“She flies back and forth to New York on their private jet,” Li added, unhelpfully.
Rolling my eyes, I asked, “Hey, can I get you guys anything to drink?” as I stood up.
“I’m fine, thanks,” Li said.
“Nothing for me, thanks,” Myles replied as he set up his computer on the table.
Just as I was about to head to the kitchen, Angela came out with a tray with four tall glasses on it. “This is a popular drink in my country,” she said, setting one down for each of us, taking her own into her hand.
I looked at the milky-looking drink with its slice of lime garnish skeptically, but took a sip anyway.
“Wow, that’s good!” Li exclaimed. “Very, um, coconutty.”
“It’s like lemonade, but with green limes, and coconut cream,” Angela explained. "It’s very popular in Cartagena- they sell it everywhere.”
It was borderline too sweet for me, but there was no way I was going to criticize it in front of guests.
Myles took a polite sip, but barely touched his after that. Li, in contrast, finished off hers almost immediately and soon began eyeing Myles’ full glass.
In any case, soon we were in the thick of the school project and time passed quickly. When Angela came over and asked when we’d be ready for dinner, I was surprised to see it was already seven o’clock.
Looking at the others for confirmation, I said that we could take a break any time. When Angela bustled back into the kitchen, Myles asked me, “Isn’t she a bit young for you?”
“That’s what I said!” laughed Li. “But she’s actually older than Leah!”
“Yeah, four years older than me, if you could believe that,” I agreed. “She just has a really young face.”
“Really?” Myles asked.
During dinner, which was a plate full of beans, sausages, rice and a fried egg and plantain, Myles casually mentioned it.
“Angela, Leah tells me you’re actually older than she is,” he said, fishing.
“It doesn’t feel like it,” sighed Angela. “Leah is so very mature and has done so much with her life already, you know? It’s hard to believe that I graduated from university the same year she finished secondary school.”
“What’s your degree in?” Li asked, interested.
“Media communications. I attended the National University in Bogotá. I thought I would be a television presenter,” Angela said, wincing at the memory.
“You’d probably be good at it,” Li said. “You’re really pretty, have a great voice, and don’t seem shy at all.”
“Why did you leave Colombia?” Myles asked, probably just to make small talk. I’d never thought to ask, so I was curious.
“In university, there was a boy who was interested in me and didn’t like to be told no,” Angela said slowly, thinking about how to explain. “He became more and more insistent, and I began to worry that he might… go too far.”
“You couldn’t call the police on him?” Li asked.
“His family is very… connected. It would have done no good,” Angela said. “He followed me back to Cartagena after we graduated, and that is when I knew that I couldn’t stay.”
“Did he ever, you know, attack you or anything?” Li asked, fascinated.
“Not physically, no, but I was becoming more and more afraid that it might happen. It would have been easy for him to have me kidnapped, and there would have been nothing my family could have done.”
“So you just said ‘I’m outta here!’ and came to the US?” Li asked.
“I had a job set up with Telemundo in Miami, so I moved there, but it turned out the pay was lower than I had realized, and there was no way for me to advance, really,” Angela explained. “I only lasted a year there, before the man I was dating and I moved here to Los Angeles. I thought I could maybe try to get a job at Univision, but they really only want people with Mexican accents.”
“So what do you do for work, then?” Myles asked, interested despite himself.
“I’m a model,” Angela said, keeping the details to a minimum.
“I can certainly believe that,” Li said.
While we were all chatting, both Li and Myles completely demolished their dinners, to my surprise.
“This reminds me a lot of the kind of food I ate all the time when I was an exchange student in Brazil,” Myles had said when Angela set the plates down. “Every meal had beans and rice, plus plantains,” he said wistfully. “A bit of pudim de leite for dessert and I would be in heaven.”
“Pudim de leite? Flan? Sorry, I didn’t make any tonight,” Angela said. “But I’ll make it next time. My grandmother’s recipe is the best in the whole world.”
Myles’ face lit up at the prospect, and it made me think of the old phrase, ‘the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.’
