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ChapterOne
Way
“Waves are killer today,” Crunch calls out as I make my way down to the water. The waves must be if he’s not even willing to come to shore to chat.
“I never miss dawn patrol if I can help it.”
Even though I moved to Hawai’i from California, I’m still on Pacific time. So 9AM in California is 6AM here. Only the diehards seem to be out this early, but the water’s warm and the sun is rising. It’s the perfect time to be out on the waves.
I get my surfing in before the beaches get crowded with surfers and sunbathers. And by the time the temperature gets high, I’ll be in the office of the hotel I bought so that I could live and eventually retire in Hawai’i.
My hotel is small, and it caters more to surfers than beachcombers because it’s on the north side of the island of Oahu. Most people like my hotel because it has private bungalows for high rollers and also regular rooms for surfers. And it’s not too far from ?Ehukai Beach. I could walk there if it wasn’t such a pain in the ass to carry my board.
I’m a Southern California boy, born and raised. I’ve been surfing all my life, but I prefer the beaches and the waves in Hawai’i. I’m also on the other side of forty, so I can’t lug my surfboard for miles anymore.
At one time, I had no choice, because beaches in SoCal are always crowded and I was never one to wake up at 6AM Pacific time. So parking was always hard to find, and I’d walk at least a half a mile with my board under my arm.
Early mornings here are much easier. The whole island attitude is much more laid back. It also doesn’t hurt that my grandmother was Hawai’ian. She’s who I named the hotel after. Iolana - it means to soar. That’s what I hope she’s doing and I know it’s what she wanted for me.
Grandma moved to California after she married my grandfather, but when he died, she came right back to the island, to the North shore where she was raised. When she died, she left her house to me. It’s small but comfortable and she always knew I loved the island almost as much as she did.
I only ever used it as a vacation getaway until I got divorced a few years ago.
I take a deep breath of sea air as I pad through the wet sand and drop my board in the water. It’s going to be a beautiful day.
* * *
As amazing asmy day started, it tanked as soon as I got to the hotel.
“She’s a bridezilla,” Kaeo says as soon as step into the lobby.
“I’m assuming you mean the bride to be, whose father rented the whole place for the week?”
Kaeo snorts. “That’s not her father. That’s the groom. Nothing is good enough for this woman, and woman might be the wrong term. She’s barely legal.”
I have no room to judge because I’ve dated a few high school grads that have come to the North Shore to surf. Dated might be a strong word for it. I have been enjoying my freedom, but part of me does miss having one special person. It’s just that Susan wasn’t that one special person for me.
We’re both much better off since we’ve gone our separate ways. We didn’t have the same life goals. When her son Bailey went off to college. I told her that when her daughter Anita left for school, we should move to my grandmother’s house and live the spirit of aloha.
Susan laughed, not in a cruel way, but in a way that told me she really thought I was joking. I wasn’t. This is my dream. I may not be retired yet, but I still get to live the life I wanted and even sooner than I thought.
After the divorce, I took everything I had and put it into this hotel. This place is my retirement. And It’s making more of a profit than I hoped. Soon, the small loan I took out will be paid off and this place will really be mine.
“Maybe you could talk to the groom, since he can’t be that much older than you.” Kaeo says.
“I made you manager because I knew you could manage these situations,” I tell him.
“She wants us to make sure no sand gets in anything. She’s getting married on the beach. She wants the cake to sit outside while they have their first dance and mingle with their guests. She wants people to see her cake, and I get that, but she’s also choosing to get married outside, on the sand. She told me that if there’s any sand in the frosting, or any of the food that they won’t pay for the wedding.”
It’s my turn to snort. She can claim that all she wants. “The wedding has already been paid for,” I tell Kaeo. There was no way I was renting out the entire place without a huge fee upfront. A nonrefundable fee.
“She said she’d dispute the charges with her new husband’s black Amex concierge.”
“Good thing I had him wire me the money, then.”
Kaeo gets a thunderous look. “Why didn’t you tell me that? You just put it into the computer as paid.”
“He signed a contract. The rooms and the use of the private beach have already been paid for — with a premium. The only thing that hasn’t fully been paid for is the food.”
