CHAPTER THREE
NIKKI
†
WITH MY FEET STRETCHED out before me, thanks to the extra legroom I’d paid for, I closed my eyes and tried not to feel too guilty for being thousands of feet up in the air in what was essentially, a metallic box that belched out approximately forty-three thousand gallons of fuel for the journey we were taking.
But it was hard to be too worried about anything when the stewardess came over and handed my mom and me complimentary champagne. “A little bird told me you’re off to your son’s wedding,” she winked.
“Yes!” Mom gasped, looking at me.
I grinned. “I told her the mother of the groom was on her first vacation in nearly three years, and it’s been about that since I had the time off, too,” I said, clinking my glass against hers. “Cheers. To a great vacation and to Brandon and Clea.”
“I wish your dad was here,” she sighed, and I had to drink quickly in case I started to tear up when I was just beginning to resign myself to a week away from work. I sat back in my seat and closed my eyes to try and get some sleep. I’d already agreed not to do any work on the plane and had gone as far as to check my laptop in with my luggage, but I couldn’t be convinced to leave it at home completely.
We changed flights in Portland, but we were there for over three hours before the next leg to Kauai. Mom was thrilled, of course, indulging in drinking a beer and eating too many of the delicious golden brown pancakes provided in the upscale airport lounge, but I was happy to see that she was so excited.
Once settled onboard again, I reclined in my seat and pulled the blanket up to my chin, getting as comfortable as I could for the following seven hours. I slept for as much of it as I could, but, more than once, the smell of food and the low voice of the captain updating everyone stirred me from sleep.
I tried not to be too irritable when we eventually landed because of it, but, at last, we arrived at the small but pristine beachfront resort in Kauai. The airport taxi was paid on arrival by one of the hotel’s staff members who told us that it was ‘on Elliot Devaney’s tab’.
My mom seemed startled.
“I don’t want him thinking I can’t afford it,” she hissed at me as we waited for our bags to be taken out of the trunk and for the little cart to run us to our room. “I mean, Brandon told me Clea’s father wanted to take care of everything, but I can’t help feeling I should have made more of a contribution.”
Taking out my Ray-bans and placing them over my tired eyes, I held onto the frame of the cart to stop myself from falling out as we whizzed along the neat paths between pretty villas.
“Mom, he’s the father of the bride,” I assured her. “It’s tradition and, from what Brandon’s told me, her dad isn’t short of cash. Besides, nobody’s forced him to pay for everything. I even had the cash ready in the cab to pay.”
She seemed placated by this, and we pulled up in front of our villa. I was surprised to see how huge it was, considering I’d imagined we’d be staying in a room in a hotel, not in our very own cabin.
Mom loved it, soon forgetting her need to save face when she saw how beautiful the villa was. There were three bedrooms, large and airy, each adorned with a towel folded into a different animal so that, all together, they could have made their own little menagerie.
“Which room do you want?” Mom beamed. “And what about Mia?”
“She’s only arriving tomorrow,” I answered. “She couldn’t leave work early enough to get out here today.” My best friend had agreed to come as my plus one although, like my mom, she too had ribbed me a little about taking the safe route.
“Why, in God’s name, don’t you invite… Oh, let’s think… a man?” Mia cried when we met for coffee one afternoon. “It’s Hawaii! And you can’t tell me there isn’t at least one single hot architect in your office you don’t want to get to know better.”
“Oh, several in fact,” I said, faking a smile and glaring at her over the rim of my coffee cup. “Only, they’re either married, or they’re overbearing assholes who think they can tell me how to do my job. Anyway, I can’t exactly have a hot date joining me at my brother’s wedding when I’m sharing the hotel with my mom, now can I?”
“Fine,” Mia sighed, rolling her eyes in a mock display of irritation. “I’ll just have to force myself and join you. You know… seeing that you insist.”
I laughed and played along. “I’m so sorry to be dragging you away from Omaha for a week in paradise,” I said, dryly. “What an inconvenience, but I’ll try and make it up to you somehow.”
Back in the villa, Mom took the smallest room nearest the bathroom so that she wouldn’t wake the rest of us in the night when she had to make one of her trips to the bathroom. “My bladder’s just never been the same since having you,” she’s reminded me more times than I can count over the years.
It meant that Mia and I took side-by-side rooms that overlooked the beach. I dropped my suitcase on the bed and stepped out onto the porch, all my cares seemingly dissolving as I looked over at the ocean.
“Wow, it certainly is beautiful,” I whispered, talking to myself. A light breeze swirled around me, tugging at my ponytail and I let my mind drift with the wind. I felt more relaxed than I had for a very long time and vowed that I was going to enjoy this much-needed break to the hilt.
The soothing sound of the waves licking at the shore nearly lulled me to sleep, so I sat in the large lounge chair, and it wasn’t long before I was asleep.
†
By the time I awoke, it was dark, and I may have been out there all night if it wasn’t for my mom gently nudging my shoulder.
