Getaway Girlz by Joan Rylen

couple next to them talking, mostly because the couple was loud, but also because the woman was very animated, and sparkly.
    They were quite the pair. He wore a shimmery, expensive-looking blue shirt, strategically buttoned to emphasize his gold chain and a thick tuft of salt-and-pepper chest hair. She was petite and younger by at least 20 years, and busted out of her hot pink, rhinestone-studded top. Her platinum-blonde hair had been mega-teased and must have been sprayed with industrial strength hair spray. It hardly moved in the ocean breeze, and when it did, it moved as one unit. The humidity held no challenge for that hair. Her lips and nails were the same shade of hot pink, and she was dripping in jewels — diamonds for every accessory: earrings, necklace, bracelet, rings.
    Vivian couldn’t stop staring and figured she might as well make small talk with them when they paused for a breath.
    “Hey! How are y’all tonight? Isn’t this hotel wonderful?”
    “Oh yes, we love it here,” the woman answered.
    Vivian then introduced herself and the girls.
    The man spoke up, “How you ladies doin’? I’m Al Russo and this is my wife, Adrienne.” He started to keep going, but his phone buzzed. He glanced down at it, gave a smirk and said, “Gotta take this.”
    “Nice to meet you,” Vivian called after him, then turned to Adrienne. “Y’all sound like you’re from Chicago, maybe?”
    “Al’s third generation in Chicago, but I’m from New Orleans originally,” Adrienne said.
    “I thought I heard a hint of Louisiana in your accent,” Vivian said.
    “Give me a few more of these,” she said and held up her daiquiri, “and I’ll sound like I just stepped out of a cup of filé gumbo.”
    “Oh, that’ll really throw the locals off.” Vivian laughed and then continued, “It’s so beautiful here, don’t you just want to live here?”
    “Oh my god, Playa is fabulous!” Adrienne said. “I could live here permanently. Are you girls staying out of trouble down here?”
    “Never! We bring trouble wherever we go!” Wendy said. “We practically swung ourselves into the oblivion at the Purple Peacock last night. Right, Lucy? Then we went to Jungle Fever and discoed the night away. We are having a blast.”
    They proceeded to tell her about Lucy’s swing incident the night before, Vivian’s birthday serenade, the ever-so-gorgeous Pasqual and of course, soap-stud Jon.
    “I think I’ve seen him now that you’ve described him. I didn’t know he was an actor. Al and I are down here taking a break from the family and the business,” Adrienne told them, “although Al can’t seem to tear himself away from his phone.” She used her hands as she spoke and the glare cast off her wedding ring blinded Vivian a few times.
    “Damn, girl, that is quite the rock you’ve got there,” Vivian couldn’t help but say. She decided to be safe and put on her sunglasses.
    Kate raised her eyebrows and said, “Which one? The earrings, necklace or wedding ring?”
    “The ring,” Vivian answered.
    “Oh honey, this is nothing,” Adrienne said. “I don’t like to be too flashy on vacation.”
    Nothing ? Her bling is blinding ! Vivian thought.
    Al returned with his phone in his shirt pocket, which made it droop and expose even more chest hair. He said to the girls, “What are you ladies up to?”
    They didn’t get a chance to respond because Adrienne replied, “They’re fabulous, and so much fun! They’ve been catching rays and catching men, all while catching a buzz.”
    Al stepped back and ran his hand through his hair. “Oh, really?”
    “We went deep sea fishing today, and I caught the big one,” Kate said. “It was huge and took me forever to get him in the boat.”
    “Yeah, I’ve heard stories like that before,” Al said then raised his right arm as if to measure the length of a fish. “I caught one this big…”
    “No, really, the chef is cooking the fish for us tonight and there will be plenty,”