The Marine

New In Town

Kaneohe. . 

It was beautiful all year long. Large looming mountains framing the inland, which always reminded me of Jurassic Park. There was no place else on earth like it. Hawaii was my home now, and I had partially settled in. Only partially because my mind was still elsewhere. Inheriting something this big is often overwhelming. My sweet old grandpa had left me his big nice house across the road from the beach. How lucky was I?

I stood in the morning sunshine, garden hose in my hand, watering the lush tropical plants out front. The grass had an automatic sprinkler so my work wasn't very hard. Mainly it gave me a daily purpose. As I watched the birds of prey and hibiscus plants bend under the spray, my mind wandered to the night I just had. The very attractive marine had left right after our introduction. He never asked for my number or where I lived. 

Why hadn't he?

I had watched him walk away right after I told him my name. He disappeared into the crowd, just  as he'd done after the first dance. It was confusing and equally frustrating. I had gotten an Uber home and then drunkenly taken a hot shower. Once in bed I played back the night over and over, using my hand to release pent up feelings. He had gotten me too worked up. Or maybe I just missed the company of a boyfriend. 

"Mila! You want, I have extra avocados!" 

My next door neighbor stood on her porch, holding a plastic sack full of them. 

"Hi Mrs. Mahaka!" I replied back, turning off the hose. "Thank you so much. Yours are way better  than the store ones." 

I walked across the lawn and over the wet stone pathway to her porch. She was the first neighbor to greet me when I first moved in a few months ago. I liked her a lot. Plus she gave me the lowdown on everything about the town. To include the people gossip. 

"Have fun last night? I heard your taxi dropping you off around 2 am." She said, grinning at me. 

"I did. Wasn't sure how I'd feel going there but it was nice..." 

"Nice huh? Dance with any hot marines perhaps?" 

How in the hell did she know? Must be that mothering sixth sense you always hear about. 

"I danced with one. But he left pretty fast so nothing happened beyond that." I replied, taking the avocado bag from her. 

"Ohhhh...he was a real gentleman then!" She exclaimed happily. 

How was he gentleman though? By taking off? Not talking to me? Again, she read my thoughts.

"Mila..you were drunk most likely, especially likely since you not partied here yet. And he would rather talk to you when you're sober." She said, searching my face for recognition of her words. 

I looked down at my slippers, or flip flops, and wondered if she was right. He could have avoided me out of honor or rightness, that was a possibility. Or he could have just not been into me. I was just someone pretty to dance with, buy a drink for.