you should try it!" "And you've tasted it?" "Not yet, but if you really like it, I will. And you really should get a lot more of the roast chicken and curry goat." "Sure," She sighed, "Feel free to use me for your gluttony!" "Not just gluttony, babe," I grinned, "Lust is right up there too!" We had just seated ourselves when Donnie and Eva came up, "I hope we're not too late with the pork shoulder, and your two grilled fish!" They left another two trays of food on our table. "That's really nice of you - why don't you join us and help me out?" I said. "Wow, that's so generous of you!" Laughed Amanda, "Considering you already ate their share of the dinner!" "Please enjoy your food, "Eva smiled, "We've got more than enough. In high season, there'll be as many as eighty people taking part in these corkers, and we'll go through a hundred pounds of meat alone." "Where does the food come from? I didn't see any farms on the island." "Aside from fish, and a small amount of chicken, goats and pigs, we have to import everything from the Mainland. We keep between three to five hundred pounds of frozen foodstuff on hand at all times." "Must cost quite a bit to do that year-round." "It's something we have to accept, but it's not just the food, even our water has to be shipped in, and virtually all our power and fuel have to be come from the States too." Zack and Hazel came and pulled up a table to join us. Zack and Amanda immediately launched into their plan to convert the Carvers. "I'd guess that the middle of Hazel's building is the meat freezer then." I said. "How did you arrive at that?" Asked Eva. "When Hazel took me around the side, I realized the store and bar-front takes up less than half the length of the building; factor in the refrigeration already in place, it's not hard to imagine that the middle, what?, thousand square feet is for your meat freezer." "Almost, not quite!" Eva said, "The actual storage is 800 square feet, there's dry storage too, and Hazel's room!" "Wow, you live there too?" "It has its uses," Hazel laughed, "I don't need an alarm system, plus I get free air-conditioning!" "I like how you painted the outside differently, as if they're separate buildings!" "Yeah - I get the perplexed look all the time, when I pop out at the bar after serving them at the store. I'm twins, I'd say." She grinned. "Ah, and you're like fifty feet from Zack, where the back-up generators are!" "Exactly, and since Zack has the compressors and heavy equipment, he needs the generators, and he's the guard-dog for his building too!" "Wow, you guys are just amazingly well organized!" "We have to thank Eva and Donnie," Hazel said, "She made everything work, and Donnie did all the electricals and HVAC plumbing!" "You guys were doing fine before I got here." Eva protested. "No, we had fewer guests then and still we needed four extra full time people!" "What's your background, Hazel? How did you get into scuba diving?" "I think I was born with a swim mask and a tank on my back. My parents had a dive shop over in Freeport - that's on Grand Bahamas Island, and I was swimming and diving as long as I remember. Mom always said I wouldn't sleep unless I could hear the waves. "After I got my Diving Instructor certification, my parents sent me to the Bahamas North College for a Nursing diploma. There I saw an ad for this job, I applied and... here I am!" "Your parents still have the dive shop there?" "Oh yes, but my two brothers are running the business now. Mom still runs the Conch Bar there, and Dad takes out the occasional Tuna sport charter..." "Tuna? Did someone say Tuna...?" Amanda interrupted her discussion with Zack to ask. "Hazel's Dad takes people to fish for giant tuna..." I explained. "Where?" She demanded. "Grand Bahamas Island," Hazel explained, "It's about a day's sail from here, because we have to navigate though the reef. But it's actually less than a hundred miles away..." "Like 40 minutes by plane..." Amanda got thoughtful. "It's not something you want to rush in, you should have at least a week..." Hazel said. "Why?" "Because there are much more to see and do there..." Hazel teased, "The beaches, the tax-free International Bazaar, and... have you heard of the Shark Rodeo?" "No... Shark Rodeo...?" "Oh yeah," Hazel grinned, "My brothers take you down about 40 feet, and you swim among the sharks, you get to see reef sharks, silkies, nurse and even tiger sharks. I've never seen fewer than twenty and every one of them is six feet or more and some are over nine!" "How close are you allowed to be?" "Close; close enough to pet... Joe, that's my older brother, he actually does this thing where he puts one to sleep by scratching its head..." "Whoa..." Amanda's eyes got real big and her nipples stood right up. "Nobody is bringing my baby that close to a shark!" Brenda decided. "Oh Bren...!" "The shark rodeo has a 100% record..." Hazel temporized, "We've had over 500 dives and there's never been a single accident..." "Of course there are certain precautions to observe," Eva added, "But we're not suggesting you go right away. Finish your scuba