Island Fever Ch. 17

Chapter 17: "Disperse"

*****

"Here baby ... let me get that for you," Trish said to Lindsay, motioning for the young and docile 18-year-old to stay seated at the breakfast bar counter within the kitchen. I stood at the entranceway of the kitchen and watched as Trish scurried over to the utensil drawer and fetched a spoon. Then, she returned to Lindsay and gave it to her.

"I really hope you like it," Trish commented, as Lindsay used the spoon to take a sample taste of a banana split ice cream sundae. Trish seemed so worried that Lindsay was satisfied with the dessert she had prepared for her that she clasped both hands together and held them near her chin. Intrigued, I took a step further into the kitchen, although neither of the ladies were aware of my presence just yet.

After several seconds of indecision, Lindsay finally nodded her head and smiled up at Trish. "Hmmmmm ... yummy. It tastes delicious, Trish. Thank you for making this!"

Trish clapped both hands together and even squealed with delight because Lindsay had given her a positive reaction.

Perhaps I was analyzing too deep into this, but it seemed to me that Trish was only happy when Lindsay had a smile on her face. That was a good mindset to have - I was only happy when, for example, Pamela and Devon had a smile on their faces as well - but Trish, it appeared, had taken things to a much greater extreme.

Just the tense, worried expression Trish displayed before Lindsay tried the ice cream sundae, to the look of sudden, absolute joy mere seconds later after being given a good answer was the barometer that I was using. In my eyes, at least, it was not healthy for Trish - or anyone else, for that matter - to be that dependant on making another person happy over something so trivial as an ice cream sundae.

As Lindsay continued to enjoy the afternoon dessert, Trish wrapped both arms around the little minx from behind and squeezed lovingly. She even burrowed the side of her face between Lindsay's shoulder blades and softly cooed, "You are so beautiful, baby. Hmmmmm ... so beautiful."

Lindsay's reaction was, very simply, no reaction. All she did was continue to eat her banana split ice cream sundae as Trish poured all sorts of love and affection upon her. Suddenly, I remembered something Amy had said to me just one week ago today when I brought the subject of these two ladies up during our discussion. Trish is in love with Lindsay. Not the other way around.

I was starting to think that, perhaps, Amy's remarks had some merit. For the past couple of days, at least, Lindsay seemed mostly indifferent around Trish unless the voluptuous Canadian was kissing her, or having sex with her. If this truly was the case, what did Amy base her comment on? Was it something about their relationship that she inferred herself? Or did Lindsay tell Amy that?

Trish was looking for love, and a bona-fide commitment. Lindsay, it seemed, just wanted to have sex.

"Oh, hi Jeremy!" Trish exclaimed, full of her usual zest and energy, as she spotted me standing near the entranceway of the kitchen. As Lindsay flashed me a charming smile of her own, Trish motioned for me to come closer and join them. "Would you like an ice cream?" she asked. "Ice creams are my specialty. I can fix any type of ice cream you want."

"No, I'm fine, thank you," I responded, the thoughts of these two women and the true status of their relationship still dominating my mind. Unfortunately, it appeared as if Trish may have been headed toward a major fall. She LOVED Lindsay and was obviously entertaining thoughts of spending the absolute rest of her life with her. But Lindsay seemed to have a different agenda, and very different ideas. There did not appear to be a middle ground for either of them.

"Are you sure you don't want some ice cream?"

"Yes, I'm sure," I told Trish. "Thank you anyway."

Trish smiled and hugged Lindsay from behind once again, then pecked her on the cheek with a kiss. "After you finish your sundae, baby, how about you and me go back to the recreation room? We can play some more video games. I know how much you enjoy that Final Fantasy X-2 game. We must beat the final boss in Resident Evil 6."

Lindsay placed her spoon down and turned to look back at Trish. "I already have plans with Amy for today." Trish was crestfallen as Lindsay added, "I am going to meet her at two o'clock and we are going to go horseback riding."

Trish's eyes narrowed. "Can I go with you?"

Lindsay glanced over at me. "There are only two horses on the island ... right? Smokin' Satin Bars and Blakken?"

"Yes," I nodded.

Lindsay turned her attention back toward Trish. "Jeremy and Kristanna said that me and Amy could borrow their horses and go riding throughout the forest. Only two horses..."

Trish was defeated. "Oh ... okay."

