Ashley put her book down and looked out the rental car's window at the narrow island they had just gotten on after the long ride over the causeway.
Her younger sister noticed the book being dropped, "So Ash, finally got your head out of that book, huh? You missed all the gorgeous water. I mean look at that pier. Isn't that so cool."
Ashley held up Kate Chopin's
Awakening
. "Julie, This book is set out here. Chopin lived out here a long time. I am getting just as much local scenery but the book kind first, so I can appreciate the real thing better."
Julie shook her head, "Sometimes you can be such a nerd."
Their Uncle Barry turned around from the driver's seat, "Now Julie, Ashley is learning more about the area in order to get more out of this trip. That is not nerdy at all."
He turned further and smiled at Ashley who couldn't help but stare at the droplets of sweat on his forehead. Both girls sighed quietly when he turned back around to watch the road, partly glad that he was watching the road again and partly that his slightly leering eyes where off of them.
The girls were glad that the trip was almost over as they were tired of sharing a seat with their cousin Joey who lost the rock, paper, scissors duel to his brother James who got to ride shotgun.
Ashley was a little annoyed that as the oldest she didn't get to ride up front in her own seat, but she would never dream of saying anything to her Uncle about that nor did she really want to be that close to her pudgy, gray-haired relation.
"Well kids, and Ashley" Ashley pretended not to notice the leer in the words, "there is our hotel."
"Oh my God, that is so cool," Julie couldn't help but exclaim pointing out the building set up off the ground a good ten feet on stilts.
Ashley looked around at the many such stilted buildings, "If you had read Chopin's book you would see that it was for flood protection. This place gets pounded during hurricanes. It is totally surrounded by water close by everywhere. It gets completely swamped. Some buildings even have holes in the floor to let water drain out quickly when it gets so high it washes in the buildings despite the stilts."
Julie just stuck her tongue out at her older sister.
Ashley shook her head, even though she was twenty and two years older than her sister Julie acted so much younger all the time.
Uncle Barry called out, "Look kids, there they are!" He pointed out to the couple with a young boy running around them standing near the wooden stairs to the hotel.
Soon the two parties joined up excited at the thoughts of how the long awaited summer fun vacation for a week on the island was about to begin.
Frank and Meghan pointed to another identical building twenty yards away. "That is where we are staying. You have this building for the week. You have two bedrooms, a main room for relaxing and your own bathroom.
Ashley and Julie looked at each other. Two bedrooms? Ashley looked at her Uncle and his two boys and then at her little sister. Five of them for two bedrooms. Hopefully the girls in one and the boys in the other. But she knew that she would have to leave it up to her Uncle as he was paying for this vacation and it just wasn't in her to complain to an adult about anything.
Frank clasped his best friend's shoulder, "We'll let you get settled in and then take you around so we can see some of the beach and sights and maybe get our reserved boats and maybe get a chance to still rent some jet skis."
They all trooped up the stairs as the other three walked towards the nearby motel cabin. Soon they all stood together in the large nicely furnished main room. Barry stared at Ashley with a smile that made her look around the room at anything but him.
"Oh I totally forgot," Uncle Barry exclaimed as they looked towards the two doors leading into bedrooms. "When I rented this hotel I thought it was only going to be me and my boys so there are only two bedrooms with one bed in each. We are going to have to share. Actually one of the reasons I was so happy that May, your grandmother, suggested that you came along was so that I would have somebody else who could watch the boys. Since Ashley is the oldest she will share the one room with me while you Julie can stay with my boys."
Ashley spun to look at her smiling Uncle in shock. She couldn't believe that she would be sharing a bed with him for an entire week, just the two of them. She watched as his grin grew wider and more sweat appeared on his forehead. And their grandmother approved of this? She had hard time believing that, but there was no way that she was going to question him as that was not her nature.
That was however not Julie's nature, "Oh come on Uncle Barry. I am eighteen that makes me an adult too. I don't want to share a bed with two little boys. Why can't you share with them; they are your kids after all."
"You barely qualify as an adult but you are old enough for me to trust to watch my boys. I am on vacation. I wouldn't get any relaxation sharing a room with them. No, the decision was already made. Your older sister and I will share a room and you watch the boys and I'll give you some extra spend money as a sort of baby sitting fee.
Oh great thought Ashley, not only do I sleep with the man who it was rumored in the family slept with so many women that his own wife left him in disgust but Julie was actually going to make money on the deal. She watched as Julie beamed and grabbed her bags.
"Come on boys; let's go set up our room first I get dibs on the dressers, let's go." And the three left her and her Uncle alone.
"Come my dear, let's check out our room for the week," and with that same smirk he walked into the other room quickly throwing his bags on the bed.
Ashley watched as he threw himself on the bed his belly rolling with the motion. She was a little nervous that he so quickly got in to this whole idea and jumped right on the bed that she was going to share with him for a whole week. Ashley shook her head causing her long blonde hair in its pony tail to sway in the air. She coloured slightly at the gleam in her Uncle's eyes as he watched her closely. Sighing she took her bags over to the bed.
"We're both mature adults here Ashley, feel free to change in here as it won't bother me in the least." He waved a hand and smiled in such a phony kind smile.
Ashley gulped; there was no way that changing in here was ever going to happen.
"Thanks Uncle Barry, but you being my Uncle and everything that just doesn't seem right, so I will have no problem changing in the bathroom."
Ashley busied herself unpacking her clothes and ignored his frowning face as he continued to lie on the bed and stare at her. She couldn't help but watch as he entwined his fingers in the railing of the headboard, pulling and yanking on the hard wood. She still didn't like that smile of his that grew back on. At least it was a huge bed so she had plenty of room to get away from him.
She stopped and thought positive thoughts as after all he was her own Uncle so he won't do anything and besides it was a summer week in the beautiful Gulf of Mexico, a chance to do things she had only dreamed about doing. It was going to be summer filled with all kind of new experiences.
While thinking these pleasant thoughts Ashley grabbed a pretty summer dress and walked off to the bathroom to change.
