Mike Jastrzebski - Key Lime Blues

***

My mother was pacing back and forth when we walked into the lobby. She took one look at us, moved to my side, kissed me on the cheek and took my arm.

“So where are we going for lunch?” she asked. “You’re a local girl, aren’t you Tanya? Why don’t you pick a place with some local color?”

“Conch fritters it is.” Tanya slid her hand through my other arm.

I could almost feel my mouth watering. I’d enjoyed the local delicacy several times since arriving, but I couldn’t help but wonder what my mother would think of them.

Tanya led us across Duval, behind the Ocean Key House Resort and across Mallory Square to a small food booth. We stopped and joined a line of six people waiting while a short, heavyset woman worked the deep fryer. She wore her bright red hair cut military style, and had ornate tattoos running up and down both arms.

“This wasn’t exactly what I had in mind,” my mother said.

“You told me you wanted a local opinion on where to eat.” Tanya grinned at me. “I guarantee you won’t find better fritters on the island.”

“There aren’t any chairs or tables,” my mother pointed out while we placed our order.

“Stop your whining, Mother.” I pointed off to the left of where we were standing. “There’s a bench over there, or we can always sit under the palm tree.”

The bench already had one occupant, a carved figure of a sea captain, complete with a sailor’s cap and a pipe. Under the palm tree meant sitting on the railroad-tie planting box that surrounded the tree. We ordered iced teas to go along with the fritters, and followed Tanya over to the palm tree. We took a seat facing the Shipwreck Museum and Tanya offered my mother the first fritter.

I scooped one out of the box for myself and asked, “What do you think?”

“They’re good.” My mother finished off the first one and reached for another. She pointed with it across the square. “Do people really pay to go in there?”

Tanya and I looked over to the shipwreck museum. “Sure,” Tanya said. “It’s what Key West used to be about. We’ve got lots of reefs and shallow water. Throw in all the tropical storms and hurricanes that hit the area and you’ve got a wreck magnet. Of course everything has changed with modern navigation, but boats are still lost on a regular basis.”

“Mel Fisher found the Spanish galleon, Atocha, not far from here,” I said.

“One of many,” Tanya said. “Wrecks were the biggest business on the island from the early eighteen hundreds until shortly after World War One when the wreckage courts were closed. They say that during the age of sail, a hundred ships a day passed through the Keys. In any given week a ship would wreck off the coast. The tourist tower over there is sixty-five feet tall. Some of the wrecker’s towers were over ninety feet tall.”

My mother picked up the last fritter. When I stood and carried the cardboard tray over to the trashcan she turned to Tanya. “How do you know about all of this?”

“I think I’ve been in every museum on the island a half dozen times each. School trips, family and friends visiting, even a few dates.”

I wandered back over to where they were seated. “Greenfield Village in Dearborn was where we took a lot of our field trips when I was a kid. If it rained, we toured the museum. Nice weather meant the Village. I always preferred the Village over the museum.”

“My favorite has always been the Hemmingway house.” Tanya said. “When I was young, I wanted to be a writer.”

“It seems to me that being a writer would be a lot more fulfilling than running a bar,” my mother said. She held out her hand for me to help her up, and added, “You must meet a lot of unsavory characters in your business.”

“Mother,” I said. I was prepared to run interference for Tanya but she reached out, touched my arm and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“Your mother’s right Wes. I’ll bet I meet almost as many lowlifes as you do in the detective business.”

I stood between the two women, closed my eyes, and waited for what I was sure would be a heated response. Instead, to my surprise, my mother started laughing.

“I like this girl, Wes.” She turned to Tanya and added, “I’ve enjoyed this. Like I said last night, we need to get together, just the two of us.”

“Mother.”

She looked at her watch. “Oh don’t worry, I’m not going to give away any of your secrets. And I don’t have any naked baby pictures on me. Now, I’ve got to go get the car. I’ve got an appointment with your Detective Davies.”

“She’s not my detective.”

“Yes. Well, she didn’t seem all that fond of you either. Now you two have a nice afternoon, and I’ll talk to you later, dear.” Without another word, she spun around and headed back toward her hotel.

“Your mother’s an opinionated woman, isn’t she?” Tanya said, while we watched my mother disappear around the corner.

“That would be an understatement.” I let out a sigh. “She’s determined that I’m going to take over the agency when she retires. Nothing I say or do seems to convince her it’s not going to happen. But enough about my problems, what’s on your agenda for the rest of the day?”

“I’ve got to get over to Alvin’s. I’ve got a liquor order to place, and I’ve got some bookwork to catch up on. What about you?”

“I’m gonna pay Elvis another visit, but not until a little later. I’m hoping to get a lead on Destiny’s whereabouts. How about if I walk you to the bar?”

She nodded and started off across the lot. I grabbed her arm and steered her toward the waterfront. “Let’s take the back way. I don’t want to experience an unexpected run in with Frankie or Willie.”

“What are the chances we’ll walk into them?” she asked.

“It’s a small island. As long as we’re together I’d like to avoid them at all costs.”

“Fine,” she said. “Besides, there’s nothing more enjoyable than a walk along the water.”

I put my arm around her and pulled her to me. “Nothing?”

She laughed. “Nothing we can do in public.”

I looked around and decided we were definitely in the public eye. The square was filling with tourists from a cruise ship that had docked earlier that afternoon. We walked in silence for several minutes before I asked, “Do you sail? You know, I’ve worked for you for six weeks and I don’t even know if you like being out on the water.”

“Love it. I dated a guy who owned a small sailboat and I went out a few times with him. Dad had a powerboat. He sold it when he got sick. I’ve spent plenty of time on the water. It’s almost a prerequisite to growing up in the Keys. How long have you been sailing?”

“My grandfather owned a thirty-foot sloop and I sailed a lot when I was younger. When he died, my mother sold the boat. She felt I wasted too much time sailing and she wanted me to concentrate on learning the business.”

We walked along in silence and when we passed the Ocean Key House Resort, Tanya gave my hand a little tug and we headed up Duval.

As we turned onto Caroline Street, Tanya slowed her pace. “When people discover you work for the family business, they think you’ve got it made. In reality, it’s like being swallowed by a giant Venus flytrap. It engulfs you and sucks out all your energy. You don’t even realize what’s happening until it’s too late.”

“Why don’t you sell the place?” I asked. “I can tell you from my own experience-it’s not easy giving up security, but the rewards are immense.”

Tanya dropped my hand and shrugged. “Maybe it was easy for you, but it’s not for me. My dad didn’t have very good health insurance when he took ill. There was some life insurance, but the hospital bills sucked up a bunch of the equity in the bar and the house. Besides, I’ve got a college degree in English, there’s not a whole lot you can do with that unless you want to teach. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about myself, it’s that I don’t have the slightest desire to babysit a classroom full of kids.”