Disclaimer
Any resemblance to real names, persons or things is purely coincidental. This is a work of fantasy fiction, as such, the author recognizes any sexual situations depicted in this story are not realistic. This story does not intend to represent or advocate the lifestyle presented in this story.
Easing into my beach chair, I enjoyed the warmth of the morning Caribbean sun as I began watching the ocean waves roll onto the beach. It was my second day into a 2 week vacation on the island of Sint Maarten with my wife Kari. After weeks of deliberating where to go, then working out the details and making reservations, I was glad to finally start to relax. My experience was that it took a few days to finally shift into vacation mode and feel "sand gravity" where time didn't matter and you lived in the moment.
The beach was already starting to get busy, so I grabbed our soft sided cooler and placed it on the empty beach chair next to me, saving the spot for my wife, who was off searching for a bathroom. I grabbed some sun lotion and started to apply it liberally all over myself, at least the parts I could reach, preparing for a whole day in the sun. By the time I was done Kari had found our spot and moved the cooler to lounge back into her saved spot.
"I trust you found a bathroom?"
"Yes, and it was even clean, but it's a little far from this spot, we may have to move."
"Fat chance on that if you want a chair to lounge in. Another shuttle boat arrived while you were searching for the bathroom, all the chairs are going to be gone any moment."
"Ugh, I don't what we should do, I think it is getting worse, it feels like I have to go every 20 minutes now."
And there it was. The only hitch to what was an otherwise perfect start to our vacation, Kari was without a doubt getting a UTI.
"I take it all the cranberry juice you drank yesterday isn't helping?"
"No. Maybe cranberry juice doesn't work when it's mixed with vodka. I for sure have to lay off the alcohol for now."
Damn. How does one enjoy a vacation without alcohol? "Looks like there will be more for me then. Speaking of that, can you hand me a beer from the cooler?"
"You rat. That's not fair, you should support me by not drinking."
"And have both of us crabby? Look, I feel bad that you are getting this thing, maybe we pack up and head over to the Dutch side of the island and see a Pharmacist?"
"We have a good spot here, I'll be okay. Let's stay here and enjoy the beach."
So for the next few hours, we both enjoyed the sun and the beach. I had enough beer for both of us, Kari drank water and made frequent trips to the bathroom. We were on a small island called "Pinel" where the only way to get to it was a water shuttle. We stayed on the beach for most of the day before taking the shuttle back late afternoon. After taking the shuttle back, we were once again on the main island, we hopped in our rental car and headed back to our villa.
Our villa was on French side of the island and had an excellent restaurant on the premise. We had gotten to know the proprietors pretty well after just a couple of days, and I thought I would look them up to see if they knew of a clinic nearby to help with Kari's condition. Kari would have been much too embarrassed to ask, and would have been appalled knowing that I was about to consult them. Once we were back, Kari was going to get ready for dinner, I told her I would go down and get us a table and meet her at the bar in the restaurant.
Kari ducked into our villa, I headed down to the restaurant to reserve a table. After speaking with the hostess, I took a seat at the bar to wait for Kari. Bartending at the bar was Emma, the proprietor's wife, she took my drink order and asked how our vacation was going.
"Everything is going great, the beaches are awesome, and we really like staying here."
Emma was happy to hear it and went to fetch my drink. Upon returning I explained that Kari was having trouble with a UTI and asked Emma if she knew of a clinic nearby which could help us out.
"Most of the clinics are on the Dutch side" she responded, "They mostly close by 5:00 though. However, most of the locals around here just go to Mama Zara's, the local "Traiteur" or healer."
"Can Mama Zara help Kari with her problem?"
"Most certainly, she has been helping locals here for a generation and is very well respected. Most of her remedies are natural herbs and have been practiced for generations in her family. I would trust her before heading to a clinic on the Dutch side."
"Sounds great, is she open after hours?"
"She is always open and willing to help. Her house is right next to the bakery at the end of the street, don't worry about the time. She has something for just about anything you need."
I thanked her just as Kari entered the bar, taking the seat next to me.
"What was that about?" she asked.
"Emma was just telling me of someone who could remedy your situation."
"Right, some local old woman who practices in herbal remedies?"
"Pretty much, but Emma trusts her."
"Let's wait until tomorrow to when we can get to a clinic."
At that point, our table was ready. The hostess escorted us to our table where we sat down to an exquisite meal. Kari excused herself three times during dinner to visit the restroom. After dinner we retired to our villa for some wine and a soak in the hot tub. Kari was clearly distraught over her condition and its effect on our vacation. I was distraught too, thinking vacation should have a lot of sex in the mix, but that was out of the question right now.
As we readied ourselves for bed, I told Kari I was running out to see this "Traiteur" to see if she had something that could help. Kari angrily responded that she was going to have no part of some quack medicinal practices and I was just wasting my time. I said this is wrecking our vacation, and we should do whatever we could to remedy the situation. I grabbed the car keys and left Kari, saying I would be back shortly.
I drove down the block and located the bakery finding Mama Zara's house next door. It was early evening and the lights were still on so I felt okay to knock on the door. After a short while, an elderly black woman answered, introduced herself as Mama Zara and beckoned me in. Her house had a pungent smell to it, a combination of cats, food and herbs.
"How can I help you?" she asked