Chapter 2Jack
Chapter 2
Jack
Peacocks. Parrots. Pretty women.
There’s a lot going on in this Hanu Bay Resort lobby.
I’d like to look around, particularly for that beauty dressed in all black that I just locked eyes with.
But I can’t, because now I’m dealing with a work thing.
I rub my chin as I scan Hazel Thorpe’s response to our manager’s message.
It was pretty lame of Devina to email while I’m on vacation, but I expected it. She’s the type who likes to see other people suffer. Not cool.
Also not cool is my coworker Hazel Thorpe’s response. Of course, she wants to handle the work alone, without me. She’s been down on me since I was hired ten months ago.
I’ve never met Hazel, yet I don’t like her. I’ve fielded plenty of her condescending messages, that’s for sure. This email is written in her usual tone: polite but passive-aggressive. She made the point that she could do the work without me, but she sugar-coated it so as not to come off rude.
There’s been a rumor going around that Devina might be fired soon. That means one of the Sales Leads will get the Sales Manager position. Hazel must have figured out—like I did—that the promotion would go to either her or me.
“Yo, bro, what’s wrong?” My brother Brett sips the latte he purchased not long ago at the airport Starbucks. He’s been nursing the thing like it contains medicine vital to his survival. It’s the third latte I’ve seen him drink since we left Utah this morning. I guess traveling with two kids makes a guy dependent on caffeine. I wouldn't know—never been a dad myself.
“Work stuff,” I grumble before shoving my phone into my pocket. “No big deal.”
“Man, you looked salty about something.”
“My manager’s just tough to work for, and she’s been worse than usual lately. I think she knows she might get canned soon. I knew she’d bug me this week; I just didn’t figure it would start on day one.”
“Dang, dude. What’s she want?”
“Another salesperson from the company won this trip, too. My manager wanted us to meet, but this Hazel woman nixed the idea quickly. It’s better that way, but still gets under my skin.”
“Why?” With trained reflexes, Brett catches his youngest daughter—my niece—Ophelia, as she flings herself at him.
“Daddy, there are dolphins right outside!” Ophelia squeals. “Come on, I’ll show you!”
“Baby girl, Uncle Jack and I are talking. Hang on a sec, and then I’ll go look.” He talks over her head. “Jackie, bud, can’t you forget about work for the week? You earned this trip. Still can’t believe you managed to talk your way into letting us tag along.”
“Better having you guys here than being here on my own. Dolphins aren’t as cool if you’re on your own.”
“That a fact?” Brett grins. He holds Ophelia’s hands as she walks her feet up his legs like some gymnast on monkey bars. “I wouldn’t mind solo travel one of these days.”
“Daddy!” Ophelia squeals. “That’s mean.”
“I’m teasing. I love traveling with my girls.” He flips Ophelia, and she lands nimbly on her feet. “Go check on your mom, will you?”
Ophelia skips over to the ladies’ room. Brett’s wife disappeared into it with their oldest, Jasmine, a few minutes ago to freshen up before we ventured to the bungalow.
“Seriously, bro,” Brett says before taking a long drag on his latte. “A solo beach vacation sounds like heaven. I’d take day naps on the warm sand. Day nap s. You know I haven’t had a day nap since Jasmine came along? That’s thirteen years of being tired.”
“Yeah, right. I walked in on you snoring in front of the Packers-Lions game last Sunday.”
He tosses me a guilty smile. “Okay, whatever, maybe for like five minutes. But I’m talking about the life-changing kind of nap, where you pass out, sleep the sleep of the dead, and wake up with a clear head and a whole new outlook on life. That kind of nap. Anyway, it was cool of you to get us in on this trip.”
“No big deal.”
“How’d you do it? Corinne says your influencer status worked in our favor, but she didn’t know the details.”
“I may have sweet-talked the resort agent. She liked my jokes… and my promise of daily posts about what a family-friendly establishment they have here. You cool with it if I share a few snapshots of you and Corinne and the girls with the dolphins and stuff?”
“We’re at your mercy, man. And the next time, if you can get airfare included, we’ll let you shoot a video. We’ll go on reality TV. We’ll give live testimonials.”
“No need to take it that far.”
“I’m serious, though. You need some contacts in the airline industry. Imagine a pic of me and Corinne flipping on the in-flight Disney movie while Jasmine and Ophelia sip cranberry juice and giggle. Maybe you could get some kind of discount for that. Anyway, we appreciate this. Corinne wants to give you money for the bungalow.”
“No way. I’m not paying, and neither are you guys.”
He loops his arm around my shoulder. “I gotta say, there are serious perks to having a big-shot Instagram personality in the fam. Star salesman, too, judging by the fact that you earned this trip and haven’t even been with them for a year. What’s the job again? Buzz Something?”
“Buzzy Digital Marketing.”
“I like ‘em. You should stick with this gig.”
“You’re saying that because you want a repeat trip next February.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
I laugh. My phone pings. I check my inbox and see Devina's response. “Great. Thank you, Hazel. I knew I could count on you. Jack, I’ll pull this one off your task list… so just enjoy that beach. I’m sure it’s fabulous.”