After dinner, we returned to our project for another couple of hours, getting it pretty well wrapped up. I think the food made everybody just that little bit mellower, and things went more smoothly when our bellies were full.
As Angela and I saw Myles and Li out, they both surprised me by thanking Angela over and over again for a wonderful dinner.
“I’d be happy to cook again for you guys,” Angela said. “You should come back to visit again sometime soon.”
Once they were gone, Angela and I went back to the kitchen. She’d already cleaned everything up, so there was really nothing for me to do to help. Still, she busied herself somehow anyway.
“Would you like a drink?” she asked.
“How about I make you a drink?” I suggested. “Dinner was great tonight, Ange. Thanks for cooking. It was a big hit.”
Angela glanced at her watch, then plopped down on one of the bar stools at the counter. “I don’t know if it makes sense to go out dancing,” she sighed. “We have to be in Long Beach by seven thirty in the morning, and I don’t want us tired tomorrow.”
“I have an idea,” I said, leaning over to give her a little kiss. “How about I make us a couple of drinks while you put on some music, and we just dance here? Just you and me.”
Angela’s face melted into a smile at the idea. “That sounds perfect,’ she said, her eyes a bit misty. Mentally I congratulated myself on somehow coming up with the right answer.
I mixed us up some Manhattans while Angela turned on the stereo. I had been expecting maybe some reggaeton, like I’d seen her dance to by herself, but instead she chose an internet radio station of old jazz ballads.
Taking Angela into my arms, we kissed long and tender as we swayed to the music. “Dinner really was good tonight, babe,” I said. “I think the love you put into it was the best ingredient.”
Angele’s eyes got a little bit teary with emotion as she replied. “Leah,” she sighed. “I feel guilty for saying it, but Antonio’s arrest was the best thing to happen to me. I’m so happy here, with you and Emmy, I can’t even say it.”
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“As sorry as I feel for the guy,” I said, “his arrest was a really good thing as far as I’m concerned, too. I love you, Ange. I’m so happy you’ve come into our lives.”
Angela laid her head on my chest as we slow danced, and I kissed her hair. Our arms were wrapped around each other, and except for our gentle swaying with the music, we didn’t move or say anything for a long time.
“I want to tell my family about us,” Angela finally said. “I’m going to tell my sister first, then Mamá and Papá.”
“If you think you’re ready to tell them,” I said. “But only do it if you want to. Don’t do it because you think Emmy and I want you to.” Yeah, it was awkwardly phrased, but I think Angela understood what I meant.
“No, I think I’m ready to tell everybody that we’re in love,” Angela said. “Today, by the pool, I wanted every single person there to know that you and me, we are lovers, you know? I wanted them to look at me and you and know that we- that we’re in love, and we belong to each other.”
“Yeah, I got that,” I said. “Here’s the thing. It won’t hurt my public reputation any, and Emmy’s, well, it might, for all I know, make her more famous, if not a bit more controversial than she already is, so don’t be concerned about our side of things. But you need to think about what it might do to your image, since your image is your work.”
“I know,” she said, her voice soft. “But I think I don’t care any more. You guys matter more to me than anything else.”
“All I’m asking, Ange, is that you make the decision with a clear head and think about the ramifications before you do something you might regret later. That’s all.”
Looking up at me, Angela said, “I want to take a bath and then go to bed.”
“That sounds good to me,” I replied, kissing her again.
We were up early the next morning. “Go make us a quick breakfast,” Angela commanded. “I’m going to pick out clothes for us today.” I went to grab something to put on, but Angela said, “No!” and swatted my hands. “I’ll tell you what to wear. Now go make us avocado toast or something. And coffee,” she demanded, pointing at the kitchen. Laughing at her bossiness, I strolled into the kitchen and made us breakfast, completely naked.
After a few minutes she joined me at the kitchen counter. She was wearing a really summery white off-the-shoulder dress that came down to about mid thigh. Peeking out from the collar were the fluorescent pink straps of her very minimal bikini top.
