Chapter 12 Get naked. Just kidding. This is a half bath. Don't make it weird. -Bathroom sign CREOLE Red-eye flights were the absolute worst. Red-eye flights to Hawaii always seemed extra awful because of the time difference between Dallas and Hawaii. In Dallas, we'd left at nine in the evening. In Hawaii, we'd landed at eleven p.m. And nothing was ever open. It sucked, because I had eighteen hours to kill in Hawaii before I had to get on another flight and do it all over again. It sucked even more when we got to our hotel for the day and realized that the fire alarm had gone off and there would be no checking in to the hotel today. It sucked even more that every single hotel I called within walking distance was booked full. "So now what?" one of the flight attendants asked. "I have room for three," Jessica, the most senior flight attendant other than me, said, looking at the other three flight attendants that she was closest to, leaving me all by my lonesome. I knew without asking which three she'd be taking with her. I smiled and said, "Y'all go on ahead. Get a good night's sleep." They didn't waste time waiting around. Meanwhile, I sat on the concrete curb across from the hotel that we'd have been staying at and wondered what in the hell I should do. My phone pinged, and I looked down at it, a frown marring my face. Audric: Are you in Hawaii? I frowned before texting back. Me: Yes. Audric texted back quickly. Audric: Can I call you? Instead of texting back, I called him. "What's up?" I asked the instant he answered. "My dad called, and he said that the neighbors texted him telling him that we had a shit ton of packages on our porch. I don't know what they are, or where they came from, but my dad doesn't trust the neighbors enough to let them take them inside. If you're there, and you have nothing to do, would you run over there and see what the packages are?" I looked at my watch. "Well, you're in luck, because my hotel's on fire and I have nothing better to do." "What?" he bellowed. "I wasn't in it when it caught fire," I admitted. "We were just trying to check into it after our flight landed and found it like that." "We have a truck we use when we're on the island," he said. "It's parked at a long-term parking near the airport if you can find a way to it," he offered. "Nice," I breathed. "I wasn't sure that I would be able to get to the house without spending three hundred bucks on an Uber." "Let me know when you get there and I'll give you the code to get into the truck." I called him back fifteen minutes later when I got to the long-term parking. "Code to get into the truck is 34433," he said. "Keyless entry is on the side of the door." I coded myself into the truck, then shook my head. "Are you seriously still using your old school ID number?" He chuckled. "How'd you remember that?" "Because I used to charge my lunches on it when I was out of money." I snorted. "You said I could." "I know." He paused. "How's your dad doing?" I ran my hand along my neck as I got in, throwing my bag in the back seat. "Crushed," I admitted. "He works a lot, to try to keep his mind off of it, but he's lost without my mom." I'd bet he was. I remembered them being two peas in a pod in high school. "Can't be easy losing your grandson and your wife that fast," he said. "You always want to make sure you don't outlive your spouse, so you don't have to live without them. And you definitely shouldn't outlive your own kid, let alone your grandkid." My stomach somersaulted in my belly. Instead of answering, I started the truck up and backed out of the lot. "What's the address?" I asked. He gave it to me, and I input it into the GPS and smiled. "Nice, it only takes thirty minutes when you're not in the middle of rush hour." "Took me two and a half hours to get there the last time I was in town," he admitted. "Tourists fuckin' suck." I snorted. "I'm a tourist," I pointed out. "Plus, if it wasn't for tourists, I wouldn't have this cushy job flying to paradise twice a week." "True," he said. "You're more than welcome to stay there. Just make sure you cover the furniture back up when you leave." "Thanks," I said as I started my drive. "How's Lottie doing?" It'd been three days since I talked with Gunner about Lottie. And in those three days, Audric had given me updates as they came. I found that I really liked not hating Audric. I effortlessly fell back into the easiness of friendship with my best friend's other best friend. "She's doing better. The ear infection went away pretty quickly, and the doctor is satisfied with her eardrum for now." He continued to talk as I navigated the main thoroughfare that was usually bursting with life. Tonight, though, no cars remained parked along North Shore's busiest street. The one and only car I'd passed so far had been a police car, and they'd waved at me as I'd driven past. As Audric talked and I listened, I got this little pang in my heart that made me long for what we used to have. That sad simpleness before everything had gone to hell. I longed for being angry about how and with who Laney spent her time. Oh, how life had changed. "Are you mad at Laney?" I asked. I was. I was so fucking angry at her. Mostly because she wasn't here anymore. I knew it was irrational, but I missed my friend. Mistakes and all, she was my ride or die. She'd been there-as much as I allowed her to be-through it all. "So. Fucking. Mad. But it's like I'm missing a limb," he admitted. "Sometimes, I wake up and reach for my phone to text her and tell her about a dream that I just had." I swallowed hard, then slowed down when my GPS started telling me where I needed to turn. "Whoa," I said as I pulled into the gates. "You didn't tell me you and your dad had this kind of place." I eyed the hulking fence around me. The banana trees that arched high over the sides of the metal gate. "Code to get in is..." I inputted the code, then inched the truck forward as the gates swung open. "Umm," I said as the gates closed behind me and I got a good look at the beautiful oasis I was pulling into. "How, exactly, would you know that your neighbors had packages if you have a fence and shrubbery keeping it impossible to see?" "The people delivering have a code to get into our place," he explained. "My neighbor had to have been standing at the end of the driveway at the time of delivery, though. Because they really wouldn't be able to see in any other way." I would have to look in the morning to see if you could actually see, or if the guy was just being a pain in the ass. I parked the truck as close to the front as I could get and got out, grabbing my carry-on as I did. Today I'd be putting