Summer Wind

Work could not have been better. It was challenging, but with each solved problem it came to be more and more rewarding. I grew to love Hawaii and Honolulu. I met a number of people that said the true Hawaii was the other islands, not Oahu. But I was frequently finding little gems, like the Waikiki Beach side of Diamond Head had a tunnel in the wall of the old volcano that looked right down on the hotels and beaches of Waikiki. It had been a gun emplacement during the war, but now it was a great vantage point.

Life drifted on, the loneliness improved as I met more people and became more philosophical about Angie. I came to feel that this would always be my home; my house was the very epitome of a home, sans children and a mate. I lived each day to the fullest I could, not dreaming of tomorrow and trying not to regret the past. When I had a good day I would celebrate by watching the people on the beach and walking past my veranda. A nice single malt scotch or and smoky bourbon seemed to fit in nicely.

The bad days, really the not as good days—there weren't any real bad days—I would take a long run on the beach, take a quick shower and hit the sack ... sleeping the dreams of the innocent.

The problem of living in paradise is that there is a certain sameness to the days. Each day seemed so much like the previous one the there was an inevitability about life. Get up, do what one does, go to bed, get up and do what one does, go to bed.

Life was good, it was predictable, until one day, it wasn't as expected.

Chapter Five—The End of all Things (which is the beginning of everything)

Time passed, as it tends to do. Work fell into a familiarity that was comfortable. The boss was happy, the customer was happy, I was getting regular raises and some quite nice bonuses. I kept up the running, but no more organized races, particularly no more marathons.

More and more I would drive over to somewhere around Waikiki or the zoo and park, then run around and into the Diamond Head crater. I would always finish up with a somewhat short swim in the water out from the Ala Moana Hotel. It wasn't so much to cool off—the water was always comfortably warm. But when I came out of the water wet, into the summer wind, it did feel refreshing, even a bit cool.

On this particular day mostly looking down at the sand with a good deal of fatigue, I saw something incongruous; or, as it turned out to be, very congruent. It was just a flash, no, two flashes, of bikinis of different sizes. Of course, my immediate reaction was ... Angie! I stopped and took a long look. Yeah, maybe Angie, same hair, may a trifle (a very small trifle) thicker, with a matching toddler type girl in a matching bikini. But then there was the obvious inconsistency, Angie didn't have any children.

I stood there in a fog of my own making, certainly not caused by the warm air of the ocean. God knows how long I might have stood there were it not for the Angie wannabe standing up and intruding into my personal space.

With a calmness I could never have mustered, she said, "Jerry, how are you? You're looking great!"

"Unh ... Angie?" I was noted far and wide as a smooth talker.

"Yes, I'm Angie. Was that a question?"

"You're Angie?"

"Yeah, Jerry, and I'm pretty sure you are Jerry. Please let me know if in fact you are not Jerry."

Gathering myself, I responded, somewhat glibly if I do say so, "Yes of course, I'm Jerry. Jerry Kinsolving. Damn Angie is it really you?"

With a good deal of patience she said, "Yes, and this cute little child is Angela Marie."

Wisely, I replied, "Ummm, that's a girl. Uh, is that your daughter?"

A deep sigh, "Jerry, this beautiful creature is my daughter ... and yours. Could you pick me up in front of the hotel in half an hour? I'll explain everything then."

Finally something I could understand—action.

I was parked in front of the Ala Moana in five minutes. My mind was in what my grandma used to call a tizzy. It was clearly Angie. If the visual evidence hadn't been enough her voice was distinctive. But what was this little girl, this Angela Marie? Did she really say this was my daughter? Wow.

In due course she came down, I helped them in the car, and asked her, "Where to?"

"Well, I hope you have a place to stay. It's too expensive to keep staying in the hotel."

It was quiet during the drive and I came to believe that the cute thing in the back seat might really be mine. I got hung up on the how. Well, of course I knew how, but not the details. Angie was very quiet as I drove; my impression was that she was regretting being in Hawaii. As we neared my house, she said, "Are you still in the same place?"

"Yeah, Angie, I bought it."

I pulled in and as we got out Angie gave me the girl child to carry in. She was a cute little thing. I noticed that her ears were exactly like my Aunt Mary's had been, and with the intensely curly hair of my mom ... not to mention my baby blue eyes (eat your heart out Frank!) Maybe she was mine. And if so, what in the hell was going on?

Angie took the toddler into my bedroom and came back a few minutes later. "Jerry, can I have a beer?"

I grabbed us both a cold one.

"You are obviously confused ... I assume you would like to know what's going on?"

"Unh..." I said, always the master of bon mots and other tricky conversational tools.

"Okay, I understand, this is a shock and I'm sprung it on you with no warning. Just to throw it all out at once I found out I was pregnant and I panicked. "

"Good." I threw that out to show that I was still in the game.

"Well, that takes a load off my mind, Jerry. I was afraid you would be upset." That said as she threw herself at me and gave me a hair-raising kiss.

Actually, that was good. I could work with that. I smoothly kissed her back and then leaned over and picked up the little girl child. I held her up in front of me and was rewarded by a mesmerizing smile. I was doubly in love.

----∞∞∞----

And that was my life from then on.

Angie told me how confused she was and apologized many times for not talking to me about it, or even writing a letter. "Jerry, remember that I was an officer. Being an unwed mother and an officer is a big can of worms, nothing but trouble. I knew I loved you and I knew I would keep the baby, but other than that my mind was a mess. So, like I said, I panicked. I resigned my commission and took off for home.

"As Angela Marie grew I knew we had to be together, that we belonged together ... that our girl needed her father. I never had any doubts that you would love and adore her. But as time kept flying by I found it harder and harder to face you. Finally, I just packed up and came out."

----∞∞∞----

We stayed in Hawaii for a few years. We loved the house and being on the beach. By the time we had added Billy and Cathy, the house we loved so much was too small. My sister and I sold the lovely cabin in the forest near the Mogollon Rim to the woman I'd leased, and then purchased the house in Ewa. With Angie's salary as a nurse and with my having been promoted to area manager of the company's development center in Hawaii; we were able to afford a great place on the beach under Diamond Head.

Angie went to school at the University of Hawaii and got a Master of Science degree and became a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. She enjoyed her work and led a full life. The kids seemed to have an innate ability to "ride the waves" that I never had.

It was good life, a life of paradise as near as I could make it.

----∞∞∞----

My fickle friend,

The summer wind

The summer wind warm summer wind

Mmm the summer wind