Senior Year Box Set

Kostas pointed to shore to signal that we were headed back. I hadn’t realized we’d been out that long. But I certainly felt the effect of the afternoon on my muscles, so it was probably time.

Still, I did get to have a little more fun. I spotted a sailboat anchored near where we were going and saw a bevy of babes on the bow, sunning themselves. I mentally slapped myself for thinking that phrase. That had to be something they said back in the olden days. I wondered what the politically correct term was for a group of scantily clad women; you know, something akin to a gaggle of geese or a pride of lions. Maybe something like a ‘hotel of Paris Hiltons.’ Like Kansas, they were flat, white, and, I suspected, easy to enter.

Then again, maybe not.

I planned it so I was flying towards their boat when we were just about to go past them. Turning, I put up a huge spray of water that soaked them all. Alex nearly fell out of the back of the boat, laughing. I glanced back, and I expect that if I’d taken a spill, they probably would have jumped in to kill me.

Kostas made a turn right before their shop to allow me to coast in to the beach. When he docked the boat, the twins jumped out. Alex gave me a high five for spraying the girls. I took the wakeboard to Kostas. Camilla handed our bags out to us and looked concerned.

“We need to get going,” she announced.

I looked towards the water and saw the girls climbing into a small boat. They were soon headed toward where we were docked.

“I’ll hold them off while you make good your escape,” Kostas said. “If you’re looking for something to do this afternoon, we have kayaks. I would be happy to take you on a tour.”

We agreed that it sounded like a plan and left to grab some lunch.

◊◊◊

The afternoon was relaxing. I found it amusing that both Nat and Camilla had fallen for the big floppy hats all the stores seemed to be selling. We all got too much sun and were tired by the time we came back.

I gave Kostas a hefty tip for being such a good host today. He kept us entertained with stories about people he’d taken out. He was also very knowledgeable about the island.

I learned that Mykonos had been named after the grandson of Apollo. Kostas also told us that the architectural style of most of the buildings was called ‘Cycladic.’ It was the harmonious mix of white cube-shaped houses, cobblestone streets, windmills, and blue-domed churches. The result was unique and simple. There was a real beauty to it.

◊◊◊

I came back to the condo to find Ashley there alone.

“Why aren’t you with everyone else?” I asked.

“I needed some alone time. And I was hoping to talk to you. I can tell something’s bothering you,” she said.

“Because of my blowup this morning?”

“That, and you didn’t seem too happy in Monaco.”

“Is Megan okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, she is now, but more than a little embarrassed. Paul pulled up the video of this morning and showed it to all of us. Petros was being an ass. Paul also told us what happened with Peggy and the guy she let into the house. We all understand why you said what you did,” she said.

I didn’t make any comment. When I heard Petros was with Megan, I had a twinge of guilt. But my gut had told me he wasn’t someone I wanted in my house. I’d learned after a few iffy situations that my gut usually knew better than I did.

“What’s really going on? Scarlet is worried she’s done something wrong and that you plan to fire her,” Ashley shared.

“I guess I had different expectations for this vacation than everyone else did. I’d imagined we would be doing more stuff together,” I admitted.

Ashley sat back in her chair and considered what I’d just said.

“I thought you just wanted to do your own thing,” Ashley said.

“Why do you say that?” I asked.

“We all knew when we arrived in Monaco that you had commitments. You always seem to have something going on.

“I mean, think about back home. We never really do anything together unless it involves the kids. You’re always on the go for school or work. I guess we’ve just gotten used to you not really being around.

“When you were busy at the beginning of the vacation, it looked like you had your own plan laid out. We all decided we would let you do what you needed, but we weren’t going to sit around and do nothing,” Ashley said to floor me.

“Here I thought you didn’t want me around. You told me what my mom said about me not being able to go to the casino or clubs. I figured you didn’t want to be tied down by my limitations,” I said.

“And yet you went to both the casino and a club,” Ashley said with a smirk.

“Shut up,” was my witty comeback.

“I don’t understand why you didn’t say anything.”

I thought for a moment and felt stupid. She had a point. I’d based all my relationships on communication, and in fact preached it to my friends. Every time communication failed, something bad happened.

The prime example for me was with Tracy in my freshman year. How we ever became friends after all that was a mystery to me sometimes.