Heat Wave by Karina Halle Page A

until my phone rings.
    Surprised I even get reception here, I fish it out. It's my friend Claire, wanting to Facetime.
    I answer it. “Hey!”
    “Hey Ronnie,” Claire says. “I had to check in. How are things? You were supposed to text me, you loser.”
    Staring at my friend's cherubic face brings a pang of loneliness to my heart. I've never Facetimed her before. I never had a reason to—she always lived down the street from me. Now that I'm staring at her, in what looks like her apartment, probably having just finished work, I'm aware that this is the only way I'll be able to see her for the next while.
    “I texted you when I landed,” I protest. “And I sent you that picture of the chicken. Do you want more? I’ve got chickens all around me.” And it’s true. A group of hens are a few feet away, scratching at the sand and eyeing my fruit.
    She giggles, brushing her brown hair out of her eyes. “Look, the next time you send me a picture of a cock, I hope it's not of the feathered variety.” I roll my eyes. “Besides, telling me you've safely landed is not texting me. You were supposed to fill me in.” Pause. “How's Logan?”
    “Fine,” I say dismissively. “Hey, look where I am.” I bring the phone up and slowly bring it around me in a circle, aiming at the scenery.
    “Seriously?” Claire's voice crackles until I bring the phone back to me. “And you said you didn't want to go.”
    “I didn't!” I tell her. “And I still don't want to be here.”
    Claire is the only person who knows the truth about everything. She knows how Logan and I met. She knows that he cheated on Juliet with God knows who. She knows why I was fired from my last job. She knows that I had no choice but to come out here. She knows everything. Yet another reason why I'm already missing her.
    “Well I'm sure waking up to paradise every day will eventually start to wear your cynicism down.”
    “Cynicism?”
    “You know what I mean, Ron. It could be worse. Everything can always be worse.”
    That's the other thing about Claire. She takes no crap. That might be why I like Kate, they're both similar in that way. There's only so much “boo hoo I'm moving to Hawaii” Claire can handle, even if she knows the truth.
    “Right,” I say. “Well anyway, now you get to come with me on my walk back to the hotel. If the reception cuts out I'll try and call you back later. There's no TV or landlines at the hotel you know, but at least the internet somewhat works.”
    “I think that's charming. Makes you get out there and enjoy the outdoors. How is the hotel anyway?”
    I explain to her the gist of it all, from the layout and the restaurant to the sleeping arrangements and the staff.
    “So it wasn't weird when you saw Logan?”
    I swallow, wishing she wasn't staring at my face and studying it. Fuck Facetime. “Um, well it was weird. Yeah.”
    “Did you talk about Juliet?” she asks softly. Claire always softens her voice when she mentions her name. I think it’s because she's still not sure how I'm going to react.
    “In passing,” I say, then cringe at the poor choice of words. “I mean, she came up but indirectly.”
    “Did you see where . . . it happened? The crash site?”
    That was one of the things I was trying not to look for. I knew it happened near the hotel but I wasn't sure where. “I closed my eyes for some of the ride over,” I admit. “I don't know if I passed it or not. I'm not sure I want to see it, actually.”
    “Fair enough. God, sorry Ron. I can't imagine how hard it must be for you now that you’re finally there.”
    Claire knows I was never close with my sister but she also knows how badly I wanted to be. How I lost that chance for good.
    “Yeah well, I'm just going to take it day by day. Everyone here talks about Juliet like, well, like everyone else does at home. So I suppose that's a good thing. She wasn't just this amazing person in Chicago, she was the same amazing person here.”
    Claire falls