Parrot Cay…

Although my stay on Parrot Cay did not work out exactly as planned, spending time with Patricia more than made up for the four or five days we hustled backwards and forwards from Parrot Cay to Providenciales to deal with “matters medical”…!!

We had hoped for a few idyllic days in paradise after our hectic week in New York, but after just a few hours back on Parrot Cay, the company nurse decided that there was more to Patricia’s pale countenance than met the eye, and a quick blood test revealed that her haemo-globin count had dropped to 5.4…!!

Still managing to smile, despite the fact that all was not well... That's my girl...!!

Back to Providenciales we went the following day, where further tests confirmed our fears that all was not well… The doctor who examined her wondered how she was managing to stand upright and function at all…!! By the time she was booked into hospital the following day, her blood count was down to 5.0…!! Two days and three blood transfusions later, she was a different person…!! And we all thought she was energetic before the transfusions…!! The woman is turning out to be a medical marvel…!!

South Dock, Parrot Cay...

The last three days I spent back on Parrot Cay were bitter sweet… I was thankful that we had been able to identify the malady that had been affecting Patricia and could now make plans to ensure that it was treated correctly… I was also happy to finally have some quiet time together, away from prodding nurses and the environs of the hospital…

Patricia’s apartment is on the first floor of a block of apartments set away from the main hotel, and consists of a living room and kitchenette, and a large spacious bedroom with it’s own balcony… The staff canteen, laundry and recreational area, stand just a short distance away, and the Spa where she is based is a five minute walk down a gravel covered road, bordered by lush gardens…

We spent time on the beach, took long walks along the shoreline and swam in the turquoise waters just offshore, but try as I might to “live in the moment”, I found it all very difficult…

Thoughts of the two day flight back to Australia, and the long and lonely months ahead without Patricia, gnawed away at me… I began to question the wisdom of completing my journey, putting life and limb at risk, versus being with the woman whom I had fallen deeply in love with, and who would obviously prefer to have me by her side… (It’s a question I am still asking myself ten days later, as I sit writing this from my hotel room in Cooktown, Northern Queensland, half a world away…)

On the day before I left, a storm blew up and dumped rain on Parrot Cay... We stood watching the amazing display of colours as the dark clouds blew in from over the horizon...

Managed to conjure up a rainbow as a parting gift...!! Not an easy task, I must say...!!

View from the upper terrace of the hotel...

Main entrance to the Como Hotel on Parrot Cay...

The resort was gearing up for the busy Thanksgiving weekend, when the few privately owned homes on the island, as well as the hotel itself, would be filled with guests, many of whom were coming to Parrot Cay to experience the best Health and Beauty Spa in the Caribbean…

Having just taken up her position as Spa Manager, Patricia was dead keen to throw off the shackles of her recent medical issues, and get down to work…!!

On my last day there, I finally managed to cure my laptop of it’s problems and wrote a quick post to let the world at large know that I had not fallen off the planet… Patricia and I enjoyed a candlelit dinner at one of the hotel’s two superb restaurants, then joined a few friends at the staff bar for a final drink or three…

The following morning, we rode down to South Dock to meet the boat that would take me, along with other guests and few members of staff, back to Providenciales, where I would begin the long haul back to Brisbane, via New York and Seoul…

I had the prettiest driver on the island by far...!!

While we waited for the guests to arrive, we stood in the shade thrown by the buggy, trying to keep our emotions in check… Public displays of affection between staff members and their other halves are understandably not what management want their guests to see, and bearing this in mind, our goodbyes were short but poignant…

I tried to convey the promise that I would be back for her in my eyes, as I stood before Patricia with my hands in my pockets… I did not have to tell her how much I would miss her, nor how much I loved her… This she would always know…

“Promise me you’ll ride safely, and eat properly…!!” she whispered, as the captain made a final call for his passengers…

Last wave goodbye as we drew away from South Dock...

I stood in the stern of the boat, watching her blow kisses to me from across the water… I tapped my chest over my heart and held my hand out to her in a gesture she had seen before in Bali… One that told her that my heart was hers…

Then the boat turned away towards the point of the island and into the deeper waters of the channel… I watched her walk back to the buggy and waved a final time, as she disappeared from view…

I knew that the weeks and months ahead were going to be difficult ones for both of us…

©GBWT 2011