Needless to say, I felt sorry for Trish. Her little baby had made plans for the day which did not involve her. I frowned as Trish took a step back, her expression empty and emotionless. I wanted to give her a hug, but held back.

"I don't see why two of you could not ride one of the horses at once," I offered. "That way, all three of you could go out riding together."

Trish closed her eyes and sighed. "No ... it's okay." After putting on a happy face which was not sincere, Trish kissed Lindsay on the cheek and murmured, "I really hope you and Amy have a good time together, baby." Trish's pretty mouth twitched as she added, "Maybe you and me can hook up after dinner. Want to play some video games then? We can play X-Box, X-Box 360 or Playstation 3 ... whatever game you want. There are games on the computer, too."

"We can hook up after dinner, sure," Lindsay answered. Now, Trish appeared genuinely happy again. "But I rather not play video games," Lindsay added. "I want to play with Mr. Happy instead ... if you know what I mean."

As the 30-year-old nodded her head and giggled in total agreement, I had a sudden flashback to their first evening on the island when I eavesdropped on Trish and Mr. Happy - a white vibrator, or magic wand. Clearly, Lindsay had been properly introduced to Trish's joy-toy otherwise known as Mr. Happy. She wanted Trish to use it on her tonight!

"Besides," Lindsay added, "I already beat the final boss in Resident Evil 6. I beat the game yesterday."

"You did?" Trish asked, surprised and maybe a little hurt. "You played and defeated the game without me there, too? I thought you and I were team-mates when it came to..."

"Hey kiddo," Amy said to Lindsay, walking right past me and into the kitchen, and cutting Trish's words off in the process. Amy did give me a little wave of the hand, though, but her focus here was obviously Lindsay. "I thought that you and I would get an early start on our horseback ride." Amy glanced at her wristwatch. "'Tis one-thirty. Kristanna has both of the horses ready for us."

"Sounds great!" Lindsay gushed, already rising from the stool seat at the breakfast bar. "Let's go."

"Hey!" Trish exclaimed, causing Lindsay to hesitate and turn back toward her. "You didn't finish your ice cream..."

"Oh, I'm not really that hungry anyway," Lindsay mused, stepping toward Trish and kissing her on the cheek. "Thank you for the thought, though. It was nice."

Amy grasped Lindsay's hand and gently tugged her away from Trish. As Amy then guided Lindsay out of the kitchen, she looked back and waved her hand about in a friendly manner. "Bye Trish. Bye Jeremy. Later gators..."

Once Lindsay was clearly gone from our view, Trish took a deep, ragged breath, and then hung her head low. She turned her back to me and picked up the spoon Lindsay had just been using. After inspecting it with her eyes for five seconds, Trish angrily threw the spoon into the nearby kitchen sink. The loud clanking noise it made as a result startled me.

"Hey ... are you okay?" I asked, stepping toward her. When Trish turned to face me, there were tears in her eyes. I quickly closed the distance between us and placed both hands atop her shoulders. "Hey ... what's wrong?"

Trying her best not to cry, Trish flailed her right hand up-and-down several times in succession. "L-Lindsay ... I-I can't believe that she ... she d-discarded me like that."

"Lindsay did not DISCARD you," I implored. "She just wanted to go out horseback riding with Amy. Both of them asked me before breakfast this morning if they could borrow our horses for a couple of hours. They had it planned. One thing that Lindsay absolutely loves is horseback riding."

"Oh, I know..." Trish sulked, hanging her head low again. She sniffed her nose and added, "I just think ... that ... me and Lindsay should be together. I want to be with h-her. The l-last few days it seems ... it s-seems ... I don't know."

"I would like to be with Pamela, dear. I would like to be with Devon, too. I am sure both of them would like to be with me. But we don't try to monopolize each other's time." Trish glared at me with an angry look in her eyes as I went on, "I know that you are head-over-heels in love with Lindsay." Trish's expression changed to one of curiosity. "That ... it's ... it's so obvious. You love her. Everyone on the island knows it. Everyone talks about it."

"Lindsay is everything that I have ever wanted in a girl," Trish confided in me. "I ... I can't explain it. I know I have only known her for two weeks. Two weeks and two days. But I dreamed about it. I never thought I would find it. The absolute, PERFECT girl. But I did. Her hair, her eyes, her body, her voice ... her attitude, personality, demeanor. I never thought I would find the girl I had dreamed about for so long. Then ... then I met Lindsay in Miami."

