Free The Bungalow by Sarah Jio

I said. “But you’re all fixed up.”
    “I’m Westry,” he said, extending his bandaged hand. “Westry Green.”
    “Anne Calloway,” I replied, shaking his hand gently.
    “See you around.” He headed to the door without lingering.
    “See you around,” I said, catching a glimpse of red in his left hand. As the door clicked closed behind him, I reached up to my ear. The hibiscus was gone.

Chapter 4
    “W hat time did you come in last night?” I asked Kitty the next morning from my bed across the room. I’d been awake reading for at least two hours, waiting for her to stir.
    She took one look at the clock, then pressed her head back into her pillow. “Late,” she said, her voice muffled by down stuffing.
    “It’s nearly nine,” I said, remembering our good fortune to have arrived on the island on a Friday. Saturday was our only day of leave. “I won’t let you sleep away our only day off. Come on, let’s get dressed!”
    She yawned and sat up. “I can’t believe it’s nine already.”
    “Yes, sleepyhead,” I said, walking to the closet. I wanted to explore the beach today and I’d need to wear something light.
    Kitty stood up quickly. “I have to hurry,” she said. “Lance is taking me into town for the day.”
    My heart sank, and Kitty could tell.
    “You can come too,” she offered. “He invited you.”
    “And be the third wheel?” I shook my head. “No thanks. You go on your own.”
    Kitty shook her head, unbuttoning her nightgown and letting it fall to the floor, exposing her breasts, two perfect spheres. “You’re coming with us,” she said. “A few others are going too. Lance is taking a jeep. Elliot’s coming, and Stella.”
    “What?” I said. “How did she wrangle him into going?”
    “She didn’t,” Kitty said. “Lance did.”
    I pulled the curtains closed to hide Kitty’s naked body from prying male eyes. “Is anyone else coming?” I thought of Westry.
    “I think that’s it,” Kitty said, looking into the closet. “Wait, is there someone you were thinking of?” There was a hint of teasing in her voice.
    I shook my head. “I was only thinking of Mary.”
    Kitty didn’t look up from the closet.
    “I didn’t see her last night, did you?”
    “No,” she said, pulling out a powder blue dress with short sleeves. “What do you think of this one?”
    “It’s fine,” I said, less concerned about Kitty’s wardrobe than the safety of our new friend. “Don’t you think we ought to check with Nurse Hildebrand to see if Mary’s all right?”
    Kitty shrugged, holding up a pair of tan heels for inspection. “Yes or no?”
    “No,” I said. “Wear the blue ones. Your feet will thank me later.”
    She clasped her bra and stepped into a white silk slip, before putting on the dress.
    “Tell me about Lance,” I said a little cautiously, zipping her up. “Do you like him?”
    “Yes,” Kitty said, though I thought I detected a note of hesitation in her voice. “He’s great.”
    “Did you ever dance with the colonel last night?” I asked, selecting a glaringly simple tan dress from the closet.
    Kitty nodded. “I did,” she said, smiling. “And it was divine. Lance wasn’t too happy, but he could hardly challenge his superior.”
    I took a look at myself in the oval mirror on the wall. My cheeks were flushed from the morning heat and my hair looked limp. In a battle with the humidity, the humidity had won. I shrugged and pulled it back into a clip. I’d be wearing a sun hat anyway.
    “Ready?” Kitty said, grabbing her handbag.
    I stared back at her. Her cheeks were rosy, not ruddy like mine. Her hair, curlier and wilder than ever, looked alluring the way she wore it, pinned to the side.
    The tropics became her.
    “Ready,” I said, following her out the door.

    Lance drove much too fast. Kitty was unaffected, however, looking gay in the front seat while Stella, Elliot, and I were squeezed into the back like pickles in one of Maxine’s canning jars. My