Jane wouldn’t have wanted to bet how well the masquerade worked with Sophia; while Rick was quiet, he didn’t do as good a job of covering up how happy he was as Jane could have hoped for. Well, to be honest, she didn’t think she did either. This had already worked out better than she thought it would have.

Of course, that didn’t keep Sophia from being nosy about how things went the night before. She tried to be polite about it, but she kept on trying to get a hint of what had happened. However, both Jane and Rick managed to avoid saying anything at all enlightening all the way through breakfast and the ride to the airport.

They made it to the airport in plenty of time; security, of course, was a pain in the neck, and meant they had to wait around a bit and find something to do. After thinking about it a little, Jane realized that while there had been plenty of interesting scenery to look at on their trip from Denver to Las Vegas the day before, it probably wouldn’t be as nice on the next leg of the trip, to Los Angeles. The leg after that would be over the ocean, where there wasn’t going to be much at all to look at unless they happened to see a ship along the way. A book or two might help pass the time, and looking around the bookstall in one of the airport shops would at least give her an excuse to try and avoid Sophia’s unstated questions.

Based on her experience in drug stores and supermarkets, there probably wouldn’t be much that really interested her in the airport bookstall, and on first glance Jane realized she was pretty much correct. Most of the books were frothy romances or mysteries or fantasies that didn’t seem would hold her attention very well, but after a while she decided there were a few exceptions to the rule. Down on the bottom shelf of one of the racks she happened to notice a somewhat thicker book, something that might last her for a while. She picked it up, and saw that it was a one-volume history of World War II in the Pacific. After hearing Rob’s rant a few nights before, Jane realized she knew very little about the subject, and that it would be nice to have at least a general idea of what he was talking about.

The book really wasn’t the sort of thing she would choose to read, but since she could see that Sophia and Rob were likely to be parts of her life for a long time to come, she decided that she could do worse. Besides, there was nothing else she’d noticed that even had the promise of holding her attention on the long trip to Hawaii. It might work, so she bought it.

When she got back to the table where Rick was sitting with Rob and Sophia, who were waiting for their flight back to Denver. She showed the book to Rob. “Is this any good?” she asked.

“Not bad,” Rob told her. “Not the best book on the topic but far from the worst. It fails the Wakde test and gets a little political, but at least doesn’t try to blame Roosevelt for Pearl Harbor.”

“Huh?”

“There was a lot of finger-pointing going on in the days after Pearl Harbor, mostly over who screwed up. Kimmel and Short got most of the blame, not that Washington had told them anything that would have allowed them to take warning. There were plenty of screw-ups to go around, and the finger-pointing hasn’t totally died out after all these years. I won’t go into it since that book will do a good job of it for you.”

“Good. What’s the Wakde test?”

“Wakde was a minor landing on the north coast of New Guinea,” he explained. “Interesting and necessary in its way, but minor. My personal rule of thumb is that a book that doesn’t mention it doesn’t give sufficient attention to the Southwest Pacific, but then I’m a fanatic. If you don’t know much about the whole thing, you could find a worse place to start. At least it wasn’t written by a Brit, since they can manage to screw up almost everything about the war in the Pacific. I read one on the war against Japan by a British author once, and he spent chapter after chapter on the political uproar in India caused by the war, and somehow only managed to spend half a sentence on Guadalcanal. Totally missed the point. Don’t get me started on that.”

Jane didn’t even try to look at the book while they waited in the terminal. Eventually it was time for her and Rick to board their flight to Los Angeles, and Rob and Sophia came to see them off, of course with hugs and wishes for good luck. Then it was time to head down the jetway, and soon she and Rick were settled in their first-class seats again. “Well,” she said. “I hope we managed to leave her wondering, at least a little.”

“Maybe,” Rick said, a lot more talkative than he’d been on the airplane the day before. “But it’s not going to keep her from being curious.”

“Probably not,” she agreed. “But the next time we see them we’ll have more to talk about than just last night. We can talk about being tourists in Hawaii and not have to mention last night at all.”

Not surprisingly, Rick held her hand during the takeoff and climbout, although not in the obviously panicked grip of the day before. Jane thought about getting started on the book, but the flight to Los Angeles wasn’t long, and soon they were back on the ground.

She did get to read a few pages of it as they waited for their next flight, but fortunately it wasn’t a long wait. In an hour or so they were aboard another airliner on their way to Hawaii, and she managed to get a little interested in the book then; Rick wound up taking a long nap, and she knew she ought to be doing it, too. It was a long flight, and when it was over it was good to be back on the ground, stretching their legs. They didn’t get out of the airport terminal then, either; soon they were on a much smaller airliner and on their way to Kauai.

