ch8 pg 53-55

IT was quiet in the Rover as I drove back into Waikiki. I turned on the radio and fiddled with it to break the silence.
Green did have something going. The what and how was slowly beginning to come together.
I looked over to the woman I had seated next to me. Samantha's eyes were focused straight ahead and the muscles in her jaws were working over time. She had things on her mind too.
The rain had the windshield wipers working over time too. Ala Moana Boulevard was a mess of puddles and drivers trying to avoid them.
"Where's your husband?"
Samantha cleared her throat. "I"m divorced."
"I'm sorry."
"I'm not." She looked out the windshield.
So much for ice breakers. The rain began to come down harder. I turned the wipers up a notch and decided to try again.
"I guess you don't see too much of him."
"Not if I can help it," she retorted.
I was digging myself a deep hole.
A car swerved into my lane and slowed. I extended my right arm out and held it in front of Samantha as I hit the brakes.
"That was close. You okay?" I asked her. My right hand was on her right shoulder. My arm covered her breasts.
She looked down at my arm and smiled.
I put my hand back on the steering wheel. Despite the airconditioning, my face grew warm.
"My marriage lasted only a year. Looking back, I think I was in a rush to get married. Most of my friend already were. I guess I felt left out. After Daddy died, there was no one."
"Who left who?" I asked.
"I left him," she said, putting the emphasis on the 'I'. Took all my things and moved out in one day. I realized then how little I had. I took my five boxes and rented an apartment. Bastard didn't even try to find me. Last time I saw him was in court. Didn't even say a word to me."
I tried to think of something to say. Nothing came.
"Best move of my life." There was a smile on her face.
The Rover took us back into Waikiki without further trouble. In this case, silence was golden. Out of the corner of my eye I could see her looking at me.
"I didn't imagine you as Japanese," she said. "I mean with name like Darling, I never would have guessed."
"Japanese with some Okinawan thrown in. It seems that my great grandfather stole someone's passport to get here. He was too young to get on the boat, so he stole some dead guy's credentials."
"That's why you have a hauole name?"
I could feel her eyes on me. Getting us back safely was the only thing on my mind. At least I tried to make it the only thing.
"You know, you could pass as a hauole." Samantha's eyes lit up each time we passed under a streetlight.
"Is that a compliment?" I asked.
"No, just an observation."
I let her comment pass as just that. The traffic on Kalakaua Boulevard was intense. Tourists lined the street looking for shelter from the rain.
"Sometimes," I said, "when I walk Waikiki at night, the hookers come up to me and speak to me in Japanese."
"You ever take them up?"
"I don't understand what they're saying."
We both laughed. She grinned at me when I glanced over at her. Our eyes met and I quickly looked away.
Her smile made me uneasy.