Not long after cleaning up breakfast, Rob and Barry came over to check in. It was our last day on Grand Cayman and I’d told Stenton I wanted to go back into town to get souvenirs. I didn’t work out how I would explain them to my mom, but figured I’d deal with that once back on U.S. soil.
“Stent.” I gaited into the living room where he was still seated on the couch. He wore lounge pants and the only thing covering his upper body was red, yellow and black ink. “You want to go into town so I can pick up those few keepsakes we talked about?”
He at least gave me eye contact for the first time today.
“Nah. You can go with Rob and B.” He glanced over to the guys. “Wasn’t it something y’all needed from there before we bounce tomorrow?”
“Yeah, we can go now, Zo. Come on,” Barry waved his arm behind him as he stood.
Rob followed his movements as they headed for the door. I steeled in place, feeling uneasy about that call. Stenton and I had been inseparable the entire trip. Why the sudden need for distance? Stenton never looked up, and I couldn’t formulate the words of inquiry regarding his mood without coming off as argumentative, so I decided to head to the back for my purse and went into town with the guys.
We were out there for hours. I was able to find cute trinkets for my mom, Karen, and my roommate. I also found nice jewelry for me. There were two rings that perfectly covered my tattoo until I was ready to expose it to the world. I ended up picking up fish from a market and finally decided to head back to the house. Stenton was likely starving, and I was getting there myself.
When I made it back, I put my things away and didn’t see him bumming around in the house. I chanced a peek outside to find him doing laps in the pool. Even doing that, he seemed preoccupied, very solitary. Leaving him out there to himself, I went into the kitchen and prepared lunch. I heard him come inside and pass by, but he didn’t stop in. As I was putting the food on the plate, he popped his head in the doorway of the kitchen.
“You got it?”
I sucked my teeth. “How convenient. I’m done. You can grab your plate though.”
I handed him a plate and he left out. When I was ready, I grabbed my plate and went into the dining room where I found him waiting on me. I didn’t know what to expect after his distance earlier.
As we ate, I had to address his mood change.
“Stent, are we okay?”
Stenton nodded his head over his food. His eyes was trained to the plate.
“I’m just mentally preparing for the shit I’m about to walk into as soon as we step off the plane to tomorrow. This was a real vacation week for me. If I’m not careful, my only for the year.” He scratched his eyebrow and exhaled hard. “My manager has so much shit lined up over the next few weeks into training season.”
I nodded my head slowly, trying to make myself believe him. I mean, what did I have to go on? I didn’t recall doing anything wrong. This was a bit strange, but I decided to drop it. I didn’t want to harp on negativity. Plus, I’d never spent so much time with Stenton. He could be an introvert for all I knew.
“What’s your schedule looking like for the summer? Are you doing Working Toward the Stars again?” he asked, still not looking at me.
“Nope,” I used the popping sound for humor. “I’ll be finishing up with this summer course and relaxing before the fall semester begins and I get swamped.” I stretched my arms above my head.
“Are you excited about the coming semester?”
That was an odd question.
“Yeah. It’s another step closer to finishing.” I gave a wry smile.
Stent nodded his head as he went back to eating. We didn’t talk much after that. When we were done, Stenton cleared the dishes and I went to the bedroom to start packing. Our flight was early and I didn’t want to forget anything. Stenton spoiled me over the past week. He took me shopping, creating the need for another suitcase.