"Remember it was Lise's suggestion."
"Yes, but you followed up with them and got the ball rolling."
"Anything for you," she said, stretching to kiss my jaw. "Plus, I don't think I'd hear the end of it when you realized you came to Jamaica and missed all the fun stuff."
"That's right."
I looked into her eyes and saw the reflection of how I felt about her. As if she wasn't open to whatever she saw in my eyes, Gina went into diversion mode. She pressed her cheek to my tee-shirt and slid her arms around me. I would have stood there longer, holding her and enjoying the peaceful scene around us, but Vance intruded with one of his comments. "Now is not a good time for the two of you to put down roots."
Gina turned and stuck out her tongue. "You're just bad mind 'cause you have no appreciation for nature and other things."
"Ayisha will tell you differently, little girl."
"I'm no longer that girl," Gina said, rolling her eyes as he walked away carrying a knapsack and a folded towel under his arm.
"I sense there's some history there," I said as we entered the parking lot. "And what is 'bad mind'?"
Gina laughed and flicked her wrist at Vance who blew her a kiss before getting into his Land Cruiser.
She didn't answer until I unlocked the car and we sat with the air-conditioning running. "See, when I was little I used to follow Garth everywhere and he used to call me Little Bit. The little part stuck and Vance drags it out when he wants to provoke me."
"He does have a way of getting under people's skin."
"Tell me about it. That man could drive a saint mad. Kinda like my mother."
"Don't ruin your good mood by going there."
"Too late," she said, flaring her nostrils which I thought was cute since she had that little button nose that wasn't working with her attitude.
"What did she do from all the way in Kingston to get on your nerves?"
Gina looked both ways as we left the park and pulled out behind Garth's Prado.
"Not only did she set Daddy on me. Garth is harassing me too."
"To do what?"
"Go and see her."
I was careful how I phrased my words because Gina was liable to get angry.
"Do you plan to?"
"I told Daddy I would." She spat the words through her teeth.
"So why haven't you?"
"I didn't have time." She turned on the car stereo and added, "Stop looking at me like that."
"How d'you know my eyes are on you since you're supposed to be watching the road?"
"I can feel you trying to melt my skin, like I'm lying or something."
"But you are," I said, trying to hold back my laughter without success.
"I amnotlying. You're at the gym all day, every day. How do you know what I'm doing?"
"We're still staying in the same cottage." She cut her eyes at me, but I continued, "so I know you're hunched over that laptop all day."
