Part II
Trixie lay there, shaking in a pool of sweat. Hallie and Honey were sitting at her bedside dabbing cool water on her face. She tried to hold in her tears but they came anyway.
"Poor Trixie," Honey crooned wiping away Trixie’s damp curls. "Poor, poor Trixie."
"Oh Honey," Trixie gurgled through her sobs. "It was terrible, just terrible!" Trixie buried her face in her pillow and kept sobbing.
"Come on, Trix," Hallie soothed, "tell us about it."
Wearily, Trixie sat up in bed and told the two girls about the nightmare. Honey’s face grew pale. Hallie wasn’t too acquainted with what Trixie was talking about, but Honey knew for certain.
"Trix," Honey looked at Trixie’s quivering body and swollen, red eyes, "how long have been having these dreams?"
"I have never dreamed anything so horrible." Trixie stood up and pulled her soaked pajamas off her. "What I need is a nice long shower. What time is it?"
"It’s just after seven. Are you going to be okay?" Honey’s tact was chiming in for Trixie’s sake.
"Honey, I’ll be fine." Trixie grabbed fresh underclothes and headed into the bathroom. "Who’s all here?"
"Everyone’s here." Honey got up off the bed and peeked into the bathroom. "The plane leaves at nine. How soon do you think you’ll be ready?"
"My bags are all packed." Trixie said as she climbed into the shower.
The shower did wonders for Trixie. She still thought about the dream but at least she felt better. Honey noticed that her blue eyes sparkled once more and she was cheery. That dream troubled her. Psychologically, that wasn’t the normal nightmare. Before meeting Trixie, Honey would have dreams of suffocation or something chasing her. She knew why this dream happened and debated whether or not she should tell Jim. Honey silently decided that it was Trixie’s duty to tell Jim this and all she could do was offer support.
Soon all the families were in the Belden living room making sure their children were ready to go. Tom Delanoy, the Wheeler’s chauffer, made sure all bags were packed. Bobby wanted to go too, but he pretended to be convinced that he needed to stay home. Besides, he had Larry and Terry to do things with. Larry and Terry were Di’s younger twin brothers. Everyone said their final good-byes and the Bob-Whites promised they’d bring back presents for everyone. Next thing they knew they were all on their way in the Wheeler limousine to the Kennedy National Airport.
Trixie was still a bit shaken from her nightmare the previous night. She had never dreamt of anything more disturbing than that and if she never saw that man again in her life, it would suit her fine. She gazed out the window while the others chattered on happily. The car pulled up to the passenger zone at the airport and each Bob-White took their suit case and overnight bag. They quickly took their seats on the plane and instantly began chatting.
Trixie and Honey took seats next to each other, Brian and Jim were across the aisle, Dan and Mart sat in front of Trixie, and Di and Hallie sat in front of Brian and Jim. Honey tried talking with Trixie, but to no avail. All Trixie wanted to do was to stare straight ahead at the back of Mart’s head pretending there was something important about it.
"Trix," Honey finally leaned back in her seat, "I’m trying to talk to you. If you don’t want to talk, just let me know. You don’t have to ignore me." Honey pulled a novel out of her bag and began reading.
"Honey, I’m sorry I’m ignoring you. I don’t mean to be." There was trouble in Trixie’s voice. "I guess I’m just still pretty shaken after what happened last night."
Honey closed the book and stared at it for a second. "Oh Trix, I know you are. Trust me I’m amazed that you were pretty cheerful this morning when saying good-bye. If that had happened to me I would have insisted that everyone go to Hawaii without me. I don’t know how you do it, but you are one brave cookie."
Trixie laughed at Honey’s compliments. "Honey, it’s not as if I’m in any real danger. It’s just that I saw him. He was there not two inches in front of me." Trixie stopped as she realized she was talking rather loud and had caught the Bob-Whites’ attention.
"Who did you see, Trix?" Jim asked from across the aisle.
"Nobody." Trixie looked down so she wouldn’t be able meet anyone else’s eyes. "I didn’t see anybody."
"I think our shamus is attempting to instill an imaginary escapade into Mysteria, The Land of ‘Who-Dunnit’ novels. If that is the case, I, Mart Belden, am ready to make my accusations in an attempt to show up our ‘Super-sleuth Trixie.’ It is quite easy: a motive may not always exist, nor the opportunities, which leads me to believe that the butler did it." The other Bob-Whites clapped softly at Mart’s revelation but Honey and Trixie sat still quietly.
"Didn’t anyone ever tell you that it’s bad manners to eavesdrop on conversations that don’t concern you?" Trixie gave Mart an angry glare. At this the other Bob-Whites snickered and continued with their conversations. They wanted to tease her about such a statement, specifically when she said it, but from the tone of her voice, they decided they’d better not. Turning back to her best friend she said, "Honey, I don’t think we should talk about it for right now. They’re all listening and just waiting until I slip and say that something is mysterious. After all, it wasn’t even real."
"I agree with you," Honey said. That was the last they spoke about her nightmare. They all laughed and talked as the journey to Hawaii carried on.
"I’m definitely going to see Hula dancers," Honey cried. "They are always so beautiful and graceful."
Di grinned and said, "How about if the four of us girls buy some hula costumes? That would be fun!"
Trixie snorted. "Maybe for you girls, but not me. No way. I’d look simply terrible in a grass skirt."
"Oh, I don’t know, Trix," Jim’s eyes twinkled at her, which instantly made her blush to the roots of her hair. "I think you would look just fine."
"Well, anyhow, I promised Mindy and Cindy that I’d get them two little hula dolls," Di added. Besides Larry and Terry, Di also had twin sisters. "But you know, what I’d really like to see is the Capitol building where there’s a statue of Queen Liliuokalani. She was the last reigning monarch of Hawaii before it was annexed to the United States."
"That sounds neat," Mart chimed in. "I never really thought to look up the history and culture of Hawaii."
"Their cultural history is much like any other island culture," Di said. "I did a report on the Hawaiian Islands for social studies class last year."
"Since Honolulu is right next to Pearl Harbor," Brian informed them all, "I think it would be very educational for us to visit there. Since 1941, it’s been a major part of American history." The Bob-Whites somberly agreed with him.
The flight attendant came by and passed out their dinners and all the Bob-Whites ate heartily. For the remainder of the trip they decided that they should get some rest, as it would be a few more hours before they land in Honolulu, and it would be late.