In spite of the time differential, the afternoon was getting on by the time they got off the plane in Kauai. By some miracle their luggage had made it there with them, something Jane was at least a little bit relieved about.

The airport at Lihue was not large, and it was only a short walk to the car rental, where they picked up a little Nissan. Sophia had given Jane a map to the beachside resort where they had reservations. It would not be long now; she was getting tired of traveling and suspected Rick was, too. “Do you want to drive?” she asked.

“I’d really rather you did,” he told her. “I think I told you I’m not a good driver. I get distracted too easily, and I’m going to have all these new sights to distract me, along with you. You know, I still don’t believe all this has happened, and I can’t believe you’re still with me.”

“Well, I am with you,” she grinned. “And you’re not going to lose me easily. All right, I can drive.”

It was not far in miles to their destination, but the roads were slow – and besides, there was a lot to see. The view out the window of the little economy car was a lot different from what Jane was used to, and, as far as that went, a lot different than what either of them expected.

Jane wasn’t sure what to expect from the Lunahilo Bay Resort, since Sophia hadn’t given her much information about it. About all she knew was that it wasn’t a big, luxurious resort hotel, but a place where she and Rick could be alone, which was probably a good idea. As it turned out they drove right by the tiny sign for the place and went a couple miles before it became clear they’d missed the turn. After backtracking, they found that the road into the place was narrow and ran between some sugar cane fields and pastures before getting into a more wooded area near the coast. By now the road was even less prominent, but it finally emerged on a small pocket of a bay, with a few buildings gathered around, somewhat more open than Jane had imagined, but with some palm trees and large shrubbery around. On the side of a low ranch-type building there was sign for the resort. “I guess this is the place,” Jane observed as she parked in an obvious parking spot.

“Looks like the middle of nowhere to me.”

“I guess,” Jane said as she shut the car off. “I guess that was what Sophia thought we needed, plenty of time to get to know each other.”

They were still getting out of the car when a slender woman emerged from the building. At first glance she was younger than Sophia, although probably not by much. “I thought I heard someone drive in,” she said. “I’ll bet you’re Rick and Jane Thredford.”

“That’s us,” Jane replied.

“Well, welcome to Lunahilo Bay Resort! I’m Sabrina Holder. I own this place with my husband, Lee. Have you had dinner yet?”

“No, we figured we’d pick up something at the restaurant,” Jane admitted. “But it looks to me like there isn’t one.”

“Afraid not,” Sabrina smiled. “This isn’t a big glitzy resort hotel. It’s sort of a combination of a bed and breakfast and rental cottages. We eat family style in the main building here, and dinner will be in about an hour. That’ll give you a chance to meet everyone. We have four other couples with us right now, besides you.”

“Sounds homey,” Jane replied. “This is a little more, well, casual than I expected.”

“We like to think of it as being personal. In many ways, we’re welcoming you into our home. We like to make sure you have time to yourselves, and Lee and I are here to make sure you have a wonderful visit with us. Let’s get you signed in, and then I’ll show you to your cottage.”

After a few minutes spent taking care of business, Sabrina walked with them to their cottage, which was on the end of a line of six, separated by perhaps fifty yards and a divider of shrubbery from the one next to it, all overlooking a small, rocky sand beach. The “cottage” was fairly large and open. It featured solar panels on the roof, and Jane commented about them. “We try to be green where we can,” Sabrina explained. “Those panels are for hot water. I don’t want to say it’s unlimited, but there is plenty for a long, hot shower so long as it’s in the afternoon. There’s no air conditioning; we just don’t need it here since there’s almost always a nice breeze and it never gets obscenely hot anyway.”

“Nice place,” Jane said, looking around at the cottage. It was well kept, and looked comfortable if not exceptionally luxurious.

“We like it,” Sabrina explained. “We tried to shoot for simplicity without overdoing it. Let’s go inside.”

It was cool and comfortable in the cottage, which featured a lot of windows and wide sliding doors. In a way it reminded Jane of a living room combined with something like the screened porch she remembered from back in Hartford. “Very nice,” she said.

“We try,” Sabrina told her. “How did you find out about our place, anyway?”

“We didn’t. Rick’s secretary found it for us. I have no idea how she turned it up.”

“I know I talked with her, then. She said the two of you were looking for a quiet place for your honeymoon. We’re glad to have you with us. You must be just recently married, then?”

“Just yesterday,” Jane replied, noting that Rick had yet to say a word. “We’re still getting used to it.”

“Well, I hope this will be something like what you want. If there’s anything I can do to help, just ask. We often get honeymooners. Sometimes they just want to be by themselves, and others want to explore the island a little. That’s why I suggested that you get a rental car, although I could have picked you up at the airport if you had wanted. Talk to Lee or me, I’m sure we can point you at some interesting sights if you want to do some looking around.”

