It was hot and humid and, according to Trina, the weather girl on the island’s on-again, off-again radio station, there was only the faintest hope that a late-afternoon storm would blow in and clear the air. Carin was grateful for the ancient air conditioner rattling in the window of her small art and gift shop because it kept her cool as she worked, but mostly because its welcome noise brought in customers—day-trippers off the launch from Nassau and week-long vacationers from the local inns and family resorts who came seeking refuge from the sweltering midday heat and lingered because Carin’s shop was an island paradise all of its own. Filled with one-of-a-kind art objects, paintings and sketches, sea glass jewelry, cast sand sculptures and whimsical mobiles that enchanted young and old alike, Carin’s Cottage was a haven for those with money and taste and a desire to bring home something more enduring than a T-shirt to remember their holiday by. Everyone who found their way to tiny Pelican Cay eventually found their way to Carin’s.