Trixie and Honey adjusted their seats to recline a little so they could lay their heads back and rest. Honey’s even breathing told Trixie that she was asleep, but Trixie couldn’t relax. Once again she found her mind dancing. We could look around at a museum there in Honolulu and learn a little something about Hawaiian history. I’d love to see real live hula dancing. They always seem to tell a story the way they dance. I didn’t know Hawaii had a Queen…
"Trix!"
She jumped from her dancing thoughts to reality at the sound of her name hissed into her ear.
"Jim, don’t do that!" she whispered back. "You scared me."
"Sorry. What if you and I go sit in those two empty seats up front. Nobody seems to be sitting in those."
"Okay," Trixie said as she stood up and headed down the aisle.
"Who did you see last night?" Jim asked her as soon as they sat down. "You weren’t yourself this morning. I don’t know if others noticed, but I sure noticed Honey’s expression and yours."
"Jim, I didn’t see anyone last night," Trixie looked at him squarely in the face. "What makes you think I saw anyone?"
"Because you said, and I quote, ‘Honey, I saw him. He was not two inches in front of me.’ Don’t deny it, Trix. What’s up?" Jim’s green eyes showed concern.
"Oh it’s nothing. I just had a nightmare that’s all." Trixie shrugged and sat back.
Jim put his fingers on her chin and turned her face towards his. "I’m not buying it Trixie. What happened? You were pretty pale this morning and so was Honey."
All of the sudden that man’s dark shadow haunted Trixie’s memory and the color drained from her face one more time. "Jim, I saw him. That horrible beast," she let a tear escape.
"Trixie," Jim put his arm around her and handed her his handkerchief. "Who was it?"
"You don’t want to know," Trixie said quietly as she wiped her eyes. "It was terrifying. If it’s all the same with you, Jim, I’d prefer not to talk about it on the plane. I’ll tell you about it later. I promise."
They walked back to their seats to find Honey sleeping in Jim’s seat next to Brian. Jim shrugged and sat down next to Trixie. They held hands for a while and talked quietly among themselves.
"Have you told anyone about us, Jim?" Trixie asked.
"No. Have you?" he answered.
"Well, sort of."
"Honey?"
"Yes. I told her. She knew it anyway." Trixie tightened her grip on his hand.
"I know she knew it." Jim grinned at Trixie. "I also knew that she knew that I knew that she knew about us." Trixie put her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. "And I also knew what was said in that silent conversation you had at the party last week." Nothing could pass by him. He knew the two girls too well.
"Well, I guess there’s no secrets between Honey and I then. At least with you around." She laughed and started digging in her overnight bag. "I guess you knew about this then." She handed him a little wrapped box with a little bow taped to it.
"No I didn’t. Trix, what is this?" Jim held the little box in his freckled hands.
"Well open it and find out." Trixie started to get a little impatient.
Jim carefully unwrapped it and took out a black jewel box with ‘JWF’ on the top in gold print. He opened it up to reveal a set of cuff links and a tie tack each engraved with ‘Frayne’.
"Congratulations, Jim." Trixie beamed as he removed them from the box. "I was going to give them to you at the party but simply forgot. I was having a bit more fun than I had planned, you know."
Jim was unable to speak for a while. He just kept turning them around and around. "They’re great," he whispered. "I don’t know what to say!"
"Say you’ll wear them when we go out for a Hawaiian dinner." Trixie linked her arm with his and crossed her legs so that her toe lightly touched his shin.
"Sure!" He put them back into the box and held onto it. "Thanks, Trixie…you’re wonderful!"
"Oh, it was nothing," Trixie said trying to be modest but instead blushing again. She leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder and drifted off to sleep. She felt great again. Unafraid. With her arm around Jims, there was no way that man could come back into her dreams.
The Bob-Whites were startled awake with the announcement from the cockpit that they were only half an hour away from the airport in Honolulu. Within twenty minutes, they could see the lights of the Honolulu airport. Gradually they touched down and the plane came to a halt and the lighted sign up front reminded the passengers that it was still important to keep their seat belts on.
The light went off and the Bob-Whites unbuckled themselves and made their way down the mobile staircase to claim their luggage inside the building when a man quickly rushed past the girls pushing Di nearly over the edge of the railing. Mart and Brian quickly reached over and pulled the screaming girl back to safety. Jim and Dan hurried down the steps and chased after the man, but to no avail. It was dark and there were so many people crowding around that it was impossible to see where he had gone. The boys ran back to find Di sitting on the bottom step taking deep breaths. Mart sat next to her stroking her hair while Brian did his best to examine her for shock.
"He got away," growled Jim, his face beat red. "I’m calling the police."
"Wait, Jim," Trixie stopped him. "Did any of us get a good look at him?"
They thought for a bit. "You know," Honey replied. "He was wearing a tan trench coat and hat."
"So are about fifty other men in this airport." Hallie looked around her and spotted at least three other men with the same attire.
"I think it was just someone who was in a hurry and didn’t have enough courtesy to say ‘excuse me,’" Di said trembling.
Trixie stomped her foot, which made her curls bounce. "We’re not even in Hawaii for two minutes and already there’s something fishy going on."
"Come on, Trix," Jim tapped her shoulder. "We really should go report this. Let’s get Di inside where she can have something to drink and relax."
The Bob-Whites helped Di up and marched into the airport. "What a nasty thing to do!" Trixie hissed under her breath as she walked alongside Jim. "Poor Di!"
Jim didn’t say anything. What could he say? He was angry that someone was careless enough to endanger one of his friend’s lives. The best thing would be to alert security.
"Hang on to her, Mart," Brian said sternly as he handed the lady their tickets.
"What’s wrong with the young lady?" the woman asked. "Airline sickness?"
"She’s experiencing slight shock, ma’am," Brian said seriously. "A very rude man nearly pushed her over the railing on the mobile staircase out at the plane. None of us saw the man clearly and he got away before we were able to catch up to him. Where may we report such an incident?"
"I can report it from here," the woman said picking up the phone and punching in a few numbers. "Yes I’d like to report an attempted assault on flight three-oh-seven. Linda Stevens at gate one-thirty-five." She quickly pulled the phone away and asked Brian his name. "Yes, a Mr. Brian Belden. Sure." She handed the phone to Brian. "Security would like to talk with you about this." Brian took the phone from her.
Honey noticed that having Di stand here wasn’t making her situation better. "Excuse me, Ms. Stevens? Would it be possible for Di to go and relax in the dining room? She’s looking faint."
