There is a peacefulness in the atmosphere on the island that eases my spirit. Slowly, day by day, I feel myself coming back to life. Letting go of the weight I felt in L.A. The pressure from the studio and the investors. The pressure from the media to be perfect. The pressure from my mother to stay in the spotlight and keep her relevant in her social circles. The pressure from fans to continue making good movies and television series. The pressure from myself to not let anyone down and to keep my image and brand clean. It’s been a long time—a decade, probably—since I’ve had so much downtime. So long I cannot recall the last time I took more than a week off work, let alone a full month.
My empty coffee mug brings me back to the present and out of my rambling inner dialogue.
Peeking back into the house, I notice Preston on the phone as he paces in front of the large kitchen island. His hands occasionally run through his hair and his face is animated as he speaks with whoever is on the other end of the call. Not wanting to interrupt while he is clearly in the zone and not feeling up todoing any of the work I need to do, I decide to check out the kayaks before we go out this afternoon.
Seeing a sailboat pushed onto the shore beside the equipment shed, I wonder if Preston knows how to sail. He mentioned to the boat captain that he could drive a boat but there is still so much that I don’t know about him. As much as I don’t know, I have learned a lot about Preston Fields. I know he’s a hard worker and dedicated to his job which also happens to be his passion. I know he is close with his parents and always tries to help out when he can, like how he spent the off-season back home in Georgia after his father’s heart procedure. I know my father thinks highly of Preston even though he hasn’t outright confirmed it. I know Preston has a generous spirit, as evidenced by both our call with Gabby and his current state this morning. Even him volunteering to stay with me so I wasn’t alone in Belize until my return flight showed me his good heart. He doesn’t give himself enough credit. He’s extremely vocal about how highly he thinks of me and his support of whatever I decide to do next. I need to return that support to him.
Two kayaks hang on the side of the shed. Spotting a water hose nearby, I decide it wouldn’t be a bad idea to wash them off before we take them out. There’s no telling when they were last used. And I am not about to stick my body in there if something creepy crawly could be living in there. With them hanging, there is a slight angle allowing the water to run out of the hole.
It takes a few tries, but I finally get a good grip and lift the kayak off the wall.
“Oh, Ivory, this was a bad idea,” I say to myself, struggling under the weight of the kayak above my head. My elbows buckle and the kayak falls, narrowly missing my head as I shove it to the side at the last minute. My tank is sticking to my skin and I can feel the sweat beading in my hairline. Maybe I should have waited for Preston. Breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth, I steady my breaths. After getting bothkayaks situated by the shoreline, I head into the shed to find some paddles before going back to the house in search of water.
Preston is still sitting at the table on the computer with copious notes on a notepad beside him. He is typing with intense focus so I don’t interrupt him as I pull a bottle of water out of the refrigerator.
Drinking my water, I lean against the island and take Preston in. His hair is disheveled like he has been running his fingers through it. His chiseled jaw is more defined in profile and even more so as I see his jaw ticking while he types. I can’t tell if he is upset or just working through the words he is typing in his mind. He hasn’t noticed that I’m back or if he has, he didn’t acknowledge my presence.
Leaving him to it, I make my way to my bathroom to wash my face and cool off. The sight that greets me in the mirror is a disaster. Thank god, he didn’t notice me. It looks like I got in a fight with a raccoon and lost. Strands of hair have fallen out of my ponytail and what is still hanging on is tangled and off center. My face is flushed red from exertion and it’s obvious I’ve been sweating. A sour smell fills my nostrils when I lift my arms to fix my hair. Foregoing my plan to just freshen up, I turn the shower on and jump in to wash off. I will not be facing Preston again smelling and looking like this.
Satisfied with my presentable state in a bikini, athletic shorts, and a fresh tank, I head back to the kitchen in search of lunch. Preston hasn’t moved. Making a sandwich for myself and one for Preston, I try to get his attention. “Making good progress?”
Preston jerks in his seat. “I didn’t see you come in.”
“I noticed.” I chuckle. “You’ve been laser focused on that screen. How’s it coming?” I ask, inclining my head towards the computer.
“Good! I talked to the player from Gabrielle’s’ team. He had some great ideas and we have a plan to get more involved. I’vebeen writing emails and doing more research. I talked to Miller too and he’s in.”
“That’s your best friend, right? He also plays for Tampa?”
“Yep. He’s our catcher. We’ve been friends since college.”
“Same with Gabby and Tay.”
“It’s hard to make friends as adults but the ones that stick around are that much stronger.”
“They are. I don’t know what I would do without my girls.”
“Gabrielle seems cool. What’s Taylor like?”
“She’s the crazy one of the group. All fun, all the time. It was her idea for me to come here. She works her ass off and is super loyal but she’s also the one that will be sitting next to you when you are in jail.”
“And who posts the bail?”
“Gabby, definitely.” Preston laughs at that.
Preston takes a large bite of his lunch groaning as the food hits the spot. “Guess I can take ‘teach Ivory how to make a sandwich off my list’ since you clearly have that covered,” Preston says, poking fun at our cooking lessons.
“Yes, let’s take that one off the list.”
“What have you been doing?”
“I went down to the dock and got the kayaks ready.”
Preston’s jaw slackens. “You did?”
“Yep!” Pleased with myself for surprising him.
“I would have helped you.”
