Chapter 15-Bound for Bequia

The trip to Bequia passed quite uneventfully. Except when Mitch kneeled in the small bow and proclaiming that he was the "King of the World." To this, Kat replied by saying he was about to be dethroned and shoved him in the water. It took Kat, Joseph, and I to haul him back into the boat but it was worth it to see him soaked the rest of the trip. Fortunately he had taken his backpack off and set it on the floor or it too would have been drenched in the salty depths of the open sea. Kyle merely sat in the stern and laughed with the two men who owned the boat.

"That is what happens when woman takes hold of throne," remarked one of them.

When we pulled into the port of Bequia, we were surprised to see how large it was. Many large pleasure crafts and commercial boats were moored cheek by jowl in its sheltering harbor. Our little boat had to weave its way through the larger hulls and avoid the other small boats that were also trying to sneak through.

"Why is it so crowded?" Kyle asked one of the men.

"You do not know? Is why we came here!" he exclaimed.

"No, we don't," replied Kyle. "We were just trying to get off St. Vincent."

The man nodded knowingly and explained, "It is the Solstice tonight! There is to be a big party!"

"The Solstice?" said Mitch questioningly. "I guess you guys really need excuses to party down here."

The man shot him a glare. "Do not mock us," he said. "Or you go right back off your throne into that water."

"With these many boats," said Kat with a grin. "The water is likely to be quite, * thick *." She and I giggled. One glance at the harbor's waters was enough to tell how true that was. It had taken a much darker color than the rest of the waters around here. Mitch saw that too and cringed. He didn't say another word until we were safely on land.

"I wonder if the Roam is out there," he remarked, looking at all the boats.

"I'm sure it is," said Joseph. "Every other boat in the Caribbean is. I doubt that they would miss something this big."

"Yeah," said Kyle obnoxiously. "And that means Lindsay's out there."

I expected Mitch to smack Kyle or at least glare but he didn't. He simply said, with a small smile, "Hopefully." Kyle looked genuinely shocked as well.

"Lets find some run down little hotel to drop our bags off in, then get ready for this par-tay," said Kat, skipping a little. "They're probably the only places that aren't full anyway." As it turned out, even most of them were full. We eventually found one that was right by the water and stank of long-dead fish.

"Are you sure you guys want to stay here?" I asked.

"Yeah, this place is great!" exclaimed Kyle. "It's about as cheap as they come and we may not find another open." I really hate the smell of dead fish but I gave in. The rooms were fairly clean and it was cheap enough that we each got our own little bed.

"We won't be staying in it much anyway," said Kat with a grin. We were getting ready to go out and find out about the party in the room we shared. Mitch and Joseph were in another double room next to us, and Kyle was in a small, single room down the way. It was very near where they cleaned the dead fish but he had offered to stay in it.

"How sweet," I told him, and he beamed.

I decided to change since I never really had this morning, except for my shirt. I replaced my shorts with a clean pair of cargos. I made sure to wear cargos because I didn't trust my valuables in a place like this.

"Kat," I said. "I'm going to bring my valuables with me. It might not be a bad idea if you did too." She nodded and stuffed her purse while I put my papers, money, and phone in the large pockets of my shorts. "Thank you mom," I whispered. I realized I still hadn't called her so I picked up my cell. The face read "No Service." "Darn," I muttered.

"What?" asked Kat.

"No service on my cell phone around here," I said with a sigh. "I should have known that most of these islands are to backwater to have cellular phones. St. Lucia did and Grenada probably will as well but its doubtful any others will have it."

"We're going to Union Island soon," said Kat. "I hear that's a pretty big place. Mustique is also a good bet. Celebrities and generally rich people own the houses there. They cost thousands of dollars to rent. My guess is that they would want service but maybe not."

I nodded. "I'll try when we get there," I said to Kat, then whispered to myself, "I'll talk to you soon mom, soon." I slipped my sunglasses into the pocket of my Hawaiian shirt and went outside with Kat. She had slipped on a pair of white Capri pants and a tank top in alternating shades of blue. She was almost as tall as I was since I was wearing a pair of simple, floppy sandals and she had decked out a huge pair of high, black sandals with little white flowers on them; however, I still had a little bit of height on her.

Joseph and Kyle were seated beneath a palm tree with their backs to us, staring out to the sea. "Sshh," Kat indicated with a finger to her lips and we crept up silently to them. Just as we got next to us a large form dropped from the tree. When I saw it, I screamed.