I frown as I return the phone to my pocket.
“Is this work issue a big deal?” Brett asks.
“Nah. It’s the day-to-day stuff. Some clients aren’t happy, and the manager wants me and this woman, Hazel, to make it right. Hazel cut me out of it. She probably thinks this will be another gold star to make her look good. I think she’s going for the same promotion I am.”
“Whew. She doesn’t know who she’s dealing with. You’ve been competing since before you could walk. You could look a bull in the face. He’d be pawing the ground and stuff, snorting steam out of his nose, and you’d say, ‘let’s rumble.’”
“Ha. I’ve never been toe-to-toe with a bull, man. And Hazel’s far from intimidating. I’m pretty sure she’s in her sixties, librarian type.”
“You’ve never met her? Never seen her?”
“Nope. And that’s fine with me. I’ve got a feel for her from the emails. Real condescending, sort of snobbish and prim, and she always tries to come off nice. Older generation. She’s got a fax number in her email signature, right there with her landline.”
“Oof.” Brett chuckles, then glances at the ladies’ room off the lobby. “Fax, hunh? That’s old-school. But she could still give you a run for your money. So, she cornered you out of the work thing?”
“Yeah, but whatever. It’s probably good I don’t have to meet up with her—more time to spend hanging with you, Corinne, and the kiddos. Oh, and I’m going to squeeze in some day naps on the beach, too. While you and Corinne are busy fielding fatigue meltdowns and helping the girls with confusing math assignments.”
“How about you help with the math assignments, and I take the nap?”
“No way. That’s not in my Fun Uncle job description. Homework help is all you.”
Corinne and the girls emerge from the ladies’ room. Ophelia races back across the terracotta tile floor and slides to a stop just as her mother joins us. Her sliding stop almost causes her to lose her balance, and she flaps her arms to steady herself.
I think the girl likes to give her mom panic attacks.
“Ophelia, honey, walk, don’t run!” Corinne chides. “We are indoors. This is a tile floor. Those sandals are slippery!”
Ophelia grins mischievously. “I already wiped out once. Daddy was too busy talking to notice.”
Corinne shoots Brett a withering look.
He shrugs. “Jack’s life is interesting. He’s got work drama. What can I say?”
Corinne hitches her brow at me. “Work drama, on vacation?”
Brett chuckles. “He’s going toe-to-toe with a librarian lady over a promotion. She just boxed him out of an extra-credit assignment.”
“Is this true?” Corinne hugs Ophelia while she talks to me.
Ophelia’s eyes sparkle. “Uncle Jack, you have homework to do here in Hawaii, too?”
“Ha, well, I did, but an overachiever stole the assignment from me.”
Ophelia twists around in her mother’s arm. “Mom, what’s an overachiever?”
“Never mind,” Corinne answers. “That’s a discussion for another time, like five or ten years from now, and we’ll let Uncle Jack explain it to you.”
Ophelia tents her brows. “Am I an overachiever if I do my homework?”
Now, it’s my turn to receive one of Corinne’s withering looks.
I chuckle. “Nah, do your homework, Lia. It’s the right thing to do. I guess my answer is that I don’t have to do work this week because someone else is doing it. So, I get to play.”
“With the dolphins?”
“With the dolphins.” I nod.
“And with me and Jazz?”
“And with you and Jazz.”
“Yay!” She breaks away from her mother, snags Jasmine’s hand, and tugs her toward the open doors. “Come on, you’ve got to see them. They’re jumping.”
Corinne hooks one of the girl’s suitcases to her own and begins dragging the luggage after the girls. Halfway to the doors, she turns. “Brett, Jack, can you handle the other bags, meet us at the bungalow?”
“We got it,” I say.
“We’ll be right there,” Brett promises.
“The concierge says it’s to the right,” Corinne says. “Yellow Coral.” She pins her gaze on Brett. “Maybe you two could chat while I’ve got the girls for a minute, hm? Tell him. ”
Then she spins around and chases after the two runaways.
“Tell me what?” I ask Brett.
He bends over his suitcase and busies himself by looping a pink duffel over the handle. He’s paying way too much attention to the luggage tag.
“ Hm . Says here the airport code for Honolulu is HNL. How ‘bout that?”
“Cut it out. Tell me what…?”
“Look, you’re not gonna like this. Corinne and I debated waiting ‘til we get home to tell you, but she thinks you’ll see it online this week, and it would be better if you hear it from us.”
“What are you talking about?”
We start ambling toward the French doors. The lobby is vast and spacious, fragrant with salty sea air. I hear waves crashing in the distance.
Sunlight illuminates palm fronds that are visible through the doors. Pink, tropical flowers as big as trumpet horns dance in the ocean breeze.
Man, this place is beautiful.
I look around for the woman in black, but she’s no longer standing by the entrance like before, with that boxy black suitcase at her feet.
She was either checking in or checking out.
Part of me hopes she was checking in. I wouldn’t mind seeing her around this place this week.
Not that I’d make a move or anything. I’m not exactly available.