"Before you flew to Peru," I sighed.

"If you find the ultimate, perfect girl, Jeremy, you have to latch onto her," Trish quaked. "I feel that way about Lindsay. You probably feel that way about both Pamela and Devon. You cannot let the perfect girl get away!"

"Sweetheart, you are a LOT older than Lindsay is." I could not believe I had just said that. I had nine years on Trish myself! So what did that make me as it pertained to Lindsay and all of the time and energy I had spent on her?

"I don't care how young Lindsay is!" Trish exclaimed. "I love her! And I want to be with her!" Trish shook her head. "Camille was feeding me that same line of garbage just the other day. I'm 12 years older than Lindsay. 30 to 18. Big deal! When I am 70, Lindsay will be 58. Do you think that's a big age difference? No, you don't. But because we are younger, everyone wants to jump on me about our ages. First Camille and now you, Jeremy." Glaring at me, Trish folded both arms in front of her and took a step back. She was boiling with anger because of what I had said to her!

"I am not trying to tell you how to live your life," I insisted, still gripping her shoulders. My top priority here was to get Trish to settle down. I surely did not want her to be angry with me at all. "I think it is wonderful that you love and care so deeply for Lindsay. I don't want to see you get hurt, Trish. That's all. Lindsay is a lot younger than you are. She just lost her virginity what ... two weeks ago. Point is, I don't think Lindsay wants the same things out of life right now that you do."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't think Lindsay wants to settle down and enter into any sort of commitment," I answered. "In fact, I know that she doesn't, Lindsay told me that herself, Trish. I know for a fact that she also told you the same thing."

Trish closed her eyes and sighed once again. "I heard her talk about that before. But I'm hoping that if I treat her well ... if I ... if I show her how much I love her, and how happy I could make her ... she will change her mind." A tear even streaked from Trish's right eye as she told me, "You can constantly reach for the stars, Jeremy, but maybe just once in your lifetime do you actually have a chance to grab one. I got my star now. It's Lindsay. I have no plans to let her go ... let her slip away from me."

I gulped my throat. "I don't want to see you get hurt. You're hurt now, Trish. You're crying."

She stepped away from me and whined, "I'm only hurt now because I went to all that trouble with the ice cream, but Lindsay treated it like it was nothing, and went with Amy. Amy is a BAD influence on Lindsay. A BAD influence!"

"Lindsay and Amy are friends," I stressed. "They live just miles apart in the Cincinnati area. They have a lot in common. Lindsay is young. She wants to explore." Trish was pouting at me now. She did not particularly care for what I was saying to her. "May I give you some advice?"

"Sure."

"If you want Lindsay to feel the same for you that you do for her, then ... then don't suffocate her. I want to spend all of my time with Pamela and Devon, Trish. I really do. I wish I could be with each of them 24 hours a day. I ... I want to suffocate them. But I won't. I can't. There are times when I keep a distance from them. Not because I want to, but because it is healthy for each relationship. Point is, Trish, if you take every minute of someone's life and try to make it your own, it will only lead to you getting hurt, and a broken heart in the end."

"I spend time away from Lindsay," Trish insisted. "I go to the central room and spar with Kristanna every day."

"That only lasts for a short time," I told her. "The rest of the day, you are Lindsay's shadow. Give her some space. Give her room to breathe. Maybe she will ... maybe one day, Lindsay will feel the same for you as you do her."

"No one could make that girl happier than me. No one. I do not think my life is complete unless she is a part of it!"

"Trish!..." I pleaded with her.

"Just to know that Lindsay is off right now having fun with Amy instead of me ... that hurts me inside! It hurts! Amy does not care about Lindsay one bit! Amy is nothing but a bad influence on Lindsay! A TERRIBLE influence!" Trish became even more emotional as she added, "Amy does all sort of nasty things to her when you're not looking, Jeremy!"

"There is no reason for you to be upset."

Trish frowned. "Jeremy, have you ever loved someone so much that you felt completely out of control, eh? So out of control that others around you did not understand how strong and intense your feelings were? So out of control that you made yourself look totally irrational? Even like an idiot?"

"I never said or even implied that you are an idiot," were my words. "I just wish you would take a step back. I do not believe that Lindsay wants the same things in life that you do right now, Trish. The more you obsess over that girl, the more you're going to be hurt if, one day, Lindsay tells you something that you do not want to hear. I did not bring ANY of you here for these six weeks to suffer a broken heart. That is the last thing I want to happen to ANY of you."