"Actually, it will be better to take her to the first aid room where a nurse can attend to her. The room is down the hall next to the gift shop." Ms. Stevens reached under the counter and pulled out a map of the building. "You are here. Here’s the first aid room." The Bob-Whites except Brian, Trixie, and Jim helped Di to the first aid room.
"Yes….a man about six-foot wearing a tan trench coat and tan hat…no, sir, we didn’t get a better look at him. I realize that, sir." Brian was trying to remain calm. It was pretty clear that nothing could be done. It had been too long. The man could be long gone by now.
"Did you happen to notice if he came through here?" Trixie asked the lady.
"I wish that I could pick him out, but the problem is that there were at least nine or ten men on that flight that wore that outfit." She shook her head. "I’m truly sorry about your friend. I’m sure security will try their best."
"I’m sure they will." Trixie said as Brian said good-bye and hung up the phone. "Well?"
"I’m sorry, Trix," Brian frowned. "They said that there’s nothing they can do. Without more of a description, they can’t lock all doors and start checking identifications and passports."
Slowly, the three Bob-Whites trudged out of the room and down the hall to the first aid room where they saw Di sitting up drinking water. Color had come back into her face and she was chatting with Honey now.
"You okay, Di?" Trixie asked her friend.
"Yes, Trix. I’m fine," Di said wearily. "What do you say we get a cab and get out of here. I just want to get some sleep."
"I think it sounds like a good idea." She looked up as she started to go on but decided that it could wait. She wanted to tell Di what security had said, but figured that it wouldn’t make her feel better. "Brian, do you guys think you could handle claiming our suitcases while we go call a cab?"
The cab ride to their hotel was a silent one. Pretty soon they were all piling out of the cab and sleepily checking into their rooms. Trixie and Honey had one room with Hallie and Di in the adjoining room next door and Jim and Brian had a room right across the hall with Dan and Mart next door. None of them felt like eating, not even Mart. Instead they all decided to get some rest.
Trixie was not tired though. She was still angry with that man for knocking over Di, and she was angry because security couldn’t do anything. Who’s running that team, anyway? Captain Molinson? Well, I don’t care if I have to explore every volcano on this island! I’m going to find that man. He could very well have…" Lying there on her bed wasn’t making the situation better so she changed back into her clothes and went out to the veranda to relax. She leaned on the stone banister and looked out to the beach. There was a slight breeze that was soothing in itself as it blew fresh ocean air up to her and the moon shone down on the waves making them look fluorescent in color. She jumped as she heard the doors rattle behind her and spun around to see Jim coming out to join her.
"Some night, huh." Jim said as he leaned on the banister next to her.
Trixie didn’t answer. All she did was nod her head silently.
They stood there in silence as they listened to the waves crash onto the shore. "Do you think that man pushed Di for a reason?" Trixie asked him after a while.
"It’s hard to say," Jim replied. "He didn’t take her purse or anything. He was just in a hurry." He folded his hands together and stared at them. "What do you think?"
"I’m not sure what I think," Trixie said. "That man could have been in a big hurry to meet family or something, but I doubt that. He would have turned around an apologized. Do you think he was running from someone?"
"Could be. But I guess he’s long gone now."
"I suppose," Trixie agreed. "Still, I’d like to get my hands on him."
"Trix, I know you came out here to relax," Jim leveled with her, "but talking about that stranger will only make you more tense and angry." Trixie nodded and didn’t answer him. She knew he was right but still, she had to wonder what kind of beast would push a helpless girl so violently that she was nearly injured, all because he was in a hurry.
"Let’s talk about something else then," Trixie suggested. "Better yet, let’s go for a walk."
"Good thinking, Trix." Jim smiled and opened the door for her. Pretty soon they were walking hand in hand along the moonlit beach.
"I still can’t get over this, Jim. Oahu…Hawaii!" Trixie was back to her usual self. "Didn’t you even know about it?"
"I knew about it as much as you did, Trix. Our parents did a fine job at keeping this a secret." Jim squeezed her hand a little. "You know, Dad told me after the party to keep an eye on you and Honey to make sure you don’t go start a mystery or something."
"Did you tell him what you told me?" Trixie grinned slightly.
"I told him that I would keep you out of danger." He looked over at her. "Ever since that time when you and Honey were kidnapped by those gun thieves on the Mississippi, he hasn’t been too keen on the idea of mysteries."
"I know. Some of the situations I do get myself into are pretty dumb ones. I guess I don’t think first about involving Honey right along with me." She stopped for a minute and looked out at the crashing waves. "Lets take our shoes and socks off and walk along the shore." Jim helped her remove her socks as she steadied herself against a palm tree. She remembered the days when she would have shooed anyone away that tried to help her with such a simple task. When he was done, he removed his socks and shoes and rolled up his pant legs.
They walked along together, the warm water splashing around their ankles. The night was dark except for the slight reflection of the moon on the ocean. "You never see anything like this in Sleepyside. This is gorgeous!" Sleepyside was beautiful all times of the year. Mrs. Belden’s prized crabapple trees blossomed in the springtime and horseback riding in the summer was always a treat. The fresh wind running it’s fingers through Trixie’s hair as she and Honey would go riding was always relaxing to her. Sleepyside autumns were breathtaking as the summer colors of luscious green and blue turned to warm yellow and red. She loved the crisp mornings before school when the Bob-Whites would get up extra early and exercise the horses for Regan. It was such a good way to clear her head. Autumn was always the time when Mrs. Belden would start canning vegetables from the garden and crabapples from the trees. Winter made Crabapple Farm look beautiful. The Bob-Whites loved winter because they could go on ski trips or skating on the lake. Dinner at the Belden house seemed better as the year got colder. The house was always filled with the scent of freshly made pies or cookies.
But all of that was behind her as she strolled along next to Jim, gazing up at the graceful palm trees and listening to the quiet crash of the waves around them. "I suppose you want to hear about my dream last night, huh?" she quietly asked him.
"No." Jim told her simply. "There’ll be time for that later. I just want to enjoy the moment."
The sunshine that filled their suite was a cheerful ‘Good Morning’ to Trixie as she bounced out of bed. Honey groaned deep in her throat as she heard Trixie start the shower. When she hopped out of the shower, Honey was still sitting on the edge of her bed trying to wake up. Trixie pulled her pajamas back over her wet curls and plopped back down on her bed.
"You’re up early for someone who was out late," Honey suppressed a yawn and stretched. "Where’d you go last night? I got up for a drink of water around two and you weren’t here?"
