It was a rainy June day in upstate New York, which made Diane Chambers that much more thankful that she was finally getting away for a vacation. She was going with her daughter, Samantha, so they could spend some quality time with each other. Diane just couldn't believe how old she was getting. She would probably be finding a guy and settling down pretty soon.
They were in the terminal at the local airport waiting for their flight to Hawaii. Diane had a found a deal on a exclusive island resort. The rooms usually went for 975 dollars a night, but she had found a loophole and the room wasn't even half that much.
Diane gazed at Samantha, who reminded her a lot of herself. She had the same golden blonde hair and the same small figure. But she still had his… Well, Diane chose not to think about him as much as possible. Luckily, Samantha had acquired her brains which she was very thankful for.
A voice over the intercom was heard stating, "Flight 382 to Hawaii boarding now."
"That's us, Mom," Samantha said, tugging at her mother's arm.
Diane snapped out of her trance and grabbed her purse. She followed her onto the plane and then to their seats in First Class. Samantha had been so excited that they were flying First Class, a first time for her. Of course, Diane had flown it many times, going to book signings and such.
She sighed as she sat down with her purse on her lap. Samantha was practically bouncing up and down in her window seat. She turned to her mother and said, "Just think. A few hours from now, we'll be away from all of this wetness and in Hawaii. I just can't wait."
Diane managed to smile, still thinking about him. Gosh, how many years had it been? She didn't like to think about it because, for one, it made her feel extremely old. And on a second note, sometimes it was just too painful to think about. She wanted to start thinking happy thoughts or she'd be sulking over this all week long.
"You have to promise me that you'll wear the bathing suit I got you," Samantha said.
"Well, I have to see it first," Diane replied. "I never know what to expect when you buy me things."
Samantha giggled softly and relaxed back in her seat, as did Diane. It was quite a long flight to Hawaii, but they both knew that it was worth it. After a good long nap, the plane arrived at the Hawaiian airport. Diane sat up, yawning, and gazed out the window. There was no sign of rain, like back in New York. The sun was shining brightly and the moment they stepped out of the airport, they could feel the warmth on their skin. Samantha squealed with delight as she rushed over to their rental car.
"I just can't wait to see the hotel," she said. "I bet it's going to be extremely nice."
"Well, it'd have to be for someone to pay almost a thousand dollars a night," Diane commented.
They put their luggage into the trunk and hopped into the front seats. Samantha put the keys into the ignition and headed down the road. Diane had the MapQuest directions in her hand so they wouldn't miss a turn or anything.
Both of their jaws dropped as they pulled into what appeared to be the driveway of the resort. The arch over the sandy path read: By the Sea. Diane and Samantha looked at each other, both astounded at the beauty of the place. The path was lined with palm trees, so that they couldn't see what was on either side of them. On their way down the path, they passed two individuals bicycling back towards the main road. There was also a young couple walking, hand in hand.
Diane sighed, wishing that she still had someone special like that. Samantha smiled as she knew that this vacation would do a lot of good for her mother. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been out and done anything for herself.
The path slowly came to the end where it led into a sandy parking lot where only a few cars were parked. Samantha parked in front of the building that read: The Office. There were a number of different buildings, all one story. The hallways of all of them were open to the outdoors. The two of them got out of the car, taking more deep breaths to let in the warm air.
"Mom…" Samantha started, finding it difficult to choose the right words. "It's just… beautiful."
They could see parts of the ocean from right where they were standing. The full view was right behind the office building. They walked inside as the door was wide open. No one was standing at the counter, so Diane rang the little bell that said: "Ring for service."
"Enrique!" a woman's voice called from behind one of the two doors behind the counter. "Customers!"
They waited a few moments, but nobody ever came. Then they heard some movement coming from behind the door from which the voice had come. Above the door, there was a wooden plaque that read: Manager. The door was opened and woman, roughly the same age as Diane but with curly brown hair, stepped up behind the counter.
"I apologize for your wait," the woman said in a slight southern accent. "I'm Miss Maybelle McEntire, and I own this place."
She reached a hand across the counter and shook both Diane's and Samantha's.
"Well, it's nice to meet you," Diane said, smiling sincerely. "Umm… Diane Chambers, checking in."
Maybelle reached under the counter to their filing system. She grabbed D. Chambers' file and opened it on the counter. She put a check mark next to the line that read their check-in date and put her initials next to it.
"Checking out next Friday?" she inquired.
When Diane nodded, she closed the file and put it back under the desk. That's when Samantha really noticed that they were using a filing system instead of a computer, which amazed her. Of course, this was a private resort and very expensive so they probably didn't have a large numbers of guests. Maybelle grabbed their keys from the wall behind her and placed them on the counter in front of them.
