Caribbean Burning Circle of Love

By George Todd

The hilarious story of an airline pilot and his pretty flight attendant wife who sail to a small Bahamian island and decide to move there full time to "live the dream life". It turns out that living the dream life in the Caribbean involves drinking rum, sailing, sex, running drugs, infidelity, lying, cheating, divorce, arrest, midlife crisis, weddings and courtroom drama. You will meet an assortment of quirky, funny characters who's hijinks generate laugh out loud moments . It is a fast paced, exciting, humorous drama. Hang on for a wild ride.

• Language: English
• Publisher: George Todd
• Release date: Sep 30, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463886816

George Todd

Aside from being a great writer of humorous stories, George Todd is an excellent sailor and a certified Lotionologist. When he is not writing funny stories about his sailing misadventures, he is wandering the beaches of the Caribbean offering to apply suntan lotion to women (only) to protect their beautiful bodies from the ravages of the Caribbean sun. Yes, he is a charitable, unselfish guy. Buy the book. It is full of laughs.

Book preview

Caribbean Burning Circle of Love

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright 2018 George Todd

Published by George Todd at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Burning Circle of Love

Chapter 2: Divorce Lawyers

Chapter 3: Divorce Court

Chapter 4: Mediation

Chapter 5: On the Fritz

Chapter 6: The Delivery

Chapter 7: It’s 2 AM, Do You Know Where Your Sailboat Is?

Chapter 8: Fritz: Unwanted, Dead or Alive

Chapter 9: The Prison Life

Chapter 10: St Thomas in the Summertime

Chapter 11: The Wedding

Chapter 12: The Honeymoon

Chapter 13: High On Diesel Fumes

Chapter 14: Scurvy Crew

Chapter 15: Sailing to Foxy’s

Chapter 16: Bahamas Bound

About the Author

Other Books by George Todd

Acknowledgments

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Introduction

The Bahamas is a beautiful island chain that begins just 68 miles east of Palm Beach, Florida, and extends for hundreds of miles to the southeast. The shallow sparkling blue waters dotted with hundreds of islands ringed with white beaches and swaying palm trees are a boater’s dream destination.

Every year at the end of hurricane season, hundreds of couples sail their boats to these magical islands to spend the winter soaking up the sun and drinking rum. Some are lucky enough to actually find a place to build a retirement home and move ashore to live a slow, laid back life with the local Bahamians. In sailing terms, this is known as living the dream.

This is the story of one such couple who sailed into The Bahamas and fell in love with the people and the islands, then moved ashore to live the dream. However, they were not prepared for a midlife crisis, a Caribbean style burning circle of love, cheating, lies, deceit or love gone wrong. Sometimes living the dream turns into living the nightmare.

Welcome to paradise!

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Chapter 1

The Burning Circle of Love

Randy and Jill lived a sailing couple’s dream life. They originally met on an airline employee’s sailing retreat in the British Virgin Islands. Randy was a handsome pilot in his mid 40’s and Jill was a pretty, young flight attendant seven years his junior. They married later that year, were based in Dallas, and shared the dream of sailing away to the Caribbean.

A few years later they bought a boat, sailed into Happy Cay in the southern Bahamas and found a place that would become their retirement island home. Happy Cay had the picturesque palm trees, beautiful white beaches surrounded by turquoise clear blue water that the Bahamian Islands are famous for. More importantly, it was populated by 300 friendly local white Bahamians, British Ex-patriots and a few Americans who had seasonal homes on the small island. It was a quiet, crime free world where everyone knew everybody and what they were doing. There was no need for a policeman on the island or a newspaper. The gossip filled coconut telegraph kept everyone in the know.

Whether they were on the water or in the air, Randy was the captain and Jill was the crew. Randy ran the show and Jill was his faithful, trusting companion. For twenty years, Randy and Jill continued to work in Texas and fly to Happy Cay every couple of months to work on their little island retirement home. From their back porch, while drinking rum and watching the sun set in the western sky, they could watch their sailboat, Polaris, swing on its mooring next to a dozen other sailboats in the small quiet harbor. They were living the dream in their little piece of paradise.

Randy retired early at age 62. While the younger Jill continued to work as a flight attendant, hoping for an early retirement package in a couple of years. They soon sold their Dallas home, and placed a car and some furniture in storage. Randy moved to Happy Cay full time, while Jill commuted to work from Happy Cay, or her brother’s place in Dallas.

Visiting paradise can be exciting. But no one told Randy that living on an island in paradise full time could be boring since Jill was still flying three weeks a month. He started traveling to break up the routine of being alone on the small quiet island. Randy even picked up a couple of crew jobs helping to deliver yachts from Europe to the Caribbean.