the same uniform back on, but that didn't mean I wanted to stay in a tight skirt and white blouse for the entire time. I'd brought a pair of shorts and a tank top to wear until I was needed back at the airport. Just as I'd stepped outside, the lights turned on all around me, illuminating everything. "Wow," I breathed. "I'd always heard that it was gorgeous, but wow." "That was my grandma's doing," he admitted. "She spent all her days outside there. Pruning, planting and weeding. I don't think I ever went over there for the day without her being outside for most of it." "Well, she did a really fantastic job." I touched a flowery bush as I passed. "Tomorrow I want to look at these in their glory." "Which ones?" he asked. "The red bush-like things next to the driveway." I climbed the steps as his melodic voice said, "'Ohi'a lehua." "I'm sorry, what?" He repeated the flower's name, and I tried to repeat it, but didn't get close. "You should try saying the state bird's name." He chuckled. "Make it up to the porch?" I had, and I was staring at a ton of boxes. "Every last one of them says 'Dole' on it," I murmured. Audric growled in frustration. "What?" I asked. "Can you get them all inside?" he asked. "I'm hoping that most of them are still good." I inputted the code to get inside after he'd repeated it twice for me, then started to get the boxes in, not stopping until the fourteenth one was on the kitchen table of the most beautiful house I'd ever stepped inside of. "Wow," I breathed as I looked around. My heart was literally pounding. The house wasn't the most opulent of houses I'd been inside of-that belonged to the Combs' place-but this one had charm and quirks, while also having almost floor-to-ceiling windows in the back that likely overlooked a breathtaking view. "They're all inside. Do you want me to open them?" I asked. "Sure," he said. "You can put the good ones on the counter, and I'll have you throw the bad ones in the trash when you leave." I got to work opening boxes while he explained why there were so many pineapples. "So do you know the story of my mom and dad?" he asked. Laney had shared a lot about Audric's mom and dad. "Yeah," I said. "At least, as far as Laney shared. I know that your parents were having issues, and that your dad was planning to divorce your mom. And those divorce plans went out the window after your mother tried to kill herself." I swallowed hard at the thought, like I always did, of Audric finding his mother like that. "Yeah." He cleared his throat. "Dad stayed with Mom. Mom's in a facility that helps her live her life with how she is now. Dad stays miserable. As does the woman that he truly loves." "Laney did tell me that your dad had met someone and fallen in love with her," I explained. "Yeah," he confirmed. "He hadn't exactly made a move, because Dad's a good person, but he loved her. Realized what he was missing and went to follow through with his desires. I fully supported him, mostly because I didn't think he needed to stay married to a woman that he didn't love anymore. Or maybe never had. It sucked all the way around, and I knew it wasn't going to be the easiest thing to navigate. But the heart wants what it wants, and there's no real way to tame it." I completely understood. "Okay, so the pineapples fit in where?" I wondered, my belly tightening as I thought about who I'd always 'wanted' and could never have. "Dad's love of his life knows how much he likes pineapple. She sends them to him sporadically throughout the year when she's thinking about him. Usually, she at least tells him when she sends them, though." "Maybe your dad should check on her," I suggested. "Maybe there's something wrong, and she couldn't. Or maybe, she ordered them, meant to send out a text, and never go the chance to because she's in a bad spot." "Let's hope not, because I think that might strip away the only happiness Dad has left," he grumbled. I went through all the boxes and smiled. "They're all good. On the top box it says that they were only shipped out two days ago. They're all perfect." I set them all on the counter. "I could try to bring these home if you want me to." "No," he grunted. "Dad was planning on getting out there this week anyway. He'll just go early and eat them." "All of them?" I eyed the thirty pineapples. "You underestimate how much my dad likes pineapple. And especially pineapple from Hawaii," he said. "Have you ever tried it?" "I've tried pineapple, but never ones from here specifically. What makes them so special?" "Cut one up," he suggested. "Pineapple cutter is in the top drawer next to the fridge." I moved into the kitchen, cutting up pineapple, and trying to contain all the juice. "Wow, this is a mess," I murmured. He laughed. "So juicy. Try it." I picked up a piece and popped it into my mouth and... "Holy wow," I breathed as I licked my lips. "This is amazing." "Eat more," he suggested. So I did, eating every last piece. "Wow," I breathed. "That was the best thing I've ever tasted." "Pineapple from home makes the roof of my mouth hurt after a while. Pineapple from Hawaii is just different. It tastes ten times better, and I'm telling you, I could eat it for every meal and be perfectly content." We talked some more as I cleaned up the mess I'd made, making sure the kitchen was utterly spotless. I then went to work breaking down the boxes and throwing away the packaging that held the fruit safe. Only when I was done did I say, "Okay, I think that I'm about to pass out. I'm going to sleep on the couch until..." "Take my room. It has clean sheets. I just changed them before I left," he suggested. The thought of sleeping in his room felt like a warm hug. "Okay," I breathed. "Which one is yours?" He chuckled. "I think you'll figure it out." After we hung up, I was too curious to go see the room he knew I'd know was his. The first one I pushed into was a room that I knew definitely wasn't his based solely on the fact that the entire thing was filled with surfboards. I closed that door and moved to the next one, grinning manically when I went inside. This one was his. All the half-naked women on beer posters was totally him in his youth. I remembered going into his room often and seeing them plastered all over his wall. I pulled out my phone and sent one single text. Me: LOL Audric: I was a horny teen. What can I say? I plugged my phone in using his charger, then fell into his bed moments later after I'd stripped out of my clothes and brushed my teeth. I set my alarm, then closed my eyes. All the while I lay there, waiting for sleep to claim me, I wondered how in the hell I'd let Jordie Goodwin take this from me, too.