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sic. It was Hawaiian, and it filled the room with warmth and harmony. Kauai was showing
off. It was welcoming us, and I felt strangely at home.
More martinis were ordered. I insisted on buying this round. Men stared enviously at me.
Yes, she is cute, and no she is not available. Please, for once in my life somebody don't
steal her, I thought. Who knows what was going through in Susanne's mind? I could tell
she was enjoying the attention. I felt a little jealous. There were attractive women looking
at me too. One lovely lass came over and asked where I was from, “I love your accent!”
We were drinking on empty stomachs, and the effect of the martinis was delightful. I can't
remember how many we consumed. We spent the best part of the afternoon in the little
Hawaiian bar on the corner of the main road. I believe it was called “The Beach Hut.”
I shall never forget it. It has since been torn down, and a large, fancy tourist restaurant,
Zelo's, has taken its place.
It was almost dark when we finally stumbled out the door. The crowds had thinned some-
what, and it was almost peaceful. We giggled and meandered our way back down to the
beach where we had left the dinghy. We were struck by the beauty of the night. Stars ad-
orned the dark, tropical sky. There was a half sickle of moon hanging over the glittering
bay, and in the distance we could just make out the jagged silhouette of Bali Hai. The
surf lapped warmly at our feet as we dragged the boat in, and the tall palm fronds nodded
majestically in the balmy breeze. We discovered, as I rowed back to Déjà vu, that two tipsy
and amorously adventurous adults ought to wait until on more solid ground!
I awoke with Murphy purring loudly in my ear. Susanne lay asleep on my other side, dead
to the world. I looked fondly at her, how sweet and innocent she seemed now, with a se-
cretive, little half smile across her young face. The few freckles she had received from the
sun made her look cute. I, quietly and without much movement, slipped away and out to
the cockpit to turn on the gas for coffee. It was a moist, colorful sunrise. The distant clouds
on the horizon were grey and pink, the spume on the ocean waves frothy and white, al-
most like whipped cream. I looked about the anchorage. There was not much happening,
apart from a few early bird surfers who paddled out to the surf line. I waved at one girl
who looked more like a dolphin on her surf board; she wore a black wetsuit, and her dark
hair was slicked back. She was incredibly fit, and I envied her dedication. I decided that
today would be a great day for diving. I had not dived in a while, and after a little breakfast
I rowed off towards the reef, leaving Susanne to tidy up the boat and do some “womanly
things.”
I had an uneventful but fun morning's dive, apart from a very territorial moray eel that came
charging out at me at one stage. I received a terrible shock as it gnashed its ugly needle
teeth inches from my mask. I have heard of some divers being severely bitten by these eels.
