Nik said. The
man’s smile widened. “Ahhh, the mythical Terra! Hello, hello!” He
took Terra’s hand and put his other hand on it, holding it
warmly.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Terra said. His soft
brown eyes had a gentle warmth to them. “You have been the topic of
many a long conversation around the fire with my good friend Nik,”
he said. “Stop it,” Nik said, pushing Carmine’s shoulder and
looking off, clearly embarrassed. “No, no,” Carmine said, still
holding Terra’s hand. He leaned in closer to her. “You have him
under your spell. In Jamaica, we call that Majik. It’s like owning
a soul. Big responsibility.” He let go of her hand with a knowing
nod. “So what take you so long?” he asked Nik.
“Motor bike broke down.”
“Ah, crap, man. Where is it?”
“I had to leave it in town and get a
cab.”
“Ah. Let me know where and I’ll see what I
can do.” He turned and stepped off the deck onto the sand, looking
up at the sky. “Fire time,” he said as he wandered off, leaving
them alone.
“Fire time?” Terra asked.
“You’ll see. Come on,” Nik said, leading her
inside the house.
The kitchen was alive with activity. A large
group of people, talking and laughing, were cooking and preparing
food. Music was playing from a portable stereo, giving the place a
party like feel. It was very different from the quiet, serene place
Terra remembered from her last trip.
Her throat tightened as her insecurities
grabbed hold of her. She was never much for crowds of people,
always feeling out of place in cliques. She’d been surprised to
find that college wasn’t much different than high school, with its
fraternities and social groups—it seemed like just a more
formalized version of the high school social scene. She’d developed
a distrust of cliques. Now, when she saw the group in the kitchen,
her first instinct was to withdraw.
“Hey, everyone,” Nik called out, his arm
around her. “This is Terra.” Everyone looked, flashing big smiles.
“Terra! You exist! We were beginning to wonder,” a girl with wild
red hair shouted.
“Hey Terra, grab this, would you?” said a
portly guy with a shiny bald head, handing her a large plate of cut
vegetables as he walked past her.
“Guys, we just come from airport, let her at
least use the bathroom before you put her to work,” Nik said.
“No, it’s okay,” Terra said, taking a deep
breath and dropping her shoulder bag. “I’m good. Where should I
take this?” she asked the bald guy. “Ask Red,” he said over his
shoulder as he went out to the deck.
“Over here,” the girl with the red hair said,
waiving Terra over as she swung her hips to the music. They soon
had her cutting vegetables and mincing garlic. Someone poured her a
glass of wine. Nik joined in, telling Terra who was who as they
peppered her with questions about college and recent news from the
States.
More people came in from outside, grabbing
beers, bottles of wine, stacks of plates and cups, hauling it all
outside. Everyone wore bathing suits and sandals, or went barefoot.
Most of the guys didn’t wear shirts. There was a mix of
ethnicities, but most seemed to be in their twenties or thirties.
There was a casual, sexy, summer camp for adults feel to it.
Everyone was relaxed and friendly, greeting Terra with warm smiles
and friendly handshakes, going out of their way to include her.
It was nice to see Nik in a group of people.
She could tell everybody liked and respected him. His easy laugh
and comfortable charm seemed to bring out the best in everyone. It
didn’t take long before Terra felt like she was part of the group.
It was the only time in her life she felt a real sense of
belonging, like she just naturally fit in.
Terra loaded up with all she could carry and
followed the others outside while Red gossiped with her about
Soren, a Swedish hunk that was methodically seducing all the women.
“Including you?” Terra whispered. Red gave her a knowing