Come and Talk to Me

by June Kramin

  Troy shot a glance down the hall, snatched the branch from Ben’s hand and swiftly buried it in the trash. “Don’t say anything to Reggie about that.”

  “She has a thing for thorns?” He stood dumbfounded and confused.

  “Their first meeting was here. She got a mother of one in her foot and…what?” He paused at the expression on Ben’s face.

  “You have to be shittin’ me.”

  “What?”

  “She stepped on one when we were out four-wheeling at my place.”

  “She lose it?”

  “I’d say. Bawled like a baby for almost half an…wait a second. Shit.” He slumped down on the stool at the counter. “Those tears weren’t for the thorn; she was remembering when it happened here.” He put his head in his hands. “I can’t do this, buddy.”

  “Yes, you can.”

  “No, I can’t. I’m competing with a goddamn ghost.”

  “She’ll snap out of it.”

  Ben signed heavily. “They both still sleeping?”

  “Reggie is. Sabrina is busy puking.”

  “Got morning sickness bad?”

  “Just started. I’ve never seen anyone so happy to throw up before.”

  “You been trying for a while?”

  “And enjoying every minute of it.” Troy smiled as he held up his coffee as if in a toast. “You ready for a cup? Kona macadamia nut.”

  “Hit me.”

  Chapter 24

  BEN WAS ON HIS SECOND CUP when Reggie came into the kitchen. Her hair was a mess and she didn’t have a stitch of makeup on, yet she was still the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. She stopped in her tracks as if she had forgotten that he was there then claimed a stool, keeping an empty one between them.

  “Good morning,” Ben dared.

  “Good morning. Did you save me any coffee?” she asked Troy.

  “Of course.” He reached for a cup.

  “Should I go check on Bri?”

  “She’s fine. She’ll be out in a minute.”

  “Want me to start breakfast?”

  “I’m taking care of it.” He pulled out the electric pan to get bacon going. “I have to do this outside. The smell of bacon cooking makes Bri want to yak.”

  “Since when?”

  “Last week.”

  After he walked outside, Ben turned to Reggie. “How’d you sleep?”

  “I always sleep like a rock when I’m home.”

  “You never said Hawaii was home.”

  “Well, add that to the list of things you don’t know about me.”

  He slid off the stool and stepped toward the screen door.

  “Ben!”

  “What, Reg?” He stood in front of her. Too close. He could smell her body-wash and it was driving him crazy.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be so mean. I just don’t know why you’re here.”

  “I told you why.”

  “But here? How did you manage to swindle yourself into the lives of the two people I love most in the world, in less than twenty-four hours?”

  He brought his head close to hers, dropping it close to her shoulder, but didn’t rest it there. He wanted to kiss her so bad it was killing him. After running his face up the length of her neck, he stopped at her ear and whispered, “Maybe you’re the one we all love most, too,” before leaning back and staring into her eyes.

  “Good morning,” Sabrina said when entered the kitchen. “Anyone else vomit their body weight this morning?” Her eyes went back and forth between the two of them. “Am I interrupting something?”

  “Not at all. Good morning, beautiful.” Ben kissed her on the cheek. “You are positively glowing this morning anyway, if I do say so myself. I think I’ll go play supervisor for breakfast.” He walked outside.

  ~*~

  The two girls shared a stare. They were both thinking the same thing. Van had always called Sabrina ‘beautiful.’

  “Well, you are. That doesn’t mean anything.” Reggie spun around and sipped her coffee.

  They ate outside. Troy and Sabrina tried to keep the conversation going, but it was hard to do with two pouty stiffs.

  “How about we hit Front Street today?” Troy suggested.

  “What’s Front Street?” Ben asked.

  “The main road in Lahaina. It’s about a half hour from here. A lot of art galleries and shops with tourist crap, but a cool town. It used to be the state capital and an old whaling town.”

  “Hey, isn’t that where you said I should avoid?”

  “No Navy ships in town. You’re in luck.”

  “I’ll pass.” Reggie stood and picked up a few plates.

