KARMA COLADA

Chapter Twenty-Five

NAOMI knew something was deeply wrong with Doris and Jet.

She knew from the moment she laid eyes on Doris' lipstick-stained teeth, that she was up to no good. Naomi had volunteered in St. Agnes Mission long enough to be able to suss out the Christians that were genuinely doing God's work from the ones that were a little screwy in the head.

But like always, she listened to her mother's voice, telling her to look for the good in people.

This time, her mom got it wrong.

Leon let out a cry of anguish that broke her heart. He was crouching on the pavement in front of the 7-Eleven with his head in his hands, his broad shoulders hunched over in defeat. Naomi crouched down beside him, thinking of what to say.

Although now would be the perfect opportunity to stick her tongue out at Leon and yell 'I told you so!', she couldn't bring herself to do it. It was unnecessarily cruel to kick a man when he's already down.

"It's all going to be okay, Fitzy," she murmured, even though it wasn't.

They've gotten their phones and passports stolen. Now, they didn't have any money left to boot. Not to mention, a fresh change of clothes (which she sorely needed, given the state of her soaked denim romper).

"It's not," he groaned, flashing his haughty eyes at her. "How are we going to get to Koh Samui now?"

She paused to think. "I guess hitchhiking again is out of the question."

"You think?"

Leon plopped his derriere onto the pavement, pinching the bridge of his nose. He seemed to do that whenever he was stressed. Maybe that's why his nose bridge was so slim.

"This is madness, isn't it? This whole fucking treasure hunt for the ring. I feel like goddamn Frodo on the way to Mount Doom."

"Technically, Frodo was trying to destroy the ring. So that makes you Sauron..." Naomi chewed her bottom lip when he shot her a scowl. "You know what? It doesn't matter."

"We're never going to find the ring. Or Francine."

For the first time, Leon looked utterly dejected. The fire in his eyes were now dying embers in the snow, soon to be extinguished. When he spoke again, the timbre of his voice deepened into a near-whisper, "That ring was all I had left of my grandmother. She left it to me with specific instructions to give it to the woman who would be worthy of wearing it. I can never forgive myself for thinking Francine deserved it. That's why I was so hell-bent on getting it back."

Leon turned his face to the sun, causing shadows to drag across the planes of his face. "I know my Grandma June is gone. But I can't help feeling that I failed her somehow...and that I broke my last promise to her. She would've been so disappointed. My grandfather proposed to her with that ring after the war."

After a long beat, Leon shook his head violently, as if trying to snap himself out of it. He glanced at Naomi and for a brief moment, her insides turned molten.

"Anyway," Leon said with a casual shrug. "I'm being stupid. It's just an inanimate object."

"You're not being stupid," Naomi denied vehemently. "Or if you are, then you're not alone." She rubbed the jade pendant hanging from her necklace and forced a smile. "My mother gave me this before she died. She's been wearing it around her neck for as long as I can remember. So now when I'm wearing it, it feels like she's always with me."

Leon eyed the pendant with an inscrutable expression on his face.

When he didn't say anything, Naomi carried on, "If it were me and I lost this necklace, I'd go through hell and high water to find it again. That's the reason why I was so insistent on coming to Thailand with you in the first place."