Ties (Book 1)

26. Bora Bora

With my mother home, and my father's amenity, we lived in harmony. Through the first half of March, my mom stayed in the guest bedroom; however, towards the end of the month she moved back in to her original bedroom with my father. I was seeing a side of them that had never existed in my eyesight.

My mother started working again, after she returned from France in February. For more than two months, they had not traveled--a record for them. They came home every evening, and we had dinner together. I was the one that had to travel out of town for a cheer competition in California. The tables had definitely been turned... Or at least for a week, while I was gone. After a week of being home after my competition, my parents moved into the same bedroom. So I guessed that while I was away, something happened between them. But I honestly did not want to think too hard about what happened. I would much rather not know, thank you very much.

The oh so desired Spring Break arrived by the end of March. My parents decided to travel to Bora Bora during that week of vacation. They even paid for an extra flight for Mike, so I could have someone to share the experience with. And since my parents considered taking a boyfriend on vacation was improper, I was not allowed to invite Levi. They very well knew that Mike was not interested in me in that type of way, so he was assigned to be my travel buddy.

We stayed at the Four Seasons Resort. To say that it was beautiful was an understatement. My parents reserved a beachfront villa that allowed us to wake up every morning to a blue lagoon, Mount Otemanu, and a spectacular sunrise. White sand, turquoise waters, bungalows and villas, and the sun on our faces all day. It was... paradise.

Snorkeling was eye opening and magnificent; being underwater was like meeting another world. We rented some paddle boards on one of the days during our stay, and by the next day my muscles were in pain; nonetheless, it was nice to enjoy myself out in the water.

One morning, Mike and I had woken up earlier than usual, so we started our day right away. We wanted to get the most out of our amazing time off. We leisurely walked along the white beach and the palm trees. Mindlessly moving our feet and laughing at old memories caused us to be oblivious to people. A young man and woman interceded our path. It took me a few seconds to really see who the attractive man that was smiling at Mike and I was.

"Doctor," I asked. Baffled with his presence.

"Please, call me Edward. How's your mother doing?" The intern that had assisted my mother's doctor waited for an answer.

"She's fine, thank you." I nodded my head.

Quietly, Mike cleared his throat. My brain quickly registered that I should introduce my best friend. "Oh, er, this is my best friend, Mike Sullivan. Mike, this is Edward Howell."

"Pleased to meet you... Mike." Edward shook Mike's hand and looked straight into his eyes. "Um this is my sister, Willow."

She shook both Mike's and my hand. When she put her hand in mine, she asked, "I'm sorry but, I didn't catch your name."

"Oh! Mackenzie." I smiled. I think Mike was satisfied that Willow was Edward's sister and not his girlfriend.

"Have you had breakfast," Edward asked us.

Mike responded before I could even form words. "We haven't."

"Would you like to join us for breakfast at one of the restaurants around here? My treat."

"We couldn't possibly. No, it's all right," I said.

"Why not," Edward questioned.

I tried to find a good enough answer but came up empty. "Mike?" I raised my gaze up to his. He simply shrugged his shoulders, giving me the ultimate choice. "Fine. We'll have breakfast." Since I had no excuse to deny his invitation.

We sat inside the restaurant, under its cover to protect us from the radiant sun. I had a Half Papaya with Lime natural juice and Eggs Benedict. Thankfully, breakfast was not uncomfortable as I had expected. Edward said that since his parents had passed away when he was twenty-four and his sister nineteen, they only had each other to take care of them. Willow was a student at Dartmouth for Engineering. So every chance that they had time off, they would travel or do something together.

"Luckily she has received a lot of financial help, because I have a lot of debt from when I was in school... Not that long ago. And my job doesn't provide me with enough to be paying for my debts and my sister's schooling."

"I thought doctor's received a well amount of pay," I questioned.

"When I graduated, I received the title of an MD, but I still have a long way to go before really being a doctor."

"I don't understand."

"After graduating, you have to join a residency program. Everything you do is monitored... It's like extra training, but you actually get paid."

After our long inquisition, I excused myself to the powder room. Willow wanted to go too, so we went together. Her brother and her shared many similarities, such as: their straight nose, blue eyes, and black hair. Her eyes were smaller than Edward's and had fuller lips than him. He had a chiseled jaw line, while Willow's features were softer. When we made our way back to the table, my phone buzzed.

"Mike, we have to go. My parents are waiting for us," I said, as I stood in front of our table.

"Okay. It was nice meeting you, Edward... Willow." Mike smiled, and I said goodbye too.

Mike and I sauntered back to our temporary, three bedroom home. The tall palm trees swayed with the ocean breeze, along the clear blue sky. The sun was high up, exuding its heat and light.

"He asked for my number," Mike interrupted my mind reverie.

"What? Who?"

"Edward."

"He's gay," I asked with glee.

"Yes," he squealed in delight. We both laughed. "I thought it was obvious," he said.

"Not to me." I shrugged.

He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Seriously, when are you going to realize how beautiful you are? If he wasn't gay, he wouldn't have stopped staring at you. Every boy and man notices you, and you... Well you don't pay them any mind. Why?"

"I'm with Levi." I looked at him with a isn't-it-obvious expression.

"But you've always been like that, before Levi."

"I don't know. I've never felt... Wanted, I guess you could say."

"It always comes back to your parents. Doesn't it? I'm... glad they are finally trying." He stopped walking and grabbed both of my hands. "Zee, you're the kindest person I've ever met. You always say that you don't deserve me, but in reality our friendship was meant to be. When my dad was a drunk, you helped me cope. When your brother died, I helped you. We've needed each other at different times in our lives. Right now, we can both say that our lives are okay. Not perfect, but better than other times."

We continued our path back towards the bungalows and our secluded villa. Other tourists strolled around, smiling. Everyone was happy in Bora Bora, after all, it was vacation time. Recess from work, school, or any daily troubles.

________________________

Just writing about Bora Bora makes me want to go. Cheers for Mike's dating life!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and received a lot of presents. Thanks for reading!