Galapagos Getaway

Somehow, crammed boobs to boobs (to boobs) in a tiny men’s bathroom stall with her sister and Anne just wasn’t on the vacation itinerary. But pretty much nothing they had done so far had been on the itinerary. They just wanted to be fun for once. To be spontaneous. Off-the-cuff.

“It’ll be fine! We’ll have way more fun than anything we had planned. Plus, what could go wrong?”

The famous last words of a mindless fool who knew nothing of what she spoke.

She literally could not have been more wrong.

{Two days ago}

“Charlotte! That’s it. We are going on a vacation!”

Margaret’s voice was laced with exhaustion as she slammed the door, finally coming home after a long day at work. An eight hour shift as a computer assistance operator made her feel like her brain had been submerged in a deep fryer and then struck by lightning.

Her day consisted of being asked the same questions over and over again and then giving the same exact answers over and over again. It was so monotonous it felt like she was being punished, like a child who had misbehaved and had to write “I will not hit” a hundred times. Except, she was speaking with adults and elderly people about computers and had done nothing to deserve the torture.

“My computer is frozen and I can’t get the mouse to move.”

“Okay. Did you try turning it on and off?”

“Oh, no. Let me try that… It worked! Thank you!”

“Of course, thank you for calling…”

After this call, twenty more with the same exact script would follow. Margaret would have to keep answering, pushing her phony welcoming and polite tone through her clenched teeth.

Every once in a while, she would get a call about a deeper problem that veered from the normal script. But even the answer to those were pretty similar.

“Did you try troubleshooting?”

“Oh, I figured it out! Thank you!”

Bottom line, Margaret needed a lovely, tropical vacation that would give her mind a break from the repetitive schedule she had. If she didn’t have one soon, she was afraid she might actually lose it, and then her days would be spent in the company of four white walls. No one wanted that.

Charlotte pattered into the living room to find her little sister face down on their teal velvet couch with her head buried deep into the baby blue pillow.

“Why? Did something happen? Is it that rude girl you sit next to again? You know, I keep telling you that you should quit and just come work for me.”

Charlotte had started an antique jewelry selling company while in college and it had become pretty successful over the last few years. She had her own website and often went to art fairs and craft shows. She often nagged her sister to join her, insisting that Margaret had a good eye for antique jewelry. On the few times she could convince her sister to tag along on jewelry hunts (normally persuaded by free food), she had picked out many beautiful pieces.

Margaret lifted herself from the horizontal position to sitting crisscross with the pillow resting on her lap.

“Ew, working with ancient broches and rusty necklaces sounds much worse than what I’m doing. Plus, you know we would totally kill each other if we worked together. I think living together is enough of a risk. Thanks though, sis.”

Charlotte rolled her eyes at her sister’s dramatics but knew that she had a good point. The two mostly got along well and were pretty much best friends. But if they spent too much time together, they began to bite each other’s head off at the smallest thing. It never ended pretty for anyone.

“Okay, then what kind of ‘tropical vacation’ did you have in mind? Somewhere like Florida? I could probably take the weekend off for a nice road trip. Honestly, I could use a break too.”

“Um, well, I was thinking a little bit farther and a little less flat. And maybe longer than just a weekend.”

Charlotte could tell by Margaret’s face that she had one of her crazy ideas and she was probably not going to like it.

“How much farther?”

“Well, I mean, it doesn’t have to be there but I was thinking more like South, like—“

“Oh, just spit it out you dope.”

“The Galapagos Islands! I saw this add pop up earlier while I was online shopping and it said that we could get this great vacation package to go to the Galapagos! The one thing is, we would have to leave tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow! No way. There is no way that’s happening. Plus, the Galapagos? Are you insane? That is thousands of miles away from the comfort of our home and if something happens, we are absolutely done for. We could go missing and no one on those islands would blink an eye because we’d just be the product of two careless, young women who thought they could get “fun and tropical”. No. I refuse to be the headline of a lost news story, along with the rest of us.”

Charlotte’s eyes practically bulged out of her head at her sister’s graphic description of their (still) theoretical vacation. She knew her sister wasn’t going to be immediately on board, but she really laid out all the cards right at the start.

“Oh my. Well, that got very dark very fast didn’t it. And I do understand your many, many points, which I predicted. But this package includes all sorts of safety measures and we’d be going with this vacation agencies, not just haphazardly by ourselves.”

“Okay, then riddle me this, little sister. Where is this money going to come from? Surely this “great vacation package” doesn’t cost less than a month’s worth of rent and there’s not exactly a budget category labeled for “insane, spontaneous vacations”. So, lay out this grand plan for me.”