My ex, Jessica, and I broke up over a year ago, but I’m pretty sure we’ll get back together one day soon. I mean, we lived together for two freaking years. I invested a lot into that relationship, and I’m still waiting for it to pay off.
One of these days, Jess will realize she made a mistake when she left me.
One of these days, she’ll apologize.
When she asks me if we can start up again, I’ll say yes.
I mean, we’re still friendly. We interact, even if it’s only online, through social media. We send chatty messages daily. She likes nearly all my posts; I like hers.
Because of all that, I don’t consider myself single. I consider myself in a complicated situation.
And, really, who isn’t?
Relationships are complicated.
The situation will get less complicated when Jess and I officially get back together. It won’t be easy. It never was with Jess. But it’ll be clear where we stand, which’ll be a big relief. All this waiting is wearing on me.
Brett and I step out onto the stone walkway. Up ahead, Corinne watches nervously as Ophelia and Jasmine hang over a wooden railing, waving their arms toward the dark green waters below. They must see the dolphins swimming there, or maybe the sea turtles this resort is famous for. There’s wonder painted on both girls’ smiling faces.
It’d make a great social media post, actually.
It sucks that right now, I can’t focus enough to take out my phone and snap photos of my awesome nieces. I’m too caught up on whatever bad news Brett’s about to break.
Brett’s being quiet.
Too quiet.
This news must be awful if he’s having this much trouble spilling it.
“Come on, dude.” I pause to let a peacock pass in front of us. “Quit dragging it out. Whatever it is, I can take it. I’m tough. I didn’t cry when I broke both my legs, so I think I can take a little gossip or whatever.”
“It’s about Jessica.”
Even hearing her name aloud revives the old sting I felt when she walked out of my life. My heart still hasn’t healed. “Yeah, what about her?”
I try to keep my tone light because, what the heck, I just put on the song and dance about how tough I am.
“She’s in Moab.”
I narrow my eyes. Moab is the little town in Utah that Brett and I both grew up in. It’s the town—not more than a handful of urban blocks tucked between rocky red hills—where we both now live. I’ve always considered it home.
Jess and I had a life together in Salt Lake City, four hours from Moab. I moved back home after we split.
What’s she doing in my town?
I swallow hard and try to digest the info.
Is she there because she wants me back?
The budding hope must show on my face because Brett claps my shoulder. “Don’t get excited, dude. I know how you wear rose-colored glasses when it comes to Jess. I don’t know why, but you do. But she’s there with a guy. They’re getting married in, like, a couple of months. Corinne heard it from Jasmine’s teacher yesterday afternoon. We weren’t sure if we should tell you this week.”
“Wait— what? ”
I shake my head… because it doesn’t make sense.
My ex, Jessica, can’t be in my town to marry someone else.
Impossible .
I’ve been waiting patiently for her to see that leaving me was a mistake, and now she shows up in my town—to tie the knot with another guy?
“No way. That can’t be. I would’ve known. She would’ve told me.”
“I know it’s a tough pill to swallow. But for real, this is a good thing. Me and Corinne both think so. Now that she’s getting married, you can finally move on. She was never right for you. The complaining, the rude vibes… how she treated you. You always had blinders up, but I’m telling you, I saw it clearer than you did. Lots of people did. She never respected you, man. She took advantage of you. You could do so much better.”
My head’s spinning.
I can barely hear my brother.
This just feels so abrupt. I didn’t know she was serious about a guy.
“Who? Why?” I ask.
“Well, I don’t know the guy’s name. And why does anyone get married? She probably loves the guy, whoever he is.”
“I had no idea. She should have said something to me about this.” I think back on all the chatty messages I’ve traded with Jess on social media. She had so many chances to mention this, and she never did.
“Jack, listen, man—you’re not with her anymore. You’ve gotta quit acting like you are. I’m telling you, this is good. You’ll come around to that. Hey, you could meet someone new, go out on a couple of dates for a change.”
I shove my hands in my pockets.
I know he’s trying to be encouraging, nice, and supportive, but the idea of meeting someone new is not where my head is at.
I am glad I’m hearing this from him instead of finding out through social media, but it still hurts.
I should have gotten over Jessica long ago, but I didn’t.
I’ve been waiting for the universe to make things right. I put a lot into that relationship with her, and I really believed it would all come back to me, to tip the scales back into balance. I know relationships are never perfect, but I was willing to put in whatever work it took.
This can’t be happening.
Corinne waves for us to catch up.
Brett pats my shoulder one last time. “Honestly, she was never good for you. You’ll find the right one, I promise.”
We join Corinne and the girls and head for the Yellow Coral bungalow. My chest aches with a sadness I probably should have dealt with the day Jessica packed up and moved out.
I didn’t cry when I broke both my legs.
It was during a live motocross event. I had about twenty cameras in my face when the paramedics untangled me from my dirt bike and carried me off the track. There’s still footage floating around out there of me flashing a peace sign and managing a smile.
It’s sort of crazy that stupid gossip about my ex can wreck me worse than broken bones.
I don't think I'd manage a smile if I had a camera in my face right now.