“I’m hanging up now,” Carly said, smiling. “I love you. Thank you for listening.”
“Wait! You don’t want to say hello to my Latin lover? My Antonio Banderas lookalike?”
“Goodbye, Auntie…” She ended the call, cutting off her aunt’s laughter, and looked at the pictures on her desk of her and Zev with their passports in their mouths and holding their treasure map. She was filled with longing.
Her phone vibrated with a text, and Zev’s name appeared in the bubble, as if he’d sensed her thinking about him. She opened the message, and a selfie of him on the boat popped up. He was shirtless, his hair blowing in the wind. His right arm was outstretched, his elbow slightly bent, his hand cupped. In his left hand he held a piece of cardboard on which he’d written I wish you were here and drawn an arrow to the right. Elation bubbled up inside her. She grabbed a sticky note and wrote I am on it and stuck it to the picture of them holding the map. She held the picture beside her face, puckered up to blow a kiss, and took a selfie, sending it off to Zev with a heart emoji.
There was a knock at the door, and Birdie poked her head in. “Are you still raving about your endless love or can you help me with something?”
Carly leaned back in her chair and kicked her feet up onto the desk. “He’s just so hot and so sexy,” she said dramatically. “I think I need a few more minutes to rave, or maybe an hour or two.”
Birdie stomped over in her white cowgirl boots and booty shorts. Her red Divine Intervention tank top was knotted above her waist, showing about an inch of tanned, toned stomach. “Let’s go, Madam Sexpot.” She took Carly’s hand and yanked her to her feet, dragging her toward the door. “This business won’t run itself.”
BY LATE AFTERNOON, the sidewalks were packed with festivalgoers. Balloons danced from long strings tied to children’s wrists, and music from the park at the end of the block lingered in the air. Carly stood behind the table on the sidewalk in front of the shop, helping customers, while Quinn and Birdie helped customers inside. This was usually her favorite part of the festival, but as she made small talk and enticed customers into checking out their new offerings inside the shop, she was too distracted to enjoy it. She was usually an avid listener, sincerely interested in everyone’s stories and questions, but today the only thing she was eager to do was to be part of the expedition going on off Silver Island.
“You can pay for the cake pop inside. You’ll find the peppermint bars and Treasure Hunter Fudge in the glass display to the right of the register,” Carly said to the older couple she was helping.
The silver-haired man said, “Very wise marketing, getting your customers to pay inside, where they can’t resist buying more chocolate.”
“That’s the hope,” Carly said, the eager lilt in her voice forced. Guilt and frustration bubbled up inside her. She loved this business and working with Birdie and Quinn. She loved the noise and the goings-on of the festival, so why did she suddenly feel like she was standing in a gully, buffered from the rest of the world by the surrounding mountains that had once brought her peace?
“Is this white chocolate?” a young mother asked, pulling Carly from her thoughts. Two little redheaded girls stared up her, anxiously awaiting an answer.
“Yes. I’m sorry, my flavor chart seems to have gone missing.” Carly peered over the tray looking for the chart she’d made and felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Zev had texted hours ago after his meeting with the attorney to say it had gone well and he was heading back to the island to meet up with his team. Randi had sent texts on and off throughout the day with messages about what they were doing and funny comments about the boys. Her last text had included a picture of Zev leaning over a table with Ford, Cliff, and Tanner, with the caption Predive strategy meeting. Anxious to see the latest text, Carly quickly pointed to each of the samples as she named them. “These are white chocolate, vanilla, mint-chocolate swirl, milk chocolate, chocolate cherry, maple walnut, and our newest special, Treasure Hunter Fudge.” She went on to describe what