Epilogue

One year later...

Letty climbed out of the pool and padded over to the chaise, toweling herself briefly off before she sat down. The water had felt especially good today, and she'd done a few more laps than usual. She put on her straw hat and sunglasses before leaning back, smiling fondly at the stunning view of the distant Caribbean, sparkling merrily in the afternoon sunshine a mile away and several hundred feet below.

Alice had gone upstairs to take her afternoon siesta, resting or reading in her deliciously dim, cool bedroom as the tropical breezes played around the half-closed shutters. Through the open window behind her, Letty could hear Javier happily puttering around the kitchen, whistling and sometimes singing along with the Latino Americano mix playing softly on his radio. He was whipping up something delicious for their one-year "anniversary" that night.

She smiled again, thinking back exactly a year to their arrival and the surprise proposal Alice had for them. That had certainly come out of the blue – Letty would never have expected that kind of invitation from her cold, elusive grandmother – who still hated to be called that. Letty reached for her glass of wine and took a sip, savoring it with a satisfied smile. Oh, that's good. This label is definitely a keeper.

They had given it a go, all right, and it was working out fabulous. The three of them got along surprisingly smoothly. And the house they had found was... perfect. As was the rest of the life they had built here in Barbados, piece by piece.

Shortly after moving in, mindful of their stated obligation, Letty and Javier had begun sending carefully-chosen equipment and supplies to Doctor Morales (who had dug out the bullets with Letty's assistance) back in Marenga, and set up a line of credit on their dime for him with a medical supply company for drugs he couldn't easily obtain through his usual supplier. (They looked for a clinic in similar condition to adopt on their new island, but the Bajan medical system was so far improved over the Mexican one that it was unnecessary.) Then a few weeks later, Letty discovered Javier was quietly filling the back of the Range Rover once a week with groceries and kid's clothes, shoes, and books, driving it up to a different run-down neighborhood church, and giving it all away, a repeated act of direct, face-to-face charity unmatchable in joy and satisfaction for all concerned. Without a word, she joined him. Inevitably, Letty would find herself surrounded at the end by a group of very young children asking her to read their new books to them. She always did. And a few weeks after that, the two of them began going to a nearby elementary school twice a week to tutor very young students in math and reading. They also gave generously to a couple of organizations working to bring broadband and computers to the remaining schools without them on the island.

And to their great surprise, all three began making actual friends in the neighborhood. They joined the informal round of backyard barbecues early on, and Javier wowed them all with his dinner when it came their turn to host one – netting him a few catering gigs, which soon enough turned into a profitable, if occasional, sideline which he greatly enjoyed. Letty often came along to assist in the serving, or act as bartender.

He was also invited to complete a weekly foursome at the golf course, too. "I like golf," he defended himself against Letty's surprise, "especially when I can play eighteen holes and not have to kill somebody on the back nine." While the men played golf, Alice would often join the women, ostensibly for cards, but really to knock down half a dozen cocktails and gossip. And Letty had her circle, too, which she often joined for lunch and shopping downtown. And yes, she always payed for whatever she picked up.

As for their pasts, Javier simply said he'd been a private chef, but had no stories to tell – which earned him the immediate, well-deserved reputation for discretion (and helped the occasional catering). Letty, mindful of her promise to herself to stop lying to everyone, "let slip" to her new best friend (and closest neighbor across the street) that she was a recovering addict who had bounced between a string of shit jobs, did a lot of things she wasn't proud of, and simply had no wish to talk about the past. Once word of that got around, the questions stopped, everyone letting her be. She found it surprisingly pleasant to not have to keep track of a bunch of self-aggrandizing lies.

Alice simply told the truth about her past – story after wild, crazy story that nobody believed anyway, but they loved her for them. At least she had dropped the atrocious British accent when she had come to the island.

And they had other fun, too – Letty and Javier went dancing a couple of nights a week, took long walks on the beach or hikes in the hills, sightseeing and exploring all around the island. Javier had lately begun trying to talk her into signing up for an online GED course with him, saying he was going to need her help if he hoped to pass it – and she thought that was probably only half an excuse. She was even toying with the idea of taking some art classes from the local college, seeing if anything "spoke" to her; the idea of channeling energy into something creative, rather than destructive, intrigued her.

Before they knew it, they had built a life there on their new island, full and exciting and breezy and fun.

Did she miss the highs she used to get from drugs and stealing? Every damn day. Sometimes so much it physically hurt. But as Javier had said that day on the plantation, all she needed was the right motivation.

And she had that, in spades. Letty finally had a home, just as Javier had promised. She had a beautiful house that she loved, with a small but affectionate, supportive, simpatico family – and larger circles around it. Jacob was flying down next month for a four-week visit during his summer vacation. Rob and Estelle would be flying down for just a few days at the end of it to take him home. Letty hadn't quite managed to forgive her Mom yet for what she'd done to Javier, but maybe they'd work things out then. And later, in the fall, Javi's nieces were planning a "surprise" visit for his birthday, which he studiously pretended to be ignorant of. And even Christian had visited twice already, and would frequently in the future, especially if he moved to Barbados like he was talking about.

Yes, she had the life she wanted, with the man she wanted. She wasn't about to fuck it up. Letty Raines Pereira had every intention of staying on her very best behavior from then on.

Finito

Author's Note: thank you for reading all the way to the end! If you liked the story, how about leaving a nice review to help others find it? Muchas gracias!