excerpt

It was Neal who’d suggested the Caribbean holiday. There’d been
an ad on the radio, some off-season deal out of Toronto. The
mechanics in the hangar organized a farewell bash for Ace. They
presented him with a disposable camera and a box of condoms.
Ace used it, too—the camera, that is. Here’s a picture of him sipping
the complimentary rum punch by the pool. Note how the palm
fronds in the foreground resemble a head of hair flapping in the
wind. Not Ace’s hair, that’s for certain. He didn’t have much left.
His first full day on the island, ankles still swollen from the economy-
class flight, Ace was off on a look-see, getting the lay of the
land. The heat was debilitating to a pasty-skinned visitor like himself.
It had been an agreeable sub-zero the morning of his departure.
He asked the taxi driver to skip the usual attractions and take him
directly to a place with air conditioning.
– A whorehouse would be nice. I can see the other stuff later.
– Dat place don’t have air-con, sir, the driver said.
Ace noticed the crucifix swinging from the cab’s rear view mirror.
A plastic Jesus was affixed to the dash.
– I take you to where long-time-ago islanders fight for independence.
And so for those first few days Ace Redman snapped out-of-focus
photos of crumbling stone turrets and ocean views, of bloody near
every colonial landmark and designated heritage site on that miserable
reef. Here’s a shot of the sun-blistered budget tourist with his arm
around the driver. A rusted cannon squats between them like a surly
family pet.
On his return to the Beach House Hotel, Ace discovered that in his
absence the bar had been invaded by a convention of U.S. insurance
brokers. They were a noisy but likeable lot. At least until the discussion
turned to the quality of TV reception in their rooms.
– The brochure called this dump deluxe, griped one. The man
glanced at his wristwatch. I’m missing NYPD.
After dinner he braved the gauntlet of barefoot hawkers
encamped near the hotel entrance and followed the seawall into
town. Though it was still early in the evening, tourists were sparse.
Many of the shops were closed.

https://draft2digital.com/book/3562874

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0980897971