In November, while Jill was off on a trip, Randy told her that he was leaving Happy Cay to help an older couple sail their boat named Moonbeam up to Norfolk, Virginia. He would be out of cell phone range for a week. It was now three days into the voyage. Jill had just returned to Happy Cay and turned on the Weather Channel, only to see Jim Cantore standing next to a satellite image of a tropical storm that had formed in the Atlantic between The Bahamas and North Carolina, right where Moonbeam was sailing. Jill was in a panic, worried that Moonbeam and crew would not be capable of weathering the storm. Her beloved Randy might go down with the ship. Jill called her sailing friends, George and Jan for help.

George gave her the US Coast Guard search and rescue phone number in Virginia. They have some super tall antennas and might be able to radio Moonbeam’s crew that far offshore. Two hours later, the Coast Guard reported back to Jill that they had been unable to raise Moonbeam on the radio, but would keep trying every hour. Unless Jill could give the Coast Guard a last known position, or they received a distress call, they could not launch a search.

Jill started to call everyone on Happy Cay to see if anyone had heard from Moonbeam. No luck. She drove her golf cart over to the dock manager’s office at the Happy Cay Marina and asked him to check his log book.

Buck: Yes, Moonbeam was here in July and August. I think they had to be back in Florida by Labor Day.

Jill: You mean they didn’t just leave a few days ago?

Buck: No, I haven’t seen them since August.

Jill: Well, Randy is onboard Moonbeam heading to Norfolk right now and I’m worried sick about him running into that tropical storm. Do you have anyway to contact Moonbeam?

Buck: I have the owner’s cell phone number. Do you want me to try to call him?

Jill: Yes! Right now! Please!

Buck dialed the number on the speaker phone. The Moonbeam owner, Jack, picked up on the third ring.

Buck: Jack, this is Buck at Happy Cay Marina.

Jack: Hi Buck, what can I do for you?

Buck: I heard that you are offshore on Moonbeam and was worried that you might run into the tropical storm that is forming northeast of here. Are you OK?

Jack: Buck, what kind of weed are you smoking? I’m sitting in the Vero Beach Hooters drinking a beer. Moonbeam is at the Ft. Pierce Marina. What the hell is going on?

Buck: I’m not sure. Have you seen Randy? Is he with you?

Jack: Randy who? What the hell is going on?

Buck: Never mind Jack, sorry to bother you. He hung up before Jack could ask any more questions. He looked at Jill like she was crazy.

Jill was totally confused. As she walked out of Buck’s office in a daze, she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and speed dialed Randy’s cell phone. It went straight to voice mail and she left an emphatic message: Randy, I don’t know where you are or what the hell is going on, but I do know that you are NOT on the Moonbeam in the Atlantic Ocean. Call me and tell me what the hell is going on. I’m worried sick about you.

Randy couldn’t hear his phone buzzing on the night stand because his girlfriend’s legs were wrapped firmly around his head. She finally let him up for air, rolled him over, jumped on top of him and rode him like a one trick pony. Randy couldn’t decide which was better, a 35 year old German girlfriend, or the Viagra. Together, they might kill him, but oh boy, what a way to go!

Muenster, Germany is in a time zone 7 hours later than Happy Cay. It was now 9:00 PM Muenster time. Randy was lying on his back in bed with his left arm and shoulder cuddling naked Brigitte’s head. The red wine had put her in a light post sex sleep. Randy still had jet lag. Even though it was dark in Muenster, it was only two o’clock in the afternoon on Happy Cay time. It was much too early to go to sleep.

Randy picked up the TV remote, pointed it at the TV on the dresser and pressed the button. The screen lit up. He flipped through the channels. Everything was in German. He landed on CNN, hoping that it would be in English. HUMMM. Looks like a satellite picture of a hurricane. I wonder where it is? HUMMM. There is the coast of North Carolina above it……there’s The Bahamas below it. Holy shit!

Randy leapt out of bed and stumbled around looking for his pants.

Brigitte opened one eye: "What are you doing?"

Randy: Cell phone, where’s my cell phone?

Brigitte moaned and went back to sleep. Randy turned his phone on for the first time since he left the Miami airport bound for Germany. It took a while to come up. Then the phone started ringing. Jill’s cell number was on the ID. He dared not answer it or Muenster, Germany would show up as a roaming charge on the phone bill. Jill would have proof that he was in Germany. 28 voice mails! Shit! He turned the phone off and sat down. A chill ran down his spine.

How was he going to lie his way out of this one? The hurricane had blown his cover while he was being blown by his mistress in Muenster. Randy’s Plan A was shot. He needed a Plan B. His plane ticket back to Florida had 3 days to go. If he stayed here any longer, his Johnson might fall off. If he went back to Happy Cay, Jill might cut his Johnson off.

Randy talked to the passed out Brigitte: Skype! A Skype call doesn’t show up from Germany. The caller ID is from Arizona, or somewhere like that.

Brigitte: What are you babbling about now?

Randy said good night to Brigitte, went to the living room, opened his laptop and hooked it up to the WiFi router. He Skyped Jill’s cell phone hoping to get her voice mail, but she answered on