Now this was going to be the tricky part for Margaret’s “Convince Sister to Go with It” plan. Charlotte was the one who mainly handled the finances of the household and she had created a strict budget plan for them. It allocated exactly the amount of money for all of their necessities and left very little for leisurely activities. However, they did have some extra cash that was not in the budget which Margaret had thought of.

“So, I know you’re not going to be happy, but–”

“No.”

“You didn’t even let me say it.”

“Because I can read your mind and I know exactly what you’re going to say. It’s not happening. We are not wasting away all of mom and dad’s money on this absurd vacation.” 

“What’s so absurd about two hardworking young women needing to take time off for themselves for once! They gave us that money for a moment in time exactly like this! If they were still here, you know they would both be packing their suitcases, calling off work, and booking the next flight out. They want us to actually live our lives, Char.”

Margaret’s eyebrows furrowed as her and sister stood face to face, both of their eyes glossing over at the mention of the two devoted parents they’d lost two years ago. While on vacation in the Philippines, a monstrous, unexpected tsunami hit the islands and took the lives of many families. The sisters had stayed home because they were both working and in school at that point, so it made more sense for their parents to go on their own. They never expected their whole lives to change in a matter of days. Their parents were explorers; they always felt compelled to see more of what the world had to offer and want the same for their children.

After they got the call about their parents, the end-of-life process began, which included handling all the arrangements, their insurance policies, and wills. Once they met with a lawyer, they came to find out that their parents had begun this account for them and had labeled it “Explore”. This was money that the sisters had decided they would put aside and would use it for exactly what their parents had intended. However, since that day, neither one had brought it up very much. Now, here they are, two years later with little to show for the adventure and exploration life that their parents wanted for them.

Charlotte’s eyes softened and her gaze fell to her feet, feeling like a complete jerk for dismissing her sister as she had so many times over the past two years. Since their parents had died, Charlotte had already felt that she had to assume the “parent” role as the older sister. It gave her a purpose. It gave her something to think about other than the pain. But this role translated to being the one who says “no”, all the time. Maybe for once, it was time to say “yes” to something.

When their eyes met again, the somber silence began to fade and a half smile spread across Charlotte’s face.

“This vacation, better be worth it or you’re going to owe me all of the sales I’m going to miss.”

Margaret immediately emitted a high pitched screech that could have crack glass. She jumped and threw her arms around her sister, nearly taking both of them down.

“Thank you thank you, times a million. I promise I will make it completely worth it. You’ll be begging to go back.”

The next 24 hours happened in a kind of movie montage blur. After the touching moment the sisters had shared, the haphazard packing, the frantic search for plane tickets, and the booking of their vacation package left them approximately three hours to sleep. They had hoped to sleep on the flight. However, the plane seemed to have other plans.

When they arrived at the airport, they went through baggage claim and security with no problems. Once they reached their terminal, they were able to look outside the window to get a look at their plane. What they were met with was not quite a state of the art aircraft, but rather a small plane that looked like it was wrapped in tin foil. They had gotten this far though, so no point in backing out now.

The plane ride was not only extremely turbulent, but their seats were practically fun-sized which had them nearly sitting on top of the people next to them (and they were of the pleasant kind).

Once they reach the islands and were freed from the air-jail they had endured for the last sixteen hours, grabbed their luggage and hopped on a bus. As they headed to the resort that the package included, they passed many luxurious buildings that were painted stark white and had endless windows, sitting right along the beach. Each time they passed one, they thought, “That must be ours”. They held the papers up from the website which showed pictures of their resort, trying to guess which one it was. It claimed to be one of the most well-known resorts on the islands and was closer to the beach than any other resort.

They had been on the bus for what seemed like an eternity and both of the sisters had their heads leaned against one another, unable to keep their eyes open. Suddenly, the bus came to an abrupt halt, launching them forward out of their seats.

“Final stop!”

The bus driver shouted as he yanked his lever to open the bus doors.

Charlotte and Margaret stood up, grabbed their luggage, and thank their bus drive as they exited the front. Once they had finally gotten off their second death trap of transportation, they gazed, disenchanted by the building in front of them. It didn’t quite match the majesty of the other resorts they had passed, but I guess pictures are often deceiving.

“Well, it’s not what the pamphlet showed, but it’s nice. Kind of rustic and hipster. I like it.”

Margaret urged, attempting to keep the positive spirit up. But the waver in her tone made it sound like she was trying to convince herself more than anything. They both looked at each other and then back at the building with clear grimaces on their face. However, with being too tired to care and the darkness falling around them, they dragged their bags through the gravel and headed towards the half hung sign which pointed to the lobby.

