Trouble Triangle (Tyler's Trouble Trilogy) (22 page)

"Hey, show some respect," I said. I put my arm around Otto. "This guy took a bullet in Nam."

"You're
gonna
take a bullet in Honolulu if you open that smart mouth of yours again. Now move!"

I stood up and helped Otto to his feet. We walked down the street, past my intended happy hour target.

"So, where do
ya
go now?" I asked.

"Ah, I'll find another doorway somewhere. That's what I meant about moving around. Cops are always pushing me off somewhere else."

"Let's go in here." I pointed to a discount clothing store. Otto stopped and stared at me, so I grabbed him by the arm and led him in. I talked him into letting me buy him a pair of jeans, a shirt, a pair of sneakers and some underwear. And a backpack to store his worldly belongings.

We stepped out of the store and into the humid air. "Maybe we should get a drink.
Whatta
ya
think?" I asked.

"Up to you. You know I
ain't
buyin
'."

We popped into the Crow's Nest. Now that Otto was dressed in new duds, he looked somewhat presentable. The next thing was to work on the smell that seemed to follow us around.

Two Australian comedians sat on stools at the front of the room making fun of random customers and singing rude songs. I got us a couple of beers and we cracked complimentary shelled peanuts, t
ossing the shells on the floor.

Otto and I downed our Coors. He said he wouldn't mind a Jack on the rocks, with a beer chaser. I agreed and got us two JD's and a couple of beer
s. The comedians went on break.

I liked Otto. He seemed like someone I could talk to. I felt sorry for him, but also respected him. I mean, a bullet to the brain. Wow!

"My girlfriend's dad's coming out next month," I said. "He's one of those TV preachers. Head smacking, fire and brimstone kind of guy."

"Cool." Otto took a sip of his JD, followed by a swig of beer.

"I have to play the sophisticated boyfriend. I'm
tryin
' to get up to speed on Beethoven. And then I
gotta
be able to talk about Shakespeare." I threw my arms around in theatrical fashion and deepened the voice. "To be, or not to be; that is the question, that's fucking me."

Otto leaned backed and looked at the ceiling. "To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing, end them. To die—to sleep, no more; and—"

I leaned over and touched his arm. "Wait, you know Shakespeare?"

"Dude, I love Willie. He's my idol." He downed his whiskey.

"Can you teach me some things about him?" I looked at him expectantly.

Otto looked at his empty glass. He held it by the rim, and twirled it while he whistled a little tune.

"Another Jack, Otto?"

He nodded. I motioned to the waitress for two more whiskies and beers. He smiled when the waitress returned and put our drinks down. Otto raised his glass. "Cheers, dude. To Shakespeare."

"To Shakespeare," I said, clinking his glass.

"Tonight we drink, tomorrow we talk sonnets."

We left the bar around midnight and agreed to meet at the entrance of the office
building where I found him.

I got a taxi back to base, and on the journey back I decided not to tell Holly about my education program. I had a feeling it was going to cost quite a few whiskeys and beers. A small price to impress Holly's dad. I just hoped Otto would remember to show up.

Sunday morning and I remembered why I had sworn off Jack Daniel's the week before. I promised myself that I would do better at
keeping my promises in future.

Mark came into the room after having a shower. I pulled myself upright and sat on the edge of the bed, lit a cigarette and held my pounding head between puffs.

He pulled a pair of long shorts over his swimming trunks. "
Wanna
go to the beach?" he asked.

"What I really want is to go to the funeral of Jack Daniel's. I wish somebody would kill that son-of-a-bitch. He's all nice and friendly when you first start partying with him, then he gets nasty."

"I'll take that as a no, then."

"No, I can handle it. Let me get a shower and I'll be with you." I grabbed my gear. "No Lori?"

"
Naw
, she and Debbie are going shopping."

After I showered and dressed, we took a bus down to Waikiki. We tried the water, but there was a lot of coral which didn't really make for pleasant swimming. That was cool with me as I was more interested in lying still and resting my head. We chose a spot on the beach to just chill. We spread out towels out and sat down. The sandy beach felt like a bean bag underneath the towel. The midday sun reflected off the water and a slight breeze kept t
he heat at a comfortable level.

Mark insisted we bring a twelve pack with us and I didn't argue. After a few cans of the hair of the dog, I felt better.

"Hey, did I tell you I’m studying Shakespeare?" I asked, and lit a cigarette.

"Nope," Mark replied. "Did I ever tell you I’m a part time brain surgeon? I just fix submarines when I don't have any tumors to remove."

"Ha ha, very funny. I'm serious, I
gotta
impress Holly's dad, and he's into all that 'to be' crap. I'm meeting some guy at the Pinnacle building at seven tonight to help me understand all that stuff."

"An office building? Sunday night? How does that work?"

I took a sip of beer. "Some homeless guy who got shot in the head in 'Nam is really into Shakespeare. He's going to give me lessons."

Mark smiled and kind of snorted. "Why did I know that your selection of a tutor would be on par with your choice in women? Well, good luck to both of you."

"I'm taking Holly a bit more serious now. She's really turning out to be a lot of fun, and she doesn't bug me as much anymore. I've gotten used to her ways."

"And Debbie?"

"Well, I don't have much choice, do I? I'm
screwin
' one chick 'cause I want to and another one because I have too."

"Lucky you." He took a big gulp of beer. "Let's suppose for a moment that Debbie does rat you out. You still think Holly would get you booted out?"

I took a drag. "My dad always said the most dangerous creature on the planet is a pissed off woman. There's no telling what she'd do if she found out. I'm sure she could come up with some more documents to give Lieutenant Johnson from the recruiter
sayin
' I was actually a dope dealer or a Mafia Don or something. She can be quite resourceful."

