Chapter 45
“Destroy her,” Laurie said passionately as we hugged one more time.
Our goodbye was more emotional than I’d expected, and both of us had tears in our eyes.
Maybe because we were both afraid of it being forever.
Even though Laurie had said she wanted to see at least one of my tournaments in the US.
But who knows if that would happen or not.
The first thing I had to do was make it through the baptism of fire known as the US Open.
Without any injuries and, hopefully, triumphant.
After making Laurie promise never to go into the ocean again when there were big waves—or at least not without Chip—I hugged her one more time.
I watched her disappear up the stairs to the house and sat in the warm sand for a while.
The sun was already low in the sky and would merge with the ocean in ten, maybe fifteen minutes.
My last sunset on Hawaii. By this time tomorrow I would be landing in New York.
My parents had announced that they would be picking me up from the airport.
I couldn’t wait to see them. And yet, I found it hard to imagine swapping the Pacific for a skyline.
The sound of the waves for police sirens.
The scent of salt for exhaust fumes and fryer grease.
But you love New York, a voice in my head reminded me, and I had to admit that I was being a bit gloomy.
Later in the evening—Kay and I had just finished eating—Gabe stopped by and handed me a goodbye gift. I had to laugh when I saw a hibiscus flower-patterned blouse knotted at belly button level.
“I’ll wear it with pride,” I said solemnly.
Kay invited him to stay for a glass of wine, but he declined politely.
“I’ve got a dinner.”
Only now did I notice Gabe had dressed up. Or, well, up till now I had never seen Gabe in a button-down shirt. And his hair looked neater, and he exuded a tangy male scent.
“You have a date?” Kay asked, doing her best to sound relaxed.
He didn’t respond immediately, but when he did, he looked her directly in the face. “And if I did?”
For the fraction of a second her mask of indifference slipped, but she immediately composed herself. “Then I’d say, ‘Enjoy.’”
The right corner of his mouth twitched in a way that revealed her reaction was exactly what he had expected, but that he was disappointed all the same.
“Take good care, girl!” he said, before hugging me affectionately.
“You too,” I whispered. “And let me know if you ever want to come to a tournament. There will always be a place for you in my box.”
He put on a shocked face. “But for that I’d have to leave the island.”
I grinned. “The world out there really isn’t all that bad. Trust me.”
He raised his hand in farewell. “Aloha, Louisa!”
“Aloha, Gabe. And mahalo. For everything.”