"Are you all familiar with the resort?" Miss McEntire asked.
"No, I'm afraid we're not," Samantha replied, almost embarrassed.
"Well, it's no problem," Maybelle replied as she, once again, reached down under the counter and pulled up a map of the resort that was printed on a plain sheet of white paper.
She began to point out various locations. The pool and hot tub was right behind the office. A few rooms surrounded the pool, and the others were ocean-front condos. Diane had booked them one of the ocean-front condos, and they were in room number 6.
"Now, my office is right back here," Maybelle continued, pointing to the room that she'd just come out of. "And the staff room is to your right. There's a restaurant located over here called the Fisherman's Stop. If you don't like their food, I'd be willing to give you a full refund on your room. It's definitely some of the best on the island." She pointed out the places and then pointed to condo number one. "This here is my place of residence, so if you have any problems and it's not during customary business hours, you can usually find me there." At this point, she had told them about all of the different attractions on the map except for one. "Oh, and we have a ocean-front bar located right on the beach. You can't miss it."
She handed a map to both Diane and Samantha and made like she was about to leave. But she then added as she gestured behind them, "There's some brochures for other attractions outside of this resort, but we try to accommodate you so you never have to leave. Save for if you need to go to the grocery store, there's one located right at the end of the driveway. I'm sure you saw it when you came in." Both of them nodded quietly, wanting to rush and see the ocean. "And that's about all, I hope you enjoy your stay." She smiled widely and waited for them to leave before she went back into her office.
"She seems nice," Samantha commented as they headed back over to their car. Now all they had to do was pulled around the path that looped the resort and unpack.
"Yes, she does," Diane agreed.
They got back in the car and drove to condo number 6. They then pulled into their own parking space and stepped out into the sand. Each condo was an individual building even though they weren't accommodated with everything that was in a typical home. The furnishings included two queen sized beds, both in different rooms, and a full bathroom. There was also a small refrigerator and a microwave to suit their needs, as well as a sitting area with a sofa, an easy chair, a kitchen table, and a television set.
They set their bags down in the sitting area and rushed to change into their bathing suits. Diane walked out, still unsure of how the bathing suit looked on her. It was the one Samantha had bought her, and it was a bright floral print. Samantha walked out wearing her two-piece and chuckled softly when she saw her mother.
"Well?" Diane asked.
"It looks… nice," Samantha replied, trying hard not to laugh.
"You don't think it's too… loud? I mean, for me."
"No," she said, regaining her sincere tone. "I think it looks great, Mom."
Diane smiled back at her, still not believing that she had bought something like that for her. But she didn't want it to ruin her day, so she just stop thinking about it. The two of them headed out of the door and stood for a while on their own private porch. The hours of the afternoon had slowly been dwindling down, and it was almost time for sunset. Still, the two of them went out to the beach and let the warm ocean water run over their bare feet. It was a feeling that really couldn't be matched by anything else, not even sitting by the fire on a cold night.
Looking down the beach, Samantha was the first to notice to ocean-front bar, and it was practically on the ocean, not ocean-front. Their were steps that led up to the enclosed bar that was perched a story high. Waves crashed at the support beams underneath it. Of course, it was high tide, so the ocean probably wasn't so close during the day. But it did look like it would be a lovely place.
"Come on, Mom," Samantha said. "Let's go."
"The first night here, and you already want to get me wasted," Diane stated.
She giggled like a school girl; her mother was always making jokes whether she realized it or not. Samantha grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the bar. They went up the flight of steps and opened the door that led into the bar. It looked fairly empty, which was probably a nice thing. The two went over at sat at one of the window tables. There were floor to ceiling windows that provided a simply gorgeous view of the Pacific Ocean.
"I'll be with you in just a moment," they heard a voice say from what appeared to be a back room.
Now that Diane looked around, the bar seemed to be very familiar, as if she'd been there before. But that couldn't be… Could it? Then it hit her. This bar was lain out in almost the exact same way as Cheers, even the office seemed to be in the same place. Of course there was no pool rooms or stairs up to Melville's, but other than that, it was pretty much the same. Funny how things seem to come back to you.
"It's a lovely view," Samantha commented, gazing at the sky that had turned from blue to magenta in seconds. The sun was now setting just beyond the horizon out at sea.
"Yes, it is," Diane agreed.
They both heard footsteps behind them, but they just couldn't force themselves to turn away from the sight.
"I'm sorry for your wait," the man said. "What can I get you?"
Diane's brow suddenly furrowed when she heard the man speak, this time it was apparently much more clear. When she reeled her head around, she could believe her eyes.