"I needed to relax and clear my head," Trixie said as she traced the outline of her shoe with her toe. "After that incident with Di yesterday evening, I just needed to cool down." Suddenly she realized what Honey had said. "Two! It had to have been earlier than that! I guess we, I lost track of time."
"We?" Honey raised her eyebrows.
"Well, yeah, we. Jim and I. We went for a walk." Trixie could feel her face burning. She still wasn’t quite comfortable talking about special moments with Jim even though Honey was her best and closest friend. Honey had known about Trixie and Jim’s special feelings for each other and it didn’t bother her, but Trixie felt a little weird talking about it since they hadn’t made it official that they were a couple yet to the other Bob-Whites. It was for the same reasons why Honey didn’t confide in Trixie much about her feelings for Brian.
"Any ideas on what’s going on today?" Honey asked heading for the bathroom.
"No. I think we should just rest most of today." Trixie started to run a comb through her hair. "The flight was tiring and then there was just so much activity at the airport. I think for Di’s sake we should just take it easy today."
"Good idea. I’ll just get washed up and then maybe we’ll meet the rest for breakfast?" Honey shut the bathroom door and started the shower. Trixie quickly got dressed and ran across the hallway and lightly rapped on Jim and Brian’s door. Brian answered and agreed to meet the rest for breakfast down in the restaurant.
Soon all eight Bob-Whites were down in the elegant outdoor restaurant ordering breakfast. They had all decided to see some sites and just have a relaxing day. They charged breakfast to the hotel bill and all piled into the rented car that was waiting for them. Jim slipped behind the wheel with Trixie next to him and Brian on the other side of her with the road map. Di, Hallie, and Honey took the back seat with Dan and Mart in the way back.
"Look at all this beauty," Di said as they rounded a mountainside. Jim slowed down and pulled the car off the road a little so they could get out and look around. The sky was the perfect shade of blue. The palm trees on the beach below them stood tall and gracefully swished in the wind and the ocean was the most gorgeous shades of emerald green and cobalt blue. "I’m so happy we came here. This is truly a perfect work of art." Di stood there with her friends taking in the beauty of the earth.
"This is beautiful and all, but we really should get off the side of the road. We are parked illegally, you know," Brian said and Jim agreed. Careful of the traffic, the Bob-Whites stuffed themselves back into the car again. That day they took in quite a bit, but they could see more tomorrow. Jim suggested they try a little restaurant that Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler had once been to.
The Bob-Whites pulled up in front of the Hamakua Restaurant. The restaurant had a dim atmosphere and there was a large grill in the center of the room. The aroma of grilled steaks and seafood was too much for Mart to handle, but he survived. Lining the walls were different pictures of historical sites, events, and people. They had never tasted such exotic foods before and had to sample each other’s orders. After they were done eating, a curtain pulled back from around a stage at the end of the dining room and soft lights spotlighted three men standing around a microphone as they began singing soft Hawaiian music.
"Isn’t that beautiful?" Honey gasped. "I’ll bet it’s a love song."
"Listen to the words," Trixie suggested. "They don’t really even sound like words at all. Just sounds. I wonder what they are singing?"
The trio went on to sing more songs as the Bob-Whites all paid for their food. All of the sudden, something caught Trixie’s eye. A tall man wearing a tan trench coat and hat pushed past some of the customers and knocked into a waiter, causing him to spill the contents of his tray on the floor.
"Jim!" Trixie grabbed his arm.
"I saw him Trix, come on!" The two raced out the door just in time to see the man jump into a black sedan and peel out of the parking lot. The rest of the Bob-Whites caught up with Jim and Trixie and started asking questions all at once.
"Now I know that man is up to something," Trixie stormed. "Did you see the way he left this place? It’s almost as if he wants to be noticed."
"You have a point, Trixie," Honey said to her friend. "What do you think he’s up to?"
"I wish I knew…" Trixie stood there with her hands on her hips watching the dust settle.
"Well, let’s not stand here the whole night," Brian spoke up. "Let’s go back to our rooms…or do something."
Soon the Bob-Whites were again piled into the station wagon and heading back to the hotel. They all gathered in Trixie and Honey’s room and tuned the radio to a station that played rock and roll music. Mart and Di immediately found a steady beat and began to jitterbug and the other Bob-Whites sat and watched them for a while, snapping their fingers in time to the music.
"I have an idea," Dan grinned at them. "Let’s play cards!"
"Sure!" Trixie exclaimed. "Boys against girls!"
Dan went back to his room and came back a bit later with a deck of cards. Soon the Bob-Whites were all laughing and having fun playing games and dancing to the music. They all stopped as the news announcer blasted his voice over the radio.
"We interrupt this program for a special bulletin. The Honolulu police are looking for a man that fits this description: Six-foot-five, jet-black hair, and blue eyes. He has a scar on the right side of his face and no visible tattoos. He was last seen this evening at the Hamakua Restaurant in Honolulu. He is driving a black sedan and has, in the past, gone under the aliases of Steve Burgess a.k.a. Phil Rogers a.k.a. Rudy. If you have any information regarding this man, please call the Honolulu police at once. He is wanted for his escape from the Texas State Penitentiary. We warn you to be careful. We now return you to the broadcast, already in progress. Thank you." Music started playing again.
"Whoa!" Trixie’s eyes grew big. "Do you guys know what this means?" Even though she wasn’t looking at him, she could feel a remark digging right into her. "Mart!" she yelled as she turned to face him. "Just you remember what you all promised me at the party." Mart backed away knowing she was right, but still had the grin on his face.
Di’s eyes grew big. "Wow, Trixie! You must really have an extra sense if you knew what Mart was thinking!"
"It’s called the ‘almost-twin’ sense, Di." Trixie kept glaring at Mart. "You guys, we have to keep our eyes open. That’s twice that man has shown up in front of us. It probably won’t be the last."
"Trixie’s right," Honey said loyally. "But I don’t think that man is after us or anything, so I don’t think we should worry so much."
"That’s the beauty of it. He doesn’t know we’ve seen him twice now." Trixie took a seat back at the little dining table where they were playing cards. "It should be easy to turn him in, but I will agree with Brian. If we get in his way, and he gets desperate, we could be in for trouble."
Brian dropped his jaw at her remark and blinked his eyes at her. She knew exactly what he was going to tell her!
"Face it, Brian," Jim said with a grin and his green eyes twinkling, "She knows all of us way too well."
"Well," Trixie said as she shrugged her shoulders, "let’s just say that I’m not new to a scolding."
