All Summer Long: A Novel Part 9

"True. But in a crazy convoluted way you can't blame them, I suppose. It is a pretty intoxicating life that you and Bob have. It's probably really easy for them to fantasize and get carried away with their blind ambition."

"But you don't act like that."

"I'm not wired like that."

"I guess you're right. I mean, after all, it probably seems to them that I was just some random mistake Bob made. Coming out of nowhere, marrying money. The difference, though, is that I really love Bob."

"I know you do, Maritza."

Maritza's eyes were tearing up and Olivia felt uneasy.

"And we have a baby. It's not nice to try to break up a marriage when there's a baby involved. I mean, it's not nice under any circ.u.mstances, but especially with a little girl. She looks just like his momma, you know."

"No, I didn't realize that."

"I'll show you pictures." Maritza sniffed loudly, smiled lopsidedly, and wiped away a tear. "Lord, that man loved his momma like I don't know what!"

"Well, Bob sure adores Gladdie," Olivia said. "And you know what? I don't think Bob's going anywhere. I really don't."

"I'm not so sure. I just wish I could do something to make him love me like he used to."

"Maritza? There's not a woman alive who doesn't feel like that about her husband at some point or another. You need a tissue?"

"Really? Huh. No, I'm okay. I'm going to think of something to win back Bob's heart. Something huge."

"Of course you will! That's the spirit!"

"He just ignores me. All the time! He needs a wake-up call or something."

"You just keep letting him know you love him, sweetheart. He'll come around."

"Do you think so? I could always fire Ellen," Maritza said, with a trace of wistfulness. "But in a way, I'd rather let it run its course."

That remark startled Olivia. Was Maritza admitting that Bob was fooling around with the nanny?

"Oh!" Olivia blurted.

"Olivia, hon'," Maritza said in a world-weary voice, "I ain't blind, you know."

"Of course not! But don't you think it's just flirtation?"

"What's the difference?"

Olivia and Maritza stared at each other, recognizing a new truth. There was such a thing as harmless flirting, and then there was flirting between two people who may as well have been alone and naked. The latter was the variety in which Ellen and Bob were heavily engaged. Bob's intention was to commit adultery. Ellen's intention was to instigate and carry on an affair, undercut Maritza's marriage, and a.s.sume the position of the next Mrs. Robert Vasile. Whether or not they were currently actually having s.e.x was moot. The intention was thriving, and that was enough to const.i.tute adultery. At least in Maritza's mind.

"Now, should we go find those funny little furry dogs?" Maritza said.

"You mean the lemurs?"

"Yes! With the ring tails and freaky tiny hands?"

Maritza, who could change moods in a split second, was becoming excited and happy again. Olivia was very relieved to get off the topic of Maritza's marriage. Maritza pulled the site map from her bag and pointed out the area where the lemurs were.

"It's pretty far from here," she said, showing Olivia the map. "You want to try to walk there or do you want me to call for a golf cart?"

What did she say? Was Maritza deferring to her? Was this offer prompted by, pardon the term, her age?

What! Olivia thought. Now it's happening to me too!

Seeing the look of horror on Olivia's face, Maritza quickly rescinded the offer.

"Oh! Olivia! You were going to walk the whole island alone! I hope I haven't . . ."

"I think I can manage the walk," Olivia said and swung into a lively stride, leading the way.

The lemurs thoroughly restored their good humor, and over lunch, Olivia and Maritza amused the others with stories about the weirdly funny rascals. They were enjoying beautiful salads of local lettuces and other bright-colored vegetables topped with grilled succulent local prawns and sliced citrus. Gladdie, tuckered out from all the sun and salt, was uncharacteristically quiet, just listening for once in her noisy life.

"They come right up to you and stand on their hind legs. One of them climbed right up Olivia's pant leg!" Maritza said.

"I nearly fainted," Olivia said.

"She did! I liked to have died myself, I was laughing so hard! They're super friendly," Maritza said.

"Really?" Dorothy said, as if she cared.

