by S. Tamanaha
“You’re all set for Christmas I see,” he said. “That’s a lot of presents.”
“My family and I exchanged gifts early since I told them that I wasn’t coming to lunch. And some of the presents are from friends and people that I work with. Mostly cookies and candy, I think. This is the first time that I’ve put up Christmas decorations. I usually don’t bother because it’s only Angel and me, but since you were going to be here on Christmas I decided to do it. I kind of like it actually.”
John was touched. “You decorated this place for me?”
“I thought that you might like some reminder that it was Christmas since you were going to be spending your holidays away from your family and your own home.”
“Well, it’s beautiful, but I feel sort of guilty about you going through all this trouble because I don’t bother decorating for Christmas either since it’s just me in my place and a couple of renters.”
“Then it’ll be the first time for the both of us,” she said, smiling. “Oh, but just to let you know, the tree isn’t real. It seems wasteful to cut down a living tree just to decorate it and I didn’t want Angel getting into the water.”
He grinned. There it was again—that frank honesty that she exhibited that he liked so much. “It looks real to me,” he said. “And thank you for doing it.”
He looked towards the patio. “You have a pool too.” he said, obviously pleased.
“A salt-water pool with a UV light system. I’m kind of obsessive about clean pool water.”
He noticed that she had removed her shoes. He had heard about that custom. “Do you want me to leave my boots here?” he asked.
She smiled. He was observant and respectful of custom. “It’s okay. You can take them off in your room. Come on, I put you upstairs in the master bedroom.”
“You didn’t have to do that.”
“Well, I’m up and about at weird hours sometimes so if I put you down here I might end up disturbing you.”
“I didn’t want to put you out.”
“Oh, it’s no problem. Angel and I fall asleep down here sometimes anyway. There’s the other bedroom over there.” She indicated a closed door near to the dining area.
She led the way up the stairs to the master bedroom. It too had a feeling of spaciousness with sliding glass doors on one wall that led out to a decent sized balcony. There was a sense of peacefulness in the way that the room was decorated in varying shades of blue and green.
“I had blackout curtains put in so if you don’t want to know what time of day it is and just want to sleep, all you have to do is close them.” She did and the room was immediately dark. “Now, the best part. Ready?”
She picked up a remote from the bedside table then went to shut the bedroom door so that the room was completely dark. She pressed a button on the remote and suddenly, the room was filled with stars and, on the ceiling, a full moon and clouds that drifted slowly by. It was better than being in a planetarium.
“Wow,” John exclaimed, laughing.
“I wanted to install a skylight so that I could sleep under the stars but it would have been ridiculously expensive so I had this put in instead. This and the pool were my two big extravagances; the two things I’ve always wanted. I lived in run down apartments all my life so when I finally decided to buy, I figured that I was entitled to have a place that really made me feel peaceful and good. I wanted a sanctuary.”
“Well, it looks like you succeeded.”
She turned off the Universe and opened the door and curtains again and slid open the sliding doors. “If it gets too warm and you want the air conditioner on, just flip this switch over here,” she said. “I find that I don’t usually have to use it because this place was designed to have good air flow. Also, if you want soothing music or any kind of music, there’s a CD player and radio on the table. And this remote also turns on the flat screen TV over there. I made room in the closet for you so that your clothes can be hung and not get wrinkled and the top drawer of the dresser is empty so you can use it. Oh, and the bathroom is through there.” She pointed to a door.
“This is so much better than a hotel room,” he said. “Thank you.” He leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. It was she who smelled so wonderful.
She felt that jolt of electricity again as his lips touched her skin. “You’re welcome”, she said as though nothing had happened. “Feel free to take a nap if you’re tired or take a dip in the pool. When you’re ready to eat, we’ll throw a couple of steaks on the grill outside.”
She went downstairs to the kitchen and began preparing her special marinade for the steaks they were going to have for dinner. A few minutes later, John came down the stairs dressed in swimming shorts and a tee shirt, his wavy dark blonde hair free of his cap and tousled. She liked this natural, very non-Hollywood look on him.
“Decided to take a swim?” she asked, smiling. She had known that he would.
“Yeah. I slept enough on the plane.”
“There’s a pair of slippers out there for you to use so that you won’t get your feet dirty. I guessed the size. I put a towel and some sunscreen out there for you too, and there are drinks in that small cooler on the patio in case you get thirsty. Oh, and the pool isn’t that deep so please be careful. No diving.”
He smiled. “Thanks,” he said. She had thought of everything.
She watched him as he went outside and stepped into the rubber flip flops that she had bought for him. He sat on the outdoor chaise next to the pool, stripped off his shirt, and applied a little sunscreen before entering the water. He wasn’t a man—he was an Adonis. Great, she thought, I’m in love with a God. What would a God want with a mere mortal?
