3.

Peg pulled open the door and stepped out into the spirited wind. The sandy road was empty. A streetlight blinked erratically. Watching her
sandals flash brighter and dimmer, she walked quickly down the road toward the clear white sky and full rising moon.
Her dress swelled with warm wind as she walked. Palm trees bristled above her. A small lizard shot along the road, then stopped. It looked quickly at her, and disappeared beneath fallen palm leaves.
She reached a wooden bridge that cut through dense mangrove trees. As she crossed, she could see through the slats to the water below. The insects were loud around her. They chanted with broken rhythms. The noise made her think of heat.
The bridge led to a beach. Listening to the lull of the waves as they broke, she slipped off her sandals and stepped down to the sand.She walked slowly to the ocean. It rushed up the beach and around her feet, then back and down into the sand. She watched her feet sink with each wave.
Lifting free, she walked along the water line. The beach curved smoothly ahead toward a barrier of large rocks. She saw, above the rocks, the dim shadow of something stone. Stepping into her sandals, she followed a path up around the rocks to a large clearing surrounded by three broken walls. Stone cannons lay at odd angles. A man stood near the far wall. He was looking at the ocean.
"Hey Sam," she called.
He turned. "Hey."
"Beautiful night." She crossed the clearing.
"Tremendous." He looked to the horizon. "Just tremendous."
Sam watched her watch the water. He studied the line of her face, her cheeks, her perfect nose. Her hair was brilliant with moonlight.
"My God you're beautiful."
She smiled, lit a cigarette, and sat up on the wall. "You're drunk."
"I am, that's true, but what eyes."
"Thanks." She took a slow drag from her cigarette.
"And hands. You've got such delicate hands. Those are my two main things, eyes and hands."
"So how are you and Corrina? I take it she didn't come with you."
"That's over," he breathed. "There was a note on her pillow a few months back."
"Ouch."
"A month after you saw us, after coming back from here."
"I'm sorry."
"I did try this time. I mean, I thought things were working."
"Maybe she expects too much."
"I was a bastard a couple of times."
"Maybe not such a bastard."
"No." He took a few thoughtful steps. "I was mean."
She dropped her cigarette and watched the red tip fall down to the water. "Well, I'm about through with Alec. Can't say why it is we've lasted this long." She watched a wave surge in and crash between
the rocks. She watched it drain slowly out.
"I was kind of wondering about that. He's nothing like you."
"No man I've been with has been. Paul wasn't, at all."
"Paul?"
"You know. Paul. My soon-to-be-ex-husband."
"Vaguely. What happened?"
"He left me."
"Huh. How long?"
"Seven years. Three of them married. Mostly hell, but I took it and took it and actually still miss the bastard sometimes." She stood up. "Let's go back."
She started across the clearing. He followed her along the path and to the sand. She slipped off her sandals. They walked the beach.
"Hey Sam. Can I have a ride home?"
"Rut-row. What an offer. Am I gonna get laid on my first night down?"
She laughed. "Mighta been, but you've blown the moment." She walked ahead of him. "Sorry Sam. You just don't sound sincere."
"Aw darlin," he said with a Southern accent. "Don't you know I'd drag my balls over a thousand miles of broken glass just to smell the tire tracks of the garbage truck that hauls your Kotex away."
She stared at him. "Oh my God."
"Sorry, I heard that from the guy next to me on the plane. I had to use it on someone."
"Lucky me." She was grinning brightly. "What a line. Take me, by all means." They both laughed. "You're a true Romeo, Sam. I'm feeling all trembly and nervous."
"Is this the part where we suck face?"
She smiled. "Not yet. More seduction first."
"Ah. Okay. You guys got different rules down here. How's this?" He rolled his eyes and winked obviously.
"Ooh... more, more." They both laughed.
At the bridge, Peg slipped on her sandals. "Great ankles," said Sam.
"You're an ankle man, too?"
"Not really. I lied about the eyes and hands, too. My real turn-on is this general area." He put his hands on her waist.
"Ah ha. A torso man."
He grinned. "Die hard."
She slipped away and ran across the bridge. Sam watched her run. Walking slowly behind he said to himself, "They always run away. Can't say I blame 'em."