Paradise Island by Brandon Royal

Author:Brandon Royal
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781897393123
Publisher: Maven Publishing
Published: 2014-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

“They sure know how to make you feel like you’re king.”

“That they do. And that’s why living here is so addictive. You feel important. It’s an ego trip. But it’s easy to get sloppy.”

“Gotta love the way the locals call you ‘Sir.’”

“Especially the pretty ones,” Rickshaw said. He raised his hand at a few friends sitting in the corner of the bar, while simultaneously signaling to the waitress for a few more drinks. “If I could count the number of times a foreigner built a house and had the whole family move in …”

“To stay for how long?”

“Until you finally move out of the very house you paid to build. The one her family commandeered right from under your nose! Wonder who’s in charge when this happens?”

“I have a hard time saying no,” I said. “I always feel guilty putting my foot down.”

“Saying no is the difficult part — and not feeling like a moron.”

I perked up as if some part of this conversation might be the clue he was looking for.

“It’s a constant struggle,” Rickshaw admitted. “Some guys can’t say no and get taken to the cleaners. Others spend their whole time squabbling over prices with the locals.”

“The cheap Charlies.”

“When people first come over here they spend their time trying to figure out how things work. How the bars work and how the system works. Figuring out how things work is the easy part. Figuring out how not to let this place drive you nuts, that’s the hard part. If you can’t keep a smile on your face then what’s the use of being here?”

My cold beer was kicking in. Rickshaw was on a roll and making a ton of sense.

“And when I say figure out how the bars work, don’t think for a minute that that’s the same as figuring out how this place works.”

I could see Rickshaw’s face turning redder as he no doubt was feeling the jag from his whiskey.

“We have a saying for that too. “On the day thou sayest, ‘I understand this place,’ it’s time to pack thy bags and head to the airport.”

I burst out laughing. “Everyone’s got their favorite commandments to live by.”

“I’ve never broken any of them myself,” Rickshaw sighed, rolling his head in jest and chuckling in self-confession. “But I’ve fallen for the slow boil.”

“How’s that?”

“Throw a live frog into a pot of boiling water and the frog will jump out. Put the same frog in warm water and turn the heat up under the pot and the frog will stay in the water and get boiled. We’ve all got to watch for the slow boil.”

Lovely, who had been talking to the bartender in Coco Lingo, turned. “Honey, did you hear that?” she said. “The biggest pearl in the world was found in the ocean here.”

“The pearl is in the vault of some private collector,” Rickshaw said, confirming that he knew the story.

“Who found it?” I asked.

“A local diver.”

“When?”

“1934.”

“How big?”

“More than thirteen pounds.”

“Come on!”

“The diver gave it to his boss because the boss saved the life of the diver’s daughter by buying her some medicine.

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