After placing the steaks into her marinade and prepping the potatoes that she planned to bake, she went into the downstairs bedroom, which also served as her office, and began checking her emails and taking care of some paperwork. It was difficult for her to concentrate on mundane tasks; his presence was unsettling to her. She loved having him there and wanted more than anything to provide him with the one thing that he wasn’t able to have in L.A.—a temporary sanctuary from his hectic and stressful lifestyle. But trying to sound casual and relaxed when she spoke to him was a strain. She had been in her office for about an hour when she received a phone call. It was Trevor, the lead guitarist from the band, and as she listened to what he had to say, she sighed and shook her head. When she hung up, she went outside to where John was half-dozing on the chaise in the quickly fading sunlight.
“Listen, John, I’m sorry, but I just got a call from one of the band members. They’re supposed to be doing a gig tonight that I set up for them and they can’t locate the keyboard player so I need to fill in for him. I told them that I wouldn’t do it if this happened but it’s five hundred dollars and I know that they need the money. I told them that I would only cover them for the first set. So, you can just relax around here and I’ll pick up some dinner for us on the way back. The steaks will have to wait. In the meantime, if you want a snack, feel free to help yourself to whatever’s in the refrigerator or the cabinets.”
“Can I come with you?” John asked. He was interested in seeing her perform and in meeting the band members that she seemed to spend so much time with.
His question caught her off guard. “Oh … sure … you’re more than welcome. I just thought that you’d prefer to rest since you just got off the plane.”
“I’ve rested enough today. I’d like to come with you if that’s okay. How do I dress?”
“Same type of clothes you were wearing today will do. You can even wear the baseball cap if you want to try not to be recognized.”
He got up from the chaise and grabbed his tee shirt. “It’s okay. A lot of people aren’t sure it’s me unless I’m dressed up like my character.”
She couldn’t see how that was possible; she’d recognize those eyes anywhere. “All right. I’ll be ready in about forty-five minutes.”
John went upstairs, sh
owered and groomed quickly, and put on his jeans and a clean sweater. He carried his boots downstairs. She was already waiting for him wearing fresh makeup and a pair of silky black pants and a black iridescent jacket.
“Maybe I should change my clothes,” he said when he saw her.
“Oh no, it’s fine. I have to wear this because of the band. Ready?”
She kissed her Angel goodbye as he slipped on his boots. They drove for about twenty minutes to a bar and grill called John D’s located in an area of Honolulu known as Pearl City. She parked her van and led the way inside. Although it was still early, there was a good-sized crowd already there. She managed to find an empty seat at the end of the bar and waved at the bartender, a tall, well-built local man who had his long black hair pulled back into a ponytail.
“Hey beautiful,” he said to her, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Are you performing or just checking on the band?’
“Both,” she replied. “Business is picking up early tonight it seems. And it’s pretty crowded for a Thursday.”
“Yeah. A lot of people are already drinking their way through their Christmas vacation.”
“Haku, this is a friend of mine, John. John, this is Haku.” The two men who were almost the same height shook hands. “Can you give him whatever he wants to drink please?” She placed a twenty dollar bill on the bar. “And do me a favor. He’s visiting from the Mainland. Just got in as a matter of fact. Can you please make sure that none of the usual idiots bother him?” She had noticed the looks that John was getting from some of the customers, both men and women, when they had walked in. Attention from women was to be expected. Even with his casual clothes and un-styled hair, he was undeniably handsome. She was more concerned about the men, some of whom may not like the idea that he had caught the eye of their women.
“No problem,” Haku said. “What do you want to drink John?”
“Just a Coke will do for now. Thanks.”
“Okay, I have to talk to the guys and find out what’s happening,” she said. She walked over to the stage, waving at a few customers on the way, and stepped up to the platform. The three men on the stage, all dressed in black, seemed relieved to see her. John could see how young they were; just boys really.
“What’s happening with Jess?” she asked.
“He said he would be here,” Trevor, the lead guitarist replied, “but now I can’t even get him on the phone. Maybe he’s on his way and can’t pick up.”
She glanced up at a Coors clock that was on the wall. It was already seven o’clock by the bar’s time, which was always advanced by fifteen minutes. “Okay, let’s start the first set. Then, before the last two songs, we’ll play ‘Fever’ and Trevor, you get off the stage and try to reach him again if he’s not here by then. And draw out your talking a little,” she said to David, the bass guitarist, “to buy us some time. And if he doesn’t get here, you guys had better start thinking of all the songs that you can play that won’t need a keyboard too much because I can’t stay.”
John watched with interest as she obviously took control of whatever was happening on the stage. Then David stepped up to the mike, greeted the audience, introduced the band—Solace—and they began their set. They played not-so-usual retro rock tunes by artists such as John Cafferty, Don Henley, Jeff Healy, The Escape Club, and some country rock and contemporary Hawaiian songs. She hadn’t exaggerated; they were pretty good. They played to a slightly older audience that seemed to appreciate the music and customers danced on a small dance floor off to the side. She sang backup and played the keyboards effortlessly, occasionally glancing in his direction and smiling.
