Forte-De-France was gorgeous. A breathtaking island with crystal clear waters and luscious green trees. The sand was like powder and the rolling hills in the distance back dropped the small towns that were dotted around the islands. Colin’s hand was planted into the small of my back as we disembarked from the boat, then opted to wave off the bus in order to walk around and take in the island ourselves.
Unfortunately, we didn’t even get into our first shop before I saw someone taking pictures.
I tried not to let it bother me since it was just a local. Someone wanting to get a picture of someone they were probably seeing on the news. We walked in and out of the local shops and I tried to distract myself with the trinkets and handmade gifts. But every time we walked out of the shop there seemed to be more people taking pictures on their phones.
Then, I heard it.
The unmistakable sound of a shutter clicking.
Colin’s head whipped around as I tried to locate the sound. There were two people standing at the end of the sidewalk, snapping pictures of us as we walked around. Colin held me closer to his side, trying his best to get his body in front of mine. He knew what was going on.
He knew there were paparazzi on the island that had discovered us.
“Colin?” I asked.
“I’m sorry, Abby. Come with me,” he said.
He grabbed my hand and we darted in between two shops. We scurried down the alleyway before we were dumped out onto another street. Colin’s head was on a swivel as we dashed across the road, running into a shop that looked like it specialized in more handmade goods.
If I wasn’t so disappointed at what we were having to do, I would’ve thoroughly enjoyed it.
We peered out the window and saw the two individuals come emerging from the alleyway we’d just run down. Their heads were turning every which direction, looking for us as we stood in the window. The shop owner came over to the window and pulled the blinds, then locked the door before he turned to us.
“Stay as long as wish,” he said.
“Thank you,” Colin said.
“How did they find us?” I asked. “We’re in the fucking Caribbean.”
“There are always paparazzi on islands like this,” he said. “These places are popular for filming movies and such. But with so many actors and actresses coming and going, I didn’t think they’d recognize me.
“Can we go back to the ship?” I asked.
“There’s a bus that’s supposed to come through in a few minutes,” Colin said. “It can take us to the other side of the island for the day. I’m sure there’s no one over there to take pictures.”
“Please? They won’t be allowed onto the boat. The boat still has things going on, right?”
I could see the anger and disappointment boiling behind Colin’s eyes as he sighed heavily.
“But the island is gorgeous,” he said. “I wanted to experience it with you.”
“Not like this,” I said. “Not with people constantly taking pictures of us. It won’t matter, Colin.”
“It’ll always matter to me. I can block them out. They won’t distract me,” he said.
“They’ll distract me.”
“But they won’t if we can just get out among them. That is how you’ll get used to them. Please don’t let them spoil this for us,” he said.
“I’m not letting them spoil anything, Colin. Now take me back to the ship.”
I stared up at him and he finally relented. The shopkeeper unlocked the door for us and we made a mad dash back for the boat. We ran through the sand and up the bridge to board the ship again, but we were stopped right at the top by a random family.
“Oh my gosh, we thought that was you,” the man said.
“I told you it was Colin Murphy!” the woman exclaimed.
“Could we get a picture?” the man asked.
I took Colin’s hand and pulled him in between the family. I wasn’t going to let this spoil everything. I wasn’t going to allow people recognizing him to put a damper on our time together. This was supposed to be time for us. Time for us to get to know each other and understand one another better. I tugged him along as we made our way into the ship, but every time we turned around someone was stopping him.
“It’s Colin Murphy!”
“Did you know he was on the ship?”
“Look! It’s the same man in the picture! It’s him, Mom!”
“Mr. Murphy, how’s all that shit with your company coming along?”
“Mr. Murphy, could we get a picture with you?”
The crowd quickly became so thick I could no longer pull him through it. I felt his arm snake around my waist, but he made no effort to push through them. He was answering questions as quickly as he could and posing for pictures with people, and all the while trying to keep his grasp on me.
To keep me there underneath their gazes.
It was an endless sea of people. There were people actually walking back onto the ship from the island just to come get a picture of him. Flashes were going off everywhere and people were calling out his name. His hand was keeping a tight grip on mine so he didn’t lose me, but all I wanted to do was get back to the room.
I was uncomfortable, I was exposed, and Colin was no longer mine to enjoy.
Slipping my hand from his, I slid effortlessly through the crowd. They parted for me, almost wanting me to get away from him. Just as quickly as they stood off to the side, they closed him in, and I could hear him calling out my name as I walked away.
“Abby! No—no thank, you. Hold on. Abby!”
I tried to
