Lunch turned out to be a festival of food because Javier had gone above and beyond their expectations to not only make the pizza and Espinacas con Garbanzos, but he also included a flavorful side dish of Caponata and Morrocan lentil soup.
“Miss Yasmin was not here when we were deciding what to prepare, so I decided to add these extras for her,” he explained. “I hope you’ll like it.”
His deliberate exclusion of Sam from his little speech was not lost on everyone and his pettiness made Rachel giggle.
“If you cooked it, I’ll love it,” said Yasmin, appreciatively. “And it’s just Yasmin. Leave out the title,” she added with a playful wink.
Javier’s grin widened, while Sam’s fingers balled into fists and a muscle ticked on his hard jaw.
“Will you like a slice of pizza, Zoe?” Asked Elaine, unconsciously diffusing the invincible sparks flying around the room.
“Yes, please,” said Zoe politely.
“Let’s dig in,” said Derek, rubbing his hands together gleefully.
Everyone began to eat and was impressed by Javier’s culinary skills because everything tasted yummy. He had returned to the kitchen after serving the meals and remained there while they ate.
Rachel suspected that he did that to avoid locking horns with Sam who looked like he was ready to beat the chef to a pulp, judging by the way he sat stiffly at the dining table and kept glancing at the closed kitchen door.
Once they were done with lunch, there was unanimous agreement that everyone should take a stroll to the beach to walk off that hefty meal.
“I don’t think I’m going to eat anything else today because that was a loaded lunch,” said Rachel, suppressing a belch.
“Yeah, maybe,” said Derek with a smile.
They were walking hand-in-hand past the tall palm trees that lined the property and went all the way to the beach. There were some large rocks on the other end of the beach and it looked like a nice hideout where they could get a little bit of intimacy away from the rest of the group.
“How about we go over there and check out what’s behind that rock?” She asked, pointing toward the distance. “Just you and me.”
“Sure, why not?”
“We’re going back inside,” Elaine announced. “Zoe is long overdue for her nap and she’s getting restless.”
“Aww, poor baby,” said Rachel, bending down to stroke Zoe’s blonde curls.
“No nap,” she said drowsily while yawning and rubbing her eyes. However, she didn’t resist when Elaine scooped her up and headed for the house.
“We’re taking a walk to the other side of the beach,” Derek informed his mom.
“Ok, dear. Sam and I will relax under one of these palm trees here,” she replied. “I’m tired of walking.”
“Cool,” said Derek and he continued his walk with Rachel.
“We should start making plans for Zoe’s birthday next month,” she said as they walked at a leisurely pace toward their destination.
“Oh, yeah. I heard the next phase is called the ‘Terrible Twos,’ isn’t it?”
“Well, for my Zoe, it’s going to be the ‘Terrific Two.’ I’m not going to project other people’s negative expectations on her.”
“Geez, calm down, Oprah. I was just saying what I heard.”
She laughed. “You’re so silly.”
He looked back to see just how far they’d walked and he saw Sam bent over his mother under one of the palm trees where she sat. They were two tiny figures in the distance.
“I hope that weirdo isn’t trying to strangle my mother,” he mused half-jokingly.
Rachel looked back too and saw the couple under the tree, kissing. “Don’t be ridiculous, Derek. I’m sure you can see that they’re kissing.”
“Yasmin is something else,” he chuckled. “Well, I’m just glad that she’s happy.”
“That’s the spirit!”
They reached the rock and were relieved to see that it was indeed secluded and was directly under a huge palm tree that provided them with the perfect shade from direct sunlight. They sat down beside the rock to catch their breath after the long walk.
“Come here,” Derek whispered to Rachel and lowered his lips to hers. Their kissing quickly became intense and within seconds, they were peeling off each other’s clothes.
“I can never get enough of you,” he said to her.
“We will never get enough of each other,” she giggled before straddling him.
They made love slowly and sensually on the warm, fine sand of the beach, and when they were done, they ran butt naked into the water for a swim. They spent several minutes splashing around in the water before they finally decided to go back to the house.
“The lovebirds are gone,” said Rachel, nodding toward the place where Yasmin and Sam had been earlier.
“Don’t call them that. They’re more like lust birds.”
“There’s no such thing as lust birds.”
“I know but it’s more fitting for them than lovebirds. You and I are the only lovebirds on this island.”
“I agree,” she said and rose on tiptoes to kiss him.
“I am so happy, Rachel,” Derek said softly. “Thank you.”
“And thank you too for making me just as happy,” she replied with a smile.
They walked hand-in-hand casually in companionable silence as they returned to their temporary home on the island.
**********
Dinner was another fancy affair featuring creamy spinach stuffed salmon in garlic butter, Barilla lasagna, cole slaw, and fruit salad.
Yasmin was the first to compliment the chef on his exquisite culinary skills. “You have outdone yourself again, Javier,” she said grandly. “Well done.”
