The Girlfriend Shield

by S. A. Hunter

  We could only watch bemusedly as Hans went to Cora. He said something quietly to her to which she nodded eagerly. He bent and carefully picked her up. He took her up the stairs and into the plane. I collapsed Cora’s walker.

  “I guess it’s time to go,” Dad said.

  We all went up the stairs. The jet was large, but inside it only had eight seats. They were big chairs though, full recliners with ample cushioning. They were set up in two groups of four. Cora had taken one of the front seats and already had a suspiciously dark drink in her hand. “Welcome Smith family, may I get you anything?” Hans asked us.

  “He fixes a lovely Mai Tai,” Cora said.

  “Oh boy,” Mom said under her breath.

  Mom and Dad sat in the first group with Cora. Damien pulled me to the back group. He took one back seat and I took the other. Angela sat facing me, and Noah was in the seat facing Damien.

  “Please fasten your seatbelts, and we’ll begin taxing,” Hans said over the intercom. I fastened my seatbelt and looked out the window. As the plane began to move, my heart sped up. This was really happening. We were going to Hawaii. My eyes were glued to the window as we moved.

  “Have you flown before?”

  I jumped. Damien had said that right into my ear. He’d left his seat to lean over me and look out my window.

  “Get back in your seat and fasten your seatbelt!” I said.

  “It’s fine. They only say that stuff because they have to.”

  “They say that stuff because you could get hurt if you don’t do as they say. I’ve flown before, and I’ve felt turbulence. Sit down.”

  The plane had taxied onto the runway.

  He didn’t budge.

  “Go sit down,” I said again.

  “No, I like the view right here.” In another situation, I might have let his flirting delight me, but this wasn’t the time to play around.

  “Dad!”

  “Wha—“ He turned around and stopped when he spotted Damien. “Boy, sit your ass down before I come back there and duct tape you to your seat.”

  “You and what army?” he challenged.

  “Me,” Mom said, turning around too, and if anything, she looked scarier than Dad.

  “I’d help,” Noah added.

  “Mr. West, I’m afraid I’d have to assist. You really need to sit down and fasten your seatbelt. We cannot take off with you like this,” Hans said.

  Damien looked at me.

  “You really have to wonder? I’d also duct tape your mouth.”

  “I bet he doesn’t even have duct tape,” he said, flinging himself into his seat.

  From the front of the plane, the telltale sound of super sticky and strong tape being pulled occurred. Dad held up the roll with a strip pulled out. I heard the click of Damien’s seat belt fastening.

  I relaxed and enjoyed the view again. The jet’s engines started up. We started down the runway, gaining speed. The takeoff was smooth. I was only pushed back into my seat some. We climbed up above the clouds and made the turn to head to Hawaii. After a moment, the pilot’s voice came over the intercom saying we’d reached cruising altitude, visibility was good, and it was safe to move around the cabin. We’d reach our destination in just under ten hours.

  Damien was immediately out of his seat. I began to wonder how he was going to deal with being cooped up in a plane for that long.

  He crouched down by my seat and hung onto the armrest. “Did you pack a swimsuit?”

  “Yeah, did you pack trunks?”

  He nodded, his poufy hair bouncing with the motion.

  “Do you know how to swim?” I asked, nervous that he might not.

  “Yeah, do you?”

  “She does. She learned at the pond,” Noah said.

  I nodded without realizing what he had revealed. “Pond?” Damien asked.

  “There’s a pond behind Noble. Didn’t you know? Sarah showed me during the Christmas party.”

  “You went together to a party?”

  Noah was in full shit stirring mode. Did he want to get thrown out of the plane at thirty thousand feet, or would he rather force us to duct tape Damien to his seat when he tried to throw Noah out of the plane? Because if it came to that, he was getting duct taped too and I was definitely taping his mouth.

  “It was the staff party, and we didn’t go together.”

  “But you left together,” he said, his face in a deep frown.

  “Only for a little bit. We went back,” I said.

  “So you could say we did go together when we went back.”

