Richard Bachman, �The Regulators�
This is part seventeen of a 25-part story about Hawaii. The story begins here. Part five is located here. Part ten is here. And part fifteen is here. Other parts you'll have to find yourself. So there.
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The Girlfriend�s really in her own space by this point, although I�m still with her. I�m just not sure if she wants me here.
It�s a rough situation. I don�t want to ask what�s wrong, because that can be incredibly annoying in itself. And if I offer to go somewhere else, I suspect that she�d go with me, because we�re supposed to be here in order to spend time together. And I can�t think of anywhere to go anyway. I�m not in the mood for beer after all that shitty Heineken from the catamaran trip. I�m not hungry. And I�ve been spending way too much money already.
I finally remember that we�re on an island, and beaches don�t cost anything.
We drive to the nearby Salt Ponds. We�re both still to sore to do much swimming, but it�ll keep us out of that bungalow and away from the crazy guy trying to shout Elaina�s name over the television.
We park and walk to the beach front, picking out a spot away from others, and sit back-to-back, leaning on each other for support as we read.
It�s hard for me to concentrate. But this is nice. At least I have this.
I have this.
As I read, I start to feel a sense of dread, and a twinge of fright, and it�s not coming from Stephen King�s � Oh, sorry Richard Bachman's formulaic writing. I�m in Kaua�i, the spot often mentioned as �the most romantic spot on earth,� and yet, it feels like she�s slipping away from me.
I can�t say I feel the same way. In fact, I love her more than ever. I�m okay with us having quiet time. Frankly, I�m not used to it coming from her. As she gets quieter, she also becomes more withdrawn. This is odd and the last time it happened, she broke up with me. We only stayed apart for 28 days during that time, and we were around each other more often than not during that time.
I realized during that time that stressing out over what might happen won�t help anything. In fact, it will probably exacerbate the situation. But I can�t help worrying sometimes, so I repeat to myself in my mind: I have this.
I have this.
I�m glad for that.