“You’re going to get bitten,” she said. “The mosquitoes are coming out in force.”
“Are you hungry?” I asked, stifling a yawn.
“No,” she said. “I’ve been down to the bar area and had a bite to eat with Clea’s parents. Clea and Brandon went to the mall to get a few things for the wedding, so they ate dinner out, and I haven’t seen either of them since we arrived.”
“What time is it?” This time, I couldn’t stop the yawn.
“Seven-thirty,” Mom said. “You’ve been flat out for three hours.”
“My body thinks it’s after midnight,” I said. “No wonder I’m tired.”
Mom was briskly in nurse mode, which was very much like mom mode, only ten times as fussy. “Right, you need water, and you need something to eat,” she fretted. “You can call room service and have them deliver food, and there’s plenty of bottled water in the fridge in your room. It’s the same in my room. And Mia’s. I checked them all.”
“It might do me good to take a walk,” I groaned as I stood up.
I changed out of the clothes I’d been traveling in and then slept in for more hours than my tired brain could work out. I quickly slipped into some jeans and a light shirt. As I did, I saw the laptop lying snugly in my suitcase and had to leave the room before I opened it and started checking my emails.
Leaving Mom to watch TV in the lounge area, I spritzed myself with mosquito repellent and went outside. The crickets were chirping, and the evening air was hot and humid. I wandered down to the restaurant area, and a cheerful waiter invited me to sit at a table.
“I think I’d rather sit up at the bar,” I smiled up at him. “It’s only me eating.”
“No problem,” he smiled back.
At the bar, I ordered a glass of wine and, as I sipped it, I looked up and caught my reflection in the mirror.
I looked tired. My dark eyes appeared to have a shadow underneath them, and there was a smudge of mascara on my right temple from where I’d been sleeping. My dark hair was still up in its ponytail, but strands had begun to escape. My face was pale; although we were nearing the end of the summer, I’d spent so much time in the office and nowhere near enough time outside.
But, this week was going to be spent changing that. I couldn’t wait for Mia to arrive so we could hit the beach and catch up on the weeks it had been since we’d last seen each other.
I ordered a butternut squash curry with rice, which I ate sitting at the bar while I perused social media and fired a few emails to my colleagues. I managed to control myself and stop at just five, but I immediately felt a little better for having made contact with work. I was about to open my company’s website to check their news page when a hand looped over my shoulder, and I felt two lips kiss my cheek. I looked up at the mirror and my mouth fell open in surprise. I whirled around.
“Brandon!” I cried, throwing my arms around my big brother’s neck. We hadn’t seen each other for months, and he looked so well and happy that seeing him made my evening.
“Hey, Nik,” he smiled warmly, returning my hug. Clea was standing behind him, looking as beautiful as ever with her auburn hair tied up neatly and her delicate face breaking out in beautiful freckles thanks to the summer. I gave her a hug, too, and she smiled at me.
“We’re so glad you could make it,” Clea said. “How was your flight?”
“It all went great, only I’m a little exhausted now,” I said, feeling distinctly underdressed and unpolished next to my brother’s beautiful fiancée. “I just came down to get some food before going back. Your dad’s chosen the most beautiful villa for us to stay in. Thank you so much.”
“Yeah, he’s gone a little overboard,” Clea shrugged, “but he wants everyone to have a good time”
Brandon pointed at the empty seat next to me. “Didn’t you bring anyone in the end? You were welcome to come with someone. The villa was booked for six people.”
“Oh, I’ve invited Mia, but she’s not here until tomorrow,” I explained. “Mom thought about asking aunt Katy, but I think she was hoping she’d get lucky while she was here instead.”
Brandon pulled a face at the thought, and I grinned. We were certainly of the same mind when it came to thinking about Mom getting-her-groove-back, that’s for sure.
Not that either of us would have been mad at her for moving on after Dad’s death. It’s what he wanted, too, from the heartbreaking conversations we had at his bedside when Mom popped out for a drink or to use the bathroom. I think we both started down the same memory path because I saw Brandon’s face drop a little, so I tried to keep things light and poked him in the ribs.
“I’m loving that goatee,” I teased. “Makes you look like Johnny Depp.”
He laughed, stroking his face. “Yeah, Clea said she liked the idea of me having one, so I’ve grown it for the wedding,” he grinned, winking at her. “I don’t know, maybe I’ll shave it for the big day.”
“No, you won’t!” Clea retorted, kissing him. “You look all rugged and handsome. You’re keeping it.”
I have no idea why, especially seeing as she was kissing my brother, but I felt a real pang of jealousy for a second as I watched the two of them together, so in love, looking forward to their wedding. I suddenly felt very alone, perched up on my high bar stool, eating my meal for one, my only companion being my cell phone. I tried to cheer myself up with the thought of my best friend coming out the following day, but it wasn’t enough.
Something was missing and, as I looked at my big brother and the woman who was soon to be his wife, I realized what it was.
I wanted someone to look at me the way Brandon looked at Clea.