"I am not obsessed with Lindsay," Trish informed me. "I love her. Obsession is bad. Love is good." She hesitated for a moment before adding, "I appreciate your concern for me, Jeremy. I really do. But please ... let me live my life. I think there is the potential of something really special for Lindsay and me down the road. If I am wrong, I will deal with it on my own terms. I have been hurt before."

"You have never been crushed before," I sighed. "There is a difference. You said it yourself. Your feelings for Lindsay are out of control. You are not just going to get hurt, Trish. You're going to get crushed if she does not choose to be with you in the end. I don't want that."

"Lindsay is a smart girl," Trish countered. "Once she realizes that no one would ever love her more than me, or treat her any better than I would, she will come around. Lindsay will belong to me, and I will belong to her."

I shook my head at her. "What happens if you're wrong? What happens if Lindsay tells you no?"

"She won't," Trish said, defiantly. "She won't..."

--

"I think I am going to officially re-name this spot, from now on, Devon Falls," were my words, as Devon and I gazed at a spectacular waterfall that tumbled 150 feet down a near vertical cliff into a turquoise-colored pool in front of us.

This was the island at its most picturesque, with tropical flowers, mangoes, ginger and tall, majestic trees surrounding us. A good portion of the cascading water had been turned into a thick mist courtesy of some strong trade winds, which ultimately resulted in a very bright, colorful rainbow.

"Devon Falls?" the young woman asked me, smiling.

"Yes, Devon Falls," I confirmed. "This waterfall here is beautiful, so it should be named after someone beautiful." Devon grinned and sighed in response as I added, "I cannot think of a better choice for its name than yours, princess."

"You're too much, Jeremy," Devon giggled, offering me a playful shove on the shoulder.

The two of us were standing upon a grassy ledge next to the breathtaking falls on this warm, breezy day. Although neither of us were in direct line with the oncoming water, we were soaked anyway - thanks to the constant mist. Devon and I were not complaining about it, though. After a long and strenuous hike to get here, the mist felt wonderful.

Of course, one thing which looked wonderful - aside from the scenic location - was Devon herself. The blonde and voluptuous siren was dressed in a yellow bikini top and a pair of tight, hip-hugging shorts, with hiking boots and white socks adorning her feet. Her face, as always, looked pristine and immaculate. This woman was flawless.

I smiled at Devon and motioned toward the gold necklace that she wore. "Is there any significance in that for you, sweetheart?" I asked, pointing at the dragon pendant which was part of it. "You never take this necklace off."

Devon grinned and held the pendant between her thumb and forefinger, then looked squarely at me. "Oh ... this. Well, you know that when you are a kid, you have dreams about scary monsters? My aunt bought this necklace for me when I was nine or ten, because I was having a bad string of terrible nightmares." Devon glanced at the pendant and mused, "This dragon, my aunt said, was my guardian in those dreams."

"Did it work?"

"Yes, it did. The nightmares pretty much stopped after that. I never take this necklace off, though. Nowadays, I look at it as a good-luck charm."

"Can I be honest and straightforward with you?"

"Of course," Devon answered. "That is one thing that I really like about being with you, Jeremy. You and I are so open and honest with each other. You can tell me anything. I feel as if I can tell you anything, too."

I smiled at her again. "I am not proposing or asking for any sort of commitment yet, but I was wondering if you are really serious about pursuing a relationship with me. What I mean by that is a relationship with the possibility of a long-term and never-ending commitment."

"Marriage?"

I nodded my head. "I want to have a relationship where, if we really like each other and everything else falls into place, marriage would be a strong possibility down the road. That is what I want out of life, Devon. I want to get married and start a family. I know that you want the same, but I just want you to clarify things so I can be certain. I do not want to be in a relationship where there is little or no chance of a long-term commitment down the road."

"I'm not going to jump into anything," Devon said. "But, I am looking to settle down and start a family of my own. What have I been saying to you in recent days, Jeremy? I want to get married more than anything. I wanted to get married when I was still in high school. I would very much like to explore that possibility with you. Again, I am not the type to jump into anything. But I would like to get to know you more, Jeremy, and see if it leads to something..."

I smiled at her. "I would like that very much."