"He probably thought you had food!" Mich.e.l.le said.

"Probably. And they have those crazy eyes that could stare holes right through you like you wasn't nothing but a slice of Swiss cheese!" Maritza said.

"Indeed," Dorothy said, arching an eyebrow over Maritza's grammar, which deteriorated when she was enthusiastic about something.

"I like cheese," Gladdie said quietly.

"I know you do, dahlin'!" Maritza said. "Somebody's gonna get themselves a good nap this afternoon."

Everyone smiled at Gladdie then. It was so nice to see her exhausted. It really, really was.

Anne said, "Their name, which comes from the Latin word lemures, actually means ghost or spirit."

"Did you just happen to know that?" Maritza said. "Y'all? Is Anne Fritz, like, the smartest woman who ever lived, or what?"

"By golly, we should put her on Jeopardy!" Dorothy said dryly.

Anne laughed, ignoring Dorothy, and said, "No, I'm not. I stumbled on it when I looked up this island on the Internet."

"She's still pretty brilliant," Lola said.

"Ha! She sure is!" Maritza said. "So, who wants to go find the big turtles this afternoon?"

The island was home to several species of giant turtles that were also on the endangered species list.

"I do!" Gladdie said. "But my eyes keep getting shut . . ."

Suddenly she was completely fast asleep, sitting up at the table.

"I'll take her to bed," Ellen said, and started to get up from her chair.

"Nah, I'll do it," Maritza said and stood. "You rest a little bit. She must've tuckered you out too."

Maritza gently and easily lifted Gladdie from her chair and carried her in her arms. It was a poignant moment. The women watched her walk away in that slow but determined gait only a child's own mother can exhibit. Olivia wondered if Ellen was feeling any guilt. Or Dorothy.

If they are, Olivia thought, they ought to play poker for a living.

There was not a glimmer of remorse between them.

They all drifted apart after lunch to read or to rest. Bob's wines and more Veuve Clicquot champagne had been served with their meal, so a pleasant, drowsy feeling settled over them. Mich.e.l.le was the only one who appeared unaffected by the alcohol, but then, Olivia thought, she's probably half in the bag all day long.

Olivia decided to take a brief siesta in one of the hammocks down by the water. She was unaccustomed to napping, but if ever there was a place conducive to safely closing your eyes in public, this was it. She kicked off her sandals, climbed in, and was not concerned about her purse being s.n.a.t.c.hed, the jewelry she wore being ripped from her body, or being mugged. She swung back and forth for a few minutes until a huge long cloud floated into view. Mentally she visualized herself putting all of her worries on it as though it were a train leaving town forever, and she watched until it floated out of sight, taking all her troubles away. The next train would bring new clients, new projects, and money. Yes, it was good to be debt-free and she loved their new swimming pool. She dove in and swam laps. The sun felt so warm and good. She swam and swam and swam.

She must've fallen asleep, because the next thing she knew, Nick was gently shaking her shoulder. It was late afternoon.

"Olivia, wake up, darling!"

"What? Oh, hi! How was golf?"

"Gorgeous. Listen, Gladdie is missing. Everyone is running all over the place to find her. I can't believe you didn't hear them calling."

Olivia's eyes got wide and she sat up quickly. "Missing? Oh no! What happened?"

Nick offered her a hand to steady herself as she got out of the hammock.

"Apparently, everyone was asleep and she simply wandered off. Or, G.o.d forbid, someone took her."

"Kidnapped? Are you kidding?" She looked around for her sandals and quickly slipped them on. "Where is everyone?"

The alarm horn sounded, the signal for everyone to gather in the Great House lobby.

"Well, now everyone's headed to the Great House. No one's saying it yet, but you know it's on everyone's mind."

"How terrible! Let's hurry! Maritza must be going insane!"

They rushed there as quickly as they could to find the entire staff arriving and the others gathered around, all talking at once. Everyone wanted to help.

"Someone must've seen her!" Maritza wailed. She was sobbing. Olivia sat next to her on the arm of her chair and patted her back. "Oh, G.o.d!"

