I groaned. “Sounds very stressful. Anything I can do?”
“No. I just wish that I could spend more time with you today. Hey, are you sure you don’t want to take my car and go places?”
“You know me. I really like the peaceful alone time. I love walking the shoreline from here. I saw three honu already and dolphins! Had to tell someone to stay away from the honu.”
“What is wrong with people? We have signs everywhere. Thanks for saying something.”
“Of course. Hey, so while you’re on the phone. Is it okay if someone crashes here? Just for a night or two? Promise he won’t get in the way—”
“He who?”
“Oh. Yes. A coworker. His reservation got messed up and guess the hotels are booked.”
“You better tell me more.”
“Um. That’s all.”
“That can’t be all. Who is this man?”
“Mmm-mmm.” I clucked my tongue. “Don’t get all excited for nothing. You’ll only disappoint yourself.”
“I will absolutely find out every detail about this man in person. Glad he’s there. You shouldn’t be alone.”
I laughed. “It’s okay. I’m not scared of the dark.”
Diya tsked. “You know what I mean! You’re here visiting me, and I feel like I should be spending every minute with you.”
“Don’t do that. You can’t spend every minute with me when I’m here for over a week. And you have work. Besides, I’m not here for you, you know? I just came for this sweet villa and drinks and ube. Okay, so I just came for the ube.”
Diya chortled on the other end. “Bet you finished all the ube malasadas Kimo’s mom made for you at the get-together?”
“Yes. You know I did.”
“I have to go and take care of yet another emergency. We have four key cards, so give your friend one if you want.”
“Oh, boy…”
“That leaves an extra. Kimo doesn’t have one. He wouldn’t be going there without me anyway.”
“Thanks! Hope work gets better…”
She groaned dramatically. I could practically see her throwing her head back in exasperation. I didn’t know how she worked in the hospitality industry.
“Oh, by the way, I left you a book. In case you get bored or want to read, but seeing that you have a man friend, this probably won’t apply. That one I was telling you about? It’s pretty good. Saw it go viral, and typically, I wouldn’t get into social media–hyped books, but all these readers were fawning over this book, particularly the love interest. And, girl, I read it in two sittings on my days off when Kimo was trying to get attention, and by the end, despite how amazing Kimo is, I was just, like, why aren’t you a Jay Shah? Ugh. I had to slap myself back into reality.”
“Sounds interesting.”
“It’s on my bed.”
So it was. A little yellow book.
Eight Sunny
Showering post-travel had to be one of the best feelings in the world, and much needed. Airports and long flights, germs, recycled air, disgusting restrooms…how could anyone love traveling?
I left most everything in my suitcase for now but hung up my suit. Considering how hot and humid it’d been already, I wasn’t sure how any of us would survive wearing a suit for the wedding. Weren’t Hawaiian destination weddings all about beaches and relaxed styles? Because April didn’t want to risk bad weather or wind, the wedding and reception were in a large indoor room—with AC, thank god—that opened up to the gardens and ocean beyond. Half and half. Still, it would be a miracle if we didn’t have pit stains.
Sam was the first to get married in our friends’ circle and he was already setting the bar high for the rest of us. I imagined Aamar would cave to familial and cultural expectations to have a big desi wedding back home. Which sounded great to me. A long drive to a nice venue maybe; no planes. Plus, Indian weddings were amazing with all the food and dances as long as one was a guest and not the stressed-out couple. Not that I even had a girlfriend, much less a fiancée, but all I knew was that I wanted a small wedding and not all dozen events and traditions that came with an Indian wedding. If marriage was an option. But that was a big if.
Bane had clothes all over the place, strewn over the bed and floor. How did she live like this? She also had a nice view of the ocean from this room, mirroring the glass sliding doors from the living room. Must be nice to be able to vacation like this, which was another reason why I needed to get that promotion for PM. I was a great lead, but I knew I could be an effective PM. Besides, coding into the night was grating down my soul. It was one of the reasons why Sejal had left me. I didn’t spend enough time on her. I didn’t sleep the entire night in bed with her. I was too focused on work and getting to where I needed to be. Which was ironic because she wanted me to make more money but didn’t like the amount of work I had to do to get there.
If only she’d stayed around for another year. She would’ve seen that I made lead dev, which was a bump in pay. And hopefully in a few weeks, I’d land that PM position to bump my pay even more. We weren’t talking about a few extra dollars an hour, either. Enough to finally offer a sizable down payment for Seattle’s expensive housing market. Enough to help my parents substantially with medical bills and mortgage, and to spoil my sisters. That was what I really wanted.
After a shower, I found Bane lounging on the back patio, a yellow book on the table beside her paired with water. For a second, I thought she was taking a break from reading to enjoy the spectacular view. But no. She was on her laptop working.
I leaned against the opened sliding door and folded my arms across my chest. “I’m pretty sure Gabrielle forbade you from working.”
Bane jumped, then let out an exasperated breath, returning to work. “She doesn’t own me.”
“She’s going to figure out you’re logging in and lock you out. Then what?”
“Then I’ll be forced to have a true vacation.”
“Why don’t you go to the beach or swim or golf or see waterfalls?”
“And get eaten alive by bloodthirsty mosquitos? These repellant candles are the only things standing between me and a swarm of vampiric bugs.”
“I haven’t been bitten once.”
