The Last Goodbye

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In the water at Temae beach.

Day One – The Hello

Tahiti was visible across the strait this morning.  Alison might be on the next ferry, if her flight landed on time.  Would she want to hug or shake hands?   How does one greet an ex-fiancée?  One that I walked out on.

Her text had come out of the blue.

“Can we talk?  Coming to Moorea next week.”

In the years since our breakup, she married another.  Now she was coming to visit her biggest mistake, as she called me.  So, the dawn found me curious – and a little anxious.

“Ia ora na Jamie.  Tu vas à Papeete?”

I looked over my shoulder.  It was Gervais, the dock master. 

“Non, rencontrer un vieil ami.”

I didn’t want to offer more just yet.  Gervais was a talkative guy, and this was a small island. 

He seemed to catch the gruffness in my tone and didn’t press.

“Et la tempête?” I asked with a friendlier voice.  He shrugged his shoulders. 

A tropical system was headed our way.  Moorea was not often in the path of storms.  I wondered if my ex was bringing it.

On the Aremiti ferry leaving Vaiare.

The Aremiti ferry pulled noisily into its berth, screws churning the water into froth as the gap closed.  In my agitated state, the sound of the raucous machinery triggered past trauma.  An image of my late friend Victor flashed before my eyes.

I shrugged off the unease as Alison came down the stairs.  She was still the radiant woman of my memory, walking over gracefully to hold me in a long embrace.  It was awkward.  She was married, and I was dating a local girl.  I was dating my boss, technically.  But Alison didn’t know that yet.

“Jamie!  I must tell you – school children sang songs to us on the ferry crossing.  I already like this place you call home.”

“Some of the kids from Papeete come here for school – quite the commute.”

“How was your flight?”

While she answered, we walked over to the luggage trailers and I grabbed her bag.

“You look good.  Island life is treating you well.”

I waved to Gervais as we headed to the parking lot.  We walked to a Kia hatchback, which belonged to my boss, and I tossed the bag on the rear seat. 

“What happened to your windshield?”

She was looking at the bashed and cracked window of the company car. 

“It might have been a coconut, which is a regular hazard in the islands.  But we are careful not to park under coconut trees.  So, it seems more likely that a local didn’t have something better to do.”

“Oh, that is too bad.  But you make friends so easily.  Maybe you are chasing too many local women?”

“Just one,” I replied, as I opened the door for her.

“Oh, I want to hear all about it!”

“First let me explain why I came,” she continued.

“I’m having a bit of a rough patch with Marvin.  I needed to get away, and well – you and I were best friends before we were a thing.  It was always easy to talk to you.”

“Besides, I wanted to check out Moorea to see where you’ve been hiding.  So here I am.”

So that’s why she was here.  I relaxed a bit in the seat while merging onto the road. 

“Why did you pick Moorea, of all the places in the world?”

The car was a stick shift, and I moved through the gears before responding.

“Our island is popular when the humpbacks are migrating.  You can snorkel with them in the fall.  We get our share of tourists the rest of the year, but it is quiet compared to Tahiti next door.”

“I came here to escape – to hide, as you said.  But as the months and years rolled on, it became my home.  Still haven’t seen the humpbacks – maybe this year.”

“In the meantime, the island’s attractions are its people and vibe.  I can be myself, and not the sum of the mistakes I’ve made.”

Her eyes went big as she soaked in the sights – new and exotic to her but familiar to me.  Strands of hair fell across her face, highlighted by the sunlight through the window.  She caught my glance and smiled.  I suddenly remembered why I had fallen in love with her.

“Don’t forget the beach!” she was saying.

Alison was lodging at a guest house on the east side, near the ferry terminal.  We stopped there so she could get the key and leave her stuff.  Then we caught up on each other’s lives while taking a tour of the island.

“So, what is going on with Marvin?”

“He strayed.  I look at him now and he disgusts me.”

She looked at me, crestfallen.

“But we have a life together,” she added.  “I cry when I think about giving it up and starting over.”

“Moorea is sometimes called the heart shaped island,” I replied.  “This is a good a place to reflect on your marriage.  Enjoy the public beaches for a few days.  We have three of them – at least for now.  One may be sold to a developer eventually.”