“It’s good to know that. I know absolutely nothing about the island, except for what I saw on the way here from the airport.”

“It’s an interesting place, and just what Lee and I were looking for,” Sabrina explained. “I suppose I ought to fill you in on a few things. You’ll probably want to keep the windows open much of the time for the sake of the breeze, although you may want to close the windward ones if it perks up too much. The winds are almost always out of the northeast and they can get lively at times. If we get rain, I’d like you to keep the windward windows closed to keep things from getting wet in here. This isn’t Mt. Waialeale where they measure rain in feet, but we do get rain at times. But I’d like to ask you that you keep the screens and the screen doors closed all the time to keep the chickens out.”

“Chickens?” Rick asked, the first thing he’d said.

“Wild chickens,” Sabrina explained. “There are thousands of them running around this island if not millions, and if they get inside they can make an awful mess. They have no natural predators, so they can be real pests, and most of them are too tough to want to eat, anyway. If they make an irritating mess outside, just hose it off, or call Lee or me to deal with it if it’s too bad.”

“I never dreamed of that.”

“I’ve learned the hard way that even paradise has to have a flaw or two,” Sabrina laughed. “That’s one I can put up with. Let’s see, what else do you need to know? You have simple things like cereal, milk, and coffee for breakfast in your cottage, or you can have breakfast with us, your choice, although I’d like to know if you’re planning on joining us. Or, if you want, there’s coffee and fresh pastries available daily in the dining room in our home, at least till they run out. Lunch is sort of a combination buffet and raid-the-refrigerator deal, although Lee or I try to be around if you need any help. There’s snack food and a variety of cold drinks here in the cottage. I’ll come in once a day to re-supply those, and do a little cleaning up. I told you about dinner, although if you have any special dietary needs or tastes I probably ought to know now.”

“I’m OK,” Rick said softly.

“Nothing special for me, either,” Jane added. “What’s on for tonight?”

“Barbecued chicken, and not wild chicken, either. We have to counterattack against the species where we can. There’ll be something else if you don’t like chicken.”

“Fine with me.”

“Yeah,” Rick agreed.

“We do ask that you be dressed for dinner,” Sabrina went on. “I mean, at least a little more than extreme beachwear. That’s one other thing. While we don’t consider this a nudist resort, we are clothing-optional. It’s pretty private, anyway. If you don’t want to participate, it’s no skin off my butt, but I’d like to ask that if it bothers you that you overlook it if others want to spend some time in the buff.”

“Hadn’t thought about it,” Jane admitted, but thinking that a little running around in bare skin might be fun to do with Rick. She couldn’t help but wonder how he’d react, and it might be interesting to find out.

“It can be fun,” Sabrina smiled. “Although I think I’m getting a little old for it. Oh, and while I’m thinking about it, have you ever done any ocean swimming?”

“Afraid not,” Jane told her. “I never saw the ocean before today.”

“Don’t try it if the waves are up,” Sabrina said flatly. “It’s all right if they’re like they are now, but if you want to try it when they’re more than about knee high, get Lee or me to show you the tricks. We can also get you started in surfing a little, although neither of us are great experts. If you decide you want to go beyond what we can show you, I can get a kid I know to give you a little more advanced instruction.”

“I always thought surfing would be fun, but I never had the chance to try. Maybe I’ll have to take you up on that.”

“Just let me know. We don’t have much in the way of organized activities, primarily because most of our guests seem to come here to work on their own agendas. But if you’d like me to help set something up, like perhaps an island tour, maybe with another couple, let me know and I’ll see what can be worked out. Now, I think perhaps I’d better leave the two of you alone so you can unpack and rest up before dinner. Lee’s busy working on it, but I need to go and help him some.”

“Thank you,” Jane told her. “I think this is going to work out just fine.”

“Good,” Sabrina smiled. “We’ll see you in, oh, fifty minutes now. I’ll ring the dinner bell when it’s getting close, and we’ll be eating on the lanai on the ocean side of the house. We have some other pretty good guests in residence, and I hope you’ll enjoy meeting them. See you later.” Soon she was walking back across the lawn to the main house.

“She sure seems to be a nice person,” Jane commented as they watched her leave. “And this sure seems to be a nice place.”

“Yes,” Rick replied, visibly relieved to have her gone. “She seems very friendly, but . . .”

“But she’s still a stranger, right?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “I’m sorry, Jane. It’s the way I am. I’m afraid I’m pretty much going to let you do the talking.”

