One Summer, Two Affairs

“Is she dead?” With her heart hammering against her chest, she lowered her head onto the body of the woman who lay lifeless on the Persian silk rug.Colleen Caddell listened keenly for a sound, even the faintest of it. She listened for something, anything. But there was nothing. Horror struck her face as, slowly, her gaze averted towards Liz Parker who was standing right above her. “I can’t hear her heartbeat,” she said, almost in a whisper. “Are you sure? Step aside, let me listen.” As Colleen backed away from the body, a fragment of her hair got stuck in the flower sterling silver brooch pinned on the blouse of the woman. She had to tug at her hair to break free and when it finally came undone, she stepped aside for Liz to check her pulse and listen for a heartbeat. Just as Colleen had said, there was nothing.“She is dead,” Liz confirmed rather quietly. But that did absolutely nothing to pacify her friend, who was immediately thrown into a frenzy as she stalked around the room

The briefing was just as the name: brief. It lasted no more than twenty-five minutes and in all of that time, Colleen could barely concentrate on what was being said. Three things were playing catch in her head. Firstly, Selena. She had told Liz about Selena when she got into the main hall and they made sure to steer clear of her. Not that it was necessary anyway, Selena was rather preoccupied with flirting with a blue-eyed man sitting opposite her. At least that was behind them. For now. Secondly, the one thing that worried her the entire week: Camilla Lourdes's death. And this brings us to the third participant of the catch game in her head, Camilla’s son. This one had dark hazel eyes that pierced into hers when he gaped at her with a glint of amusement while they were in the men’s room. She had muttered an apology before she ran out of there. Although she was sure he didn’t hear it because her voice was in an undertone. She was never one to go fill her head with images of a be

"Jeepers! Now that, Liz Parker, is a view. Quickly, hand me your phone. I need to capture this essence.” Colleen urged rather impatiently and Liz, grumbling beneath her breath, pulled her phone from her back pocket and handed it to her. She watched as Colleen first took a snapshot of the high ceiling that shielded the sun but left an opening small enough to let in some of that summer sunlight into the lobby which reflected the water rocks mural on the ground floor. Holy Moly! It was luminously magnificent. Then, she took a couple of selfies, posing weirdly for each one. This was her being a little optimistic and open-minded. She begged Liz to get in a photo with her, who, begrudgingly, did so. When she was done, she handed the phone back with only one request, “please do not delete any of those heavenly pictures, they’re called memories. And pictures provide the best ones.” Considering Liz was known to clear her gallery now and then for reasons best known to her, it was im

The next day, Sunday, was a little quieter than the rest of the week. Probably because the residents of the resort, after all the fun they had Saturday night, getting knocked up and knocked out, deemed it important to have some rest and give the party spirit a rest ahead of the new week.After last night, after Andre's-twin-brother's little comment about mistaking her for some redheaded Sophia, whoever the hell that was, she realized she was getting in too deep with the man. Confirmation was how she only wanted to see him yesterday evening despite the flood of men, and women, whom she could chat away the lovely evening with. She could barely concentrate on any other person in the event after that highly awkward conversation between her and his brother, and didn't want to be a buzzkill to Liz or anybody else as they all appeared to be having so much fun laughing away the evening while she brooded what Andre's relationship might have been with this Sophia. So, she cut her evening short

Shining stars in a moonlit sky were everything Colleen was dreaming about. And on that moon she sat, cross-legged, sipping from a glass of very expensive champagne while she made a painting out of the soulful hazel eyes of Andre Lourdes. It had been all about him through the night till she retired to bed and even after she had gone to bed. She just couldn’t help it. It was as if he had cast a spell on her—a good one, she hoped. Then her phone rang. Was she still dreaming or was that her mother’s ID on the screen of her phone? Groggily dragging the answer button, she placed the phone in her ear. What she heard next sent all the weariness in her eyes and the smiles on her face running back where they came from. “You spoiled little thing! After everything I did for you! I birth you, I housed you, I clothed you, I even sent your dumb ass to school, and look how that turned out for me? You can’t even call your mother at least once in a month to send her a little ‘thank you for bringing