Breakfast with Ronna

Photo by David Lansing.

It’s difficult to have a conversation of more than five minutes with Ronna, the owner of the Coconut Grove. This morning we sat down at seven, before the guests arrived for breakfast. But before Ronna could even pour us both a cup of coffee, one of the girls who arrives early to cook, Serah, came up to tell her that because rain is coming this afternoon, they are moving up the ash spreading of the woman who used to be a gardener here. So Ronna has to dash off to make some phone calls.

When she returns, she says, “Where were we?” and before I can answer, someone else tells her that a garden banana tree has fallen in the wind and she rushes off to attend to that.

“There’s always ten things going on at the same time around here,” Ronna says when she returns. “It’s amazing I can keep any of it straight.” She takes a deep breath, picks up her coffee, puts it back down on the table without drinking. While I ask her a question, she looks around the dining room and you can tell she’s thinking about what needs to be done: fix a bamboo screen that has come undone from yesterday’s storm; ask Serah to fill the salt and pepper shakers; figure out a menu for tonight’s dinner.

“I’m getting to the age where I probably should write things down,” she says, admitting that it’s difficult to keep track of all the little chores that need to be attended to on a daily basis. Then she leans forward and puts a hand atop my arm. “But the good thing is,” she says in a low voice, “if you ever tell me a secret, I won’t remember it.”

Then she laughs and scurries away towards the kitchen, our interview either postponed or forgotten, it’s hard to tell.