A little over forty minutes later, Trevor stepped off the stage and David announced that they were going to do a special song by request. Susan stepped up to the main microphone. With just the bass player and drummer accompanying her, she began singing the old Peggy Lee song, “Fever”, and John was stunned. It was the sexiest version of “Fever” that he had ever heard. As she sang, she directed some of the verses to the single men in the audience who clearly enjoyed the attention and also looked at him occasionally. The audience applauded loudly when she was done and some of the men whistled and cheered. She blew them a kiss and returned to the keyboard. Trevor stepped back on stage.
“He’s in the parking lot,” he said to her as he strapped on his guitar. “He’s pretty wasted though. The idiot is still hung up on that skank who ditched him.”
“Okay, do a couple of songs that won’t need a piano or horns, extend the set for five minutes if you can, and I’ll go and talk to him and start sobering him up. Come out after the set so that you can finish getting him sober during the break. I hope it’s just alcohol.” She stepped off the stage and headed towards John. As she passed by a group of men seated at a table near the stage, one of them grabbed her arm.
“Hey, baby, that was sooo sexy,” he said, obviously drunk. “Can we buy you a drink?”
“That’s so nice of you,” she said, trying to be cordial although she hated being manhandled, “but I have someone waiting for me.” She pointed in John’s general direction. She noticed that he was off of his seat and saw the look on his face. She knew that he was about to intervene and she shook her head slightly. “Maybe next time, okay guys? We’ll be here again in a couple of weeks. Please come back.”
“We’ll be here,” the guy said, grinning stupidly.
“Drive carefully now.”
“You’re nice,” he called after her. “Your boyfriend’s a lucky guy.”
She returned to John. “I need to go and talk to the keyboard player who is outside and drunk. Can you come with me so that Casanova there thinks that we’ve left?”
“Sure.” John was more than happy to send a message to that guy who had grabbed her.
She asked Haku for a bottle of cold water, a can of Coca Cola, and a towel and then went outside and located Jesse in the parking lot. His driver side door was opened and he was half in and half out of the car. John saw that he was a young man, slight of build with tanned skin and dark wavy hair.
“Jesse.”
“Hey, boss lady, I’m here,” he said, smiling at her.
“And in no condition to do the gig.”
“I’m good. I’m good. Just give me a few minutes.”
She opened the bottle of water, poured some water onto the towel, and handed the bottle to him. “Here, drink this,” she said. He took a couple of swigs and then pressed the cold plastic bottle against his head. She put the wet towel on the back of his neck.
“Jesse, why are you doing this to yourself? Is it really because Cheryl left because if it is, I don’t understand.”
“Because I loved her, you know, I really loved her,” he moaned.
She sighed. “Jess, I don’t know if talking to you while you’re in this condition is going to do any good but I’m going to say what I need to say anyway. Cheryl left you for another guy, she tried to come between you and your friends in there, and she even told you that the kid was yours when it wasn’t. I know that you feel hurt because after all you did for her and how much you loved her, she didn’t love you back, but you know something? Instead of getting wasted and feeling sorry for yourself, you should be counting your blessings. You’re twenty years old. It’s better that you find out now about the real her instead of wasting the next fifteen or twenty years of your life with the wrong person who was going to make you miserable.”
“How do you know?” Jesse asked with anguish in his voice. “How do you know that we couldn’t have been happy…that she couldn’t have loved me?”
“Because I have a sister just like Cheryl. She fooled around on her boyfriend and got pregnant by another man and then while she and this other man were married, she fooled around on him. Women like that, they don’t think of anyone but themselves. They don’t know how to love anyone else. Jess, when somebody really loves another person, they want only good things for that person. Everything that Cheryl’s done has been only for herself; she
never once thought about you. Look, I’m going to ask you something, okay? I know you’re wasted but I want you to try and think before you answer. Why do you love her?”
Jesse didn’t stop to think about it. “Because she’s so beautiful and she made me feel good.”
“When did she make you feel good? In bed? Is that what you’re talking about? How about when you weren’t having sex? Did she make you feel good then?”
He sighed. “I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do know. When you weren’t having sex, she made you feel miserable. Right? She ran around on you, spent your money, and tried to come between you and everything that was important to you, like your music and your friends. Jess, I know you’re young and your hormones are raging but you can’t base a lifetime relationship on the fact that the girl is pretty and you have great sex. Looks are transitory, okay?”
“What does that mean … transitory?”
She shook her head and smiled gently. She opened the can of soda and handed it to him. “That means that they don’t last. One day she’ll be old and so will you. And that great sex, well, it’s not going to be the same. If someone gets sick or hurt, it might not exist at all. Then what? All you’ll have left then is what’s on the inside of a person—her heart and her soul. Are you going to be willing to take care of each other? Are you going to be able to talk to each other, still enjoy each other’s company, rely on each other? When she’s got gray hair and wrinkles, are you still going to think that she’s beautiful because you love what’s on the inside more than what’s on the outside? Look, as far as I’m concerned, you’re too young to settle down, but when you’re ready to spend the rest of your life with someone and you want to be happy, find someone who cares about you and who makes you feel good even when you’re not having sex. Seriously.”