“I picked out clothes for you to wear,” she said. “They’re on the bed."
I went to stand up to go get dressed, but Angela grabbed my wrist. “After we eat,” she said, eyeing me up and down.
Laughing, I asked, “Enjoying the view?”
“Very much,” Angela agreed.
Pleased at the effect I was having, I sat back down and finished breakfast in the nude.
On the bed I found my two-piece swimsuit, a pair of Ralph Lauren Bermuda shorts, a Stanford T and an oversized cotton long-sleeve shirt.
I’d figured by Angela’s outfit we were going to the beach, and this just confirmed it. Angela came into the bedroom to watch me get dressed, pouting every time I covered up any skin. “You are so beautiful,” she said.
Once I was dressed, she told me to take off my watch. She didn’t have on her pink Cartier, and I shouldn’t wear my nice Patek Phillipe, either. I put on my sports watch instead, since it was beach-appropriate.
Angela handed me a bright yellow tote bag made of the same stuff as Croc shoes, explaining that it had towels, spare clothes and other necessities for a day at the beach.
Angela drove us to Long Beach, to the ferry terminal for the boat to Catalina. When I saw where we were, I asked, “Did you talk to Emmy about us going to Catalina?”
“I did,” she said, finding a parking spot. “She told me you guys had a great time there.”
“Did she mention the zip line?”
“Yes, she told me that she was terrified, but you rode with her and it was a lot of fun,” Angela said as we walked to the doors of the terminal. “I was thinking we could maybe do it, you and me.”
I made a point of looking her up and down. “I’m not sure you’re really dressed for it,” I said.
Glancing around to make sure nobody was paying attention, Angela lifted up her skirt to show me she had shorts on underneath.
Laughing, I said, “I see you have it covered. Literally.”
The boat ride was a bit chilly, but Angela had packed a lightweight hoodie, so she was fine. Standing at the Catamaran’s back rail, Angela wrapped in my arms so I could back the wind for her, we watched the Port Of Long Beach disappear behind us.
“Look at all those cargo ships,” Angela marveled as we passed a long line of container ships waiting to pull into dock.
“It’s one of the busiest ports in the world,” I said.
“I can believe it,” Angela said, looking at the forest of shipping cranes shrinking rapidly astern.
Eventually we felt the boat slowing, so we made our way to the front to see Avalon’s small harbor at the base of the steep hills that made up the Channel Islands.
“It’s smaller than I thought,” Angela said as we neared the town.
“It is really small,” I agreed. “But it’s also really cute.”
We were in no hurry, so we let the crowd thin before disembarking.
“You’ve been here before,” Angela said. "You get to be the tour guide, but when it gets warm, I want to go swimming,” she said, pointing to the little protected beach.
“When Emmy and I came here, we did the zip line, and a jeep tour, and saw the casino,” I said. “We can skip the jeep tour. It was cool, but took a long time. We should definitely check out the casino and do the zip line, if you want.” Then, thinking about it, I said, “Emmy and I didn’t see the botanical garden. I walked by and saw the signs for it, but that’s all.”
“Let’s do that first,” Angela suggested. “While it’s still a bit cool. Do we need to take a taxi?”
“No, it’s only about half an hour walk that way,” I said, pointing up the small valley. I’d noticed that Angela was wearing decent walking shoes, not the cute little sandals I would have expected, so I figured a walk was O.K.
As we strolled into town, I led Angela to that same little hotel Emmy and I had gotten a room at years before. Angela seemed puzzled by me booking a room, but I explained that it gave us a base to explore from, and meant we didn’t have to carry anything while we walked.
“We won’t stay the night here,” I said. “Just use the room for the day. This way we can shower after we swim, for example.”
“Emmy is right,” Angela said. “You really do think of everything.”
The botanical gardens were interesting, and well worth the time. I wished that Emmy and I had visited them way back when, but consoled myself with the idea that we could do it sometime soon. After all, the trip from LA was easy.
“This is really pretty,” Angela said as we stood in one of the garden’s tiled archways and looked down the little valley and out towards the blue, blue ocean.
