“Hi, there. We are still unpacking,” she said when she opened the door.
“Never mind that, the sun is setting. We have to go downstairs now if you want to get a good picture,” I explained.
“Larry, come on. Grab the camera,” she called over her shoulder, He joined us after locking their door behind him.
The elevator didn’t seem to be fast enough but we made it outside just as the sun touched the horizon dipping into the sea. The gorgeous sunset rippled across the ocean waters as we made our way through the throng of people also trying to get to the shore’s edge for their souvenir pictures.
We took our photos and got sand in our shoes. The sunset was fantastic. Walking back to the hotel, we passed a man with a red and blue parrot on his shoulder.
“Does he talk?” I asked.
“Yes, ‘em. He talks for a price,” the weathered old man said.
“How much?”
“Five dollar,” the weathered old Hawaiian native said.
“That’s a deal, here,” I said, handing him the money.
“Talk, talk, Ricky,” he encouraged.
“Awwk, sail a ship, sail a ship. Oops,” the parrot said.
We laughed and thanked the owner. Larry gave him a couple more dollars.
“Well, where do you gals want to eat?” he asked.
Trish and I looked down the street.
“Look there’s a seafood restaurant over on the other side of the road. That’s what I want,” I said.
We crossed the busy intersection over to the crowded sidewalk. The restaurant host, positioned off to the side before we entered, stood behind a podium and took our names. A few minutes had passed when a hostess emerged and seated us inside right away. Although we don’t usually drink alcohol, we ordered one glass of white wine. This seemed to be a special occasion.
When the wine arrived, I held the wine glass up to my friend’s raised water glasses. We said cheers, tapped our glasses together, and I passed the wine goblet to Trisha. Larry finished the drink off.
“Wasn’t it funny that the bird said ‘Oops’ at the end of his talk?” Trisha asked.
“Did he? I guess I was laughing so hard I didn’t pay any attention. I proclaim no ‘Oops’ on this trip,” I said, this time raising my water glass to theirs for another cheer.
“Here, here,” Larry added as our food was delivered to our table.
—-
Back in my room, I connected to the hotel wi-fi and called my daughter to let her know we landed.
“Hi, Jan. Yes, the flight was smooth and I met an author on the plane. My room is nice and I have a great view of Diamond Head out of my window. Yes, I do feel energized. We just had a great dinner of shrimp. How’s your friend, Eric? Oh, he did, did he? And you told him what? Good. I always wanted to be eccentric. Bye now. Love you,” I said and hung up. Eric, Jan’s new boyfriend, got a glimpse of my unusual friends during the Christmas party. He didn’t say much about them.
Then I keyed in Rene’s phone number just to check on my dog.
“Hi, this is Susan. Yes, we had a good flight. How’s my dog coping? Right, just like I’m not there. Well, the first day he might not eat much. Give him one of his treats. Okay, and thank you so much for watching him for me. Oh, I almost forgot. I met the author of the book you lent me and she gave me another brand new signed copy in her series I can lend you. That’s right. Take care. Bye,” I said and pressed the phone icon to end the call.
I undressed and crawled into the bed. Funny, how sometimes when you realize you are dead tired but are too excited to sleep, you end up tossing and turning most of the night. Well, not me, I fell into a deep slumber and began to dream.
A short man kept saying, “Where’s my package?” I kept telling him I don’t have it. Then I got on my white horse and rode off into the red sunset.
My travel alarm woke me up. I was supposed to meet Trisha and Larry downstairs for breakfast. I hurried to dress and combed my hair before I stepped out of my room and caught the next elevator down to the first floor. The hotel had a small café outside and I spotted my friends waiting at a table for me. Larry stood and called over the waitress.
“We can board the ship at eleven tomorrow, so I arranged with the hotel to transfer our big luggage to the ship. If you want to do the same, you’ll have to see the registration desk,” he said.
“Oh, that’s fine. My suitcase is small enough for me to have the bus store it underneath,” I said, looking over the breakfast menu the waitress set down before me.
After a few minutes, the waitress came back over to take our orders. I just had scrambled eggs and toast. Anticipating my cruise trip and thinking about Jan’s boyfriend made me too nervous to eat. But I knew in my heart everything should work out okay. The humid air blowing through the café made the air seem cool. I pulled my sweater closer to my neck.
“Are you all right, Susan?” Trisa asked.
“I’m just a little cold,” I replied.
“The humidity does take getting used to,” Larry observed.
He rented a car from the hotel for us to take a drive outside of town and over to Diamond Head. The huge rock formation drew closer and closer until we drove by the deep greenery with the ocean to our right. We continued on passed a forest of tall Norfolk pines with symmetrical branches.
Lots of cars, parked along the edge of the road in the parking areas, caused some congestion. They were board enthusiasts heading out to the water’s edge to surf