"Then let that be a lesson to you before it happens," Brian said as he nudged her shoulder. "Well, guys, I think I’m going to get ready for bed. Di wants to see the Capitol building tomorrow. The tour book says they give tours all day. So, I’m off to bed. Good-night." He shut the door behind him and headed into his room.
"Oooh, it’s late," Di said as she looked at her wrist watch. "I’m going to bed too. See you all later!" One by one the Bob-Whites returned to their rooms and Honey and Trixie got ready for bed too.
"Honey?" Trixie peaked over her covers at her best friend in the bed next to her.
"Hmm?" Honey responded.
"I can’t sleep. What about you?"
"Me neither. I keep thinking about that man we saw today."
"Do you feel like going for a walk?"
"Alright." The two girls got up out of bed and slipped on shirts and blue jeans and pretty soon they were walking along the boardwalk talking quietly between themselves. All of the sudden, Trixie became aware of quiet voices other than their own. Silently she put her finger up to her lips signaling Honey to not speak and pointed to a window opened slightly with the light on.
"…and you ruined all our chances of ever finishing this!" one voice hissed.
"Me? What about you, you rat?" the second voice grumbled back, "You’re the one who’s the clumsy idiot! We would have been out of that restaurant in a flash if you hadn’t caused a scene!"
"Oh shut up!" The first voice seemed stronger now. "We got out of there just fine!"
"Will you keep your voice down!" the second voice said sternly, "We would have been out of there in no time if it hadn’t been for you knocking that waiter over. Now we’ve got eyewitnesses. You saw how fast those kids ran out of that place!"
"Ah, them? They’re just a bunch of kids. They have no idea about any of this."
Trixie and Honey looked at each other with wide eyes. "Trix, I think we should go," Honey’s voice shook. "You said so yourself, if they get desperate…"
"Oh Honey, they don’t know we’re here." Silently, the two girls stood there listening in on the conversation.
"Well, I’ll call Lou in the morning. We’d better lay low. There’s news out, you know. They have your ugly mug all over the island."
There was no more talking after that. "I wonder what he’s wanted for?" Trixie asked Honey, but more or less asking herself.
"I don’t know and I don’t care," Honey said, her voice still shaking. "Remember the news broadcaster said that he escaped from the state prison in Texas, so he’s probably done something hideous." They walked along in silence for a while. Suddenly, Honey yanked on Trixie’s arm and said, "You know, now that we know where he is staying, we can call the police and have him arrested!"
"Honey, that won’t work anyway. Police don’t have any reason to go knocking down someone’s door just because someone told them there’s a possibility that some crooks are staying there." Trixie jammed her hands in her pockets and stared at the ground. "They need to have some sort of reason…"
"Reason? Like the conversation we just heard? He practically admitted to us that he was the man in the restaurant!" Honey’s eyes looked at Trixie pleadingly.
"Honey," Trixie said after letting out a long breath, "we were eavesdropping. There was no admitting anything. We know that he was the man, but we don’t have proof." Trixie turned and walked back toward the hotel room. Honey walked along with her, but said nothing.
Later that night, that conversation rang through Trixie’s ears once more. What would they have finished if he hadn’t made a scene? Who was Lou? Soon Trixie was sound asleep. The next morning when she awoke, Honey was already in the shower. Quickly she got dressed and headed out the door and down to the spot they were the night before when she heard that conversation. She hoped that maybe she would find some clues or something that would lead to the whereabouts of that man. Unfortunately, there weren’t any clues. Not even an open window or anything. She stood there and studied the window a little closer. The shades were drawn and just seemed to have the closed up tight look.
"If only you could show me what was going on in there," she said quietly to the window. The window just sat there letting her see the back of a shade. Slowly, she headed back around the wing, through the door and up the stairs and let herself back into her room.
"Where’d you go?" Honey asked, "back to that window?"
"Yes. I thought maybe I could find some clues or something. All I found was a shut up tight window with the shade down." Trixie started to undress and head for the bathroom. "Why? Anyone worried?"
"No," Honey answered. "The others don’t know about that conversation we heard, yet."
"And they aren’t going to know," Trixie finished for her as she hopped in the shower.
"We’d better hurry if we’re going to meet the rest for breakfast," Honey said as Trixie was getting dressed. Hallie and Di had come over while Trixie was in the shower to tell them to meet the rest at the restaurant outside. Trixie slipped a light blue blouse on and tucked it into her navy blue pleated skirt. Honey wore a simple white blouse and pink straight skirt. After pulling on some knee-high navy blue socks and slipping on her brown loafers, Trixie ran a comb through her curls and declared herself ready.
"We’ll just be fashionably late!" Honey said with a big smile as they headed down the hallway towards the veranda and down the stairs. They opened the door to greet the sunlight that awaited them. Just beyond the pool at the cute little outdoor restaurant sat the six best-looking people they had ever seen. The boys all wore smart looking dress shirts and dark brown trousers. Di wore a simple lavender dress suit and Hallie donned a light green sun dress.
As if reading each other’s minds, Trixie and Honey looked at each other and winked. "Let’s have fun, shall we?" Honey asked with a giggle.
Trixie squared her shoulders and straightened her skirt. Honey flipped her hair around her shoulders so that it neatly framed her face. Light on their feet, they gracefully made their way to the table.
"Fair Madeleine!" Trixie exclaimed to her best friend. "Could this be our ever precious audience who await our very presence?"
Honey winced at her unfamiliar Christian name but recovered quickly. "Why, I do believe they have longed for the arrival of a certain Madeleine Grace Wheeler and Beatrix Louise Belden!" Honey’s eyes twinkled as Trixie scowled at her own name. "Let ourselves be seated with our gentlemen and lady-friends."
Mart could barely contain himself, for if there was one name she hated more severely than Beatrix, it was Louise. Playing along, Brian and Jim immediately stood at the girls’ presence and held chairs out for them. The Bob-Whites laughed at their charade.
Jim looked over at Trixie and raised his eye brows. "Louise?"
She still gritted her teeth. "Yeah. Louise."
" ‘How doth the little butterfly improve its shining wings.’" Mart quoted to Trixie. "You could still use a ‘How-to-be-a-lady’ lesson once in a while." She merely wrinkled her nose at him and picked up her menu.
"Why so late?" Di spoke up as Trixie put down her menu. "It’s been nearly an hour since Hallie and I came over to tell you where we were going."
"Well, as Honey put it, we were going to be ‘fashionably late’. Right, Ms. Wheeler?" Trixie grinned at her friend.