He ran his hand over his day-old stubble. "But you really like Debbie. Right?"

"If things were different, yeah." I puffed my cigarette.

"It
kinda
reminds me of a movie where the kidnap victim falls in love with their captor."

"I think that's what Debbie's hoping for."  I swallowed a mouthful of beer and took a drag.

"Got an extra smoke?" A buxom blonde who stood over us with her skinny red-headed friend. Blondie wore heavy make-up that matched her skimpy, midnight blue bikini as well as the nail polish on her fingers and toes.

"Might stunt your growth," I teased.

"Do I look like I need to get any bigger?"

I took a good look at what I guessed to be 34 D's. "No, probably not." I stood up and shook the pack until one slid out far enough for her to grab. The fair-skinned red-head stood next to her in a pink and white polka dot one-piece suit. The blonde was sexy, the red-head cute. Neither one of them were up to Holly's caliber, but they we
re both attractive nonetheless.

The blonde took out a cigarette, and I offered one to the red-head. She took it with a sheepish smile. I picked my lighter up off the towel, flicked it open and held the flame between them. They both leaned in, touching the back of my hand while their cigarette tips turned red as they puffed. They both took
a drag and exhaled in unison.

"Thanks," the red-head said, looking at me under soft eyelashes.

I nodded toward her. "No problem."

"Any chance of a beer while we're here?" the red-head asked.

"Uh, yeah. You girls want to sit down?" I extended my arm toward my towel. The four of us sat forming a circle.

"It's so cool the drinking age only being eighteen out here. Helps us nineteen yea
r-olds have a better vacation."

"Amen," I said as I cracked open a beer. I gave it to Red, then did the same for the blonde. "I'm Tyler." I flipped my thumb toward Mark. "And this is my friend, Mark."

He nodded.

"I'm Shelly," the blonde said, "and this is my friend Jill."

"So, what brings you girls to paradise?"

"A plane," Jill said. Both girls giggled. "We're here on vacation. We go back tomorrow."

"So where you from?" I asked.

"Idaho," Shelly said.

"Ha." I stopped to crack my knuckles. "Okay, two potatoes are walking down the street. Which one's a prostitute?"

They looked at each, puzzled, then shrugged.

"The one stamped, I-
da
-ho."

Jill burst out laughing.

Shelly looked bewildered. "I don't get it."

We spent the next couple of hours talking and laughing, and finished off the beer.
Mark kept looking at his watch.

Jill rummaged around in her bag and pulled out a ten dollar bill. She handed it to Mark. "Why don't you go get another twelve pack? This is fabulous sitting here."

"Well, I was going back to base soon. I have to meet someone."

"Oh, come on. Don't be a spoiled sport," Jill insisted.

Mark sighed and rolled his eyes. "Okay, but I'm not staying much longer." He took a deep breath and got up.

"Wait a minute, I'll come with you," Shelly said as she leapt to her feet. The two of them walked off.

Jill slid closer to me. "I've always admired guys in the service, especially the Navy. There's something about a sailor. I feel like I should play a certain part to keep their morale high. Can't be easy spending all that time at sea." She bit her bottom lip and ran a finger up and down my arm. "
Wanna
show me what you get up to in port?"

Although she wasn't
glammed
up like her friend, Jill had a certain allure about her. She was small-framed and didn't wear a lot of make-up. But she didn't need to; there was a natural attractiveness about her. She was witty and I could see her as prim and proper lawyer to be - acting out her darkest fantasies with an unknown sailor in a Waikiki hotel. "Umm…look Jill, I think you're great, but I have a girlfriend."

"So? Where is she now?" She looked over her shoulders. "Doesn't seem to be taking very good care of you, if you ask me." She grabbed one of my cigarettes and lit it herself.

"She's getting things ready for her dad's visit next week." I looked down and played with some sand. Jill looked hot and I felt she'd be up for anything I might suggest. I tried to shut thoughts of Holly out of my mind.

She put her hand on my face and guided my eyes toward hers. "We won't exchange phone numbers, or addresses. We'll never see each other again, and your girlfriend will never know." She flashed her perfect white teeth.

Mark and Shelly appeared with the prescribed twelve pack of Coors. Shelly had her arm wrapped around Mark's waist, but his frown suggested he wished she hadn't.

Shelly sat close to Mark, and Jill by me. She kept rubbing her foot against mine which led to twinges in my crotch. I reminded myself of how hot Holly looked and how much I looked forward to Otto teaching me about Shakespeare. Those thoughts were interrupted by a little devil sitting on my shoulder. 'Holly will never know' Sa
tan's little helper whispered.

Mark seemed antsy. He wasn't his usual self, and neither he nor Shelly were drinking much out of the new twelve pack. Jill and I raced each other to see who could down a beer in one drink the fastest.

While Shelly assumed Jill and I were locked in deep conversation about Reagan's plan to build a six-hundred ship Navy, I caught a glimpse of her pulling her bikini bottoms to one side and whispering "True blonde" to Mark. He didn't respond. A bikini-clad blonde made a play for him, and he went into vegetarian mode. Maybe even veg
an. He kept checking his watch.

"Hey, you guys
wanna
come back to our room?" Jill asked. "We got a bottle of Jack Daniel's we need to finish off before we go back home."

I groaned. "Sorry, I can't. I have to meet someone at seven."

"Okay," Jill said. She reached into the dwindling twelve pack and pulled out more cans. She placed two beers in front of me, and two in front of herself. "Quickest to down two. Go." She popped open a can, threw her head back and began chugging.