Jenny stared through the tiny, distorted window at the blue ocean water a few dozen feet below her. It had been a long time since she was on a plane. It had been a long time since she had done something as silly and outrageous as going to an island in the middle of the Pacific to get a sexual fantasy filled.
No, actually she had never done anything that outrageous.
She had always done the expected thing. She had gotten good grades and gone to a good school and gotten a good job and lived in a good house married to a good man.
But now that good man had died, leaving her behind with her good job and good house and nothing else but a set of wishes that could never come true, and a single fantasy that, maybe, could.
***
The plane touched down with a bounce and Jenny tore herself away from the window's view. She was suddenly not nervous at all, despite all of the hours she had just spent in various planes, worrying about what the people on The Island would think of her, worrying about what the people at home would think of her, worrying about what she would think of herself.
A small elderly woman greeted her as she stepped down from the plane. "Welcome, my dear. I am Elizabeth." She took Jenny's hand with both of hers, and her hands were small and dry. "Would you like a tour of the grounds or would you prefer to get right to it? I'm here to answer any questions you may have, or make any last-minute changes or arrangements for you. Some of our guests like to be surprised, while others like to know the timing for everything that will happen and would like to choose their own factors. You have read your papers, I hope?"
Jenny nodded, aware that she had every option under the sun now but content with the arrangements she had already made. "I like surprises," she said. Her voice sounded strange, as if she were trying to be sultry.
Elizabeth smiled warmly at her. "Lovely. Everything will go according to your wishes. There are only two things we insist on at this point. You must wear this," she put a small silver bracelet around Jenny's wrist, "at all times. It has an emergency button here and can be used to track you in case something happens. Nothing ever has, but we must be careful. The second is 'Mahalia.' Please repeat it."
"Mahalia," Jenny said.
"Excellent. That is your safe word. If at any time you are uncomfortable with what is happening, you need only say that word and everything will stop. That is our guarantee."
Jenny nodded. "Mahalia."
"Excellent, my dear."
As they were talking, Elizabeth was leading Jenny down a wide path made of crushed coral. There were high fences on either side of the path about twenty feet away in each direction.