  “Like hell,” Troy barked at her.

  “Excuse me?”

  “I think a glass bottom boat tour is called for and you’re going to schmooze Keoni for us.”

  She spun around in a huff and walked the plates to the kitchen.

  ~*~

  “Who or what is a Keoni?” Ben asked Troy in a whisper.

  “An old friend of hers. He owns a string of glass bottom boats. He’s not so fond of me. We’ve had to board him a few times late at night.”

  “Why?”

  “He’s not licensed for ‘booze cruises’ and every now and then we need to remind him.”

  “I guess you’re not the most popular fellow with the com-mercial boaters.”

  “You catch on fast.”

  Reggie came back for more dishes and glared at Troy as she picked up the fruit bowl.

  “It’s a no-brainer there, ugly.” Ben laughed. Reggie dropped the glass bowl of fruit upon hearing that. It shattered.

  “Oh, shit.” She scrambled to pick up the pieces of papaya, mango, and other locally-grown fruits then screamed as she cut her finger on a piece of glass.

  “Regina!” Sabrina rushed over when she saw the blood freely gushing.

  Ben grabbed a cloth napkin and reached for her hand. He held the napkin on the cut and applied pressure to it. Troy reached for his coffee and shook his head.

  Reggie froze for a second then swayed forward.

  “Reg?”

  “It’s your turn to catch her, Ben.” Troy took another sip.

  Reggie looked to Troy, but her eyes were beginning to glaze over.

  “What’s happening?” Ben brought his free hand quickly to her back.

  “She doesn’t do the sight of blood well,” Sabrina answered.

  “Even hers?”

  “Especially hers.”

  Ben didn’t wait for her to faint; he scooped her up and walked to the house with Sabrina close at his heels. Troy picked up the pieces of glass, still shaking his head.

  “Reggie?” Ben settled her on the couch. He lifted up the napkin to look at the cut, then applied more pressure.

  “Hmmm,” was all Reggie replied.

  “Is she really okay?” Ben asked Sabrina.

  “She’ll be all right. It just takes a minute to pass.”

  “Good Lord. All this over some blood? How does she take that time…” Ben stopped talking. “Uh…never mind. That’s somewhere I really don’t need to go.”

  Sabrina tugged at his shirt and motioned for him to step back outside. “She’ll be fine. Come here.”

  Once they were outside, Sabrina explained. “She doesn’t.”

  “Doesn’t what?”

  “She doesn’t have that time of the month. She can’t have kids.” He could tell Sabrina suddenly felt guilty for saying anything. “I’m sorry. It’s really not my place to say.”

  “That’s okay. I guess that’s a conversation we haven’t had yet. We sort of did. I assumed she was on the pill. Why doesn’t she?”

  “It was an accident, years ago. Broke her insides up pretty bad. It’s part of the reason she’s always had such an attitude toward men. She feels she has nothing to offer and they are better off without her, so she puts this wall up. You know?” She looked to him for understanding. “I only just told her I was pregnant. I was calling that day to tell h
er when you answered her phone. I honestly didn’t know how she would take the news.”

  “That’s crazy. There’s so much more to her than giving someone a kid.”

  “I know that and you know that, but try to tell her that.”

  “But she married Van.”

  “And he fought hard for that, believe me.”

  “You said that’s part of the reason she pushes men away so bad. What’s the other part?”

  “That is definitely not my place to say.”

  “You can’t leave me hanging, Sabrina.”

  “Look, you two seem to have gotten past that. Don’t go digging anything up. Things are hard enough right now anyway. Just deal with what’s at hand, okay?”

  He nodded. “I should go back in and check on her.”

  She held him by the sleeve. “Don’t let her know I told you or she’ll kill me. Let her do it on her own time.”

  “I promise.”

  “On second thought, let me go in and check on her. She’ll be pissed that you saw her almost faint, too.”

  “Is there anything I can do that won’t piss her off?”

  “Sorry. Nothing comes to mind.”

  Ben went to help Troy clean up the broken glass. “So how do you get away with it?”

