From 'the Green Flash' Poem by Morgan Michaels

With no hesitation, he said the airport supermarket had been their first stop, yesterday. Market prices were best and who wants to sit in a stuffy bar?

Billy thought this was sensible and took a beer. It yielded its cap with a hiss. He took a long pull, thinking of Tom's simple logic.

'Well, you won't need to buy more for a while', he said.

'Not for a while', grinned Tom, uncapping several bottles more and closing the door with his foot.

They went back to the porch to find Mat listening to Cal's tale of last night's dinner. Tom passed round the bottles and seeing Matt helpless, changed the subject. Gossip and laughter followed.

The commotion brought Fannie out. A three pound lobster swung by the antennae from each brawny fist.

'Bonjour', she chirped, swinging the unfortunate lobsters. She bowed. Did they know that the establishment had realized a long-held dream of opening a restaurant? Under her sister's management? Open from seven til ten?

Fannie was the last breeding descendent of one of the island's oldest families. Her ancestors arrived from Normandy in the seventeenth century and, in consequence, owned lots of land. 'First come, first served', it was said. They endured unspeakable hardship- bearable only because they had no choice, until lately, tourism changing everything. Fannie had married a handsome gendarme from Toulouse who was nobodys' fool. They had a daughter named Melodie in prep school and a blondly handsome but dull-witted son, still too young to know his limitations. Fannie came from good peasant stock. Her business skills were legendary.

'And', she sang, searching the sky and seeming to read in its blue what she tried to remember, 'we have cod fritters'.

Except, she said it in island French, the cod fritters part.