When they entered the lobby, it was completely empty with not a soul in sight and nothing but the sound of tacky elevator music. They headed towards the front desk and rang the gold bell a couple of times. Both of them continued to gaze around the rundown establishment.

“Hello there!”

Both of the sisters nearly jumped out of their skin at the chipper voice of the small man who seemed to come out of the thin, musky, smoke smelling air.  

“Oh my. Hello, how are you? Um, we have a reservation for one room with two full sized beds.”

“Ah, Americans! Welcome, welcome. I am Sebastian. Please, if you don’t mind signing your name right here in the notebook, I will check you into your room here. What’s the name?”

“Margaret Petty.”

Sebastian typed away on a computer that looked like it had teleported itself from the 1990’s.

“Ah, I see right here. Okay, you ladies will be in room 103 with Ms. Wilson, she is one of our permanent residents. Here is your key.”

Margaret’s writing seized mid-name, as if Sebastian had just told them he knew Bigfoot.

“I’m sorry, I must have misheard. Did you say with someone?” Margaret laughed nervously, praying that the concierge had misspoken or that she had misheard.

“Um, yes. The package mentioned a private guide along the trip who would be with you constantly to take you through the islands and like family.”

“Yeah. I remember that, but I didn’t think it literally meant constantly as in in our bedroom! Is there any way we can get a separate room?”

“I’m afraid not. This trip was fully booked and all of our rooms are well, double booked.”

Margaret turned slowly to her sister to find her staring at her with murderous eyes and flaring nostrils.

“Char, it’s okay. It’ll be great. Look, we’ll have a third girl so we’ll have another safeguard around and maybe even a new friend!”

Charlotte remained silent, unable to respond to her diluted sister. Margaret turned back to Sebastian, who now looked very uncomfortable.

“Well, thank you Sebastian.” Margaret slowly reached for the keys. “Come on, Char.” The sisters begrudgingly walked towards the exit to meet their new roomie.

“Enjoy your stay!” Sebastian yelled after them in a hesitant tone.

The sister walked in silence to their room. Once they reached the door, Margaret turned to Charlotte.

“Okay, look. I know. I messed up and I am so, so, so sorry. But I’m sure this girl is great and who knows, maybe she’ll make the trip that much more fun!”

“It’s fine, Margaret. Just open the door so we can get some rest.”

Margaret was frightened by the calm tone and composure her sister was holding. It felt like standing next to a bomb. Nonetheless, she unlocked the door and open the door to meet a rather small room. Standing in front of a small table holding a shot class in hand stood a rather young, bronzed skin, dark haired girl, who they assumed to be Ms. Wilson.

“Hey, what’s up ladies! I thought I heard voices outside. Here, I already poured the tequila shots to get us ready for all the fun stuff I have planned for tonight.”

“Tonight? Oh, we’re pretty tired. I don’t think we’ll be able—“

“No, no. Your first night here is one of the most crucial. Don’t worry these shots will perk you right back up.”

The two sisters looked at each other, pretty much done with trying to find the most logical decision to make. So far, they had left their comfort zone far behind them back home, so there was no point in stopping now.

A short introduction, four shots each, and a twenty minute taxi ride later, the three girls were standing inside a beautiful and fairly large club. It looked like the kind that you could only get into if “you were on the list”, but Ann seemed to know her way in.

“Let’s go to bar and grab some drinks.”

Ann shouted over the EDM music pulsing through the club. The girls headed towards the bar and order three Long Island Teas. They stood, gazing at the array of people who danced and stood around the floor. Suddenly, Ann grabbed each of the sister by the hand and began dragging them towards a corner of the club.

“What’s going on?” Charlottes shouted at the mysterious girl they had met nearly an hour ago.

“Just come on, I’ll explain in a minute.”

Then, they were standing in the men’s bathroom with two very perplexed men staring at them.

“Don’t say a word.” Ann threatened the men before shoving the sisters into the one, rusty stall the bathroom had and then squeezing herself in before shutting the door behind them. She turned around to meet the wide eyes of the two girls. “Oh, don’t worry, I promise it’s nothing super serious. I just saw someone that I knew from my thieving days and he is still not too happy with me. I guess people get angry when you hijack their Lamborghinis and crash them into poles.”

The two girls turned to each other, both with anxious expressions, wondering what they had gotten themselves into with this vacation.

“Hey Margaret, remind me to never listen to you. Ever again.”

“Yeah, fair enough.”