Moon over Maalaea Bay
Page 18
“Lee,” she whispered, “it’s time to go to our room. Let’s leave the car here and walk down. By the way, what was the secret idea you wouldn’t tell me?”
“I don’t have to tell you. The guy at the hotel did it for me.”
“Do you mean you were going to try to get the room for the rest of our time here, and you didn’t even ask me?” She gave him her mock frown.
“I asked you if you liked the room.”
She smiled knowingly. “Yes, you did.”
When they reached the door, Lee unlocked it and scooped her off her feet. He draped her across his arms, and carried her into the room.
“You already did this once, remember?”
“We’re starting fresh tonight. A complete do-over, remember? After all, this is our wedding night and I want it to be perfect.” He stood her on her feet and took her hand. “Come on, Jenn.”
He tugged gently on her hand, and she followed him up the stairs.
When they stepped into the loft bedroom, Jennifer stopped. They hadn’t gotten this far yesterday. As she studied the room, a smile spread across her face.
This was a ‘60s resort which hadn’t had a facelift in thirty years. Regardless, this room was special. It was open to the air, with screens at the east and west ends. The trade winds, slowed by the surrounding trees, passed through creating a gentle, refreshing flow of air.
The large window on the beach side looked out across Maalaea Bay. In the distance, at the south end of Lanai, the sun was a brilliant red ball, nearly on the horizon. Waves splashed gently below the window, creating an atmosphere that combined the sensations of sight, sound, temperature, and humidity in ways no one could possibly imagine by looking at the old building from the outside. Palm fronds waved gently in the breeze at the top of the picture window.
Her gaze moved back to the red sun. It painted the lowest clouds various shades of yellow and orange, while above them the higher clouds remained tufts and striations of white painted on a deep-blue, tropical sky.
She backed up to the end of the bed and sat down staring out the window at the sunset. “This is absolutely beautiful, Lee.”
He looked towards the setting sun for a few seconds and gave her his warmest smile, then pointed upward, out the window. “Tell me about the clouds. What do you see?”
Our wedding night and he’s giving me a quiz on Meteorology 101. “There are cumulus clouds hugging the hills. Patches of altocu above that and, let’s see…some wispy cirrus at about thirty thousand feet.”
“More like forty thousand feet.”
“But, Lee, sunset in the tropics is sixty seconds of blazing glory, and then nighttime.”
He shook his head. “Just watch. Tonight this will go on for at least forty minutes. The sun has clouds to light up all the way to forty thousand feet.”
He sat down beside her and slipped his arm around her waist. “This is why I pulled you up the stairs. When we came in, it was just beginning.”
Her gaze was glued to the sunset beyond the big window. “I wouldn’t have believed you even if you tried to describe this to me.”
“There’s no way you can describe this. Not with words. God painted it, and He gave us eyes to see it. All we can do is sit here and enjoy it.”
She smiled warmly at him. “For now, that’s enough, sweetheart.”
“For now?”
“Yes, for now. Let’s just watch the sunset unfold. Every few seconds the colors change. Look, Lee, the second layer of clouds is turning from white to golden.”
“Am I forgiven for my secret plans about the room?”
“I think so.”
He pulled his head back. “What do you mean, you think so?”
“To everything there is a season. A time to forgive, a time to talk, and a time to just look and enjoy…and a time for love. Let me give you a hint. This isn’t the time for talking.”
“I see.”
She leaned her head on his shoulder. “Now you’ve got it, sweetheart.”
He pulled her head close, kissed her forehead, and they watched the cirrus at forty thousand feet begin to show color.
Thirty minutes later, she sat by Lee’s side on the foot of the bed and watched the highest clouds turn from crimson to pink and gray, against a cobalt-blue sky. A bright silver moon hung over Maalaea Bay. The green palm fronds in the big window had become dark silhouettes waving gently to them, inviting them to enjoy the evening. Waves splashed below the window and their soothing melody filled the room with tropical delight. Even the humidity added to the delightful, sensual feeling.
Lee turned and looked into her eyes. “It was spectacular.” He sighed. “But it’s ending.”
She looked into his eyes and saw enough love to fill a lifetime. “Lee, I shouldn’t have to prompt you. This is the part where you kiss me and—”
He pulled her close, to that place of security against his beating heart. Their time had finally come.
When his lips joined hers, she melted into his kiss like the chocolate truffles she often stirred into her steaming hot lattes. The milk and chocolate swirled together until they became one, producing a rich, sweet, delightful drink she could never tire of. Like their life together…which was only beginning.
Author’s Notes:
Maui was a wonderful place to send my first main characters, Jennifer and Lee, for their honeymoon. But with its gentle waves, warm sun, a surfeit of sandy beaches, spectacular sunsets, warm water teeming with colorful fish begging me to slip on my snorkel and mask, and people wagging the hang-loose sign if I get too uptight, how could I possibly set a thriller on Maui? Since I’m not into man-eating sharks, there’s only one way. You have to import the bad guys. When I was done with them, I had to deport the criminals, either to crypts or to the cooler.
If you haven’t guessed by now, the setting of this third book in the series is my favorite vacation spot. Since 2008, my wife, Babe, and I have been blessed with opportunities to spend more than 14 weeks on Maui. We’ve taken more than 18 GB of digital images, including panoramic shots of all our favorite beaches on the island.
Knowing the island well minimized the research for this book, and it permitted me to adapt the story to the setting. I only had to modify a few small things to accommodate the story. So, in Moon over Maalaea Bay, you get Maui like it really is…well, after you subtract the bad guys. For example, the sunset description at the end of the book was borrowed from the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen, one that Babe, and I watched and photographed in 2010 from Keawakapu Beach in Kihei.
I hope you have enjoyed the series about the geniuses, Jennifer and Lee, and their foster daughter, Katie. You’ll probably see them again soon in another story.
Acknowledgments
Many thanks to my critique group, Dawn Lilly and Gayla Hiss, for steering me towards a much better start and ending to this story. I forgive both of you for making me throw away the first 10,000 words. Thanks once again to my wife, Babe, for her willingness to listen to the story countless times and for giving me time to write when my pen was hot, even when she had other plans for us. Finally, thanks to my editor, Jamie West, for catching the logical and emotional holes in my story and for teaching me more about writing from my female protagonist’s point of view.
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May God’s glory shine through
this inspirational work of fiction.
AMDG
hive.