"I'll tell her. For sure I'll tell her." Clementine nodded firmly.

"Good plan," Johnny replied approvingly. "When?"

"Soon."

John sighed and hugged her. They were out on his deck again, enjoying the evening and just being together.

"It's just that everything will change after I do, and I don't want things to change, you know?" Clementine sounded forlorn.

"But think how much more we'll be able to see each other without all the sneaking about, hm?" John rubbed her back. "Won't that be nice? You've been busier than me lately, I feel like I never see you at all."

"I know, I know," Clementine agreed. "Who knew that repurposing jackets would turn out to be such a full time gig? Did you know that I got four more orders just yesterday?"

John shook his head.

"Yeah, some of Anastasia's friends saw her jacket and wanted one for themselves, and Bea, from the party? Her sister and a friend texted me, too. I have to go around and collect the jackets tomorrow after class."

"I'm so proud of you, Clem." John's voice held admiration. He leaned in and kissed her.

"It's crazy," Clem's voice was musing. "I'm suddenly going to have some money that I earned, all by myself."

"Well done, Clementine."

John's phone, which was inside on the counter, buzzed with an incoming text.

"Ooh, that's work, I'd better check it," he said, setting his wine glass on the railing and moving inside.

Clementine watched him. "What could they want, so late at night?"

John shrugged as he picked up his phone. "Who knows? Sometimes there are location changes at the very last minute—"

Silence, while he read the text.

"Well, what is it?"

"You're not going to believe this."

"What?" Clementine walked to stand beside him.

"I'm off work for the next four days."

"What? How? Why?"

"Something fell through with the location."

"But wouldn't they just film somewhere else?"

Johnny shook his head. "Dunno, maybe they couldn't arrange anything? All I know is that my next call is in four days at the studio." He put his phone down and turned to Clem. "Do you know what this means?"

She shook her head. "You can catch up on your sleep?"

John laughed taking her hands in his own. "Mini-break holiday!" he announced.

Clementine stared at him. "What do you mean? Like a vacation? You and me?"

"Yes! What do you think?"

Clem shook her head. "There's no way, John. I have all the jackets tomorrow after class, and then I have work to do over the weekend, we don't have reservations anywhere, and how would I explain to everyone where I was going? Plus there's —"

"Clementine O'Dell!" John's voice was firm. "None of those things is insurmountable, not if you have enough money to throw at them. Which I do." Now he sounded smug. "We can be in the Bahamas in five hours, on a private yacht, food and drink laid on, no one but the two of us in the beautiful blue sea, think of that?" Now he was spinning her around. "I can go tomorrow morning and get everything set up, and you can follow tomorrow night after you've picked up your jackets and that."

"And my homework? That I have to get done over the weekend?" Clem stared at John, fascinated.

"Bring your laptop," he responded airily. "You'll have some down time when we're not shagging or eating or whatever, you can get it done then."

"You are certifiable, John Ezekwesili!" I can't just up and fly to the Bahamas. I can't. Besides, what would I say to my mother and Hy?"

***

"It's a writers' retreat," Clementine repeated. "I was on a waitlist, but I got in. It's just for the weekend, in Santa Barbara."

"A writers' retreat," Hyacinth echoed doubtfully. "Do you have to go?"

"Well, no, I don't have to go. But I want to. There are a couple of writers I really admire who'll be speaking there, and it's a beautiful venue." Clementine's head was starting to spin from the quantity of lies she was telling.

"I finally have some time off, though, and now you're going to be gone." Hyacinth sounded forlorn. She had her legs tucked up under her as she sipped her tea. Clementine had stopped off at Hy's house on her way to pick up the jackets from various locations in Los Angeles.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you, I promise," Clementine said, rising and preparing to leave. "I'll text you Monday, okay? Maybe we can grab lunch or something next week."

Hyacinth nodded and rose to give her sister a hug and a kiss. "Okay, Clemmy, have fun with your writers. Maybe Mom and I can do something together," she mused.

"Sounds like a plan, I'll tell her to call you," Clementine said as she walked to her car. She got a text from John as she was driving away.

Just arrived, getting boat sorted now. See you soon!