“Thank you, Yasmin,” he beamed.
“How did you manage to prepare all these meals alone?” Rachel wondered.
“I worked in a restaurant kitchen for seven years and one of the things I learned in that time is speed and quick thinking. I can whip up several dishes all at once in a matter of minutes. It’s all about time management,” he said confidently.
“I salute your stamina,” said Derek, raising his glass of wine to the chef.
“I’ve tasted better meals,” remarked Sam, dryly.
“Where? In your trailer park kitchen?” Javier fired back smoothly.
Sam’s face turned red with fury. “What did you say?”
“Simmer down, gentlemen,” said Yasmin. “Might I remind you that we have a toddler sitting with us here?”
“I apologize,” said Javier quickly. “I’ll return to the kitchen now but please, do not hesitate to call on me if you need anything else.”
Once he was back inside the kitchen, Derek zeroed his attention on Sam and said, “Let that be the last time you will antagonize my chef like that. You are a guest here and I expect you to conduct yourself with respect and restraint.
“I don’t even know you but I allowed you to partake in my honeymoon vacation because my mother wanted you to be with her. Do not overstep your boundary with me, Sam.”
He glared back at Derek in defiance before looking at Yasmin. “Aren’t you going to say something?” He demanded.
Yasmin took her time to slice a piece of salmon delicately and picked it with her fork before responding. “You heard what my son said, behave like a guest or be thrown out. Your choice.”
Sam’s humiliation was hard to watch, so everyone busied themselves with eating their food and ignoring him. He stood up abruptly and flung his napkin on the table.
“I don’t need this!” He said and stormed out of the dining room.
“You need to send him back to the U.S. tomorrow,” Derek told his mother. “I don’t need a sour puss funking up my honeymoon. I don’t even know the guy, to start with.”
“I am so sorry, darling,” Yasmin apologized. “It was selfish of me to force you to allow him to join us on this trip. I didn’t know he would turn out to be the jealous type.”
“Where did you meet him?” Rachel asked.
Yasmin sighed. “At Derek’s birthday party.”
“I knew it!” Rachel laughed. “I thought his face looked familiar.”
“Good Lord, Mom. Do you have any idea how dangerous it is for you to get involved with a complete stranger?” Derek asked. “What if he’s a murderer?”
“Well, he hasn’t murdered me yet, has he?” She laughed.
“This isn’t funny, Mom,” said Derek with a straight face. “What do you know about him?”
She shrugged and kept eating. “He’s a part-time waiter and part-time DJ. He dropped out of college because he wasn’t sure if he was going to school for himself or simply to please his parents.”
“Great, you got hooked up with a rebel,” said Derek.
“What’s so bad about that, honey? He’s not a bad guy, just a jealous one,” said Yasmin.
“Jealous guys turn out to be bad guys eventually,” he said.
“Not Sam. Trust me, he’s just a bull-headed young man but he’s not bad.”
She was proven wrong one hour later after they’d finished eating and she’d gone into the room she shared with Sam to look for him. He had packed his things and disappeared into thin air with her box of jewelry worth nearly a million dollars.
“Damn,” said Derek. “He was a criminal, after all.”
“I can’t believe it,” Yasmin fumed. “That ungrateful bastard!”
“Should we report this to the police?” Rachel asked.
“Yeah, we’ll do that first thing in the morning,” said Derek. “I’ll just change the security code on the door and we’re good.”
“I am so sorry for exposing you all to danger,” Yasmin apologized. “I should have known better than to drag a stranger along on a family holiday.”
“Actually, it’s a honeymoon, but yeah, you could still call it a family holiday,” said Derek with a smile. “It’s ok, Mom. I’ll replace your jewelry.”
She scoffed. “I’m not worried about that. I have more jewelry than I need. I’m just mad at myself for bringing a criminal into the fold.”
“Well, he’s gone now and we don’t have to worry about him showing up here again and causing trouble,” said Rachel. “He’s probably already left the island.”
“I hope so because if not, I’ll break his neck if I ever run into him anywhere around here,” Derek threatened.
Rachel cleared her throat theatrically. “We don’t talk like that around Zoe,” she said with a grin.
“Oops, sorry,” he replied with a sheepish grin.
“So, how should we relax together before going to bed tonight?” She asked.
“Swim?” Zoe asked expectantly.
“We already did that at the beach,” said Derek. “Besides, the weather is getting cooler outside, so let’s do that tomorrow, ok, sweetie?”
“Ok,” said Zoe.
They eventually agreed to go to the cinema room to watch a movie and settled for a child-friendly comedy that had them laughing from the very first scene. It was a relaxing way to end a great day if they didn’t count all the times that Sam tried to stink up the place with his bad energy.
When they went to bed that night, Rachel fell asleep with a wide smile on her face. She was in her happy place and life was good! What more could she ask for?