Excerpt of Christmas on Wherever Island by Amber Polo

The plane landed. What had she done? A shiver of apprehension shook Marti’s body. She’d never acted irresponsibly. She collected her luggage and followed her seatmate to the doorway. A blast of warm, heady sea air settled over her. Where was she? Wherever she was, she felt her body relax. Her face softened. Nobody knew her or where she was. She felt lighter. She walked down the steps of the only plane on an airfield ringed by palm trees and crossed the tarmac to the lone building. Under the heat of a tropical sun, carrying belongings intended for a trip to a very cold place, she entered the open door marked WI BVI Customs. “Welcome to Wherever Island!” A black man in a blue and white uniform handed her a form and asked for her passport. Grateful to be the obsessively organized person who always traveled with a passport, she held it out. After a quick inspection, he handed it back, smiled, and pointed to a woman at a table. “Please take your things there, Ma’am.” The customs clerk quickly checked Marti’s purse and carry-on and frowned at the wrapped gifts. “Visiting family here?” “No, Ma’am. Last-minute trip.” The clerk raised her eyebrows. “Hotel?” “Any recommendations?” Marti smiled with what she hoped looked like a dumb tourist grin. The woman frowned again. “Ma’am, you must have a hotel reservation. Can’t have Americans sleeping all over our beaches, now can we.” “May I call a hotel?” “All hotels and the resort are filled. It’s Christmas.” The woman’s eyebrows arched. “What am I supposed to do? Get back on the plane?” The noise of her plane taking off drowned out her words. Welcome to paradise, now go home? She felt a movement behind her and the customs officer’s eyes looked up. A male voice said, “Perhaps I could help?” Marti turned and looked into Cliff Holmes’ broad chest. Cliff smiled his world traveler soldier of fortune smile. He’d changed from those attention-grabbing tight jeans into khaki shorts and a perfectly wrinkled white shirt. His camera cases sat on a cart next to a huge canvas duffle. “Ms. Bell and I work for the same company.” He removed folded papers from his passport case. “I’m here to film your beautiful island. This letter from the Ministry of Tourism will explain. I have reserved a two bedroom cottage at the resort. I was expecting Sonja Holmes on this flight. Perhaps she missed the connection. In any case, I would be happy to share my lodgings with Ms. Bell.”