  “Get away with what?”

  “Talking to her like that. Tellin’ her what to do.”

  “Easy. I don’t want in her pants.”

  “Come again?”

  “I’m no threat to her. We’re just friends. I take her shit and she takes mine.”

  “But you got her to listen to you.”

  “We’re not out the door yet, my friend.”

  “You going to tell me what it is?”

  “What what is?”

  “Whatever it is Sabrina won’t tell me about why she’s such a ball-buster.”

  Troy threw the glass into the garbage can. “Nope. It’s not my place either.” When Ben let out a heavy sigh, Troy continued. “You have bigger problems anyway.”

  “How so?”

  “Bite off one thing at a time, would you? Don’t worry about her past. I mean her past that goes far beyond Van. Worry about right now.” Troy sat back down. “What does she see when she looks at you?”

  “Someone who is alive because her husband is dead.”

  “Bingo, and she feels guilty.”

  “I’m the one that feels guilty. How do you figure she feels guilty?”

  “Because she loves you.”

  “She can’t stand the sight of me.”

  “Are you new at this?” Troy laughed. “I know Reggie. You guys had something going before you found this small detail out. You’ll get through it.”

  “Killing her husband is hardly a small detail.”

  “If you’re going to wallow in that yourself, there’s no way you’re going to pull her out of it.” Ben and Troy locked eyes. “Pull your head out of your ass. I can’t do it for you, friend.”

  “You guys ready to go?” Sabrina hollered from the house.

  “Be right there.” Troy turned back to Ben. “Come on, Romeo. It’s sightseeing time.”

  ~*~

  They loaded up in Sabrina’s quad-cab Toyota Tacoma. Ben had noticed immediately that the island’s population was truck happy. Hers wasn’t too decked out as far as off-roading went, but she did have oversized tires on it and a little bit of an added lift. Troy helped his wife in then made a comment about how she’ll have problems climbing into it in her later months as she slid over the bench seat in back.

  “Gonna have to get you a car, baby.”

  “Don’t bet your white crackery ass on it.” She leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving his cheek a kiss. “You get the car, babe.” She sat back down behind Ben.

  Ben couldn’t hold back his laugh. He could see why Reggie loved them the way she did. They were great together.

  Reggie opened up her purse and pulled out a small bottle. She downed it before they even pulled out of the garage.

  Sabrina realized what it was and grabbed it from her hand. “An airplane bottle of tequila?”

  “The cart was unattended on the plane.”

  “You’re not drinking in the car while I’m driving, Reggie. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?” Troy said, angrily. Ben looked over at Troy. “Sorry. Military talk. WTF? What the—”

  “Got it.”

  “I’m done, Dad. It was just redneck first aid for my cut,” she said, holding up her finger and looking at Ben.

  Troy didn’t say anything. Sabrina offered him the empty bottle. He tossed it in the trashcan at the end of the driveway as they drove out.

  “Heaven help us,” he said under his breath as he headed for Lahaina.

  The girls talked in the back about the pregnancy, Reggie’s house, and Derf. The guys talked about Troy’s job, Ben’s woodworking and some island legends. Troy had honked his horn going through a small tunnel on the way and that sparked a conversation the rest of the way about the island gods and some of the superstitions. The volcano goddess Pele’s dog was said to chase you if you didn’t honk as you drove through. He also had to explain about the ugly chain link style fencing that ran along the cliffs.

  “Used to cost the county a fortune in car repairs from falling rocks. Now they figured they’re covered. It’s ugly as sin, but I guess it does the trick.”

  ~*~

  Troy looked into the rearview mirror at Reggie. She was sulking in the back seat with her arms crossed pulling off a pretty good pout. It no longer had an effect on him. “Anything in particular you want to do since you’re home, Reg?”

  “Not do, eat. Is Safeway still in the Cannery Mall?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can we swing by on the way home so I can get some taco and ahi poké?”

  “Of course, princess.”

  Reggie finally smiled.