  I pointed at Noah. “Shut up, you.”

  Damien had moved back to his seat and had turned away from us. “Hey, how did you learn to swim?” I asked.

  He didn’t reply.

  “Damien?” I prodded.

  “Someone taught me. I’m kind of tired. I think I’ll sleep.”

  He then put on a pair of headphones. I sighed unhappily. The trip was going to be rough if a couple of comments from Noah was going to tilt him that badly. I stared out my window to distract myself. We were still over land but soon enough we’d be over the ocean and there would be nothing interesting to look at.

  Hans came through getting drink orders. I requested water. I’d read that being properly hydrated was a good way to stave off jetlag. Damien didn’t ask for anything. He didn’t answer Hans’ soft inquiry. The flight attendant pulled a blanket out of the overhead compartments and draped it over him.

  “Noah, how was your Christmas?” Angela asked.

  “Barely bearable. How about yours?”

  “It was fine. The Wests have always been terribly kind to me. I’m surprised you didn’t needle an invitation to the estate.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “Because it would’ve been the better option? Or are you blowing smoke, and you did enjoy spending the holiday with your mother?”

  I was surprised Angela was digging into him about this.

  “I didn’t enjoy it, but I would’ve enjoyed it even less with the Wests.”

  This surprised her. “Really? Why?”

  It was Noah’s turn to look out the window and ignore us. Angela looked at me with a raised eyebrow. Looking at her a moment, I realized that he was referring to her. I was surprised he’d even hint at his crush on Angela with her sitting right there.

  Hans offered us a pack of cards to pass the time. I accepted it gratefully. Angela and I played War for a very long time, I began to wonder if it would ever end. Eventually, I won and Angela and I agreed that we didn’t need to play that game again for at least a year, if ever again.

  Eventually, Hans served dinner. It was pizza, but it was fresh. Mom later told me that she caught a glimpse of Hans kneading the dough. After dinner, we decided to watch a movie and chose an action flick. We each put on our headphones and watched the single big screen. When it was finished, there was some discussion of watching a comedy, but I didn’t chime in. I pulled my headphones off and watched the ocean until I dozed off. I didn’t wake up until we were making our descent. I hadn’t slept well. I felt a little disoriented. “We’ll be landing in a few minutes,” Angela said.

  I rubbed my eyes and realized that I had a blanket now. I pushed it down and looked over at Damien. He was awake. “Hey,” I said, stretching my back muscles.

  “You know you snore.”

  “No, I don’t. I drool,” I said.

  He gave me a half-grin. “Check the view,” he said.

  I looked out the window and my breath caught. Oahu was below us. It was such an amazing sight. The high rises of Waikiki were dwarfed by Diamond Head, the volcanic cone. The water was blue and beautiful with white beaches. I couldn’t believe I was about to set foot in this place. I’d thought I’d only get to see it in television shows.

  We touched down and taxied to a hanger. There was a line of people waiting for us. As we got off the stairs, a smiling woman in a floral dress put leis around our necks, except Damien who refused it. There were two li
mos waiting. I suspected Damien was hoping everyone else would pile into one limo and he and I would take the other, but Dad was not having that. One limo could hold all of us and so we all piled in. The other limo would carry our luggage.

  We drove for twenty minutes. We passed one gated estate after another. We finally pulled up to the biggest one. West was spelled out on the iron gate. The mansion was not as big as the West Estate’s mansion, but it was bigger than every other house I’d been in. It appeared to be three stories. While pillars did decorate the front, the building was new, not historical.

  As we got out of the limo, I realized that we could hear the ocean. Of course, the mansion was right on the beach. My family looked at each other and silently we all turned and headed toward the sound of the waves. We walked through the palm trees onto a pristine beach. The sand was soft and white. Mom stopped and took off her shoes and socks. We all did the same. I helped Cora with hers. We walked to the edge of the waves.

