It had been clear, sunny, and sultry in Miami where Christine, Dougie, and Tawny lay on the beach and watched people go about their business.
Dougie lay on a dark-blue beach towel with a pair of shades perched on the bridge of his nose as he listened to music streaming from his electronic tablet. Christine and Tawny ogled the men along the beachfront as they made comments and discreetly pointed at them. They observed the girls as well and compared their own physiques to other girls who walked up and down the shoreline.
Christine looked to the southeast. She tried to see as far past the horizon as she could. Sailboats dotted the ocean in sporadic places. The gentle sea breeze fluffed her hair and sunlight reflected off the ocean, which glimmered like diamonds and pearls.
“If it comes this way, I’m taking off,” Christine said.
“What?” Tawny said.
“Hurricane Aidan.”
“Oh, yeah. Rad, huh? Awesome what it did to some of those islands out in the Caribbean.”
“I’m serious. I wouldn’t want to be caught dead in a hurricane. Soon as it heads this way, if and when it does, I’m heading straight to New York. Pronto.”
“Well, we’re staying. We have no choice.”
“I understand. We’ll just have to wait and see which way the wind blows—pun unintended.”
“Eh, what the heck? It’s been fun while it lasted, right?”
“Yep. It sure has.”
While the girls talked, Christine brainstormed as to her strategy for when she would get to New York. She didn’t share her true plans with Tawny.