  ~*~

  Reggie knew she was being pouty, but she never could stay that way with Troy. She kept looking at Ben while they drove. It was hard not to get lost in his profile or to not think about how good he felt when they were together. She longed to be sitting with him, to share her home with him, but she couldn’t.

  “What’s poké?” Ben asked as he turned around and faced Reggie.

  “Raw fish or octopus with oils and seasonings,” Sabrina explained when Reggie didn’t answer him.

  “Raw?”

  “It’s really good. We’ll have to get you to try some.”

  “It’ll be good for a laugh, if nothing else, to see the look on your face.” Troy chuckled.

  “Is this all part of the island hazing ritual?”

  “Something like that.” Sabrina patted his shoulders. She scooted forward and rubbed her hands down his arms, playfully. “Oh, honey. Feels like you have some competition here.” She turned to Reggie. “Have you felt this boy’s arms?”

  Reggie gave her a ‘knock it off’ glare.

  “How tall are you, Ben? Six-three?”

  “Six-four.”

  Again she turned to Reggie. “Small change, Regina?”

  Troy belted out a loud laugh he couldn’t control and Reggie said, “Bri! Quit it!” before she laughed as well.

  “Is this an inside joke?” Ben asked.

  “Sorry, buddy. The women in this family are what we call ‘kolohé.’”

  “And that is?”

  “In Hawaiian it means rascal,” Troy explained. “It’s better than saying—”

  “Watch your mouth, baby,” Sabrina said, cutting him off.

  “I was going to say pupulé, sugar, not bitch.” They all laughed.

  Ben looked over his shoulder and smiled at Reggie. “Pupulé is crazy,” she said with a soft smile back.

  “I’m going to need a Hawaiian dictionary if I’m going to keep up.”

  ~*~

  Reggie glanced up at him and couldn’t help a grin, but turned her head away and focused her attention on the water. “I wish it were whale season.”

  “So
you two will have to come back,” Bri said, placing her hand on Reggie’s leg. She unbuckled herself and slid over, wrapping her arm around her friend. “I love ya, girl.” Reggie returned the embrace and fought the desire to cry. She was so confused she didn’t even know if they were happy or sad tears fighting to come out at the moment.

  “I love you more, Bri.”

  Once in Lahaina, Troy parked at the banyan tree. It was a good place to begin exploring all the shops and attractions with Ben so he could play a proper tourist, but Reggie wasn’t happy. She could only think of where she and Van had their first kiss along the street right there. For Ben’s sake, she was going to try hard not to wallow, but she was beginning to feel like it was going to be impossible. Memories of Van were everywhere she turned. Needing a minute, she wandered toward the marina.

  Her stomach was suddenly feeling queasy. “Self-inflicted ulcer no doubt,” she mumbled as she rubbed it. “Bri? You craving ice cream yet?”

  “I don’t need to be pregnant to be wanting ice cream, hon. Let’s go.”

  They went to the little ice cream shop in the Pioneer Inn and had huge waffle cones. Reggie wasn’t sure if she wanted the ice cream to soothe her stomach or to prove she could get past the memory of having ice cream there with Van.

  Ben looked wide-eyed at the potion he was given, then at Reggie. She smiled and tip-toed up, whispering in his ear. “Don’t worry, Ben. If your crackery ass can’t finish it, I can.”

  Reggie really did want to try to help him have a good time. He probably paid through the teeth for his tickets, as she had, getting a last minute flight. She both loved to look at him and found it hard to do so, but there was no reason for her to forget her manners. Despite her time away, she was finding out how easily island hospitality came back to you.

  ~*~

  Ben laughed at her comment. He longed for her to pause in a kiss as she put her feet flat to the ground but she didn’t and he didn’t push it. He hated that, after the intimacy they shared, he was back at the ‘I’m longing for you to kiss me’ stage, but he wanted to give her the space she needed.

  As they approached the row of various activity boats, Reggie turned to Ben. “The name is appropriate for a glass-bottom boat, don’t you think?”

  “I suppose I’d say yes if I knew what that word meant. I’m not even going to try to say it.”