“On the sand, in the breeze and under the water, your path will reveal itself and all will be sorted.”

She said nothing and turned to watch some chickens walking along the road.

“You have lots of years ahead,” I continued, in a quiet voice.  “Don’t get to the end and realize you spent much of it with the wrong person.  On the other hand, Marvin and you chose each other, out of all the people in the world.”

It took us three hours to make a circuit of the isle, stopping at a couple of spots to stroll the beach.  We drove up to Belvédère Lookout and took some selfies with the bay in the background. I shared that the island’s name is derived from “Mo’o” (lizard), and Rea (yellow). Although I often saw lizards at night, they seldom appeared yellow to me.

Looking out over the channel toward Tahiti.

Our last stop was at the grocery store Champion, since her rental had a full kitchen.

As we pulled up to her guest house she asked, “How are you Jamie, really?”

“It’s been five years.  I’m over you.”

“Well, you are the one who left. I would have thought you were over me quick.”

“No.  When Victor died, I couldn’t stay.  You were part of that life – after all you were friends with Victor too.  I wanted a fresh start, and you would be a daily reminder of what was lost.  Not just Victor, but my sense of virtue – I blamed myself for what happened.  And honestly, my plan was to replace you.  After all that was my pattern before.”

“But it wasn’t that easy.”

I turned off the engine and continued.

“Aimless at the beginning – hanging out on the beach moping.  I was staying at a place much like this one, owned by a widow who took me under her wing.  We kind of fell into each other.  Her name is Jill – you’ll meet her this week.”

She looked at me, trying to absorb my words. 

“And Jill, is she why your windshield is cracked?”

“Interesting you would pick up on that.  It is a possibility.”

She started to respond but caught her words, and then changed the subject.

“Victor wasn’t your fault.”

“Thank you for saying that.”

“The inquest cleared me because Victor made the mistake.  Or so they concluded. But the machine was our design, and I was with him when it happened – I couldn’t save him.”

“There was a lot of guilt.  And still is.  Some of that day is on me.  Seeing him mangled in the apparatus is something not forgotten.”

“I’m glad you came.  Maybe I can get some closure now.  And you can sort out what to do with Marvin.  It’ll be a win-win.”

She waved as the Kia pulled away.   I headed to the house I shared with Jill.

My girlfriend was sitting at the dining table on the front deck.  Tamara, one of her employees, was with her.  Tamara handled the bookings and managed both the housekeeping contractors and the maintenance team – the latter being Jimmy and I.

“Bonjour Tamara.  Ça va?”

“Ça va bien.  But no time to chat – just leaving!”

I sat next to Jill and poured some tea as Tamara drove off. 

There were Tahitian donuts in a bowl on the table.  But it wasn’t Sunday – that was the day we usually ate them. Made with coconut milk, they are called “firi firi.”  Tamara must have brought them.

“Ça va?” Jill asked.

“I’m ok.” 

“I gave Alison a tour of the island.  Her husband Marvin had some extracurricular activity.  So, she is here to figure things out.”

I saw she didn’t understand.  “He cheated on her.”

“She says she could always talk to me.  I don’t think she is here to reignite an old flame.  I will be a good host.”

“And that is all?” she smiled.

“You are my dear now,” I replied.

“Darling, I have an appointment tomorrow with Doc Marcel.  The pills she gave me are not working, I still had stomach pain this morning.”

“Yes dear, please get that checked out.  We may not see much of the doc after the storm arrives.  She could be a busy gal.”

Just then another of Jill’s employees drove up in the company truck – my colleague Jimmy.

“Ia ora na!” 

“Miss Jill, the storm is making straight for us.  I just saw the fire chief at Le Sofitel – he is telling everyone to get ready.”

I kissed my girlfriend goodbye on the forehead and grabbed a couple of donuts for later.

Jimmy and I jumped into the truck and headed off to prepare for the tempest that was coming.  As we went down the lane I looked back at the house, wondering if it would be able to shelter us.

A fish on the wall.
Reef life.

Read the rest of the story. Part of a two-novella book available at Amazon:

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