" ‘Tis a shame you had not an entourage to accompany your highness, and her wahini in waiting!" Mart kidded Honey with a smile.
"Well, Mart," Honey smiled sweetly at him as she took a sip from her water goblet, "what do you think you are?"
"There you go, Mart," Brian’s dark eyes twinkled at his brother, "Burned again. I tell you, these girls are catching on to your antics."
"Wait and ye shall see," Mart said flatly as young waiter strode up to the table to take their orders.
"Shall we go to the Capitol first?" Brian spoke up.
"I think that sounds good," Trixie added. "Tours late in the day always seem so rushed, as if they just want to get out and go home. Tours early in the day always seem so cheerful."
"It’s ten o’clock now," Brian said, "that means we could have the tour and then go out for lunch. What do you want to do this evening?"
"We can discuss that at lunch," Trixie said quickly before anyone could bring anything up. She had wanted to come back to the hotel to see if she could find anything out about the two men in that room where she overheard the conversation.
"Sure," Hallie said, "We could spend all morning thinking about what we’d like to do later."
"Sounds like a plan," Dan said smiling at Hallie. The rest of the way through breakfast they talked and joked. The warm breeze and bright sunshine kept the mood happy and peaceful through breakfast.
The Capitol building was breathtaking. Standing tall and proud in the courtyard was a statue of a woman. Trixie read the inscription on the base.
"QUEEN LYDIA KAMAKAEHA LILIUOKALANI (1839-1917)
"She’s magnificent!" Di exclaimed. "Oh, here’s a tour guide, maybe she’ll take our picture."
The tour guide, dressed in a dark green uniform, gladly took their picture in front of the statue and handed the camera back to Di.
"Are you people here for a tour?" asked the lady."
"Oh yes!" Di could barely contain herself. "When is the next tour?"
"The next one starts in ten minutes," the lady said looking at her watch. "I am the guide for that tour." The Bob-Whites readily agreed to meet her at the entrance of the Capitol building.
There were about five other tourists waiting already when the Bob-Whites made their way to the entrance. The tour guide stood proudly in front of the group.
"Aloha! Welcome to the Island of Oahu! My name is Kalani and I will be your tour guide." Even though she wore a uniform, her long black hair was neatly pinned up with a big beautiful red flower. "Come this way, please." She led them down a long corridor and into a room where the legislation passes state laws. "This room is fairly small because only one or two representatives from each of the eight islands meet here." She gave some brief history on the government of Hawaii since it became part of the United States. They visited a few more rooms that once in a while are occupied by the governor and the state legislators.
"This room," Kalani gestured towards a shut door, "Is filled with deeper history of the Hawaiian Islands." She opened the door and let the tourists in. The room was filled with paintings, sculptures, books, and antiques native to Hawaii. Trixie immediately found herself entranced with a certain painting high up on a wall. She studied the woman looking back at her. She sat proudly in her chair and wore a white sash.
"Excuse me, Kalani?" Trixie asked the tour guide, "Who is this woman? She’s beautiful!"
"That woman," the tour guide said looking proudly at the painting, "is Queen Liliuokalani. She is a very important person in the history of Hawaii. But it would be better to start from the beginning. There are two dynasties to the Hawaiian monarchy." She led everyone over to a painting of a gray-haired man wearing a dark red cape. "This man is Kamehameha the first. He was known for unifying the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiians owe a great deal to this man and feel that he is still with us. When he died he was buried in a secret place, but it is still said that only the stars of the heavens know the resting place of King Kamehameha. Many Hawaiians today are proud to call him an ancestor." Kalani took her group of tourists down wall explaining the history behind each person.
"Isn’t this great?" Trixie whispered to Honey.
Honey nodded. "Trix, there’s so much to learn. I never knew that Hawaii had a monarchy. Imagine! Kings and queens!"
"I didn’t know that either until Di mentioned it on the plane." Trixie’s eyes danced from one painting to another. "I just know there’s a story behind that painting over there, the one of Queen Liliuo…well, her," Trixie pointed to the painting across the room. "She seems to be watching every move we make."
Honey giggled and nudged Trixie. "I think you’ve seen too many haunted house movies, Trix. There’s no one behind that painting watching us."
"That’s not what I meant, Honey," Trixie said impatiently. "I mean, she has a story and I’d like to find out what it is." Suddenly, Trixie realized that the group had proceeded to the other side of the room. "Oooh let’s catch up. They are heading towards that painting."
Quickly, Trixie and Honey caught up with the group. "This side of the room represents the Kalakaua Dynasty," Kalani stated. "Up until this time, the throne was simply inherited. Now the people made their choice. This is King Lunalilo. He was elected by the people thus setting a standard for future monarchs." She proceeded along the wall explaining whom each person was. "I am particularly close to this dynasty because I am a descendent of this Queen here." She gestured towards the painting that Trixie had been distracted mostly by.
"Jeepers!" Trixie gasped. "You’re related to her?"
"Yes. In fact, I am named after her. Since my name is usually too hard for people to say, I go by Kalani. She was my Great-great-grandmother’s sister. Since her overthrow in 1893, there hasn’t been another reigning monarch in Hawaii. She died in 1917, thirty years after her husband, Oahu Governor John Owen Dominis died. She stood tall and firm for the Hawaiian culture and people."
"Do descendents today still consider themselves as Royalty then?" one of the other tourists asked.
"Why yes we sure do," Kalani said with a wide grin spreading across her face. "We are deeply interested in keeping the dynasty alive through historical preservation. We’ve erected museums and arrange tours. That is why I am a tour guide. This room is always open for anyone who would like more information regarding the monarchial history."
"I’m sure my father has heard of your society then," Di spoke up, "He’s involved in a historical preservation club in New York."
"I’m sorry, but probably not," The young woman said, her smile fading. "You see, we try not to broadcast our society. It’s definitely not secret, but we keep from the news media. A very good example of why is happening right now. A descendent, Kaiu, was recently kidnapped. Kuhio, who would be our King if the dynasty were to continue, has been in negotiations with the kidnappers. Kuhio is my uncle. It was my cousin who was kidnapped…" Suddenly she realized the concerned faces of her tourists and stopped. "Forgive me! I shouldn’t have rambled on so!"
Honey’s hazel eyes widened with sympathy. Since her family was very well known throughout New York and many other states, she had been afraid of being kidnapped as well. She knew this happened to families that were wealthy.