  The four of us lined up on the shore and watched the waves come in and wash over our feet. “We’re really here,” Mom whispered. Tears were leaking out of the corner of her eyes. Seeing her moved to tears made my eyes get wet. Our feet were slowly buried in the white sand.

  “Are you guys hungry?” Damien called from behind us. We looked back at him. Angela and Noah were with him up on the edge of the beach. Seeing them standing together reinforced just how separated we were. This was all normal to them. Traveling to tropical islands. Being waited on. Not having to worry about money. I envied and hated them as I stared at them bathed in the light of the setting sun. Two princes and a princess waiting on the servant family. It was all surreal.

  “Is he asking because he wants me to fix him something?” Mom grumbled.

  “If there was someone to take our bags, I’m sure there’s someone to do the cooking,” Cora said.

  “You’re right, and they’re probably better cooks than me.”

  “No one’s better than you, Mom,” I told her.

  She gave me a smile.

  “We could eat,” Dad answered for us.

  “Are you coming inside?”

  I rolled my eyes. “In a few minutes,” I answered this time.

  I thought that was the end of it, but in my peripheral vision, I saw someone come up beside me. I turned and found a shoeless Noah enjoying the water too.

  “This is nice,” he said.

  “Yeah,” Angela replied. She’d come up on my other side.

  “What are you guys doing?” Damien grumbled. He squeezed in between Noah and me.

  “We’re dipping our toes in the ocean,” I said.

  He let a couple of waves wash over his feet then declared, “This is boring. I’m going inside. Food will be ready when you decide to come in.”

  “Thanks.”

  After another five minutes, we also decided to head in. Angela and I helped Cora get her shoes and socks back on. Once our luggage got there, we were all switching to flip-flops.

  The mansion was airy and tropical. Ceiling fans with leaf-shaped paddles slowly turned overhead. Doors and windows were open to let in the ocean breeze. Various orchids were scattered throughout the rooms adding little jolts of color.

  We found a table set up with everything anyone could want to make a sandwich and then some. While Hans had served us a very good dinner, we all got something to eat. It was time for dinner in Hawaii. After Damien finished up his sandwich, he indicated a hallway to our left, and said, “Sarah, your room is the second door on the right. Angela, yours is the next one down. Mr. and Mrs. Smith, your room is down that hall. First door on the left. Cora, your room is next to theirs.”

  “Where’s your room?” Dad asked.

  “It’s opposite Sarah’s.”

  “No, it isn’t.”

  Dad’s negative threw Damien for a second. “That’s the room—“

  “Either we switch with Sarah, or you switch with us,” he said.

  Damien gave me a pleading look, but there was no way I was wading into this. Dad was not going to be swayed and trying to argue with him was only going to make him mad at me.

  “Where’s my room?” Noah asked.

  “There’s an empty hammock out back.”

  “He needs a room,” Mom said.

  Damien began to answer, “Don’t have—”

  “Either he gets a room, or you get a roommate,” Dad said.

  “His room is upstairs across from the hall bathroom.”

  I couldn’t look at Damien during this because I was afraid he’d see my treacherous smile. I wondered if anyone had said no to him as much as my parents.

  With rooms divvied up, we went to check out where we would be sleeping. Damien had chosen to switch rooms with my parents. This surprised me. I would’ve thought he’d want to keep the room he’d chosen for himself. I went into my room and stopped in shock. The room was huge, but it had to be to hold a king size bed with a full canopy. There were more orchids, and there were glass doors that led into the back garden that had a banyan tree at the center.

  I felt like a princess, except I looked far from it in jeans and a t-shirt. The bedroom had a huge bathroom attached. It had a shower stall with two showerheads and a Jacuzzi. The Jacuzzi was huge. Mom, Cora, Angela, and I could fit in it easy.

  “Sarah, our bags have arrived,” Mom said, walking into my room. She stopped and looked around in surprise.

  “Nice, huh? How’s your room?”

  “It’s lovely. Sarah—“ Mom started, but she didn’t seem to know what else to say.

  “Come see the bathroom. It has a Jacuzzi.”

