After finishing their food and drinks, Wes stood up and Ray slowly joined him. Wes paid their bill. They walked to Wes’ car and got in. The Dreamland Motel was only a mile from the airport which didn’t give them much time to talk. Ray thought he should rest to recover from the long flight. Wes nodded. “Sounds like a plan, my main man.”

They bear hugged at Ray’s room and parted. Ray opened the door, noticing the room was well-lit with a partially open sliding glass door facing the ocean and a rectangular skylight in its center. There were bright cushions on a dark wooden framed sofa which contrasted with the several plants and flowers showing bright green, violet and red colors. Ray didn’t change his clothes prior to laying on the bed. Before he drifted off, he had a smile on his face.

He woke up the next morning at 5:30 local time and laid still hoping to fall back asleep, but he could not. Wes’ call came to the room at 7:30 inviting Ray to meet for a “great breakfast buffet” at the Island Breeze Restaurant a few miles down the road. Ray was dressed and sitting on his bed when Wes knocked on the door just before 8 a..m. 

“Hey buddy, how ya doing?”came the loud greeting as Ray opened the door.

“Fine. Slept like a baby. I’ve been showered and ready to go since 7:00 a.m. Tried watching TV, but nothing seemed interesting. Walked in the parking lot for a bit. Now I’m starving. Let’s eat!”

With that the two men headed to Wes’s Thunderbird. For Wes, it was a little too cool for the convertible’s top to be down. Ray, however, started to sweat.

The drive to the restaurant took just over five minutes. When they walked in, a white haired woman smiled and said “aloha.” Wes returned the greeting while Ray said “thanks. Same to you.”

She led them to their seats which were close enough to the buffet, Ray swallowed several times and licked his lips. He went through the line and picked out white rice, topped with a ground beef hamburger patty, sautéed onions, a fried egg, and warm, savory gravy. For drinks he started with Pineapple Nectar followed by Island Sweet Mocha. These were all new to him and he couldn’t really tell which food he liked best. It all seemed to fit together well and after a second helping, he let out a big exhale and said “wow. That was fantastic. I’m stuffed.” After several minutes of quiet, he thought I simply have to tell April about the place. Then, however, his stomach turned bitter as he remembered she was no longer around. 

Wes noticed the difference in Ray’s look and asked “What’s wrong man? All of a sudden you’ve gone quiet.”

“I was just thinking this place is so cool, I can’t wait to tell my wife. But that happy thought was swept away by the realization that she’s dead. She can never come here cuz she can never be with me again!” With that Ray looked away not wanting to show Wes the tears that were sliding slowly down his cheeks.  

“Hey Ray, it’s ok! Don’t worry about it! These things happen! We just have to move past them”

“I’m not sure I can. I’ll never forget her. She was the most wonderful woman I could ever hope to be with.”

“Oh, it’s alright. After all there’s lots of good looking girls all over the place. This is Hawaii, man! You might even find somebody here.” With that he slapped Ray on the back.

Ray wiped away the last tears and nodded in agreement. “You’re right. I’m here on vacation. I’m here to get away from my problems. This is a great place. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful. And what a great breakfast that was.”

This time Ray paid the bill.

That afternoon, they booked a seat on the Great Waikiki Tour Bus which lasted three hours, going to the location of some of the first houses built, touring through an area of expensive condominium apartments, stopping for a time of walking along the famous beaches, and hearing a pitch for visiting the Pearl Harbor Memorial. After, Ray said he would like to visit the memorial if they could.

After a full day of touring, Ray said he needed to relax before they went out for the evening. Wes kidded him about needing a nap.

That night they went to another restaurant which promised more local favorite foods prepared by Chef Ailani, whose cookbooks were popular as was his weekly Television Program “Island Cooking for Everyone.”