training and we can decide..." "Anyways, Joe, and the whole town are busy with a Hollywood movie they are making over there. But as your last dive, I had planned to take you to Shark Reef. You'll be able to see reef sharks there too - just not so close..." I quickly motioned Amanda not to ask the obvious question, then added, "Brenda had an episode with a shark a little while back..." I took her hand, "It'll be fine, babe..." "Yeah, it still freaks me, I guess!" "Good you told me that, so now we can let you adjust slowly," Hazel said, "It is important to understand that open water diving is not like visiting Sea World or a large aquarium. Animals in the wild are not trained and are not performing for you. Life underwater is exactly that - life. There is beauty and splendor in everything as long as you look at them as part of nature. "Away from our interference, the oceans has stayed in its primal form and is an experience closer to our animal ancestors than any you will find elsewhere. Nothing's added or taken away; simply raw, vibrant LIFE in all its glory!" She turned to Brenda, "There are no time limit to the open dives, you can do as many as you want, or as few. Also, many of our students are very satisfied with just free diving - it is many times simpler, and you can see and do virtually everything the scuba divers can to 20 or 30 feet." Hazel smiled, "Get your feet wet, then you can decide - we'll take it easy!" "Ah, excuse me, Miriam is putting the food away." Donnie advised, "Time for the second part of the evening. Sherri, are you still game?" "Sure!" She smiled, "I can't wait to play with your organ! And in public too!" She grinned at us, "Let's go and get down!" "You're a BAD girl Sherri!" Amanda chided, then returned back to her conversation with Zack, which now included Colin as well. "I'm sure glad Ralph didn't hear that remark!" Laughed Fran. "Ladies and gentlemen," Donnie said, after some adjusting of the microphones, "Tonight we have a treat for you all. Taking a break from her busy schedule, we are fortunate to have in our midst a top notch musician. I proudly present... Sherri!" "It's more like taking a break from the world!" Sherri laughed, "And I cannot think of a better place to get away from it all! What a wonderful resort and what a wonderful group of people here. To our hosts!" She led the applause. After it died down she pointed to the B3, "I was not aware of this beautiful instrument until today, so I've only a few hours to play with it..." She sat, and started a simple, familiar riff. Two bars later, Donnie sang, softly at first, "Ooh yeah, Alright!" then louder, "We're jammin'... I wanna jam it with you... We're jammin', jammin'... And I hope you like jammin' too...." We were clapping loudly in time, and when Robb led Fran out in a dance, others quickly followed. "C'mon, take me dancing!" Brenda urged me, "I bet we can do just as well as them!" "I can do Robb, easy..." I said. All he was doing was shuffle his feet while Fran weaved sinuously around him. After an earlier fiasco with Jules, I've decided shuffling was my only speed. "Man, that girl must've watched a lot of 'Dirty Dancing'!" Bren marveled, and wound her arms around my neck. "Hey, you know this is my SECOND dance with you - ever? Oh wait..." She carefully undid the buttons of her blouse and tied the tails high under her breasts. "Incentive..." She grinned mischievously, and when she reached her arms up around my neck, her shirt gaped enticingly. She hung on to me and rubbed her body against mine, "How're we doing?" She purred against my lips, "Are we a happy camper yet?" "We've been VERY happy since getting on the dance floor!" I kissed her lightly, "Is my Bren happy?" "Bren is ecstatic, honey. This is one of my fantasies, to go dancing with you, and shamelessly seduce you!" "You've done that! And probably more!" I touched my lips to hers and we swayed closely until the end of the song. Somewhere along the line, Donnie had picked up a guitar and he now joined Sherri in a funky rendition of 'Stir It Up' . "Is Mandie still knocking heads with Colin and Zack? She's so missing out..." Brenda murmured against my ear. "Let them be, she looks quite happy..." "Yeah... make me happy my sweetie darling, put both your hands on my ass... Mmmm..." She shivered as I pressed and wriggled against her groin. "So fucking horny..." She sighed and shook on me until the song wound down. "Babe, can you do something for me tomorrow?" I said. "Why not tonight? Better yet, why not tonight AND tomorrow?" "Sure, just make sure you're ready at six tomorrow!" "Hmmm... why? What's happening at six?" "Sherri!" It was Robb, "Do you know any Jimmy Buffett?" "Who?" "JIMMY BUFFETT! The singer! Margaritaville, Cheeseburger In Paradise..." "Calm down Robb!" Sherri laughed, "Of course I know him! I just wanted to see your face change colors!" She shook her head, "All you Parrotheads get so insulted when someone doesn't know Jimmy!" "You better believe it! Margaritaville forever!" Shouted Robb. "Well, I can try... If I can get James to get his hands off his dance partner long enough