"Hush, now. We'll find her!" Bob said, and ran his hand through his hair.

Bob looked over at Ellen, who was in a total state of panic, literally shaking from head to toe, stuttering through her tears trying to explain how this might have happened. She had only nodded off for fifteen minutes. She had not heard a thing. She was honestly devastated. Everyone knew Bob and Maritza blamed her. They all did, and the women were less sympathetic to Ellen's plight because she was such an unapologetic, fresh-mouthed s.l.u.t. This unspeakable thing had happened on Ellen's watch. And the disappearance of a child is always completely terrifying. The possibility of kidnapping for ransom was always at the forefront of Bob's and Maritza's mind. That was the reality of their lives. There were nefarious people all over the world who viewed their extraordinary wealth as an opportunity for them.

The general manager, Hank Green, had already hatched a plan. He showed them all a large map of the island, and with a felt tip pen he marked off the island into zones and a.s.signed three employees to each zone. They would comb every inch of the island. There were still several hours until the island would fall into darkness, but they were each given a powerful flashlight and a headset. He told them to call out the child's name at regular intervals of fifteen seconds.

"Do not worry, Mrs. Vasile," Hank Green said. "We will find your little girl."

"I just hope that no one . . ."

"Shut up! You hear me? Don't even think it!" Bob said forcefully.

An hour pa.s.sed after the staff had begun their search. Radio communication through headsets was brisk, a message coming in every minute or so. Mr. Green began crossing off areas as they were searched. Bob stood next to him and asked him to repeat every message.

"I feel like I should be out there with them," he said.

"No, sir. It's better for you to be here to comfort your wife," Mr. Green said. "We've had this kind of thing happen before. My staff knows what to do."

Olivia heard the manager and watched as Bob offered no comfort whatsoever to Maritza. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were narrowed. Bob Vasile was angry. Very angry.

Another hour pa.s.sed and the sun was below the horizon. The sky would remain light for a while, but time was running out. If they didn't find her very quickly, Gladdie would spend the night all alone in darkness.

And then, as they all hoped, a call came in that Gladdie had been found. She was riding on the back of an old giant Aldabra tortoise. She was just fine. Once the location was given, a golf cart driven by Hank and Bob zoomed down the path. Maritza began to weep with relief.

"I couldn't have lived if anything had happened to her!" she whispered.

Olivia heard her, as did Anne. Both of them hugged her, and Olivia noticed that the prolonged hug Anne gave Maritza irritated Lola.

How stupid you are, Lola, Olivia thought. She thought she might have lost her only child!

Dorothy had already poured herself a third gla.s.s of champagne, and Mich.e.l.le was well into the bottom half of a bottle of Pinot Noir. Olivia, Anne, and Lola were completely sober. Buddy and Sam drank nothing and Nick paced the floor between the men and the cl.u.s.ter of women.

Minutes later, Gladdie ran through the lobby of the Great House and flung herself into Maritza's arms.

"I'll never do it again!" she cried.

"You scared all of us to death! I ought to tan your hide!" Maritza cried.

"You ought to tan mine," Ellen said.

"Oh, honey, you are so fired. Are you kidding?" Maritza said.

"No. She's not fired," Bob said. "No one's firing anybody. This was an honest mistake."

Maritza gasped and said, "Bob Vasile, you make me so mad sometimes, I just feel like taking my child and going home to Momma."

"Don't you even think about taking my daughter anywhere, do you hear me? Ever. Or you'll be very sorry."

The look on Bob's face was pretty terrifying. All Maritza could do was run to her room.

It had been a poor decision on Maritza's part to make that kind of impulsive threat in front of Bob's friends. She pushed him up against a wall. At least that's what Olivia and Nick thought. When Maritza reappeared later at the dinner table, everyone could tell she had been crying. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that they had argued and that Bob had badgered her into coming to dinner.

"It was so awkward to have dinner with Maritza after the terrible things Bob said," Olivia said, "but it probably would've been more awkward if she had not shown up."