All At Sea (7 page)

Authors: Pepper Ellison

BOOK: All At Sea

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—Waikiki Yacht Club—

I hope I have that one day, too. That I find someone like that and it goes like that. For the record, I don’t want to imply that my experiences were completely unpleasant. Just a bit one-sided, I think. Mr. Greedy being the primary beneficiary. :/ I have nothing to compare it to so I guess I don’t know if it was truly, truly terrible. It wasn’t what you’re describing though, not even close. I guess it remains to be seen if I’ll give and receive what you’re describing. It’s nice to think it’s possible. Thanks for phrasing it so well. (I’ve read it ten times at least...gah...)

Off to take a cold shower, now. Lol.

Thursday 27
th
February 12.14am

—Waikiki Yacht Club—

(I’m a beast and don’t know it yet, huh? Whew!)

F
riday 28
th
February 9.08pm

—Moon Bowl—

Hey, you. Cristina and I are at glow-in-the-dark bowling. My ball keeps bouncing into the other lane. Wanna meet up?

Saturday 1
st
March 10.12pm

—Waikiki Yacht Club—

It’s been three days since we talked last. For some reason I feel the need to know what you’re doing right now. It’s after dark so you’re not surfing. Unless night-surfing’s a thing? Do people do that? Dumb question, sorry.

Soooooo, anything interesting going on with Kody? Are you out somewhere that can accommodate the underaged?

Sunday 2
nd
March 4.10am

—Waikiki Yacht Club—

Well, that’s four messages on my end. Five counting this one. I’m assuming you’re pissed about something. Maybe me hanging out with Lachie a few days back? I tagged along to Foodland. He bought milk, bread, and an overpriced jar of fermented yeast spread. We hung out on the boat after, played darts, and he made me a disgusting sandwich. Big deal.

Sunday 2
nd
March 8.15am

—
Fitness Center at Waikiki Yacht Club
—

Okay, last chance. Six unreturned messages is the point where I take my ball and go home.

Sunday 2
nd
March 8.17am

—
Island Golf and Country Club
—

Hi sorry I have this other job that I do from time to time. I think I said that. Quite a lot of surf videos and magazines are shot on location here and I sometimes help out with that. It’s not as glamorous as it sounds. I scout the best waves for what they want to shoot on that day. Sometimes I train the actor a bit. I’m an extra if they want to film someone surfing.

Reception wasn’t very good at the place where we were.

(Remember the secret beach we went to the other day? They did some episodes of “Lost” there.)

Usually I stay at my friend’s place. She’s a producer, and we’ve normally got quite a bit to catch up on because she’s really busy and it’s all interesting stuff that she’s doing. She has this incredible house up in the jungle with all kinds of movie memorabilia, and an amazing view. Also you never know who is going to be there. It’s an eternal party.

I would set up a permanent hammock there if she wasn’t so far from the beach. She’s kind of an inspirational woman who set up her production business from scratch and I really admire that. She wasn’t, like, born into it.

Yeah Lachie told me you two had been hanging out a bit, so I heard about your Vegemite adventure on the yacht. You’ve got to be indoctrinated into Vegemite I think. Yanks just don’t get it.

We can catch up if you want. I’m playing golf with Olaf at the moment.

‘Drittsek! I haff hit der ball in der drink again!’

I’ve got some new clients lined up this week, (Jacqueline! ;P) so I’m kind of busy, but you can come around if you like. Whatevs.

Sunday 2
nd
March 1.12pm

—Paia Contemporary Gallery—

Glad you’ve been having such a ball. Your friend sounds amazing. Who doesn’t admire a self-made woman with a decked-out jungle retreat? Maybe you can invite her to that house party luau thingy we’re going to next weekend and introduce us. One of Lachie’s students is hosting it? He says it’s going to be a real blow out. I invited Cristina. Lachie thinks she and Olaf will really hit it off. (I’m not inviting Jacqueline. I’ve decided she’s the walking brain-dead who can’t handle her liquor. She’ll be dancing on the table with her top off and puking on everyone by ten.) But if your producer friend can’t come, feel free to invite Jac if you want. A playdate for you. Be warned though: if she gets wasted, you’re in charge of getting her home. I don’t want to break another designer shoe hauling her back through the marina.

