The car parked in front of an enormous magnificent building and everyone’s jaw dropped in amazement. They had probably never seen something this awesome.
“So this is it? The Royal Hawaiian center?” Oliver queried with his eyes fixed on it.
“Yes sir, it is the premiere shopping, dining, and entertainment destination here in Waikiki,” the tour guide replied. “Also, I’d suggest you step into the royal grove and discover the rich legacy of Helumoa; Waikiki’s historic coconut grove in the heart of Royal Hawaiian center.” Damon added
“Cool,” Princess Lena muttered
“Say no more Damon, my mouth is watering already,” Sammy added.
“Alright, we would give it a try but after we check the whole place out. We are here for sightseeing, you all remember? So tour before food.” Oliver stated in finality.
“Fine.”
“Yeah.”
“Whatever,” they grumbled simultaneously.
“Alright Damon, we would come down and go into the center while you help the driver find some space in the parking lot,” Oliver instructed.
“Oh, I was just about to say that… you see sir, Parking is sort of a problem here, if we can find a space, then we would need to pay two dollars for each hour we spend,” the tour guide replied.
“Okay, that won’t be a problem… take care of it and add it to the bills,” Oliver instructed, then he alighted from the Limousine; the others did not need a seer to tell them they had to do the same.
They all came out of the car, excluding Damon and the driver. “Sir, I think you might need this,” Damon said and stretched his hand out of the car; there was a piece of paper on it.
“Um… what is this?” Oliver asked as he took the paper from him.
“Oh, it is the list of stores in the Royal Hawaiian center. Just so that you know where to find the things you need,” Damon replied.
“Oh… thanks,” he said in appreciation and turned to face the building, while staring into the list.
“Hope no one is forgetting anything in the car?” Sammy asked as the driver set to move to the Parking garage.
They all checked themselves and confirmed that they were set, so Oliver led the way into the center. They were welcomed by the staff at the door with a warm smile.
“Would you need a guide sir?” one of the female staff asked Oliver.
He smiled and waved his head. “No dear, we already have one, but thank you.”
“Anything for our handsome guest,” she replied with a smile and Aria scoffed. The young lady’s expression changed immediately, she noticed. “I am sorry, I didn’t mean any disrespect,” she added.
“No it is fine, you did nothing wrong, it’s not bad to compliment guests, especially when they are single,” Oliver replied and she chuckled.
“Thank you for the compliments, we will get going now,” Aria chirped in immediately and pushed Oliver forward into the building.
“Wait sir, you haven’t even taken your access stickers?” the lady said, but Aria kept dragging him forward with her.
“Oh, I will take those for all,” Sammy said to her and she smiled. She gave them individual sticker tags and they walked in, trying to catch up with Oliver and Aria.
** * * * * * * *
When they were far from the entrance, Aria stopped dragging Oliver and let go of his arm roughly. She was looking really mad.
“Wow! What was that all about?” Oliver queried with wrinkled eyebrows, one of his hands placed against his waist. She found that to be cute, but she was too upset to think in that direction right now.
“Are you seriously asking me that? I should be asking you that question, Mr. Gomez?” Aria retorted. They were in the middle of a hall with people passing by, but everyone seemed to mind their business.
“I don’t get, what did I do wrong?” he queried.
“So you don’t know what you did wrong? She was flirting with you and you urged her to go on rather than warn her off,” she fired.
“But why should I? What was wrong with what she was doing? I am a single man, remember? Moreover, that was just for fun, so why are you taking it seriously?” he asked back.
The others approached them and stood at a distance from them. No one was ready to get burned from the flames they were blazing.
“Seriously? So because you are single, it is cool for you to flirt with a lady in front of your daughter? And forget about Lena, was that really necessary? Was it right? I have also been single for the past seven years and I never let anyone cross their boundaries with me!” she fired.
“Oh, I see… you didn’t let anyone flirt with you, good! But how does that relate? I mean, why can’t we let people flirt with us?” Oliver asked yet again, trying to get certain words out of her mouth.
Aria sighed. “You know what? I don’t know, okay?” she retorted and stormed off.
“What are you doing, Oliver? You are pissing her off,” Sammy said as he came closer.
“I know. I just want to hear her say it, why can’t she just say that she loves me and we get back together?” Oliver queried.
“It is not that easy for her, try to understand from her own perspective as well,” Sammy replied.
“Wait… so you are supporting her now, not cool Sammy!” Oliver whined.
“No! No! I am not supporting her, I am just saying that you should take it easy with her. Why don’t you catch up with her and apologize,” Sammy suggested.
“Fine, it is not like I have been doing any other thing for the past seven years,” he grumbled and ran off to meet her.
“We should probably go after them?” Sammy said.
“Um… No, this vacation is for you guys as well, so why don’t you concentrate on having fun, leave the couple to handle their own problems,” Lena suggested.
“What? I thought you wanted us to help you get your parents back together?” Rosie queried with a scrutinizing look.
“Yes Aunt Rosie, which is why we are helping them right now by staying away from them? You see, mom and Dad need a private time to sort out their differences, it would be best if we gave them some space rather than bug them,” Lena replied intelligently.
“Oh, I see… but what exactly is the plan?” Rosie queried.
“Yeah, you and Oliver always keep us in the dark,” Sammy grumbled.
“That is because you don’t know how to keep a secret Uncle Sam,” Lena replied and the females chuckled.
“What? Who said so?” Sammy asked and wrinkled his face in disagreement.
“Oh! It is true Sam,” Rosie said in support and Sammy turned to her with a look of disappointment. “Don’t look at me like that, we both know that when Aria gives you that look, you spill the beans instantly,” she added.
“Fine, maybe I don’t know how to keep secrets from Aria, but then why don’t you two tell Rosie what the plan is?” Sammy queried.
“Because… Aunt Rosie is your fiancée and we don’t want to make her keep a secret from you. Also, she might not like the plan because she would feel that it is not fair on mom’s side and she might expose it to mom and ruin our plans,” Princess Lena explained.
“Oh, so that is why?” Sammy muttered, then he turned to Rosie. “You don’t believe she is a kid right? I think she is a robot,” he added and they laughed.
“I am sure your boss wouldn’t be happy to hear you call his daughter a robot, you better apologize,” Lena said with a smirk.
“What?” Sammy whined and groaned. “She is blackmailing me, Rosie,” he grumbled.
“Yeah, she is… and you better do as she says, I don’t want to get married to a broke man,” Rosie replied jokingly and they burst into laughter.
It seems like they had forgotten that they were standing in the midst of a thousand people. But this was what vacation was all about right? Fun, no stress and being happy.
To be continued!!