  I pulled her in to show her. “See? Do you want to try it out tonight? Does your room have one?”

  “No, it doesn’t.”

  “Oh, does it have a sauna instead?”

  “No, it’s just a nice bathroom. I think Damien gave you the master suite.”

  “What? No, that’s ridiculous.” But she was right. This wasn’t a typical room even for a West. It had to be the master suite. “Do you want to switch rooms?” The thought that I had a nicer room than my parents didn’t seem right.

  “No, it’s fine. Our room is lovely.”

  “Knock. Knock,” Angela called out from the hall.

  “In here,” I called.

  She came into the bathroom, and her eyes widened at the sight of the Jacuzzi. “Wow, Damien sure knows how to show who his favorite is.”

  “So no Jacuzzi in your bathroom?”

  “Nope, and my bed is merely a queen.”

  It may have been a little petty, but knowing Damien had given me the nicest room in the mansion did give me a special thrill, though my body didn’t feel very thrilled. It felt exhausted. I yawned and wandered back out to the bed, taking a seat on it.

  “Local time says it is only seven o’clock. We should try to stay up a few more hours,” Mom said.

  She was right, but my body wasn’t on local time yet. It thought it was past midnight.

  “Unpack at least and we’ll see you in the morning,” she said.

  I did as I was told and even changed into my pajamas rather than going to sleep in my clothes like I wanted. Of course, the bed felt wonderful. Even if I weren’t exhausted there would have been no way for me to stay awake once I climbed into it.

  The next morning, I got up and showered, luxuriating in the twin shower heads. Damien might spoil me too much. I had to keep reminding myself that this was special and not normal. I shouldn’t get used to it.

  I went to the dining room and found my family already eating breakfast, but none of my fellow teens were in attendance.

  “Sleep well, honey?” Dad asked.

  I nodded and sat down by Cora. A staff person came to me to take my order.

  “They can fix whatever you want,” Cora said.

  “Do you have waffles?” I asked.

  “How many would you like and what would you like on them?”

  I suddenly appreciated Cora’s comment about they’d fix
whatever I wanted. “Two with strawberries, whipped cream, and chocolate syrup.”

  She nodded and disappeared.

  “Now that sounds good. Maybe I’ll get that tomorrow,” Cora said.

  I enjoyed my waffles with strawberries and whipped cream. I suspected the whipped cream was homemade and not store bought. It was extremely delicious. I kept expecting one of the other teens to arrive, but it remained strictly family throughout breakfast.

  “Are they still asleep?” Mom wondered aloud.

  Peggie, the staff person who had been attending us, spoke up, “Oh, they’re awake. They each requested their breakfasts be brought to their rooms.”

  We looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

  “I guess it’s not really different from room service,” Cora said.

  “Except the dining room is all theirs, and they aren’t alone,” Mom said.

  “They may not feel that way,” Cora said.

  “What would you ladies like to do today?” Dad asked us.

  “We could take a drive to look around the island,” Mom said.

  “We don’t have a car,” I said, feeling a little nervous about having to point out the obvious.

  Dad pulled a key ring out of his shorts pocket. “Damien gave me the keys to an SUV.”

  “Oh, that was thoughtful,” I said in wonder.

  “We ready?” Cora asked.

  “What about the others?” I asked.

  “Go ask them and meet us at the car,” Mom said.

  I went to Angela’s room first. I tapped the door before sticking my head in. She was lying on the bed looking at her phone. “We’re going for a drive to look at the island. You wanna come?”

  She thought about it a moment then shook head. “No, I’m good. I think I’ll stay here and chill.”

  I went to Noah’s room next. It felt weird asking him, but leaving him out felt bad. I tapped on his door and waited for him to say I could enter. He was sitting at a small table with a book. His room was not bad. It had glass doors that opened to a small veranda.

  “May I?” I said indicating the doors.

  “Go ahead.”

  I crossed the room and went out on the veranda. It overlooked the back garden. A small metal table and two chairs were out there.