now. On most of her days off from work, Emiko likes to sleep in late. She likes to stay with me and have an all day breakfast in bed. She likes walking along the beach at sunset and late dinners on the lanai. But one of her favorite things to do on days off is take a long hot shower. “Ok” I say to her as I walk out on the lanai and drink in the morning air. The view from the lanai is perfect for people watching. In perfect island weather I watch them walking, driving and riding mopeds through the streets below. They walk down the sidewalk and around the corner of Wilder Avenue and Kewalo Street. They walk in and out of Village Market or the Sure Shot Café for lunch supplies or coffee. Most are too self absorbed to notice the perfect weather. They hurry past TCBY, Subway sandwiches and Peppa’s Korean BBQ to join the mundane world of nine to five. They are lost in the rush of the others, all of them hurrying through another perfect day in paradise.
Paradise is a word usually associated with heaven or a tropical vacation destination, a piece of heaven on earth and here we live in a postcard paradise, a dream vacation destination of tourists worldwide. Hawaii has been my home for the past seven years. My thoughts shift to Guam. What do I really know about Guam? Snakes come to mind. I hate snakes. All I know is that Guam has a lot of brown tree snakes. Brown tree snakes are viscous constrictors and as rumor has it, they cut through power lines leaving much of the island without electricity and slither into the homes of unsuspecting local families to strangle babies. One news report stated that there are thirty thousand brown tree snakes per square mile on Guam. Snakes that coil, constrict, swallow kittens, puppies and even whole chickens. I read an article in the Honolulu Advertiser newspaper about a plane from Guam that had been detained and searched at the Honolulu airport after two brown tree snakes dropped out of the wheel wells. Hawaii has no snakes and introducing them to the islands is illegal as they would disrupt the natural environment. Whenever the Honolulu airport authority finds snakes on a plane, they kill them immediately. And Guam has thick jungles with deep caves, the dwelling place of bats and the hiding place of Japanese soldiers’ leftover from WWII. But those stories are all just rumors or so say my friends who are from Guam. My new boss said that I should try to imagine Guam as a balmy little oasis in the Philippine Sea. An island that is America in Asia, complete with main street USA appeal and the conveniences of a modern American city. All of that in a place that combines island culture with fitness centers, coffee shops with Chamorro food and everything in between.
While Emiko is still showering, I remember that I have to call Star Markets and speak to the human resources manager. It’s a call I have been avoiding. I don’t normally procrastinate, but this is an unusual circumstance. The Star Market’s operator transfers me to the HR Manager and I stumble through an apology and explain to her that I won’t be able to begin work this week. She asks me if everything is ok and if I want to push back my start date until next week. I apologize again and tell her that due to unforeseen circumstances, I will be moving away from O’ahu and I will not be able to accept the job after all. A few moments of uncomfortable silence pass and finally she says that she understands and wishes me good luck wherever I end up. I say “mahalo” and end the call. Emiko runs out of the bathroom down the hallway to the bedroom with a giggle, attempting to cover herself with a small bath towel. I laugh at her mock modesty as I get up from the chair and run after her, rolling across the bed and pulling her down on top of me.
“All that I have left in here is my toothbrush, toothpaste, razor, soap, shampoo, shaving cream, hair gel, two bath towels and my clothes. I just need to drop off the keys on my way out and we can go” I say, taking inventory of my bathroom. Emiko rolls over in the bed pulling the sheets over her head. Taking an envelope and some paper from my backpack, I write a note to the building manager explaining that I have to move but that I am enclosing a check with the balance of my rent. I fold the note and put it into the envelope. Emiko comes from behind and hugs me. “Let’s go get some coffee” she says.
It feels like a casual Sunday morning sitting here in the Sure Shot Café. We enjoy reading the paper together and sharing a bagel. But as familiar as this feels, there is something unsettling about it all. Maybe it’s because there are so few customers here, mid morning on a Monday unlike the weekends when the place is crowded. I’m enjoying the subtle calm of an uncrowded coffee shop and it occurs to me that a Monday may be a good day to go to the movies too. But the creeping reality of the day brings me back into the present moment when Emiko reads her horoscope and makes a joke that it’s not too late for me to stay here and start a new adventure with her. My phone rings and when I answer, I hear Sergeant Ray’s booming voice. He is telling me that he can meet me at the Mott Smith Lani Loa building to pick up the car in about an hour. Ray’s girlfriend lives in a condo at the Mott Smith Lani Loa and he is going to park my car there until he can sell it. I agree to meet him there with the car in an hour and end the call. Emiko looks at me and asks if it’s time to leave. I nod and she folds the newspaper leaving on the table for another customer. We hold hands as we walk up Wilder Avenue together one last time.
After loading my baggage into Emiko’s car and double checking that we got all of our stuff out of the apartment, I take my apartment keys off my key ring and put them into the envelope with the note I wrote earlier. I walk down to the manager’s office and slide the envelope through the slot in mailbox, pausing for a minute and wondering if I should actually go and speak with the manager. I’m not sure what I would say and I need to go meet Ray, so I ditch that thought and walk down to my car. Emiko follows me in her car over to the Mott Smith Lani Loa and we see Ray standing out front. When I drive up, he motions towards the garage. Emiko waves and parks in the street in front of the building while I drive around to the parking garage on the side of the building. After sitting there for a few minutes Ray and Emiko walk up from the inside of the garage. Ray opens the gate with an automatic clicker. I drive through the open gate and into a parking stall that Ray is pointing at. As soon as I shut off the engine and open the door, Ray asks about the mileage.
“It’s got about fifty thousand on the drive train.” I tell him “and over a hundred thousand on the whole car.”
Ray sits in the driver’s seat, turns the key and revs the motor.
“What are the features of the car again?” He asks, turning the motor off.
“It’s an ‘89 Nissan Maxima SE with a transplanted twin turbo V6 from a ’92 300 ZX with racing exhaust, power steering, power windows, kick- ass stereo with a set of thumping Rockford Fosgate speakers and a cold blowing air-conditioning system. The paint is a custom high gloss burgundy, it has a dropped suspension kit and it’s sitting on Enkei aluminum wrapped in Goodyear rubber.”
The car was a repossession that Dick bought at an auction in Southern California. He had it shipped over to Hawaii with a dozen other cars and he sold it to me for the amount he paid plus the cost of shipping and an extra five hundred dollars for his effort. It was a total of thirty five hundred dollars.
I didn’t like the fact that Dick was making a profit off of me but as he pointed out, “That fuckin’ cah? I could get six, maybe seven grand for that fuckin’ cah!”
Dick had been right. The car is worth twice the amount I paid. I should probably tell Ray that I want five grand for the car but I don’t feel right about that.
“I’m not looking to make a profit, so if you can sell it for more than thirty five hundred, you have a commission” I say as Ray is looking under the dashboard.
“I want to buy it as a present for my little brother’s high school graduation” he says. “I will pay you the twenty four hundred. Is it okay if I the money to you on Guam in a few weeks?” He asks.
“Okay” I say. “I will mail you the pink slip after I receive the money.”
He nods in agreement. “So you’re really leaving today?” He asks.
“Yes, actually we need to go now” I say. Ray shakes my hand gives me a hug and
