Ode to a Fish Sandwich Read Online Free PDF Page A

the doctor had settled into what would become his regular spot. Sitting in the umbrella’s shade, he turned to stare out at the sea.
    She fixed up the plate and carried it to his table.
    “Tell me what you think,” she said as he eagerly grabbed the sandwich and took his first bite.
    A broad smile broke across his face—the first truly cheerful emotion he’d experienced since the morning of his wedding.
    “Wow. That’s delicious.”
    Winnie had already started walking across the sand to the kitchen, but her reply carried back to the table.
    “I know.”

Chapter 5
The Volcano
    THAT DAY, DR. JONES spent several hours at the diner’s picnic table. Long after he’d finished his fish sandwich, he remained in his seat, staring out at the sea.
    The pleasure he’d derived from the satisfying meal eventually wore off, and he slipped into a trance of somber reflection. Every so often, he got up to soak his feet in the water, but after each dip, he resumed his quiet musings beneath the umbrella.
    Winnie frequently stopped by the doctor’s table to check on him. Over the course of the afternoon, she brought out numerous bottles of water along with a few rum punches. Through their short bits of intermittent conversation, she learned about the doctor’s dermatology practice, his strident position on the risks of skin cancer, and, finally, his failed wedding and solo honeymoon.
    He, in turn, began asking questions about the island.
    “So, Winnie, what can you tell me about the volcano?”
    “The volcano?” She shrugged her disinterest. “It sits there, as it likes, and we all hope it doesn’t wake up one day and decide to blow.”
    “Is there a trail to the top?” he pressed. “Have you ever climbed to the summit?”
    “ Pfft .” She pointed down at her wide hips and thick legs. “Do I look like I’ve been running around a volcano lately?”
    The doctor took a sip of his rum punch and tried again.
    “You’ve lived here your whole life, and you’ve never checked it out? Aren’t you curious what’s up there?”
    Winnie replied with an indignant scowl, “I don’t have any business that needs to be done at the top of a volcano.”
    She began shuffling back to the diner.
    The doctor suppressed a laugh as she muttered loudly.
    “Why tempt fate?”
    ~
    WHEN AT LAST the extended lunch session reached its close, the doctor removed his umbrella from the rock pile at the center of the table and limped to the kitchen window to pay his bill.
    Despite the rest and the numerous sea-soakings, his blistered feet were in no condition for the five-mile return walk to the resort. He was hoping to hop on the resort’s bus when it stopped to pick up the guests arriving on the afternoon ferry.
    As Winnie calculated his tab, the doctor studied the name written across the top of the menu board. Stepping away from the counter, he studied the faint lettering on the building’s outer plywood sheeting.
    “Delilah’s Beachside Diner,” he mused, reading the sign out loud. He raised a questioning eyebrow. “So where’s Delilah? Does she work a different shift?”
    Winnie breathed out an exhausted sigh as she handed him the receipt.
    “It’s just me. Been no Delilah for ten, no twelve years now.”
    The doctor paid the sum, leaving a sizeable tip.
    “So what happened to her?”
    Taking the cash, the chef leaned over the counter and looked meaningfully up at the volcano.
    After a moment, she whispered grimly.
    “She tempted fate.”

Chapter 6
Delilah
    FOR DR. JONES, THE second day’s departure through the resort’s front gates was far less eventful than the first.
    This time, the guards offered no objections to his leaving the secured grounds. They appeared resigned to his untimely demise—either through heat exhaustion or at the hands of the savage spirit they believed inhabited the cane fields.
    Or perhaps management had reasoned it would be better for everyone involved if the dermatologist stayed away from the resort’s