Honey Ko - A Novel

Chapter Fifteen

The following week passed in a blur that left me breathless. I rose early each morning to meet Sasi at the front desk for coffee. In the evenings, she showed me her favorite restaurants where we sipped sangria and watched the sunset from dockside tables. We strolled along the beach and back, then down and back again, countless times, chatting about nothing, walking in the silence of each other's thoughts, and satisfying curiosity about things we felt important. I walked her home in moonlight, reveling in her company. She never spoke of Susanna, and Aida seemed so far away to me.

Sasi's voice, her fragrance, the sparkle in her eyes when she laughed at my wit reawakened feelings I had suppressed since Susanna's death. Infatuation for Sasi turned quickly into passion. Sasi stirred in me a reservoir of love that had lain dormant while I waited for the woman who would heal my heart. When I thought of Aida at all, it was with a twinge of regret. My feelings toward her had not changed, but my commitment to her was less certain. Sasi gave me something that Aida did not: a hope and passion for the future that thrilled my heart and gave me reason to forget the past. I saw Susanna when I looked at Sasi. I loved Aida, but I wanted Susanna, and Sasi was giving her back to me. Soon, I would have no reason to remember the past.

One night, after a long day at the airfield, I returned to the hotel as George and the others were heading into town. George looked every bit the dance king with the top three buttons of his shirt unfastened and gold necklaces around his neck.

"Hey, Tom," George said. "You're going the wrong way, man; town's that way. Come with us."

Bob, minus the gold necklaces but nearly bare-chested with most of his shirt buttons unfastened, joined us. "Yeah, Tom. We're going to Ben's to look at necklaces, then to the German Restaurant for dinner. We're going bar hopping later."

Alex Severs, who exuded Southern charm, rolled his eyes. "You mean George is looking at gold necklaces. Like he doesn't have enough already."

"I'd love to go, guys, but I made other plans."

Bob smirked. "You mean you're going out with the hotel manager, right?"

I ignored him, reading the smirk as either "you lucky bastard" or "don't let Aida find out." It was none of Bob's business, anyway.

George minded my business too, but without the smirk. "Have you seen Lek yet?"

He sounded just like Phil. "Not yet, Dad, but I will."

George laughed. "Okay. But you gotta do it eventually, and you don't know what later will bring." He turned to go and said, "By the way, Sasi looked pretty busy a few minutes ago. If you end up alone, we'll be at Ben's, then either Whiskey A Go Go or Caligula Club." He walked away shaking his head. "I still don't know why she prefers you over me. Poor girl."

They left me at the curb and headed for town, arguing over which clubs to visit and which side of the street to walk on. They'd spend an hour at Ben's while George looked at gold chains, then hit the Whiskey A Go Go. Alex and Bob disliked the Caligula Club and wouldn't go there with George. At least not until they'd had a few beers first.

Sasi had met me at the desk every night for the past week, but she wasn't there when I looked for her. I walked to my room intending to call her. I didn't want to ask the desk clerk for her; I didn't want to be a bother. Besides, George had said she looked busy. The message light blinked on the room phone. It was Sasi. She had unexpected hotel business and couldn't see me. I lay back on the bed, disappointed.

The glare of the setting sun rippling across the blue water of the Gulf made my eyes water when I left the Tropicana. The heat had lessened with the onset of night, and the walk uptown was pleasant, with daytime's busy odors giving way to nighttime's entrancing fragrances. Street vendors set up their cast iron fry pans