"Well, this is the end of the tour," the tour guide smiled again at the tourists. "There are different gift shops and lunch counters out in the courtyard. Thank you all so much for touring the Capitol building, and have a wonderful afternoon! Aloha!" With that, Kalani showed them the door to the courtyard and was gone.
"Poor girl," Trixie sighed as they entered the bright warm courtyard. "I wish there was something we could do." The Bob-Whites stopped and Brian took his sister’s hand.
"Come on, Trix," he said to her, "we agreed to let you have one case, but two? Let the Royal Family take care of their own problems."
"Brian!" Trixie’s eyes blazed at him. "How can you say that? Someone has been kidnapped! If that were to happen to any one of us girls, you’d appreciate all the help you can get!"
"I know it sounded harsh of me to say that," Brian loosened his grip, "but you’ve already been on the trail of that man from the airport and the restaurant. Isn’t it a bit overwhelming for you?"
"You know, Brian," Trixie’s eyes turned from the deep blue they usually were to an icy cold blue as she spoke to him, "if you were in some of the tight squeezes that Honey and I’ve been in, you would want to help Kalani’s cousin too. Do you have any idea what it’s like to sit there bound and gagged when someone’s pointing a gun at you? Thoughts run through your mind, Brian. Thoughts like, will I ever see my family again? Will I ever see my loved ones again? What about that night when Bobby had been held captive by Dan’s old gang? They hid in our shed keeping an eye on him the whole time! Bobby said they had knives. That was terrifying!" Tears started streaming down her cheeks as she stormed away from the others. She headed back into the Capitol building and into the ladies restroom.
"Some bedside manner you have, Brian!" Honey’s eyes blazed at him as she hurried after Trixie. Brian just stood there unable to speak. The rest of the Bob-Whites remained quiet too.
"Trix?" Honey called as she entered the restroom. "You in here?" Honey found her sitting on a small sofa in the corner of the mother’s room. Trixie sat there just staring at the floor.
"Oh, Honey!" Trixie wailed at her best friend. "How perfectly horrible of me to say those things to Brian. He only means well, and then I go yelling at him because he’s concerned about my safety!"
"Trixie, I know he was concerned. The look on his face spoke volumes of concern for you." Honey gently wrapped one of Trixie’s curls around her slim finger. "You have to admit, though, that the scrapes we’ve been in, aren’t because someone wanted to kidnap us."
Trixie looked up at her friend and let a slight grin appear on her face. "You’re right, I guess. Like the time when Mart hid in the Lynch’s trailer and I was in there snooping around hoping to find incriminating evidence on Tilney Britten. I guess if it had been up to him, he wouldn’t have had us in there, but because we knew, he had no choice. Then when we were tied up with Regan, I guess that we had that coming too. But if we hadn’t been there, Regan would never had a chance to clear his name." Regan had been involved in a horse racing scandal years before coming to work with for the Wheelers. He had recently gone back to his former employer to clear his name, but had run into a few tough places along the way and thanks to Trixie and Honey, he is no longer to blame for drugging a race horse.
"I know," Honey consoled her, "but you’ll have to admit, that the incident on that boat on the Mississippi was not our fault. Mr. and Mrs. Aguilara had tricked us into coming with them. Then that awful Pierre Lontard tied us up and threatened to kill us."
"You’ve got a point, Honey. That was one of the times that I had wondered if I would ever see anyone ever again. I know what Kalani’s cousin is going through right now and wish I could help, that’s all." Trixie was still bent on this second case.
"Well, we’ll have to see what we can do." Honey helped her friend to her feet and straightened her skirt. "After all, Kalani did say that they were negotiating with the kidnappers so maybe we don’t have to get involved at all. Come on, I’m sure Mart’s hungry and is going to whither away to nothing if we don’t get anything to eat."
Trixie dried her eyes and splashed cold water on her face. After straightening her hair they headed out of the bathroom to meet the other Bob-Whites. Brian approached his sister with a straight face.
"Trix," Brian started, "I just want to say I’m sorry for acting like a jerk back there."
"Oh Brian," Trixie laughed, "don’t worry about it…"
"No, Trix," Brian cut her off, "when you mentioned that incident with Bobby, it made me think too. I had forgotten how terrified I was, too. You were one brave and tough cookie and kept your cool around him the whole time. I’m sorry I acted that way, and especially in front of the other Bob-Whites and everyone else. Forgive me?" Trixie simply smiled and gave her brother a hug. Honey stood back and smiled, for there was unity within the Bob-Whites again.
Suddenly, Mart’s stomach growled, which made everyone laugh and broke the tension.
"I agree with Mart’s stomach," Jim said grinning, "let’s eat!"
Happy and cheerful once again, the Bob-Whites made their way to a little lunch counter and purchased Hawaiian burgers.
"I’ve never had pineapple on a burger before!" Mart exclaimed as the waiter handed them their orders.
Trixie made a face at the sound of it. "Ick! Pineapple doesn’t belong on a burger, I’ll tell you that right now!"
Dan laughed and said, "But Trix, you eat pineapple on pizza, that’s just as bad!"
"Well, Dan, you can have my pineapple then!" Trixie’s eyes twinkled at him.
"Gladly," Dan said as he snatched her pineapple slice out of her burger.
"Honey, isn’t that Kalani?" Trixie pointed to a far corner of the courtyard.
Honey set her burger down and looked to where Trixie was pointing. "Sure looks like her. Looks like she’s involved in quite the heated conversation, too."
"Oh, I’ll bet it’s one of the kidnappers! They’re discussing matters right now!" Di exclaimed.
"Oh Di, don’t be a redic!" Trixie said impatiently. "Why would a kidnapper talk to her? She’s not the Queen or anything. Like she said, her Uncle is the King. The man is probably her boss. I hope she didn’t get fired for telling us about her cousin."
Kalani and a well-dressed middle-aged gentleman stood in the corner discussing something. By the way their faces looked, Trixie could only guess that it was something serious, but she knew that it was not the kidnapper himself. She watched them talk for a while and soon the man walked away. Kalani stood there looking after him wringing her hands.
"Come on, Honey," Trixie said tugging Honey’s arm a bit, "let’s go talk to her. She does seem awfully worried."
Honey bit her lip a little and looked over at the woman. She had been watching her, too. "Well, we can go talk, but let’s not ask her anything about the kidnapping. She looks very upset."
Trixie and Honey walked across the courtyard to Kalani, who barely seemed to notice them. "Kalani?" Trixie gently tapped her shoulder. The young tour guide said nothing and didn’t even acknowledge Trixie at all.