And even though Clementine knew that it was actually his PA, Sarah, who was doing most of the work, she was still touched that John would go to all this trouble for her. She didn't even want to think about how much it was costing him.

She raced around North Hollywood, collecting jackets, then headed home to pack.

"Hey, Mom, you should call Hy, she wanted to get together with you and do something this weekend," Clementine called as she went upstairs.

"Okay," came the reply.

Clementine quickly threw a bathing suit and some shorts and tops in a pull case, wishing she had time to buy a new suit.

If only she'd known.

She kissed her mother good bye and drove to the airport, where a small, chartered plane was waiting for her in the late afternoon heat. Truth be told, Clementine was actually getting pretty excited. She'd never been to the Bahamas, never been on a yacht, never been on a private plane, for that matter.

She settled into the luxurious interior of the plane and accepted the glass of champagne the flight attendant brought her. She could hear the pilot going over some sort of checklist, sounding competent, professional, and nonchalant. This was probably nothing to him, he must have done this hundreds of times.

But wow.

"Buckle up for take off, please, Miss," the handsome flight attendant told her.

Clem followed instructions and watched Los Angeles falling away as the plane rose, looking like a child's colorful pile of blocks. The Pacific Ocean appeared to her left very briefly before they turned and headed inland. Then they were over another vast expanse of blue sea, which must be the Gulf of Mexico, Clementine reasoned.

Night fell quickly, as they were headed away from the sun, and Clem wondered what the time difference was between Los Angeles and the Bahamas.

She arrived at the airport after dark, and Johnny was waiting for her with a wreath of tropical flowers.

"We're in luck, the weather's supposed to be lovely for the next three days," he informed her before kissing her, long and hard.

"Wow, this humidity is something else, isn't it?" Clem remarked as they headed for the car. Clementine was used to the dry, desert heat of LA, and this tropical moisture was new to her.

She could hear mysterious jungle sounds as they walked, a night filled with rustlings and bird calls.

"I thought the airport would be bigger, you know, busier," she said as they settled into the car.

"Well, this isn't Port au Prince," John told her. "It's one of the smaller islands, a little off the beaten path. We're going straight to the yacht. It won't cast off for a few hours, they're still getting it provisioned, so we'll still be at the dock when we go to bed. Then, when we wake up in the morning, it will be like magic, pouf, we'll be out in the glorious ocean." He sounded pleased with himself, and he hugged Clem's shoulder as they sat in the car.

"Johnny, I can't thank you enough for all of this," Clem said quietly, leaning into him. "It's like a beautiful dream, except I'm awake, you know?"

"It's fun to do things like this for people who really appreciate it," John informed her. "The people I've dated before, people who were in one aspect of show business or another, would find this so boring and ordinary."

"Well, not this girl," Clementine said with a smile. "I'm just a simple thing from Santa Monica, this is like a fairy tale to me. Pinch me, Johnny."

John reached down and goosed her bottom, gently, sliding his other hand over her thigh, while leaning in and kissing her neck.

"I can't wait to be alone with you," he murmured.

"Me, too, John, me too."

They arrived at the dock, where a beautiful boat awaited them, strung with fairy lights.

"Welcome aboard," the nice young man in ship's whites said. "I'll show you to your stateroom."

Clementine and John followed him down some stairs and through a very narrow corridor.

"Johnny, this is gorgeous," Clementine said, her voice filled with awe. Everything was highly polished wood and brass, and spotless.

Their stateroom was luxurious, there was no other word for it. A huge, fluffy bed took up most of the space, though there was room for a table for two next to one of the windows. Clem wondered if they were called portholes, even though they weren't round.

There was a bottle of champagne chilling on the table, along with some fruit and cheese and two glasses.

"We still have a few things to load, then we'll be casting off," the steward informed them before he left.

"So, what do you want to do?" John asked as he poured her a glass of champagne. "You want to explore the boat, or watch a movie or something? Or are you tired, do you want to go to bed?"

"Well, I want to have this champagne and some of this delicious looking food, and I want a shower, and I want to fuck your brains out in this gorgeous bed, in that order," Clementine said with a happy laugh.

"Sounds like a plan, Ms. O'Dell," John said as he handed her the champagne.