“It is,” I said, holding her hand. “When Emmy and I came, she asked me a question,” I said, remembering back. “She asked if I thought I could live here. In Avalon, I mean.”
“What did you tell her?” Angela asked, still gazing down at the water.
“Something about how I thought the place was pretty, but didn’t think there would really be any work here,” I said.
“But now you don’t need to work,” Angela said, getting her Nikon ready for a shot of the valley.
“No, I still do,” I said. “And so does Emmy. We need to be in a place like Los Angeles, or New York. We need to be where we can do what we need to do. Avalon is a nice place to visit, but we couldn’t live here.”
Lost in thought, I hardly noticed when Angela took a few pictures of me from various angles. She then found an older couple to take our picture with the distant Pacific as a backdrop, then with the tiled wall behind us.
“Sorry,” Angela apologized to me. “I have to take some pictures for my socials. You don’t mind, do you?”
“Of course not, babe,” I replied as she led me to a secluded spot with a small fountain on the side of a Spanish-tiled wall. She handed me the camera and we took a bunch of photos, Angela checking the angles the way she’d done when we took pics at home.
Eventually satisfied, she glanced around and saw we were alone. She kicked off her shoes, then quickly ditched the summer dress and shorts, soon down to nothing but her hot pink mini-bikini. We took a bunch of photos like that, with Angela in various poses.
Angela didn’t bat an eye when the older couple she’d asked to take our picture came strolling by. We just continued to shoot, while Angela gave them a smile and a wave hello.
“Are you a model?” the lady asked, looking Angela over.
“Yes,” she said. “I model for this line of swimwear.”
“Well, you’ve certainly got the body for it,” the lady said as she gave her husband a little shove to get him moving again.
As soon as they were gone, Angela broke out laughing. “Did you see his face?” she asked.
“I was worried she was going to murder her husband for staring,” I said, chuckling.
“Just imagine if they came now!” Angela said, quickly stripping off the very minimalist swimsuit, tossing it aside.
“Seriously?” I asked, glancing around to make sure we were completely alone. “You want me to take some nude pictures here?”
“Yes,” Angela said. "But be quick- I don’t know how long we have.”
I snapped a few dozen pictures while Angela posed, most of the positions hiding the really important parts. All too soon, though, we heard approaching voices and Angela quickly pulled her dress on over her head. She had just finished slipping her shoes on when a group of Girl Scouts walked up the path. Smiling at the girls, Angela and I headed back down the hill to town.
“Do you want these back?” I asked, holding out the tiny bits of pink lycra that I’d tucked in my pocket. “Or this?” I added, holding up the pair of shorts.
“No, I don’t need them now,” Angela smiled playfully. “After all, they’d just get in the way,” she said, turning to walk backwards, facing me as she lifted up the front of her skirt to flash me her lady parts.
“Yes, they would,” I agreed as I stepped forward and cupped her vaj, giving her a kiss. “And we wouldn’t want that.”
Angela pulled away from my grasp, dropping her skirt. “I think it is maybe a really good thing you got us a room in that hotel,” she said, twirling as she laughed.
“Can I ask you a serious question?” I asked as I hurried to catch up. I took her hand in mine and we walked down the dirt road that led back to Avalon.
“Of course you can,” Angela said, smiling.
“Were you like this with Antonio?” I asked. “Playful like this, I mean.”
Thinking about what I’d just asked, Angela said, “No, I don’t think so. We had fun, sure, but no. Not like this. I don’t think so.”
“His loss,” I said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “And my gain.”
“Do you like it?” Angela asked. “Do you like it when- when I act…”
“I love it when you act spontaneously like that,” I said. “I loved it last night when you made dinner and talked with my classmates. I loved it when you took me out to dinner the night before last,” I added. “Ange, I love spending time with you. I really do.”
Smiling gratefully, Angela said, “I want to spend the rest of my life with you and Emmy. You make me happy, happier than I’ve ever been.”
“It’s a deal,” I said, kissing her hand.