Chapter 6: Ocean Awaits

“GAWD haole! You are SO white it’s hurting my eyes. But we’re gonna take you fishing in the surf tonight.”

I was feeling really bad because my friend from college probably thought I was an ass, and I was. I should have been more sensitive. She was probably a rich girl without much raw life experience. When she saw what a dirty job I had and acting like I was having fun, well. But I was having fun.

So I was buffing out a Cadillac convertible with a metal flake finish and it was looking really nice so I washed it to get all the compound off and then put a finish wax on.

In the sun reflecting off the front line cars it was really showing off the deepness of the paint.

A guy walked up who I knew was a friend of Wally’s and he complimented me on the job. “Thanks.”

“You really ought to think about doing some detailing for the wealthy guys. They pay top dollar for a good job like you did on this Cadillac. Not everybody knows how to do it like this.”

I explained I was in college and didn’t have much extra time to spare and ... He interrupted, “I’m talking about making some really GOOD money. Think about it. You have to be careful you don’t burn the paint but really. It’s fun and feels really satisfying to do work on those high end cars.”

“Wow!” And of course the idea scared me. Most things did scare me at first.

I didn’t know anything about being in business and later a guy who knew the business told me I’d have to have insurance because if I screwed up a really expensive car, like a top import, I could get sued. But as I was standing there staring at nothing and thinking about it somebody pushed me from behind and I jumped. The laughter following sounded like somebody I knew and it was Siza. “What are you doing haole?”

I explained about the guy who was just talking to me about doing detail on expensive cars on my own. “I can tell you all about being in business anytime but right now I want you to go over to the beach with me and take a swim. You need it. You act like your down or something. I want some company. Let’s go. The ocean is calling you.”

Although I didn’t understand the attachment locals had with the ocean I knew Siza well enough now she wouldn’t take “No” for an answer. So I put away some of my work stuff, took off my T-shirt and quickly dropped my pants. I figured she would stop short when she saw me do that quickly but I’d been wearing trunks for underwear just for this occasion so she couldn’t make me go skinny dipping over across the road in front of Dave’s lot.

“What the hell haole. You’re pretty funny aren’t you. But GAWD! You are SO white it’s hurting my eyes. We’re gonna take you fishing in the surf tonight, skinny dipping, shining bright, so we can use your glowing lure for night fishing in the breakers. Lem’me see that spinner bait. hee, hee. Maybe we can catch a groper. No, I mean GROUPER.”

She grabbed the top of my trunks and started pulling them down right there in front of the shed while there were some customers looking at a car. “No, Siza. Don’t!” I begged. She laughed, “You ARE SUCH a WEENER and I’ll bet you’re a virgin!! How old did you say you were? Your butt is even whiter than the rest of you!”

“Okay, okay, let’s go. I gotta get back to work here before I go home.” I whispered hoarsely and that just made her tease me all the more. I wasn’t going to win with her outgoing character.

I put my flip flops back on as she slowly took off her top and dropped her shorts while wiggling her body sexy. I think she was teasing me back. I could only hope she was decent in front of the customers and she had a bikini on.

She grabbed my hand and took off jogging as I spun around and kept up. We ran through the space between Iseka’s quonset hut and Dave’s office never slowing down. Dodging through cars in Dave’s front line I could hear him yelling from behind his desk but didn’t know what he said. And Siza didn’t wait for the cross walk light to change. We were across and on the sand regardless headed for the water without stopping.

She kept dragging me along all the way into the water and struggling to waist deep. I wasn’t much of a swimmer, honestly, and I hadn’t been swimming since I arrived in the islands. I was from the cold wet Pacific Northwest and I hadn’t done much of any swimming since I was a little kid. I had to work all the time. A wave hit us and suddenly I was neck deep and floating heading back to shore and didn’t realize she was on my shoulders so quickly.