“Maddy, what I told you before is still true. I will probably always love your mom, but I won’t ever be able to trust her again. As for you, I will always do anything I can to help you out. I meant it when I said I want you to visit me. Heck, bring your girlfriend out here, too. I really want to meet her, as well as see you.”
“Heh,” she chuckled, “Are you trying to buy my happiness now?”
“Who? Meeeeee? Never.” She knew I was joking, but it was still good to hear her laughter on the other end. I thought I also heard another distinctly feminine giggle in the background.
“Ok, you win. Since its summer break still, we have time. Send me the tickets and we will come. For future reference, her name is Sarah Jones.” I had to hold the phone away from my ear, as I heard two very happy ladies screaming on the other end. “WOOOHOOO! WE’RE GOING TO HAWAII!!”
The noise finally died down, and we said our goodbyes. I knew I had a lot of work ahead of me, but the very least I could do was to continue showing her that I loved her. With that call done with, I sat back on the lounger, and finished off my drink.
It was still barely mid-afternoon here, but back home it was getting a little late. I was still a bit jet-lagged, but not enough to make me ready for bed yet. I got up, went back inside, and looked over those pamphlets again. There was the one for a helicopter tour. There was one, for a snorkeling dive expedition which sounded fun, but perhaps a little more effort than I wanted to give right now. I saw the military museums page again, and put it towards the top of the stack. I saw one for a bus tour of the city, which looked interesting and fit with my lazy, Rum fueled, attitude.
After reviewing several others, I decided to go with the bus tour of the city. It sounded like fun, and would require very little effort on my part. I called the concierge, and Kim was very helpful in setting it up for me. That girl might actually get me in trouble while I was here. After locking up the hut, I went to the front desk.
The bus was already waiting there, so I just got on, and away we went! The tour lasted two hours, and drove all over the city. There was a lot of neat looking shops, as well as a few restaurants that I was going to have to try out. I noted the name of one, called Island Jim’s, which looked like the perfect place for dinner tonight. It barely stood out against the facade of the buildings around it, and had a ‘hole-in-the-wall’ look to it. I almost imagined this was the kind of place that would end up on one of my favorite cooking channel shows, the one with that guy and the crazy hair.
I was dropped off back at the resort, where I went and changed to go out for dinner. I took a cab back to the place, and sat at the bar. The staff was all very friendly, and the food was excellent. I ended up having some local seared AHI tuna, and a local fruit with a name that I cannot pronounce. While sitting and eating, I did my usual people-watching.
There was a group of four sitting near the door that looked like a bunch of muscle-bound athletes. They were all laughing and drinking, and looked like they had finished eating a long time ago. Looking to a table a few away from them, I saw three women, eating various fish plates. To the right of the door was a couple, holding hands while they sat and had an after dinner glass of wine. Sitting further down the bar from me, was an older gentleman, who seemed content to chatting with the young woman behind the bar.
Heh, I guess even an older guy like that might have a chance here in Hawaii. I signaled the bartender that I needed another beer, and as she brought it to me, the guy at the end of the bar slid off his stool and walked down towards me. He climbed onto the stool next to me, and extended his hand.
“Howard Denton,” he said, as I shook the outstretched hand.
“James Holmes,” I answered.
“So what brings you to this paradise all alone?” he asked. Wow, he got to the bone real quick with that question.
I figured the truth might be shocking, but kind of wanted to see his reaction. “Basically, my business partner tried to kill me, and somehow convinced my wife that I had cheated on her, which I never did. On top of that, she has been cheating on me, with him, for god knows how long! Now, how messed up is that, all just days before our wedding anniversary?”
He just started laughing. NOT the reaction I had expected, but there was definitely healing in those bellows. He was laughing so hard, it was infectious, and I laughed with him.
“That has to be the most messed up situation I’ve ever heard of, and I should know. My wife left me three years ago, for a much younger guy. She claimed he had a horse cock and made her scream. Too bad the little boy had no money, and she didn’t get the fortune from me she thought she would. Hahahahaha!” He continued his laughter, and slapped me hard on the back. “James, you just made my day. Let me buy you a drink!”
Who was I to argue with a free drink and a funny companion? We sat and had another round, while commiserating about the pains of the women in our lives. He seemed to be in a good mood about the whole thing, making me jealous that my wounds were still so fresh. At least the alcohol was making it all better, for now.
After the bartender told us it was last call, I got up and put out my hand. “It has been pleasing… a pleasure… meeting you,” I slurred. I hoped he understood, and that his ‘drunk ass’ translator was working.
“Get over here,” he said, as he pulled me in for a manly hug. “You are fun to… I mean… It was fun talking to you.” His drunk slurring was about the same as mine, so we were in like company.
At this, he hiccupped, and we stumbled out the door, holding each other upright. The bartender called out to us, asking if she should call us a cab. Howard waved at her, and yelled out, “NO THANKS!”