As interested as Ray was in trying more Hawaiian food, he was more surprised as he entered the restaurant. Waiting with Wes was Sunny and she lived up to her name. She was a brunette with smooth complexion, pleasing smile, wearing a colorful dress with palm trees all around. “So this is your Army buddy. Wow! He’s good looking. Where’ve you been hiding him?

Ray blushed. But that reaction was nothing compared to his reaction when he saw Sunny had a female friend with her. 

Wes did the introductions. Ray, I’d like you to meet my girl friend Sunny and her girl friend, not mine (he chuckled). Her name is Sue.”

Ray shook Sunny’s hand first and then, even though his insides started to twist and churn, he extended his hand to Sue. “Nice to meet you, Sue.”

Sue wore red framed glasses with short, auburn, wavy hair and was wearing a red dress decorated with white flowers. The dress looked especially nice on the young lady’s slender frame. Shaking her hand gave Ray a feeling of warmth and her smile caused him to look away.

Dinner was another adventure in eating and the floor show was a sight with Maori War Dancers, swirling flaming spears as they danced. 

Three times he glanced at Sue who was looking at him. He smiled and she did too. 

During quiet times, he learned that she was a secretary working downtown in a law firm. She had worked for them for five years and enjoyed the job. Ray told of his work doing budget analysis which he found enjoyable since he loved working with numbers. He added that he even had the ability to remember long strings of numbers. 

After the show, they walked out together and Wes took Ray to his motel first. Sue leaned over and gave a quick kiss on the cheek before he left the car.

The next day, Wes, Sunny and Ray visited the Pearl Harbor Memorial. Sue had to work. 

Sunny was not her usual self. Both Ray and Wes gasped and stopped walking when they learned Sunny’s grandfather had died in the attack that day. That made them each quiet down for several minutes.

That night it was only Wes and Ray as they visited another bar, Where the Action Is. As they drank and reminisced, Ray noticed Wes drinking almost twice as fast as he was. And Ray didn’t even care for alcohol. But Wes sure did. He began slurring his words and dozed off a couple of times. Ray finally said “Wes, I think we’d better get going. I’m tired and it looks like you’re starting to nod off.”

“Nonsense! I’m as flit as a piddle…I mean fit as a fladidle” He started talking louder and seemed to suddenly be full of energy. In fact, he finished his drink and said “lets go!”

Ray paid the bar tab and walked behind Wes to make sure he didn’t fall. When they got to the car, Ray walked Wes to the passenger’s side. Wes stopped him and said “what are you doing, buddy? I’m driving. I don’t allow no one else to drive my car. So, you set your little self down here in the passenger’s seat. I’m driving” he announced with a firm, loud voice. 

Ray reluctantly got in on the passenger side. Wes fumbled with the keys trying to unlock the already unlocked door. Finally he realized it was open and sat down behind the steering wheel.  

On the way to his motel, he hit the brakes hard at a red light. With his window open, Wes started talking to the guys in the car to his left. Before Ray could say anything, Wes yelled at them “you’re on!” When the light turned green, Wes floored the gas pedal. With a loud screeching sound from his tires, the car shot away from the intersection. The other auto did the same. Suddenly a memory of a similar situation in Germany came to mind. Ray finally shouted “Wes, stop this madness! If you don’t I’m getting out of the car and walking. You’re going fast, so I’ll probably hurt myself. But you have to understand I am serious. I don’t feel safe in this car and you need to stop!”

Wes didn’t say anything, but after another block, he eased his foot off the gas, slowed the car down and pulled to the curb.

“I’m sorry, man. I don’t know what came over me. I’m ok.” He paused and then said in a lower voice “I’ll just take you back to your motel.”

The next day Ray spent going for walks and watching TV in his room. He received a call in the middle of the afternoon from Wes. He was sick and wouldn’t be able to do anything with Ray. He apologized for last night. Ray walked to the burger place two blocks away for a mid-afternoon breakfast/lunch/dinner. He took another walk along the beach that night. He was starting to miss home.