I’ll be in Hilo til then. We’re moving to the Big Island for a few. (My mom and I are hitting the spa. Facials, manis-pedis, the works!)

Whatevs.

See you Saturday.

Tuesday 4
th
March 10.12am

—
Koa Boxing Club & Gym
—

The house party is not really Sasha’s kind of thing. I probably won’t go anyway. But you have fun!

(BTW Jac did really great this week. I don’t know if she’ll stick with it, but she was fun and easy to spend time with. You’re kind of hard on people. I’d hate to tell you what to do or anything, but we’re all just doing our best with what we’ve got. You might find it easier to make friends if you let people make mistakes once in a while.)

Thursday 6
th
March 9.02am

—Hawaiian Graphix—

Hey, Kody. I’m sitting on the curb outside the art store after buying a crap ton of paintbrushes I don’t need and a 500-piece jewelry making kit I’ll never use. (Note to self: Retail therapy is a short high.)

Okay. So.

I’ve tried really hard not to respond before thinking on it a while. I had all these clever snaps lined up in my brain to fire at you but all of them looked bratty in the end. So I’ve backspaced my way out of the insanity and want to tell you something real, something not based in anger or defensiveness but something that I’m really feeling about what you’ve said to me about how I relate to others.

I know I’m hard on people and not easy to be around a lot of the time. You’re not pointing out anything I don’t already know. It’s an established fact of the known universe that Amelia Beauchamp has trouble making friends. With Jac, I think it’s because she reminds me of girls back home. I shouldn’t do that to her, make sweeping judgments about her based around my past experiences. Simon, too, I suppose. And his brother and the rest of the people who are calling this place home for the season. They’re their own selves with unique histories, and I shouldn’t assume to have them all wrapped up in a tidy word or two. It’s not fair to assume that you know a person inside and out when you don’t.

With you, it’s different. I don’t know anyone even remotely like you and that’s what makes me lash out and get snotty with you. That’s why I ask too many questions. I’m frustrated with the need to know more. I want to know what you’re doing when we’re not together and I want to know what you’re thinking when we are. I can’t even begin to guess what goes on in your brain. (Strike that...except when you’ve had too many beers, then I’m pretty sure I know.)

But I’m not completely friendless and closed-off. At least not as much as I used to be. I think Cristina genuinely likes me and I genuinely like her. She invited me for a sleepover. Probably sounds dumb, having a sleepover, but it was fun. We did nails and played bowling on her old Wii. We ate dim sum on the lanai and her grandmother explained the spirit of Aloha to me. There were younger siblings and cousins everywhere, running around, and crawling all over us. It was wonderful. We’ve never had weirdness between us, and it could be very easy to have weirdness between us considering her mom cleans my room and does my laundry. So maybe there’s hope for me in the friend department. Last I counted, I have three of what I hope are real friends now. And if what you’re saying is true and there is more to Jacqueline than meets the eye, that could make four. That’s more than I’ve ever had at one time so I think I’m off to a good start.

Thursday 6
th
March 9.25am

—Koa Boxing Club & Gym—

You can be a really cool chick, you know that?

But I still can’t come to the party.

I’m at the gym right now. Lachie gets me to spar with him. Or at least I hold pads and he smacks the shit out of them and frightens me. This place is a perpetual armpit. Sweat and blood and lugies. Pressed metal and Amity Affliction.

The thing is the bro code. You know the bro code? Lachie called dibs, like I said. I couldn’t call dibs, for obvious reasons. And he’s punched me enough times to indicate that he requires my absence in order to work his magic with you.

Also I saw the two of you the other day in the florist shop.

Lachie! In a florist shop! Blew. My. Mind.

I had to go into the jungle and swing in a hammock and think about it for a while. Like Hemingway, without the genius – just the gin. (Although I really did have business to attend to. You don’t totally run my life.) I am thinking I should take you up there one time. You would like Sasha. She has, like, this radiant energy.

Lachie really likes you. I think. Maybe I was wrong.

Saturday 8th March 10.16pm