“I guess I expected that,” she smiled. “We’ll just have to get used to it. But, you know, I think Sophia found the perfect place for us, at least for now. We should be able to get to know each other lots better.”

“I hope so.”

“Oh, I plan on us having a lot of fun. I’d be tempted to have some more of the fun we had last night right now, but maybe it’s a little too close to dinner. We ought to get the car down here, get our stuff inside and unpacked. Maybe after that we could lay in those lounge chairs on what I guess is called the lanai out front and have a drink, if there’s anything interesting in the refrigerator.”

“Why don’t we do it now?” he suggested. “We’ll have to go up to the main house for dinner anyway. There’s no need to make a separate trip if we don’t have to.”

“You’re right,” she agreed. “Let’s see what’s in the refrigerator.”

It proved there was no beer or wine coolers in the refrigerator, which wasn’t surprising to Jane, but there were plenty of regular and diet Pepsis, along with other soft drinks. Each of them snagged one, then went out onto the open area in front of the cottage and spread out in padded lounge chairs in the shade.

“It really seems a shame to be sitting here in the shade, fully clothed,” Jane snickered. “I feel like I ought to be spread out in the sun with a bikini on, maybe not even that, so I could work on a tan.”

“You could do that, and I’d enjoy watching. But I’m going to have to be careful of the sun.”

“Yeah, true. You don’t get out in the sun very much, do you?”

“No. I get burned pretty bad.”

“I actually tan pretty well, although I can still get sunburned,” Jane smiled. “We’re just going to have to be careful to use sunscreen. That’s not all bad.”

“How’s that?”

“Well, we’re going to have to put it on several times a day if we’re out in the sun. I think you’ll really enjoy me gunking you down, and I know I’ll enjoy you doing it to me.”

“Uh, yeah,” he smiled. “I hadn’t thought about that.”

“Well, to be truthful, I hadn’t either,” she smiled. “But I’ll bet Sophia thought about it.”

“You’re probably right. She really set us up, didn’t she?”

“No doubt about it. I mean, it would have been possible for her to set us up at a big resort hotel, but she didn’t. She wanted to force us to get together, to know each other better, and as far as I can tell this is the kind of place that is perfect for it. While there’s going to be stuff for us to do, we can spend a lot of time with each other.”

He let out a sigh. “Jane, I know I’ve said it before, but this is all still pretty unbelievable to me. A week ago I knew that Sophia was working on the idea, but I thought she was mostly talking, and it was something that would never happen. And then, wow, all this happened. I think I told you I never dreamed it could really happen, or that if it did it could turn out this good.”

“Think of it from my viewpoint. A week ago I was working at the Mountain Grove, and I had never even heard about the idea, and never would have believed that something like this could happen to me. In fact, it would have been about the furthest thing from my mind. I could never have allowed myself to imagine that I’d ever marry someone virtually sight unseen, let alone as quickly as I did. But you know what? I did it, and I’m beginning to think I’m not going to be sorry about it.”

“I’m still too dazzled to even think that far,” he replied distantly. “This last week, last night, today, this place . . . well, Jane, a week ago I’d never have dared dream that I’d ever have a wife, especially one as beautiful and friendly and understanding as you are. When I was in high school . . . oh, well, I guess it doesn’t matter now. It’s going to take me a while to figure it all out.”

“Hey, Rick,” she said. “I don’t think of myself as beautiful. I’m just average. They used to call me ‘Plain Jane’ and maybe they were right.”

“Jane, you are absolutely the most beautiful woman in the world as far as I’m concerned, if only because you treat me as a person, not an untouchable geek.”

She turned to look directly at him, and took his hand. “Let me guess. You had some bad times in high school, and it pretty well turned you off women.”

“No,” he replied slowly, sometimes haltingly. “It never turned me off of women. I dreamed about women a lot even though I never believed until yesterday, maybe the day before, that I could ever really be with one. All that shit back then turned me off of people, and it didn’t matter which sex they were. Look, I know I have some problems. I’m not a people person, and with good reason. I can get along with some people, so long as they’re computer people and the subject is computers or software. But to get outside that, well, only Sophia, then Rob, and now you . . . well, you three are the only non-tech people who have ever treated me as a human being. Even those bastards at Comsector treat me like scum, but they’re not tech people.”

“Rick, the majority of people are all right. Not all of them by any means, but most people. It’s just, well, you just wanted to make sure you wouldn’t be hurt again.”

“Yeah,” he said. “And then to have Sophia push me into this . . . it’s worked out better than I could have expected already. You could walk away from me right now and I still would have had more than I ever dreamed I could have.”

“I’m not walking away from you, Rick. This may not work out in the long run, but it won’t be from the lack of trying on my part. But that means you’re going to have to work at it, too.”

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