to come up and help me... James...?" "C'mon," I tugged Brenda, "My chance at stardom!" "I didn't know you can sing..." Brenda said, "In fact I KNOW you can't sing!" "No singing is involved," Sherri said, "I need him for volume." She turned to Robb, "We were lucky to catch Jimmy at a charity performance he gave at our friend's restaurant in Brookhaven, and we'll try and give you our rendition of it!" She checked her drawbar settings and nodded to me, "OK, ready?" "Fire away!" Sherri started playing and sounded like a steel guitar, she sang, "The sun is hot and that old clock is movin' slow, And so am I. The workday passes like molasses in wintertime, But it's July. Gettin' paid by the hour and older by the minute, My boss just pushed me over the limit I'd like to call him somethin', 'Stead, I'll just call it a day..." With great volume I sang, "Pour me somethin' tall and strong; Make it a Hurricane before I go insane. It's only half past twelve but I don't care - It's 5 O'clock somewhere." And together, "This lunch break is gonna take all afternoon 'N half the night. Tomorrow morning I know there'll be hell to pay, Hey, but that's alright, I ain't had a day off now in over a year, My Caribbean vacation's gonna start right here. If the phone's for me, You can tell 'em, I just sailed away!" Brenda and most of the party were able to join us in the chorus: "Pour me somethin' tall and strong; Make it a Hurricane before I go insane. It's only half past twelve but I don't care - It's 5 O'clock somewhere. I could pay off my tab, Pour myself in a cab, And be back to work before two. At a moment like this, I can't help but wonder: What would Jimmy Buffet do? He'd say: Pour me somethin' tall and strong; Make it a Hurricane before I go insane. It's only half past twelve but I don't care, so Pour me somethin' tall and strong; Make it a Hurricane before I go insane. It's only half past twelve but I don't care It's 5 O'clock in Margaritaville! It's always 5 O'clock in Margaritaville!" Without stopping, Sherri began the next song, adding the sound of a marimba from the upper register: "Nibbling on sponge cake, Watching the sun bake All of those tourists covered with oil. Strumming my six-string On my front porch swing, Smell of shrimps: they're beginning to boil." We waved for everyone to join in: "Wasting away again in Margaritaville; Searching for my lost shaker of salt. Some people claim that there's a woman to blame, But I know - it's nobody's fault." By then Robb was yelling at the top of his voice and gyrating wildly: "Don't know the reason Stayed here all season; Nothing to show but this brand new tattoo - But its a real beauty, A Mexican cutie, How it got here I haven't a clue..." With everyone singing at the top of their lungs and showing whatever tattoos they may have, wherever they may be, we finished with the twelfth repeat of the chorus. "And do you know what happens when you drink enough margaritas?" Sherri shouted. "You get DRUNK!" We all agreed. "Exactly! So..." I launched into: "Why don't we get drunk and screw? I just bought a waterbed It's filled up for me and you... They say you are a snub queen Honey I don't think that's true... So why don't we get drunk and screw? I really do appreciate The fact you're sittin' here, Your voice sounds so wonderful, But your face don't look too clear... So barmaid bring a pitcher, Another round of brew, Honey why don't we get drunk and screw? Why don't we get drunk and screw? I just bought a waterbed It's filled up for me and you... They say you are a snub queen Honey I don't think that's true... So why don't we get drunk and screw?" To my surprise, even the Bentels were dancing with the rest of the wildly prancing, and apparently clothing-optional crowd. "We're gonna do one more song," Sherri said, to everyone's very vocal disappointment, "And this one is a special request... for you, Eva..." Donnie started: "I wanna love you and treat you right. I wanna love you every day and every night. We'll be together with a roof right over our heads. We'll share the shelter of my single bed. We'll share the same room, For Jah provide the bread. Is this love - is this love - is this love? Is this love that I'm feelin'? Is this love - is this love - is this love - Is this love that I'm feelin'? Oh I - I'm willing and able, So I throw my cards on your table. I wanna love you, I wanna love and treat, love and treat you right. I wanna love you every day and every night. We'll be together, yeah! With a roof right over our heads; We'll share the shelter, yeah, of my single bed; We'll share the same room, yeah! For Jah provide the bread. Is this love - is this love - is this love - Is this love that I'm feelin'? Is this love - is this love - is this love - Is this love that I'm feelin'? Wo-o-ah! Oh yes, I know; yes, I know - yes, I know now! Yes, I know; yes, I know - yes, I know now!" = = = = = (C) Copyright 2001-2008. MikeC. All Rights Reserved. All Reproduction for fee or profit forbidden. Copies of this and other stories can be downloaded from: <http://www.asstr.org/files/Authors/MikeC/JAMES/Sun&Sea/>