"Trix! She’s pale!" Honey exclaimed. She called to the other Bob-Whites. "Brian! Bring some water over here!" It was too late. Kalani’s knees buckled as she toppled down on to the lawn. Brian came racing over with Dan and Jim close behind him. Mart, Di, and Hallie were close on their heels with tall paper cups filled with cool water.
"Guys, we need to get her in the shade. Here Trix," he handed her his sport coat, "we’ll lay her down on this." Trixie spread his coat out on the lawn in the shade as Dan lifted Kalani by her shoulders and Jim lifted her knees. Brian expertly made sure Kalani was comfortable before he dabbed the cool water on her face with his handkerchief. Slowly she opened her eyes to see eight concerned people looking after her.
"Oh my…" she began to say, but Brian hushed her.
"It’s best you don’t talk. You fainted and had a terrible spill." Brian said as he lifted her head so she could have a sip of water.
"Don’t be silly! I’m alright." Kalani sat up and rubbed her eyes a bit. "What happened?"
"Oh Kalani!" Trixie cried, "some man was here talking to you and he must have said some terrible things because you fainted right afterwards."
"Some man?" Kalani looked confused for a bit and then widened her eyes. "Oh him! That was Kuhio. He had some news to tell me. That was all." She started to get up, but Brian stopped her. She was still persistent, so Brian, with Jim’s help, steadied her on her feet.
"Perhaps you should sit down over at our table with us," Honey suggested. "We’re in the shade."
"No, no that’s alright. Thanks, though." Kalani fixed her hair a bit. "I need to get back to work. I have another tour in…wait, what time is it?"
Dan looked at his watch. "Its quarter-after-one."
"Oooh, I have a tour in five minutes!"
"Now don’t worry about it," Brian said sternly at her. "You need your rest. That was a nasty fall. Mart, can you find one of the other tour guides and let them know?" Mart was off in a hurry and Kalani sat at the table nibbling some of Di’s untouched French fries and sipping a cola.
"It was real nice of you kids to come to my aid just now," Kalani said, color coming back into her face. "My uncle came to talk to me about what I said before, about Kaiu. There hasn’t been any progress on this case at all. But I shouldn’t be talking to you about this. This is a private matter in the Royal Family. The Honolulu police won’t even be involved if we can help it." She looked at the Bob-Whites and noticed their concern. "My suggestion to you is to have fun and enjoy yourselves on this island."
Mart came back through the courtyard with two men, not much taller than Trixie, close behind him. Quickly, they rushed to Kalani’s side and began to fuss over her.
Kalani simply laughed. "I would like you to meet two of my fellow tour guides. Kiu and Kawan."
Suddenly Trixie realized that they hadn’t introduced themselves at all since they met Kalani. "Please forgive us, Kalani," Brian stepped forward, "we didn’t mean to be rude, but we never introduced ourselves. I’m Brian Belden. From left to right is my brother Mart, our neighbors Honey Wheeler and Jim Frayne, my sister Trixie, my cousin Hallie, and our other neighbors, Di Lynch and Dan Mangan. We’re visiting from New York."
"We would like to thank you so much, Brian, for what you have done for Kalani!" Kawan and Kiu had big bright smiles that matched Kalani’s.
"Brian’s going to be a doctor someday!" Honey stepped forward to lightly cling to Brian’s arm. "She received some bad news and fainted, but Brian knew exactly what to do!" She was so proud of him whenever he had a chance to administer any kind of first aid.
The smiles on the two men’s faces disappeared as if by magic. Kiu put his hand on Kalani’s shoulder and said firmly, "My sister should really get back inside and lie down and rest." She let him help her up and simply smiled at the Bob-Whites as Kiu slowly led her through the courtyard and into the Capitol building. Kawan didn’t go with them.
"Please forgive my brother," Kawan begged Brian. "We truly are grateful that you knew what to do. Please accept our gratitude by letting me pay for your lunch."
"Now, Sir, you don’t have to do that," Brian said to the man, "we were simply doing what we do best." Kawan held his hand up to silence Brian’s protests and stopped the waiter to take their bill.
"Well, Sir," Brian cleared his throat and extended his hand to Kawan, "Thanks! The tour was excellent and so was our lunch. It’s been a pleasure meeting you and your family."
"Please come back and have lunch with Kalani and I before you go back to New York?" the man exclaimed shaking Brian’s hand.
"We sure will!" Trixie beamed. They waved at the man as he walked away. "Wow! Hasn’t this day been full of activity already?" The other Bob-Whites heartily agreed with her.
"You, Trix have made me a firm believer," Dan said with a grin, "that mysteries just seem to fall into your lap. Honestly! She just came over here and handed it to you."
The Bob-Whites all laughed and took their orders to go. There had been so much excitement that they had barely touched their food.
"I could really use a swim right now," Trixie announced. "Anyone up to it?"
"You bet!" they all chorused. Once again they all piled into their station wagon and headed back to the hotel. Jim let the others off at the door and then took the car to be parked. Trixie rode along with him since she wanted to check for any messages from back home.
Trixie could hear the soothing noise of the splashing fountain in the lobby as they walked through the entrance. "Any messages for Belden or Wheeler?" Jim asked the clerk. The man, who looked to be about Regan’s age, smiled and said that they had five messages.
"How are you two enjoying Hawaii?" the clerk asked.
"It’s a swell place," Trixie politely said as she smiled. "We’ve been enjoying everything about it. Growing up, I always dreamed of visiting Hawaii, and now thanks to my parents and Jim’s parents, we’re finally here!"
"Have you been to tour the Capitol building yet?" the clerk asked.
"Why yes," Trixie said. "In fact, we had just come back from there."
"Well," the man said as he handed the messages to Jim, "I’m sure you two will enjoy your stay at the Hawaiian Islands. There is always so much to see."
"Thanks!" Jim said as he turned on his heel towards the elevator.
"Oh by the way," the clerk called and Jim and Trixie turned around, "Congratulations!"
"For what?" Trixie asked with a confused look on her face. Was it customary for hotel personnel to praise their guests on graduating high school?
"On getting married!" The clerk stood there with his hands on his hips grinning at them as if to say, "You both know what I’m talking about."
To Be Continued
Mr. Belden left a message on my voice mail asking me if I was crazy letting his 16-year-old daughter fly 3000+ miles away from home with 7 other teens, boyfriend included, and no chaperone. No I’m not crazy, Mr. Belden, but I see your point.